EPA PROPOSES REGISTRATION OF NEW WAX MOTH CONTROL

Posted March 1, 2020

EPA PROPOSES REGISTRATION OF NEW WAX MOTH CONTROL

First Beehive Uses of the Currently Registered Active Ingredient Bacillus thuringiensis, subsp. aizawai strain ABTS 1857 EPA is proposing to register a pesticide product containing Bacillus thuringiensis, subsp. aizawai strain ABTS 1857 (Bta ABTS 1857) to prevent and control wax moths in beehives. This product offers beekeepers a new tool against destructive wax moth larvae. …

Posted March 1, 2020

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA BEEKEEPER PROGRAM NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Bee lovers can now start their journey to becoming Master Beekeepers through a new online training program from the UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. “The number of people keeping bees in Florida increased about 500% since 2006, so there is a demand and need for beekeeper education,” said Jamie Ellis, …

Dr. Greg Hunt and Krispn Given evaluating one of their Mite-biter/grooming colonies

Posted March 1, 2020

HONEY BEE RESEARCHERS TARGET GROOMING GENE IN THE NEW INDIANA MITE-BITER STRAIN

With virus vectoring Varroa destructor mites in about 90% of US beekeepers colonies, especially those in the commercial industry rely on some form chemical compound or miticide like amitraz to eradicate them. A promising new strain of honey bees is being developed at Purdue University that is helping reduce annual colony losses due to the …

Posted March 1, 2020

Frames and Their Forgotten Diversity: Part 2 – Their Spacing

In the previous article, we examined some various shapes of frames, ending with a hexagonal standing frame hive. Besides being the external wall of the hive, those frames also spaced themselves. Frame spacing is the topic of this article, except the frames are inside the hive body in the usual way. The movable frame, announced …

Posted March 1, 2020

Notes from the Lab – March 2020

Pesticide residues are common in soils surrounding corn and soybean fields and are associated with fewer species of native bees. Last month’s “Notes from the Lab” focused on how landscapes dominated by corn and soybeans can be both good and bad for honey bees. Good because colonies grow quickly when soybeans (at least some varieties) …

Posted March 1, 2020

How to Make Beeswax Food Wraps

Everywhere you look these days, people are making, buying, and using beeswax food wraps. If the concept is new to you, a beeswax food wrap is a piece of beeswax-infused cotton fabric that is meant to be used in place of plastic or aluminum food wrap. Since they are reusable, beeswax wraps are thought to …

Posted March 1, 2020

Dealing with Deadouts

Honey bee colonies die. At some point you will stand over the sad sight of a dead colony, and will have to make decisions about what to do with the equipment. Do you dump a new package of bees straight into the hive and move on with life? Do you burn everything in a fit …

Posted March 1, 2020

Beekeeping with Bacteria

Microbes are giving us a new wave of defenses against hive pests and pathogens Bacteria are not something to be cringed at. Villains like E. coli, Listeria, and Staphylococcus aureus have given the whole bacterial kingdom a bad rap, but we can capitalize on beneficial microbes to work for us instead of against us. …

Posted March 1, 2020

March 2020 Table of Contents

International Honey Market Report Ron Phipps – 259 Australia — Paradise Lost? Ron Miksha – 279 Re-evaluating Varroa Monitoring — Part 1 Randy Oliver – 289 Drones for Drones — A New Way to Find Drone Congregation Areas Julia Mahood – 297 Maine’s Down East Wild Lowbush Blueberry Pollination Dewey M. Caron – 305 Mentoring …

Posted March 1, 2020

March 2020 ABJ Cover

Keith Penney shows a frame of bees to Bonnie Warzynski (right) and Emily Lukacs, at a Waupaca County Beekeepers Association event in central Wisconsin. Club-based mentoring can be a powerful source of support for new beekeepers. Photo by Kent Pegorsch, President, Wisconsin Honey Producers Association

EPA PROPOSES REGISTRATION OF NEW WAX MOTH CONTROL

Posted March 1, 2020