The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
American Bee Journal Volume 166 No. 4 April 2026 Cover features children's art work depicting honey bees. Callouts: Reduce Supersedure in Packages - 443, Why the hexagon - 419, Educating the Future - 403

Queen Introduction: Part 6 A Practical Queen Introduction Method

Queen Cage Honey Bees
Posted November 1, 2020

Queen Introduction: Part 6 A Practical Queen Introduction Method

We finish up this queen introduction series with a method that I recommend. I realize beekeepers have numerous ways to introduce queens. In historical beekeeping, even more queen introduction methods abound. In 1948, L.E. Snelgrove published “The Introduction of Queen Bees,” a book on the subject. Consider now a practical, familiar, and reliable method, drawing …

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Notes from the Lab – November 2020

Land for Crops US Map
Posted November 1, 2020

Notes from the Lab – November 2020

Increasing use of land for crops in the United States negatively impacts wildlife while producing marginal benefits for farmers In any competition, there are winners and losers. This is abundantly clear in sports, of course, when one team wins the championship and the other loses. But it’s also true in normal life. For example, when …

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Respiration and Circulation in Honey Bees

Honey Bee Respiration and Circulation
Posted November 1, 2020

Respiration and Circulation in Honey Bees

Except for a recently discovered parasite of salmon, all animals require oxygen for survival and expel carbon dioxide as a waste product.1 Because animals are so varied, many breathing systems have evolved throughout the animal kingdom, each one designed to work in an animal’s particular environment. Depending on its size and habitat, an animal may …

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Don’t Panic, Its Organic! Or Is It? Demystifying the term “organic” in honey bees

USDA ORGANIC LOGO
Posted November 1, 2020

Don’t Panic, Its Organic! Or Is It? Demystifying the term “organic” in honey bees

Many beekeepers use terms like raw, natural, local, and organic to describe their honey. These words are great for marketing, and show that beekeepers understand that today’s consumer is savvy to honey fraud and contamination concerns. One of these terms is not like the others, however. While any beekeeper using any practice can technically use …

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The Pesticide Paradox

pesticide paradox article by Alison McAfee
Posted November 1, 2020

The Pesticide Paradox

Other insects have readily developed resistance to pesticides, but honey bees are slow to act Everywhere we look, from antibiotics to chemotherapies to miticides, we find biological resistance to our attempts at chemical control. Perhaps this phenomenon is most dangerous to us in the world of bacterial infections, where, for example, once-easily-treated pathogens like Staphylococcus …

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The Classroom – November 2020

The Classroom - ABJ - Jamie Ellis
Posted November 1, 2020

The Classroom – November 2020

Q  Miscellaneous questions I use Russian stock which gets replaced by nature with Russian queens mated with local stock of unknown genetics. I am working to requeen with Russian queens every third or fourth year. Question #1: I do my splits in April, when queens are available. I use frames of brood with queen cells …

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Letters to the Editor – November 2020

Posted November 1, 2020

Letters to the Editor – November 2020

Treatments are Harmful to Bees I do not understand why people keep on treating bees with Formic Pro and Checkmite and other things that can hurt your queens. Just look at the picture of the person with gloves and a long sleeve shirt on page 865 in the August 2020 issue. If you need gloves …

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U.S. Honey Crops and Markets – November 2020

US Crops and Honey Markets
Posted November 1, 2020

U.S. Honey Crops and Markets – November 2020

The year of COVID continues to make beekeepers’ lives interesting. Demand for local honey is greater than ever, as is appreciation for those who produce it. Supply houses have begun to gain ground, but still struggle to keep up with orders from a large and enthusiastic new crop of beekeepers. But with most state and …

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DAVIDSON FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Audrey Anderson - Davidson Fellows Scholarship Winner
Posted November 1, 2020

DAVIDSON FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Omaha, Neb. – The Davidson Fellows Scholarship Program has announced its 2020 scholarship winners. Among the 20 honorees is 18-year-old Audrey Anderson of Omaha. Anderson won a $25,000 scholarship for her project, Resilin Distribution and Abundance in Apis mellifera Wing Joints across Biological Age Classes. Anderson’s research is the first to demonstrate a relationship between …

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ASIAVICE: THE VALUE OF HONEY BEES IN SELF-POLLINATING ALMONDS

Posted November 1, 2020

ASIAVICE: THE VALUE OF HONEY BEES IN SELF-POLLINATING ALMONDS

Almond growers have a lot of inputs to consider to produce their crop. They must balance the cost of labor, pest management, water, and bees for pollination.  Those costs are not fixed year-after-year, especially renting the bees. The fact is the cost of colony rentals for pollination has steadily increased, and remained at a premium. …

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