Dear Subscribers,
The
The hottest honey bee news is that the White House will have a hive on the lawn. “An organic garden and beehives at the White house...it doesn't get much better, does it?” So the American Beekeeping Federation says http://www.abfnet.org/node/59 .This will be great public relations for the industry it seems; the White House Hive graces the front of the May 2009 Bee Culture. And a swarm of bees was collected also http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/09/white-house-hit-by-swarm_n_185442.html, The comments provoked by this site are worth a laugh or two.
Big news that has flown under the radar concerns changes at the American Beekeeping Federation, Inc. (ABF) Current Executive Director Troy Fore, Jr. has sent a letter to state association leaders that ABF Management is being transferred to Media Expectations, Inc., 3525 Piedmont Rd., Bldg. 5,
According to the Federation’s March/April 2009 newsletter, “Meeting Expectations (ME) provides management services for some 40 regional and national associations. For
This is a significant change for the nation’s oldest national bee association. Traditionally the Executive Director has been someone intimately acquainted with the beekeeping industry. Troy Fore has been a beekeeper all his life, publishes a beekeeping newspaper, and has been Executive Director since 1988. Previous directors include Bob Banker in
Decision making in insects and other organisms is being looked at carefully, especially by Dr. Tom Seeley who has written for Bee Culture in the past. “Bees, ants, locusts and plenty of other animals collectively make life-or-death choices. The biologists studying animal groups are finding strange lab fellows these days in economists, social scientists, even money market specialists. They are trading tales of humans and of nonhuman animals to understand collective behavior and what makes it go right or wrong. “There is a new excitement in this whole field of decision making these days,” says ant biologist Nigel Franks of the
I continue to get e-mails to update the Global Beekeeping Calendar initiative at http://my.calendars.net/bee_culture. The Apis Newsletter in conjunction with Bee Culture magazine continues 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 and keep forwarding to me entries as they arise.
It looks like the swine flu situation has been controlled to a low level. But an outbreak of American foulbrood in
Emerging markets are looking more carefully at beekeeping as reported in
For a collection of web sites I’ve selected this month, check out http://www.publish2.com/newsgroups/may-2009/ . Included are titles like Bees for Development :: What We Do; Honeybee or Honey Bee? | Archetype; Africanized Honey Bees in Florida | Nuisance Wildlife Removal Inc.; Honeybee Collapse Strikes Japan, Up to Fifty Percent of Honeybees Gone 26; Apitherapy News: Manuka Honey Producers Split on Medicinal Test Standard, and others.
Of special interest are sites which discuss the potential toxic effects of the ubiquitous herbicide Roundup on honey bee brood http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-123111-2009-04-13.html and information being put out that the pollination/bee crisis isn’t all it’s cracked up to be "The honey bee decline observed in the USA and in other European countries including Great Britain, which has been attributed in part to parasitic mites and more recently to colony collapse disorder, could be misguiding us to think that this is a global phenomenon,”said Aizen in a statement. "We found here that is not the case." The Current Biology study finds that farmers worldwide have increased their dependence on domesticated honeybees 300% in the last 50 years to pollinate crops such as plums, raspberries, and ch erries. The study authors warn that "the rapid expansion in the cultivation of many pollinator-dependent crops has the potential to trigger future pollination problems for both these crops and native species in adjacent areas." http://blogs.usatoday.com/sciencefair/2009/04/honeybee-shortage-only-in-us-europe.html
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Gleanings from the May 2009 Bee Culture:
Jim Cowan,
Editor Flottum fleshes out the bees at the White House story and the official beekeeper in charge, Charlie Brandt. Read about his philosophy and how the bees will have to “hang tough” just like the Obamas.
New this month are reviews of Plan Bee by Susan Brackney, everything you wanted to know about bees, and Bee Genetics and Breeding by Dr. Tom Rinderer, republished by Northern Bee Books. Finally, consider the new DVD from Swarm Plus http://swarmplus.com/.
Steve Sheppard reviews a paper by Jeff Harris on the effect of brood type on Varroa sensitive hygiene. Read how the investigator came to an intriguing conclusion that might show where Varroa tolerance could lead in the future.
Clarence Collison and Audrey Sheridan take a closer look at laying workers. Read how workers detect and remove (police) eggs that are not viable and how pheromones are used in the process.
Ross Conrad takes an in-depth look at artificial bee feed, from cane sugar to soy flour. Read his surprising conclusions.
Larry Connor takes on the neighbors in his sideline beekeeping column. They range from the good and bad to the ignorant. Read his 6 commandments about urban beekeeping designed to keep any bee manager out of trouble with the neighbors.
Volume 1, no 2 of the Science of Bee Culture includes articles on flight activity in Australian package-bee colonies used for almond pollination, overwintering of Russian bees, effect of cellular phone radiation on the behavior of bees and preliminary observations on autumnal feeding of Russian bees. Editor Flottum asks for reader feedback from this new initiative.
Jim Tew gazes into the future, discussing that he will be 77 in 2025. Read how beekeeping changed with reference to two pivotal years, 1977, 1993 and might in the year 2025 or how it might stay much the same, according to Bee Culture’s beekeeping Nostradamus.
Dick Marron takes readers “On the Road Again.” Read how the bees might view the 12,000-mile journey that hives take from
Walt Wright calls propolis another 5 percenter. Although a problem for the beekeeper, it just might be that it returns over five percent to bees in terms of improved health. See how this might play out especially by looking at referenced, older articles published at http://beesource.com.
Urban beekeepers are on the rise and Gwen Rosenberg allows we should cultivate them by designing beekeeping around their particular situation. Read what she suggests from selling full-blown beginner kits to marketing installed packages.
Jason Nelson describes his adventures in collecting pollen for human consumption. Read how “Mr. Diversity” couldn’t complain due to his wife’s suggestions. She was after all ordering him to spend time with bees.
Ann Harman discusses the beekeeper as an editor of an association newsletter. Read about things like deadlines and how editors might have to field complaints. Getting out a newsletter is no joke; she concludes, directing would be editors to the editorial dilemma check list developed by Kim Flottum
Connie Krochmal looks at coneasters, plants quite popular among bees. Some 200 species exist. Read how to purchase and plant them.
In all the news that fits,
Ed Colby mourns “The Passing of Granny” in the Bottom Board. She wasn’t his granny, but might have been. She was 84 and certainly not typical. How she died was a complete surprise.
Malcolm T. Sanford
Beeactor@apisenterprises.com
http://apis.shorturl.com
Bee sure to Catch The Buzz, Bee Culture's latest releases important to beekeepers at <http://www.beeculture.com/content/catch_buzz.cfm>. Also access the
New beekeepers and friends are invited to suit up and join us for a beekeeping field day at Rick and Rebecca’s place on Keswick Ridge, on Sunday, 3 May 2009, at 2:00 p.m. 
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