Family Celastraceae – The Bittersweet Family or Staff-Tree Family

Posted June 1, 2015

Family Celastraceae – The Bittersweet Family or Staff-Tree Family

The Celastraceae consists of about 60 genera (10 native to the U.S.) and 850 species of trees, shrubs and often woody climbers. The leaves are simple (not compound), most commonly are alternately attached to their branches, but sometimes are oppositely attached. They are not lobed, can be either membranous or leathery, deciduous or evergreen, and …

Posted June 1, 2015

Family Cyrillaceae the Cyrilla Family, Sometimes Called the Titi Family

The Cyrillaceae is a small family consisting of only 3 genera and about 14 species of woody deciduous or evergreen shrubs and trees that are native to North America, South America, and the West Indies (The group of islands of the Caribbean Area between North and South America). The genera Cyrilla and Cliftonia are native …

Posted June 1, 2015

June 2015 Table of Contents

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline—Part 5—Egglaying, Adult Survivorship, and Modeling Colony Growth Randy Oliver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …

Posted June 1, 2015

June 2015 Cover

Photographer Clarke Sutphin of Billings, Montana sent this beautiful close-up photo of honey bees capping fresh honey—very appropriate for our June issue for beekeepers in the northern half of the country.

Posted June 1, 2015

The Back of a Beekeeper

Warren Taylor is one tough old bird. When I worked for him in Australia two years ago, he was still loading beehives by hand in his 60s. Often with him was his long-time friend Ralph. Ralph had officially retired, but would begrudgingly help drive (and load) during the hectic spring moving season. Watching them lift …

Posted May 1, 2015

Bees: A Rare Bee Journal

From collecting and studying beekeeping literature and antiques since the 1970’s, I mostly see things already encountered. So when I came across a stack of journals titled just Bees, from the late 1940’s to the early 1950’s, I was surprised. Happily surprised. Something new. I had never heard of that journal before. According to Bees, …

Posted May 1, 2015

In the Beginning Was Monogomy

In March I talked about the mystery of the self-sacrificing worker bee, pointing out that the worker dies after she delivers a sting. At first this was thought to be a problem for Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection – that some individuals would give up reproducing in favor of helping another reproduce, even to …

Posted May 1, 2015

Pollen Trapping for fun and Profit

How about trapping pollen for fun and profit? Pollen trapping can be tough on a hive of bees if the pollen trap is too efficient. Many front-of-hive pollen traps are less efficient and easier to use. The first question should be why we want to trap pollen? Let’s explore the aspects of pollen trapping in …

Posted May 1, 2015

Inspecting Your Newly Installed Colonies for the First Time

I shared how to install packages and nucs in my April 2015 article. Quite frankly, that is the easy part. The work begins once you put the bees in the hive. For all the parents out there, keeping bees is not as difficult as raising children, but it is the same principle. Babies are easy …

Posted May 1, 2015

The Classroom May 2015

Q Plastic Foundation A well respected beekeeper recently told me that he did not use plastic foundation because it confused the bees’ in-hive communication in the bee dance. A discussion of vibration and harmonics followed, most of which went over my head. So the question: Is there any solid research to back this up, or …

Family Celastraceae – The Bittersweet Family or Staff-Tree Family

Posted June 1, 2015