David Thomas pauses with his hives in the Hawaiian coffee in Ka’u. Although coffee benefits from pollination with earlier, larger crops, bees aren’t typically rented — possibly because of the abundance of natural pollinators and managed bees. For Thomas, the richness of tropical forage on the island makes up for it. Read about David’s part …
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Q European Foulbrood I have read your excellent guide on the treatment and diagnosis of European Foulbrood at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1272. In the past I have tried: Mite treatments Shook swarm Culling older frames (but not all frames) Feeding sugar syrup/pollen patties Requeening Last year, requeening a hive was very effective; this year’s results are disappointing. I …
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In this series of queen introduction articles, the candy release method counts down the time to release the queen. With my queen cages mounted on the glass of the observation hives in the bee house, I can even see the bees tunneling their way through the candy to the queen. Figure 1 shows a closeup …
Read MoreNeonicotinoid insecticides: When there’s risk to bees, when there are economic benefits to users, and when there are viable replacements Neonicotinoid insecticides. If you’re like many people who we interact with, you just read those two words and already have an opinion. Perhaps such a strong opinion that there’s little point to us writing more. …
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As scientific thinkers, we need to re-examine our beliefs constantly and question what we “know” to be true. As we learn, our cumulative knowledge increases, often giving us a better perspective. For example, I recently had a wake-up call that forced me to re-evaluate the idea of the windshield effect. The windshield effect is a …
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Queen cells are the unsung heroes of sustainable beekeeping. Most beekeepers still seek out mated queens for splits and replacements when queen cells work just as well or even better. There are many advantages to using queen cells over mated queens. A huge advantage is seen in the spring, as queen cells are available earlier …
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Canola yields a lucrative honey crop. Is there a downside, or is everything golden? In July, much of the Canadian prairie is an endless sea of yellow flowers, broken only by roads every mile or two and the occasional clump of trees. By now, those fields are probably browning and farmers are likely busy harvesting …
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On the whole, the outlook for bees and beekeepers is positive this year. Most of our reporters have fair to good news to share about honey production and markets. We live in uncertain times, but we are not without hope. While seasonal labor is hard to get in some areas, and equipment suppliers are hard …
Read MoreSugar Syrup and Bees — A Follow-UP I’m grateful that Randy Oliver responded to my question of honey vs. sugar syrup (July Letters). He urges constantly “Don’t make assumptions” and so I followed up on the assertion that “There have been plenty of studies … that indicate that honey bee colonies can thrive on ‘clean’ …
Read MoreThis spring, Back Yard Beekeepers Association (BYBA, based in Weston, Connecticut) apiarist David Blocher contacted Aspetuck Land Trust’s Land Stewardship Director Lou Bacchiocchi looking for a place to host a honey bee queen rearing project. Bacchiocchi immediately thought of Aspetuck Land Trust’s Randall’s Farm Preserve as the perfect spot to host bees. This Easton, CT …
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- C.P. Dadant, Editor of ABJ 1912-1938
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