The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
Volume 165 No. 12 December 2025 Cover American Bee Journal. Cover features a queen bee surrounded by worker bees. Cover Callouts: Managing pests and pathogens organically - 1321 Stem cells, weeds, and bees - 1337 Lower-energy beekeeping-1343

J.S. Harbison and Moving Bees to California in the 1800s Part 2

Posted November 1, 2022

J.S. Harbison and Moving Bees to California in the 1800s Part 2

In the previous article, we learned how J.S. Harbison moved bees by steamship from Pennsylvania to California, a journey of 5,900 miles, taking the long route through Panama. In two shipments, occurring in 1857 and 1858, Harbison managed to get roughly 100 viable colonies to the West Coast. Some colonies were sold, and others were …

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The Persistent Fungus Among Us

Posted November 1, 2022

The Persistent Fungus Among Us

Chalkbrood is common, but overlooking it could be a mistake Nobody wants to be eaten by a fungus from the inside out. But that’s exactly what happens to honey bee larvae infected with Ascosphaera apis, the pathogen that causes chalkbrood disease. The spores germinate in the larva’s gut, then hyphae (fungal branches) burst from the …

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Easy Ways to Complicate Simple Beekeeping

Posted November 1, 2022

Easy Ways to Complicate Simple Beekeeping

At its core At its most fundamental level, beekeeping is a simple endeavor. Bees are bizarrely adaptable and can put up with most demands that beekeepers impose on them. Elementary beekeeping is an elegantly simple system. The bees Fundamentally, for a nest site, bees only want a protected cavity having the approximate volume of a …

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Bunches of Blooms for Bees

Posted November 1, 2022

Bunches of Blooms for Bees

In early spring of 2020, I agreed to speak to beekeepers at the newly dedicated Bee Inspired Garden in Onalaska, Washington. But the raging pandemic slayed the schedule, so I never made the trip. This past spring, however, a full two years later, I received a surprise invitation to stop by the gardens and photograph …

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Letters to the Editor – November 2022

Posted November 1, 2022

Letters to the Editor – November 2022

Types of hives, and Ukraine I read Jim Bernt’s article with interest, but feel he missed a major category … One size fits all. [See September’s “Which Type of Hive is Right for You?”] After struggling for many decades on how to replace old brood comb in a conventional brood chamber, I switched to ONE SIZE. …

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PAM CELEBRATES $10M IN HONEY BEE RESEARCH

Posted November 1, 2022

PAM CELEBRATES $10M IN HONEY BEE RESEARCH

Anyone who thinks their work is too small to make a difference, has never met the honey bee.” I love that quote, adapted from the Dalai Lama.1 Determined and durable like our namesake, Project Apis m. is celebrating a milestone so impressive that our founders would have never dreamed: PAm celebrates funding $10M in honey …

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Contents – November 2022

Posted November 1, 2022

Contents – November 2022

A Year as a Commercial Beekeeper — November Charles Linder – 1187 The Era of Eric Mussen: UC Davis Extension Apiculturist M.E.A. McNeil – 1203 Colony Confidential … What Really Goes on Inside the Hive – Chapter 10: Poison! Peter Keilty, with illustrations by Bridget White – 1216 Thymol — A New Application Method? Part …

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ABJ COVER NOVEMBER 2022

ABJ NOVEMBER 2022 Cover
Posted November 1, 2022

ABJ COVER NOVEMBER 2022

Our cover this month comes from Justin Scott, of Sweet Stingers Honey and Apiary in Edmond, Oklahoma. “Here is a photo of my son looking down the trunk of a tree after a large bee extraction, rosy cheeks and all. It was hot that day but he stuck around till the end. Labor of love.”

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The Classroom – October 2022

The Classroom - ABJ - Jamie Ellis
Posted October 1, 2022

The Classroom – October 2022

Q  HMF and honey  Jamie’s note: I received two questions about HMF and decided to list them both, before taking a stab at answering them. I am wondering if it is chemically safe to feed very old honey back to bees or to use for human consumption. I know the warnings about feeding honey to …

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Watching pollinator declines in real time in Pennsylvania?

Posted October 1, 2022

Watching pollinator declines in real time in Pennsylvania?

Unfortunately, “pollinator declines” are part of our vernacular nowadays. You’ve probably heard of the rusty patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis — the Midwestern bee on the Federal Endangered Species List. You may have heard about Franklin’s bumble bee, Bombus franklini, which hasn’t been seen since 2006. Maybe you’ve heard about the recent studies showing widespread …

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