The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
American Bee Journal Volume 166 No. 5 May 2026 Cover features a close up of a drone bee emerging. Calouts: Do you really need a new queen - 491, AHB in the USA - 523, Where do honey bees mater?-527

A seven-year study assessing pesticide residues in bee bread throughout the United States

Posted May 1, 2021

A seven-year study assessing pesticide residues in bee bread throughout the United States

Most beekeepers are concerned about pesticides but unsure how concerned they should be. On the one hand, every commercial beekeeper who rents their bees for pollination of almond, blueberry, apple, or other high-value crops has a story about how some of their colonies have died fairly quickly after one or more pollination events. Given what …

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U.S. Honey Crops and Markets – May 2021

US Crops and Honey Markets
Posted May 1, 2021

U.S. Honey Crops and Markets – May 2021

Winter weather is well past us now, and spring blossoms beckon our bees into the fields.  “Lord willing, and the creek don’t rise,” the  COVID-19 winter will also soon be melting away. Northeast Pennsylvania saw high winter losses, but spring buildup looked good as of late March, and ground conditions were about normal. New York …

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Antique Miniature Hives Show the Development of American Hives

antique miniature beehive
Posted May 1, 2021

Antique Miniature Hives Show the Development of American Hives

Documenting and studying old beehive designs are difficult endeavors. I always want to work with primary materials. For me, that primary material is the original hive and literature written by the beekeeper explaining the original design (before others may have changed that design). To render matters more difficult, virtually all the hives I study are …

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Letters to the Editor – May 2021

Posted May 1, 2021

Letters to the Editor – May 2021

Horsefly Bees and Pools It was the perfect time this past weekend to set up an alternate water source for our bees after we removed our pool cover where algae scum had been an oasis for them. I was encouraged after reading your January article by Joe Conti on “How to Keep Bees Away from …

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USDA ISSUES GUIDANCE ON RECENT OXALIC ACID TOLERANCE EXEMPTION

Posted May 1, 2021

USDA ISSUES GUIDANCE ON RECENT OXALIC ACID TOLERANCE EXEMPTION

Information on the Upcoming Amendment to the Varroacide, Oxalic Acid (API-Bioxal™) USDA and EPA are receiving questions from stakeholders regarding a recent tolerance exemption for oxalic acid, a pesticide used to control parasitic mites of honey bees (Apis mellifera). A tolerance is the legal limit for a chemical residue in or on a food. The …

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Contents – May 2021

Posted May 1, 2021

Contents – May 2021

What Does the New Oxalic Acid Exemption Mean? Lewis Cauble – 493 Medicinal Honey for Animals: What We Know and What More We Need to Know M.E.A. McNeil – 507 Beekeeper-funded Research: A Field Trial of Probiotics Randy Oliver – 521 Queen Supersedure — Caused by Queen Pheromone or Brood Pheromone? Eric Talley – 525 …

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ABJ_May_2021_Cover-photo
Posted May 1, 2021

Our cover photo comes to us from Joan Fox, of Tucson, Arizona. “I’d never seen anything like this adorable pollinating behavior: The honey bees forage the pollen-tipped anthers of Red Bird of Paradise [Caesalpinia pulcherrima], and then use the long filaments to catapult/pole vault themselves into the center of the flower!”

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The Classroom – April 2021

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

The Classroom – April 2021

Q  Shelf Life of Oxalic Acid I have several questions about oxalic acid (OA). How long can mixed oxalic acid used for drip be kept? How long will the crystals in an open foil pouch tightly wrapped last? (I cannot find this information on the containers.) Also, for both, if they can be kept, how …

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Bees Robbing Honey at Various Times of the Season

Honey Bees Robbing Honey
Posted April 1, 2021

Bees Robbing Honey at Various Times of the Season

The active beekeeping season begins in our region of the Mid-Atlantic, in Piedmont Virginia, with the prominent bloom of the red maple (see Figure 1). Maple blooms, scattered through the leafless woods, brighten up the dismal gray in streaks of red. It is a welcomed sight where I have my rural apiaries. From thermal camera …

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Notes from the Lab – April 2021

honey bee genealogy in United States
Posted April 1, 2021

Notes from the Lab – April 2021

The genealogy of honey bees in the United States. The Western honey bee, Apis mellifera, is not native to the United States. Most beekeepers know this. But do you know the genealogy of A. mellifera (hereafter, the “honey bee”) in the United States? In other words, do you know the full story of when honey …

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