Phacelia as a Honey Plant

Posted October 1, 2015

Phacelia as a Honey Plant

Some members of the Hydrophyllaceae or Borginaceae1 Phacelia, facelia, lacy phacelia, fiddle neck, scorpion weed, valley vervenia, blue tansy or purple tansy. Scientific name: Phacelia tanacetifolia Origin: North America, basically western North America and possibly to some extent south of the U. S. Southern border. Plant description: Phacelia tanacetifolia is a 15-100 cm (5.9-39.4 in) annual. The stems are erect …

Posted October 1, 2015

Honey Bee Genetics

An exact determination of the laws of heredity will probably work more change in man’s outlook on the world, and in his power over nature, than any other advance in natural knowledge that can be foreseen (Bateson, 1900). Genesis The idea of genetics came about before anyone really knew what a gene, if there were …

Posted October 1, 2015

October 2015 Cover

Photographer Meghan Quintanilla of Arcata, California took this beautiful photo of a honey bee on Centaurea cyanus, commonly known as bachelor’s button, bluebottle, cornflower, hurtsickle or cyani flower. This annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae is a native of Europe. They often bloom from mid-summer until first frost.

Posted October 1, 2015

Some Honey Bee Colonies Adapt in Wake of Deadly Mites

CORNELL CHRONICLE A new genetics study of wild honey bees offers clues to how a population has adapted to a mite that has devastated bee colonies worldwide. The findings may aid beekeepers and bee breeders to prevent future honey bee declines. The researchers genetically analyzed museum samples collected from wild honeybee colonies in 1977 and …

Posted October 1, 2015

U.S Honey Crops and Markets – October 2015

UNITED STATES Late honey crops in the East Central and West Central areas have helped rescue the season for beekeepers in several states. Over much of the Midwest a rainy spring and early summer had lowered honey crop expectations. Nevertheless, the weather turned around in time for beekeepers in several of these states to produce …

Posted October 1, 2015

Letters to the Editor – October 2015

My Open Garage Door Lesson I would like to relate a lesson learned. I had extracted some supers and had replaced them back on the hive for the girls to clean up. After a couple days, I removed them and placed them into storage; except for one. This one I left on a short stand …

Posted September 30, 2015

EPA Registers New Biochemical Miticide to Combat Varroa Mites in Beehives

EPA has registered a new biochemical miticide, Potassium Salts of Hops Beta Acids (K-HBAs), which is intended to provide another option for beekeepers to combat the devastating effects of the Varroa mite on honey bee colonies and to avoid the development of resistance toward other products. Rotating products to combat Varroa mites is an important …

Posted September 1, 2015

Family Berberidaceae – the Barberry Family

Depending on the reference, the Berberidaceae consists of 9 to12 genera and 590 to 600 species of shrubs and perennial herbs that are scattered throughout the Northern Hemisphere and South America.[2, 10] It is a very diverse family. I find it at least a little difficult to think of the herbaceous may-apple (Podophyllum peltatum), which …

Posted September 1, 2015

Evolution and Double-Queen Management

After a break in August to talk about CCD politics, I’m happy to pick up the thread again on our evolutionary history of the honey bee with a view toward clues to good management. In July’s installment we stumbled upon one of those clues. Readers will recall that we talked about the evolutionary unit of …

Posted September 1, 2015

Beekeeping History from the Pages of the W.T. Falconer Bee Supply Company

In the history of apiculture in the United States, numerous bee supply factories appeared, beginning in the 1860’s to supply a growing honey industry. Most of these companies are out of business today, gone extinct, leaving as their fossil records mostly their bee supply catalogs and rarely special equipment they produced. One supplier, high on …

Phacelia as a Honey Plant

Posted October 1, 2015