April 24, 2019
Dear Subscribers:
The drought we were in last month appears to have come to an end with a bang! Good Friday produced what many were calling a “tornado.” In retrospect, that seems to have been overblown, but no matter with 55-mile-per-hour straight line winds it’s “katy bar the door” as “the trees come a tumbling down” here in North Central Florida. The radar was something to behold. Two extremely well defined storm lines, one after another, filled my rain gauge with almost two inches in about an hour.
It’s Earth Day time and worth looking back at the historical aspects of this momentous occasion. First established in 1971, the Paris Climate Accord was signed on this day in 2016 , and the celebration of this day has been going strong ever since.
Some countries celebrate Earth Week. Many cultural and religious ceremonies mark this day as well. Every year this produces more incentive for folks to look around and make a judgment how the planet is doing. This concern seems almost quaint now; it was way before the shifting climate change many have now experienced in the past 40 odd years was recognized.
The third video representing a collaboration between me and Humberto Boncristiani at insidethehive.tv has been released. It is over thirty minutes long. We were taking a risk publishing something rather lengthy in this format on a single video take, but those spending the time to view it appear to appreciate the content. Meanwhile the book giveaway has now officially come to a close and five winners will be receiving a copy of Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees.
For a bit of nostalgia in beekeeping, this Australian experience is worth a look. Produced in 1947, the film shows some “primitive” bee transportation in OZ at that time. The beekeeper sleeping on the ground in the bee yard provides a nice touch. Note that throughout this presentation no veils were being worn! This appears to be a big change; I saw plenty of veils during Aimondia in Melbourne in 2007. This was sent to me by contributor Al Summers, who has also found some rare videos of Brother Adam in the UK looking at bee breeding and developing a genetic improvement program for honey bees.
Most recently Al sent me an article that looks at the continuing process of human evolution concluding “Realising evolution doesn’t only happen by natural selection makes it clear the process isn’t likely to ever stop. Freeing our genomes from the pressures of natural selection only opens them up to other evolutionary processes – making it even harder to predict what future humans will be like. However, it’s quite possible that with modern medicine’s protections, there will be more genetic problems in store for future generations.”
The number of posts commemorating honey bees surviving the Notre Dame fire is remarkable! Another free public relations campaign for beekeepers and honey bees? Paris has always been a good place to experience beekeeping in action, from the free bee school in the Luxembourg Gardens, to buying honey taken from the hives atop the Paris opera.
French beekeeping has been dear to my heart ever since I spent a sabbatical in the country in 1997. You can read about my experiences in Beekeeping Without Borders, published in 2016 by Northern Bee Books. Also I suggest taking a look at one of the oldest World Wide Web sites for beekeepers in four languages, managed by my good friend and contributor, Gilles Ratia.
The biology of honey bees continues to provide surprises. Division of labor in the colony leads to other differences that may not be at first apparent:
“A honey bee hatches and grows up deep inside a hive surrounded by 40,000 of her closest relatives. Only after she’s three weeks old does she leave the nest to look for pollen and nectar. According to the new research, that’s also when she becomes recognizable to other bees.
“So the researchers compared the scent profiles of foraging-age bees that were held in the hive and not permitted to forage with bees that were able to venture out. It turned out that these two groups were also significantly different.
“Bottom line: A new study finds that honey bees develop different scent profiles as they age.” Not just scent profiles either; there is some evidence that the actual composition of the exoskeleton shifts during development and is different as well among various races of honey bees. An idea to use that as a way to differentiate Africanized honey bees from other ecotypes didn’t go far, but it still perhaps worth considering.
Get ready to learn more about something called CRISPR. Could it become the food industry’s next chance to get consumers to adopt genetically modified organisms?
“’This is a critical year for CRISPR,’ says Rodolphe Barrangou, a ‘CRISPR pioneer’ and one of the scientists who first identified the bacteria in yogurt as a researcher for Danisco in 2007. He now leads the CRISPR lab at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. ‘We know it works. We know it’s real.’ Now, says Barrangou, the technology’s success depends on whether consumers will accept it.
“‘The way GMO crops were first introduced to the public, he says, was too ‘tech-focused,’ too ‘ownership-focused,’ and ‘maybe even too ‘science-focused.’ (see The World of GMOs, How it Relates to Beekeeping) “With CRISPR, the food industry has a chance to rethink the role of genetic engineering in the food system. [It’s] a more integrated approach to how we farm and how we’re going to feed the world,’ he argues.
“’There’s a lot of things that go beyond the obvious yield benefits,’he says, and that’s what will appeal to consumers. They need to hear more about waxy corn and anti-browning mushrooms, and why those foods are important.
“It’s not just feeding the world. It’s having a more sustainable planet. It’s having a more efficient use of our land and water and resources.” Will domestic animals be next on the list for this technology? How about the honey bee? See more at the running Patreon.com digest post.
The Bee Informed Partnership (BIP) has opened its 2019 Apiary Sentinel Program . Check to see the results of the 2018 initiative. In addition, the 2018-2019 National
Colony Loss and Management Survey is in full swing.
Update on glyphosate from University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Extension and Pesticide Exam Administrators: “There is a significant amount of media coverage concerning the health effects of glyphosate. There are currently two cases where a jury has awarded millions to plaintiffs relative to glyphosate exposure. However, as IFAS is a science based organization, it is important that we understand the risk associated with glyphosate, not just the media coverage.
“Below is a link to a summary of reports from 14 different agencies spanning 12 countries. I think it is important to read excerpts from these reports to better understand what all these different independent regulatory bodies have concluded about glyphosate. Currently, only one organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded that glyphosate should be classified as a Group 2A: Probably Carcinogenic to Humans. No other reviewing organization in the world have (sic) reached this conclusion.
“It is important to be skeptical of any soundbite like is provided in this infographic. Therefore, if you click the quote, it will direct you to the parent document so that you can read further and in context if you wish.” Jason Ferrell, Professor and Director, Pesticide Information Office, University of Florida – IFAS 352-273-3685. A running post on glyphosate and other environmental contaminants can be found at the Patreon digest.
Smoking honey bees has always been an interesting topic. I recently had an e-mail conversation with Barry Cressman in South Florida concerning using smoke with Africanized honey bees. I suggested he try the “Tao of Smoking Bees.” His results using a small amount of smoke and waiting two minutes after smoking the entrance before entering the hive appear to have made some difference.
1) light smoking then a delay of approximately 2 minutes there abouts delays cloud of bees defensive response.
2) the longer you work the bees the less effective smoking becomes aside from much heavier smoking to disperse the cloud of bees and dilute alarm scent from stings on gloves.
3) Considerably less pursuit as you leave the area.
Granted, this is a limited sampling situation with few objective criteria. So what conclusion can really be drawn? How do you readers minimize defensive behavior?
I wrote a piece some time back about beekeeping as something akin to therapy. That was mostly based on military experience, the devastation of post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, and how keeping bees was one route to a healthier life.
Now comes another sweet story about honey bees rescuing a child: “When Meredith May was five years old, her mother uprooted her and her younger brother in the dead of night and, with no explanation, moved the family cross-country to live with her grandparents in California. As Meredith’s mother sank into a deep depression, Meredith became her grandfather’s shadow, helping him care for the honeybees he kept in a converted WWII military bus marooned in his garden.
“Through the bees, she learned what her parents could not teach her about family, generosity, resilience and, above all, perseverance. The insect world soon became a sanctuary from her lonely childhood.
“Here, she tells her story, and shares some of the most valuable life lessons she learned from growing up with honey bees.
Rosanna Mattingly, Editor, Western Apicultural Society Journal has published her latest items of interest for beekeepers listed here and accessible from this link: April 7, 2019
UCD Arboretum: Research resource, pollinator paradise
Introducing Beescape: A new online tool and community to support bees
Online tool identifies best and safest places to keep bees
Road Trip: How Hive Transportation Puts Stress on Honey Bees
SURVEY FAQs – Tips and Tricks to answering BIP’s National Colony Loss and Management Survey
The Impact of a Global Decline in Pollinators
Wild bees flock to forests affected by severe fire
The GreenBee Wildlife Web Initiative
Native Pollinators Boost Agriculture
Meridian Co-op Gardeners to open
Notes from Montpelier: Improving Vermont lives, one bill at a time
$21.7M in improvements will drastically change Newfields’ look and how you get there
WSU to use new refrigerators in study to help save honey bees
Response of adult honey bees treated in larval stage with prochloraz to infection with Nosema ceranae
Improved Honeybee Germline Transformation
Pesticide cocktail can harm honey bees
Pollinators existed long before flowers, new research suggests
Pollinator Garden
14 wild bee species native to New England on the decline
Nature Matters: Wild Pollinator Count to help scientists count bees in Australia
Can Local Wildflower Project Help Save The Bees?
Interaction Of Pollinators And Pests Effects Plant Evolution
Decrease in population of honey bees may affect food production
Building a Bee-Friendly Campus
New app helps track butterfly habitat
Spring, Interrupted
FROM CATCH THE BUZZ
1. SENTINEL APIARY PROGRAM – FIND OUT HOW YOU ARE DOING, AND HOW EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING. IT’S THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE. SIGN UP TODAY!!
2. PROPOLIS POWER-UP: HOW BEEKEEPERS CAN ENCOURAGE RESIN DEPOSITS FOR BETTER HIVE HEALTH
3. AGRICULTURAL CENSUS SHOWS AG OF THE MIDDLE CONTINUES TO SHRINK
4. CITRUS GREENING HAS FLORIDA CITRUS CROP DOWN 86% THIS YEAR
5. MANUKA PLANT SAMPLES FROM 1769 STILL HIGH QUALITY AND EASY TO ID
6. A KEY OBSERVATION WAS THAT ORCHARDS FARE BEST WHEN THEY HAVE A DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF BEES FLYING IN FROM NATURAL HABITATS
How are readers coping with the new regulations concerning antibiotic use? This is a big change and one that will definitely affect beekeeping operations in the years to come. Here’s what Florida is doing for beekeepers in this arena.
Speaking of Florida something that has escaped a lot of attention in the news is the tragic decline of citrus in the Sunshine State by some 86 percent in recent years due to citrus greening. Some folks are not giving up on the situation, however, according to a Bee Culture Catch the Buzz:
“’The people that are left in the industry, they are the survivors,’ Albritton said. ‘They’re the ones who have made the decision to stay in and fight, who have the means, have the desire, whatever.’
“’The growers that are left are all-in,’ Sparks agreed. ‘There’s nobody left on the fence anymore. It’s full steam ahead with the last 2,500.’”
And beekeeping is continuing: “Florida has about 520 commercial honey bee operations, plus another 235 bee keepers who sell bee pollination services as a sideline, plus another 4,000 or so backyard hobbyists. What they face is an enormous annual die off of colonies and an expensive endeavour to split surviving colonies to rebuild each year.”
Check out the April 2019 Bee-L discussions: , consisting of 11 messages on “flawed data” and nine on looking for “major honey plants.”
As always, see the latest extension efforts at the Bee Health Extension site. Check out articles on pesticides and evaluating honey bee queens.
One hundred forty four units of Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees, second edition were sold March 18 through April 14, 2019. Salt Lake City continues to lead the way.
From the editorial endorsements:
“In this well-written guide, Dr. Sanford utilizes his years of experience to give straightforward, practical advice for the beginning beekeeper.” — Randy Oliver, ScientificBeekeeping.com
Malcolm T. Sanford
https://beekeep.info
https://patreon.com/beeactor
