Winter can be a difficult time for bees. After fall management, the colonies, left alone, try to survive through the cold months while the beekeeper waits for survival news come spring. Through the winter, I keep watch on winter clusters with thermal cameras in the apiaries or study them in the bee house with observation …
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A Treasured Quilt I am reaching out to you on behalf of my late grandfather Robert Frey [who passed away October 1 at age 91]. We have a handmade quilt that was made for his 85th birthday by his daughter Karen. My grandmother Elene Frey requested that I email this to you, and would like …
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Most of our correspondents report fair to good conditions for colonies going into winter. While drought persisted out west through much of the year, late-season rainfall in some states allowed many of those colonies to recover. The elephant in the room is Hurricane Ian. Tens of thousands (possibly hundreds of thousands) of colonies were lost, …
Read MoreThe Honey Bee Health Coalition released an updated guide for beekeepers aiming to identify and mitigate foulbrood disease in their honey bee colonies. The new guide includes renewed diagnostic tools as well as updated guidance for both beekeepers and veterinarians on the judicious use of antibiotics to treat American and European Foulbrood. “American and European …
Read MoreWinter Reads: Book Reviews Tina Sebestyen, Kathryn Thompson and Roy Hendrickson – 31 Colony Confidential … What Really Goes on Inside the Hive Chapter 12: Itinerant Peter Keilty, with illustrations by Bridget White – 54 The Turn of the 20th Century Peter L Borst – 63 Commercial Beekeeping is Family Time Jody Wallace – 72 …
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As the nation’s commercial pollinators prepare to move bees into California almonds, our cover photo brings a memory from the opposite coast, and from the heat of summer. Jason Deeringer, of Bee Serious LLC in Haines City, Florida, took this photo last July “in a cow pasture in Polk City. The bees had just come …
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Q Which cell type makes the better queen? In the September issue of The Classroom, you had a question about whether a swarm cell or supersedure cell may produce a better queen. The answer may be a swarm cell. See this manuscript for possible insight: Wei et al. 2019. A maternal effect on queen production …
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As concerns over miticide resistance grow, Canadian researchers are developing a new product Rumors have been simmering for a few years already, and now, the hard evidence is mounting. As Erika Plettner, a chemistry professor at Simon Fraser University, said to an audience of beekeepers at the BC Honey Producers’ Association annual meeting, “The question …
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A good crop of water When is the last time another beekeeper asked you, “Did your bees get a good crop of water this year?” I will hazard a guess that the answer to that question will be, “I have yet to be asked that management question.” In bee colony management circles, water is much …
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A famous line in the hit musical My Fair Lady claims “The French don’t care what they do actually, as long as they pronounce it properly.” Of course, that cultural no-no wouldn’t make the cut these days. Still, it came to mind as I was reading “The Elements of Eloquence” by Mark Forsyth. Forsyth believes …
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- C.P. Dadant, Editor of ABJ 1912-1938
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