The Surprisingly Sophisticated Ways that Honey Bees Fight Disease

Posted July 1, 2020

The Surprisingly Sophisticated Ways that Honey Bees Fight Disease

Honey bees can’t socially distance. Here’s what they do instead The air is warm with bodies and heavy with humidity. Nestmates huddle and rapidly antennate one another, as if they’re chatting, sharing pheromones, information, and food. Living in a beehive is like living in a house with 40,000 siblings who have no concept of personal …

Posted July 1, 2020

The Classroom – July 2020

Q Varroa and robbing screens Do robbing/drifting screens help (or not) prevent Varroa transmission if you have them on every hive in your apiary and if so how much? I know you can prevent your bees from robbing out unprotected hives but is this a viable strategy to reduce the transmission rate of Varroa? Cliff …

Posted July 1, 2020

“RIDICULOUS” TO CALL ASIAN GIANT HORNET “THE MURDER HORNET”

— University of California Davis, — May 5, 2020 It’s “ridiculous” to call the Asian giant hornet recently found in British Columbia and Washington state “the murder hornet,” says noted UC Davis wasp expert and researcher Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and …

Posted July 1, 2020

Letters to the Editor – July 2020

Howdy folks! I am a beginning beekeeper from Georgetown, Kentucky and got this magazine from Dadant and Sons in Frankfort. A big shout out to Natasha to giving me a tour of the warehouse and giving great advice and a couple of freebies! The pastor of my church was instrumental in getting me started. Here’s …

Posted July 1, 2020

U.S. Honey Crops and Markets – July 2020

Our beekeeping lives continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. State and regional conferences have been mostly cancelled since about mid-March, and most local club meetings are either going online or not happening. Otherwise, we’ve been busier than ever. Honey sales at the local level are higher than ever in many places. In the …

Posted July 1, 2020

Contents – July 2020

Beekeeping in the United States: The Coming Revolution Peter L. Borst – 757 Fool’s Gold? Mother Lode? Members of the California Master Beekeepers Program Meet Up with Scutellata’s Great-Grandchildren M.E.A. McNeil – 769 Refining the Mite Wash Part 1: Treatment threshold and solutions to use Randy Oliver – 781 Conserving Black Bees (Apis mellifera mellifera) in …

Posted July 1, 2020

July 2020 Cover

Kelly Hall shot this photo at one of the small hobby outyards that she and her husband, Jeff (the primary beekeeper), maintain on the Kitsap Peninsula in western Washington state. The Cascade mountains are in the background as Jeff inspects the hives. This photo was shot in early April 2020.

Posted June 30, 2020

New Hampshire Beekeepers Association Fall Meeting With Dr. Samuel Ramsey

New Hampshire Beekeepers Association Fall Meeting Saturday October 17, 2020 Location: Manchester Community College 1066 Front Street, Manchester, NH Keynote Speaker: Dr. Samuel Ramsey Talks: Varroa Mites True Diet Feeding on Honey Bees and A New Mite, A New Threat: Tropilaelaps Mercedesae. Time: 9 am – 3 pm (Lunch will be provided for a …

Posted June 29, 2020

24th Annual Field Day at the USDA Honey Bee Lab in Baton Rouge

The USDA Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Laboratory and the Louisiana State Beekeepers Association will hold the 24th Annual Field Day on Saturday, October 10, 2020. The event will be held at the laboratory, located at 1157 Ben Hur Rd, Baton Rouge LA 70820. This is near the intersection of Nicholson Drive (Hwy 30) …

Posted June 1, 2020

The Classroom – June 2020

Email Questions to Jamie at classroom@americanbeejournal.com Follow my lab on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram Q Record Keeping With all the lessons I’ve learned and with all the knowledge I’m soaking up from the UF/IFAS Master Beekeeping Program, how do I keep good records? I need to keep records of bloodlines, timing, problems, treatments, selective traits, etc. I keep …

The Surprisingly Sophisticated Ways that Honey Bees Fight Disease

Posted July 1, 2020