Pretty in peach: Early spring peach blossoms provide a feast for honey bees and other pollinators. Terry Holm took this photo in March 2020 of her beehives in a Stayton, Oregon peach orchard.
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Q Preventing Varroa virus transmission Has there been any research on practical methods to prevent the viruses that are transmitted through Varroa? We all want Varroa to go away but it seems like it will be here for a while. Could we treat or prevent the viruses from getting into the bee colony, fight the …
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The January 1870 American Bee Journal contained an article by J.L. Peabody, who presented a description and a picture of a honey extractor invented by his brother H.O. Peabody (see Figure 1). During this early time of developing a suitable honey extractor, numerous creative designs arose. Some of these designs would be surprising to the …
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Honey bees are experiencing unsustainable colony loss rates, and many species of wild pollinators are experiencing range contractions and population declines. Pesticides are not the only reason for these problems, but hundreds of scientific studies show very clearly they’re contributing. For this and other reasons, some people think we should get rid of pesticides. But …
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Why should we talk about small hive beetles in January? Wouldn’t it be more fun to talk about this Super El Niño and parse out the many fun beekeeping tasks we can accomplish on a mild, sunny day? Well, sure, you can keep pretending SHB isn’t a major concern. But your bees can’t — because SHB …
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The kitchen of my youth smelled of lye soap, smoked bacon, and peck baskets of walnuts. A throwback to the 40s, the kitchen had a linoleum floor and a table topped with red-and-white checked oilcloth. (Oh, how I miss the lead in my diet!) In the center sat the perennial must-haves of the day: salt, …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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- C.P. Dadant, Editor of ABJ 1912-1938
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