Staying busy during the cold months of the year Some Plain Talk about beekeeping during cold seasons ABJ readers, here’s some Plain Talk Beekeeping for you — January is a slow month for actively managing bees. Except for those who are in warmer parts of this country, January is a cold, blustery month with few …
Read More
Purple “honey” Dear Mr. Makovec, Approximately five years ago, I posted on a honey bee blog that perhaps the purple honey some beekeepers are surprised to find in their supers is due to bees taking grape jelly from oriole bird feeders (I’ll provide a picture of my jelly feeder covered in honey bees). Expectedly, I …
Read More
Most of the country reports decent honey production for the year, despite spotty drought conditions and a widespread heat wave in late summer/early fall. Wholesale markets are stronger than before the imposition of duties from the AHPA’s antidumping lawsuit, though abnormally low import prices continue to put some downward pressure on commodity markets. Where retail …
Read More
November 21, 2023 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has selected a project led by members of the Varroacide Resistance and Testing Team (VRTT), facilitated by the Honey Bee Health Coalition, to receive funding as part of a new initiative aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of U.S. specialty crops. The project led by the VRTT …
Read MoreBook Reviews: Winter Reads Frédéric Eggers de Villepin, Carol Hrusovszky, Tina Sebestyen – 21 Good News from the EPA! Randy Oliver – 39 Musings of an Old-timer, Part 3 Peter L Borst – 47 And Now, for Something Completely Different Charles Linder – 53 2023 Field Trial of Matrices and Formulations for Extended-release Oxalic Acid …
Read More
Morning sun casts a soft lamplight on nature’s nighttime masterpiece. The photographer in her pajamas may shudder from the cold, but the snow provides an insulating blanket to these hives. Some beekeepers rush out to brush snow from landing boards, but warmth from the clusters inside will likely have entrances clear by noon. Cheryl Burkhead …
Read More
Division of Labor Just thought I would share this picture of a cute piece of artwork we found at the New Brunswick Botanical Garden in Edmundston, NB. Very cool depiction of the division of labor in the hive. Enjoy. Clyde Dildine Sisters, Oregon Eugene responds: Very cool, Clyde! Looks like you fit right in …
Read More
Typically, we consider bees of a swarm to be very sensitive to the presence of their queen, even swarms occurring in the summer. A swarm flying off and abandoning its queen is counterintuitive. With that unsettling notion in mind, consider the three following case studies, along with photographic documentation, never published before. Case 1: …
Read More
Every beekeeper knows varroa is the greatest biological threat to honey bee colonies throughout the world. But in fact, this is only partially true. Varroa feeds on bee fat bodies, and because fat bodies are essential to the immune system of bees, feeding by varroa weakens bees’ immune response. At the same time, viruses such …
Read More
A Regional Breakdown of How to Schedule Beekeeping Tasks Isn’t it hard to “slow down” these days? Of course it makes sense that beekeepers are as busy as bees. In my work as an apiary inspector, I find myself scheduling inspections with beekeepers further and further in advance of when we meet. We schedule inspections …
Read More"I want the American Bee Journal to be the finest publication about bees and beekeeping in the world."
- C.P. Dadant, Editor of ABJ 1912-1938
THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL
51 S. 2nd St., Hamilton, IL 62341
Phone: 217.847.3324
Fax: 217.847.3660
info@americanbeejournal.com
©2025 Copyright the American Bee Journal. All Rights Reserved.
website developed by CleverOgre
