Happy New Year to my patrons and also I wish you well as we go into another decade. I visited the Los Angeles area during Christmas and our grandchild Naomi, one year old. One wonders what the anthropocene has in store for her when she gets to be my age (77). Yikes!
Fortunately, it was pretty good weather out on the west coast and we saw little evidence of the fires that were still making the news, and most importantly experienced no earth quakes. What is immediately apparent is the press of humanity in Los Angeles (second populous city only to New York), obvious from the amount of traffic and building that is going on in the city and nearby San Fernando Valley. Public transport around the area is pretty available, with a good metro system (bus, train and bike) and two train lines, MetroLink and Amtrack serving the area.
Back in North Central Florida it has been quite warm, reaching the mid to upper eighties F, and several temperature records have fallen. Tomorrow arrives the coldest weather of the year, low 30s F. Hoping only for a light frost, but could be a surprise.
More on neonicotinoids has hit the wires. An outfit called The Intercept has produced a remarkable document on this topic beginning with reference to the 2009 Apimondia meeting in Montpellier, France. It is shocking with its provocative title, “The Playbook for Poisoning the Earth,” and clear in its intent. It uses names of researchers and others well known in beekeeping circles, depicting their role in helping Monsanto/Bayer to keep these substances on the market, while the European Union has banned them.
Wikipedia calls The Intercept “an online news publication dedicated to what it describes as ‘adversarial journalism,’ with the central aim of holding ‘the most powerful governmental and corporate factions accountable.’ “ It is clearly “in-your-face-journalism.”
I happened to have been at this congress and developed some blog posts along the way. Neonicotinoids as I recall were not really on the radar at that meeting, but Colony Collapse Disorder, which The Intercept maintains is caused by neonicotinoids was, only having been described three years previously.
I wrote this as part of my musings at the time: “Finally, colony collapse disorder as named in the U.S. considered responsible for more than normal bee losses was discussed, including a unique session featuring short presentations by scientists, officials of Apimondia (Chairmen of the standing commissions on bee biology, bee health, beekeeping equipment, and pollination and bee flora. This was followed by comments from the audience ranging for polite questions concerning the details of the research to more pointed observations by those who believe that pesticides and gmo crops are major causes. President Asger Sogaard Jorgensen took the microphone at the end asking participants to keep an open mind and not fall into the trap of developing hard line philosophical ‘camps.’ ” Clearly the Intercept is not following Dr. Sogaard’s playbook. More in keeping might be this Catch the Buzz contribution from Bee Culture Magazine. Finally, check out the post at Patreon.com on the subject publlshed April 22, 2018
Another Catch The Buzz reports the following: “Tesco has temporarily withdrawn pots of its own-brand honey amid concerns that it contains adulterated ingredients. It comes after tests conducted by Richmond council in London indicated that ‘Tesco Set Honey 454g’ contains syrups made from sugar.
“The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it was ‘[looking] into these reports’ to see if further action was necessary. The supermarket chain denied there were any problems with the product and insisted it was ‘100% pure’. Concerns were raised over the honey, which costs £1.35 per jar, by Richmond council in south-west London, which conducted tests after it was alerted by a member of the public.”
It’s possible that person noted above might have attended Apimondia 46 in Montreal and been exposed to the large number of honeys in the world honey show that were disqualified due to adulteration as reported in my September 26, 2019 post:
“Unfortunately, the honey competition didn’t go smoothly this year. Last month, the honey entries were sent to labs for adulteration and contamination testing. Forty percent of honey entries failed the tests. I don’t know which tests were done or by whom, but this was major bad news for the honey industry and for the competitors. If the best beekeepers in the world can’t produce perfect honey, who can?” In response to this, I published my primer on honey adulteration.
At the same time as all this, it appears honey prices are on the skid: “A sharp drop in the price of honey threatens new harm to an already battered industry that every year provides an integral service to Kern County’s $1.2 billion almond industry. U.S. beekeepers say a recent glut of honey imported from Asia and elsewhere has caused prices to plummet during the last 12 months, past the point at which U.S. producers can hope to make a profit. Honey’s flagging popularity as a sweetener has also lowered honey prices.
“The situation is not likely to impact the pollination expected to take place next month as almond orchards bloom across the Central Valley. But there is expected to be some effect on the almond industry eventually if low honey prices persist.”
Meanwhile, several recent posts have called almond milk “evil.” This seems to be coming from the idea that honey bees are being exploited and harmed through using them to pollinate almonds.
As usual, the headline doesn’t tell the whole story, but it is worth looking at the rationale: “First almond milk and other plant-based milks are lauded as a healthy alternative to regular milk; the next thing is they are being hailed as environmentally destructive. I exclusively drink nut milk at home (I make my own) and when I first starting hearing these claims, I decided to look into it a little more.
“I want to live as sustainably as I can, and I also want to understand as much as I can about where my food comes from.”
Articles with headlines like “Almond milk: quite good for you – very bad for the planet” and “Your Almond Habit Is Sucking California Dry“, published by reputable news sources (in this case, The Guardian and Mother Jones respectively), make it easy to see why many people might think almond nut milk is bad for the planet. But these articles don’t tell the whole story. Sustainable choices are rarely completely black and white. There’s often compromise, or prioritizing one aspect of “green” over another.
See comments on Bee-L about this situation, referred to here as “sending honey bees to war.”
DNA from chewing gum? Really? Yep, according to this report from Science Magazine: “More than 5700 years ago, a girl spat out a wad of chewing gum at what is now an archaeological site in Denmark. Today, researchers report in Nature Communications that they have sequenced a full genome from that gum, the first time they have extracted so much information from anything other than ancient bones or teeth. Although no human remains have been found at the site of Syltholm, archaeologists found a wad of gum from birch pitch. The DNA in the gum was so well preserved that researchers were able to offer a glimpse of the girl who had chewed it and a snapshot of her life.
“The child (artist’s depiction above) had black hair, blue eyes, and dark skin, and was more closely related to hunter-gatherers from Western Europe than to farmers who had more recently settled in the region. She left traces of her most recent meal in the gum—she had been chewing hazelnuts and duck. But her oral microbiome also revealed that life could be hard—she had the Epstein-Barr virus and probably had suffered from mononucleosis in her life. Last year, researchers got some genetic sequences from even older gum from Scandinavia. As predicted, such wads now are becoming a useful resource for researchers.”
If this holds, “Katy bar the door,”we’re all in for another level of possible analysis it would seem. Could this also work for beeswax…..hmmm!?
Here’s a Christmas message that I unhappily received from a Japanese colleague I met at Apimondia 46 in Montreal, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !!
“Let’s talk about next year’s work. I’m sorry. I received an email that Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarina) entered Washington State (Blaine). I know that Wasp is extremely dangerous to humans and a major threat to honey bees. This Asian giant hornet is even more dangerous than the wasp that has recently invaded Europe (Vespa velutina )
“In Japan, hikers who used to walk in the hills and fields and people working in agriculture and forestry are often stung and damaged. In Japan, 20 to 40 people die every year from being stung by Asian giant hornets. More than 20% of honeybees are destroyed each year by Asian giant hornets attacking them. Bee keepers patrol every day, but they can’t prevent damage completely. Every few years, beekeepers get stung and die. Every year, beekeepers in Japan suffer as much damage as they do from Varroa mite.
“On the other hand, in Japan, there are some people who find a nest of Asian giant hornets and eat delicious larvae. It’s a dangerous gourmet hunting. The natural enemy of nature is a migratory hawk. It is called Hachikuma, but it attacks a nest of a grown Asian giant hornet, so I think it has no effect on stopping invasion.
“ I suggest it to you. In spring, the queen wasp wakes up from hibernation and starts to build a nest. Asian giant hornets are attracted by the smell of fermented fruits such as fermented grape juice. Using this habit, you can catch Asian giant hornets.
“Asian giant hornets grow many new queen bees from summer to autumn and expand their range. I think it is most important to catch the queen of Asian giant wasps from spring to early summer. I recommend that you cooperate with beekeepers in Canada to plan emergency measures to eradicate Asian giant hornets. Next spring and summer are very important opportunities.
“In Japan, there is a product called ‘Suzumebachi Gekitore’ to catch Asian giant hornets.”
Best regards,
Takashi Ochi
Package bee prices are on the rise for 2020 in California. Heres an explanation: “This increase has to do with labor law in California. Workers for the bee industry are considered farm workers. The law on overtime rules changed for 2020. The law used to state, that farm workers got time and a half after 60 hours of work. The new law for 2020 now has farm workers in California getting time and a half after 40 hours.
“During the package bee season, package bee producers are working their crews, 10 – 12 hours a day. Usually seven days a week for six to eight weeks. So last year, the crews of workers were getting premium time for 10 hours a week in a 70 hour work week. Now in 2020 the workers working a 70 hour work week, are getting premium time for 30 hours a week.
“The package bee producers had two choices to make over this change in labor law. Either your crews work normal hours and reduce the amount of package bees you sell or, increase the price of the package bees and sell the same quantity of package bees.
“The labor market for available workers is very tight at the moment. It is hard to get qualified people who want to put on a full pair of coveralls in 90 degree plus weather. Open up boxes of stinging insects, shake them into small boxes and send them to another state. Working all day, 70 hours a week, rain or shine.”
It is possible, of course, to buy package bees from other parts of the country, such as Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. A cursory check of prices, however, suggests there’s not much difference.
The National Air and Space Museum has published a 28-minute video on honey bees with reference to several topics, as part of what is called the STEM 30 program: “Bees are important to the environment, but did you know they are also important for the aerospace industry? This episode is buzzing with bees as we discuss the flying insects and explore research being done on them. You will also see how the honeycomb structure is used in the aerospace industry.“
Contributor Rusty Burlew has produced a rather complete post on incomplete pollination, something that is not discussed much, including “why it matters.”
There appear to be too many honey bee colonies in parts of Europe: “Come springtime, the RTBF reports, the Brussels region’s environment agency Bruxelles Environnement will take up the beehives it manages at nature sites in Brussels, and remove them permanently.
“The move forms part of a plan by the region to tackle the recent huge growth in members of the public keeping bees – a trend inspired by concerns about pollution, climate and biodiversity. Bees have become something of a mascot for this movement, in part because they are an excellent barometer of environmental conditions, and in part because of their crucial role in maintaining biodiversity.
“But it’s possible to have too much biodiversity, and the honey bee – a variety essentially created by Man for Man – now represents a threat to its wild cousin.
“This is a contest for natural resources,” commented Nicolas Vereecken, professor of agro-ecology at the Brussels Free University ULB. Not only are kept honey bees far more numerous than wild bees, they also venture farther from the hive – up to one kilometre – which means they have a wider area in which to compete for food.
Kiwimana out of New Zealand has published a list of twelve Ted talks that beekeepers and others should watch
A brand newUSDA-ARS bee research facility now exists on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis campus:
“Queen bee breeder Jackie Park-Burrs, a past president of the California State Beekeepers’ Association and a leader in the industry, snipped the ribbon Jan. 7 in 45-degree temperature, joining a group of other stakeholders to open the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) bee research facility.
“The facility, located next to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology’s Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, slides Davis into the national spotlight as “Pollination Central” and “The Bee Capital of the World.” The Davis facility is the newest of five USDA bee research labs in the United States and as the only one in California.
“ ‘This is the only USDA bee research team in California — where the action is,’ said emcee Paul Pratt, research leader of the Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Lab. USDA maintains honey bee research facilities in Tucson, Ariz.; Beltsville, Md.; Baton Rouge, La.; and Stoneville, Miss.
“The opening of the USDA-ARS bee lab marks a new opportunity for USDA and UC Davis entomologists to collaborate and investigate serious problems that affect stakeholders,” said Steve Nadler, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. “We are very fortunate that the lab was built at UC Davis.”
The site that has often been referred to in past newsletters https://impact.extension.org/extension-articles/ has been unsetted! And in its place appears to have emerged a new entity https://bee-health.extension.org/. Composed of three parts: Managed Pollinator CAP , USDA-ARS Areawide Project to Improve Honey Bee Health, and the Bee Informed Partnership . The above situation is worth examining in some detail, which will be on the todo list for the next issue of this newsletter.
One hundred thirty eight units of Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees, second edition were sold on Amazon.com December 11, 2019 through January 12, 2020. Salt Lake City led the way in sales.
From the editorial endorsements:
“Written in a readable style, this book blends sound scientific information about honey bees with practical information about beekeeping and is suitable reference for beginner to serious beekeeper. It has been selected as the text book for the University of Montana’s Online Beekeeping Certificate, Apprentice Level Course.” — J.J. Bromenshenk, Bee Alert
Malcolm T. Sanford
https://beekeep.info
https://patreon.com/beeactor
