In Part 1 of this series, we ended with bees becoming ensnared in spider webs. We continue with watching bees forage. I spend a considerable amount of time studying bees, especially in the summer. Watching bees forage, chasing them from flower to flower, camera in hand, filming and feeling for when the camera begins to overheat, one learns a constellation of fine details not readily described in the literature. Repeatedly landing at dozens of flowers on a foraging trip exposes a bee to an incredible amount of peril. Sure, a bee is armed with a stinger. However, predators in hiding have evolved ..read more

  Q  Keeping sugar water freshI have +/- 200 single hives. I pail feed and am running into black mold in the pails. I have heard of putting a teaspoon of bleach in each pail with the sugar water. I do not want to do that as I feel it may harm the bees. I was using 2-gallon (7.6 L) pails but have gone to 1-gallon (3.8 L) pails. Do you have any suggestions? Peter Lyford Maine, February AI have received this question frequently in recent years. In fact, I answered a similar question in the December 2021 and January 2023 articles. I paste below my most recent answer (January 2023), given ..read more

Varroa and Tropilaelaps feed primarily on honey bee hemolymph when they reproduce Until 2019, everyone knew varroa was a vampire that fed on honey bee hemolymph. But then Sammy Ramsey published his paradigm-altering study (Ramsey et al., 2019; highlighted in the April 2019 Notes from the Lab: 159(4):443-445), showing varroa was actually more like a werewolf since it fed primarily on the fat bodies of adult honey bees. But this paradigm shift didn’t sit quite right with some researchers. Ramsey’s study was excellent, but some people felt the full feeding situation across all mite and bee life s ..read more

Around this time of year, I have the most glorious recurring dreams about swarms. Usually, the dream starts out like any run-of-the-mill dream about working for hire on Taylor Swift’s rainforest unicorn farm. I’m usually crawling around on the soft fragrant ground, trimming iridescent fringed aphids from a coral reef tree, when my knees begin to glow with agony. I’m kneeling on bunches of bees. (Have you ever accidentally kneeled on bees? It really gets your attention!) But my stinging pain shifts to mesmerized awe as a crescendoing hum makes me look up. Before my eyes, a marvelous swarm hangs ..read more

Many of us keep some type of beekeeping log. A log contains data — facts and figures that describe what we found, what we did, and what comes next. It may also contain colony maintenance reminders, to-do lists, and inspection notes. Some of us record these reminders in a notebook or digital device, while others scratch code inside a telescoping cover. Before doing my rounds, I gather the things I will need, then proceed from hive to hive, performing tasks and recording colony health. I work as fast as possible, always in a hurry to get done. It’s sometimes fun and sometimes a chore, but loggin ..read more

A bee yard is for the momentWhile I have no way of counting for sure, I estimate that during all my bee years, I have dealt with 70 to 90 apiary locations. At this very moment, I have one — just one — apiary location, here at my home (and it needs help). Clearly, bee yards are not forever. But then again, neither am I. There are no characteristics that make a location a “must use” location for a bee yard. An apiary location is not like a geologic formation that has unique characteristics. So, the beekeeper is searching for features that are good at the time. For a fact, sooner or later those c ..read more

Plastic BeehivesPlastic beehives, particularly polystyrene beehives, are, and should be, anathema. Polystyrene, especially expanded polystyrene, is subject to fragmentation into breakdown products that include microparticles and nanoparticles that, in turn, absorb microorganisms and toxins thus increasing their impact when ingested. Scientific Reports (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-64464-9), “Potential toxicity of polystyrene microplastic particles”: “Direct contact with microplastic particles may have possible adverse effect in cellular level. Primary polystyrene (PS) particles w ..read more

The Wisconsin Honey Producers Association is proud to announce that of Berlin, Wisconsin was selected as the 2024 Wisconsin Honey Queen. Sadie is the daughter of Tammy and Tony Goettl. A graduate of Berlin High School, Sadie is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying Agricultural Business Management and Communications Arts, with certificates in Public Policy and integrated liberal studies. Sadie will spend the rest of this year promoting the beekeeping industry in Wisconsin. She is available to speak with civic groups and to appear at fairs, festivals, and farmers markets.&n ..read more

The Bees for Development Green Match campaign emerges as a beacon of hope in the face of the devastating consequences of deforestation that lead to soil erosion, land degradation, and severe hardships for local communities in Zimbabwe. Bees for Development proposes the powerful solution of beekeeping. Inextricably linked, bees and trees create a relationship that can transform lives. The campaign seeks to protect precious forests and empower local people in Zimbabwe. This will be done by implementing forest protection measures, enabling community members to earn money through sustainable beeke ..read more

Submitted by Mihaly Hevesi The European Beekeeping Association was established on February 10 in Belgrade during the XV State Beekeeping Fair. Twenty-six European beekeeping associations joined the association, with 18 of them represented at the founding assembly. Additionally, two observers attended from Germany and Ukraine. Biljana Tomić, the Technical Secretary of EBA, led the founding assembly. The second speaker was Boštjan Noč, the President of the Beekeeping Association of Slovenia and the initiator of EBA’s establishment. Noč spoke about the background of the idea and the problem of ho ..read more