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

BREEDING HONEY BEES ADAPTED FOR REGIONALIZED PLANTS AND ARTIFICIAL DIETS

Posted December 1, 2021

BREEDING HONEY BEES ADAPTED FOR REGIONALIZED PLANTS AND ARTIFICIAL DIETS

ARS News Service   October 1, 2021, Baton Rouge, La. — Honey bees could be intentionally bred to thrive on plants that are already locally present or even solely on artificial diets, according to a recent USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study. ARS researchers found individual bees respond differently to the same diet and that …

Read More

ABJ December 2021 Cover

Posted December 1, 2021

ABJ December 2021 Cover

Leslie Madsen took our cover photo in June 2019 in Boulder, and gives the following description of this one-of-a-kind plant: “The Green Gentian/Elk Weed/Monument Plant (yes! three common names!) is an incredible wildflower native to the Rocky Mountains that grows in mountain foothills, open fields, even higher altitudes. The height of these plants is astonishing: …

Read More

December 2021 Contents

Posted December 1, 2021

December 2021 Contents

The Honey Jar: More on that Treasure from the Pyramids Peter L Borst – 1305 COLOSS Virtual Meeting for 2021 Malcom T. Sanford – 1323 A Comparative Trial of the Pollen Subs 2020 — Part 6: Do We Need to Revise de Groot? Randy Oliver – 1331 Integrated Pest Management for Honey Bees Against Varroa …

Read More

The Classroom – November 2021

The Classroom - ABJ - Jamie Ellis
Posted November 1, 2021

The Classroom – November 2021

Q  Odd Brood Nest  For several years, I have noticed that my bees in the middle of summer (July and August) in North Florida split the brood nest, leaving the centermost frames brood-free, placing the brood on the two or three outermost frames on each side of the 10-frame box. Of course, the amount of brood …

Read More

Bees & Beekeeping: Past & Present – November 2021

Posted November 1, 2021

Bees & Beekeeping: Past & Present – November 2021

When studying honey bees, occasionally something happens that leads to new observations. Once I was mating queens in my observation hives. These colonies were in my bee house, a building holding 30 observation hives (see Figure 1). After the queens mated, I was planning to use these colonies in experiments on queen introduction later in …

Read More

Are virus-contaminated flowers surrounding your apiary getting wild bumble bees sick?

virus contaminated flowers
Posted November 1, 2021

Are virus-contaminated flowers surrounding your apiary getting wild bumble bees sick?

As I write this, it’s the beginning of fall in New York. Goldenrods and asters are filling the fields with brilliantly colorful flowers, honey bees and bumble bees are at their peak abundance, and the temperature is just right to get outside and enjoy it all. It’s the most beautiful time of year in my …

Read More

What’s Black and White and Red All Over?

Spotted Lanternfly
Posted November 1, 2021

What’s Black and White and Red All Over?

The Spotted Lanternfly In North America, we are losing the war against invasive species. Inexplicably, we believed we could engage in a global economy, reaping all the best the world has to offer, and not succumb to the hitchhikers. But countless organisms, including unwelcome plants and animals, embraced the opportunity to expand their territory. Hardly …

Read More

Wintering Success

Wintering Bee Hives
Posted November 1, 2021

Wintering Success

Wintering success in beekeeping is dependent upon a multitude of factors. Good overwintering colonies start with good queens, a healthy, relatively mite-free worker population, and adequate honey stores which bees need during the coldest weather and to begin rearing brood after the winter solstice. Bees that age evenly over the winter, and disease-free early spring …

Read More

Plight of the Robotic Bee

3D Illustration Of A Black And Yellow Mechanical Robot Bee
Posted November 1, 2021

Plight of the Robotic Bee

Pollination robots are being deployed in greenhouses, but we should think twice before sending them into the field Imagine that you are wandering through an apple orchard. The sun is shining through the branches and the air holds the scent of delicate blossoms, offering an early nectar and pollen buffet for honey bees and native …

Read More

Letters to the Editor – November 2021

Posted November 1, 2021

Letters to the Editor – November 2021

Seven-son Flower Hi Eugene, I was wondering if you and readers are familiar with this plant? It is called Heptacodium miconioides, the common name is “Seven-son Flower.” It is a 15-20-foot multi-branched shrub that flowers from mid-August to mid-September when here in southern Ontario very little else is in bloom. The white flowers are very …

Read More

VIEW SITE MAP