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

A Bear Kills an Apiary in Virginia, Leaving a Detailed Photographic Record

bear in beeyard
Posted July 1, 2021

A Bear Kills an Apiary in Virginia, Leaving a Detailed Photographic Record

The destructive drama began this spring when I arrived at one of my more secluded apiaries. For reference, the apiary appeared as shown in Figure 1 a couple of years earlier when the apiary had only three two-foot long top-bar hives on two elevated hive stands. Figure 2 (left) shows the view from where I …

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The Vocabulary of Beekeeping – Different Things Need Different Words

row of beehives
Posted July 1, 2021

The Vocabulary of Beekeeping – Different Things Need Different Words

This may be the last ABJ article I ever write. Why? I have a premonition that an article about English in a beekeeping journal won’t go over well with the readership. It might be a fireable offense, like writing about icing cupcakes in a wrestling rag. Nevertheless, I’m not easily deterred. Humans communicate through language. …

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The Legacy of the Mite-biting Bees

varroa mite
Posted July 1, 2021

The Legacy of the Mite-biting Bees

Grooming is an important varroa-resistance trait, and new research might make it easier to select in breeding programs According to the Centers for Disease Control, every year over 400,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease — a serious illness, caused by bacteria transmitted by ticks. Tick season is in full swing, and there are few …

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Are You Ready to Harvest?

frame of capped honey
Posted July 1, 2021

Are You Ready to Harvest?

Honey. Many of us will harvest honey in July. Honey is our reward for beekeeping. We look after and manage our colonies 24/7/52 hours/days/weeks of the year, with the expectation they will give us two weeks of surplus honey in return. One common concept of keeping bees is that colony populations increase with spring due …

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Letters to the Editor – July 2021

Posted July 1, 2021

Letters to the Editor – July 2021

Making Lemonade out of Lemons This letter was inspired by the great content in the May 2021 issue. While my brooding actually began with the article on the new EPA standards for oxalic acid, the actual motivation that solicited an initial (mental) response was aroused by Jamie Ellis’s suggestions in regards to fermented honey. This …

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CARRYING ON A TRADITION

Posted July 1, 2021

CARRYING ON A TRADITION

In October 1934 Thomas Cashman Sr. was the President of the Brown County Beekeepers Association. Fast forward to today and his son, Thomas Cashman Jr., is the Treasurer of the very same organization and celebrates his 50th anniversary as a member. The Brown County Beekeepers Association of Green Bay, WI was organized in 1918 and …

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DECISION BY CANADIAN REGULATORY AGENCY MAINTAINS CANOLA FARMERS’ ACCESS TO SEED TREATMENTS FOR PEST CONTROL

pest-control-canola
Posted July 1, 2021

DECISION BY CANADIAN REGULATORY AGENCY MAINTAINS CANOLA FARMERS’ ACCESS TO SEED TREATMENTS FOR PEST CONTROL

Canadian Canola Growers Association & Canola Council of Canada media release Winnipeg, MB — March 31, 2021 — Earlier today, Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) released its final special review decision on clothianidin and thiamethoxam, two important seed treatments that farmers use to protect their emerging canola crops from early season pests. The final …

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Contents – July 2021

Posted July 1, 2021

Contents – July 2021

Summer Reads: Book reviews Carol Hrusovszky, Tina Sebestyen, Eugene Makovec – 717 Honey Fraud: Closing in on the Cheaters M.E.A. McNeil – 727 Monitoring Honey Bee Colony Activities with a Temperature Sensor Grid — Part 4 Frank Linton, Anna Stumme, Brett Padula, Gail Ifshin, Gregory Behrmann – 733 A Queen is Born Peter Borst – …

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July 2021 ABJ Cover

ABJ July 2021 Cover
Posted July 1, 2021

July 2021 ABJ Cover

Closer inspection reveals a queen just below the entrance to this swarm trap, joining her subjects on their march into what the itinerant colony believes to be its new home. Just to the left of the entrance we see several workers, Nasonov glands exposed, fanning the universal homing scent to their siblings. Chris Long took …

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The Classroom – June 2021

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

The Classroom – June 2021

Q  Mysterious Leg Spine/Spur   On the mid-legs is the spine or spur. What is the consensus on its function? I guess it is referred to as a “wax spur” by many, thinking it is used to move wax flakes. I think I saw another reference to it being used to move pollen pellets. Do …

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