CATCH THE BUZZ - LET'S FIND THE NO BUZZ ZONES

CATCH THE BUZZ

Let's Make Every City, Town and County, Street, Rooftop, Balcony and Backyard A Legal Home For Honey Bees!

New York City, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Denver…There’s no telling which city or county will be next to allow bees, beekeepers and beekeeping in backyards, on rooftops and vacant lots. But there are still a host of cities and towns and other places that haven’t seen the light. They’ve put up that NO BUZZ ZONE sign and have no intent of taking it down anytime soon.

The Dailygreen.com and Bee Culture magazine want to find those cities and towns and make a list. We’ll make a map and we’ll get it on our web pages for all to see. But we  need YOUR help with this. Know a city or town that doesn’t allow beekeeping yet? Let us know. Help us identify those burgs that don't want bees.

If you know a city or town…maybe it’s yours or one nearby…send me an email and let me know. But so I can identify what it’s about put NO BUZZ in the subject line. Then, put in the city, and the state and your first and last name (or just your first name if you want). Then we’ll start mapping them and get the map up for everybody to see. Send your emails to Kim@BeeCulture.com today!

Help us help the honey bees, the beekeepers and beekeeping. Let’s make every  beekeeper legal!

This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping, and our Publisher The A. I. Root Company.

CATCH THE BUZZ - 2009 Honey Report Extras

CATCH THE BUZZ

USDA Annual Honey Report, Plus the Extras

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Below is the USDA ERS annual report on honey production and consumption. For even more information on this subject, see the April issue of Bee Culture magazine.

The combination of adverse weather and the ongoing colony collapse disorder of honey bees contributed to sharply lower honey yields and record low honey production in 2009. U.S. honey production declined by 12 percent or nearly 20 million pounds to 144 million pounds from 2008. Despite the 5.1-percent increase in the national number of honey-producing colonies in 2009, yield per colony fell by more than 16 percent on average. Double-digit production declines in 7 out of 10 major honey-producing States were closely matched by similar drops in yield.

 

Domestic consumption of honey in 2009, an indicator of use demand, significantly decreased by almost 28 million pounds as U.S. honey imports fell by 21 million pounds. The factors behind this sharp drop in demand are the U.S. economic recession in fiscal year 2009 and the record high average price of $1.45 per pound of natural honey. Per capita consumption of honey declined to 1.2 pounds from 1.3 pounds in 2008. Another indicator of weak domestic demand for honey is the 14-million-pound depletion of U.S. honey stocks by the end of 2009, which is also a consequence of lower U.S. production and imports.

 

Among the 10 major honey-producing States, yields declined by double digits in California, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Florida. Neighboring States also suffered as a result of above normal temperatures across parts of the Southwest and the South during the first half of 2009, which led to drought conditions in some parts of the West (as in Arizona) and loss of pasture.

 

Through the year, the Central and East North Central regions experienced cooler than normal temperatures. In addition, precipitation in the second half of 2009 was the fifth wettest on record, which is attributed to the emergence of the El Nino effect in the early summer. This abnormal weather in the major honey States compounded existing problems with mite infestation of bee colonies as seasonal pollination conditions were disrupted.

 

Average yields per bee colony in California dropped 35 percent, leading to a dramatic 6.6-million pound cut in the State’s honey production in 2009, which accounts for a third of the national 19.7-million-pound output loss. A similar situation occurred in South Dakota, the second largest producer after neighboring North Dakota, despite a 20-percent gain in the number of honey-producing colonies. North Dakota’s additional 50,000 new bee colonies in 2009 still resulted in a 3.8-percent slashing of its honey harvest as yield per colony slipped by more than 14 percent.

 

Nevertheless, the value of honey production in these States and in five other major States was cut by double-digit rates even as modest price increases were reported. A national loss of $24.5 million in honey production value was recorded in 2009, $9.2 million of which was from California and $3.9 million from South Dakota. The 9-percent reduction of imported honey, or 21 million pounds, was largely responsible for the 27.7 million-pound retreat in U.S. honey consumption. While the country’s reduced spending for food and beverages in 2009 (-$13.3 billion from 2008) accounted for much of this shrinkage in demand, the continued low purchasing power of the dollar contributed in part. In turn, U.S. honey stocks took a 27-percent plunge. The average import price of honey climbed 10 percent to $1.05 per pound in 2009 from 95 cents in 2008. The 2009 price represents more than 72 percent of the domestic honey price of $1.45 per pound on average. In 2006, this ratio was only 60 percent. Like domestic prices, import prices for natural honey are at record highs, which reflect the pervasive colony collapse disorder suffered by many foreign producers that limited international supply as well.

 

The share of imports in domestic honey consumption was 59 percent in 2009, down from a high of 65 percent in 2006. The largest sources of imported honey are Brazil and Vietnam at 39 and 38.4 million pounds, respectively, in 2009, representing a combined 37 percent of total U.S. imports of 210.4 million pounds. The next biggest foreign suppliers in terms of volume shipped are India and Argentina, followed by Malaysia and Canada. Before 2008, China trailed only Argentina as the top sources for imported honey. However, U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing duties against Chinese honey (and Argentinian honey) caused this source to dry up in 2009. The reduced shipments from China that started in 2007 were supplanted by increased imports from Southeast Asia, primarily Vietnam, followed by Malaysia, Indones ia, and Thailand. The investigation of Chinese honey transhipments (much by blending) through neighboring countries in Asia, such as Vietnam, is ongoing. Mongolia is another emerging supplier from Asia.

 

One other source of domestic honey is from imported live honey bees, both queen bees and whole colonies. The U.S. Census Bureau started reporting import values for live bees in 2009 from Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, and smaller numbers from Canada and Costa Rica. Australia is by far the largest exporter to date. However, no import quantity or volume is reported for live bees as yet. According to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, bees from New Zealand are transhipped to Canada. Thus, to partly replenish the domestic bee population that has gradually been decimated over the past two decades, domestic honey producers are now importing foreign live queen bees and colonies.

 

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Protein feeding pays off with better bee health, better survival, better production, and better wintering.  Learn More.

 Find out What’s New At Mann Lake right Here

Subscribe to Malcolm Sanford’s Apis Newsletter right here For a comprehensive listing of beekeeping events around the country and around the globe, check out Bee Culture’s Global Beekeeping Calendar

This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping, published by the A.I. Root Company.

 

 

 

CATCH THE BUZZ - Pollinator Conference at Penn State

CATCH THE BUZZ

 

Pollinator Conference In July

 

Register Now for the International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy

Hosted by The Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The first International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Heath and

Policy is being hosted by the Penn State Center for Pollinator Research on July 24-28, 2010 at

the University Park campus. The abstract submission deadline is May 15, 2010, and the early

registration deadline is June 1, 2010. Registration is limited to 300 people. For more

information and online registration, please visit the conference website at

http://agsci.psu.edu/pollinator-conference.

 

The focus of the conference will be current research on pollinator biology and health, as well as

policies related to pollinator conservation. The keynote speaker will be Dr. May Berenbaum,

Professor and Head of the Department of Entomology at University of Illinois, Urbana-

Champaign. Dr. Berenbaum is internationally recognized for both her research and conservation

efforts related to pollinators, including chairing the National Research Council’s Committee on

the Status Pollinators in North America in 2007. A full listing of the symposia and confirmed

speakers is below, and can also be found at the conference website.

The conference is supported by generous donations from Häagen-Dazs, Anthropologie/Urban

Outfitters, Bayer CropScience, Penn State's Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural

Sciences, and The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. For more information, visit the

conference website or contact conference organizers: Christina Grozinger, (814)-865-1895 or

cmg25@psu.edu; Diana Cox-Foster, (814) 865-1022 or dxc12@psu.edu; or Ed Rajotte, (814)

863-4641 or uvu@psu.edu.

 

Additionally, a Pollinator Conservation Short Course will be offered by the Xerces Society at the

conclusion of the conference on July 29. Topics include the basic principles of

pollinator biology, the economics of insect pollination, recognizing native bee species, and

assessment of pollinator habitat. More information is available on the conference website.

The Penn State Center for Pollinator Research is devoted to the study of pollinators, pollination,

and pollinator management and protection. The Center combines the resources of 26 research

and education programs spanning Penn State’s Departments of Entomology, Biology,

Horticulture, Crop and Soil Science and Landscape Architecture; the Arboretum at Penn State;

the PA Department of Agriculture; and the USDA. Center activities are supported by

government grants, corporate gifts, the beekeeping industry and Penn State’s College of

Agricultural Sciences. For more information, please visit the Center for Pollinator Research

website at http://ento.psu.edu/pollinators.

Symposia and confirmed speakers (as of 3/12/10) include:

• Behavioral Ecology - Robert Gegear, University of Massachusetts; Christina Grozinger, Penn

State University; Abraham Hefetz, Tel Aviv University; Heather Mattila, Wellesley University ;

Theresa Pitts-Singer, USDA-ARS; Peter Teal, USDA-ARS

• Evolving Policies on Pollinator Risk Assessment and Conservation - Doug Holy, USDANRCS;

Thomas Moriarty, Environmental Protection Agency; R. Thomas Van Arsdall, Pollinator

Partnership; Mace Vaughan, Xerces Society

• Status of Pollinators Worldwide - David De Jong, University of São Paulo, Brazil ; Keith

Delaplane, University of Georgia ; Yves Le Conte, Institut National de la Recherche

Agronomique, Avignon-France; Peter Neumann, Honeybee Pathology Section Swiss Bee

Research Centre, Switzerland ; Stuart Roberts, Bees Ants Wasps Recording Society (BWARS),

UK; Dennis vanEngelsdorp, Penn State University;

• Impacts of Environmental Toxins - Reed Johnson, University of Nebraska; Chris Mullin,

Penn State University ; Andreas Thrasyvoulou. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece;

Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, USDA-ARS

• Disease Ecology - Diana Cox-Foster, Rajwinder Singh, and Abby Kalkstein, Penn State

University; Ben Sadd and Paul Schmid-Hempel, ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Marla Spivak,

University of Minnesota; Rosalind James and Junhuan Xu, USDA-ARS; Michael Otterstatter

and James Thomson, University of Toronto, Canada; Thomas H. Kunz, Boston University; Dick

Rogers, Bayer Crop Science

• Conservation and Ecological Applications of Native Pollinators - David Biddinger, Penn

State University ; Sydney Cameron, University of Illinois; Jim Cane, USDA;

Amotz Dafni, Haifa University, Israel; Tamar Keasar, University of Haifa , Israel;

Claire Kremen, UC Berkeley; Yael Mandelik, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel ;

David Mortensen, Penn State University; Uma Partap, International Centre for Integrated

Mountain Development, Nepal; Mark Scriber, Michigan State University ; Sharoni Shafir,

Hebrew University of Jerusalem, B. Triwaks Bee Research Center , Israel; John Tooker, Penn

State University ; Baldwyn Torto, International Centre of Insect, Kenya.

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Protein feeding pays off with better bee health, better survival, better production, and better wintering.  Learn More.

 Find out What’s New At Mann Lake right Here

Subscribe to Malcolm Sanford’s Apis Newsletter right here For a comprehensive listing of beekeeping events around the country and around the globe, check out Bee Culture’s Global Beekeeping Calendar

This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping, published by the A.I. Root Company.

 

CATCH THE BUZZ - Aussie Bees Up For Reevaluation

CATCH THE BUZZ

Aussie Bees Up For New Risk Assessment

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0001]
Notice of Availability of a Draft Pest Risk Assessment on Honey
Bees Imported from Australia
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared an evaluation of the pest risks
associated with the importation of honey bees from Australia. The draft
pest risk assessment considers potential pest risks involved in the
importation of honeybees into the United States from Australia after
concerns that exotic honey bee pathogens or parasites may have been
introduced into Australia. We are making the draft pest risk assessment
available to the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before May
14, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
   

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to (be sure to use the entire address, even the section NOT underlined (http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0001

Or,

 

 <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail%26d=APHIS-2010-0001> )

to submit or view comments
and to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
    Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0001, Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to
Docket No. APHIS-2010-0001.
   Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on the
draft pest risk assessment in our reading room. The reading room is
located in room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure
someone is there to
help you, please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
   
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Colin D. Stewart, Senior
Entomologist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD
20737-1237; (301) 734-0774.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

   The regulations in 7 CFR part 322 restrict the importation,
interstate movement, and transit through the United States of bees,
beekeeping byproducts, and beekeeping equipment to prevent the
introduction of pests into the United States through the importation of
honeybees from approved regions. Australia is currently on the list of
approved regions from which adult honeybees maybe imported into the
United States under certain conditions.
   In March 2002, APHIS issued a report assessing the risks of pest
introduction into the United States in imports of honey bees (Apis
mellifera L.) from Australia. The evaluation identified 15 pathogens
and pests of bees in that country, all of which occur in the United
States. The evaluation concluded that there were no quarantine-
significant honey bee pathogens or pests occurring in Australia.
   In the 7 years since the completion of the evaluation for
Australian bees, new threats to the U.S. honey bee population have
emerged. The most prominent threat is Colony Collapse Disorder, a
mysterious syndrome characterized by the abrupt disappearance of a
colony's adult worker bee population, leaving a substantial population
of healthy brood, an absence of dead bees, and the delayed invasion of
hive pests and robbing of hive stores by neighboring colonies. A link
between the disorder, first reported in the United States in 2006, and
honey bee imports from Australia has been suggested. The May 2007
discovery of colonies of the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana) near Cairns,
Victoria, also has raised concerns that exotic honey bee pathogens or
parasites may have been introduced into Australia with the arrival of
this foreign bee. These developments suggest a need to reevaluate the
risks involved in importation of bees from Australia.
   APHIS' review and analysis of the risks associated with the
importation of honey bees from Australia are documented in detail in a
draft pest risk assessment (PRA) titled, ``Evaluation of Pest Risks
Associated with Importation of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) from
Australia'' (November 2009). Findings presented in the draft PRA state
that there are honey bee viruses present in Australia that are not
known to occur in the United States. The draft PRA concludes that
zoosanitary measures may be necessary to reduce the possibility of the
introduction of these viruses to the United States via the importation
of honey bees from Australia.
   We are making the draft PRA available to the public for review and
comment. We will consider all comments that we receive on or before the
date listed under the heading DATES at the beginning of this notice.
The draft PRA and the comments received may be the basis for a future
change in the regulations.
   The draft PRA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in
our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the
reading room). You may request paper copies of the draft PRA by calling
or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

 

Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-5573 Filed 3-12-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-S

 

Central Beekeepers Alliance : New Logo Unveiled for Central Beekeepers

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New Logo Unveiled for Central Beekeepers Posted: 13 Mar 2010 06:00 AM PST Central Beekeepers Alliance has a new logo, designed for us by Alexzandra Dembenski, who is the daughter of CBA Vice-President Christine Dembenski and Mike Dembenski. Many thanks to “Allie” for kindly donating her skills to produce this artwork for us. The special variation of the CBA logo shown here has been created to mark the occasion of our association's 50th Anniversary, which we’re celebrating in 2010. You’ll also see a miniature version of the CBA’s new mascot bee logo decorating the top header of our website, and members of the group are able to purchase club clothing — caps and shirts — that sports our new logo. CBA members will be all dressed up to put on a fine show at this year’s Maritime Bee Tour! New Logo Unveiled for Central Beekeepers was written and published by the Central Beekeepers Alliance - Honey Bees & Beekeeping in New Brunswick, Canada. For more information, please visit http://cba.stonehavenlife.com. 4th Annual Harvey Outdoor Adventure Show Central Beekeepers Meet 13 April 2010 Central Beekeepers Meet 9 March 2010

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Apis Newsletter March 13, 2010

Dear Subscribers,

I find myself way behind this February of 2010.  A perfect storm of things has conspired to kDear Subscribers,

Do we dare say that "Spring in sprung" in Gainesville, Florida.  It sure looks like it, but we have been fooled before.  Pity the poor maples; they are forced to flush their pollen once again and so too perhaps the pines.  Some think the cold will produce an even greater pollen production from a wide variety of plants;  those with allergies are reporting increased suffering.  Our azaleas for which this part of the country is known have been set back, but there a few tentative blooms testing the waters.  The bees too are no doubt being affected.  The proverbial Ides of March is the date citrus is due to bloom in the Sunshine state is only a week away; cold weather sometimes causes a bumper crop of "orange" honey.   We all wait in anticipation. 

The cold weather seems to have also brought out the novice beekeeper in all of us.  Witness my friend Jim Tew's utterance, when 900 eager beekeepers, most of them  new, showed up on his doorstep : " 'Oh, my stars!' Tew said seeing the huge outpouring at the 32nd annual edition of the workshop -- which last year attracted about 675 people -- was "exhilarating; remarkable and exciting.

"Tew asked for a show of hands of how many in the audience had been involved in keeping bees for two years or less, and got a response from nearly half the crowd. He remarked that a once languishing pastime seems to have arisen from the ashes like the proverbial Phoenix."

2009 a Bad Honey year:  Actually the worst years on record according to Editor Flottum in his "Catch the Buzz" Newsletter:  I looks like we will need all those neophytes coming to the Wooster meeting mentioned above.

I was taken to task by one reader who was upset that I had been coopted by the limate change lobby for my remarks in the last issue when I stated: "...it is the preponderance of extreme weather events that are on the climate change scientists'minds, rather than 'global warming.'"  Apparently simply mentioning this highly-charged issue puts me in a particular cubby hole.

Another issue on the minds of beekeepers is legislation regarding beekeeping, thus House Bill 4527 from West Virginia, a state that is apicultural friendly http://www.wvbeekeepers.org/: "

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §19-13-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 13. INSPECTION AND PROTECTION OF AGRICULTURE.
§19-13-4. Registration of bees; identification of apiaries.

(a) All persons keeping bees in this state shall apply for a certificate of registration for bee keeping from the commissioner, within ten days of the
date that bees are acquired, by notifying the commissioner, in writing, of the number and location of colonies they own or rent, or which they
keep for someone else, whether the bees are located on their own property or someone else's property. All apiary certificates of registration
expire on December 31, of each year and must be renewed annually.

(b) All persons owning or operating an apiary which is not located on their own property must post the name and address of the owner or
operator in a conspicuous place in the apiary.

(c) A person who:

    (1) owns and operates an apiary;
    (2) is registered with the Commissioner; and
    (3)operates the apiary in good faith, in a reasonable manner and in conformance with best management practices, is not liable for any personal injury or property damage that occurs in connection with the keeping and maintaining of bees, bee equipment, queen breeding equipment, apiaries and appliances.

In connection with this, although not necessarily a liability issue, Florida House Bill 1339 is currently under consideration.

"An act relating to honeybees; amending s. 586.10, F.S.;  revising the powers and duties of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for purposes of the Florida Honey Certification and Honeybee Law; specifying that the department has exclusive authority over regulations, inquiries, and complaints relating to beekeeping, apiaries, and apiary locations."

If others have legislation like this in their states passed or pending, I would appreciate hearing about it.

Legalizing beekeeping and reinstated the beekeeping merit badge for the Boy Scouts of America are two initiatives supported by the Häagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees™ (HD loves HB) campaign. For the former,  and for the latter:

Nematodes and Small Hive Beetle: Dr. Keith Delaplane is featured in the winter 2009 issue of Southern Explsure, publkished by the Southern IPM Center for his work on using nematodes to control small hive beetle.

The Cost of CCD:  In his daily green blog Editor Flottum tots up the costs of CCD with a picture that is more meaningful than most.  A large assortment of empty pallats stacked on a barren piece of land.  He reckons it takes about $200 to  manage a colony througout the year while the rental cost in the almonds is about $150.

Disney Corporation is inspiring one million people to volunteer a day of service.  Volunteer opportunities include gardening, trail clean-up, painting, cleaning, boardwalk repairs, and much more. So sign up to make a difference today! Just follow the directions below, complete the registration form and confirm a specific date and time to volunteer. Each person who participates in this program will receive a
1-day, 1-theme park ticket to Disneyland® Resort or Walt Disney World® Resort, FREE.   Click on "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." in the upper right corner.

Links of interest found on Publish2.com  this month include Texas' A & M's new research and extension facility, bees in Modesto, CA for the almond bloom, King Tut's relationship to beekeeping, Hawaiian bees blocked at the Canadian border, Britian's response to bee losses, Varroa mites and bee losses in Ontario Canada, honey bees in Detroit's new urban scene, the Twin cities challenges in controlling a borer with neonicotinoids, and the incredible journey of John Smith's and everybody's manuka bee hive.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Gleanings from the March 2010 edition of Bee Culture:

See the current digital copy of Bee Culture at  and the Global Calendar at http://my.calendars.net/bee_culture/
 
Colin Taylor, Bury, Lancashire, England sends kudos about the digial edition. Bruce Sabuda, Pinckney, MI sends a picture of a bee hive in the walls of a farm house. Adrian Susa, Brookflield, WI writes that the bottom board article in the January 2010 was right on the mark.  Bob Martin, Superior, WI asks if jumbo hives are better  in some cases.  He uses them with success. April Hay, Mission Viejo, CA takes exception to the electronic edition, not the content but the idea that the printing industry creates jobs and she likes relaxing with the paper edition.  Glen Stanley, 92 years young, Ames, IA sends a long missive about his beekeeping experience from the 1930s  onward.  Read how he and his brother perfected winter beekeeping in the Midwest their way.  Tom O'Brien,  Mattawa, Ontario enjoyed Melanie Kirby's article on top bar beekeeping and is considering taking it up.  Jim Cowan, Aberdeen, WA discus ses his experience with bees swarming and how they build comb. Stanford Brantley, Jefferson, TX says the USPS Stamp Committee wrote back to him on the L.L. Langstroth potential stamp that it might take two to three years to approve.  All should start writing today for this objective.

In the Inner Cover, Editor Flottum contrasts what he sees as a differentiating what he sees as “suits” versus “beesuits” and how money to help beekeepers should be funneled to the latter, not the former.

New for beekeepers this year are plastic support pins, flexible impeller pumps, and the newest, coolest smoker.  Also listed is the Journal of Apicultural Research's newest volume on international colony losses.

Clarence Collison takes a closer look at the VSH trait, previously called SMR. Read what constitutes the  trait and what that means to bee breeders and beekeepers.

Bruce Thompkin responds to Ross Conrad's article in the September issue of Bee Culture concerning honey and infant botulism.  Read his analysis that results in the same conclusions that Dr.  Arnon published way back in 1980.  See the response to this by Mr. Conrad.

Roger Hoopingarner discusses some of the gadgets that are credited to Langstroth.  Read how they continue to be used today in modified versions.

William Butler shares an address by George Loganof the Germantown (Pennsylvania) Society for Promoting Domestic Manufactures, also a beekeeper.  Read this most "literary" and "philosophical" of all his considerable writings on matters of agriculture.

Mike Hood publishes his second article on IPM techniques to control small hive beetle.  Read his do's and dont's especially when it comes to unregistered products.

A new product, Honey Delights, will be coming your way soon.  Read about the genesis of this product and its various uses.  It is due to revolutionize honey use.

Jim Tew says there are a few perfect beeyards.  See what he thinks is involved and why even perfect yards are often not permanent.

Volume 2 of the Science of Bee Culture features articles on Russian honey bees and N. ceranae, using Ms Paint for bee research, trapping small hive beetles above the brood chamber and hygienic responses of bees produced on the the big island of Hawaii.

Michael Palmer says nucs are not just for increase anymore.  Read about his practice of "bee bombing" to make productive colonies.

Steve Sheppard provides details  on the Journal of Apicultural Research's special issue on global colony losses.  Read where the problems are more severe and why.
Dan Stiles has spotted European hornets in West Virginia.  Read about their potential spread and how they also become targets for his shooting practice.

Kim Flottum describes the mountain honey and Russian bees one can find in the Northeast Georgia Mountains.  Read about Carl Webb as Russian breeder extraordinaire and how Virginia Webb produces the world's  best honey.

Larry Connor gives a short list of questions a beginner should ask.  Read why if one doesn't he worries their future success.

Ross Conrad writes that there's not a lot of scientific data that essential  oils are useful in treating bee disesases and pests, including CCD, but there is much anedotal evidence.  Read about his research into who is employing this treatment and why.

Ann Harman issues and invitation to come to her garden.  Read her tips  on this most ancient of human activities.

Connie Krochmal takes on the hawthorns.  These plants are hard to beat when it comes to bee garden plants.  Read why.

In All The News That Fits read about the AAPA  student research scholarship recipient and how 70 tons of manuka honey were lost in a New Zealand fire. Articles on Manuka honey issues, genetically modified canola pollen found in Australia
 and a review of how bees land (Journal of Experimental Biology) round out the issue.

Finally in the Bottom Board, Ed Colby sees a "dead man walking."  Or does he?

Sincerely,


Malcolm T. Sanford
beeactor@apisenterprises.com
http://apis.shorturl.com

Bee sure to subscribe to Catch the Buzz, Bee Culture's latest releases of importance to beekeepers.  Also access the Apis Information Resource Center , which contains archived articles, listing of  posts on blogs, web sites, and links to related materials.  .

CATCH THE BUZZ - Bayer Gets Banned!

CATCH THE BUZZ

Judge Upholds Ban of Spriotetramat….

This JUST IN From The Pittsburgh Tirbune-Review

By Rick Wills, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, March 13, 2010

 

A federal appeals court refused to delay a ban on the sale of a pesticide that some environmental groups claim is killing honeybees.

The decision prevents Bayer CropScience, from selling its pesticide, Spirotetramat, while the company appeals a lower court ruling that halted sales.

"Bayer has demonstrated neither that it will suffer irreparable injury absent a stay, nor that it has a substantial possibility of success on the merits of its appeal," U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood and U.S. Circuit Judge Joseph McLaughlin said in the ruling this week.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering what to do with existing stock of Spirotetramat, known by the trade names Movento and Ultor, said spokesman Dale Kemery.

Sales of the pesticide remain legal in Europe, Canada and Mexico, according to Bayer CropScience, which is based in North Carolina. Bayer's North American headquarters is in Robinson.

The decision was handed down three years after scientists identified Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious breakdown of bee immune systems that each winter roughly halved the number of bee colonies the nation's large, commercial beekeepers own. The cause of the breakdown largely has eluded researchers.

In December, Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote banned the sale of Spirotetramat on grounds the EPA skipped steps required in any pesticide approval process, including not taking public comment. Cote's decision did not explicitly address the impact the pesticide might have on honeybees.

"Bayer has been touting this as a greener pesticide. It is designed to stop insect reproduction, and it seems to do the same thing to bees," said Aaron Colangelo, an attorney for the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, which, along with the Portland, Ore.-based wildlife conservation group Xerces Society, sued the EPA.

Jack Boyne, an entomologist for Bayer CropScience, said the company is confident the EPA will reapprove Spirotetramat's registration.

"It is unprecedented for a lower court to vacate an approval. We believe the decision was not correct. We have been injured improperly and believe that science is on our side," he said. "As the manufacturer, we are not allowed to sell our inventory of product to our distributors."

The EPA approved Spirotetramat in 2008 for use on hundreds of crops, including apples, pears, peaches, oranges, tomatoes, grapes, strawberries, almonds and spinach. Bayer CropScience developed the pesticide after scientists identified Colony Collapse Disorder in late 2006.

"This is one of the safest insecticides for bees," Boyne said.

According to the Department of Agriculture, bees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops in the United States.

An estimated 29 percent of all U.S. honeybee colonies died last winter, about 11 percentage points higher than what beekeepers consider normal, but lower than losses during the previous two winters.

Colony Collapse Disorder is linked to viruses, mites, poor bee treatment and poor nutrition, said Dennis van Engelsdorp, a honeybee expert and researcher at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Yet the cause of the die-off remains elusive.

"Will we ever have one cause for cancer? That's what this is like," van Engelsdorp said.

Dave Hackenberg of Lewisburg in Union County is Pennsylvania's largest commercial beekeeper. Because of his concerns about the effect of pesticides on his bees, for the first time in 42 years, Hackenberg will not take his bees to Florida to pollinate oranges.

"I am not going to put my bees in orange groves. The chemicals they are using are doing something that is breaking down bees' immune systems," he said.

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