The BeeKeepers Quarterly edited by John Phipps, has just announced that it’s taking its show online. The UK beekeeping magazine can now be seen on the Web at www.bkq.org.uk. The March 2009 and May 2009 issues will be “free samples” for beekeepers to try it out, and there will be a small subscription charge for future issues.
This news comes from Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture - The Magazine of American Beekeeping, who is a regular contributor to the BeeKeepers Quarterly). Flottum notes that Bee Culture, too, will be releasing a digital edition later this year.
Other digital beekeeping magazines include Bee Craft (UK) and MidWest Beekeeper (US). So far, the American Bee Journal is not available on the Internet, but you can subscribe to the Journal through its website, or view the Table of Contents, Covers, and an index of articles in past issues.
A second Beekeeping Magazine has gone digital and the Publishers are just beginning to weigh the ramifications and popularity of this style of edition. Their low key announcement came across yesterday. Kim Flottum, Bee Culture editor, is a regular contributor to the Quarterly, and Bee Culture Magazine and the Quarterly reciprocate subscriptions in each country.
The BeeKeepers Quarterly can now be seen on the web at www.bkq.org.uk
This will be a free, try it and see service to beekeepers for the March & May 2009 editions.
There will be a small charge to subscribe after this time
Bee Culture will be releasing our version of a digital edition later this year, once all the pieces are in place. You can view the Quarterly, a UK companion magazine to Bee Culture, expertly edited by John Phipps at the address above. We'd be interested in your opinion of this format once you look at it so please get back to us once you view it at info@BeeCulture.com with comments, thoughts or opinions. Let us know if you have problems or complaints, and if you like the format and technology. This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping www.BeeCulture.com
Canturbury wants to know why? What do WV Beekeepers have to say?
From the Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia has fired the longtime chief inspector of its growing beekeeping industry, and at least one legislator wants to know why.
Canterbury, R-Greenbrier, blames the state Department of Agriculture for the firing and wants Clutter reinstated. An agency spokesman declined comment.
Canterbury, a bee enthusiast, says Clutter helped nurture the industry from scattered hobby clubs to more than a thousand beekeepers with 20,000 hives. He is also known for sporting a beard of live bees at fairs and festivals.
Other lawmakers cautioned against targeting the Department of Agriculture's budget to retaliate for the firing.
This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping
It continues dry in Gainesville, Florida. Campers let a fire lose to the south of us in the OcalaNational Forest that quickly got out of hand, and now has consumed 1,300 acres.
The last flush of pollen dots drive ways and car windshields here and the azaleas this year are spectacular, perhaps because of a cold spell over two weeks ago that hit the plants hard in this region.
The Apis Newsletter in conjunction with Bee Culture magazine continues the Global Beekeeping Calendar initiative at http://my.calendars.net/bee_culture. This ambitious project is an attempt to collect all the events in the beekeeping world at one place. I would be interested in your reflections on this effort.
I am off to the next edition of Florida’s BeeCollege to be held in St. Augustine next weekend, in conjunction with the Florida Master Beekeeper Program http://ufhoneybee.com. This program continues to get good reviews from beekeepers and this year’s speaker is Dr. Keith Delaplane from the University of Georgia. Note too that the Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab is looking for a post doctoral association to concentrate on Varroa destructor. The vision is for this person to also collaborate with research at both the Division of Plant Industry Apiary program and that of the Center for Medical and Veterinary Entomology, the USDA’s Gainesville laboratory.
And congratulations to Ryan Cutts, son of Larry and Kelley Cutts of Chipley, FL who won first place in the University of Florida 4-H Honey Bee Essay Contest. Ryan's family is now in its fifth generation of beekeeping. He is the recipient of full tuition to the University of Florida Bee College being held in St. Augustine later this month, as well as the book "Honey Bees and Beekeeping: A Year in the Life of an Apiary" by Dr. Keith Deleplane, University of Georgia professor and entomologist. His entry now goes forward to the national contest, sponsored by the American Beekeeping Federation, http://abfnet.org.
The new Packer Importer Board (PIB) is off and running at http://honey.com. It is abandoning Bee Buzz, it’s monthly electronic information organ as an economizing effort, but will continue its baseball promotion, “Due to the success of last year's program, the 2009 promotion will be expanded to five teams. At three of the ballparks we will introduce spokesperson Mitzi Dulan to aspiring major leaguers and their parents. Mitzi Dulan, also known as America's Nutrition Expert®, is the nutritionist for the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals, and consults with professional and top-ranked amateur athletes throughout the United States. Mitzi will be on hand at the ballparks to give kids sound nutrition tips and wonderful, natural, energy boosti ng recipes that she has developed for the National Honey Board.” In addition, the Board will continue its annual “freebie” to beekeepers and honey industry members for promotional purposes. Check out other resources at http://honey.com/honeyindustry/reports/research_summary.asp. This year the Board will put approximately $245,000 into honey bee research. A review of its research programs over the last few years is also available on the web site at the above URL:
A South African URL caught my attention and is my site of the month:. http://www.apiculture.co.za/. Based on Google satellite map technology.Includes a 3km honey bee foraging zone, displayed around each apiary site.Only you can see the forage zone around your apiary.Plot your apiary in realtime.Use this tool to plot your apiary locations and discovery their potential foraging zones.
I continue my project on collecting URLs through http://www.publish2.com/newsgroups/march-2009/2. This month’s collection includes descriptions of The West Virginia Queen Project, Iowa’s upated law to protect honey bees, honey laundering, nutritional and medicinal value of honey in Greece and elsewhere, art and honey bees, the climate crisis sours honey prices, Meteorologist Sam Champion is hosted by Dr. Jamie Ellis, Varroa control in Denmark, bee laws changing in Canada and New York, a beekeeping course for Spanish speakers, Texas grants a section 18 for Hivastan, teens making money from bees and an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela in several areas, including beekeeping.
A couple of reports also suggest that the term CCD is misleading and there is no proof of this bee killer. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7925397.stm. “For five years, increasing numbers of unexplained bee deaths have been reported worldwide, with US commercial beekeepers suffering the most. The term Colony Collapse Disorder was coined to describe the illness. But many experts now believe that the term is misleading and there is no single, new ailment killing the bees.” The Economist in its March 7, 2009 issue takes up the theme and concludes: “Despite the importance of the honeybee, none of this is evidence of a wide-scale pollination crisis or a threat that is specific to pollinators. No one has shown that colonies of wild bees are collapsing any more frequently than they used to. And while it is true that many spe cies of butterflies, moths, birds, bats and other pollinators are in retreat, their problems are far more likely to mirror broader declines in biodiversity that are the result of well-known phenomena such as habitat loss and the intensification of agriculture.
“Troubling though this loss of diversity is, it does not necessarily translate into a decline in the amount of pollination going on. Jaboury Ghazoul of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, writing in Trends in Ecology and Evolution in 2005, points out that the decline of bumblebees in Europe that has been observed recently mostly affects rare and specialised species—an altogether different problem. “Though the idea that there is a broader and costly pollination crisis under way is entrenched (the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation is spending $28m on a report investigating it), the true picture is cloudier. In 2006 America’s National Academy of Sciences released a report on the status of pollinators in North America that concluded “for most North American pollinator species, long-term population data are lacking and knowledge of their basic ecology is incomplete.” Simply put, nobody knows. As for the managed bees of America, Dr Ratnieks says that “the imminent death of the honeybee has been reported so many times, but it has not happened and is not likely to do so.”
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Gleanings from the March 2009 Bee Culture:
Alan Coble, Douglassville, PA writes that he would like more information on the pictures for Bee Culture’s yearly calendar. Wendy Booth, Nottingham, NH describes how she got her shot that graced the cover of the calendar and January’s magazine as well. Joe Loucek, Windham, OH asks for more information about Jim Tew’s January article on locating outyards and putting up a building without windows. He gets a response from the editor given Dr. Tew was recovering from his recent surgery as reported this month in his column. Norris Childs, Philadelphia, PA reveals his experiences with small hive beetle populations being controlled by propolis. This has been detailed nicely by Dr. Jamie Ellis who did work on this insect in South Africahttp://www.ent.uga.edu/Bees/Personnel/Ellis.htm: “African subspecies of honey bees employ a complicated scheme of confinement (aggressive behavior toward and guarding of beetles) to limit beetle reproduction in a colony. Despite being confined away from food, adult beetles are able to solicit food and feed from the mouths of their honey bee guards. Remarkably, beetle-naïve European honey bees also confine beetles and this behavior is quantitatively similar to that in African bees.”
Alice Wiemers, Hondo, TX describes her adventures being on the Martha Stewart show and other publicity generated from her photo in a book recommended recently, American Farmer. Josh Sommers, Cincinnati, OH says Ross Conrad ought to be careful speaking to an “informed” audience. It seems Mr. Conrad’s description of dairy farming as being not sustainable missed the mark. Gib Geiger, Waitsfield, VT describes a colleague putting a hive in an old light house for bear protection. Matthew Smith, Fauquier, VA asks if ther e is any information on putting hives on various crops for pollination; yep see: McGregor’s Book online at http://www.beeculture.com/content/pollination_handbook/index.cfm. Michael Franklin, Ruston, LA announces a new online urban beekeeping community at http://urbanapis.com.
Editor Flottum ruminates on pollination contracts, and pens an in-depth look at this important business tool. He also analyses Nosema ceranae infestations, and provides an idea of the track record of Australian queens vs the U.S. variety. Surprise Australian queens appear to have less tolerance to Varroa.
Denise Feiber writes about what the Florida Department of Agriculture is doing to educate beekeepers and others about Africanized honey bees. Centerpieces of this are the Florida Beekeeper Compliance Agreement and the motto for the general public, Bee Aware…Look, Listen, and Run. For more, see: http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/plantinsp/apiary/apiary.html.
Steve Sheppard reveals that there is evidence that the neonicotinoid imidacloprid in sublethal dosages can be bad news for bees. He also reports that his column will no longer be published monthly due to research demands, but readers will continue to see it every two months.
This author reports on experiences at the Pine Honey Congress in Turkey. Turkish beekeeping is taking the world stage and will put in a bid to host Apimondia in 2013, two years after the Argentinian congress. Read about the history of the craft in the TurkishRepublic, and its development into a solid enterprise based on both honey production and pollination.
Clarence Collison and Audrey Sheridan take a closer look at American foulbrood. Read about the difference between the spores and vegetative rods and how new technology might lead to novel treatments of this virulent disease.
Larry Connor looks at colony contamination due to beekeeper pesticide use and concludes, the only way to win the war against Varroa is not to play. Read his analysis of the South African situation and his visit to John Kefuss in France who uses what is called the “live or let die” approach to queen breeding.
Jennifer Berry provides a laundry list of queens available today, including , Italian, Carniolan, Caucasian, and Russian. Read how she introduces a queen and her analysis of the costs of queens when compared to the 1860s. The results are surprising and say a lot about the economics of the craft.
Jim Tew relates about how his persona as a beekeeper came through even when confronted with major surgery of the digestive tract. Read how he navigated the health care system and also used honey in his convalescence.
Ross Contrad conducts a colony autopsy. Look at his chart of symptoms and read about the probable causes.
Bob Brachman says the Russian Honey Bee Breeders Association is up and running with remarkable results. Read about the philosophy behind this group and its activities. See more at: http://russianbreeder.org/.
Alphonse Avitable revels in the benefits of Spring requeening. Read how he approaches the requeening process and some of his ideas about what to do with aging queens.
Ann Harman also discusses swarming. Read how she judges the bees are about to take off and what having “too many bees” might mean.
Abbas Edun lists herbal remedies. Read how anise hyssop, apples and borage can affect one’s health. The fact that they are nectar plants gives them an added edge.
Connie Krochmal says maples are especially attractive to honey bees for both nectar and pollen. Read her list of maples, only a limited number of species it seems could be included. Fortunately, she includes Acer rubrum, one of the honey bee’s most valued friends in the Eastern U.S.
Dick Marron in the Bottom Board says he’s an “apiholic.” Read why this is so and what he plans to do about it. He also bemoans the passing of a “weed,” purple loosestrife, the victim of biological control using a specific beetle. See more at http://www.hort.uconn.edu/IPM/ipmbio.htm. Beekeepers can expect more of this kind of thing in the future.
The hive that is most common in our area seems to be the 10 frame Langstroth hive or commercial hive that uses brood boxes and honey supers.
Langstroth brood box
Which is the type of hive I will use to raise bees. As a beginner, I will use the standard equipment and practices available in my area, which allow me to expand my beekeeping education beyond books and the internet to include local beekeepers and supply stores. In the event that something breaks or is lost, I can easily replace it locally too. But I am sure I will start to experiment as many beekeepers do, with equipment and styles as my experience level grows.
Different types of hives include traditional skeps, top–bar hives, William Braughton Carr (WBC) hives and the National hive used in the UK.
The WBC shown in the thumbnail at left is similar to a pagoda style of architecture. Although, the exterior of this hive structure is different, the inside resembles the standard frame and foundations found in National hives.
The Warre Hive resembles a WBC hive but uses a top–bar frame internal structure to encourage a natural formation of wax cells from the top–bar down. As the bees construct the comb, it grows in a downward direction. Boxes are added to the bottom with new top–bars in each. The bees will stop the comb just above the next set of bars. This style of natural beekeeping is further explained by following the link. It also includes plans for building your own hive.
Thank you Dan Richards for the link and information about Warre Hives!
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Irish Culture and Customs remind us that honey holds an important place in the history and traditions of the Emerald Isle:
Ireland has been described by many poets and story-tellers as the land of milk and honey, and there is little doubt that there was milk and honey in abundance in earliest times…
Honey was so important in early Ireland that a whole section of the Brehon Laws was devoted to bees and beekeeping. Tributes were paid in honey and no banquet table was complete without honey and mead, the legendary drink made from it. Honey was used not just for cooking, but also for basting, and as a condiment in which to dip meat, fowl and fish at the table.
The Sacred Bee in Ancient Times and Folklore by Hilda M. Ransome (first published in 1937) explains that there’s a whole section about honey in the Brehon Laws, which date back to somewhere around 600 AD and probably much earlier — the “Bee-judgments” as the laws about beekeeping were called.
For example, under those old laws, anyone who kept bees was obligated by law to share the honey harvest with land-owners of the four adjacent farms, as that’s where the bees gathered nectar.
And if a man found a swarm in the faithche (the green surrounding and belonging to a house), three-quarters of that colony’s honey harvest at the end of the year was owed to the owner of the house. It certainly speaks to the value placed on honey!
We can guage what abundance of honey there was by the size of the vessels in which it was measured. The Brehon Laws mention four sized of vessels used when measuring honey in large quantities. A milch-cow measure was one which, when full, an ordinary person could lift as far as his knee; a heifer, one he could life to his waist; a small heifer to his shoulder; and a dairt or still smaller heifer vessel which he could raise over his head. It was a quaint way of measuring!
You can read more about the Brehon Laws on a fascinating website called Library Ireland, dedicated to sharing Irish culture and folklore.
Appetiser: Wild Irish Rabbit Terrine, accompanied with hedgegrown brambles, Mead Chutney, garnished with Armagh Apple Crisps, accompanied with Guinness wheaten bread.
Main Course: Crystallized pan fried Wolf fish, served with Colcannon potatoes served with a white butter sauce, infused with Field Nettle emulsion, garnished with Irish streaky bacon and deep fried leeks.
Dessert: White Chocolate Beehive, filled with a Hazelnut & Irish Mist parfait, served with a rich raspberry & thyme compote, and a splash of fresh cream, garnished with Ling honey comb.
A mixture of milk and honey was sometimes drunk; a mixture of lard and honey was usual as a condiment. Honey was sometimes brought to table pure, and sometimes in the comb. Often at meals each person had placed before him on the table a little dish, sometimes of silver, filled with honey; and each morsel whether of meat, fish, or bread was dipped into it before being conveyed to the mouth.
Or what about a broiled salmon steak, basted with honey, like the meal that was served by Ailill and Maive, king and queen of Connaught, to the young chief, Fraech, according to the old Irish tales. That sounds like a St. Patrick’s Day meal that would go down just fine here in New Brunswick!
It’s only bad when it’s someone else’s pet project. One person’s earmark is another’s Life Preserver.
From the Brownsville Hearald
A $1.7 million earmark for a Rio GrandeValley research center examining, among other agriculture issues, a continued disappearance of honey bees was included in a massive spending bill cleared by Congress late Tuesday.
The $410 billion bill was attacked by key Republicans for containing nearly 9,000 earmarks for everything from catfish genetics research in Alabama to the promotion of astronomy in Hawaii.
The earmarks, including funding for what he called a "honey bee factory" in Weslaco, drew the ire of U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other key Republicans.
But Senate Democrats acquired the necessary votes for passage, sending the bill on to President Barack Obama - who signed it Wednesday - and sending more than $60 million in handpicked earmarks to the Rio GrandeValley.
While the honey bee research drew McCain's attention, Valley legislators also secured money for border law enforcement, water conservation projects, a truancy program and Interstate 69 route studies.
But the bees - and another $8.7 million for other research at Weslaco's Kika de la Garza Subtropical Research Center - were of critical importance to U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, who included them in his requests.
Four scientists at the bee research center are partly examining "colony collapse disorder," which has led to a decline of as much as 70 percent in the honeybee population and has no known cause, Hinojosa said. Bees play a crucial role in agriculture, pollinating more than 90 crops.
"Research on the alarming disappearance of bees may sound trite but it is absolutely necessary," Hinojosa said. "If we do not figure out why this is happening, our nation's agricultural industry and food supply will be severely impacted."
The funding included in the spending bill is enough to keep the Weslaco research center operating through September, said Michael Arnold, the deputy budget director for the research center operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The center was among a dozen others targeted for closure when $84 million was slashed from the USDA's recent budget. All of the funding was restored in the spending bill signed Wednesday, meaning the research centers will continue at least through the fiscal year ending Sept. 31.
To send YOUR event announcement to Bee Culture magazine for this and the paper edition, send to calendar@BeeCulture.com
A fiscal year 2010 budget has not been finalized.
The honey bee research funding was part of a national debate on the role of earmarks in government, sparked partly by a dramatic increase in federal spending in recent months on bailouts and the economic stimulus package.
But Hinojosa and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, both defended the use of earmarks as part of the process Congress uses to determine spending.
Hinojosa said the earmarks "enable significant projects to come to fruition" in the Valley and that shunning them would send money elsewhere.
Cuellar said it's a better spending tactic than allowing "faceless bureaucrats" in Washington, D.C., to determine spending for his district.
He also said Democrats reduced earmarks by as much as 40 percent since taking control of the House in 2007. Congress has also introduced new rules governing transparency of the process.
Beginning with the 2010 budget, congressional offices will be required to post on their Web sites the earmarks they are requesting.
The argument that earmarks are driving up the national deficit is overblown, Cuellar said. The earmarks included in the spending bill make up about 1 percent of its total costs.
"It's not going to affect the budget as much as the other 99 percent," Cuellar said. "We have to keep earmarks in perspective."
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