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Volume 158 No. 5 May 2018

Contents
Email
[email protected]
Web
www.americanbeejournal.com
Editor-Kirsten Traynor Advertising Manager-Marta Menn
Publishing Department- Dianne Behnke & Susan Nichols

Long View Choices Amidst the

Honey Fraud Landscape — 555

● Honey Harvest in a City

Jim Fisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
● ABRC at AAPA 2018
Elina L. Niño . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
● Are Inferior Queens a Result of Contaminated Pollen?
Karen Pedersen and Gil Pedersen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
● The Varroa Problem Part 16b: Bee Drift and Mite Dispersal Continued Robbing: How Honey Bees Fly &
Articles

Randy Oliver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 Steal— 569

● Gaining New Insights on Honey Bees and Hive Health
Katie Coleman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535 Bee Brief . . . . . . . . . . . 483

Departments
● Blue Ribbon Beetle-trapping Bottom Board Letters to the
Luke Goembel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545 Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
● Long View Choices Amidst the Honey Fraud Landscape –
The Advantage of Building Trust Newsnotes . . . . . . . . . 491
Jodie Goldsworthy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
U .S . Honey Crops
● Robbing: How Honey Bees Fly & Steal and Markets . . . . . . . . 507
Seyed-Ali Mousavi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
● Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: The Tragic Bombing of My Saratoga Hive Beekeepers: The Next
Jenny Dunn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 Generation . . . . . . . . . 580
● Who Steals From a Honey Stand? Classified
Michael L. Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585 Advertising . . . . . . . . . 599
● Musings of a Beekeeping Minister
John W. Jenkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595 Advertising Index . . . . 602

Columns
The Classroom Notes from the Lab: The Latest Bee Science Distilled
Jerry Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503 Scott McArt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
Bees & Beekeeping, Past & Present For the Love of Bees and Beekeeping
Wyatt A. Mangum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539 Keith Delaplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
The Curious Beekeeper
Rusty Burlew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563

May Cover Picture

American Bee Journal ISSN 0002-7626
Sarah Rath, wife and partner of Jack Rath of AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL (ISSN 002-7626) is ing to National Archive Publishing Co., 300 N. Zeeb
published monthly at American Bee Journal, 51 S. Road, P.O. Box 998, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.
Betterbee, during a queen catch. The photo was 2nd Street, Hamilton, IL 62341. Periodicals Postage ©Copyright Dadant & Sons, Inc., 2017. All rights re-
Paid at Hamilton, IL and at additional mailing offices. served, printed in USA. The Publishers cannot guar-
taken by Jenny Dunn last summer at the Rath POSTMASTER: Send address changes to American antee advertisements in this magazine, but we ask that
Bee Journal, 51 S. 2nd Street, Hamilton, IL 62341. In any advertising complaints be made known to us, so we
apiary in Vermont. Sarah is wearing one medical the United States, $28.00 a year; two years, $53.00 can further check the company’s reliability. Opinions
glove, so she can easily pick up queens. Check and three years, $75.00. Canada $45.00 a year; two expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the
years $88.00. Foreign $52.00 a year; two years $99.00. publisher. American Bee Journal, 51 S. 2nd St., Hamil-
out Dunn’s article on varroa in this month’s issue. Subscriptions stop at expiration date printed on label.
Available in microfilm form at moderate prices by writ-
ton, IL 62341. (888) 922-1293. Fax (217) 847-3660.

May 2018 479

480 American Bee Journal
March 2018 481
482 American Bee Journal
 The face of beekeeping is changing.
When I started keeping bees in 2002,
I was one of the few women in the
many beekeeping clubs I joined, who
actively wanted to work colonies.
Most of the other women at the time
were the wives of beekeepers, lend-
ing support, but rarely opening up
colonies. Since then there has been an
influx of women, which has led to a
shift in equipment. It’s now common
to see more 8-frame and more all me-
dium operations. This month’s cover
features Sarah Rath of Betterbee,
deeply engaged in her work during a
queen catch.
I was tickled to learn that Playmobil
released a beekeeper recently, and the
figurine is a woman. Melinda Presley
posted these lovely photos of her bees
checking out her beekeeper toy on a
Facebook forum for female beekeep-
ers. The photos made me laugh, espe-
cially the one of the two bees checking
out their illustrated counterparts on The honey bees check out the new addition to the front of their hive, a Playmobil beekeeper
complete with a hive and jars of honey. Photo by Melinda Presley
the honey frame. We all need a little
quirkiness in our lives. beekeepers, because they are gener- local, we face similar issues world-
Gender is an interesting issue in ally more observant and nurturing. wide. I had a chance to visit Ireland
beekeeping. I received an email just I’ve taught lots of new beekeepers, this March, where I gave six talks in
the other day from a long time reader both men and women. They do seem four days. The questions posed were
insisting that women make better to approach beekeeping slightly dif- excellent and confirmed that although
ferently, bringing unique skillsets to we may make honey from different
their new pasttime. nectar sources and keep our bees in
I was recently in Boston, MA for different sized boxes, we all deal with
their spring meeting, where I met the same challenges to bee health.
the Essex Club Honey Ambassador
Ryan Duggan. I was happy to learn May we all keep perservering
that the association had changed against those challenges,
the honey princess title to ambassa- Kirsten S. Traynor
dor and opened it up to all genders.
While he can be an ambassodor at the
local level, the state competition is not
open to men. With all the advances in
equality, should we reconsider why
we limit the role of promoting bees
and honey to females? What are your
thoughts? I would love to hear from
former Honey Queens & Princesses as
to why they ran for the position and
what they achieved during their year-
long appointment.
Beekeeping is a worldwide en- Two bees inspect the frame of honey.
I was invited to Ireland for a spring speaking
deavor. Although all beekeeping is Photo by Melinda Presley
tour. Here I am in Tipperary, Ireland.

March 2018 483

 Send your letters to the editor,
Attn: Kirsten Traynor,
Dadant, 51 S. 2nd Street,
Hamilton, IL 62341,
Fax: 1-217-847-3660,
or email: [email protected]
Due to size and content, we may be unable to publish all information received.
We may also edit your letter to avoid offensive language. Thank You!

THE SPIRIT OF BEEKEEPING frames drone comb was thick and There is no precise formula for
full of larvae. Brood comb was almost measuring and testing for potential
I felt the need to share a picture I taking up whole frames in every hive unintended consequences. How-
took. The man in the picture is Santos he had at this location. ever, whatever happens, it should
Alonso. As a child he started keep- Enough rambling, I hope you enjoy include the following elements: 1) a
ing bees with his father in Mexico. the picture. Thank you for your hard large-scale field trial, 2) isolation, 3)
Eventually he came to California and work producing the journal. I love a mechanism for termination, and 4)
found himself keeping bees for a com- reading it! testing key trait interactions.
pany in Stanislaus County. Soon after, Some of this is akin to the field trials
he decided to start his own business for genetically engineered mosquitoes
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED
and in three years he has successfully which I discussed in the article - for
grown it into a thriving business.
HONEY BEE example, Oxitec conducted some of
As I have gotten to know other bee- Dear Alison- their first large-scale field trials in the
keepers in our area they all say the I read your recent article “What hap- Cayman Islands. Having a large scale
same thing to me: Santos knows bees pened to the genetically engineered (in this case, maybe several hundred
and if you have a question or prob- honey bee?” in the March 2018 edition engineered colonies, as an estimate)
lem he’s the guy to talk to. Now that I of the American Bee Journal with great is important because we would want
have worked along side Santos I con- interest. While the processes appear to be able to observe rare - but poten-
cur with what the local guys say. He meticulous and somewhat tedious, I tially problematic - effects, in addition
is like a local bee whisperer, he just agree that their perfection could lead to the usual ‘statistically significant’
knows bees. to greater honey bee health. We need results that scientists are after.
I feel fortunate to know this man. help combating Varroa, viruses, non- Islands are some of the easiest
There is nothing he won’t do to help hygienic behavior, suboptimal tem- places to control populations of or-
another beekeeper out. As I am a new perament etc. ganisms, since it’s easy to monitor
beekeeper, he has become my mentor As a beekeeper and biomedical en- and dictate who comes and goes. We
and support system as I begin my gineer, while I understand the major- do most of our selective honey bee
journey. ity of processes involved in the genetic breeding on an island for a similar
The picture is a small example of engineering that you described so reason (so we can control not only the
his hard work, determination, and in- well, I am wondering about your opin- queens but the drone sources during
herent sense of bees. This apiary was ion on the measurement and testing mating). An added benefit of doing
bursting at the seams coming out of of side effects that may occur. For ex- field trials on an island is for damage
winter and just before being rented ample, we improve Varroa resistance, control: if something goes wrong, the
out. In between the top and bottom but negatively affect honey produc- issue is isolated to the island and not
tion. Or, we improve hygienic behav- to, e.g., a whole continent.
ior and temperament, but somehow But doing field trials on islands is
make honey bees more susceptible to only part of the equation, as far as
vectored viruses. I would appreciate damage control goes. Responsible re-
your thoughts on how we control for searchers should also have an action
unintended consequences while opti- plan for how to terminate the experi-
mizing the positive outcomes. ment, even in an isolated location.
Sticking with the island example, this
Best regards, could look like removing all honey
Jason bee colonies from the island prior to
the experiment, then destroying proj-
ect colonies upon termination and
ALI MCAFEE’S RESPONSE bringing the original colonies back
Hi Jason, in. If the original honey bee colonies
That’s a great question. First, I want can’t be removed, the experiment
to reiterate that we are a long way off could include a genetic marker that,
from actually implementing any sort of upon experiment termination, could
engineered honey bee in industry. But be used to screen all the island’s non-
some research groups (not us) are in- project colonies to flag those that
deed working toward that aim, so it is managed to interbreed for removal.
Santos Alonso a good time to discuss the implications. Finally, simple mechanical devices

May 2018 485

could prevent interbreeding in the plex polygenic trait in honey bees” (2017). geous picture. But I was disappointed
first place, such as a simple drone Scientific Reports. 7(8381). doi:10.1038/ that in the photo credit and explana-
guard. I’m sure there are many other, s41598-017-08464-2 tion there was no mention of the small
more imaginative controlled termina- fly that has attached itself to the left
tion methods, but basically, there has GENETICALLY ENGINEERED side of the bee’s thorax at the base of
to be a plan. HONEY BEE the wing. This may be the most inter-
Finally, we would probably want to esting part of the photo!
test a few key trait interactions, such as Kirsten The fly is almost certainly a klep-
the ones you suggest (e.g., aspects of I just finished reading Alison toparasitic “flit fly” in the family
innate immunity and social immunity, McAfee’s article about German re- Chloropidae, though a fly taxonomist
honey production, gentleness, pollina- searchers attempts to genetically en- could give you a more certain iden-
tion efficiency, etc.). A typical experi- gineer honey bees for specific traits. tification. Some of these flies associ-
mental design could be to compare the I’m sure the researchers have the best ate with spiders, and after a spider
performance of conventional colonies intentions but it sounds more like the has pierced its prey, suck up bodily
from a common import source (e.g. setting of a Philip K Dick dystopia fluids that ooze from the wounds. A
NZ), conventional colonies from a than better living through science. remarkably similar photo of mine-
local source, and the engineered colo- Reading through the article I’m re- -of a giant honey bee, Apis dorsata, in
nies. The colonies in each group could minded of Monsanto and the harm the grips of a green lynx spider, with
be challenged with different diseases, they have caused farmers with their a chloropid sucking at the neck of
hive management practices, or polli- engineered seeds. Monsanto owns the bee--was the cover photo of Bee
nation efficiency for common crops to the seeds and farmers can’t save them World, June, 2012.
see if one group outperforms another. from year to year, they must buy new By the way, that is not just any
We used a very similar experimental seeds from Monsanto. But if their “camouflaged spider,” but the gold-
design when testing if our selective neighbor has a farm across the street enrod crab spider, Misumena vatia, one
breeding efforts for hygienic behavior, and the engineered seed cross-breeds of the best known and studied spiders
Varroa-sensitive hygiene, and groom- with the neighbor’s non-engineered in the world. It slowly changes colors
ing had undesirable effects on honey seeds then Monsanto has been known to blend with the flower it is hunting
production1 (they didn’t). to sue the farmer across the street for on, its background turning creamy
In reality, there are so many char- “stealing” Monsanto’s patented seeds. yellow to white and the red stripes
acteristics to test, it would be hard Not to mention the threat of the “ter- ranging into pink and purple. It is one
to know where to stop - this would minator gene.” A modification to the beautiful animal, commonly found on
(unsurprisingly) be dictated by the gene that makes the plant sterile and goldenrod as its name implies. But
amount of time and money available, incapable of reproduction. here in the western U.S. I regularly
as well as regulatory guidelines (if Let’s apply the same situation to see these crab spiders latching on to
they exist by then), and, effectively, honey bees. Monsanto (or any com- various pollinators on rabbitbrush
how much evidence is needed to con- pany really, Monsanto is just the and milkweed. I give credit to Dou-
vincingly show that the technology is boogeyman of our time) develop a bee glass Morse of Brown University for
a good or bad idea. with certain traits. The drones from much of what is known about gold-
If there are unintended conse- those engineered bees fly out and mate enrod crab spiders.
quences of the genetic engineering, and now my bees carry the trait. Mon- Oh, and I guess there was a honey
not all of them will necessarily be santo has proven they would be will- bee in that photo, too!
deal-breakers; for instance, if you en- ing to sue me for stealing their patent.
gineer superb Varroa resistance at the Worse yet, they may make a termina- Nice job,
expense of a little aggression or No- tor gene for the bees that kills them off Jeff
sema susceptibility, a beekeeper with every year forcing the beekeeper to
thick skin and historically low No- buy more and more bees every year.
The same issue of ABJ has an article QUESTION ABOUT YOUR
sema loads (but high Varroa loads) in MARCH BEE BRIEF
their geographic location may decide about Chinese Tallow and biological
the trade-off is worth it. Another bee- controls used to stem the propagation Congratulations to your new po-
keeper who struggles with Nosema of the plant. The article documents sition – just read your current “Bee
may disagree. We could argue forever that even with the best of intentions, Brief.“ Would you mind amplifying
about who gets to decide what, but when we mess with nature we have a what you mean by “the split is made
the point here is that it needs to be an 10% success rate. The other 90% isn’t from nurse bees herded onto a wet
informed decision. Other unexpected just failure, we actually create more super…” I can’t quite visualize what
side effects (e.g., high rates of queen problems. Maybe the answer lies in is happening.
failure) may be easier to unanimously learning to work more with nature Thanks very much!
agree upon. than to try and engineer it.
I hope this at least partially answers Best regards,
Thank you
your question, and thank you for the Maggie Schwed, Beekeeper
Paul Buterick
insightful query!
Buterick Bulkheading
editoR’s Response:
Cheers Hi Maggie,
Ali WHAT ABOUT THE FLY? Yes, sure. They extract the honey.
Then they return the wet supers onto
RefeRence: Hello Dr. Traynor, the hive above a queen excluder. Their
1. Guarna MM et al. “Peptide biomarkers I was very impressed by Jeff Zyl- hives can tip, so they tip them apart
used for the selective breeding of a com- stra’s March cover photo. It’s a gor- between the two brood boxes and

486 American Bee Journal

smoke from the bottom up, “herding”
bees from the broodnest onto the wet
honey supers. You could do the same
thing by smoking the bees from the
bottom entrance and waiting a few
minutes for bees to move up onto the
wet comb.

All the best,

Kirsten

Maggie’s Response:
Thanks very much! Also, it was
a pleasure to hear you speak at the
Backyard Beekeeper’s Association a
week or so ago.
I am someone who has religiously
used drone frames. So, it is your ex-
perience that a plain empty frame
will be filled with drone cells? I notice
that even in the late fall, drone cells
are being developed in my area—but
I can’t imagine they would be able THANK YOU
to build enough wax to fill a frame Hi Kirsten,
at that time of year. It does seem im- Thank you so much for sharing your time and knowledge with us at the South
portant to keep testing for Varroa well Carolina State Beekeepers meeting on Saturday. I appreciate all the information
past the August 15 date that is widely you shared with us.
used as a convention. I keep roughly Attached is a photo of a beautiful bee drinking honey from a saucer in my bee
24 colonies in two apiaries. Last year, yard. The color and lighting was perfect and the little bee was very photogenic.
I tested each colony with an alcohol Thank you again for your time.
wash each month from May into Sep-
tember. I now think I have to be sure Bee Fearless,
to test every colony in September and Deborah Sasser
October. I am thinking hard about Augusta, GA
using a method Jennifer Berry spoke
of, from Italy: caging the queen for 14
days before the start-up of produc-
ing winter bees, in order to introduce pending on the weather, which has Can’t wait to read the rest of this
a period of broodlessness. In Italy, been insane here in NY. edition, but I’ve got bees and flow and
on the 21st day, they would give an Q-cells to tend to.
oxalic acid treatment. I have usually Best regards,
given an oxalic acid vapor treatment Maggie Schwed Ron Weisburg
in December. Lee Bees
At any rate, I certainly do love the OKATIE, SC
editoR’s Response:
idea of spending less time with drone
Hi Maggie,
frames. For a few years I froze them P.S. I suggest you find an article
I find my colonies will typically
and put them back into the hive. But to address the topic of high visibility
draw out a full frame of drone brood
last year I decided it was disgusting wildflowers on major highways. Great
per brood box from mid-March-July.
to put a bunch of dead thawed larvae, pollinator resource. NC DOT has an
Some colonies will continue to do so in
with possible disease consequences, awesome very detailed website on
August, but not all of them. Yes, I use
back into the hive, so I would scrape the topic. Planting grass on highway
a wooden frame with no foundation,
out the frozen larvae for the chickens. medians to replace big trees which
placed at the edge of the broodnest.
Very time-consuming. I had seen a kill people, only results in much more
sample of the drone frame recom- deer, which also kill people when hit.
Thank you,
mended by Rusty (nice to see her writ- Use of wildflowers to replace danger-
Kirsten
ing for ABJ!), derived, I think, from ous trees is not only eye candy for the
Randy Oliver, in which the top part of traveler, it also attracts pollinators in-
a frame is ordinary foundation, sepa- MARCH ABJ EDITION sects, birds, mice, rabbits, and preda-
rated by a bar from the bottom half tor hawks who don’t have the killing
which is left without foundation. That Ms. Kirsten, mass to harm people, if hit.
seemed complicated to create, so I feel Just reading your Bee Brief on ABJ So many prisons could have in-
very interested in the idea of using one page 247, which leaves me, a 75 year mates growing and harvesting wild-
whole empty frame per brood box. old beekeeper feeling GaGa. Your flower seeds on prison property. So
If I have not understood your idea writings are like reading truthful many good articles to discover via
correctly, please let me know! I will poetry. Google on this topic among various
be hoping to get them into the brood SO GLAD YOU ACCEPTED EDI- State DOTs. NC DOT’s wildflower
boxes in early April or late March, de- TORSHIP. YOU ARE A GIFT. website has every detail to prep soil,

May 2018 487

plant, annual mow and fertilize. And whether the others were being truthful. tities of pollen from other plants, which
all planting details for use of about 25 So, let’s define what raw, local honey did not give an indication of location
botanicals which make sense for high- actually is. Honey is “raw” when it has due to their cosmopolitan distribu-
way use. You could be the new Lady not been heated, or at least not above tions. It is unknown whether sample 2
Bird Wildflower promoter, and our 105F, a temperature that is plenty high is from PA or somewhere else. Samples
bees would benefit. Too many hedge- enough to get the viscous liquid flow- 3-5 were purchased at various farmer’s
rows have been destroyed in this ing. Raw honey is also only strained, markets. Sample #3 was ultra-filtered
country. Much cheaper than mowing not filtered. The strainer has a mesh (or in their words, very effectively fil-
medians every three weeks. size capable of removing large chunks tered) to the point that only 8 grains of
of wax and other debris, but pollen and pollen were found in the entire sam-
sugar crystals can get through. Because ple (translates to 40 grains per 10 g of
FOSTERING THE NEW
of the lack of heating and minimal fil- honey). There were so few grains that
GENERATION the scientists could not give any indi-
tering, raw honey will crystallize. The
I just finished reading your latest speed at which crystallization occurs cation of where the honey might have
magazine. I am a 28 year old beekeeper depends on the nectar source(s) the been made. Sample #4 was obviously
in Southern California and I was so honey was made from, but it will cer- from an agricultural area with the
excited to see an article on young bee- tainly crystallize within the first 9-12 main pollens being sunflower and clo-
keepers! At least, until I read the article. months unless it has a very low glucose ver, but it also contained pollen from
I am not certain the author really knew content. The definition of “local” is less maple, birch, chestnut, ash, oak, honey-
what she was talking about, and the clear. I personally avoid the use of that suckle, and rose, which are PA plants.
general consensus seemed to be that term on my honey jars by labeling my This sample lived up to its label with
young beekeepers need an easier bar- honey with the town name where the over 100,000 pollen grains per 10 g of
rier of entry, and that my generation is bees were kept. However, larger scale honey. Sample #5 proved to be an ex-
just too lazy to be a hard working bee- beekeepers will have honey from a mix treme example, as it contained no pol-
keeper. My entire team ranges from the of locations. Certainly, actual distance len at all! This can only have happened
age of 18-30. The picture I am seeing is from the point of sale could be used as through heating and ultrafiltration. It
completely different, and I really don’t a measure of how local a product is; raises suspicions about whether it was
appreciate spreading the idea that perhaps honey collected within a 50- illegally imported honey and whether
millenals are lazy. In the same article mile radius of the point of sale can be it has been adulterated with alternative
the author wrote about how the older considered local. Perhaps honey col- syrup sources. How can this be sold as
generation should step down, or step lected within a single state, like PA, or local, raw honey?
aside. Doesn’t she know beekeepers within the region, like New England, Naturally, Randy sent in some of
love to work until they drop? That sim- can be considered local. Perhaps it’s his own honey and got the results to
ply isn’t how this industry works. On enough to have been collected within back up his claims of having raw, local
that same subject, not having young the country. Unfortunately, the defini- honey. His honey contained pollen
beekeepers isn’t a crisis. Beekeepers’ tion is too vague and so are the expec- from maples, dandelions, honeysuckle,
average age is so high because many of tations of consumers. poison ivy, clover, oak, and touch-me-
them get into the industry at an older Randy sells raw, local honey as de- not; all PA plants. The pollen count for
age. When the oldest beekeepers retire fined here. Some of his rivals do not. Randy’s honey was 30,715 grains per
there is typically a wave of 50 year old How do we know this? Randy inves- 10 g of honey. Definitely honey from
beekeepers ready and willing to take tigated his suspicions by testing his ri- PA that was only strained, not filtered.
their place. vals’ honey. He and his friends bought So, Randy is frustrated. He would
I am sorry about the rant, but if there jars of honey from two rivals at the like for his rivals to stop misrepresent-
is going to be an article about young farmers markets, one from a roadside ing their goods. However, they are
beekeepers in the future I hope you stand and one from a grocery store not breaking any laws. So, what is his
take the time to consult a few more of claiming to be selling local honey. Then response? He educates his customers.
the real young beekeepers. he sent them, as well as a sample of his They are amazed when they taste his
own honey, to a food lab for analysis. honey after thinking they were buy-
The results did not surprise him. ing local, raw honey from others. He
TRUTH IN LABELING shows them the analysis of his own
Sample #1, which was purchased at
A farmer’s market is a wonderful the grocery store, was shown to have honey to show them how great it is. He
place to purchase local goods that are been highly filtered. Only a few pollen mentions vaguely that there are others
pure and simple, provided by real grains remained in the honey. There selling lesser products to justify the
people trying to make a few dollars off were less than 1000 pollen grains per 10 higher price of his genuine raw, local
of their labor. As a beekeeper, I try to g of honey. The pollen that did remain honey. This situation is frustrating for
stop at the tables of fellow beekeepers, was identified as being from plants the seller and also for the consumer.
who are selling their honey, wax, and only present in the American South- It degrades the trust that is implied at
cosmetic items. I met Randy Spaide west, Southern California, and North- farmers’ markets. Something should be
last fall at just such an event. We got to ern Mexico. Those plants included done to rectify this problem. But what?
talking and I learned that Randy was eucalyptus, joyweed, buttonwood, and
frustrated. He was selling his raw, local mesquite; not at all local to PA. Sample Robyn Underwood
honey at the market, but was being #2, which was purchased from a road-
undercut by others claiming to sell the side stand, contained mostly pollen POLLEN BOUNTY
very same thing, but at a cheaper price. from brassicaceae, which was likely
He knew that his products were what canola, a sizeable amount of soybean The delightful sound of buzzing in
the label indicated, but questioned and clover pollens, and minimal quan- and around crocus patches caught my

488 American Bee Journal

attention when I stepped outside this
morning, brilliant sunshine warming
the girls long before the mercury even
reached 50 degrees as they eagerly col-
lected rich pollen in crocus blooms.
Note to self: I need to plant more cro-
cus bulbs this fall to further support
these girls as they search for food in
late winter.

Connie Young
Sykesville, MD

High Quality Beekeeping

Equipment & Bottling
Machines at swienty.com

... for better honey

May 2018 489

490 American Bee Journal
 working with Adam Leitch, a Master Beekeeper, on both
a study of plant pollen that honey bees pollinate and as-
pects of honey bee pest anatomy
Dr. Salvage said: “The mite, with its ice-axe-like weapon
of attack, the palptarsi claws, is a major threat to honey
bees globally. It is involved in the mass destruction and

News
deaths of billions of bees, which, in turn, threatens crop
pollination and food production.”
Mr. Leitch, a member of the Reigate Beekeepers Asso-
ciation, said it was originally thought that blood loss was

Notes
responsible for the death of parasitised bees: “But scien-
tists later discovered that these bee mites carry and trans-
mit deadly viruses to bees whilst feeding.
“The large red spikes on the claws pierce the body of a
victim bee so that the mite can hold on tightly. The mite
then feeds on adult bees and larvae using its mouthparts,
THE ‘WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION’ coloured yellow in Picture 2, like a harpoon to penetrate
and secure itself onto the host bee.”
THAT’S KILLING HONEY BEES The University has been studying pollen types and
morphology associated with honey bees and honey pro-
duction, to contribute to beekeeper training and educa-
tion, which Mr Leitch delivers to beekeeping societies.
The mite images will be contributing to the teaching
material to furnish amateur beekeepers with the skills to
manage mite populations.
There are miticides and non-chemical methods to help
combat the mites for beekeepers. Researchers, mean-
while, are studying how ribonucleic acid interference
might knock out genes in the mite, and there is also re-
search under way into breeding defensive changes in
honey bees.
Dr. Salvage said the £500,000 SEM facility, which
provides electron microscopy imaging and analysis, is
“proving an invaluable resource for teaching and re-
search which external commercial clients are now ben-
efiting from”.
For more information, contact: KnowledgeExchange@
The underbelly of a Varroa destructor
brighton.ac.uk

COMMERCIAL PESTICIDES:
NOT AS SAFE AS THEY SEEM
Lack of information on the effects of all pesticide ingre-
dients makes them appear safer than they are — poten-
tially causing serious harm to people and the environment.
New regulations are needed to protect people and the
environment from toxic pesticide ingredients that are not
currently subject to safety assessments. This is the conclu-
sion of the first comprehensive review of gaps in risk as-
sessments for “adjuvants” - ingredients added to pesticide
formulations to enhance the function or application of the
active ingredient. Ignoring the potential dangers of other
ingredients in commonly used commercial pesticides
The weapons of destruction, red spikes are Varroa destructor’s leads to inaccuracies in the safety profile of the pesticide
deadly claws solution, as well as confusion in scientific literature on
pesticide effects, finds the review published in Frontiers
These are new close-up images of one of the mites re- in Public Health.
sponsible for killing billions of honey bees around the “Exposure to environmental levels of some of these ad-
world. juvant mixtures can affect non-target organisms — and
The magnified photographs of the pinhead-sized mite, even can cause chronic human disease,” says Dr. Robin
aptly named Varroa destructor, were captured by Dr. Jona- Mesnage from King’s College London, who co-wrote the
than Salvage of the University of Brighton (UK), using a review with Dr. Michael Antoniou. “Despite this, adju-
state-of-the-art scanning electron microscope (SEM). vants are not currently subject to an acceptable daily in-
Dr. Salvage, a Research Fellow in the University’s take and are not included in the health risk assessment of
School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, has been dietary exposures to pesticide residues.”

May 2018 491

 Their findings have already had a considerable impact.
The European Food Safety Authority is now reassessing
the validity of pesticide risk assessment in the EU, and
authors hope that this reassessment can extend to entire
commercial formulations of pesticides and their other in-
gredients.

HOW ROYAL JELLY HELPS HONEY

BEE LARVAE DEFY GRAVITY
AND BECOME QUEENS
Honeybee larvae develop into queen bees only when
they are fed large quantities of royal jelly. But royal jelly
does more than determine whether a larva becomes a
queen: it also keeps her safely anchored to the roof of the
Pesticides are a mixture of chemicals made up of an ac- queen cell in which she develops. Research published in
tive ingredient - the substance that kills or repels a pest Current Biology on March 15 explains the role that the
- along with a mixture of other ingredients that help with pH of royal jelly plays in making the substance viscous
the application or function of the active ingredient. These enough to keep the queen-to-be from falling.
other ingredients are known as adjuvants, and include “Royal jelly is kind of viscous and sticky and jelly-like;
dyes, anti-foaming agents and surfactants. that’s why it’s called ‘jelly.’ It’s like a mixture of marma-
Regulatory tests for pesticide safety are currently only lade and honey,” says senior author Anja Buttstedt, a
done on the active ingredient, which assumes the other molecular ecologist who performed the study at Martin
ingredients have no effects. This means the full toxicity Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. And like jam in a jar
of a pesticide formulation — including those used in both turned upside down, it’s viscous enough to cling to the
agriculture and domestic gardens — is not shown. ceiling of the queen cell and to keep the larva hanging as
“Currently, the health risk assessment of pesticides in she grows.
the European Union and in the United States focuses al- Larvae destined to become queens don’t have to hang to
most exclusively on the active ingredient,” explains Dr. develop properly. But they are too large to fit into the cells
Mesnage. “Despite the known toxicity of adjuvants, they of the hive’s honeycomb, and often the only place on the
are regulated differently from active principles, with their hive with enough room for the queen cells is hanging off
toxic effects being generally ignored.” the bottom of it. While other larvae are fed small amounts
Based on a review of current pesticide literature, the au- of food jelly directly, the worker bees stuff royal jelly into
thors describe how unregulated chemicals present in com- the queen cell in vast quantities, building up a sticky mass
mercial formulations of pesticides could provide a missing that both feeds the larva and keeps her in place.
link between pesticide exposure and observed negative This space constraint makes royal jelly’s viscosity ex-
outcomes. tremely important, so Buttstedt and her team were sur-
The researchers focused on glyphosate-based herbi- prised when their experiments on the proteins that make
cides, the most used pesticide worldwide. They point out up the substance completely changed its consistency. “It
that this weed killer has so many different adjuvant for- was totally liquid, almost watery,” she says. To under-
mulations that a safety test of one weed killer does not test stand what had happened, the researchers looked at royal
the safety of another. jelly, which normally has a pH of 4, at several different
“Studies comparing the toxicity of commercial weed- pH levels. They found that between pH 4 and pH 5, the
killer formulations to that of glyphosate alone have shown viscosity of royal jelly changed dramatically, and that at a
that several formulations are up to 1,000 times more toxic neutral pH, it had that strange, runny consistency.
than glyphosate on human cells. We believe that the adju- “And then we realized that the protein that we were
vants are responsible for this additional toxic effect,” says purifying at pH 4 was somehow much bigger in size than
Dr. Mesnage. what we would expect from its amino acid sequence. Most
The authors also highlight neonicotinoid insecticides purification protocols use pH 7, so other people never ex-
— strongly suspected to be involved in the collapsing pected or saw the huge size of the protein,” she says. She
of bee colonies — as another example of adjuvant toxic-
ity affecting non-target organisms. An adjuvant used in
these insecticides to increase the penetration of the active
ingredient has been shown to cause varying toxic effects
in bees. On top of this, residues of the toxin have also
been found in honey, pollen and beeswax produced by
contaminated bees.
The authors hope their review will stimulate discussion
on the toxicity of commonly used pesticides and encour-
age more thorough regulations.
“Testing of whole pesticide formulations instead of just
active ingredients alone would create a precautionary ap- Two cells with royal jelly. The 3rd cup from the left has royal jelly
proach, ensuring that the guidance value for the pesti- with a pH of 4.0, while the 4th cup has a pH of 5.8. When turned
cide is valid for the worst-case exposure scenario,” says upside down, the larva falls out of the 4th cup. Credit: Buttstedt
Dr. Mesnage. et al./Current Biology

492 American Bee Journal

found that the main protein in royal jelly, MRJP1, polym-
erized with another protein in more acidic conditions to
form a network of fibers. These fibers both increased the
size of the protein and played a crucial role in changing
the jelly’s viscosity. “That was, in the end, the missing link
between the pH, the viscosity change, and the protein,”
she says.
It’s still unclear how these fibers change the viscosity
of royal jelly. But she does have a good hypothesis for
why the change is necessary: royal jelly is produced in
the glands of worker bees and needs to be fluid enough
to travel through their glandular ducts. Production of the
jelly actually happens in two separate glands, one that
produces the proteins in a neutral pH and one that pro-
duces fatty acids that can reduce said pH when the two
secretions finally meet. Kayla Fusselman (l) and Jenny Gross
Other species have similar pH mechanisms that regu-
late the formation of crucial proteins. In humans, a protein
that serves as scaffold for melanin synthesis only forms Kayla and Jenny will spend the next year promoting
fibers at pH 6 in specific organelles. Another example is the beekeeping industry throughout the United States in a
spider silk. “You don’t want it to be too sticky in the gland wide variety of venues, including fairs, festivals, schools,
where it’s being produced, but when the silk is coming and media interviews. To schedule an appearance with
out, there are changes in pH that contribute to turning it American Honey Queen Kayla Fusselman or American
into the real, strong silk,” she explains. So royal jelly’s pH- Honey Princess Jenny Gross, please contact American
dependent viscosity change does make a lot of sense—it’s Honey Queen Program Chairperson Anna Kettlewell at
just that no one had ever looked at it before. 414.545.5514.
“The longer I think about it, the less surprising I find
it,” Buttstedt says. Still, she plans to continue studying
royal jelly and the ways it works to turn normal larvae ST. PETER’S CATHEDRAL, BEES
into queens. “There are many other proteins in royal jelly, PRESERVED FROM DESTRUCTION
and I would like to find out what all of them are doing.
Because these proteins exist in this way just in honey bees, Last week, Durable Restoration began historic renova-
they most likely use them to do something very special.” tions on the Cathedral of St. Peter, which included the
This work was supported by the German Research safe removal of endangered bees from this church in Jack-
Foundation and an ERASMUS+ exchange program grant. son, Mississippi.
Current Biology, Buttstedt et al.: “How honey bees defy Under the guidance of a local beekeeper, Durable Res-
gravity with royal jelly to raise queens” http://www.cell. toration cut out a section of the church’s column to pro-
com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30207-0 vide access to the Italian bees. Donning protective hats,
suits and gloves, the beekeeper and Durable Restoration
employees kept the 6-foot hive intact for transportation
2018 AMERICAN HONEY QUEEN & from the site.
“We’ve built a relationship with this church,” said Brad
PRINCESS HAIL FROM Brobeck, a Durable Restoration branch manager. “When
PENNYSLVANIA & WISCONSIN we run into situations like this, we work with the com-
munity to handle the situation responsibly. And so, we
The American Beekeeping Federation is proud to an- are preserving the building and protecting an essential
nounce that Kayla Fusselman and Jenny Gross were se- part of nature.”
lected as the 2018 American Honey Queen and Princess Local beekeeper Michael Everett transported the bees
at its annual January convention in Reno, NV. to the Truck Crops Branch of Mississippi State Univer-
Queen Kayla is the 23-year-old daughter of Brian and
Diane Fusselman of Kempton, PA, and the granddaughter
of Margaret Weller of Fleetwood, PA. She is a 2017 gradu-
ate of Kutztown University, where she earned a bachelor’s
degree in art education. Kayla is an active alumna with
the Kutztown High School FFA chapter and the Kutztown
University Presidential Ambassadors. She previously
served as the Pennsylvania Honey Queen
Princess Jenny is the 20-year-old daughter of Bill and
Mary Gross of Sheboygan, WI, and granddaughter of
Shirley and Herman Gross of DePere, WI. She is a sopho-
more at Concordia University Wisconsin studying hos-
pitality and event management through the Accelerated
Business Scholars Program, earning dual bachelor’s and
master’s degrees. Jenny is a student ambassador, social
media copywriter, and orientation leader at school. She
previously served as the Wisconsin Honey Queen.

May 2018 493

 nent as long as the program continues to be authorized
by Congress.
Since we first lobbied to include this program in the
2008 Farm Bill, spending has been capped by statute,
which in recent years has meant that eligible beekeepers
have received as little as 50% of the payments they other-
wise would be entitled to under the program. Maximum
claims will now be paid annually at the full $125,000 per
claimant. While it is never easy to watch your bees die
off, it is at least comforting to know that this federal sup-
port exists.
We hope you will join us in thanking our hard-working
Washington team and Executive Committee members for
the time, travel and treasure they have spent ensuring this
important result for beekeepers across the country.
And we would be remiss not to thank our Senators and
Representatives. Help us help you by making a quick call
to your members of Congress and letting them know that
we appreciate their support. Specific names and phone
numbers are included below, but never hesitate to reach
out to other House and Senate members to let them know
that you appreciate this provision being included in the
disaster assistance portion of the budget bill.
Regardless of where you live, please thank:
sity’s Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in • Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) for leading on this
Crystal Springs, Miss. issue and for keeping us apprised throughout the
“Bees are more than just pests. They’re important to process. / (202) 224-2043
the agricultural community,” said Everett, a certified bee- • Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Rob-
keeper who has more than 13 years of experience. “Crop erts (R-KS) / (202) 224-4774
farmers rely on bees for pollination. You can’t grow any- • Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member
thing without bees.” Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) / (202) 224-4822
While the complete restoration of the church is still • House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael
months away, St. Peter’s Office Manager Traci Avalon Conaway (R-TX) / (202) 225-3605
has been pleased with the progress thus far. • House Agriculture Ranking Member Collin Peter-
“From the people in the office to the field crews, I son (D-MN) / (202) 225-2165
couldn’t ask for any better people to work with,” Avalon
said.
Aside from the repair of the church’s six exterior col-
umns, Durable Restoration’s scope of work will include
exterior masonry repairs of the chimney and portions
of the walls. Durable Restoration’s sister company Du-
rable Slate will take on repairs of the tile roof, which will
include installation of a tile and metal underlayment.
Coppersmiths will also custom fabricate and solder vent
boots and a section of the roof’s valley.
Avalon said she chose Durable Restoration and Du-
rable Slate because of our previous work on the church’s
steeple several years ago.
“We’re all about history down here,” Avalon said.
“And this church is part of that, we’re really proud to
maintain it for future generations.”
Father Charles Oliver Sr., St. Peter’s first American-
born pastor, built the present church of modified Gothic
design on June 3, 1900.

MORE ELAP $$ FOR BEEKEEPERS!!

We at AHPA are thrilled to announce that our lobbying
has paid off!
The Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP)
will no longer be capped at $20 million annually. The fed-
eral budget deal passed last Friday included a provision
that uncaps ELAP spending for beekeepers. Even better,
the uncapping is retroactive to 2017 claims and perma-

494 American Bee Journal

 Finally, for those who have been losing bees but have Varroa mites are one of the driving factors in recent
not yet signed up for ELAP, don’t forget to do so this colony losses, which threaten productive agriculture and
year. Reach out early to your local FSA office to make the crops that rely upon commercial pollination services.
sure you are keeping the records you need and filing Left untreated, a single infestation can wipe out colonies
timely applications. and spread rapidly across a region. Given the scale of
General information on the ELAP program can be these problematic parasites in North America, Europe,
found at https://goo.gl/UfkHNE. Pay special attention to and around the world, the Coalition has worked to help
the “ELAP Honeybee Assistance Fact Sheet”. beekeepers monitor and control Varroa mites through
the development and dissemination of key resources and
information.
HONEY BEE HEALTH COALITION , PART- In addition to this project, the Coalition has developed
an expansive guide laying out best practices to detect,
NERS SECURE $475,000 GRANT monitor, and control Varroa mite infestations. The Tools
TO TEST POTENTIAL TREATMENTS for Varroa Management Guide, is now in its sixth edition
FOR DESTRUCTIVE VARROA and has been downloaded by thousands of beekeepers
MITE INFESTATIONS across the United States and Canada — and as far away
as New Zealand.
Varroa Mites Can Devastate Commercial,
Amateur Colonies
‘LAZY LAWN MOWERS’ CAN HELP
The Honey Bee Health Coalition announced today that SUPPORT SUBURBAN BEE
it has collaborated with an international team of 12 sci-
entists to secure more than $475,000 in grant funds from
POPULATIONS AND DIVERSITY
the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research to
facilitate the testing of chemical compounds that could UMass aMherst research shows
less-freqUent Mowing May help sUbUrban bees
help beekeepers more effectively treat Varroa mite (Var-
roa destructor) infestations. This funding, matched by par-
ticipants and industry members to provide more than $1 AMHERST, Mass. - Homeowners concerned about the
million in total support, also will document how mites decline of bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects
develop resistance to such treatment. need look no further than their own back yards, says ecolo-
The funding will support the identification, lab testing, gist Susannah Lerman at the University of Massachusetts
and field testing over the next three years of “orphaned” Amherst and the USDA Forest Service. In new research,
chemical compounds that have known acaricidal (miti- she and colleagues suggest that homeowners can help sup-
cide) activity but have not been specifically tested against port bee habitat in suburban yards, specifically their lawns,
Varroa mites. Many of these compounds are trapped in a by changing lawn-mowing habits.
bottleneck where the costs of testing and commercializing The researchers found that taking a “lazy lawn mower”
them are too steep for testing, effectively leaving them on approach and mowing every two weeks rather than
the shelf. weekly can help encourage bee habitat in suburban lawns
“Varroa mites pose serious challenges to bees and hives. by allowing flowers to bloom. Longer intervals between
This grant will provide critical support for the development mowing lets the lawn flowers bloom, which helps bees.
and testing of new chemicals that could help beekeepers She says, “Mowing less frequently is practical, economical
better manage Varroa mite infestations,” said Principle and a timesaving alternative to replacing lawns or even
Investigator Steven Cook, Research Entomologist, USDA- planting pollinator gardens.”
ARS, Bee Research Lab. “We look forward to sharing the Given the pervasiveness of lawns and other habitat loss
results of these efforts and support beekeepers’ efforts to for pollinators, the research findings provide immediate
implement integrated pest management strategies.” solutions for individual households to support bees in sub-
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research urban settings, she adds. Lerman conducted the study with
grant will provide crucial support for this $1.1 million ef-
fort, which is championed by a wide array of national and
international public, private, and NGO organizations, in-
cluding USDA-ARS, University of Nebraska, Alberta Ag-
riculture and Forestry Department (Canada), University
of Georgia, Universitat de València (Spain), Ohio State
University, and Auburn University.
In addition to the grant funding, Project Apis m. pro-
vided financial support. Other organizations also have
provided in-kind support, including bees from a number
of regional beekeepers and compounds from Bayer.
“Varroa mites are rapidly adapting to treatments bee-
keepers currently use. This project will not only address
this growing problem, but also break the bottleneck that
has formed around compounds we already know can
treat mites,” said Jennifer Berry, University of Georgia, Ecologist Susannah Lerman of UMass Amherst mowing a sub-
Honey Bee Lab. “We’re excited to work together with our urban lawn that was part of her study of bee populations and
partners across the world as we strive to cooperatively ad- diversity. In exchange for participation, homeowners got free
dress the persistent problem of Varroa infestations.” lawn mowing. Credit: UMass Amherst

May 2018 495

her colleagues Joan Milam at UMass Amherst, Alix Con-
tosta at the University of New Hampshire and Christofer REGIONAL
Bang at Arizona State University. Findings appear in the
current issue of Biological Conservation.
For this study, supported by the National Science Foun-
dation’s (NSF) Science, Engineering and Education for
Sustainability (SEES) program, Lerman and colleagues
recruited 16 homeowners in Springfield, Massachusetts,
and during 2013 and 2014, assigned each yard one of three
mowing schedules so that yards were mowed either every
week, every two weeks, or every three weeks, and then
tested how the bees responded.
Before each of five bee-sampling occasions per season,
the scientists counted “yard” flowers - ornamentals not af-
fected by mowing - and “lawn flowers” such as clover and
dandelions growing within the grass, for the entire prop-
erty. They also measured average grass height, counted
and identified bees, and calculated several metrics to
understand how bees responded to changes in mowing
frequency: bee abundance, richness, and evenness, all of
which drive patterns in bee diversity, Lerman points out.
The authors observed a total of 4,587 bees representing Conference (Aug 15-17)
93 bee species, with supplemental observations reaching Speakers Include (subject to change):
111 bee species. Lawns mowed every three weeks had as
much as 2.5 times more lawn flowers than lawns mowed • Celia Davis, NOB (National Diploma in Beekeeping,
on the other schedules. The lawns mowed every two weeks UK)
had the greatest number of bees but the lowest diversity • Dr. Jamie Ellis, University of Florida
compared to the other two mowing intervals, they report. • Randy Oliver, Scientific Beekeeping
Lerman and colleagues point out that bees are essential • Mike Palmer, French Hill Apiaries, Vermont
for crop pollination and supporting natural ecosystems. • Freddy Proni, North Carolina Grown
But both domesticated and wild bee species are in decline • Sammy Ramsey, University of Maryland
around the world, due in part to urbanization, agricultural
• Dr.Juliana Rangel, Texas A&M
intensification and loss of habitat. However, co-author
• Dr. Jennifer Tsuruda, Clemson University
Milam says there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic: “I
was amazed at the high level of bee diversity and abun- • Dr. Kirsten Traynor, American Bee Journal
dance we documented in these lawns, and it speaks to the • Michael Young, MBe, Institute of Northern Ireland
value of the untreated lawn to support wildlife.” Beekeepers and many others
Further, says Contosta, “There is evidence that even Short Course (Aug 13 & 14) Topics Include:
though lawns are maintained to look uniform, they may • Beginners Track
support diverse plant communities and floral resources if • Intermediate Track
the owners refrain from using herbicides to kill ‘weeds’ • Apiary Track
such as dandelions and clover.” • Electronic Hive Monitoring
Bangs adds, “We acknowledge our small sample size • Excellence in Honey & Hive Products
and the study’s limitation to suburban Massachusetts, • Queen Rearing
though the findings may be applicable in all temperate
areas where lawns dominate.” Lerman says, “This research Special Events:
is a reminder that sustainability begins at home, and in this • Beekeepers’ Beach Bash
case involves doing less for more buzz.” • Tea with Celia Davis
Sam Scheiner, NSF’s SEES program director, says, “A • Queen of the Sun Film Screening
decrease in pollinators, and insects in general, is a growing • Honey Show and Awards Banquet
problem. This research shows that we all can help address • Silent Auction and Dinner
this problem with a change in how we manage our lawns, • Trip to historic Jamestown, entry point for honey
and demonstrates that basic research directly contributes bees into North America
to societal needs.” • Trip to St. George’s Brewery and Apiary
WORLDWIDE
3RD AUSTRALIAN BEE CONGRESS ELECTRONIC HIVE MONITORING
AT EAS 2018
Hosted by the
EAS 2018 will feature a day-long electronic hive moni-
Australian Honey Bee Industry Council Inc. toring track with speakers from current suppliers and
June 27th – 30th, 2018 researchers working on the next generation of these
technologies. Learn how weight, temperature, audio,
Theme of “Pollination and Beekeeping video, and other sensors can help you keep your colo-
for the Future”. nies healthy and productive. Details at: http://www.
www.australianbeecongres easternapiculture.org.

496 American Bee Journal

 HEARTLAND APICULTURAL SOCIETY place at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Fa-
cility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis campus.
to host 16th annUal beekeeping workshop
at washington University in st. loUis on • Bee-Breeding Basics: Saturday, June 9
• Varroa Management Strategies: Saturday, June 16
July 11-13, 2018
For more information, visit: https://elninobeelab.uc
Beekeeping Extension Specialists and Scientists davis.edu/courses.html.
to Present Courses for
Beginners and Experienced Beekeepers
Program to feature Lectures, Labs, Queen Rearing, and COLORADO
Classes, Field Trips to Sites of
National Significance, and Social Events coloraDo state beekeepers association
Planning continues for Heartland Apicultural Society’s sUMMer bee college
annual conference – HAS 2018 - to be held July 11-13,
2018 at Washington University, in St. Louis. HAS is an Make new beekeeper frienDs anD learn a lot!
annual conference focused on discussing the latest re-
search and methods in beekeeping. Established in 2001 JUne 8-10
by several professional entomologists, the conference ro-
tates through the Midwest to make it easier for Midwest garfielD coUnty fairgroUnDs,
beekeepers to attend the sessions. The conference was rifle, co
last held in Missouri in 2012. “We are excited about the
opportunity to bring this conference back to Missouri,”
said Bob Sears, Heartland Apicultural Society president, Friday, June 8
and a St. Louis area beekeeper. Sears is among several Cookout at Colby Farm, meet the speakers. Free tent and
volunteers pulling together the organizational structure van camping on the farm.
that will support the three-day conference featuring
both keynote speakers as well as concurrent break-out Saturday, June 9
sessions and evening events. Among the speakers con- Sam Ramsey, University of Maryland bee researcher
firmed to date: who discovered that Varroa feed on fat bodies, not bee
blood (two talks).
• Bee Squad, a collaborative, beekeeping instructional Bill Collins, associate chemistry professor, Fort Lewis
and public outreach team at the University of Min- College, Durango, CO, speaking on plant-based chemicals
nesota Bee Lab, directed by Rebecca Masterman, PhD for pathogen control.
• Jennifer Berry, Apicultural Research Professional and Hillary Eales, Meadery of the Rockies, Palisade, Colo-
Lab Manager for the University of Georgia Honey Bee rado, will explain how they magically transform honey,
Program yeast, and water into mead, nectar of the gods.
• Dr. Keith S. Delaplane, MBE Professor, Walter B. Hill Beekeeper classroom roundtable
Fellow & Honey Bee Program Director University of General meeting
Georgia In-the-hive time – bring your veil!
• Samuel Ramsey, University of Maryland, PhD candi- Beekeepers’ Banquet: Fine dining featuring varietal hon-
date and researcher
eys in every course – these gals can flat-out cook!
• Marla Spivak, PhD, Distinguished McKnight Univer-
sity Professor, Apiculture /Social Insects, University
of Minnesota Sunday, June 10
• Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp, Assistant Professor, Uni- Field trip to the Colorado Flat Tops to look at high-alti-
versity of Maryland tude bees.
Details and registration at:
More details will be posted as they are finalized at http:// Coloradobeekeepers.org.
www.heartlandbees.org.
Save the Date: July 11-13, 2018 CONNECTICUT
STATES back yarD beekeepers association
CALIFORNIA last tUesDays of the Month at 7:30pM
Uc Davis beekeeping classes norfielD chUrch coMMUnity rooM,
64 norfielD roaD, weston, connecticUt
Are you ready to become a beekeeper…or are you ready
to learn more about the bees you’re keeping? The Back Yard Beekeepers Association (BYBA) has been
Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño of the Univer- educating the public about honey bees and beekeeping for
sity of California, Davis, and her lab have announced a twenty + years. This regional club is dedicated to promot-
series of short courses for the new year--and folks can reg- ing beekeeping as a hobby, and spreading the good word
ister now and/or purchase gift certificates. All will take about the remarkable honey bee.

May 2018 497

 • May 22, 2018 Peter Borst: Comb Honey nity-education or call 217-498-7223
• June 26, 2018 Pot Luck Dinner and Silent Auction Participants should bring their own lunches. Questions
• September 25, 2018 Richard Cowles: The Queen of contact Stu Jacobson: [email protected].
Your Dreams
• October 30, 2018 Dewey Caron: Topic TBD *** This is an IQI approved workshop for
• November 27, 2018 Bill Hesbach: Over-wintering qualifying as an IQI Producer. ***

For more information check our website for the latest up-
dates www.backyardbeekeepers.com ILLINOIS
June 23, Saturday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Registration at 8:30am.
GEORGIA
University of Illinois Extension Office
the University of georgia honey bee prograM 402 Ava Rd, Murphysboro, IL 62966
beekeeping institUte
A queen-rearing workshop designed to provide infor-
May 9-11th at mation and hands on instruction. Covers selecting queen
Young Harris College genetics as well identifying desired traits in bees and how
in Young Harris, Georgia to breed for them. Grafting, and non-grafting methods of
queen rearing will be covered.
The most comprehensive (and fun) beekeeping event in Each participant will take home a grafting tool, cell bar,
the Southeast. Includes lectures, workshops and demon- queen cups, class handouts, and a copy of “Queen Rearing
strations from local, national and international speakers. Essentials” Second Edition by Larry Connor. Participants
Plus hands-on training, the Georgia Master Beekeeping should have a minimum of two years of beekeeping expe-
Certification Program, honey show and Welsh Honey rience & be conversant with queen rearing concepts. In-
Judging Classes. For more information please visit www. structors are Joann & Pamela Rizkallah of Egyptian Queen
ent.uga.edu/bees. Breeders.

Cost: $91 non-members, $61 for IQI members . Registration

fee includes lunch.
GEORGIA
www.Illinoisqueeninitiative.org.
qUeen rearing classes
Register by mailing a check payable to the Illinois Queen
Jennifer Berry’s farm (UGA Honey Bee Lab Researcher)
Initiative to:
Comer, Georgia
Tim Lindley, IQI Treasurer
May 25th & 26th. 1222 Airport Ave., Greenville, IL 62246
Questions contact Joann
For more information please visit www.honeypondfarm. Email: [email protected]
com or email [email protected]. Phone: 618-967-1069.
*** This is an IQI approved workshop for
qualifying as an IQI Producer. ***
ILLINOIS
June 9, Saturday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Rain date: June 16. ILLINOIS
Registration at 8:30am.
Saturday, June 16th - 10:00am till noon
Lincoln Land Community College, Apiary Open House - This year’s event to be held at Jeff
5250 Shepherd Rd., Springfield, IL 62703 Ludwig’s queen mating yard at 1721 Water Road in Byron,
Illinois. Hot dog, chips and a drink provided by Stateline
Workshop designed to provide information and hands on Beekeeping Association. Queen rearing questions and
instruction for rearing quality queens. Grafting, and non- answers, and hands-on demonstrations will be offered.
grafting methods of queen rearing will be covered. Addi- Please bring a guest. Free.
tional topics include the biology of queen rearing, handling If planning to attend, please call 815-703-7436 so we can
queen cells, establishing mating nuclei, selecting breeder get a head count for food.
queens and “breeds” of varroa and disease resistant queens.
Each participant will take home a grafting tool, cell bar,
queen cups, class handouts, and a copy of “Queen Rear-
ing Essentials” 2nd edition by Larry Connor. Participants
should have a minimum of two years of beekeeping experi-
ence and should be conversant with queen rearing concepts.
Instructors are Stu Jacobson and Fred Gerberding.
Cost: $59 plus $25 for Connor’s book and supplies listed
above. Online registration taken at www.llcc.edu/commu-

498 American Bee Journal

 NEW YORK ing, the WSU bee team is offering an event to introduce
you to fundamental tools for stock improvement. This
conscioUs beekeeping: special session for beginners workshop is designed to improve your understanding of
queen rearing, bee breeding systems and selection meth-
how are My bees? UnDerstanDing anD Meeting ods though a combination of presentations and hands-on
yoUr bees’ MiDsUMMer neeDs demonstrations. We will also introduce you to the more
advanced techniques of instrumental insemination and
July 28, 2018 — 9am-5pm cryopreservation.
Instructors: Susan Cobey, Jennifer Han, Brandon Hop-
Ensure healthy hives and successful overwintering. Top- kins, Melanie Kirby, Tim Lawrence, Nick Naeger and
ics include: Assessing hive health, when to super, harvest- Steve Sheppard. We will also have two outstanding guest
ing honey, monitoring and managing varroa, and more. speakers from abroad, Jeri Wright from UK to discuss bee
All classes $95 each. nutrition and Gennaro Di Prisco from Italy to present his
breeding project in Italy.
The Pfeiffer Center,
260 Hungry Hollow Road Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977 Registration $ 275/person $ 450/ couple
www.pfeiffercenter.org http://bees.wsu.edu/
845-352-5020 x120

VIRGINIA
virginia state beekeepers association
100th anniversary

Meeting JUne 15 & 16, 2018

roanoke college, roanoke, va

Save the date for our 100th anniversary meeting, June

15 & 16, at Roanoke College in Roanoke, VA. The speak-
ers are:

• Tom Seeley, Professor at Cornell University and an

outstanding researcher into the behavior and social
life of honey bees.
• Dewey Caron, Emeritus Professor of Entomology &
Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware & Affiliate
Professor, Department of Horticulture, Oregon State
University, with 40+ years of teaching and doing
bee extension and bee research
• Kirsten Traynor, author of Two Million Blossoms:
Discovering the Medicinal Benefits of Honey and Simple,
Smart Beekeeping. Additionally she is the new editor
of American Bee Journal.
• Jessica Kern, who has been published in the Ameri-
can Bee Journal and teaches body mechanics for bee-
keepers. As a beekeeper, her primary focus is on
queen rearing, small scale honey production and
pollination. Jessica actively draws insights from her
studies of beekeeping, dressage, yoga, meditation,
and Qi Gong.

Sign-up information will be available on the website –

https://www.virginiabeekeepers.org/.

WASHINGTON
wsU qUeen rearing & bee breeDing workshop

pUllMan, wa
JUne 15th & 16th

Ready to take beekeeping to the next level? For those of

you who already have a working foundation in beekeep-

May 2018 499

500 American Bee Journal
May 2018 501
 Q
Hi Jerry,
HOW MANY SPECIES OF
VARROA ARE THERE?

We hear so much these days about

the Genus/Species Varroa destruc-
tor, the many ways they can be deadly
and how they may easily develop
resistance to various chemical treat-
ment options. However, we don’t
hear anything about any other spe-
cies within the genus Varroa, if they
are pathogenic and if there are any
lessons from them that can be applied
to V. destructor.
Keep up the advice in The Class-
room, great work.

Randy

A
Q
Jerry:
LINSEED/
FLAXSEED OIL…
Its Natural
that is absorbed and then dries to a
protective finish. Perfect for beehives.
All that long answer—so typical of
Jerry—to say you can tell your stu-
Great question Randy. And my
answer is that we don’t really know.
The word Varroa is kind of a catch
all for several different species. Our
dent to use it and let it air dry. Varroa is Varroa destructor. Varroa ja-
I have a student with a ton of lin-
It will be great. cobsoni was/is a good parasite on
seed oil who wants to know if he can
use it on his hives. Any idea if it is the Asian Honey Bee, Apis cerana. By

Q
OK? I note that varnish is acceptable. good, I mean that because of their
It has a strong smell and a foul taste, evolutionary history, Varroa and Apis
so linseed might be OK. Your section VSH and HYGIENIC cerana reached an agreement in their
has greatly expanded which I think is relationship: “I won’t kill you, if you
a good move. don’t kill me.” This resulted in the
Hey Jerry,
very small colony size of A. cerana
I have a question......could you
All the best, and Varroa choosing to reproduce
please explain the difference be-
Doug Morris only in drone brood.
tween Hygienic Behavior and V-S-H?
I put a link below to the history of
I have been looking at ads in ABJ for
Varroa and one to Purdue researchers
Carniolan queens. I think they are the
finding that Varroa jacobsoni is devel-
strains of bees I want to start with. I
oping the ability to reproduce on our
see the phrase hygienic behavior a lot,
European bees as well. A question
but not so much VSH. What’s the dif-
that I have always had is: at the right
ference or are they pretty much the
place and the right time, can these
same!
Varroa interbreed as they meet in a
honey bee larval cell? Could that re-
Thanks for your help,
sult in a hybrid Varroa that has even

A
Joseph Fleming
better survival qualities. No different

Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed

A VSH and Hygienic Honey Bees are
than hybrid corn or soybeans or….? A
super Varroa.
The genus Varroa contains these
species:
oil, has many uses. Flax is a crop that
kind of the same thing Joseph. • Varroa destructor is a virulent
has been propagated and grown by
The trait is that the bees, and only parasite that infests its natural
our ancestors for millennia. It has
about 10% of the colony population, host, Apis cerana (Asian honey
been used as a human food and in
possess a genetic trait that improves bees) on mainland Asia and
recipes for thousands of years. It is
their ability to recognize sick or para- also Apis mellifera (western honey
also a human nutritional supplement,
sitized brood and open up cells and bee) worldwide.
because of its important omega fatty
acids. Its use as a wood preservative drag them out so they can be removed • Varroa jacobsoni is a relatively
treatment has waned a bit as synthetic from the colony. benign parasite of Apis cerana.
alkyd resins have become cheaper. I think any help a beekeeper can • Varroa rindereri
The feature that makes it good on get to enhance colony health even at a • Varroa sinhai
wood is that it is a natural plant oil low level is better than none. • Varroa wongsirii

May 2018 503

https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/ queen. Sexually undeveloped worker flower nectar. If these ratios are not
releases/2016/Q4/another-species- honey bees are females in all respects, balanced the honey will balance itself
of-varroa-mite-threatens-european- except their reproductive organs are by some sugars removing themselves
honeybees.html not fully developed and operational and forming crystals. Some honeys
and they have not mated with drones. never form sugar crystals to balance
https://beekeep.info/a-treatise-on- When a queen is lost and not replaced, and some will crystallize quickly right
modern-honey-bee-management/ those pheromones the queen produced in the comb such as canola honey. And
managing-diseases-and-pests/ that stopped the other females in the others are intermediate like the ones
varroa-short-history/ colony from developing functional made by my bees in Gray Summit.
ovaries are not active any longer. This is a normal natural process
Workers can now develop ovaries that is not caused or influenced by

Q
and lay eggs as a last gasp opportu- anything other than sugar ratios. This
Queen Rearing nity to share their genetics through has nothing to do with pollen or de-
Books drones they produce. These worker
laid drones may mate with a queen
bris or anything else. It is just physics.
Most consumers in other countries
I am a fourth year beekeeper, look- from another colony in the DCA mat- prefer a finely crystallized / granu-
ing to raise queens. What is, in your ing zone. The female workers exter- lated honey as it is easier to spread
opinion, the best book on queen rear- nal body parts do not change, because and not messy.
ing. they are already mature. It is only You can certainly gently heat the
Thanks again for the good info in those internal reproductive structures honey if you want to dissolve the
the Classroom. that mature and then are able to pro- sugar crystals and return them to
duce eggs. As the laying worker’s solution. The sugar crystals will re-
Terry from Colorado abdomen is shorter than a queen’s form over time. I hope that explains
abdomen, when they lay eggs in a cell what you are seeing in this natural

A
they can’t control the number of eggs product.
well. There may be several in a single
cell. They are usually seen on the side

There are good ones out there. My

favorites are, “Rearing Queen Honey
Bees” by Roger Morse and “Queen
of the cell, as that is as far as their ab-
domen can reach, in contrast to the
bottom of the cell like a ‘real’ queen,
who is much longer.
Q
Hi Jerry,
ICKY FOREIGN
HONEY
Rearing Essentials” by Larry Connor.

Q
Have fun I bought some Brazilian wild-
CRYSTALLIZED flower honey, curious about the taste,
and it is awful. Could I feed it to my

Q
HONEY
LAYING bees or should I just throw it away?
Hi Jerry,
WORKERS I just opened a 2 gallon bucket of Thanks!
honey I bought from a beekeeper Spirit
I have heard that female workers,

A
friend yesterday and was wondering
because of queen loss or dysfunc- why would it be crystallizing already?
tion of the queen, can develop into It’s thick and grainy and the last 5 gal
fake queens that can lay eggs. The bucket I bought was the same. Does it
eggs don’t develop into worker bees, have more pollen that makes it thick
but drones because they are not fer- and grainy? I just haven’t seen honey Throw it away Spirit. You really
tilized with sperm as these workers do that so soon after harvesting. The don’t know if it is real honey, or
didn’t mate. Soooo, if a worker that taste is still awesome. something somebody made to make
can sting you can now lay an egg is a quick buck in the US, or what may
there a change in the sting egg laying Nancy be in it—an environmental toxin
machinery in them? or a disease pathogen. Not worth
the risk.
Lauren

A Q THAT IS WHY!
Queens can sting and have all the I love your column. In a previous
parts of a stinging apparatus. That is Classroom I read and skipped over the
how they get rid of rival queens. Their
stinger is just not a barbed stinger
like those of worker bees that would
get caught in the victim and pull out
A Honey is a super saturated sugar
making thymol patties until the end of
the question and realized like the ox-
alic shop towel, he might be making
the thymol gel out of ‘off label’ stuff
and kill them when they sting. That one can get so easily online instead of
wouldn’t be a good strategy if you solution. Ratios of sugars are differ- scooping from the Vita bucket of Api-
wanted to survive as a honey bee ent based on the mixture of sugars in Guard gel or using the 50 g packets.

504 American Bee Journal

 Thanks for reminding me why we their immune systems as the viruses to act as attractants, so it can repro-
use the commercially prepared treat- from Varroa? duce by having the insect move pol-
ments! Another reason is like music len from point A to point B. If you
or software, there is time and expense Bob watched that flower all day you may
that goes into testing, licensing, pro- see visits at different times of the day
ducing, and marketing. Currency by honey bees, solitary bees, bum-
doesn’t work if it doesn’t circulate, ble bees, flies, syrphid flies, beetles,
money or electricity! moths, butterflies, etc. None of these
are sterile organisms. They all have a
Jon Reese microbiome that exist on and in them
that helps them to survive. No differ-

A
ent than us having viruses and bac-
teria that help us digest food, attack

A
other invasive organisms, and popu-
late our skin all over our body.
Good GOLLY! These insects visiting flowers de-
Thank you for articulating that. I posit parts of their microbiome on the
get very few (maybe none) responses Not being one to re-invent the wheel flower anthers and stigma, and other
like that. I am going to be perfectly take a look at this article written on flower parts. A flower is like a door
selfish and put that in the Classroom if the BIP website, https://beeinformed. knob or the cart handle at the big box
you don’t mind. org/2014/09/25/honeydew-a-mixed- store. All that to say this is nothing
You have made my day. I’m going blessing/ new for honey bees that forage in a
home as I have peaked :) I think, for me, this summarizes 2-2.5 mile radius of their colony. They
nicely that honeydew isn’t honey, be- have been exposed to lots of toxins
cause it doesn’t originate from flower and pathogens as they evolved.

Q
nectar but rather aphid or psyllid Varroa and the direct injection of
HONEYDEW poop. It can be a source of some nu-
trition to honey bees, but because it is
viruses into honey bee adults, larvae
and pupae along with immune sup-
not associated with a flowering plant pression are really the tipping point
Jerry, there is a disconnect from access to for secondary disease issues in 2018
I am interested in learning more pollen and the protein honey bees with honey bees. Control Varroa safely
about honeydew and its positive and need. And then there is the potential and sanely and honey bee health re-
negative effects on bees. I know that for unexpected exposure to pesticides sponds accordingly.
in some parts of the world “forest that growers may be using to protect I hope this makes sense,
honey”, which is nearly 100% hon- their plants/crops from aphid and
Jerry
eydew, is prized for its strong and psyllid damage. Pesticide labels often

Q
unique flavors and nutritional value. indicate that many products should
It commands a high price and is a
boon to the beekeeper. In other places
not be used when the plants are flow-
ering and attractive to pollinators. But CEDAR HOLLOW
honeydew is regarded as a contami- here is an attractive food source, not LOG
nant that overpowers the floral fla- from flowers but from aphid excre- Hello Jerry!
vors and lessens the value of honey. ment; the labels do not address this. As always, you do an excellent job.
In America there are few places Since this is not a consistent source of My question is, would you use a hol-
where forest honey is gathered, but I honeydew in the US, exposure is spo- low cedar log hung up in a tree, with
know that bees all over use the aphid radic as well. some swarm lure, to attract a swarm.
secretion as a food source, especially I guess the good news is, if you are In other words, does the smell of
in times of drought. My specific ques- in the right place at the right time and cedar deter bees from using it? I’ve
tion is whether someone has studied there are enough aphids and psyllids got a nice hollow log I cut in half and
the average amounts of honeydew to suck on sap, honey bees can take ad- added hinges so as to be able to open
collected by bees in parts of America. vantage of this resource and store it at it, and I’m hoping to attract a swarm.
Is it just a small percentage of the times as surplus that the beekeeper can But, something tells me cedar is the
foraging or could it be a larger com- collect and sell at a premium price. But, wrong material.
ponent of the bee’s activities than we generally it is not a consistent source of Ken
expect? I see little of this discussed in surplus stored food by honey bees.

A
any of the books I have read. The honey bee immune system has
Secondly, the agricultural industry been primed for 10’s of thousands
has long studied the many types of of years to deal with bacteria and
aphids, because of their devastating viruses that also have a relationship
effects on crops. They are considered with plants and other insects. There Thank you for the compliment Ken.
the major vector of viruses for plants. are very seldom jumps of plant patho- First, remember that one of the
For many years we have heard about gens to insects or other animals that honey bee’s methods of communi-
the Varroa destructor as a carrier of vi- can cause disease or impact another cation is by pheromones, which are
ruses that weaken the bees and often organism simply feeding on them like odors. These odors / smells are im-
causes death. Could these plant vi- a parasite. portant for colony organization. This
ruses that the bees are carrying back Think of a flower blooming in your is why we use a ‘smoker’ to over-
into the hive be as much a problem for yard that produces pollen and nectar whelm these smells, so bees can’t talk

May 2018 505

to each other and mount a defense to
drive you away.
I don’t think the cedar cavity you
made, if it is large enough, has a
strong enough odor to deter a swarm
if that is their only cavity option. If the
odor is too strong and they don’t have
a choice, they collect propolis and
apply it as a covering and coating to
mask extraneous odors and stabilize
them, which has the added benefit of
the antimicrobial activity that comes
from propolis. If there are other cav-
ity options that aren’t cedar and don’t
have a significant odor profile they
may select those over the cedar.
But with a swarm lure who knows.
Let me know how it works out for
you.
Jerry

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506 American Bee Journal

 which should pull up honey prices.
Demands for queens and packages
are up 10%, though delays of about 1
week are expected in delivery.
Southeast—Bulk honey is selling
briskly in Florida. Very little remains
in beekeeper’s hands. One reporter
notes “Hard to find orange blossom
honey.”
The nectar flow for orange blos-
som has been good. The 2nd rain on
January 28th helped soil conditions.
Florida “had some cold weather, by
our standards for SW Florida. A few
nights at or slightly below freezing.
With the small cluster so many hives

2
United States age to weak. Beekeepers are feeding have this year, it chilled some brood
017 honey stocks are mostly to bulk them back up. Higher winter and even knocked out some hives.
sold or committed, with brisk losses than usual, with one reporter Good hives were okay.” Losses in
wholesale and retail sales in noting 40% losses up from his usual Florida are reported to be around 25-
much of the country. The demand 25%. From West Virginia we hear 45%, whereas they normally are at
for local honey continues to grow, that winter losses are elevated, com- 15-25%. The bees are already build-
with customers willing to pay a pre- ing in at 25%, compared to 10-15% ing up very well on incoming nectar
mium. Unfortunately this has also normal losses. Spring buildup is and pollen from red maple, cat mint,
driven an increase in honey fraud. fair and beekeepers are attempting wild turnips and radishes. It’s been
Many regions faced unusually cold to expand their operations by 20%. a good, wet winter, which bodes
winters or fluctuating temperatures Virginia reports losses of 50%, twice well for the wildflower crop. Bee-
in the spring that has negatively im- what they usually experience. keepers are expanding production
pacted colony health. Moisture conditions in Kentucky to keep up with higher losses. From
Northeast—Beekeepers in the have been good, but spring buildup Alabama we hear that the “very cold
Northeast faced a hard winter is poor to good as there is “no nectar weather set them back” and colonies
with warm-cold cycles. From New or pollen yet in eastern Kentucky” overwintered at average sizes. Some
Hampshire “With a year like we and it has been a very cold spring. require feeding and they are expect-
had, colonies will have to be fed Wet winters mean prospects for tulip ing higher than normal winter losses.
heavy this year.” They note that polar look good. “Autumn olive in It has been warm and wet in Ala-
beekeepers will need to “Hold on April, tulip poplar in May, both bama, with bees foraging on red
tight! Of course some areas may look good if no late hard freeze.” A maple, clover and dandelion. The
be ok, weather permitting.” Losses reporter notes “hopefully enough prospects for harvests on tulip popu-
are reported at 40-60% with slow rain in the fall for clover.” From Ken- lar look ok, while wildflower is good.
buildup and heavy feeding required. tucky we hear “Pollen started from “Spring is 6 weeks early although
From New York we hear that most willows Feb. 21st. Fed dry sub until freezing temps later this week, which
colonies overwintered well and are then.” From Tennessee we “need far may set things back. Lots of things
strong, due to good weather last more or a wider variety of forage for blooming early.”
fall. Colonies need feeding. “We all pollinators, especially honey bees. “Orange crop is almost over. Cold
had colder than normal temps this More attention should be placed on weather during the last ½ of the
winter. There were two times in Jan. sowing seeds and planting trees that bloom slowed the bees. Looks like
when some yards could be checked. bloom through the warm months of maybe 50-65% of a normal crop.”
Those hives checked seemed ok, but the year.” In West Virginia the good Demand for packages and queens
deep snow has stopped all checks moisture conditions indicate a flow are normal to high. From Florida
for now.” Winter losses so far are off tulip poplar, wildflower, and clo- we hear that beekeepers are receiv-
at 19%, whereas normal losses typi- ver. Virginia has also experienced ing “$150 to $225 for 3lb package
cally range in the 30-40%. “There good rain, so wildflower and tulip of bees!” Colonies are reported as
has been timely warm spells that al- poplar flows should be strong. strong, due to “better mite control”.
lowed bees to fly. Overall bee popu- Honey prices are high and retail Another reporter from Florida states
lations are good (cluster size). A few sales are brisk, with beekeepers mar- that colonies overwintered are av-
cases of dysentery.” keting wares successfully via Face- erage to weak, due to hurricane,
Mideast—Kentucky notes that book. The economy is doing well, hard to kill mites, and cold winter,
overwintered bees look weak, be- all which has resulted in increased
cause there was “no fall nectar flow winter losses. “Florida experienced
in 2017.” With light stores, colonies Intermountain
Northeast the coldest winter in 8 years, slowly
need heavy feeding and losses are West West Central East Central turning around now.” Nectar and
expected to be higher than normal. pollen are coming in, but the bees
“Some losses of weaker clusters dur- no longer make a honey crop off the
ing the extreme cold.” Beekeepers citrus. “Very spotty crops. Poor bees,
are cleaning out “many spring dead lack of forage, looks like a long term
outs” though they fed in December Mideast trend.” The weather has made for
and added pollen patties in January. a bad orange blossom crop, though
Losses are reported at 40%, normally palmetto is hopeful and gallberry
Southeast possible.
15-20%. Bees in Tennessee are aver-
Southwest

May 2018 507

 U.S. HONEY PRICES FROM OUR REPORTERS
North-
east
Mid-
east
South-
east
South-
west
East
Central
West-
Central
Inter-
Mountain West
HONEY MARKET FOR THE
MONTH OF MARCH 2018
Wholesale In volumes of 10,000 pounds or greater
White lb. Blk.$2.00-$3.00 $2.00-$4.25 $1.60-$3.00 $1.95-$2.30 $2.10-$4.00 $2.00-$3.30 $1.60-$2.60 $1.75-$2.50 unless otherwise stated
Amber lb. Blk $1.80-$2.65 $1.95-$4.25 $1.50-$2.50 $1.90-$2.25 $1.90-$4.00 $1.75-$2.50 $1.50-$2.50 $1.60-$2.35 (Courtesy March 2018
USDA National Honey Report)
1 lb. CS 24 $ 60.00- $ 55.00- $ 60.00- $ 80.00- $ 78.00- $ 84.00- $ 60.00- $ 58.00-
$119.76 $100.00 $126.00 $120.00 $168.00 $110.00 $180.00 $276.00 Prices paid to beekeepers for extracted, unprocessed
honey in major producing states by packers, han-
2 lb. CS 12 $ 60.00- $ 60.00- $ 60.00- $ 90.00- $ 60.00- $ 60.00- $ 57.00- $ 60.00- dlers & other large users, cents per pound, f.o.b. or
$ 117.20 $ 90.00 $ 114.00 $ 120.00 $114.00 $ 96.00 $ 110.00 $ 84.00 delivered nearby, containers exchanged or returned,
5 lb. CS 6 $ 72.00- $ 60.00- $ 60.00- $ 58.00- $ 87.00- $ 84.00 $ 60.00- $ 60.00- prompt delivery & payment unless otherwise stated.
$128.10 $127.50 $ 150.00 $ 98.00 $115.00 $134.00 $103.00 $104.00 -Report includes both new and old crop honey-
Retail
Jars 8 oz. $ 1.45- $ 2.40- $ 2.50- $ 2.50- $ 2.50- $ 2.25- $ 2.00- $ 2.25- (# Some in Small Lot — +Some delayed pay-
$ 4.00 $6.00 $ 4.00 $ 4.50 $ 6.00 $ 4.00 $ 6.00 $ 8.00 ments or previous commitment)
Squeeze $ 3.10- $ 3.00- $ 3.69- $ 2.80- $ 3.00- $ 4.00- $ 3.50- $ 3.19-
Bear 12 oz.$ 6.00 $ 7.00 $ 5.95 $ 4.75 $10.00 $ 6.00 $ 4.85 $ 6.00 Dakotas
Clover White $2.08 - $2.10
Jars 1 lb. $ 4.58- $ 5.55- $ 5.69- $ 6.00- $ 4.00- $ 4.00- $ 3.75- $ 4.19- Clover Extra Light Amber $2.08 - $2.10
$ 12.00 $ 8.25 $10.00 $ 12.00 $ 8.75 $ 8.25 $ 10.00 $ 18.00 Wildflower Light Amber $1.80
Jars 11/2lb.$ 5.50- $ 5.25- $ 5.69- $ 5.45- $ 6.00- $ 5.50- $ 4.75- $ 4.75- Florida
(Pint) $ 13.00 $ 11.00 $ 10.70 $ 10.00 $ 12.00 $ 9.50 $ 10.00 $ 10.25 Wildflower Extra Light Amber $1.70
Jars 2 lb. $ 7.58- $ 6.95- $ 12.99- $ 7.00- $ 6.50- $ 7.25- $ 6.25- $ 6.50- Iowa
$ 15.00 $ 15.00 $ 18.00 $ 18.00 $ 16.00 $ 12.00 $ 11.25 $ 11.50 Clover White $2.12
Jars 3 lb. $ 9.50- $ 13.00- $ 8.79- $ 8.25- $ 11.00- $ 10.00- $ 8.10- $ 8.00- Mississippi
(Quart) $ 25.00 $ 22.00 $ 18.00 $ 21.00 $ 29.00 $ 22.00 $ 23.00 $ 25.00 Soybean Light Amber $1.75
Jars 4 lb. $ 10.00- $ 10.00- $ 11.00- $ 18.00- $ 13.50- $ 14.00- $ 11.00- $ 10.00- Montana
$ 35.00 $ 30.00 $ 29.75 $ 30.00 $ 30.00 $ 16.25 $ 28.50 $ 32.00 Alfalfa Extra Light Amber $2.08
Jars 5 lb. $ 22.00- $ 15.00- $ 15.50- $ 16.25- $ 14.00- $ 17.00- $ 16.00- $ 16.50- Nebraska
$ 40.00 $ 39.50 $ 35.50 $ 32.00 $ 40.00 $ 27.00 $ 33.25 $ 35.00 Clover White $2.08-$2.10
Creamed $ 5.50- $ 5.50- $ 5.49- $ 5.25- $ 2.60- $ 3.95- $ 4.75- $ 5.25- Clover Extra Light Amber $1.65-$2.08
12 oz. $ 7.50 $ 8.00 $ 6.95 $ 6.99 $ 9.00 $12.00 $ 7.00 $ 7.25 Spurge Light Amber $2.08
Ohio
Comb $ 6.00- $ 5.50- $ 5.25- $ 5.50- $ 8.00- $ 8.00- $ 5.50- $ 5.75-
Basswood White $2.08
12 oz. $14.00 $13.00 $13.25 $13.50 $15.00 $12.00 $13.75 $13.50
Oregon
Round $ 5.00- $ 4.50- $ 4.50- $ 4.00- $ 5.00- $ 4.00- $ 4.25- $ 4.50- Alfalfa White $2.08
Plas. Comb$ 8.50 $13.00 $ 7.50 $ 8.25 $ 10.00 $ 12.00 $ 7.00 $ 8.50 Alfalfa Extra Light $2.08
1 Gallon $ 76.00- $ 49.95- $ 45.00- $ 36.00- $ 36.00- $ 33.95- $ 24.00- $ 25.00- Mint Amber $1.60
$116.00 $ 59.99 $ 58.00 $ 100.00 $ 96.00 $ 55.00 $ 50.00 $ 50.00 Wildflower Extra Light $2.08
Wildflower Amber $1.60
60 lb. $180.00- $188.00- $150.00- $140.00- $160.00- $144.00- $140.00- $140.00- Texas
$225.00 $260.00 $250.00 $200.00 $420.00 $220.00 $225.00 $230.00 Tallow Light Amber $1.80
The above prices are not meant to provide a realistic picture of prices in all states of the
particular area. They are intended merely to show what a few beekeepers are receiving
for their honey and we realize prices may vary tremendously, even within individual
Prices paid to Canadian Beekeepers for unpro-
states. The bulk prices for honey are stated per pound, delivered buyer’s warehouse,
cessed, bulk honey by packers and importers in
containers exchanged or furnished by buyer, unless otherwise noted. Where prices are
U. S. currency, f.o.b. shipping point, containers in-
not shown, insufficient data were available.
cluded unless otherwise stated. Duty and crossing
charges extra. Cents per pound.
“On the packing side, I believe we pollen from maples. Beekeepers look Clover White $1.38 - $1.42
are heading to a European style retail forward to a good flow on sage and Mixed Flower White $1.35 - $1.42
market. It’s going to be impossible to tulip poplar. From New Mexico win-
compete against imports. So you will ter losses are reported to be just over
have low priced grocery store honey 40%, where they usually experience
filled with imports and local or high 50% loss. The colonies have plenty of last year’s stock still available. Retail
end supported with regionally pro- stores and very little feeding is done. sales in contrast are good. Wisconsin
duced honeys at a much higher price. Most colonies from Arizona were reports strong honey sales, with good
My biggest concern is unscrupulous moved to California for almond pol- movement in the wholesale mar-
packers packing foreign as local – we lination. Alfalfa and desert blooms ket and tight supply. In Illinois the
are already seeing this!!” were the main sources for nectar and wholesale movement has been poor,
From Alabama a reporter wrote pollen in the state, as well as citrus. but prices up as demand increases.
“Lots of new people wanting to be Demand for honey remained good Wintering has been fair. In Illinois
beekeepers and get into the honey across Arizona. colonies overwintered decently, but
business.” Demand for honey has in- Bees in Oklahoma are being fed the bees need feed; beekeepers are ex-
creased, as more stores seek out local to encourage early buildup. Winter pecting elevated winter losses. “IPM
honey. loses are at 10%. Hives are building failed to stop rampant mite growth,”
Southwest—The wholesale move- slowly but temps are warming which leading to increased winter losses.
ment of honey in Louisiana has been helps in the buildup, hives are weaker Losses of up to 90% of overwintered
fair with typical demand. It’s been than expected. Splits are anticipated colonies have been reported, with an-
easy to move large volumes of honey. as weather conditions improve. Nuc other noting that winter losses were
Overwintered colonies are of aver- prices are rising from $175 to $195 50%, when they’re normally 30%.
age strength with some honey stores and single boxes off almonds are Buildup has been poor with colonies
still holding up. Winter losses are ex- going for $225. Demand for queens needing heavy feeding. “Bees that
pected to be normal or below normal. and packages in the Southwest re- made it through look great. We will
The spring buildup so far has been mains high. probably split middle of May. Be-
average with good weather condi- East Central—Indiana sales of tween splits and replacements, we
tions. Bees are collecting nectar and bulk honey are fair with 25-40% of will be running 4 times more bees this

508 American Bee Journal

 of last year’s crop still in beekeeper’s into restaurants and mead making.
Prices paid to importers for bulk honey, duty paid,
containers included, cents per pound, ex-dock or hands. Price increases in both the “With so many new beekeepers, I am
point of entry unless otherwise stated. wholesale and retail markets, with hearing that it is tough sales at Farm-
strong demand and brisk movement. ers Markets. Many are talking about
Argentina A Nebraska beekeeper reports or afraid of prices dropping due to
Mixed Flowers White $1.20 - 1.50
Mixed Flowers Extra Light $1.04 - $1.50 that he wintered his bees in an Idaho competition.” South Dakota reports
Mixed Flowers Light Amber $1.20 potato shed. Beekeepers in this area a shortage of honey, with strong de-
Brazil plan to expand operations by 20%. mand for wholesale supplies.
ORGANIC White $1.94 - $2.8 Another reports that overwintered Intermountain—Commercial bee-
ORGANIC Extra Light $1.89 - $1.92
ORGANIC Light Amber $1.89 - $1.92 colonies are very weak. “Only hives keepers had their colonies in Cali-
ORGANIC Amber $1.89 here are ones I didn’t send to Cali, fornia for almonds. The bee’s that
India but very weak or dead.” Stores on remain look healthy. Winter losses
Mixed Flower Extra Light $0.91 these duds are holding up. He re- minimal with most beekeepers re-
Mixed Flower Light Amber $0.89 - $0.97
Mustard Light Amber $1.07 ports “There is not much to talk porting less than 10% losses.
Vietnam about, except the freezing weather.” Beekeepers continue to feed su-
Mixed Flower Light Amber $0.88 - $0.94 Brrrr! Varroa mites seem to be a big crose and pollen protein supplements
Mixed Flower Amber $0.82 - $0.87 concern, as they have really weak- to keep their bees in good shape since
Uruguay
Mixed Flower Light Amber $0.88 ened overwintered hives. Another there is not usually much nectar accu-
Nebraska report notes overwintered mulated by bees from honey during
colonies are strong, but need feed. almonds. Many commercial beekeep-
year.” In Michigan, the bees are “still “Late fall flow put colonies in good ers will start heading home, prepar-
in the snow banks.” Winter losses in shape for winter. Extreme cold oc- ing to make splits and divides.
this state range from 25-80%, whereas curred where no brood was present, Demand for honey exceeds the
beekeepers normally lose 15-20%. but did not hurt protected colonies. supply. There is just not enough local
“Well above normal winter losses and Cold has had adequate breaks for honey to fill the demand with most
still not done with the cold weather.” cleansing flights.” Losses of 20-75% of the 2017 commercial honey sold or
Wisconsin losses are 35-60%, which have been reported. From Iowa “We committed.
is right around or 20% above normal. lose a lot in March. Many are feeding. West—In Washington the bees
Indiana reports 35% winter losses Central and Southern Iowa beekeep- overwintered decently and stores
with fair buildup. “Some beekeepers ers are seeing pollen entering hives.” are “holding up”; beekeepers don’t
simply do not have the experience to Missouri notes overwintered colo- expect high losses or just slightly ele-
properly winter their bees, this is not nies pulled through okay, though vated. Weather conditions have been
meant to look down on any particular “feeding with a candy board on okay, but it’s too early for any real
beekeeper, but simply that the combi- most of the hives” and expects win- foraging. Oregon reporters note that
nation of weather, cluster size, queens, ter losses to be higher than normal. the colonies that overwintered are
mites, and stores or lack thereof makes “We lost 39% of our 110 hives dur- weak, due to “bad fall management,
winter losses a sure thing.” ing summer and fall. Some may did something wrong, mites.” Winter
“Bees have not been able to fly for have been due to failing queens losses are thus expected to be higher.
at least 4 weeks. This is a time of year and/or varroa mites, though we did One Oregon reporter notes losses of
when it is hard to be patient. The bees mite treatments and requeening. 60%, when normally only 30% losses
I have looked at seem to be winter- We usually have almost no losses in are experienced, while another re-
ing and standing the cold well. How- summer. Now we have lost 57% of ports losses of less than 5%, while
ever, I am getting anxious about the the remaining hives this winter al- they usually experience losses of 10%.
bees being able to reach stores in the ready!! Something is going wrong. I Spring buildup has been slow, with
prolonged cold.” From Wisconsin have kept bees for 33 years so it’s not colonies requiring feed. From Cali-
and Illinois we hear that the weather like I don’t have a lot of experience fornia we hear losses are 15-20% with
has been dry to normal, which may (even though I always have plenty to fair spring buildup. “Collected data
impact spring flows. Indiana notes learn). I think Big Ag is killing us, er from 22 club members in the Central
“Waiting for spring, wishing for some I mean our bees.” Coast Beekeepers Alliance. Between
sunny 50 or 60 degree days, so we The “cost of package bees and the 22 of us we started winter with
could take a look at the bees.” queens is getting to an unsustainable 460 colonies and as of a few days ago
One reporter in Illinois writes in level”. From North Dakota we hear had 377 for a winter loss of 18.04%. In
that “I have had inquiries at whole- that beekeepers are increasing pro- reality I imagine this number is much
sale level that turned my offer down, duction “due to high honey prices.” higher. …The treatment free beekeep-
because overseas honey was cheaper. From Iowa a beekeeper’s children ers did not want to share their data
The market share I have has de- are expanding into bees, with the and I suspect it is due to high losses.”
creased in my area. I am looking into “youngest son buying into our busi- Artisanal and location specific
alternative products to make up for ness (2,000 colonies),” the daughter honey sells better. The wholesale
it.” Indiana reports “strong demand ramping her hobby up to 50 colonies, market is brisk with increased de-
and a shortage of good quality honey. and the oldest son moving up to 100. mand. In Oregon, beekeepers still
It could affect pollination contracts.” “Bees have become exciting!” holding 50% of the 2017 crop. Whole-
From Wisconsin a reporter notes More large scale beekeepers are try- sale market is fair, retail is stronger.
that the Dept. of Ag is checking for ing to market directly to retail stores California has been dry and rain
proper health inspections for all live for the higher profit margins. “Been is needed for a good sage flow. “Up
bees and used equipment shipped trying to sell more retail in local gro- until this week prospects for sage
into the state. “Any person not fol- cery stores. I have gotten into 6 so were looking poor. We just had a
lowing (the law) may find a delay in far.” Local honey sales remain strong, large storm move in providing us
their delivery.” while bulk honey will depend on the with much needed rain, so it’s look-
West Central—Bulk honey is sell- US Crop and foreign dumping. Many ing like we’ll be making some black
ing briskly, with very little up to 15% are looking to expand their market sage after all.”

May 2018 509

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Fax: (561) 423-0304

510 American Bee Journal

I
t’s harvest time in the city that an entire bar/restaurant owned by beekeeping under their belts. Those
doesn’t sleep, so there are extrac- the boyfriend of a beekeeper, but had who persevere in beekeeping are truly
tors and other bulky gear to move to be out by 5pm so he could open for exceptional people.
around, and if you want to avoid traf- paying customers. And then there’s the schedule: the
fic, and not be hassled by the cops The current trend that started with overly-optimistic one-hour blocks of
about loading and unloading, you the cupcake fad is toward more and time. Elegantly managed by the lat-
do the moving at 4 am. If you’ve ever more commercial kitchens available est trendy web application, always a
considered hosting a group honey ex- in the city, some of which are rented new thing to learn every darn time.
tracting day, give a listen. by the day to small-scale artisans, I fight to make a simple printout to
The equipment is stored in the base- some associated with boutique gro- tape to the wall, so we can see where
ment of a friend, who lives north of cery stores where single avocados are we are, and accommodate everyone.
the City. There are two extractors, sold at prices seemingly linked to the Now, one hour sounds like more than
pails, mesh filters, stainless steel pans NASDAQ Composite Index. Some- enough time to uncap and extract su-
used for uncapping, serrated bread times we pay, sometimes we rely on pers from two hives, but things never
knives, boxes of hair nets and dispos- the kindness of strangers, sometimes seem to work out that way, so we have
able gloves, enough for a dozen bee- it’s a friend of a friend. learned that we can’t book anyone for
keepers to work in parallel, and keep For some reason, none of them like the last 2 hours, as schedules are born
the extractors spinning. my drill and concrete bits, so there is a to slip. Any gathering of beekeep-
In New York City, no one has the lot of explaining to do about how ex- ers unerringly creates small dents in
space to own their own extracting tractors had to be bolted down to keep spacetime, resulting in time moving
gear, as apartments range from a few them from “walking”. The lesson here much faster than the beekeepers. On
hundred square feet to a thousand at is that people don’t know much about average, the best that can be done
most for mere mortals who keep bees. lag bolts and anchors, or the caps that by any one beekeeper, start to finish,
To illustrate the premium on space, I cover them and turn them into easily- is 3 or 4 supers per hour, most of it
do not subscribe to magazines, I get overlooked small silver circles until cleanup and prep. Of this, only about
downloads for my Kindle. they are needed again. 15-20 minutes utilize a 9-frame extrac-
We’ve set up our very fly-by-night I drop the gear over at the location, tor, so you can work out your own
operation at several places over the where a team of two will bolt the legs parameters for scheduling from these
years, as we need a largish kitchen on the extractors, run everything else averages, assuming motorized ex-
that can accommodate everyone, one through the dishwasher, and set up tractors, or lots of enthusiastic crank-
that is inspected by the city health de- some semblance of a workflow. I hit turners for the manual type. But the
partment so that we comply with the Dunkin’s for donuts, as this is first key is to uncap at multiple uncapping
law on our “food to be sold”, honey. and foremost a social event. Many stations, 3 to 5 per extractor.
We started with a seldom-used church uber-urban beekeepers are so busy, We don’t use any heated uncap-
kitchen that could be used any day they only see each other on harvest ping knives. Bread knives are easier
but Sunday, moved to a Synagogue, days, so we try to make it nice with to master, are cheaper to buy in doz-
only to find that we could not work donuts and coffee and pizza and ens, and don’t break or burn anyone.
there on Saturdays, then moved to soda. I am more of the reclusive/ They are VERY sharp, so Band-Aids
a hotel banquet kitchen, which was elusive type myself, but I enjoy see- will be needed to keep the clumsy
great until the hotel closed down for ing my former students who have among us from bleeding all over the
renovations. Once we even took over become colleagues with a decade of otherwise sterilized stainless steel. We

May 2018 511

 haul many full supers with a bike,
even on a flat road.
My favorite toy is the giant spatula,
the size of a canoe oar. With it, one
can scrape the honey off the side of
an extractor, and coax it down to the
gate, so everyone gets every last drop
of their honey, but there is no undue
delay between the current extractor
user and the next. Worth it!
Someone always brings one or an-
other new gadget claimed to make
things easier, so we conduct a mix
of a QVC pitchman show and Myth-
busters episode, to find out if the gad-
get is worthy of our attention. Most
fail to impress within the first few
minutes of use. Some are taken out in
the parking lot and ceremonially run
over with the largest vehicle we have,
as a “blight upon the craft”.
Mike uncapping honey using the Lega uncapper. Photo by Mackenzie Anne Smith. One phenomena that defies expla-
nation is the “Riddle of the Refrac-
have a Lega uncapper with the rows at a restaurant supply store, so they tometers”. Over the decades, I bought,
of discs, and it works well for those are stainless steel. The turnover and dropped, and broke three expensive
who run 9-frame supers, less well for bankruptcy rate in restaurants is such Atago Refractometers in a row, one
those who run 10-frame supers. The that there are USED restaurant supply of them taking a dramatic one-way
photo above is of the Lega being run stores, which can save you and your trip head over heels down an entire
by Mike, who is clearly in the zone. gang some serious money, if you can flight of stairs, like a slinky that had
The early birds arrive, some start find one. forgotten how to slink. But none of
uncapping, some just drink coffee A “full sheet pan” is 18 inches by 26 the cheap Chinese knock-offs have
and stand and chat. An elite few bring inches, and a honey super is 16 x 20, so ever been dropped, although handled
comb honey supers and ostentatiously we have a large number of sheet pans hundreds of times by many differ-
go about the process of packaging to go under honey supers or stacks ent people since they were bought. Is
their combs for sale, all the while talk- thereof, and a few homemade dol- gravity stronger on more expensive
ing very loudly to no one in particular lies to roll around larger stacks. Most items, or do the Chinese simply make
and everyone within earshot about of them come in with their supers, as a more ergonomic product?
how easy their work is. extracted supers can still be drippy, so Don’t laugh too hard at the motor-
The name of the game is “Catch the we encourage individual ownership, ized extractor – yes, that IS a junkyard
Drips”. For each workstation, there is as many beekeepers will arrive in motor, junkyard pulley and a frame-
one tray to catch cappings, and sev- taxis and ubers with the supers in the work made from stock steel from a
eral deeper pans in which to place trunk. A few have actual cargo trail- lumberyard. It works fine; one adjusts
uncapped frames. These were bought ers for their bikes, but you can’t really the belt tension with the big red han-
dle, which adjusts rotational speed. It
is the best motorized add-on $30 can
buy! If you wanted pretty, you came
to the wrong place, and the multiple
glaring OSHA violations pale in com-
parison to the basic act of keeping
boxes full of stinging insects on roof-
tops in a city of 8 million people, of
which 7.999 million are absolutely cer-
tain that they are allergic to bee stings.
Food-grade plastic pails are the
55-gallon drums of urban beekeeping,
and we have a lot of them. There re-
ally isn’t time to do more than filter
from the extractor through (a) a col-
ander, (b) a very large stainless-steel
metal-mesh strainer, or (c) a 400 or
600 micron strainer. This means that
each beekeeper will be taking home
several pails to filter further, and to
put into yet another pail equipped
with a honey gate for hand bottling.
Extractor with a homemade motor constructed from parts salvaged at a junk yard. But we do not fill pails that are fitted

512 American Bee Journal

with honey gates, as they are a disas-
ter waiting to happen in transport.
The pails are bought from a packag-
ing supply wholesaler, so there is no
reason for anyone’s bottling set up to
be used to transport honey, even if it is
only across the room from the extrac-
tor. There’s no use crying over spilled
honey, the trick is to not spill it.
Brand new pail lids are an extra
level of safety for transporting honey,
as once they are hammered onto the
pail, they will not come off until the
tear-tab is removed, but few people
demand them, and so far, so good –
no spills in cars.
Bottling is most often done at home,
and we have found that even trying
to do a group purchase on glassware
quickly deteriorates into bickering, as
the minimums for “free shipping” are
low, and those of us with more than
a handful of hives order and pick up
our own glassware ourselves. Perhaps
you can work out a better solution.

Jim Fischer says that he is the “3rd

beekeeper from the left”, and keeps
bees on a small island off the east
coast of the US, having sold his ap-
ple-pollinating operation some time
ago.

May 2018 513

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May God Bless your endeavors This year

514 American Bee Journal

W
hile many of you are busy 3) Create a venue to rapidly share we bring you a brief synopsis of the
enjoying much celebrated new techniques and current re- research presented.
national beekeeping con- search to advance the field. We kicked off the conference with
ferences, chances are you might not a bit of a look into the future with Dr.
have even been aware that another But perhaps one of the most noble Marla Spivak (University of Minne-
beneficial and thought-provoking endeavors of the association is pro- sota). Dr. Spivak asked the question:
conference is taking place at the same moting the junior and early career What would happen if we were to
time and most likely in the same researchers through awards and flip our perspective on bee health and
place. The American Association of scholarships and by providing a consider the “super” to be half full
Professional Apiculturists (AAPA) friendly platform for scientific discus- instead of half empty? For example,
has organized the American Beekeep- sion. This year’s winner of the AAPA instead of considering that there is
ing Research Conference (ABRC) for Student Scholarship was Elizabeth 30-40% annual colony mortality we
the past several decades with January Walsh from Juliana Rangel’s Labora- could look at it as having a 60-70%
2018 marking the 31st gathering. Over tory at Texas A&M University. In 2018 survival which would mean lots of
the two-day conference, a total of 55 we established additional awards: stock with good breeding potential.
oral presentations and 12 poster pre- Postdoctoral travel award won by Our wide ranging differences in treat-
sentations were given, representing Kaira Wagoner from University of ment or no treatment approaches for
work done from over 30 different re- North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) colony management both have pluses
search groups located throughout the and an extension award won by Ra- and minuses that could be harnessed
United States and Canada. This year, chael Bonoan from Tufts University. for improving honey bee health. For
AAPA members met in conjunction In addition, there were three student instance, while treatments for various
with the American Beekeeping Fed- presentation winners. Please make maladies can help with herd immu-
eration Conference and Tradeshow, sure you pass the word of these op- nity and ensure there is a sufficient
while in 2019 AAPA will be partner- portunities to the deserving young supply for pollination, it might lead to
ing with the American Honey Pro- researchers you know. You can learn propagation of susceptible bee stock.
ducers Convention and Tradeshow more from our website http://aapa. Dr. Spivak also discussed the idea and
in Phoenix, AZ. cyberbee.net/awards/. the need to revisit certain standards
So what is AAPA and what do we Many great contemporary apicul- established in the industry such as
do? AAPA was established by Mal- turists have served the association by the varroa mite thresholds. She spoke
colm Sanford, Eric Mussen and John providing insights on important bee- about the need for refining those to
Harbo following the founding of the keeping topics ranging from input on apply to different types of situations
Canadian Association of Professional neonicotinoid effects on bees to put- and particularly in light of our lack of
Apiculturists (CAPA). AAPA has ting forth a White Paper on Colony understanding how viral infections
three main goals: Collapse Disorder and Bee Health.1 may influence these thresholds. For
The professional members strive to example, more remote locations or
1) Promote communication report on the most up-to-date research smaller apiaries might be able to with-
within and between industry, findings and their possible applica- stand higher mite pressure.
academia and the beekeeping tion for the industry (see Bee World Dr. Spivak continued by discuss-
community. volume 94, Issue 3).2 The next time ing the need for furthering our un-
2) Develop and foster research on when you are attending the ABF or derstanding of the mechanisms of
fundamental and applied ques- AHPA conference consider stopping infested brood and varroa removal,
tions to gain a greater under- by ABRC; your registration for those including more general hygienic be-
standing of bee biology in an conferences automatically grants you havior in addition to varroa sensi-
aim to assist and improve the free access to ABRC. And just in case tive hygiene, as well as other traits,
beekeeping industry. you were not able to join us this year, like grooming where bees remove

May 2018 515

varroa mites from other adult bees. sity of MD, vanEnglesdorp Lab). You meetings we are very grateful to have
This understanding would allow us might have heard about his very cool CAPA members share their research
to improve our breeding efforts to and ground breaking research chal- updates. This year Dr. Stephen Pernal
include multiple traits of resistance lenging a long-standing idea that var- shared with us the results of the Cana-
against pathogens and other mala- roa mites feed on hemolymph of the dian Honey Bee Health Survey. From
dies. She suggested we rethink what bees and further questioned the as- 2014-2017, 944 samples were included
we know about microbiota of honey sumption of whether the mites actually with most coming from Alberta. Data
bees including pathogens and the way feed on adults. Well, as it turns out the provided insight into Nosema species
we deal with them. For example, why female mites are indeed going after the composition with the majority of the
does treating a bacterial infection with fat of the honey bees (Burnham, 2018),3 positive samples across the board pre-
antibiotics help control a Black queen which means that varroa mites are not senting with primarily Nosema cera-
cell virus (BQCV) infection? Dr. Spiv- actually “phoretic” when on adults nae infection while a small portion of
ak’s self-proclaimed wild speculation because a phoretic phase would mean samples presented with a mixed infec-
was dysbiosis where antibiotics kill the mites are just waiting around on tion of N. ceranae and N. apis. In terms
off an opportunistic bacterium, allow- the adult bees until they find another of bacterial infections, more specifi-
ing beneficial microbiota to control the suitable larval cell to infest. Because cally American Foulbrood (AFB), ap-
virus. Lastly, Dr. Spivak reminded us the mites are actually feeding on adult proximately 12% national samples
that we should be working towards honey bees too, this prompted Ramsey tested positive for AFB, with all of the
helping honey bees help themselves and the team to propose a change in samples testing sensitive to Tylosin
by providing them what they natu- terminology from phoretic to dispersal (meaning Tylosin should still be an
rally utilize such as propolis and other phase. These findings can prove to be effective treatment of choice for Ca-
naturally occurring phytochemicals in a game changer in the combat against nadian infections). Interestingly, there
nectar and pollen. It would be wise of varroa and may likely influence the was a high prevalence of BQCV, SBV
us to keep moving forward by looking way we think about and develop new (Sacbrood virus), and LSV 1-4 (Lake
for novel ways to be better researchers miticides. Sinai virus), with over 80% of na-
and better beekeepers and improve The following session discussed tional 2014-2017 samples testing posi-
bee health by promoting these natural nutritional needs of the honey bees. tive. It is still not quite clear what the
defenses. Topics ranged from evaluating polli- presence of these viruses means for
This was a nice segue into the nator communities in different habi- colony health, but Daughenbaugh et
remainder of the session where tats such as turfgrass and prairies to al (2015)4 did find a negative correla-
speakers discussed a range of top- determining honey bee pollen forag- tion between LSV variants and colony
ics including varroa mite physiol- ing preferences. While not directly re- survival. You can learn more about
ogy and behavior, viral resistance lated to honey bee nutrition, the most the Canadian Honey Bee Health Sur-
and even how ants can be involved curious talk of the session was cer- vey here.5 The final talks of the session
in viral transmission to honey bees. tainly a discussion of how we could included discussion of the impact of
Shilpi Bahtia (University of North harness the drone brood removal not various pesticides on honey bee phys-
Carolina at Greensboro, Rueppell only for varroa mite management but iology and health.
Lab) presented her efforts in identi- also for human consumption. Bridget Presentations on the first day were
fying colonies with resistance to spe- Gross (Ohio State University, Reed concluded with a “Shark Tank” style
cifically Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus Johnson Lab) gave a compelling ar- competition sponsored by the Honey
(IAPV), once thought to be correlated gument for using this highly protena- Bee Health Coalition where selected
with CCD. She was able to identify ceous snack as a part of our every-day researchers, beekeepers and students
some colonies exhibiting desirable diet while potentially making some battled for additional funds to sup-
viral resistance characteristics. How- additional income. Hey, no need to port further development of their
ever, these are only the first steps in be grossed out – I hear drones taste original ideas for honey bee health
starting a breeding program and ad- like almonds. improvement. Out of six competitors,
ditional efforts will be discussed. AAPA often meets with our coun- four were awarded the funds and you
A real crowd pleaser was the pre- terparts to the North – CAPA, but can read more about their projects in
sentation by Samuel Ramsey (Univer- on the years we don’t organize joint the March 2018 issue of ABJ. But in

Elizabeth Walsh Student Scholarship winner presenting Shilpi presenting

516 American Bee Journal

our book, the real stars were a group sometimes these data tend to throw better at finding their way back home
of students from Georgia Institute us into a pit of despair, these stud- during the eclipse, while workers had
of Technology who presented their ies can also be extremely valuable in the fastest return rate after the eclipse.
idea for a Honey Bee Ultrasound that modulating colony management ap- Combined, the results suggest that
would be used for rapid colony eval- proaches (for example, timing of spe- both workers and drones are able
uations in the field. Make sure you cific miticide treatments) for reduced to quickly adjust to new challenges.
watch the presentations at https:// bee stress. These changes do not seem to be in
www.facebook.com/pg/beehealt- Keeping with the theme of the response to changes in light intensity
horg/videos/. Our attendees then plenary talk, a presentation by Dr. or temperature considering minimal
had an opportunity to continue their Margarita López-Uribe (The Pennsyl- changes in these parameters, but the
discussion at an evening social and vania State University) explored the humidity dropped significantly dur-
poster session. We want to extend our differences in immunocompetence ing the eclipse. Unfortunately, we will
sincerest thanks to our sponsor Véto- between feral and managed honey have to wait for some time to explore
pharma6 and particularly Phil Craft. bee populations. Dr. López-Uribe and this phenomenon further as the next
The second day of the conference her team identified higher expression total solar eclipse visible from North
began by honoring the winners of the of some genes involved in antivi- America will be on April 8, 2024.
Honey Bee Health Coalition challenge ral resistance in feral PA colonies as Luckily, you will not have to wait this
and the student paper winners. There compared to managed counterparts. long for the next ABRC to be held in
were excellent student presenters and Interestingly, DWV levels were lower January 2019 in Phoenix, AZ.
the top three ranked by the judges in managed colonies suggesting that If this article peaked your inter-
were (in no particular order): Morgan the antiviral response in honey bees est and you want to learn more, you
Carr-Markell, (University of Min- involves additional antiviral mecha- can find the abstracts of the talks
nesota, Spivak Lab), Joseph Milone nisms. The next steps will examine the and posters in the complete confer-
(North Carolina State University, survival rates of theses distinct honey ence proceedings available on-line in
Tarpy Lab), and Taylor Reams, (Uni- bee populations and the possibility of April 2018 at Bee World volume 95,
versity of North Carolina at Greens- co-opting these beneficial resistance Issue 2 (https://www.tandfonline.
boro, Rueppell Lab). Winners received traits found in feral populations into com/loi/tbee20).8 The link to the pro-
a monetary award so make sure you breeding programs focused on pro- ceedings can be accessed through the
encourage your students to enter the moting resistance to viruses. In fact, AAPA website (http://aapa.cyberbee.
ABRC student paper competition. Dr. Michael Simone-Finstrom from net/meeting-archive/) as well. We
Research presentations continued the Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics once again extend sincere thanks to
with a discussion of chemical im- and Physiology Laboratory in Baton all of the presenters and participants
pacts on honey bee health as well as Rouge, LA has already started efforts and we congratulate all the award
the newest developments for varroa towards breeding virus resistant/ winners. Finally, we thank you for
management. The main message was tolerant stock7 with some success in reading and we hope to see you all
not so surprising and that is the more identifying colonies with promising next year!
stressors bees face, the more likely it tolerance traits.
is their health will suffer. For example, The conference ended on a fun but Disclaimer: Mention of any company
Dr. Christina Mogren (University of informative note. Dr. Jennifer Tsuruda or commercial entity does not consti-
Hawaii, Manoa) pondered the nega- (Clemson University) in collabora- tute an endorsement.
tive impacts of larval dietary stress on tion with Dr. Olav Rueppell (UNC-G)
susceptibility to clothianidin (neonic- took advantage of the last year’s solar references:
otinoids) and in turn Dr. Scott O’Neal eclipse to study the effects on honey 1. American Association of Professional
(University of Nebraska, Lincoln) bee behavior. This behavioral plas- Apiculturists. “White Paper on Colony
reported on the correlation between ticity allows the bees to respond to Collapse Disorder and Bee Health”
http://aapa.cyberbee.net/wp-content/up-
amitraz (commonly used miticide by changes in their environment, as for loads/2013/06/Final_AAPA_POSITION_
beekeepers) and viral susceptibility example, with migratory movement. STATEMENT_COLONY_HEALTH-1-1.
leading to increased mortality. While Interestingly, drones were seemingly pdf

AAPA attendees congratulating the HBHC winners Steve Pernalpresenting

May 2018 517

2. Proceedings of the 2017 American Bee Re-
search Conference. Bee World. 93(4): 104-
127. doi:10.1080/0005772X.2017.1294471
3. Burnham, T. Downtown new hope in
the fight against Varroa. 2018. Bee Culture.
(January)
4. Daughenbaugh, K.F., Martin, M.,
Brutscher, L.M., Cavigli, I., Garcia, E.,
Lavin, M. and Flenniken, M.L., 2015.
Honey bee infecting Lake Sinai viruses. Vi-
ruses, 7(6), pp.3285-3309.
5. National Honey Bee Health Survey
Canada https://www.gprc.ab.ca/research/
initiatives/nbdc/projects/current/nat_sur-
vey.html
6. Véto-pharma, http://www.veto-pharma.
com/
7.Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physi-
ology Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Baton
Rouge, LA (efforts towards breeding virus
resistant/tolerant stock) https://www.ars.
usda.gov/southeast-area/baton-rouge-
la/honeybeelab/people/mike-simone-
finstrom/
8. Proceedings of the 2018 American Bee
Research Conference. Bee World. 95(2), in
press.

518 American Bee Journal

May 2018 519
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WE WILL NOT SHIP PACKAGES TO ZONE 5 AND UP, NO EXCEPTIONS. POSTAL SERVICE WILL NOT
INSURE PACKAGES PAST ZONE 4. ZONE 5 AND UP PACKAGE CUSTOMERS SHOULD TRY YOUR
LOCAL BEE CLUBS TO SEE IF THEY MAY BE PICKING UP PACKAGES. QUEENS CAN BE SHIPPED
AND ARE INSURED TO MOST UNITED STATES CUSTOMERS.

520 American Bee Journal

W
e’ve all heard or said, Pedersen Apiaries is a multi-gener- when we converted from using a Jen-
“Queens aren’t surviving as ational commercial honey producing ter comb to graft cells to hand graft-
long as they used to.” I think operation near Cut Knife, Saskatch- ing into homemade wax cups. Raising
we’ve also all heard, “Where are your ewan in Canada. Sometime in the our own queens has become an inte-
records to show that? Give us some- late 80’s, Pedersen Apiaries started gral part of our commercial honey
thing to start with.” Like every other grafting queen cells to raise queens operation.
beekeeper, we have limited time, for our operation. By that point we
so we only keep records that have were overwintering our bees and it our exPeriences in 2011-12
a practical purpose and can tell us made sense to breed from the best Typically, we expect at least 75-80%
something. of our own stock. By the late 1990’s of the queen cells to develop into full
In 2011, we started to notice a prob- we had refined our queen raising cells. Until we started having signifi-
lem in our operation with our queen process. We bred from queens that cant issues, we had no reason to track
cells. While we have always kept had survived 2 winters and had out- how many actually did develop into
good records, as the years have pro- produced their neighbouring/sister full cells and so we didn’t. As long as
gressed since 2011, the details of our hives the summer between those most of the batches were successful,
records increased so we could better winters. Not only were the winters we were happy.
track that particular problem. and poor honey production culling In 2011, the last couple of grafts had
This is not going to be the story of out inferior queens, so were our fin- a significant drop in the success rate.
a nice experiment, where we were gers as we judged and replaced them We still didn’t record it, because it
able to hold all the variables constant if they did not build up well in the was the end of the season and it just
to isolate a certain effect. Instead, it is spring, were defensive and showed seemed like a blip. We had enough
a messy story of trying to figure out signs of diseases. queens for the year, so it wasn’t a
the answer to a problem through ob- huge loss. However, in 2012, our suc-
servation, increased record keeping, our Queen rearinG Process cess rate of grafted larvae developing
and implementing small changes. We graft queen cells into swarm into full queen cells had dropped to
Our experimentation has the advan- boxes of bees that are broodless, 30% and we were frantically trying
tage of drawing on a large sample, but closed boxes with lots of pollen, liq- to figure out what was going on. We
because we’re a commercial farm and uid honey and young bees. After 24 were blaming it on the weather, but
not an academic research facility, and hours, the queen cells are transferred
we were looking for a particular de- into the top box of cell builder hives.
sired result (viable queens), that also Each cell builder hive is queen-right
resulted in certain biases. in the bottom brood box, which is
We surpassed the level of our com- separated from the top cell box by
petence long ago, but until someone an excluder and a honey super. The
else with competence volunteers to top cell box has hatching brood and
help, it will continue to be something lots of pollen beside the cells. On day
we must endeavor to solve. Our pur- 14, the queen cells are separated and
pose in writing this article is first to moved into individual tiny mating
learn if other beekeepers are seeing nucs to hatch and get mated. From
similar problems and, secondly, to there they are marked and transferred
find out if there is a researcher out to our own hives or sold. The only A scale attached to a Billet Ezyloader is
there who might have the answer to real change we made to this process used to track honey production for evalu-
our problem. occurred somewhere around 2004, ating queens.

May 2018 521

Lots of young bees are enclosed into
swarm boxes with a minimum of 1 comb
of pollen and 1 comb of liquid honey.

we also tried changing some other

things, all to no avail.

BeTTer TrackinG in 2013

By 2013, we started systematically Mating nuc with cells just introduced.
trying to figure out and track what we
might be doing that was causing the always done them and waited to see advances in 2014
queen cells to die. We hypothesized if there was any difference. In 2014, we hypothesized that there
that our equipment was carrying a We determined that the grafted was a chemical residue in the pollen.
virus or another pathogen that was queen cells were dead within 24 hours While not directly consumed by the
causing the queen cells to die. We of being grafted. They died within the grafted larvae, it is consumed by the
started with new cell combs, cell bars swarm boxes. We learned that plas- nurse bees that create the royal jelly
and wax to make the cell bars, making tic cups gave us a better success rate for the developing queens. Somehow
sure that it was both new wood and than wax cups, but still did not make this pollen was causing the larvae to
new wax. We disinfected the graft- a huge difference to the success rate. die. We further hypothesized that the
ing tool and the place where our cells We ascertained that we still had not residue was from a fungicide, since the
are grafted. We had someone else try identified the cause of the queen cell problem of queen cells dying seemed
grafting to see if I had just lost my skill deaths. One batch had an 80% suc- to coincide with when widespread
or eyesight. None of these changes cess rate, but we could not correlate fungicide spraying of cereal crops
had any effect. it to any changes we had made or not and canola began in our area. We also
We contacted Geoff Wilson M.Sc., made. The other batches ranged from wondered if Nosema spores might be
P.Ag. Saskatchewan Provincial Spe- a 6% to 50% success rate and also causing the problem, since emerging
cialist in Apiculture for help. He came seemed to have no correlation to the research on Nosema ceranae seemed to
to observe and critique our grafting on changes made or not made. indicate that the beekeeping industry
June 18, 2013. Geoff said that he could The difference in the plastic cups understood little about this parasite.
see nothing wrong with our method. versus the wax cups was the only clue We collected combs of pollen in the
As per his suggestions, we tried both that led us to explore other routes of spring of 2014 from our deadouts,
plastic cups and wax cups to compare, chemical residues that might make a separating it into 2 lots. Lot 1 came
we tried bee polished and unpolished difference in our success rate. By that from two beeyards where there was
cups and we tried transporting the time our short season was over. We much less availability of cultivated
swarm boxes at a crawl. We bought thought we had enough queens for crop land (and thus canola) for the
a brand new grafting tool, used fresh ourselves, but barely. bees. Lot 2 came from the rest of our
water in a glass jar as opposed to a Unfortunately, the pain continued beeyards that are predominantly sur-
plastic bottle, and used a new fry- the next year as the queens we had
ing pan without a Teflon coating and raised proceeded to die over winter
more new wax to make new wax cups. or were superseded. They just didn’t
He suggested that perhaps we were last like they should.
seeing a residue problem in our pro- By this point, we were tracking
cess that was ending up in the water the success rate of the queen cells
or wax. He also suggested that we from grafting to mating nuc, but we
closely observe the cells when they still weren’t tracking the entire chain
were being transferred from the from the grafted batch to the queen
swarm boxes to the cell builder hives in the hive. We knew their parentage,
to determine if the cells were still alive but could not correlate it to the exact
at the 24 hour stage. We marked those batch of cells and the success or failure
cells grafted with the changes versus of that batch or at what point in the Queen cells in plastic cups coming out
those done in the same way we had season they had been raised. of cell builders.

522 American Bee Journal

rounded by agricultural cropland.
(We will refer to these 2 groupings as
Lot 1 and Lot 2 in the rest of the article
to refer to the separation of the pollen
by location. In future years, the pollen
was mostly sourced from live hives
during the season.) We collected two
random pollen samples from each lot
to send to a lab, so it could be tested
for residues. We were unable to find
a lab that could test for all of the pos-
sible chemicals that were sprayed
in our area, but we found a lab that
would test for a lot of them. The re-
sults came back saying that there was
no measurable residue above the ac-
ceptable limits in either sample. How-
ever, since to my knowledge there is
no research confirming a safe dosage
of chemicals fed to Apis mellifera lar-
vae (particularly queen larvae), the
test told us nothing useful.
The pollen that we had separated
out from the hives in Lot 1 was then Cell builder hives
used in the swarm boxes with the
grafted queen cells. Every week, with percentage of the queen cells devel- They mostly raised the live cells that
the exception of one, we prepared oped into full cells. The lowest batch they received. However, in 2015, cell
the swarm boxes with pollen from coming out of the swarm boxes was development in the cell builders be-
Lot 1 and grafted into plastic cups in 36% which still indicated a problem, came more erratic. The lowest devel-
our traditional manner. I will admit but the next lowest was 69%. These opment rate in the cell builder hives
that because we are still commercial 2 low batches were from boxes that was 8%, and ranged up to 100%, with
honey producers, rather than profes- used pollen from Lot 2. In contrast, an average of 76%.
sional researchers, we specifically the lowest success rates of batches We did not have enough collected
used pollen from Lot 1 instead of Lot from Lot 1 were 75% and 78%. How- and identified pollen to use in the cell
2. Our first goal was to get queens. ever, while indicating that we might builder hives, so mostly random pol-
Our second goal was to figure out be on to something, the results were len from unknown yards was used in
what the problem was and we make still inconclusive, because the aver- those hives. To try and understand
no apologies for our priorities. age success rate coming out of all of what was causing the problems in
With the exception of one week, our the swarm boxes was 94% and that the cell builders, we started to sys-
success rate ranged from 75 – 85%. In included pollen from both Lot 1 and tematically collect pollen from hives
the one week that we experienced an Lot 2. during the summer and fall of 2015,
exception, we accidentally used pol- We weren’t able to recreate a con- noting where it was from and dur-
len from both Lot 1 and Lot 2. That sistently high death rate of the cells ing which season it was collected. We
week, the success rate dropped no- in the swarm boxes. Since realiz- don’t have the capacity or knowledge
ticeably, ranging from 30-80% in the ing that the cells were dying in the to identify the pollen microscopically,
different swarm boxes. This certainly swarm boxes, we had not been as but we are in the hives often enough
wasn’t a conclusive answer, but after concerned with the cell builder hives. that we can identify pollen by sea-
two years of dismal failure, it was
enough to give us hope and encour-
age us to believe that we might have
at least partially identified our prob-
lem. In 2014, we also fed all of our
hives one dose of Fumagillin B in
syrup during the spring. We then fed
50% of the first batch of swarm boxes
Fumagillin B, while not feeding the
other 50%. We could see no difference
in the Fumagillin B feeding.

MakinG ProGress in 2015

In 2015, we continued to separate
the pollen from the yards into Lot 1
and Lot 2. Then we used pollen from
both lots in the swarm boxes with the
grafted queen cells while tracking
where the pollen was from and what Hive ready to be wrapped for winter.

May 2018 523

son and color with some accuracy. poor batches of cells came from the of the cell builder hives was 82% and
For example, bright yellow pollen in same queen mother. They were put the median was 88%. This year, the
the spring is most likely willow and into a swarm box and came out of lowest percentage of cells coming out
would not be canola, but bright yel- the swarm box at a 50% success rate. of a swarm box was 56%. That swarm
low pollen in July would more likely This continued to drop until only 4% box was fed with summer pollen, so
be from sweet clover or canola, but of the grafted cells were still alive to we can’t rule out that it may have had
would not be willow. go into mating nucs and none made canola pollen in it. The first batches
By this point, we identified where it to queens. The common denomina- coming out of the cell builders aver-
the pollen was harvested, what sea- tor between those four batches of cells aged 58%, a low rate we believe to
son it was collected and whether or in both the cell builder hives and the have been due to the cold spring and
not it was canola pollen. We labeled swarm boxes was canola pollen that the cell builder hives not being strong
each comb of pollen with the bee yard came from one beeyard. enough. Later in the season, we had
it came from and either what type of We had no other pollen that came only one other batch of cells that stood
pollen it most likely came from or the from that particular beeyard. There- out. They dropped to 35% and 56% in
time of year that the bees stored it. fore, we put 2 combs of pollen into the cell builders that they were put
From our experiences, our hypoth- cold storage at a research facility, one into. Again, they were fed summer
esis had narrowed: we thought it was from the swarm box with problems pollen that could have had canola pol-
canola pollen that was the problem. and one from a swarm box without len. We neither conclusively proved
Why canola pollen led to queen cell problems. We think we have identi- nor disproved our hypothesis.
death, we didn’t know. Was it be- fied a problem and maybe even a
cause of fungicides, another type of smoking gun. The problem now is conclusion
chemical, or a varietal issue? We had to find out who has the technology While we know we have a prob-
no idea. to test and figure out what’s wrong. lem, we are a long way from being
Sending the frames to a lab that will able to identify its cause or solution.
ever onward in 2016 not test for everything and will not It would be easy enough to argue
By 2016, 5 years after we first no- test below the set acceptable limits is that our hypothesis is doubtful, be-
ticed the problem, we were now track- a total waste of time and money. We cause we still had problems in 2017.
ing which pollen we used in both the are definitely past our level of compe- We would like nothing better than for
swarm boxes and cell builder hives tence. What else can we do? someone to definitively prove that
and the percentage of queen cells that We are still learning how to track our hypothesis is wrong. That would
were surviving in each. We were now the pollen straight through from save us countless hours going down
mostly stealing combs of pollen from queen development to the queen’s the wrong path trying to track this
live hives and storing it until the next longevity. It has added quite a bit of problem. It would certainly simplify
season, so that we had a better idea detail to our record keeping, but de- our lives if we didn’t have to worry
of when it was collected and what spite the additional effort, the results about avoiding canola. However, at
it was. We were differentiating and look promising. Obviously, we have this time canola pollen is the only fac-
tracking whether pollen was from Lot to continue tracking to see whether or tor that we have been able to identify
1 and Lot 2, as well as whether it was not we can find another comb of pol- as possibly holding the key to our
from spring or summer. As commer- len that shows such striking differ- low queen cell survival rates. At least
cial beekeepers, we still prioritized ences in queen development. From a we have a large sample size and rela-
producing queens over doing re- research and investigation viewpoint, tively detailed records that might help
search, but by then we had realized it the challenge is that the more we narrow the search.
was also important to track the pol- learn, the less we want to risk using If you have noticed similar prob-
len right through the life of the queen canola pollen in queen development. lems, please let us know. It should
cells that survived. Was the longevity be widespread if our hypothesis is
of the queen determined by the pollen so where are we in 2017? correct. If you have experienced the
that it was raised on? The winter of 2016-2017 was a long problem and found a solution, we
In 2016, the average survival rate winter with a cold spring, weather would really like to hear that. This
coming out of the swarm boxes was that was hard on our bees. Our losses isn’t clean academic research; it’s on
93%, however, the median was 97%. meant that we couldn’t afford to risk the ground commercial beekeepers,
The average cell development com- losing more hives to the possibility scratching their heads and trying to
ing out of the cell builder hives was of non-viable queens. As a result, eliminate factors. We want to know
81% and the median was 90%. There we specifically chose to avoid feed- if anyone else out there is groping
were only a few batches that were ing the combs of pollen that we had around in the dark with us.
low in 2016, but four batches, in par- collected from Lot 2, or more specifi-
ticular were exciting to find. In two cally we chose to avoid using combs
of those batches, cells from two dif- of pollen that we thought might be
ferent queen mothers, put into two predominately from canola. While
different cell builder hives, dropped we couldn’t completely avoid canola
from a 94% success rate coming out in our area, we tried to avoid using
of the swarm boxes, to a 50% success pollen from beeyards with significant
rate coming out of the cell builders. exposure to canola. Gil and Karen Pedersen are a father/
daughter duo. They are commercial honey
In the end, from those two batches, The average survival rate coming producers who run single brood chamber
only 7% of the originally grafted out of the swarm boxes was 89%, hives all year round. They are based near
queen cells survived to become a 2016 however the median was 94%. The Cut Knife, SK, Canada. They can be found at
queen going into winter. Another two average cell development coming out www.pedersenapiaries.ca.

524 American Bee Journal

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May 2018 525

526 American Bee Journal
 It’s clear that there may be a considerable amount of hive-to-hive drifting
by bees and mites in the typical apiary. This then raises the question of
whether there is anything that we can do about it?

so why Do colonies allow Bees To drifT in? duction (similarly, a few bees in a “usurpation swarm” can
Let’s start with some definitions. As I’m sure that you’re enter a hive and overthrow the queen5). Just as a watch-
aware, the female members of the honey bee colony allo- ful police force is of necessity in human societies that hold
cate their work to two distinct morphological castes—the items of value, the guard caste is of paramount importance
fertile queen and the reproductively-suppressed work- for protecting the resource-rich honey bee nest from thieves
ers. The workers further divide up their labor between and predators (Fig. 1).
behaviorally and/or physiologically distinct subcastes.1
Some years ago, three heavyweight researchers in bee be-
havior—Breed, Robinson, and Page2—demonstrated that
there are distinct guarding and soldier behavioral castes.3
The guards are typically younger than the soldiers and sta-
tion themselves at the nest entrance(s). The soldiers don’t
fly much, but instead appear to “hang out” on the combs,
perhaps waiting for a signal of alarm pheromone from the
guards to stir them into action4 to drive off a large intruder
(by using warning bumps and/or stinging).

Practical application: I’m explaining this so that the

reader understands the difference between guarding be-
havior (which takes place at the hive entrance and pe-
riphery of the cluster), and soldiering behavior (the sort
of mass stinging response to disturbance that beekeep-
ers generally find distasteful). This may be an important
distinction, since we may be able to breed for bees with
good guarding behavior, without breeding for increased Figure 1. The guarding subcaste is the first line of defense at
soldiering behavior. any opening to the resource-rich nest cavity. These guard bees
are harassing a foreign worker that drifted, and may not allow
Guard bees are responsible for warding off potential her to enter their hive. Should the guards emit alarm phero-
robbers attempting to enter the hive to steal the colony’s mone, that cue would then trigger the soldier bees inside to
precious food stores, or other insects (such as hive beetles launch a defensive attack.
or yellowjackets) interested in the protein-rich beebread or Worker bees typically engage in guarding behavior
brood. Guarding is also important to prevent “social para- when they are around 2-3 weeks old.6 There is a genetic
sitism,” such as that practiced by the Cape bee, in which component to the proportion of the worker population that
a foreign “queen” can enter a hive and take over repro- act as guards, as well as in determining their persistence.7

May 2018 527

Guard bees normally reject non-nestmates attempting to bees into a hive. However, it’s easy to observe that unless
gain entrance to the hive—recognizing them by smell or there is a nectar dearth, colonies tend not to exhibit many
by their behavior.8-10 guards,17 and drifted bees are typically readily accepted. I
The importance of foreign worker rejection due to their suspect that this may have more to do with our unnaturally
exhibiting the wrong odor is even more important since dense aggregation of hives in apiaries, rather than an in-
the invasion of varroa—in an intriguing recent study out of nate willingness of colonies to accept foreign workers into
Italy, the researchers discovered that the odor (volatile cu- their nest.
ticular hydrocarbons) of adult workers changes when they Investigating this further, I found a couple of studies of
are parasitized by a phoretic mite. Guard bees mounted interest. One18 found that ant colonies increased production
a greater defense against previously parasitized workers of their soldier caste when the foragers were exposed to
than against those that hadn’t carried a mite.11 foreign ants. Similarly, Butler19 found that introducing for-
eign bees at the entrance increased the amount of guard-
Practical application: perhaps we could breed for this ing, “suggesting that colonies regulate guard numbers in
trait, thus helping to prevent invasion of mites into a response to robbing and intrusion.”
hive. On the other hand, Rittschof20 found that colonies re-
peatedly experimentally disturbed exhibited less guarding
Keep in mind, however, that allocating a proportion of behavior—apparently becoming habituated to the distur-
the worker caste as guards comes at a cost to the colony bance. Perhaps this also occurs in response to the continual
as a whole. As explained in a nice overview by Rivera- drift occurring in an apiary.
Marchand:12 The last question in my mind is related to the near-uni-
versal desire for beekeepers to breed for gentleness:
The cost of defense is minor for Africanized bees in the main-
land where resources are abundant. These bees can afford to Practical breeding question: as much as I love to be
defend instead of storing food, because flowers are available able to work my sweet-tempered bees in shorts and
through the year. However, for temperate bees… defense can t-shirt, has my selection for “gentleness” reduced their
affect [colony] growth… where resources are limited, it seems propensity to guard the entrance against foreign bees?
that defensive colonies are not able to gather enough resources
for reproduction. Colonies with low defensive levels may have So much for between-hive drifting of bees, which cer-
a reproductive advantage over the more aggressive colonies …” tainly accounts for some degree of mite diffusion in an
apiary. But far more mites appear to disperse during late-
Practical application: we can only hope that the fitness season collapse and robbing.
advantage gained by the extreme defensiveness of the
Africanized bees may be lost as African alleles introgress The sheer nuMBers involved
northward into the established European populations in Sadly, for the vast majority of colonies in which varroa
North America. This may, however, be wishful thinking, is inadequately managed, the combination of stress due to
since the Western European (“German Black”) feral bees the mites, coupled with an in-hive epidemic of one or more
already established in some areas have long been known viruses, ultimately results in that colony’s unfortunate col-
for their “nastiness”.13 Only time will tell… lapse. At that time, there can be a lot of mites in the hive
(Fig. 2).
In order to overcome the costs involved in defense, Eu-
ropean races of honey bees adjust the number of engaged
guards conditional to the state of attractivness of their
stored resources to competitors—that is, they set plenty of
guards when they are protecting their stores from robbers,
but once the nectar flow begins in earnest (and robbing
pressure presumably decreases), the number of guards at
the entrance decreases, and the rejection rate of foreign
bees drops to nearly zero.14
Butler and Free15 found that the appearance of bees
exhibiting the characteristic swaying-bobbing flight of
robbers (which to a human appears “sneaky”) alerts the
guards and increases the amount of guard bee interception Figure 2. The above simulation reflects the kind of alcohol wash
counts21 that I commonly see in untreated hives stocked with
of foreign bees. Ditto for the introduction of foreign intrud-
non-resistant bees; to the right are the numbers of mites neces-
ers into the hive. Perhaps surprisingly, they also observed
sary to produce such counts. That 17,000 figure may sound high,
marked bees switching back and forth between guarding, but is supported by simple math and hard data.
foraging, and robbing. And as anyone who has spent time
watching the hive entrance has seen, drifted foragers that Colonies with very high mite numbers often collapse
act either “self confident” or “submissive” are generally during the late summer or autumn, leaving behind a hive
allowed free passage by the guards; if instead they attempt devoid of bees, but full of honey (Fig. 3).
to escape, the guards will grab them and try to sting them. So here’s the question: I don’t see any mites remaining
If a drifted foreign bee spends 2-3 hours in a hive, it picks in a hive after it’s collapsed—where the heck did they go?
up enough of its new colony’s scent that it is no longer Mites don’t just walk out of a hive—they hitch a ride on an
challenged by the guards of that hive. exiting bee.
Since drifting workers may be foragers intent upon rob-
bing, or may carry infectious parasites or pathogens,16 An unanswered question: there are three main possi-
it’s surprising to me that guards ever allow any drifting bilities as to where each mite ends up:

528 American Bee Journal

 season—with nearly 500 mites invading one hive over the
course of 4 days, despite the fact that all surrounding apiaries
either had been, or were undergoing, treatment with miticides.

Practical question: is this immigration of mites due

mainly to the drifting of workers abandoning their col-
lapsing hive, or instead due to bees engaged in robbing
inadvertently carrying them home? And if not the bees
in managed apiaries, is it from collapsing feral colonies
and/or escaped swarms?

I have yet to see data that answers the above questions.

Some research is already underway, and I hope to run an
experiment myself this summer in order to help to answer
the question. I’ll review some intriguing observations
below.

collaPse and roBBinG

Figure 3. Typical signs of a colony that has collapsed due to
As a colony begins to collapse, its virus-weakened work-
a varroa-vectored epidemic of DWV. Note the white fecal de-
posits from the mites, the bee with deformed wings, and the ers no longer mount a defense against robbing bees; if there
workers unable to emerge from their cells. The hive may be full is a nectar dearth at the time, other colonies will help them-
of honey, but you’ll rarely see a mite. selves to that unguarded honey. Some proportion of the
mites in the dying colony would be expected to climb onto
1. The bee carrying it flies off toward the horizon, and those robbers prior to their returning home.
they both die. What I found of great interest were the following obser-
2. The bee carrying it drifts to another hive. vations by Greatti:
3. The mite hops onto a robber bee to be carried to its
hive. It was difficult to discover the source of the mites: the question
Obviously, options 2 and 3 have significant ramifica- arises, where mites survive during acaricide treatments, since all
tions for other hives in the area. the apiaries in the neighborhood had been treated the year before,
and again during September and October, so infestation levels
The aMounT of MiTe drifT inTo oTher hives of these colonies were low to moderate. Thus, it seems likely that
There have been a few studies in which researchers have most mites came from feral swarms. Only two feral colonies were
quantified the amount of mite immigration into monitored detected near the experimental apiary (about 200 m from it); one
hives in an apiary. I put their published data into the chart was caught, the second did not survive repeated robbing.
below (Fig. 4).
After I published Donald Aiken’s data on his mite drops
while he was applying oxalic acid vaporization (totaling
some 17,000 mites from a single hive), he shared an obser-
vation:

The hive I treated and recorded the resulting mite drops from
was very strong and produced over 200 lbs of honey. It actually
continued to bring in honey after all the flowers were gone from
my immediate neighborhood. I conjectured at the time that they
were sucking it out of the fence posts, but in retrospect they must
have been robbing out weak hives that were infested with varroa.

Think about the above. Let’s say that foragers robbing a

collapsing hive carry fairly heavy loads of honey (50 mg)
back home. That would mean that every pound of weight
gained by that hive would require 9,000 bee return trips
from the hive being robbed. If those returning foragers
Figure 4. It is apparently not unusual for a colony to experi-
brought back only 1 mite per every 10 trips, that would
ence serious late-season varroa immigration numbering in the
hundreds, and sometimes in the thousands of mites, as in the still be 900 new mites being brought home for every pound
Greatti’s study, for which I used the most extreme values from of honey gained!
their monitored hives. Data from several sources.22 I suspected that massive mite immigration occurred in
some of my monitored hives last fall,23 but upon further
The hard data above indicate that mite immigration is modeling, I’m now not so sure—I need to monitor actual
typically pretty low early in the season, and then spikes immigration to confirm.
when there is late-season robbing and collapse. Although
the counts by Greatti were substantially higher than those Research needed: Donald’s observation gives me an
of other observers, they may more closely reflect what idea for quantifying the correlation between robbing
many of our colonies are experiencing these days. and immigration of mites into the robbing hives. In
Greatti counted between 2,000 and 3,500 mites invad- an area such as mine, where there is no natural colony
ing each of their 10 monitored hives over the course of a weight gain late in the season, set up a bunch of treated

May 2018 529

hives on scales, and monitor the mite influx. Then look The degree of reinfestation of single colonies, on different days
for a correlation between late-season weight gain and of observation, varied greatly; however, the most reinfested or
the increase in varroa immigration. This might help the least reinfested colonies of a group often remained the same
to clarify why only some colonies exhibit late-season in successive observations, and sometimes for long periods of
spikes in mites. If you’re interested in helping to collect time…Marked differences among colonies of the same group in
such data, see my online post.24 the same day of observation were often observed…

Greatti had another interesting observation: 25 That’s exactly what I observed with the potential breeder
queens that I was tracking last season. I observed huge mite
[In] only a few instances was robbing of infested colonies in spikes in only half my monitored hives in any apiary—the
hives or feral colonies observed… perhaps robbing does not al- rest maintained low varroa levels, which then raises the
ways lead to massive attacks, particularly when other sources of selective breeding question:
forage are present, and thus it is difficult to observe.
Some colonies appear to pick up a huge load of mites
The above observation brings to mind Wyatt Mangum’s in early autumn, yet others somehow manage to maintain
fascinating article on surreptitious robbing.26 Could it be very low mite levels. Can we breed for colonies that pre-
that as colonies begin to weaken from the varroa/virus vent such mite immigration?
complex, this sort of surreptitious robbing allows mites to
rapidly disperse to new hives? Remember the previously We may not yet know the answers to the above ques-
mentioned finding by Cervo that mites in highly-infested tions, but there is an aspect of apiary management that may
colonies may be attracted to the odor of foreign bees. be very helpful in minimizing autumn mite immigration.

Practical application: prior to varroa, it was evolution- swarMs coMinG Back To BiTe you in The BuTT
arily adaptive for a colony to steal honey from a weak- I often hear beekeepers shrug off, “yeah, I think that half
ened neighbor. But today that serving of free honey will my colonies must’ve swarmed this spring” (Fig. 5). But it’s
likely come with a side order of mites. not like those swarms just disappear once they fly off.

I’ve yet to see good data as to the distance that foragers

will go to rob; Seeley27 suggests that at the low density in
Arnot forest, scant robbing occurs. On the other hand, he
and Loftus28 discuss observing a spike in mite infestation
levels in hives when a colony 60 meters distant collapsed.
But even once we figure out the range for robbing, I’m still
left struggling with yet another question:

whaT haPPens To all The MiTe-infesTed Bees when a

colony collaPses?
We’ve all seen it—an entire colony appears to “disap-
pear” overnight. Since there are no dead bees to be seen,
it’s clear that the entire workforce abandoned the hive.
The as-yet-unanswered question then is, where do those bees
(and all the mites they’re carrying) go? Do they simply fly
off towards the horizon to die? Or do some of them drift
into other hives? There is surprisingly little data on this, al-
though Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp has mentioned that one Figure 5. It’s easy to rationalize that it was just too hard to pre-
of his team found marked bees drifting from a collapsing vent your colonies from swarming. But any escaped swarm has
colony into other hives at considerable distance. the potential to become a “mite factory” whose output you may
later come to regret.
Research needed: this is a crucial question crying for Allow me to share one final quote from Greatti:
an answer—do all those mite-infested bees just “disap-
pear,” or do they instead flood into surrounding hives? A lost swarm can be a source of thousands of mites at the end
We clearly need far more data on the drifting of marked of the season or during the following year, and thus can endanger
bees from collapsing colonies to other hives in order several colonies, when it may be weakened by heavy Varroa in-
to understand why we observe such high rates of late- festation and is consequently liable to robbing by other colonies.
season mite immigration. It would be fairly simple to
quantify the amount of drifting that occurs at collapse We frequently hear of the propensity of Africanized bees
by stocking a yard with hives of yellow and black bee to swarm frequently, but as pointed out by Medina-Flores,29
stocks, and allowing the hives of one color to collapse, this strategy may be most adaptive in areas with short win-
then inspecting the hives of the other color to quantify ters, regular nectar flows, and plenty of nesting cavities:
the number of drifted bees during those collapse events.
Please contact me if you’d like to run this important, yet In the temperate dry region that we studied, blossoms are
simple experiment in one of your yards. scarcer, colder temperatures reduce colony reproduction dur-
ing winter, and its vegetation provides fewer nesting sites than
OK, it’s pretty clear that drift and/or robbing could ac- in subtropical regions. Thus, it is less likely for bee colonies to
count for large amounts of mite dispersal into other hives. swarm frequently and to establish feral populations in temperate
But as pointed out by Greatti: climates than in more tropical environments.

530 American Bee Journal

 Nevertheless, both Winston and Loftus30 have docu- 13. The dark Apis mellifera mellifera bloodline (M mitotype) established
mented that temperate colonies may swarm several times itself as feral populations in the U.S. early on. This is one reason
a season if they crowd their cavity. And the cold-adapted that the “gentler” Italian and Carniolan (C mitotype) bloodlines
were more popular. Many of us older beekeepers remember the
Primorsky Russian bees swarm at the drop of a hat. When “hot” dark feral bees that used to be common, and the studies by
conditions are good, it would be normal for most of the Magnus and Szalanski (http://scientificbeekeeping.com/whats-
hives in an inadequately-managed apiary to swarm at least happening-to-the-bees-part-5-is-there-a-difference-between-
once per season. domesticated-and-feral-bees/) confirm that the M line of bees still
Those swarms carry a starting population of mites with thrives in some areas.
them, and if they are successful at establishing a nest, that 14. Downs SG, Ratnieks FLW (2000) Adaptive shifts in honey bee
varroa population will build up. Depending upon timing, (Apis mellifera L.) guarding behavior support predictions of the ac-
ceptance threshold model. Behav Ecol 11:326–333.
that swarm colony will eventually collapse from the var- 15. Butler CG, Free JB (1952) The behaviour of worker honeybees at
roa/virus complex—typically with a population of approx- the hive entrance. Behaviour 4:262–292.
imately 5,000-15,000 hungry mites. The question is, how 16. As noted by Free, the “infrequency, or absence, of drifting of bees
many of those mites will make it back into your hives when between wild colonies may be one reason why they are compara-
that collapse inevitably takes place? tively free from disease.”
17. At least with the gentle bee stock the I keep; I’m curious as to
Practical application: it appears that one of the most the degree of guarding exhibited by wild-type bees. Please let me
know if you have observations.
important mite management tools would be to minimize 18. Passera, L, et al(1996) Increased soldier production in ant colonies
the number of swarms that issue from your own apiary. exposed to intraspecific competition. Nature, 379, 630-631.
Remember that every lost swarm has the potential to 19. Butler CB, Free JB (1952) The behaviour of worker honey bees at
create a nuisance with your neighbors, to become com- the hive entrance.. Behaviour 4:262–292.
petition for your bees, and then a mite factory that will 20. Rittschof, CC & GE Robinson (2013) Manipulation of colony en-
eventually collapse. Controlling swarming is good man- vironment modulates honey bee aggression and brain gene ex-
agement! pression. Genes, Brain, and Behavior 12(8): 802–811.
21. Per half cup of bees.
22. I either took published numbers from tables, or scaled data off of pub-
acknowledGeMenTs lished graphs. Since the various authors collected data over different time
Thanks as always to Pete Borst for research assistance, intervals, I needed to take some liberties in adjustment in order to create
and to all the dedicated and hard-working bee researchers the graph.
from whose publications I draw useful information. Sakofski, F, et al (1990) Seasonality of honeybee colony invasion
by Varroa jacobsoni Oud. Apidologie 21:547–550
endnoTes Greatti M, Milani N, Nazzi F (1992) Reinfestation of an acaricide-
1. There are genetic components as to how each patriline of sisters treated apiary by Varroa jacobsoni Oud. Exp Appl Acarol 16:279–286
behaves, as well as environmental cues and triggers. B Kraus, Re Page Jr. Population growth of Varroa jacobsoni Oud in
2. Breed, MD, GE Robinson, RE Page (1990) Division of labor dur- Mediterranean climates of California. Apidologie, Springer Verlag,
ing honey bee colony defense. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 27: 395-401. 1995, 26 (2), pp.149-157.
Worth reading! Mangum, WA (2011) Varroa immigration and resistant mites. ABJ
3. Reviewed in: Nouvian, M, et al (2016) The defensive response 151(5): 475-477.
of the honeybee Apis mellifera. Journal of Experimental Biology 219: Frey E, Schnell H, Rosenkranz P (2011) Invasion of Varroa destruc-
3505-3517 doi:10.1242/jeb.143016 Open access. tor into mite-free honeybee colonies under the controlled condi-
4. Suggested by Breed, and supported by my own observations. tions of a military training area. J Apic Res 50:138–144.
5. http://scientificbeekeeping.com/whats-happening-to-the-bees- Frey E, Rosenkrantz P (2014) Autumn invasion rates of Varroa
part-2/ destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) into honey bee (Hymenoptera:
6. Winston, ML (1987) The Biology of the Honey Bee. Harvard Univer- Apidae) colonies and the resulting increase in mite populations. J
sity Press. Econ Entomol 107:508–515.
7. Breed MD, Rogers KB (1991) The behavioral-genetics of colony 23. See my article “Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance,” which
defense in honeybees—genetic-variability for guarding behavior. should be posted to my website by the time of publication of this
Behav Genet 21:295–303. piece.
8. Dani, F, et al S (2005) Nestmate recognition cues in the honey bee: 24. http://scientificbeekeeping.com/suggested-protocol-to-deter-
differential importance of cuticular alkanes and alkenes. Chem mine-amount-of-mite-immigration/
Senses 30:477–489. 25. I slightly paraphrased this quote to make it read better.
Of interest is that attempting to mask the “foreign” smell with an added 26. Mangum, W (2012) Robbing: Part 2: Progressive robbing. ABJ
odorant may not be effective. 152(8): 761-764.
Couvillon, MJ, FLW Ratnieks (2008) Odour transfer in stingless 27. Seeley, TD (2007) Honey bees of the Arnot Forest: a population of
bee marmelada (Frieseomelitta varia) demonstrates that entrance feral colonies persisting with Varroa destructor in the northeastern
guards use an “undesirable–absent” recognition system. Behav- United States. Apidologie 38: 19–29.
ioral ecology and sociobiology 62, Issue 7, pp 1099–1105. 28. Loftus JC, ML Smith, TD Seeley (2016) How honey bee colonies
Ratnieks FLW, et al. (2011) Acceptance by honey bee guards survive in the wild: testing the importance of small nests and fre-
of non-nestmates is not increased by treatment with nestmate quent swarming. PLoS ONE 11(3): e0150362.
odours. Ethology 117: 1–9. 29. Medina-Flores CA, et al 2014. Africanized honey bees (Apis mel-
9. Breed, MD, et al (1998) Comb wax effects on the ontogeny of lifera) have low infestation levels of the mite Varroa destructor in
honey bee nestmate recognition. Anim Behav 55:13–20. different ecological regions in Mexico. Genet.and Mol. Res. 13:7282-
10. Well reviewed by Breed, MD, et al (2015) Chapter 9 Nestmate 7293.
Recognition in Eusocial Insects: The Honeybee as a Model System 30. Winston, ML (1987) The Biology of the Honey Bee. Harvard Univer-
in L. Aquiloni and E. Tricarico (eds.), Social Recognition in Inver- sity Press.
tebrates. Loftus JC (2016) op cit. (and Seeley, pers. comm.)
11. Cappa, F, et al (2016) Bee guards detect foreign foragers with cu-
ticular chemical profiles altered by phoretic varroa mites, Journal
of Apicultural Research 55(3): 268-277.
12. Rivera-Marchand, B, et al (2008) The cost of defense in social in-
sects: insights from the honey bee. Entomologia Experimentalis et
Applicata 129: 1–10.

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532 American Bee Journal
May 2018 533
534 American Bee Journal
T
he Bee Corp is blazing ahead From 2014 to 2015, U.S beekeep- that bee losses are likely caused by
with a one-year grant from the ers lost more than 40 percent of their a combination of stressors, includ-
National Science Foundation colonies, and in Indiana beekeepers ing poor bee nutrition, loss of for-
(NSF) of almost $225,000 to gain new lost 49 percent of their colonies. For- age lands, parasites, pathogens, lack
insights about honey bees through mer President Barack Obama issued of genetic diversity, and exposure to
hive data and analysis. The company The White House Pollinator Health pesticides.”
is an Indiana-based startup—born Task Force’s National Strategy to Pro- The Bee Corp realized there was a
through the Indiana University incu- mote the Health of Honey Bees and Other void in the data available to beekeep-
bator program—focused on harness- Pollinators in 2015. It stated, “Honey ers to help them address the ongo-
ing agricultural data and technology. bee pollination alone adds more than ing demise of bee colonies in the U.S.
Each year NSF awards close to $190 $15 billion in value to agricultural They came up with their business
million in funding to entrepreneurs crops each year in the United States… plan to address hive loss and queen
through America’s Seed Fund, or the severe yearly declines create concern failure with a sensor-monitoring de-
Small Business Innovation Research that bee colony losses could reach a vice, and pitched it to investors at the
(SBIR) Phase I grant. point from which the commercial pol- BEST Competition, the annual stu-
“We’re making grounds on a lot of lination industry would not be able to dent entrepreneurship competition
cool research,” said Ellie Symes, 23, adequately recover. Scientists believe at IU. The trio won the grand prize
CEO of The Bee Corp. “NSF allowed
us to really invest in this—both time
and money—so we’re super excited to
have our research continue on. When
we started this company, we wanted
to be on the cutting edge of informa-
tion and analytics coming out in the
beekeeping industry, with research
at the cornerstone. This grant etched
that into stone a little bit more for us.”
The Bee Corp was born in Febru-
ary 2016 and it all started with an
idea: When Ellie was a student at IU
she proposed bringing bee colonies to
campus. Co-Founders Simon Runtz,
23, chief operating officer, and Wy-
att Wells, 23, chief marketing officer,
learned about Ellie’s mission and
they collectively started the Beekeep-
ing Club at IU. Queen’s Guard, the remote sensor hive monitoring system developed by The Bee Corp

May 2018 535

 grant dollars from Elevate Ventures,
a venture capital firm in Indiana that
funds entrepreneurs and startups
during early stages of growth through
Indiana’s SBIR/Small Business Tech-
nology Transfer grant matching pro-
gram. Elevate Ventures matches up
to $.50 toward every federal dollar
that’s awarded with a $50,000 maxi-
mum per match, and they decided to
match the SBIR grant with $50,000 in
additional funding for The Bee Corp.
Funding for Elevate Ventures comes
from 11 different agencies (including
NSF) throughout the U.S with a focus
on different technological areas, and
each recipient can receive the lifetime
maximum of $150,000 in matching
grant dollars.
The drop in temperature indicative of a queenless hive The programs are very competitive
and encourage small businesses to ex-
of $100,000, leading them to establish “We don’t too often get outside per- pand their technological potential.
The Bee Corp as a benefit corporation. spectives in coming up with solutions “The funding from Elevate Ven-
Their overall mission is to improve in- to hive threats,” Wyatt said. “We’re tures will be used to ensure the suc-
formation available to and communi- really excited for the outside perspec- cess of the SBIR grant, and the ad-
cation among beekeepers, so they can tive Gretchen has on the beekeeping ditional support gives us flexibility
better address threats to hive health. industry. She is a huge asset to us.” to ensure the work on the grant gets
Such advances are critical to ensur- Gretchen and the IU interns will be completed,” Ellie said.
ing a sustainable number of educated searching for anomalies in hive data The Bee Corp collects hive data from
beekeepers, who can maintain healthy to build predictive models for queen, their customers, as well as close to 100
bee populations. pest and disease-related problems in hives outfitted with sensors that Si-
The Bee Corp reached another mile- the hive. mon manages for research and devel-
stone in hiring their first non-founder Beekeepers who install the sensor opment. As a stipulation to their grant
employee, Data Scientist Gretchen within their hives can use it as an NSF requires The Bee Corp to inter-
Riggs. She now leads a team of IU ‘alert system’ that informs when colo- view 50 potential customers this year
graduate students to interpret hive nies have become, or are about to be- for feedback on their sensors and data
data collected by Queen’s Guard, the come, queenless. Quick alerts inform analysis. “We will be reaching out to
remote sensor monitor The Bee Corp beekeepers to immediately address commercial beekeepers to learn their
created in 2017 that tracks hive health the threatened hive, introducing a big goals and roadblocks. We’re trying
including temperature and humidity. new queen or inspecting to determine to understand our customers and are
It is easily installed within colonies to the disease issue. approaching this from a broad, non-
monitor queen health, temperature Once The Bee Corp passed federal tech standpoint,” said Wyatt.
and humidity, with live data stream- review by NSF, they automatically RJ Honey, an apiary in Lebanon,
ing back to The Bee Corp for analysis. became eligible to receive matching Indiana is a sideline beekeeping busi-
ness co-owned by Jeff Singletary and
Richard Walton. They run around
eighty hives and sell hive equipment,
tools for beekeepers, raw honey, and
bees. They’d like to get up to 100
hives, but with full-time jobs they
have to be very efficient in order to
expand.
“My daughter saw an article in the
Indiana Business Journal and told me
about The Bee Corp,” said Jeff, a con-
trols technician, who has been keep-
ing bees for ten years. “I got in touch
with them and offered our availability
to test their sensor monitors and see
how things work out. It’s been very
helpful to be able to tell the health of
the hive, and if there’s a hive we need
to get to, we can go over to that hive
yard. It helps us hone our inspection
Indiana University Alumni and Founders of The Bee Corp Wyatt Wells, Ellie Symes, process for those hives that need to
and Simon Runtz get looked at more intensely.”

536 American Bee Journal

 The Bee Corp is working on devel-
oping a web app that customers can
use to track their hives, but they send
Jeff and Richard weekly updates on
their hives. Hive data did detect a
queen-less hive that needed attention.
“They picked up on that hive and we
worked with those bees a little more
intensely the rest of the year,” Jeff
said. According to a case study con-
ducted by The Bee Corp with RJ Hon-
ey, the sensor data helped reduce hive
losses in their operation by 11%.
With the extra help RJ Honey can
continue mentoring hobbyist bee-
keepers toward their goals: they
teach basic introductory information
on beekeeping, and they also bring
people out into the field, where they Richard Walton, co-owner of RJ Honey after catching swarms
provide hands-on instruction on how Temperature continues to be at the hive theft. It is a discreet GPS sen-
to conduct hive inspections. forefront of their research, since it re- sor placed inside the hive that tracks
“We are hoping The Bee Corp can veals so much about hive health. Ac- unauthorized hive movement, and
help us anticipate those hives that cording to The Bee Corp, “When hive alerts beekeepers if someone is tam-
might be in swarming mode. That temperature drops, it’s a sign that the pering with one of their hives. It can
would be immensely helpful,” Jeff workers are about to supersede the detect motion, shock and change
said. “We’ll give them feedback from queen. This can be extremely detri- in GPS location. According to Ellie,
the field to tell them which hives we mental to hive production. Before the QGPS gives beekeepers an instant
think have swarmed, so they can do new queen can begin laying, thou- alert if a theft is occurring and can au-
their statistical analysis to come up sands of foragers will die each day. tomatically notify local authorities to
with some kind of data model. We’re Honey production suffers and popu- dispatch a patrol car to the site of the
excited to see if we can help with that.” lation strength declines until new theft. This sensor is addressing hive
Installing technology inside of bees emerge. This break in brood pro- threats that beekeepers face all across
hives is a novel idea to many. Ac- duction weakens the hive, increasing America, especially when colonies
cording to Wyatt they have received the likelihood of overwinter colony are valuable for almond pollination.
some pushback on using their hive- loss.” As winter colony losses continue and
monitoring device. “We do encoun- However, as their research and un- pollination prices rise, hive theft will
ter pushback with technology and derstanding of healthy hive tempera- also escalate.
introducing new things,” Wyatt said. ture grows, and the natural cycles In the U.S commercial almond pol-
“I think beekeepers are very reason- in colony development, their data lination is a great financial boost for
ably skeptical people when they hear models are evolving to reflect new commercial beekeepers, since almond
about a new solution that seems like discoveries. They learned that differ- growers pay the highest pollination
a little bit of magic. I think they like ent hives behave differently in how rates and use 1.7 million honey bee
to wrap their heads around things they control temperature, and that colonies. But with the influx of bee-
and understand them. That’s why we the nature of temperature analysis is keepers moving colonies for bloom
are trying to build a story of knowing complex. season, coupled with the rising price
what’s going on in the hive 24/7, and “We found there isn’t just a thresh- paid for almond pollination, hive
being precise about hive activity and old for hive temperature, so our mod- thefts were devastating to Califor-
management.” el is improving to account for some of nia beekeepers in the past two years.
those differences,” Ellie said. “We’ve
gathered a lot of information and Var-
roa mites are a big issue for beekeep-
ers, so we’re seeing if we can offer
anything in that sphere by finding a
pattern in sensor data.”
A significant Varroa infestation
leads to the death of honey bee colo-
nies; this parasite takes the heaviest
economic toll on the beekeeping in-
dustry, and is a leading contributor to
bee loss. The Bee Corp hopes within
the next year hive data can offer more
insight on how to detect and address
pest infestations.
QGPS Hive Theft Tracking Sys-
Wyatt Wells, 23, chief marketing officer tem is another product The Bee Corp
of The Bee Corp piloted to help beekeepers against Ellie Symes, 23, CEO of The Bee Corp

May 2018 537

 They are being stolen at an “unprec-
edented” rate, according to the Cali-
fornia State Beekeepers Association,
which issued a statewide advisory
to beekeepers to stay alert for hive
thieves. An entire tractor trailer load
of 488 colonies disappeared overnight
from a holding yard in California.
The Bee Corp’s grant cycle will
carry them through the end of 2018,
and their vision moving forward is to
continue their scientific research, en-
hance their hive data and monitoring
products, and actively apply for more
grants. Since companies that receive
a Phase I award are eligible to apply
for a Phase II award, The Bee Corp
plans to apply and could potentially
be awarded $750,000 for a grant cycle Jeff Singletary and Richard Walton run 80
Data Scientist Gretchen Riggs, The Bee of two years. They are even consider- hives as co-owners of RJ Honey in Leba-
Corp’s first non-founder hire ing a second hire in the near future. non, Indiana

538 American Bee Journal

T
he swarm season of 2017 started would fly out, land in the grass, and them, and the swarm will erupt from
earlier than I expected. Swarm cool down in the shadows. Many the new hive.
season typically begins well would be lost. In the coming darkness, Back by the fence post in the fading
into April here in Piedmont Virginia, I would be left wondering–Where’s the light, I checked the last remaining
although one often hears about an queen? Somewhere in the grass? bees for the queen. They were difficult
unusually early swarm. At the end On the floor of the bee truck, I found to remove because of the fence wires.
of March, news of my early swarm the solution to my problem–a small Then I looked through the grass
arrived. plastic drink bottle, in need of minor around the post for any single bees, or
The sun was low in the sky when modification. With my pocket knife, I a small group of bees, which could be
a truck arrived at the house. I knew cut off the spout top and discarded it. the queen and a few other attendant
the driver. He had previously had That left an open-top cup for gently worker bees. Quite often the bees
bees in his country house. The colony scooping the bees off the fence post will find a lost queen first, so look for
had taken up residency behind brick (see Figure 2). I had the top-bar hive any small clump of bees. Convinced
masonry, a difficult and expensive beside the post, open at the top, so I I was leaving only a couple dozen
place for removal. The bee flight could pour in the bees. I removed the workers from a three-pound swarm,
from the entrance had been sparse. I bees from the bottom of the cluster, I closed up the top-bar hive, taped the
recommended waiting for the colony and worked upward. bars in place, and put it behind the
to naturally expire. Then my friend The goal was minimal bee cab, which is a standard position for
could seal the hole, which he did disturbance with each scoop. I let the traveling. My friend was glad to see
the first spring he saw no bee flight edges of the cup go into the cluster
(after a period for robbing to remove parallel to the chains of bees. When
any honey stores, but before swarm the cup overflowed with bees, I gently
season, when a new colony could broke the bee chains (called festoons).
reoccupy the site). Most of the bees in the cup only
Now a swarm had landed on a felt the release in tension from the
fence post by his cattle pasture and festoons. Then, moments later, they
near his house. The natural thought were in the hive, finding its attractive
would be, Here come the bees for my empty combs. That transition is much
house again. To save time, I followed more tranquil than brushing the bees
him in my bee truck, and he took me off the post with a bee brush. (In
through a gate and into a pasture. We general, brushing irritates bees.) In a
homed in on one line of fencing. Sure few minutes, I had scooped most of
enough, the swarm had clustered on the bees off the post. However, I was
the flat side of a half-post (see Figure not done.
1). Any hope quickly vanished of Swarm catching is essentially queen
merely shaking the bees into a hive. catching. It does not matter if most of
Here is the situation that confronted the bees are in their new hive. It does
me. Darkness was coming quickly not matter if hundreds of bees scent
and it was becoming cooler. I could fan at the entrance of the new hive
not return tomorrow, so the swarm and the other beekeepers with you
catching had to happen before sunset. agree that the queen must be in the
I needed to get the bees off the post new hive. Sure, those are very hopeful
and into the hive without spilling signs–but they are not conclusive. Figure 1. A swarm on the fence post. The
them into the grass. Bees scattered in Because if the queen happens to be bees were on the dark shadow side of
the grass would chill and die. Trying spilled on the ground nearby, we the post. I brightened the photograph to
to brush the bees off the post and into know the bees will not stay in the new show them. When I arrived, daylight was
the hive below would be a disaster. hive. After about 15-20 minutes, the decreasing rapidly. I quickly snapped a
Warm bees from the cluster’s interior bees will realize the queen is not with couple of pictures and went to work.

May 2018 539

 its soft durable fiber for clothing. Less
well known is that cotton produces
honey.
Cotton honey is light in color, has
hardly any taste, and crystallizes fairly
quickly. Cotton honey alone is usually
not regarded as a table grade honey,
although it can be blended with other
honeys to achieve a uniform product.
For me, cotton honey is all for my
bees, since our fall nectar flow is so
weak. My top-bar hive colonies had
gained an average of 60 pounds on
cotton, and their bee populations had
become exceptionally strong.
Those good cotton conditions from
the previous summer carried over to
the following spring. When I checked
that apiary, those colonies were
almost a month ahead of my other
colonies, which were still building
queen cell cups, most with no eggs in
them. In contrast, the cotton colonies
were launching swarms. One colony
Figure 2. Simple but effective swarm-catching tools. These are my scoops for
had swarmed–gone for the woods.
removing swarms from flat surfaces made from plastic drink bottles. For the early
Another swarm was in a tree. Some
swarm, I did not have any homemade scoops because swarm season had not really
begun yet, so I just made one. I have one more thing to say about this complex device: colonies had sealed queen cells. They
“Patent Pending.” were ready to launch swarms at any
moment. About half of the colonies
the bees off, and I was happy to get an that had been making cotton honey were crowded with bees, but had
early swarm. the previous summer. I had moved refrained from building queen cells
The previous bee season has a strong those hives (about ten) to southern for swarming.
influence on the following season. In Virginia and put them in a shady Already late afternoon and
the spring of 2016, I witnessed the full place among huge fields of cotton. traveling in the truck without my
force of this fact. I checked my apiary This versatile plant is well known for equipment for splitting colonies, I
figured (and hoped) the colonies with
queen cells would not swarm that
day. The swarm in the tree might not
move, although I have seen swarms
enter my bait hives as late as 7:00
p.m. I decided to retrieve the long
extension ladder from the house and
capture the swarm. I had not used the
ladder for several years since I catch
most swarms in my bait hives. Figure
3 shows how I packed the ladder in
the truck for the road.
I set the ladder to one side of the
swarm, which is its proper placement
(see Figures 4 and 5). The standard
novice mistake is to set the ladder
directly under the swarm. With the
catching box under the swarm, it
blocks the beekeeper’s view of the
bees. That unfortunate predicament
can lead to the next painful lesson.
When dislodging the bees from the
branch, some of the bees may spill
Figure 3. The ladder packed on the truck. The ladder projected out quite far from the onto the beekeeper. The beekeeper
end of the tailgate. The cinderblocks kept the majority of the weight on the cab-end could be badly stung.
of the ladder (orange arrow). The board under the ladder on the tailgate shifted more It is well known that a bee
weight into the truck (orange arrow). If traveling far or on the interstate, I would have engorged with honey is less inclined
secured this small board to the ladder, so it could not work its way out from under to sting. An exception to that rule is
the ladder and fly out into traffic. The ropes secured the ladder from sliding sideways when bees from a swarm cluster fall
on curves (orange arrows). On the end of the ladder, I hung a big red flag as required on bare skin–most all of them sting
by Virginia law. at once. The blast of pain is intense.

540 American Bee Journal

Figure 4. Ladder to the tree swarm.
Before climbing on the ladder, make
sure it is at the correct leaning angle and
tied off, if necessary, so it cannot kick out
from the bottom. Sometimes the ladder
must be tied off higher up so it cannot
slip on the branches.

The beekeeper under the swarm may

see dancing stars or blackness. Then
comes a weightless thought, Where’s
the ladder?
Always work from the side of the Figure 5. Almost to the swarm. I am putting considerable trust in the branch under
swarm. For another measure of safety, the second rung from the top. These wild Holly trees have sturdy branches. On the
I do not bring a bulky wooden hive other hand, if that were a pine tree branch (to be safe I would include any eastern
species), I would not trust all the weight on it. Pine branches tend to snap off suddenly.
up the ladder, not even a short top-bar
Understanding the wood characteristics of the swarm tree helps one avoid a nasty fall.
hive or a small frame hive. Instead, I
take something lightweight, easy to difficult. I usually just put her in the
handle, like a cardboard box, modified hive, figuring the remaining bees will
for capturing bees. And if needed, I follow. (Unless I suspect the swarm is
can drop it from the tree, no problem. an after swarm with multiple queens,
Figure 3 shows a simple cardboard then I would cage the queen and put
box (blue arrow) on the truck, easy her in the hive. With after swarms, I
to close (just two flaps) and keep the cage all the queens I find so I have the
bees inside until brought down to the most options, for example to divide
hive. Then I pour the bees from the the swarm and mate more than one
cardboard box into the hive. I might queen.)
repeat that procedure if enough bees Figure 6 shows the situation that
cluster again on the swarm branch. drives beekeepers like me crazy. Not
After checking the swarm branch only are the bees difficult to reach, the
for the queen, I hang the smoker there swarm appears huge even from the
by its front wire hook to discourage ground. Even if you could get to the
the straggler bees from returning. In a base of the swarm branch and slowly
wider area under the smoker, I inspect saw it, a pine branch will probably
the bees on the leaves, again looking snap off, sending the bees flying and
for the queen. If a small clump of bees scattering everywhere. Of course
appears interested in something, I the swarm will land again, higher or
need to know what it is. Usually the lower in the trees. It’s a gamble. For
bees are curious about something of beekeepers with numerous apiaries,
no consequence to swarm catching. the time spent trying to catch this one Figure 6. A big swarm high up on the
With other swarms, every so often, swarm usually means losing other end of a pine branch. Down through
up in the branches, off the ladder, swarms somewhere else. the decades, beekeepers have devised
I have spotted a queen among a At least for this swarm on its all kinds of creative contraptions and
few bees. If I do not have a queen citadel branch in the clouds, I had hatched numerous schemes to catch
cage in my shirt pocket, I catch the the situation figured out. I knew its these swarms. It is a frustrating loss,
queen and climb down the ladder scout bees were at one of my bait made worse while the beekeeper
one-handed, which is not really that hives provisioned with an irresistible watches the cluster hanging there.

May 2018 541

calling card: dark empty brood combs.
To up the attractive ante, the bait hive
was under a shed roof at virtually the
most enticing location of all the bait
hive places on our property. I kept
checking the branch. When the swarm
vanished, a big swarm appeared in
the bait hive.
This method is the best way to
catch swarms–let the swarms catch
themselves.

Acknowledgments
The author thanks Suzanne Sumner
for her comments on the manuscript.
Visit TBHSbyWAM.com

Dr. Wyatt Mangum,

author of Top-Bar
Hive Beekeeping:
Wisdom and Pleasure
Combined, is an inter-
nationally known top-
bar hive beekeeper,
who started keeping
bees at age 10. He switched all his colonies
to top-bar hives back in 1986, long before it
became popular. He is also an apicultural
historian, who blends his knowledge of
beekeeping history with his study of honey
bee behavior. email: [email protected].
www.TBHSbyWAM.com

rrthheerrNN CCaalliiffoorrN
t
NNooPPaCkage
aCkage B Bees
ees
Niiaa
QuAlity itAliAn And
CArniolAn Queens
All bees fed Fumagilin Fall & Spring
Powell APiAries
4140 Co. Rd. KK
Orland, CA 95963
Phone: 530-865-3346
Fax: 530-865-3043
Package Delivery Available
Member:
California Bee Breeders Assoc.
American Honey Producers Assoc.

542 American Bee Journal

May 2018 543
 Front Rear
Completed bottom board minus the Rain Guard (for clarity).

B
efore I began keeping bees, I Maryland State Fair (“Bee Related by counting the beetles that appeared
searched the Internet for good Gadgets” category) in 2016. Construc- in the photograph. More recently, a
management practices. Be- tion has been simplified: pine, rather fellow beekeeper (Richard Ochs, Oc-
cause of this, my hives are mounted than oak, is used and the drawer is tober 23, 2017) built a bottom board
on ant moats, I use Bacillus thuringi- less bulky and complex. based on my design and reported that
ensis var. aizawai (Bta) to limit wax The bottom board kills small hive he “got about 30 beetles in 2 days”
moth damage to stored comb, and I beetles as follows: after installation.
use two homemade solutions to com- An oil pan is located directly be-
bat varroa mites. I also use a small neath a slotted aluminum sheet that
hive beetle trapping bottom board serves as the bottom of the bees’ liv-
beneath each hive. The bottom board ing space. Bees harass small hive
I describe here is the latest of three de- beetles and the beetles enter the slots
signs I’ve used since starting beekeep- to escape. Once they enter a slot, they
ing. In 2009, I installed two packages fall into the vegetable oil and die.
of Italians (from Georgia, $67 each) in A test done before submission
my half-acre suburban back yard. I’ve of the bottom board in the Mary-
not bought a single bee (nor accepted land State Fair demonstrates the ef-
any bees offered to me) since then and fectiveness of the bottom board. I
have averaged 10% overwinter losses cleaned out the oil pan and refilled
in my eight years of beekeeping. it with fresh oil then photographed
The bottom boards made for this the contents 27 days later (6/27/16- Photograph of one corner of the oil pan
article are functionally the same as 7/24/16). More than 100 small hive that contained over 100 small hive beetles
the one that won a blue ribbon at the beetles were trapped, as determined after 27 days of trapping.

May 2018 545

 ength
Width, L
ht,
IS T Heig
M AT E R IA L L ”, 20 ½”
3 ½”, 1 ½ 16 ¼”
”,
es (2) 2 ¾”, 1 ½ 16 ¼”
Long Sid 3½ ”, 1 ½ ”,
1 18”
Front ⅟₁ ₆” , 13 ¾”, ¼”
2
B a c k ”, 3
1
3 1 ¹³⁄₁₆”, ¾ 13”
Bottom* 1 ⅜”, 1 ⅛ ”,
4 ¾”
Brace n t .0 1 0 ”, 1 4 ½”, 18
5 w e r Fro 1 3 ”
Dra ”,
.010”, 13 ”, 12 ½”
6 heet**
Slotted S eet** 1 ⅛ ”, .010
7
Drawer eet**S h ”, 16 ¼”
8 e r S h .0 10”, 1 ½ 13 ¾”
Lou v 0”,
9 ard** 1 ½”, .01
Rain Gu nt Screen***
10 ro
Drawer F ood
11 w
* ³⁄₁₆” ply minum sheet
alu e screen
** .010” sh galvanized wir
e
*** ⅛” m

STEP-BY-STEP CONSTRUCTION
The following steps are for constructing
the sides of the bottom board. Refer to
the Cross section through Long Side
drawing for clarity.

1
Lengths of 2 x 4 for the four sides of the 5
bottom board are cut about ½” oversized The blade of the saw is raised so that it
to allow for waste when mitering. will cut through the side labeled ‘Front’.
This will make the entrance for the bees
at the front of the bottom board.
3
The depth of cut for the table saw is set
to ¾” and the table saw rail is set at 2 ¾”
from the inside edge of the blade.

6
2 4 The blade is lowered so that it will cut
Each piece for the sides is mitered at 45˚ The first cut is made in three sides (‘Long ¾” deep, and the rail is adjusted so that
(to the cut length listed) so that they fit Sides’ and ‘Back’) that will remove a ¾” x the outside edge of the blade is ¾” from
together as in a picture frame. ¾” section of wood. the rail.

546 American Bee Journal

 SUPPL
IE S N E E
DE D TO M
AKE TH
Pine 2 x E BOTT
4s (74” to OM BO
Pine 1 x ta A R D:
4 (13 ¼” l length)
³⁄₁₆” actua length)
l thickne
(13 ¾ ss plyw
Carpente ” x 18”) ood, “un
derlaym
r’s glue ent grad
1 ⅝” coa e”
rse dryw
1 ¼” coa all screw
rse dryw s (10)
⅛” mesh all screw
s
.010” thic galvanized wire (3)
k alumin screen,
28” le u m flashin (13 ¾
⅜” Stain ngth) g, 20” w ” x 1 ½”)
le ide (app
1” or 2” ss steel staples roximate
ly
wide HV (approxim
24” leng A C alumin ately 32
1, 18-ga th) um foil ta )
uge alum pe (app
in roximate
bun pan u m, wire ly
Special in rim, 1
tool: slott 3 ” x 9 .5” ¼-s
ing shea heet
r, .110” w
idth

7
A second cut in the long sides (2) and
back is made to remove a ¾” x ¾” sec- 9
tion of wood. The rail is adjusted so that a ³⁄₁₆” slot,
¼” deep, is made to accept the plywood
‘Bottom’. The slot starts at ¾” from the
bottom and extends far enough upward
for the plywood to fit snugly when glued
(about ³⁄₁₆”). If the saw blade is not wide
enough to make the slot in one pass,
multiple staggered cuts might be need-
ed. The ‘Front’ piece is shown in the pho-
tograph.

10
End view of one of the completed ‘Long
8 Sides’ that shows the profile made by
This is the appearance of a side with the table saw cuts. Dimensions are given in
¾” x ¾” section of wood removed. the drawing Cross section: Long Side.

May 2018 547

 11 14
Now the large slot is made in the ‘Back’ Hand filing cleans up, sharpens the cor-
piece through which the oil pan drawer
will slide. A 1 ¼” forstner bit is used to
ners, and brings the slot to its finished
form.
17
drill holes to start making the drawer Apply glue to the mating surfaces in
slot. The bit is centered so that it just Not shown: The ‘Brace’ piece is cut to preparation for glue-up. I use carpenters
kisses the slot for the ‘Bottom’ and the size from a 13 ¼” length of 1 x 4 (¾” (yellow) glue and an acid brush.
45˚ chamfer at the end of the piece (as thick pine). See drawing The Brace for
shown). Holes are drilled at both ends of dimensions.
what will be the drawer slot.

15
Dry fit the ‘Bottom’ to the four sides. Use
a square to mark the centerline for the
12 Brace and drill three countersunk holes 18
A jigsaw is used to remove the majority of (evenly spaced) for the 1 ¼” screws that Glue is brushed into the groove for the
the wood that must be removed to make will connect the ‘Brace’ to the ‘Bottom’. ‘Bottom’ and then the four sides and
the slot. Two cuts are made that extend Consult the drawing Partial Assembly: ‘Bottom’ are assembled.
from one hole to the other, as shown. Bottom Board for clarity.

16
While dry fitted, drill countersunk guide
19
holes for the 8, 1 ⅝” screws (2 at each The photo shows the ‘Back’, which was
the last piece assembled, being place
13 corner). Also drill the countersunk guide
holes for the two 1 ⅝” screws (one for in position. Before the glue sets, care
A router is used to shape the drawer slot each ‘Long Side’) that connect the ‘Long is taken to make sure the corners are
to the final dimensions of 13 ¼” by 1 7⁄₁₆”. Sides’ to the ‘Brace’. square and all pieces are fitting snugly.

548 American Bee Journal

 26
A piece of aluminum flashing is cut
about 2” longer than the finished length
for the ‘Louver Sheet’ to make room for
staples at either end. The ‘Louver Sheet’
is then stapled to an oversized sacrificial
23 board. A top oversized board is screwed
After glue-up, the countersunk screw to the bottom one to sandwich the alu-
holes are filled with an Epoxy-based minum sheet(s) for drilling. Multiple
20 body filler, then sanded flush with the ‘Louver Sheets’ can be drilled at one
Also before the glue sets, the 8 screws wood when cured. time with this arrangement.
for the 4 corners are used to draw the
mating surfaces together. The ‘Brace’, Much of the following is for those who
not shown, has glue applied, is insert- wish to include louvers for hive ventila-
ed, then screwed into place with three tion. For those who want a simplified
screws from the bottom and one from construction, disregard instructions for
each ‘Long Side’. louvers.

27
Eleven ½” holes are drilled with 1” be-
tween centers to make the holes in the
Louver Sheet. Refer to drawing Louver
Sheet for dimensions.
21
Here is the appearance of the bottom
board at this stage of construction. Ex-
cess glue has been wiped away while
still liquid. This is the stage of construc-
tion for the drawing Partial Assembly:
Bottom Board
24
11 one-half inch holes are drilled with
one inch between centers starting at
1 ¼” from one end of the ‘Drawer Front’.
Consult the drawing Drawer Front for
clarity.

22
This is a bottom view of the assembly
after glue-up.
28
Here is a view of the partially complete
‘Louver Sheet’ with holes drilled after the
25 top section of the drilling jig is removed.
The ‘Drawer Front’ is slotted with the ⅛” The ends of the sheet must be trimmed
wide table saw blade to make the slot to the finished length so that it will oper-
that will contain the ‘Louver Sheet’. ate properly in the ‘Drawer Front’.

May 2018 549

 35
The Slotted Sheet is fabricated with the
assistance of a template. A template can
be made from the dimensions given in
the drawing “Slotted Sheet”.

29 32
This photo shows the louver action. In A slight (approximately 20˚) bend is
winter I close the ventilation holes; in made in the front end of the ‘Drawer
spring and summer I open them by slid- Sheet’ so that rain will be diverted away
ing the ‘Louver Sheet’ by ½” within the from the oil pan drawer when the bot-
slot in the ‘Drawer Front’. tom board is exposed to weather.
36
After flashing is cut to the major dimen-
sions of the ‘Slotted Sheet’, the template
is attached and a center punch and
hammer are used to mark the beginning
and end point of each of the 24 slots.

30
At this stage of construction, the par-
tially completed, glued-up bottom board
and ‘Drawer Front’ (minus all sheet alu-
minum parts) are immersed for about
ten minutes in a melted paraffin and
gum rosin solution (at about 120˚ F) 33 37
to extend the life of the wooden parts. After the sheet has been bent front and Two additional divots are made by cen-
Treatment of a medium super is shown back, it is checked for fit within the bot- ter punch so that three 0.110” holes will
since illustrative photos of the bottom tom board. Then the ‘Drawer Front’ is provide access for the slotting shear
board dipping are not available. stapled in place. A tack hammer is used used to cut the slots.
to drive home any staples that stand
proud.

31
The ‘Drawer Sheet’ is now cut and
38
shaped to make the drawer that will hold
the oil pan. First, a 90˚ bend is made to
34 After three holes are drilled for the start
form the 1” tall back end of the drawer. Here is a photo of the completed drawer of each slot, the holes are conjoined into
Since I don’t have a sheet-metal break, with the oil pan in place. See Assembly a short slot with a rotary grinder. The re-
I clamp the sheet in a vice to assist in Drawing: Drawer for dimensions of the sulting slot will allow entry of the slotting
bending. assembled drawer. shear.

550 American Bee Journal

 42
After the ‘Slotted Sheet’ has been com-
pleted, it is secured to the bottom board
with stainless steel staples along each
edge and along the ‘Brace’. Staples that 46
stand proud are driven home by tack
hammer. The bottom board drawer is accessed
from the rear of the hive to clean the pan
39 and add new oil, or to open or close the
louvers.
A 0.110” slotting shear is used to cut each
of the 24 slots.

43
The ‘Drawer Front Screen’ is cut to di-
mension from ⅛” mesh galvanized
screen and attached with five evenly
40 spaced staples as shown. The screen
covers the louver holes and overlaps
Keeping the slots to .011” wide or less is gaps between the ‘Drawer Front’ and
important. If the slots are too wide, or the ‘Back’ to prevent the entry of small
some portion of a slot is too wide, bees hive beetles and other insects.
will access the oil pan and die. To avoid
this, apply tape as described next.

47
Filling the oil pan of a new bottom board.
I use inexpensive vegetable oil to fill the
pan. I replace the oil once or twice each
year, depending on how much detritus
44 (wax, dead beetles, etc.) fills the pan.
The ‘Rain Guard’ is cut from flashing, conclusion
bent at about 20˚, and secured to the
top back edge of the bottom board with Improvements to manufacture such
41 staples. The rain guard prevents rain
from entering the drawer. I remove the
as punch-and-die fabrication of the
slotted aluminum sheet (or some other
Due to their odd shape, the starting exposed sharp corners of the drawer method) could aid in mass production
slots made by drilling and grinding may and ‘Rain Guard’ by cutting them off. of the bottom board. Other improve-
allow bees to access the oil pan. This is ments might include CNC milling of
remedied by applying a strip of alumi- the drawer slot and/or other features
num foil HVAC tape to cover the starting
of the sides and ‘Drawer Front’ that
slots. I have found that no bees are killed
when this fix is made and that adhesive
are laborious to do as described here.
backed aluminum foil (aluminum foil The bottom board as constructed in
HVAC tape, not cloth-backed ‘duck’- or this article has worked in reducing
‘duct’- tape) lasts for at least 7 years in one of the stresses on my bees and
the hive after application. may have contributed to the good
45 health of my colonies over the past
The bottom board in use. A standard eight years.
10-frame Langstroth hive entrance re- For details on construction, see the
ducer fits, as does standard 10-frame mechanical drawings on the next
woodenware in general. page.

May 2018 551

 MECHANICAL DRAWINGS

Drawer Front: Wooden piece for the front of the drawer.

Partial Assembly: Bottom Board: Drawing of bottom board

with dimensions.

Louver Sheet: This is slid to open and close ventilation holes.

Slotted Sheet: Dimensions for completed slotted sheet.

The Brace: This piece, cut from ¾” thick pine, defines the
back of the drawer, supports the aluminum slotted sheet, and
adds rigidity to the bottom board.

Cross section: Long Side: Cross-section through a ‘Long

Side’ showing the locations and dimensions of the ‘Bottom’
slot and the ¾” by ¾” cutout. Assembly Drawing: Drawer: Drawer for the bottom board.

552 American Bee Journal

F
ood fraud is big business. “Ac- We realized that if the company was or rather cutting off our income
cording to Pricewaterhouse- were to import honey, we would stop to mitigate the potential risk. Clearly
Coopers food fraud is estimated feeding the product to our young chil- a significant financial disadvantage
to be worth $52 billion globally each dren, lacking confidence in the qual- was self-imposed, which in the short
year. The illegal trade in firearms is ity. It immediately became clear we term was difficult to manage. Wind-
worth an estimated $8.5 billion a year had to change direction. If we had no ing back any company quickly is hard
and heroin $30 billion. No wonder confidence in the product for our own but with agility, skill and creativity
food fraud is now among the high breakfast table, then the company the business forged a point of differ-
rollers of crime.1” This is a sobering would have to manage with what ence from our competitors, which
fact for a fourth-generation beekeeper quality Australian honey we could would help us build one of our most
situated in Beechworth, Victoria, Aus- still source. important assets.
tralia. Knowing that honey is consis- This decision lead us to advise Coinciding with the shortage were
tently in the Top 10 foods most likely supermarkets that we would vol- several investigative journalism sto-
to be adulterated, it’s little wonder untarily delete our products off the ries on Australian national televi-
that Australia’s “Beechworth Honey” supermarket shelves in order to man- sion uncovering the contamination
are amongst a minority of honey age the Australian honey shortfall, found in imported honey and quickly
packers and traders who choose NOT because of the risk associated with Beechworth Honey’s decision to stick
to be lured by low priced honey from possible contamination and adul- with Australian honey drew attention
known adulteration countries. teration. It was very much a case of and respect in the market. Beekeep-
putting our money where our mouth ers horrified with low cost contami-
“Character is much Easier Kept
than Recovered” -Thomas Paine

Back in 2004, Australia was a net

exporter of honey and honey was
banned from entering the country
for biosecurity reasons. Drought,
honey shortages and short sighted-
ness changed this almost overnight
when the large honey packers were
faced with running out of Austra-
lian honey. At the time our company
Beechworth Honey also faced run-
ning out of honey to supply Austra-
lia’s two major supermarket chains.
Despite the shortage, we were not
involved in seeking government sup-
port to let honey into Australia. The
small family company is owned by
my husband and I, Steven and Jodie
Goldsworthy—I’m a 4th generation
beekeeper. We assessed the quality of
the imported honey on offer and con-
sidered momentarily the option of im-
porting honey from countries where
production systems were vastly dif-
ferent from that of Australia (Austra-
lia does not have the deadly varroa
mite and therefore does not use any
chemicals to control for varroa). A jar of Beechworth Honey, delicious drizzled over fruit and yogurt

May 2018 555

 in 2008. The Experience comprises an
interactive, state of the art virtual tour,
live bee display and concept store.
The tour showcases how honey is pro-
duced and the story of Beechworth
Honey past and present. The free tour
educates people on the diversity of
uses for honey and that one in every
three mouthfuls of food you eat re-
quires honey bees for pollination.

The druG of low Priced honey in a

MarkeT
Not surprisingly the supply of
Australian honey has returned after
the droughts eased, but the flow of
low priced imported honey has not
stopped for Australia. In 2015, Aus-
tralia imported 10,125 metric tons
of honey with 61% of it sourced
from China.2 This quantity is mas-
Eucalypt Blossoms sive in percentage terms compared
to the estimated Australian produc-
nated honey entering their market when facing battles on every front to tion quantity of between 16,000 and
redirected their wholesale honey to fight off competition, remain sustain- 20,000 metric tons for the same time.
supply us at Beechworth Honey. Cus- able and cut general business costs (Production figures in Australia are
tomer trust grew as we were the only to manage customer expectations of not made public by the Australian
major brand known not to contain value. But it is possible and in the long Government and are estimated by in-
imported honey that could have been term confirms the wisdom of Thomas dividual honey packers based on the
laced with contaminants. Paine’s quote that “character is much best available market intelligence and
Trust is vital. Trust influences buy- easier kept than recovered”. a range of data sources).
ing decisions. Food trust is an advan- The lure of easy profits is too great
tage that can be turned into an asset The coMPany’s hisTory: for the majority of the Australian
and at Beechworth Honey we have I am a fourth-generation bee- honey market, who chase volume
become experts at leveraging this keeper, and with my husband Ste- over value and sustainability. Massive
trust to help stave off the competition ven, we began managing our own advantage and easy profits are gained
of low priced imported honey. Trans- hives in 1992, focusing on producing by players who choose to continue to
lating this into everyday business de- bulk honey. Since then we’ve grown import low priced honey from places
cisions can be challenging, especially into a honey packer and supplier. like China for one third to one half of
Our Beechworth Honey is proudly what we at Beechworth Honey choose
retailed in owned outlets including to pay our Australian beekeepers. De-
the original concept store “Beech- spite the company’s strong stance, the
worth Honey Experience” in Beech- impact of low priced honey on the
worth, and in The Block Arcade in Australian market has been keenly felt
Melbourne. We also sell Beechworth in the last ten years.
Honey products through Australia’s An Australian Government sur-
major retailers, food service, indus- vey confirmed in December 2016 that
trial and to a growing export mar- the high costs of producing honey
ket. Since the opening of Australia to in Australia combined with honey
honey imports, Beechworth Honey prices impacted by a dysfunctional
has emerged as Australia’s largest in- market (influenced by the global
dependently owned specialist honey honey adulteration racquet) had a
packing company. Our products major impact on the industry. The
compete with honey imported from number of Australia’s commercial
markets such as China and despite beekeepers had declined by 25% and
droughts and honey shortages our Australia’s colony numbers had also
products have remained 100% Aus- decreased by 25% from 2004 – 2014.3
tralian….always! We opted to down- A positive agenda and strong support
size our markets with major retailers of Australian honey helped to hold
in times of shortage, rather than risk the loss in the industry at a stagger-
quality or reputation through using ing 25%, but still many in the market
low priced imported honey at great ponder how much worse things might
financial disadvantage. have been if there had not been Beech-
As passionate supporters of the Aus- worth Honey advocating for “100%
Cute little honey bee beside an observa- tralian honey industry, we opened the Australian honey….always!” along
tion hive in our retail store. “The Beechworth Honey Experience” with beekeepers and others promot-

556 American Bee Journal

ing a positive agenda for Australian
honey. The impact for beekeeping in
Australia would surely have been
much worse.

MoTivaTed To Take The lonG view

Beechworth Honey’s resolve to
sustain a massive financial disad-
vantage is motivated by a deep un-
derstanding of the fact that honey
bees in Australia pollinate 65% of
Australia’s agricultural production.
With only 1,280 commercial beekeep-
ing enterprises left in Australia, our
cause has evolved into securing the
future viability of the Australian bee-
keeping industry, rather than simply
putting honey into jars and selling it
at the lowest cost. I strongly believe
“It’s frankly short-sighted and lazy
to allow low prices to be the biggest
driver, even in an environment cor-
rupted by fraud.”
When I listened in 2009 to the head
of Australia’s chief science agency
CSIRO Dr. Megan Clark state that “It is
hard for me to comprehend that in the
next 50 years we will need to produce
Figure 1: The link between honey fraud and beekeeper viability
as much food as has been consumed
over our entire human history, 4” the criminals, who choose to profit come more difficult, beekeepers are
I realized the challenge Australia from greed in selling fraudulent and faced with difficult choices. Producers
faced with its precarious reliance on adulterated honey. of quality honey need to align them-
honey bees. selves with ethical supply chains and
This realization has driven Beech- honey aT a cross roads careful, clever marketers of honey,
worth Honey’s unwavering quest to If the global fraternity of beekeep- who seek higher value markets built
play both an offensive and defensive ing is to survive into the long term, on treating the customer with the re-
role in its long view game. Defense clusters of strong, honest players spect they deserve.
has involved building creative strate- must unite. Disruption, combined We can expect that traders of low
gies that mitigate and defend against with the reassurance of a positive priced honey involved in the honey
low priced honey offers and the agenda for high quality natural honey, fraud network will do everything
“Down, Down” (Coles Supermarkets) is needed. Honest players will need to they can to weave beekeepers into
and “Prices Dropped” (Woolworths make good choices that help reset the the tangled web of honey adultera-
Supermarkets) expectations of the course against honey fraud.
duopoly that make up the Australian The Australian market demon-
retail environment. Offense has in- strates how quickly an industry can
volved building creative marketing be decimated by the complex, cumu-
and positive positioning of premium lative and interrelated threats to bees
Australian honey. The diversity of and beekeeping combined with low
over 780 subspecies of eucalypts from priced competition. Other markets
which most of Australia’s honey is around the world are following, sadly
sourced created the perfect opportu- by default taking advantage of the lu-
nity for Beechworth Honey to build crative market for adulterated honey.
its own retail outlets and honey edu- Now is the time for honest and ethical
cation centers. These share a beautiful members of the supply chain to eke
story of Australian quality honey with out advantages offered by ethical and
the public. sustainable choices, to be more cre-
Beechworth Honey is an example of ative in their marketing and to speak
a company that has swum against the out against honey fraud and those
tide and been successful. It’s example who choose to turn a blind eye, so
challenges those involved in all seg- they can profit from low priced honey.
ments of the honey supply chain—
who believe in a future underpinned BeekeePer choices
by high quality food dependent on Beekeepers need to be part of the
honey bees—to take action. It is pos- solution to honey fraud! As prices
sible to make careful, albeit hard drop around the world and the chal-
choices that contribute to upsetting lenges for keeping bees healthy be- Steven and Jodie Goldsworthy

May 2018 557

 honey prices help offset choices that
impact quality.

sToP TurninG a Blind eye!

For honey traders, packers, indus-
trial honey users and retailers the time
has come to stop turning a blind eye
to honey fraud! Sophisticated NMR
testing, the largest global honey data-
base on record and a food fraud focus
from regulators and quality assurance
certification systems is making the
tangled web of deception more dif-
ficult. These developments with time
will make it increasingly unpleasant
for those who choose to profit from
low priced honey that is underpinned
by fraud.
The honest honey packers and trad-
ers must do more to expose the real
situation of the global honey market
and to support their supply chains
with the facts to help them manage
their legal obligations and food safety
certification requirements to VACCP
(Vulnerability Assessment at Critical
Control Points) and TACCP (Threat
Assessment at Critical Control Points).
The global food safety certification
system GFSI Version 7 now requires
companies to conduct a food fraud
Figure 2: The fine balance needed by beekeepers in choosing to produce quality vulnerability assessment and to pre-
honey that will be trusted by customers for the long term pare a food fraud mitigation plan.
Traceability for honey is expected to
tion. The image of beekeeping must A well-informed customer, who has go back to the colony, the exact geo-
be protected and enhanced. Bee- the income to pay for quality honey, graphic location of production and
keepers need to ask themselves what expects to get the real deal. With ad- detail botanical nectar sources and
message a short YouTube clip of vocacy groups and the viral digital detailed production information in
their honey operation and bee yards age, beekeepers will undoubtedly be addition to the well accepted HACCP
would communicate to consumers of caught red-handed at some point, if requirements. Traceability must go
their product. they choose to do things they would beyond the exporter or factory from
In a consumer led era that is built prefer not to share with others. An ex- which honey is sourced. Mass bal-
on transparency, it is worth recording cellent test is to ask, “would this look ances must determine that sources of
some images and checking in with the good on the front page of the newspa- honey from various countries of ori-
neighbors or your city-based cousins per or would it go viral on Facebook gin can be reconciled with production
to get a read on how your operation for all the wrong reasons?” and sourcing verification records.
would be judged and what image it The answer to these questions will Companies such as Pricewater-
would portray. determine the attention we need to houseCoopers have set up a global
Beekeepers can expect consum- pay to the balance between quality unit within their business network
ers to ask probing questions about and profits. More work needs to be that has “expertise in risk assessment,
supplementary feeding of bees, hive done collectively to help reposition forensic services, supplier manage-
management practices, chemical ap- the beekeeping industry towards a ment and internal controls required
plications and bee welfare as well. more sustainable future, where higher to help companies assess their vulner-

Checking colonies in preparation for the eucalyptus flow The Honey Shop

558 American Bee Journal

ability to food fraud, then design and More effort needs to go into educat-
implement measures to mitigate food ing customers about the investment
fraud risk.5” they make in their future food security
The days of easy deception are com- when they choose to pay a little more
ing to an end and there are examples for honey that can be traced back to a
of large multinational food companies colony and a quality honey producer.
shifting their honey supply to higher For all our sakes and the sake of our
priced honey that can be traced back great grandchildren who will live in
to quality beekeepers via trusted, ethi- a vastly hungrier and more densely
cal and honest honey packers in order populated world, we must ensure we
to manage their legal and customer achieve this mission.
obligations.
endnoTes
honesT Players Band ToGeTher & 1. Weekly Times – Decision Ag, May 2017, p12
find friends 2. Australian Government Department of
“A different approach is required Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), 2016
3. ABARES, 2016, “Australian honey bee in-
to prevent intentional adulteration dustry: 2014-15 survey results
that is specifically devised to avoid 4. https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/
detection.6 ”Time is of the essence and world-hunger-50-years-food-history/
with honey fraud having as large an story?id=8736358
impact on the future of beekeeping 5. www.pwc.com/foodtrust
as honey bee health, we need a more 6. www.pwc.com/foodtrust
Steven working bees at Circular Creek
concerted effort between honest bee-
keepers, traders, honey packers, re- More people need to re-evaluate Jodie Goldsworthy
is a fourth-generation
tailers, laboratories, media outlets and and reframe their mission and man- apiarist and Director
regulators. In addition to unravelling date as engaged as a custodian of our of Beechworth Honey,
honey adulteration, the beekeeping future food supply, rather than sim- Australia’s largest in-
industry must work on a plan to re- ply as beekeepers or a cog in a supply dependently owned
assure customers of the quality of chain. Longer term thinking, planning specialist honey com-
genuine honey. Those serious about and strategizing across global board- pany. Her family has
been keeping bees for
changing the future must find oth- ers must occur. We need to build and four generations. Her
ers in the food supply network who share more examples of creative mar- great grandfather Ben-
can assist in the quest for a disrupted keting of high quality honey, inspir- jamin Robinson kept
honey fraud environment. Boards, ing other beekeepers and customers bees in the Beechworth area during the gold
food safety risk managers, regulators, to continue to believe in this wonder- rush and found there was a better living to
advocacy groups and the media must ful natural product: honey – produced be made beekeeping than searching for gold.
She is determined to increase public aware-
be skillfully harnessed to broaden by honey bees gathering nectar from ness about the importance of bees to food
the pool of solutions from within the plants, ripened in the colony and security and is a keen advocate for research
honey industry to the broader food treated with love and care until it into the threats to nature’s most efficient pol-
community. reaches the customer. linators. www.beechworthhoney.com.au

Figure 3: The ripple effect of choices between companies who turn a blind eye vs. companies who trade pure honey & manage
their honey fraud risks well

May 2018 559

560 American Bee Journal
May 2018 561
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562 American Bee Journal

I
n the back of the feed store, where essential amino acids. A shortage can bees—the ones that actually have to
pallets of fifty-pound sacks rise to mean diminished life spans, less resis- eat the stuff—are much more selective.
the ceiling and a calico cat naps on a tance to disease, or poor foraging ability, Think of mom coming home from the
hanging scale, I watch two women ob- among other things. market with parsnips and rutabagas.
sess over brands of layer ration. From The kids sneer: “Really? Where’s the
what I can hear, they are comparing the Pollen and Brood rearinG food?” In fact, nurse bees often discard
protein content of various brands. It As beekeepers, we know that pol- some of the treasures their sisters bring
makes sense. If you want healthy chick- len is necessary for brood rearing. But home from the field, especially things
ens and many eggs, your birds need a how does that work? It turns out that with no food value, or even that expen-
balanced diet that includes the proper the youngest honey bee larvae do not sive pollen substitute.
type and amount of protein. It works eat pollen directly. Instead, the nurse But recent research shows that when
the same way for horses, pigs, dogs, bees eat the pollen in the form of bee it comes to actual pollen, even the nurse
cats, and even your kids. bread. Such a protein-rich diet stimu- bees cannot determine the quality. Or,
Although we often speak of the pro- lates their hypopharyngeal glands to even if they recognize poor quality,
tein content of foods, it is the selection secrete royal jelly, which is then fed to they are unable to communicate that in-
of amino acids that is most important. the young larvae.1 After about three formation to the foragers who are haul-
Proteins are made from strings of amino days, small amounts of pollen and di- ing it in.3 In short, since we cannot rely
acids. When an animal needs a specific luted honey are mixed into the brood on the colony to adequately balance its
protein, it can take the amino acids it food of both workers and drones, while own diet, a variety of pollen choices is
ate and string them together to build young queens continue on a diet of pure the best solution.
protein. Even more awesome, if an ani- royal jelly.
mal eats one protein, it can take it apart Adult workers eat energy-rich honey The need varies wiTh Brood rearinG
and re-string the amino acids to make almost exclusively. Because foragers When you understand how pollen
a different protein—the one it actu- don’t eat bee bread or pollen directly, is used in the hive, you can see why a
ally needs. It’s a bit like Legos: you use when they do need protein, they beg colony doesn’t need a large supply dur-
single pieces (amino acids) to build the the nurse bees for it. 2 Although we ing winter. In late autumn through mid-
object you want (protein). often don’t consider it, nurse bees feed winter, when there is little brood rearing,
Honey bees, too, need the proper mix all members of the colony from time a colony can get by with a minimum of
of amino acids to be healthy. Except for to time. pollen. However, heaps of good-quality
trace amounts in honey, pollen is the sole pollen are needed throughout the major
source of amino acids in the honey bee iT looked Good aT The sTore brood-rearing periods, especially in late
diet. And just as humans need a variety Since the foragers that collect pollen winter and early spring.
of foods to remain healthy, a honey bee don’t eat it, they are sometimes not too When pollen is scarce, a colony may
colony needs a variety of pollen types. picky about what they collect. Some- be forced to live off protein reserves
Variety is important because not all times foragers will bring home other stored as vitellogenin in the workers
the amino acids are found in a single stuff—sawdust or coffee grounds, for bees’ fat bodies. But that supply is lim-
type of pollen. Some have a greater as- example—that have a powdery consis- ited, so beekeepers often opt for pollen
sortment than others, so eating a vari- tency and the right particle size. This substitutes before the major flows begin.
ety of pollen types is the ticket to good has led some researchers to believe that
colony nutrition. In nature, this would honey bees cannot determine the food a chanGinG environMenT
not be difficult. But in many modern value of pollen: if it looks like pollen, it It is easy to fall into the trap of think-
settings, especially those containing a must be good. ing that since our fathers, grandfathers,
small number of flowering species, bees Although foragers sometimes collect and great uncles never worried about
may come up short in one or more of the inferior pollen or non-pollen, the nurse bee nutrition, we shouldn’t either. Back

May 2018 563

 of the essential amino acids. Research
has shown that a diet of pure dandelion
pollen will hinder larval development
in mason bees,6 prevent brood produc-
tion in honey bees,7 and cause 100% lar-
val rejection in bumble bees.8
Does this mean dandelions are bad
for bees? Of course not. The point to
remember is that no one type of pol-
len does what a variety of pollens can
do. Remember, honey bees evolved on
diverse vegetation and that is still what
serves them best.
In a natural environment, monocul-
tures aren’t much of a problem. A bee
would seldom—if ever—run into an
endless monoculture of dandelions,
so they don’t cause an issue. But bees
plunked down in the middle of acres
and acres of a single crop will have
trouble nourishing the next generation.
And even if the young bees survive and
A male leafcutting bee foraging on goldenrod. Whereas managed honey bees can be mature, their immunity to diseases,
fed pollen supplements, wild bees must go without. parasites, and even pesticides may be
compromised. Just like any other ani-
mal, bees need healthy immune systems
then, the bees gathered pollen on their being a bad thing, modern farms are to survive, and adequate immunity de-
own and thrived. No one gave two necessary to feed burgeoning popula- pends on proper nutrition.9
thoughts about its source or amino acid tions of humans. Still, it’s important for
content. beekeepers to understand that the ag- invasive sPecies Make a Poor dieT
While that may be true, we have ricultural environment is not great for Many beekeepers welcome the vast
substantially changed our environ- bees. Regardless of pesticide use, the acreages of invasive plants that are
ment in the intervening years. No lon- biggest hazard for bees in agriculture is swallowing the landscape. The reason is
ger are urban areas separated by large a low diversity of flowering plants.4 nectar. Some of the invasive plants, in-
swaths of natural vegetation. No longer cluding star thistle, Japanese knotweed,
do farms grow an impressive array of MonoculTure croPs fall shorT Chinese tallow, and kudzu are excel-
crops. And no longer do roadsides pro- For bees, pollen from flowering lent honey producers that fill the supers
vide a sparkling display of wildflowers. plants is virtually the only source of and pay the bills. But although they are
No. Instead we plant vast expanses of protein, lipids, vitamins, and minerals. a bonus for the beekeeper, they can be
one thing and poison the rest until the But in modern farmlands variety is sup- hard on the bees.
landscape is uniform and easy to man- pressed. The grower needs to minimize Invasive species are simply another
age. Bee nourishment? Who cares? competition from weeds, but he also form of monoculture. Like the planted
A shortage of high-quality pollen is a wants to protect his crop from roadside crop, the invasive weed reduces biodi-
relatively new concern for beekeepers. plants that might harbor disease and de- versity. Instead of having a vast array
Today, a bountiful and diverse supply of structive insects. of flowers to choose from, the bees have
pollen is often lacking. Habitat loss, in- Bee colonies that pollinate large-acre- one main entree. Instead of forty differ-
vasive plants, monoculture farming, and age monocultures—such as almonds— ent types of pollen, each with a unique
herbicides are just some of the reasons. have a severe lack of variability in amino acid profile, the bees are left with
their diets. Just as one fruit or vegeta- one. Instead of a kaleidoscope of flowers
BiodiversiTy and Bee healTh ble doesn’t satisfy all your nutritional blooming one after the other across the
One of the main indicators of a needs, one type of pollen is not enough seasons, there is one ginormous bloom
healthy environment is biodiversity. for bees. Pollinating these crops with followed by dearth.
Biodiversity is simply the sum of all liv- honey bee colonies is fine, as long as the The main difference between a
ing things in a certain area. The area can beekeeper understands the nutritional planted crop and an invasive weed is
be as large as the earth or as small as a stress a monoculture can inflict. that invasives don’t stop at the edge of
drop of pond water. Pollen from different plants varies the farmer’s field. Instead, they creep
The sum of living things in any nat- tremendously in both the quantity and into neighborhoods, wildlands, median
ural system includes plants, animals, quality of protein. Researchers have strips, and abandoned properties. Some
fungi, and microbes. In a pristine natu- found that protein content can range patches stretch as far as you can see,
ral community, each of the species stays from about 2 to 61% by dry weight, smothering everything beneath them
in balance with the others. They live to- depending on the species.5 Further- and restricting the selection of nectar
gether, fight, compete for resources, eat more, depending on protein source, it and pollen for uncounted species of
each other, die, and scarf up the detritus may completely lack some of the amino bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects.
in seasonal cycles. Each species has a acids necessary for proper growth and Whenever the diversity of plant life
special function in the community, and development. is compromised, all those that depend
no one species is poised to take over. An example of a mediocre pollen on it are weakened as well. After forag-
From an ecological point of view, more source is the common dandelion, Tarax- ing on invasive plants, managed honey
diversity is better. acum. Bees love dandelions, and they flit bees may require pollen supplements to
Modern farms are the antithesis of from blossom to blossom in large num- keep them healthy. But the others—the
natural environments. But far from bers. But dandelions are missing some native bees, beneficial insects, and other

564 American Bee Journal

random invertebrates—are simply out tious as it was in the past. We shouldn’t Journal of Experimental Biology 218: 2799-
of luck. And when the insects disap- hesitate to use pollen supplements if 2805.
pear, the birds, frogs, and mammals there is a chance our bees might need 11. Ziska L H, Pettis J S, Edwards J, Han-
that ate them go hungry as well. In any them. Especially when we see disease, cock JE, Tomecek MB, Clark A, Pol-
biological system, nothing is as toxic as poor overwintering, or lackluster per- ley HW. 2016. Rising atmospheric CO2
is reducing the protein concentration
uniformity. formance, we need to remember that of a floral pollen source essential for
well-fed colonies will outperform their North American bees. Proceedings of the
use of herBicides malnourished counterparts. Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283:
Herbicides hurt bees in multiple Looking at the larger picture, plant- 1828, 20160414. http://doi.org/10.1098/
ways. Although the direct effect of her- ing a diverse assortment of flowers rspb.2016.0414
bicides on honey bees is inconclusive, and flowering trees may be our best 12. Thomson JD. 2010. Flowering phenol-
some research has shown that the inges- long-term solution. Some groups have ogy, fruiting success and progressive
tion of glyphosate is linked to a reduced worked to alter the spraying regimens deterioration of pollination in an early-
ability to navigate.10 Perhaps more prob- in their local communities—simply flowering geophyte. Philosophical Trans-
lematic is the fact that herbicides kill changing the timing of maintenance actions of the Royal Society B: Biological
natural bee forage, such as flowering can make a big difference. Others are Sciences 365: 3187-3199.
weeds, while simultaneously promot- working to build community awareness Rusty Burlew has
ing the spread of invasive plants. by planting pollinator gardens, utility studied agriculture,
Roadsides, croplands, cityscapes, and easements, median strips, and parks honey bees, and envi-
playgrounds that are stripped of natural with bee-friendly flowering species. ronmental science for
vegetation are magnets for invasive spe- Planting flowers may seem like a small over 30 years. She is
cies. Just as farmers prepare the soil for thing, but if enough people understand a passionate advocate
their monoculture crops by spraying the the consequences of a diversity-starved of native bee conser-
weeds, other users of herbicides prepare environment, perhaps we could make a vation and founded
the soil by spraying the native vegeta- difference. the Native Bee Con-
tion, thus making it more attractive to in- servancy in Washington State. You can visit
references her website at https://honeybeesuite.com or
vasive weeds. It seems a shame to spray email her at [email protected].
roadside vegetation with herbicides and 1. Snodgrss RE, Erickson EH, Fahrbach
SE. 2007. The Anatomy of the Honey
then feed soybean meal to our bees.
Bee. In JM Graham (Ed) The Hive and the FOR SALE: BIG ISLAND HAWAII:
Honey Bee (pp. 111-165). Hamilton, Illi- QUEEN REARING OPERATION.
cliMaTe chanGe nois: Dadant & Sons, Inc. Over 2000 colonies in established
Although we don’t know much about 2. De Mardo RJ, Farina WM. 2003. Troph- locations. Year round produc-
the long-term effects of climate change, allaxis in forager honeybees (Apis mel- tion. Includes full honey extraction
a few disturbing papers have suggested lifera): resource uncertainly enhances facility and all other necessary
subtle problems. One recent study ex- begging contacts. Journal of Comparative
structures and equipment. Land is
amined the protein content of golden- Physiology. 189(2):125-34.
for sale or lease. Only qualified and
rod pollen in comparison to goldenrod 3. Corby-Harris V, Snyder L, Meador C,
Ayotte T. 2018. Honey bee (Apis mellifera)
serious inquiries. mkrones@gmail.
pollen obtained from herbarium collec- com
tions where the plants were collected nurses do not consume pollens based on
their nutritional quality. PLOS: January
years ago. The scientists found that the
11, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.
amount of protein in goldenrod pollen pone.0191050
dropped by about one-third between 4. Papanikolaou AD, Kuhn I, Frenzel
1842 and 2014.11 M, Kuhlmann M, Poschlod P, Potts
Similar studies have shown that SG, Roberts SPM, Schweiger O. 2017.
the protein content of grains used for Wild bee and floral diversity co-vary in
human food has also dropped during response to the direct and indirect im-
this period, and the drop is believed pacts of land use. Ecosphere 8(11):e02008.
to be due to higher carbon dioxide lev- 10.1002/ecs2.2008
els in the atmosphere. Apparently, an 5. Galetto L, Kevan PG. 2007. The Produc-
abundance of carbon dioxide causes tion of Nectar and Pollen. In JM Graham
plants to grow faster and bigger, but the (Ed) The Hive and the Honey Bee (pp. 345-
368). Hamilton, Illinois: Dadant & Sons,
increased growth in the vegetative parts
Inc.
reduces the amount of protein stored in 6. Levin MD, Haydak MH. 1957. Com-
seeds and pollen. parative value of different pollens in the
Warmer spring temperatures are nutrition of Osmia lignaria. Bee World 38:
also causing some plants to bloom out 221-226.
of sync with the native bees that polli- 7. Loper GM, Berdel RL. 1980. The effects
nate them. This occurs when the plants of nine pollen diets on brood rearing of
bloom earlier in the year, while the bees honeybees. Apidologie 11: 351-359.
emerge at the regular time. In monolec- 8. Genissel A, Aupinel P, Bressac C, Tasei
tic relationships where one bee species JN, Chevrier C. 2002. Influence of pollen
pollinates one plant species, both bee origin on performance of Bombus terres-
tris micro-colonies. Entomologia Experi-
and plant can go extinct.12
mentalis et Applicata 104:329-336.
9. Alaux C, Ducloz F, Crauser D, Le Conte
whaT can BeekeePers do? Y. 2010. Diet effects on honeybee immu-
Beekeepers can no longer ignore the nocompetence. Biology Letters 6: 562-5.
protein needs of their colonies. Instead, 10. Sol Balbuena M, Tison L, Hahn ML,
we must keep in mind that, depending Greggers U, Menzel R, Farina WM.
on location, the pollen supply may not 2015. Effects of sublethal doses of
be as plentiful, as diverse, or as nutri- glyphosate on honeybee navigation.

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568 American Bee Journal
F
inding a once robust hive with hive that’s hungry or starving send- our mistakes will enable us to be-
a dwindled population or com- ing out robbers. come better keepers of bees and more
pletely gone can take a bee- A weak hive in the apiary can be attuned to their needs.
keeper by surprise. What happened caused by many factors that are not
to the bees? We’re sometimes left mutually exclusive. These include Who is Doing the Robbing?
scratching our heads with frustration. internal hive problems such as not Determining who is robbing a hive
Was robbing responsible for this enough foragers, disease that has is one of the first steps in addressing
hive loss? By the time we realize rob- weakened the hive or other possible the problem. Wasps, bumble bees,
bers have been attacking our hive, it hive maladies, such as queenlessness. and yellow jackets all love to pick on
is often too late to remedy the situa- Poor hive management and inap- hives, as well as a few other fast fly-
tion. While it is sad to recognize that propriate entrance size are common ers. However, most robbing is done
honey bees attack each other’s hives factors that encourage opportunistic by other honey bee colonies living in
and kill their own kind to survive, it robbing. the vicinity. By the time we see non-
is important to understand the funda- When we observe a rapid decline honey bee robbers around, they are
mental events that can lead to robbing in nectar or honey content in a hive, often scavenging and cleaning out
as well as its early symptoms. we should suspect robbing and begin what little remains after honey bee
Can we stop robbing? Alternatively, to identify the possible reasons why robbers have done their job. It will
if we can’t stop robbing, can we at the hive weakened, as well as identify likely be too late to rescue the robbed
least find a solution to the problem other borderline hives in our apiary hive. The best defense is learning
that will reduce the impact of rob- for similar signs. Is it disease, pests how to recognize the early signs of
bing? In this article, we will attempt or both? Sometimes varroa mites be- robbing by honey bees, when you
to better understand robbing from the come a serious threat to a hive and still have a chance of saving the hive
following perspectives: can weaken it. Viral diseases, foul- being robbed. To identify the earli-
brood, or a small hive beetle burden est signs of robbing, we need a better
1) What are the causes of robbing? can also cause problems that eventu- understanding of honey bee behavior
2) Who is doing the robbing? ally weaken a hive. The large Asian and the fundamental aerodynamics of
3) How honey bee aerodynamics hornets are notorious honey bee-kill- honey bee flight.
can help us recognize robbing ers that could obviously threaten and Honey bee robbers look like any
4) Once robbing is recognized, steps weaken a hive, however they do not other honey bee. We can’t distinguish
to take to minimize its impact on yet appear to be present in the Unites robbers from non-robbers by physical
the target hive. States (NCSU PDIC). features alone. Robbing is a type of
While robbing is obviously prob- foraging, which of course is a normal
What is Robbing anD Why Does it lematic, it does present an opportu- honey bee behavior, comparable to
occuR? nity to increase our understanding any of the behaviors that bees perform
Robbing, the removal of hive re- of honey bee behavior, which can inside the hive. So what causes bees
sources by non-resident insects, typi- contribute to improved hive manage- to become robbers when foraging for
cally is only problematic for a hive ment. We should remember that rob- nectar and pollen from plants is their
that is already in trouble. Why does bing is instinctual for honey bees as routine? Bee behavior is directed by
robbing occur? As beekeepers we the robbers are bringing back extra both external (pheromone) and inter-
should realize that when robbing oc- food resources for survival. The key nal (hormone) chemical substances.
curs, it is a two-sided problem. We is to identify what led to the robbing, Food gathering activities and aggres-
have a weak hive that is the target of rather than punish ourselves when it siveness are behaviors governed in
the robbing, but we also have a strong occurs. Learning from our bees and large part by juvenile hormone, which

May 2018 569

acts in the honey bee nervous sys- of a wing that allows flight to happen. top and bottom of the wing is 3 units
tem to stimulate food gathering and Appreciating how flight happens just pushing upward. This net differ-
guarding behavior. Juvenile hormone requires understanding a simple basic ence in pressure coming from under
levels normally increase as newly expression: the wing gives rise to lift (Figure 2),
emerged bees mature within the hive which literally pushes the airplane
and peak just prior to these bees tran- Pressure = Force/Area (P = F / A) up and into the sky. A helicopter uses
sitioning to foraging outside the hive where P is Pressure (in lb./sq. inch), F similarly shaped wings, but instead
(Huang et al. 1991; Pearce et al. 2001). is Force (in lbs.), and A is Area (in sq. of moving the body of the craft down
When a hive’s summer food stores inches). a runway to force air over and under
are low and temperatures still pro- the wings, the helicopter wings are
mote foraging behavior, foragers will Table 1. Effect of Wing Surface mechanically rotated through the air.
continue to gather food since that is Area on Pressure A resultant pressure difference be-
their job. Foraging turns into robbing Force Area Pressure tween the lower and upper surfaces of
when floral nectar and pollen sources (lb.) (sq. in) (F/A; lb./ the wings provides lift and thus flight.
are limited (generally late summer in sq. in) So how does flight work in honey
the author’s locale) and the oppor- bees and can we apply this basic un-
tunistic presence of a weak or com- 1 1 1 derstanding of lift to honey bee flight?
promised hive can be found near the 1 2 0.5 As we observe honey bees on a hive
forager’s food-strapped hive. The frame, we see that each bee has two
perfect storm for robbing! The forag- 1 4 0.25 pairs of wings, flat and folded over its
ers/robbers are simply behaving in a back, covering about 60% to 75% of
manner that will help their own hive From this simple expression, we the body. When extended, the wings
survive during the winter. We may not can see that if the force is constant can create a large surface area (Figure
like robbing as a means of survival, at 1lb (Table 1) and we increase the 3; modified from Cushman, 2005). The
but recognizing robbing early on and wing surface area from 1 to 4 square surface area of honey bee wings can
acting to remedy the situation in both inches, then the pressure on that wing be further increased when the fore
the target colony (robbed) and the decreases 4-fold (from 1 to 0.25 lb./ and hind wings latch together with
source (robbers) is key to improved sq. in). What this inverse relation- the hamula, the tongue and groove
apiary management. ship means is that as a surface area structures that allow the wings to re-
gets bigger, then the pressure exerted versibly connect (Figure 3).
why is an undersTandinG of honey on the wing surface becomes smaller. The wing structure is key for honey
Bee aerodynaMics iMPorTanT? How does this help to understand bee maneuverability during flight.
Flying is an amazing behavior, flight? Each wing has a branching system
whether it is performed by a bird, Let’s look at the pressures on a of innervated veins (Figure 3), which
insect or man-made object like an wing (Figure 2) with the upper sur- conduct hemolymph through the
airplane or helicopter. Essentially, face area being larger than that of the wings. Wing innervations allows the
flight needs wings, some sort of en- lower surface. Remember that a wing honey bee to sense pressure on the
ergy source to power the wings and a of any type has two surfaces. As an top and bottom of wings, as well as
means to manipulate the wings to help airplane accelerates down a runway, the pressure difference. This real time
‘steer’ the flying object. Each wing has air passes over and under the wing, information allows the honey bee to
two surfaces: an upper surface and a we would develop 3 units (arrows) alter its wing configuration and cur-
lower surface. For all wings, the upper of pressure pushing down on top of vature to reduce speed, create lift, turn
surface (Figure 1, red curve) has a the wing (with its larger surface area) or generate reverse thrust. The main
greater curvature and therefore it has and 6 units of pressure pushing up on vein on the fore wing, called the cos-
more surface area compared to the the lower wing surface as the airplane tal vein, is an important section of the
lower wing surface (Figure 1, green gains speed. Notice that the pressure honey bee wing. This large, thick vein
curve). It is this difference in the sur- is always perpendicular to the surface. creates the leading edge around which
face areas between the top and bottom The difference in pressure between the the flat resting wing curves to create
an airfoil with differing top and bot-
tom surface areas (Figures 1 & 2). As
discussed above, the airfoil structure
allows for lift and thus flight.
Despite their delicate appearance,
honey bee wings are strong enough
to create sufficient lift to carry the
relatively large body through the air
at speeds of up to 10 to 15 miles per
hour. Unlike an airplane that needs
a long runway and turbine engines,
a bee’s strong thoracic flight muscles
create curvature in the flat resting
wings, anchored at the costal vein.
This sets the stage to create lift, since
this curvature creates upper and lower
wing surfaces of unequal area. These
Figure 1. Wing cross section thoracic muscles move or flap these

570 American Bee Journal

wings about 300 times per second.
The wing flapping technique used by
honey bees borrows from the helicop-
ter technique of rotation. However,
honey bees further improve this tech-
nique by incorporating a figure eight
motion rather than a simple up-down
wing flapping movement.
An elegant demonstration of honey
bee flight captured in ultra-slow mo-
tion (Michiganshooter, 2014: https://
youtu.be/IcU-i7j0uYs) shows the
many features of honey bee flight and
aerodynamics. The rotational wing
movements are clear at approximately
2.5 min of this video. The combination
of rotational-wing flapping move-
ments and varying wing curvature
provide a mechanism for the honey
bee to change flight direction, take-off Figure 2. How a wing or airfoil creates lift
and land, and steer itself through the
air (Collison, 2016; Michiganshooter,
2014).

r esidenT versus r oBBer f liGhT

Behavior
Foragers return to their hive and
go directly to the landing board.
Landing at the bottom entrance is ac-
complished by creating a stall (like
an airplane that flies vertically until
it can no longer move upwards) and
then it glides onto the landing board,
wings spread wide to slow the bee’s
speed (Figure 4A). Once at the hive
entrance, the forager meets the guard
bees and transfers its nectar to other
bees. The takeoff and landing proce-
dures are carried out countless times
by resident bees as they forage. Resi-
dent foragers meet no resistance at the
hive entrance from their hive mates.
We know now that honey bee rob-
bers are just foragers, practicing their
craft opportunistically at a mostly Figure 3. Honey bee wing structure (modified from Cushman, 2005)
weak hive. Having worked as guard
bees before progressing to foraging
duty, robbing honey bees know that
entering a hive via the bottom en-
trance is not the best option. There-
fore, robbers will tend to look for
other entry points into an accessible
(primarily weak) hive to minimize
confrontation. This is the first behav-
ioral change that we can identify in
the robbing process (Figure 4B).
Imagine a person who is trying to
rob a house. From an outsider’s point
of view, what do we see that raises
suspicions about a potential robbery?
What points of entry will be vulnera-
ble? Clearly, the less guarded areas are
the best location to penetrate, for both
a human house robber or a honey bee
robber. Typically honey bee robbers
gain access under the top telescoping Figure 4. Differences in hive approach by resident (A) and robber honey bees (B)

May 2018 571

 evaluate the hive and locate an entry
route into the target hive with mini-
mal confrontation (Figure 5). Once
an entry point is found, robbers can
work quickly to invade the weakened
hive (Figure 6).
The recognition of the pendulum-
like arched flight path around the
outer cover of a bee hive is an early
key indicator that robbing is immi-
nent. Resident bees do not exhibit
this type of flying behavior or flight
path around the outer cover. Resi-
dent foraging honey bees go straight
to the landing board, land like an
airplane, and then offload their
gatherings before returning to their
foraging activity. If robbing is sus-
pected, a confirmation of this activity,
using the Mousavi technique, can be
Figure 5. Robber scouts circle a telescoping outer cover to find an entrance without achieved by placing a couple of small
using the front landing board. spots of honey on the landing board
(under cluster of bees in Figure 7) of
outer cover, since there is often an ac- The important question is how the weak/robbed hive and then ob-
cessible gap (~3/4in) between outer do honey bees distinguish between serving the direction of movement of
and inner covers, or any other poorly a weak hive and a strong hive? An- bees after having fed on the honey.
defended opening. swering this requires more research. Resident bees move into the hives,
Scout bees (10 to 15) are the first to It is possible that detection of the con- whereas robbers fly away to their
analyze a suspected hive to evaluate centration of queen substance phero- home hive.
the status and strength of resident mone informs the robbers about the Robbers typically avoid the landing
bees therein. Their antennae are likely hive strength. Other potential signals board. If an alternative entry point is
the tool used for this purpose. These that could provide information on the not found, robbers may attempt to
highly specialized structures contain weak status of a hive are worker stress gain entry via the bottom board en-
numerous sensors (sensilla; Yokohari, pheromone and alarm pheromone trance. Colony entrances are usually
1983) that are sensitive to humidity, concentrations. In any case, avoiding guarded and increased aggressive
temperature, odors, flight speed, and the attention of the resident bees, the behavior between guard bees and
magnetic field. Honey bees can likely scouts begin their evaluation of the robbers is a second behavioral sign of
sense signals, such as smells coming target hive by flying in clear pendu- robbing. The robbers will move fast
out of a hive via the outer cover-hive lum-like arcs around the top of the and create a buzzing dance with their
body gap, that indicate the presence hive (Figure 4B, red and green arcs). wings. This signal excites other robber
of food resources. This behavior allows the scouts to bees and encourages them to follow
their lead.

s TePs To M iniMize The i MPacT of

roBBinG
Robbing is one of the most criti-
cal issues beekeepers face in the post
honey flow period. Early recognition
of the problem is key to minimizing
its impact. Observed behaviors of
honey bees can help guide us in di-
agnosing problems, if we take to time
to observe them. The sooner an obser-
vant beekeeper discovers the charac-
teristic flight behavior of robbers and
discovers them attempting to find
entry points into a weakened hive,
then the sooner s/he can take pre-
ventative steps to remedy the situa-
tion. Upon the discovery of robbing, a
thorough beekeeper will also evaluate
the status of other hives in the apiary
to categorize them as healthy, weak-
ened (and potentially threatened by
Figure 6. Robbers have successfully gained access to the top of a hive (view after robbing), and perhaps identify a hive
outer cover removed). as the local source of robbers.

572 American Bee Journal

 From a management standpoint, Cushman, DA. Legs and wings of honey
regular hive inspections during the bees. (2005) http://www.dave-cushman.
net/bee/legwing.html, (accessed 2/1/18).
spring and summer can help iden- Huang, Z-Y,Robinson GE,. Tobe SS,. Yagi
tify both successes and problems. KJ, Strambi C, Strambi A and Stay B.
Low food stores can be addressed by Hormonal regulation of behavioural de-
in-hive feeding of one’s honey bees velopment in the honey bee is based on
with sugar water (1:1, vol:vol) when changes in the rate of juvenile hormone
biosynthesis. J. Insect Physiol. (1991) 37:
naturally occurring floral sources are 733-741.
limited. The timing of in-hive feeding Michiganshooter. Honey bees in ultra
will vary with location and seasonal slow motion. https://www.youtube.com/
weather patterns, but it can be good watch?v=IcU-i7j0uYs; (2014), (accessed
practice to help the hives build-up 2/1/18).
North Carolina State University Plant Dis-
healthy winter bees reared in late ease and Insect Clinic (NCSU PDIC).
summer. Are Asian or Japanese giant hornets
In the context of addressing rob- Figure 7. The second Mousavi technique in the United States? (2015). http://nc-
bing, this practice of feeding can aid for confirming the presence of robbers. supdicblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/are-
weaker hives, as they can reduce their After placing a couple of small spots of asian-or-japanese-giant-hornets-in.html
foraging numbers (potential target honey on the landing board (under the (accessed 3/13/18).
two clusters of bees), residents are ob- Pearce AN, Huang ZY and Breed MD. Ju-
of robbing) and those with thriving venile hormone and aggression in honey
populations but limited food stores served entering the hive after feeding bees. J. Insect Physiol. (2001) 47(11):1243-
(potential source of robbers). When on the honey, whereas robbers will fly 1247; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-
feeding weak colonies during times away. 1910(01)00109-3.
of dearth, be sure to minimize their Yokohari F. The coelocapitular sensillum, an
antennal hygro- and thermoreceptive sen-
entrance size, so they can better patrol fer of pests and diseases among hives sillum of the honey bee. Apis mellifera L.
against intruders. Inspections can also in an apiary. Indeed, robbing, which Cell Tissue Res. (1983) 233:355-365.
help identify pest problems (observ- is often a symptom of a larger prob-
ing pests themselves: mites, moths, lem, is one honey bee behavior that acknoWledgements
small hive beetles; or symptoms of in- the observant beekeeper can detect The author would like to thank Dr.
fections: deformed bees, brood anom- early and address proactively. Im- Susan Sergeant for helpful discussions
alies) that weaken a hive. portantly, understanding honey bee and proofreading the manuscript.
When a beekeeper identifies a flight patterns and basic aerodynam-
weak hive, physical hive alterations ics are a key tool for discovering rob- Seyed-Ali Mousavi is an
can enable it to better defend itself. bing at its earliest stages, permitting engineer, contractor and
Preventative steps include adding a beekeeper to intervene before the home inspector with a
an entrance reducer or further reduc- issue escalates. passion for bee behavior.
He passed his NC Mas-
ing the entrance size if one is already
ter Beekeeper exam last
present. In addition, affixing a screen references July and has been a small
mesh (hardware cloth or window Collison C. Wings and Flight. (2016) http:// farm owner since 2010.
screen material) to the center hole in www.beeculture.com/a-closer-look/ (ac-
the inner cover can limit entry of non- cessed 12/22/17).
resident bees or other insects with-
out compromising hive ventilation.
Changing a top telescoping outer
cover to a flush-fitting migratory top
cover would certainly eliminate the
entry point at the top of the hive, but
the resultant cost of reducing hive
ventilation is likely too great to utilize
such a strategy as a long-term solu-
tion to robbing.
Regular apiary visits are a good HERE WE GO WITH, TWO MORE BUCKETS!
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May 2018 573

574 American Bee Journal
T
he swarm colony landed on the I moved them gradually back in-
ground 20 feet south of the hive side the electric fence, three feet per
that cast it. It was rained on and day, and later into a Lyson nuc to
blown by wind for its first 24 hours, a overwinter. In two months they were
tight and glistening pyramid ascend- a high-rise of four deeps, six frames
ing the tallest blades of grass. per box.
They were survivors, enduring a
rough repair of styrofoam, straw, and
duct tape when I found them, fallen
and cracked, one winter morning with
temperatures dipping into the teens.
And they were fertile, giving up
three new colonies in the splitting
days of last year’s long, wet spring.
They were also a perfect storm of con-
ditions for varroa.
With a hyper-productive queen, the
mites had opportunity and space to
reproduce. I didn’t monitor them the
first season because Lyson nucs have
closed bottom boards and, as a new A hasty repair
beekeeper, I wasn’t brave enough yet hive in my back yard. Again, I treated
for the sugar roll. I also just assumed each colony with a single pad of for-
they were okay — they were so tiny mic acid because they’d been split,
when I caught them, and their brood were small, and their brood cycles
The swarm was rained on
cycle had been interrupted when they had been interrupted.
These were particular bees, de- swarmed. The original queen and her bees
clining to move over into the Jester continued to do well. They built out
nuc I offered, but happy to move up coulda, woulda, shoulda and filled two deeps and two supers
into the box of deeps I placed above I didn’t want to hurt them, so I only in two months. Defying my expecta-
them. They moved quickly to build treated them with a single pad of for- tions, the queen moved right past a
out comb and start laying, rapidly ex- mic acid going into their first fall, and full super of capped honey to lay in
panding and filling their box. that was it until the following May, drone cells the bees had built on comb
when during an inspection I observed foundation, effectively bombing
multiple mites attached to multiple themselves with varroa. I accidentally
bees on the frames. discovered this during an inspection
and decided I should probably do a
The sTorM conTinued mite count. It was crushing.
Having been trapped by rain in the But the bees didn’t look sick.
hive for most of March and April, the I treated them once in late August
colony was booming and primed to with a full dose of Formic Pro. I didn’t
swarm. Right in the middle of when I do a follow-up mite count, so there is
should have started emergency treat- no way of knowing if or how effective
ment, I ended up splitting the colony that treatment was.
With the right accommodations, they three times, eventually moving the The embarrassing thing of this is
moved right up into the box. original queen and some brood to a that I should have done better by my

May 2018 575

 Varroa infested bees on comb

The swarm hive in December Dead swarm

bees. Whether negligence or igno- bottom entrance to provide some in- ber, and then again around Thanks-
rance, it was certainly informed, and sulation from the cold. I put a shim giving. Monitor after every treatment
it cost me. An arctic system moved on with some winter patties, left an to determine its efficacy and if needed,
into our area in late December. upper entrance, and gave the hive a treat again. The consequence of not
Before it arrived I noticed dead good knock to make sure the colony following protocol is also well known:
bees piling up around the mouse was still alive. That was the last I bees become weakened by injury and
guard, and that a large number of heard of them. disease, and colonies collapse.
bees seemed to be perishing in flight I tapped periodically during the The scene inside my hive was
on paths away from the hive. I didn’t cold spell but only heard silence and tragic, thousands of bees suspended
think much of it - usual winter loss echos, completely different from what in some final act, a leg outstretched,
- and let snow build up around the I was hearing with my other colonies. a head extending toward glistening
When temperatures finally lifted I larva, curled bodies resting in piles on
opened the hive to confirm the bees the tops of frames.
had died. Varroa destructor may have killed
I did a complete inspection, noting them, but responsibility for the loss
the location of the bees (largely on the is mine. I’ve learned a bit more about
south side, where the sun hits, or in a my foe by recording varroa mites
pile an inch plus deep on the bottom through photography. See the photo
board), finding the queen, and ob- essay on the next page.
serving tight patterns of eggs, larva,
and capped brood. There was a full Jenny Dunn is a third
First sign of trouble super of honey, and the winter pat- year beekeeper living
ties hadn’t been touched. There were in upstate NY. When
she first took up bee-
still varroa visible on the bees and I
keeping she found
wonder, based on how I found them, herself spending so
if they had tried to abscond, but been much time at Better-
blocked in by the snow. bee, she decided it would be more efficient
The protocol for monitoring and to just get a job there, an amazing experience
treating for varroa is well established: and opportunity. She’s a military spouse with
two kids, two dogs, two cats, two fish, and
monitor and if necessary treat in the
originally two hives, now up to 14. She prom-
spring to hit overwintered mites; ised her husband there won’t be any added
monitor often and treat as needed this season, but her fingers might have been
Winter loss through the summer; treat in Septem- crossed.

576 American Bee Journal

 The liTTle i know aBouT varroa
Varroa destructor is a parasitic mite originally found with colonies of Apis cerana, the eastern honey bee. Like other
invasive species varroa migrated as a stowaway on international trade routes, arriving in the US in the late 1980’s.

Varroa reproduce inside the brood cells lays her first egg, a male, roughly 60 the capped cell. The viable, fertilized fe-
of honey bees. The mother, or foundress hours after the cell is capped. She lays males emerge at uncapping, eventually
mite, sneaks into a cell just before cap- an additional egg about every 30 hours entering other cells and starting the re-
ping and hides beneath food left for the thereafter, and these subsequent eggs productive cycle over again.
larva by nurse bees. She emerges and are all female. Mature mites mate inside

May 2018 577

Varroa feed on developing and adult bees, physically wounding them and, if they are carriers, transmitting viruses directly into
the bees’ hemolymph. This type of horizontal transmission with varroa as a vector allows viruses to evolve greater virulence
than other methods of transmission, such as vertical transmission from a mother colony to the daughter colony, where the host
has to stay alive. In particular, varroa seems to have developed a symbiotic relationship of sorts with Deformed Wing Virus, which
manifests in several ways.
The viral load often peaks in conjunction
with the late summer dearth, weakening
colonies just as they may need to defend
themselves against robbing. As a weak-
ened hive is invaded, mites attach to the
robber bees, riding back with them en
masse and infesting the robbers’ hive. Fi-
nally, heavily infested colonies with high
viral loads may abscond, described by
some as a “helpless form of swarming,” in
a desperate attempt to escape the mites.
Unfortunately, this often occurs late in the
season, leaving colonies unable to estab-
lish adequate comb or stores, causing
them to perish during the winter.

Varroa have introduced new costs to

beekeeping: money and time for keep-
ers, health and life for bees. Because
they don’t respect property lines, state
lines, or national borders, they are a
problem for the entire beekeeping com-
munity to solve. There are many impor-
tant roles and tasks in the solution, but
perhaps the most vital of them all is for
individual keepers to simply, consistently
monitor and treat their hives.

578 American Bee Journal

March 2018 579
Beekeepers
the Generation
next
The Herb that Scented the Wash

L
avender has been harvested by
humans as an herb for 2,500
years. The strong, refreshing
scent of this plant meant it was often
used to perfume baths. This habit
of using it in tubs to perfume both
humans and clothes gave the herb
its name, which is believed to come
from the French word lavare which
means to wash. Large fields of laven-
der are grown in France, in a south-
ern region known as the Provence.
Honey bees make a light, aromatic
honey off lavender, so beekeepers
often pay to keep colonies nearby.

580 American Bee Journal

 Bath Salt Scrub For More Lavender Fun Visit:
https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/10-things-to-make-with-lavender

Ingredients
1 cup Epsom salt
1/4 cup sea salt
1/4 cup dried lavender flowers
5-15 drops of lavender essential oil

Preparation (Be sure to work with an adult)

In a large bowl combine the first three ingre-

dients and stir well.

Add in the essential oil, then spoon the mix-

ture into a tightly closed glass jar. Wide-
mouth jars work well.

To use, place the mixture into a cotton muslin

I
bag or an old clean sock. Tie up tightly and
n England, Queen Victoria was a huge
toss in the tub as it fills with warm water.
fan of this delightful plant, as the scent
Will stay fresh and usable for around 6 to 9
symbolized purity and cleanliness. She
months, or until the flower color fades.
enjoyed a fresh bundle every day.

Can You Spot the 10 Differences?

May 2018 581

 South Georgia Apiaries
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All #1 frames $.70
1-3/4 Cleats $.22 Josh Sanders
1571 Hwy. 3 • Juliaetta, ID 83535 7288 Perdie Lee Rd
Phone 208.276.3494 FAX 3491 Nicholls GA 31554
912-399-8480

582 American Bee Journal

Notes from the Lab:
The Latest Bee Science Distilled
by Scott McArt
and Kaitlin Deutsch

I
t’s spring and you survived the lots of things but have mostly been damage. So, hoverflies are doubly
winter. As the sun re-emerges observed in bees? Because flowers important in agricultural systems!
and the weather warms, honey have been identified as a platform Many hoverflies also look like bees
bees begin taking their first real for disease transmission, interest (see photo), which helps protect
foraging trips to collect food for the has turned to insects that frequent them from becoming prey by fooling
colony. But of course, the flowers the same flowers as bees. the would-be predator into thinking
that are attractive to bees are also Hoverflies are particularly abun- they have a stinger for defense (no
attractive to a broad range of other dant floral visitors that share flowers hoverflies have stingers).
non-bee pollinators who are looking with bees. They’re widely regarded The visual similarities between
for food – from ants and wasps to as the second-most important polli- hoverflies and bees have tricked
beetles, butterflies, and flies. nators behind bees. And the larvae many humans, too. I can’t tell you
Interactions at flowers between of many hoverfly species eat crop how many times in just the last
these bee and non-bee pollinators pests such as aphids, providing key year I saw an article about bee de-
are oftentimes overlooked (they’re biocontrol services that limit crop clines in the popular media and
just getting food and don’t care
about their fellow foragers, right?).
However, new research indicates
that bee-mimicking flies may play
a role in spreading “bee” diseases
– suggesting it may be worthwhile
to look a bit closer at these interac-
tions. This is the topic of our fifth
“Notes from the Lab”, where we
highlight “First detection of bee
viruses in hoverfly (syrphid) pol-
linators”, written by Emily Bailes,
Kaitlin Deutsch and colleagues and
published in the journal Biology
Letters [14:20180001 (2018)].
Why focus on hoverflies? Amaz-
ingly, we know very little about how
“bee” viruses such as deformed
wing virus (DWV) and sacbrood
virus (SBV) impact non-bee insects,
despite these viruses being detected
in a broad range of distantly related
taxa, such as wax moths, small hive
beetles, earwigs, and even cock-
roaches! Are they actually “bee” vi-
ruses? Or are they viruses that infect

May 2018 583

that picture of a “bee” was actually
a hoverfly!
What did this new research find?
Scientists from the University of Ox-
ford, Royal Holloway, and Cornell
collected 4 common hoverfly spe-
cies from a meadow in Oxford, U.K.,
and screened them for common bee
viruses. Two species of Eristalis hov-
erflies were found to be positive for
sacbrood virus (SBV), black queen
cell virus (BQCV), and varroa de-
structor virus-1 (VDV-1, a virulent
strain of deformed wing virus).
Also, the strains of the viruses de-
tected in hoverflies were the same
as those found in co-foraging honey
bees in the same meadow, indicat-
ing that these two distantly-related
pollinators are likely sharing viruses
freely. However, it is still uncertain
whether the hoverflies are impacted
by these viruses, as not enough flies
Kaitlin Deutsch
were sampled.
Ok, so honey bee viruses were viruses, we may be able to improve
found in hoverflies – so what? not only honey bee health, but the
Finding these viruses in hoverflies health of the entire pollinator com-
is really important. First, it identi- munity. It also highlights how little
fies a previously unknown way for is understood about the role of non-
diseases to be moved around the bee insects in pollinator disease dy-
environment, as hoverflies may act namics, and how much we still have
as vectors of the viruses and trans- to learn!
mit them to susceptible bees. This Until next time, bee well and do
is vital to understanding the ways good work,
in which bees are exposed to patho- Kaitlin Deutsch & Scott McArt
gens outside the hive environment.
But don’t grab your fly-swatter Reference:
and begin smacking all the hover- Bailes, E.J., Deutsch, K.R., Bagi, J., Rondis-
flies off flowers in your apiary just sone, L., Brown, M.F.J., Lewis, O.T. 2018.
First detection of bee viruses in hoverfly
yet! The viral levels of SBV in the (syrphid) pollinators. Biology Letters, 14(2),
hoverflies were as high as those 20180001.
found in honey bees – which may
suggest that these Eristalis hover-
flies are also hosts for the viruses Kaitlin Deutsch
and may themselves be harmed. is a PhD student in
This is troubling given that dis- Dr. Scott McArt’s lab,
eases can spread from the bees in studying the role of
non-bee pollinators in
your apiary to wild pollinators. pollinator disease dy-
Thus, it is possible that “bee” vi- namics.
ruses are also an emerging threat
to wild hoverflies. There is ongo-
ing research in our lab to determine Scott McArt, an
whether these “bee” viruses can Assistant Professor of
cause active infections in hoverflies, Pollinator Health, helps
and whether hoverflies are also ex- run the Dyce Lab for
Honey Bee Studies at
periencing the declines that are cur- Cornell University in
rently so well-known for bees. Ithaca, New York. He is
What can be done? This research particularly interested
underscores the importance of Var- in scientific research that can inform manage-
roa management, since the mites are ment decisions by beekeepers, growers and
a known route of viral transmission the public.
to honey bees – which now appear Email: [email protected]
to be spilling over into other pol- Lab website: blogs.cornell.edu/mcartlab
linators, including non-bees! By Pollinator Network: pollinator.cals.cornell.edu
controlling Varroa and its associated Facebook: facebook.com/dycelab

584 American Bee Journal

U
nlike researchers working we could tend to our research undis- ber of jars put out for sale. As jars dis-
with E. coli, fruit flies, or bats, turbed, we asked patrons to kindly appeared, we collected and tallied the
we honey bee researchers get deposit their payment into a lockbox funds left in the lockbox. Some jars
a valuable, if unintentional, byprod- attached to the stand. In 2015, how- were fully paid for ($10), some were
uct: honey. The Liddell Lab at Cor- ever, we noticed that approximately partially paid for ($1 to $9), and some
nell University is certainly not in the 11% of the jars were being stolen. Re- were outright stolen ($0). With these
honey business, but once the heavy ally? We’re getting robbed? Right here data, we began to answer questions
lifting becomes a liability, it’s time for in Ithaca, NY? Therefore, in 2016, we about theft at the honey stand.
a harvest. After inundating adminis- decided to do some casual research to
trative assistants, collaborators, and answer the question: Who steals from a QuesTion:
family members, we decided to sell honey stand? Are we getting robbed more often on the
the lab’s surplus honey to the public. weekend?
We built a small stand, located on MeThods:
the road that passes by the lab, with To collect our data, each member of raTionale:
pint jars of honey at $10 each. So that the lab noted the time, date, and num- Maybe people prefer to steal from
us on the weekend, when they think
we’re not at the lab (we are). Or
maybe people steal during the week,
because it provides some excitement
during the long workweek.

daTa:

Figure 1: Here we show the proportion of

jars that were stolen on weekdays (Mon-
Fri) versus the weekend (Sat & Sun).
The honey stand on Freese Road, next to the Liddell Lab at Cornell University in There was no significant difference be-
Ithaca, NY. tween the two.

May 2018 585

conclusion: raTionale: conclusion:
People who steal honey are just as The early bird gets the worm, but Date had a significant effect on theft
likely to strike during the week as on the second mouse gets the cheese – do rates, with more honey being stolen
the weekend. honey thieves have a preferred time when the honey stand was first set up.
of day? Honey put out in the first 10 days had
QuesTion: an 18% chance of being stolen, com-
Does the day of the week matter? daTa: pared with 8% in the last 10 days. Con-
sumers didn’t know when we were
raTionale: going to take down the honey stand,
Thieves don’t seem to distinguish so there wasn’t a risk of thieves rushing
between weekdays versus weekends, to steal one last jar before the end of the
but maybe there’s a day of the week selling/stealing season. That thieves
that’s preferred? Mondays, we watch were more likely to strike earlier in the
football; Wednesdays, we steal honey. season might be because once they had
stolen one jar, they were satiated, and
Data: didn’t need to steal additional jars. For
future experiments, we could see if/
when theft rates would increase again.
Figure 3: Honey theft by time of day. Perhaps it overlaps with the amount of
Honey put out for sale in the morning time it takes a honey thief to consume
(6am – 10am), midday (11am – 3pm), or a jar of honey? (“Dear, we’re running
afternoon (4pm – 8pm) had the same low on honey, would you mind steal-
chance of being stolen. ing another jar from that quaint honey
stand run by the graduate students
conclusion: down on Freese Road?”).
Honey is stolen throughout the day.
Figure 2: The proportion of honey stolen Honey put out in the afternoon had a Question:
by days of the week. Letters above box- 15% chance of being stolen, compared There are four of us in the lab… is one
plots denote statistical groups. Honey with 7% in the morning, but this dif- of us stealing honey?
put out on Saturdays had the highest ference was not statistically significant.
probability of being stolen (an average Therefore, honey thieves do not appear raTionale:
of 31% was stolen or partially paid for).
to have preferred times to be active. I mean, hey, it’s grad school, and
conclusion: $10 is $10. Might one of us be pock-
Saturday is a popular day for steal- QuesTion: eting funds and then saying it’s been
ing honey, as are Mondays, Wednes- Does it matter how long we’ve had the stolen? Sure, the PI is a respectable sci-
days, and Thursdays (the outlier on honey stand up for? entist, but is he a good human being?
Thursday, indicated by the open circle,
likely groups it with the other high- raTionale: daTa:
theft days). Sundays saw the lowest We don’t have a honey stand up
rate of honey theft. Perhaps would-be all year, so maybe honey thieves get
honey thieves are slightly religious? especially excited when the stand
first goes up. Or maybe when they’ve
QuesTion: seen the honey stand up for a while,
Do we get robbed more at certain times they think we’re drowning in honey,
of day? so they might as well help us out by
stealing some.

daTa:

Figure 5: The proportion of honey jars

that were stolen from different members
of the lab (PI: Principal Investigator, GS1-
3: three graduate students). Numbers in
parenthesis denote the total number of
jars that each person put out for sale.
There were no significant differences in
theft rates among lab members.
Figure 4: The proportion of honey that
was stolen from the stand each day, from conclusion:
19 July to 20 September 2016. The blue Theft rates did not change based on
line shows the statistically significant the person who put out the honey. Un-
negative relationship between theft and less each of us were skimming similar
date. The gaps (day 18-33 and 44-52) amounts of honey money, it seems un-
show dates when the honey stand was likely that we have a thief in the lab
Sign advertising the honey stand, as being repaired, and honey was not for (phew!). Graduate students, and the
seen in the background. sale (see below). PI, you’re off the hook.

586 American Bee Journal

QuesTion: cultural pollinator that have recently What we learned:
Will adding information to the honey been in decline”), did not reduce theft
stand reduce theft? from the control, which provided - It’s easy to steal a jar of honey,
no additional information. There- but it’s also easy to steal the
raTionale: fore, providing information that was whole honey stand, especially if
Would-be honey thieves might have specific to the people in the lab was you have a truck.
their hearts softened if they knew more effective at deterring theft than - If you’re going to press charges
more about the product they’re about providing general information about against a honey thief, you need
to steal. We made three different info bees or honey. It seems that person- to get a photograph that clearly
sheets (and one control) that we put alizing the honey stand was better shows their face.
out on the honey stand on different than simply providing the price and - If you lend your car to a friend,
days. One sheet gave information weight of the honey jars. make sure they’re not going
about the flower sources that contrib- Aside from our regular data collec- to use it to commit crime.
uted to the honey, another touted the tion, we had a couple notable thefts Although, maybe he used the
importance of honey bees and pollina- that provided additional insights into honey as a “thank you gift” for
tion, and one gave information about the world of a honey thief. borrowing the car?
the research being done in the lab.
noTaBle ThefT #1: After this incident, I built a new
daTa: On Friday, 5 August 2016, at ap- honey stand, and purchased a piece of
proximately 5:30pm, a truck pulled metal chain to secure the new stand
up to the honey stand. The male to the ground. This made it more
driver got out of the truck, picked up difficult to walk away with the whole
the honey stand, put it into the back honey stand. The new stand was back
of the truck, and drove away. Dutch in business on 21 August 2016.
tourists witnessed the theft from the
car behind, and took the photo below: noTaBle ThefT #2:
When the theft occurred, the “Save On the morning of 31 August 2016,
the Bees” sign was being displayed. I found that the lockbox had been
We’re not sure if he noticed this in- vandalized the night before; it was
formation when he decided to steal torn open with a crowbar. There was
the honey, the honey stand, and the no cash in the lockbox when it was
Figure 6: Proportion of honey stolen
based on the different info sheets that
lockbox. The theft was reported to broken into, which was unsettling,
were put up at the honey stand (Con- the Cornell Police, who followed up because one can easily peer down
trol had just the price of the honey, with on the incident, but no arrests were into the lockbox to see if there’s cash
no additional information). When the made. The truck belonged to a female, available to steal. This must not have
honey stand had information about the but she had lent it to the potential per- occurred to the vandal, so their efforts
research being done in the lab (Science petrator that day. He could no longer were in vain.
treatment group), only 6% of the jars be found, and was already wanted for What we learned:
were stolen, compared with 20% of jars multiple parole violations. Still, with-
that were stolen in the Control. This dif- out a clear photo of his face, it would - Lockboxes are easy to break into.
ference was significantly different, with be difficult to pin the crime on him. - These aren’t world-class thieves
the Honey and Save Bees treatment The theft of a honey stand has been – they robbed an empty box.
groups showing intermediate levels of added to the list of questions the local - Should we consider providing a
theft. Statistical differences denoted by police have for this gentleman. flashlight so that future thieves
letters above boxplots.

conclusion:
Customers were more likely to pay-
in-full when the honey stand included
information about the research being
done in the lab. This info sheet read:
“Research in this lab investigates
aspects of honey bee behavior, nest
building, and reproduction. The sales
from this honey harvest support basic
scientific research. Honey is a deli-
cious natural sweetener that we hope
you’ll enjoy.”

Providing information about where

the honey came from (e.g. “This honey
comes from a diverse set of flowers,
including: basswood, black locust,
white clover, raspberry, and sumac”),
or about the importance of honey bees The truck (license plate HGH-7878) with stolen honey stand visible in the back, as it
(e.g. “Honey bees are a critical agri- passes over a picturesque single lane bridge.

May 2018 587

 can see that there’s nothing in the members of a research lab (some Michael Smith is a
the lockbox at night? would also argue that analyzing theft postdoctoral re-
rates is an even lower priority). Even searcher in the
Couzin Group in
After this incident, I fashioned a if we do have some theft, a roadside the Department of
new lockbox made of recycled ma- stand that relies on the honor system Collective Behavior
terials. I used a long bolt to attach a is our best option, because it requires at the Max Planck
quart-sized tin to the honey stand, so little time. Institute for Orni-
with a hole for depositing payment In the future, we could refrain from thology / University of Konstanz. While not
(or lack thereof). The lockbox could selling honey on Saturdays, or put pondering the intricacies of honey theft, Mi-
be easily disassembled with a wrench, someone out at the stand for the first chael is interested in how honey bees detect
the developmental state of their colony. For
which we brought inside each night. week, but I expect thieves would sim- example, how does a bee “know” that her
On 9 September 2016, the honey stand ply modify their behavior. Our results colony can afford to invest in reproduction?
was back in business. We had no other do suggest that providing information
major incidents for the remainder about the research done in the lab will
of the honey-selling season, which reduce theft rates. This is a straight-
ended when we ran out of honey, on forward change that’s worthwhile.
20 September 2016. Perhaps by knowing more about
the person behind the jar, the poten-
Conclusions: tial thief’s heart is softened. I wonder
Taking the results together, honey if the same applies to us, the suppli-
theft was significantly predicted by: ers. Are we more sympathetic to the
the day of the week (Saturday is the needs of a honey thief, now that we
highest theft day), treatment group know more about their habits?
(providing information about re- I think of our statistically significant
search in the lab reduced theft), and thief, driving by on a Saturday, at any
experimental day (theft decreased time of day, probably in a truck, with
with time). When all three aspects a crowbar in the back. Maybe after
were combined into a single statistical skipping his parole meeting, he’s ex-
model, all three remained as signifi- cited to see our stand up for the first
cant predictors of honey theft. time that summer. He pulls over, sees
Overall, our theft rate in 2016 was the price per jar with no other infor-
12%, on a par with our 2015 theft rate mation, and thinks of his honey-less
of 11%, when we didn’t take detailed pantry. After a furtive glance to make
notes. sure nobody is watching, and per-
If we didn’t want people steal- haps slipping a single $1 bill into the
ing jars of honey, or breaking into honor system jar, he drives away, to
an empty lockbox, or stealing the bring a stolen jar of honey home to
whole honey stand, we’d need some- his sweetie.
one to sell the honey in person. Sell- What a jerk. I hope he drives into
ing honey isn’t a high priority for a ditch.

Honey stand with broken lockbox. The chain secured the honey stand to the ground,
but it does not protect the lockbox from crowbars. I planted the buckwheat flowers
behind the honey stand as a landscaping accent, and for bee forage. I doubt the
thief noticed the flowers.

588 American Bee Journal

May 2018 589
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590 American Bee Journal

 The Elusive Genesis of Apis mellifera

I
was a young Assistant Profes- lifera was not native to Britain at all I have long since been confirmed
sor, dark-haired, my PhD merely but was instead a relative newcomer, in my conviction that beekeeping is
weeks old when I arrived, brief- imported there by the Romans. a passport to the world. A keeper of
case and 35-mm slide carousel in In any case, I left that experience honey bees can travel anywhere Apis
hand, for my first lecture to a bee- with new confidence, glad to learn mellifera is kept, open a hive, and im-
keeping club in London. As soon as that my Louisiana PhD could be so mediately feel at home. Details may
I entered the lecture hall I could tell useful at making the world right differ – things like hive parts and
something was up. There was a buzz again. It was my first exposure to the dimensions, and sometimes dra-
of agitation in the air. Tight knots passionate loyalty that British bee- matically so. The bees will differ too,
of tweedy, middle aged men were keepers, and Europeans in general, sometimes dramatically – especially
gathered here and there engaged in feel toward their local bee biotype. for keepers of European bees expe-
heated conversation, faces red, fin-
gers jabbing in the air. I paused for a
moment uncertain, my youthful con-
fidence wavering. Somehow word
got around that “the speaker had
arrived,” and within minutes I was
mobbed – those same angry red faces
now aimed at me.
“Tell us,” their spokesman de-
manded, “Is Apis mellifera native to
Britain?”
I was utterly unprepared for this.
I stuttered and hem-hawed. I could
see my positive first impression
draining from their expressions. But
otherwise the Englishmen were mo-
tionless, tense as a bowstring, await-
ing my answer.
“Um,” I ventured – desperately
wishing I’d paid more attention to
honey bee biogeography for my oral
exams – “Yeah, right. They’re native
to Britain.”
Instantly it was if the clouds parted
and the sun returned. Frowns melted
into smiles. They clapped me on the Figure 1. Subspecies of Apis mellifera indicated in their general natural ranges. The
back and drifted away, nodding to subspecies are further grouped by morphological and molecular characters into 4-5
one another with satisfaction. lineages with shared evolutionary and migration histories: the O group (shaded blue)
What was that all about, I won- of subspecies from the Middle East and western Asia; the A group (shaded red) from
dered. And when I put the question Africa; the M group (shaded orange) from western and northern Europe; and the C
to words I learned that the speaker group (shaded green) from southern and eastern Europe. Only 23 of 32 recognized
immediately before me, a bloke from subspecies are shown here. All subspecific names are those recognized by (Engel,
the British Museum, had ventured 1999) with the exception of post-1999 discoveries indicated directly on the map: (Chen
the preposterous notion that Apis mel- et al., 2016, Sheppard and Meixner, 2003, Meixner et al., 2011).

May 2018 591

riencing the African variety for the shared genes in phylogenetic recon- latest, the process is one continuum
first time. But the foundational biol- structions. And finally, the enormous known as speciation.
ogy and life strategies are largely the quantity of molecular data generated The estimated timing of the split of
same, as are the handling skills and by the genomics revolution has en- A. mellifera into its constituent lineages
beekeeping paraphernalia required gendered the practice of depositing has gotten more recent as studies ac-
for human management. data in publicly-accessible banks cumulate. One of the first estimates
But a beekeeper traveling to Eu- from which other scientists can draw recognized only three lineages (M, C,
rope, Asia, and Africa can witness for their own reconstructions. A) and, using mitochondrial DNA,
something we in North America, In this manner, newer phylogenetic put the time of their diversification at
South America, or Australia never studies can be privileged over older 1 million years ago (mya) (Garnery et
can – and that’s the races of honey ones for the simple reason that they al., 1992) (Fig. 2B). Another set of au-
bee living in a high state of adapta- can draw from more data and offer thors, also using mitochondrial DNA,
tion in the native ranges in which better resolution of thorny relation- bumped this estimate downward (this
they evolved. And for the taxonomic ships. Increasingly sophisticated time for M, C, A, and O) to 667,000
purists among us, now’s a good time statistical tools are available for dis- years ago (Arias and Sheppard, 1996).
to point out that generic names are covering networks of shared genes, The latest estimate, relying on whole
capitalized and italicized, as in Apis, nearest genetic neighbors and most genome sequencing, posits a diver-
whereas specific names are lower parsimonious genetic reconstruc- gence among A, C, and M at 300,000
case and italicized, as in mellifera. For tions, all of which means we are liv- years ago followed by the divergence
those species with recognized subspe- ing in an age of unprecedented power of O from C at a mere 165,000 years
cies or races (not all do), the subspe- to understand and reconstruct natural ago (Wallberg et al., 2014) (Fig. 2D).
cies is indicated as a third name, also history. Another pattern that emerges Another persistent puzzler has
lower case and italicized; thus, for ex- with more recent reconstructions is been the geographic focal point of the
ample, with the Italian honey bee we a messier history. It’s as if the more speciation event that birthed modern
have Apis mellifera ligustica, and with orderly earlier models were biased Apis mellifera. One popular tool for
the northern European honey bee we with human expectations of “what making these determinations is the
have the curiously redundant Apis logically should be,” whereas later so-called “neighbor joining method”
mellifera mellifera. models with their greater powers of that creates a phylogenetic tree based
The natural range of the western resolution are better at surprising us on allele sharing distances between
honey bee Apis mellifera spreads across with “what actually happened.” groups under consideration. Allele
all of Africa, the middle East, Europe In our present case – the origin of sharing distance is a measure of the
north to the Arctic Circle, and almost Apis mellifera and subsequent evo- genetic divergence among groups.
a quarter of Asia. Across that vast lution of its many subspecies – the Groups with more alleles in common
fraction of Earth’s terrestrial surface, existence and makeup of the 4-5 have shorter allele sharing distances,
this one species has differentiated, by major lineages M, C, A, O (and pos- are closely related, and share a recent
my count, to no fewer than 32 recog- sibly Y) have stood the test of time. common ancestor. Groups with fewer
nized subspecies or races, 23 of which Originally constructed in the 1970s alleles in common have longer allele
are mapped on Fig. 1. Moreover, these based on shared morphology and sharing distances, are more distantly
subspecies cluster naturally, based on phylogeography (Ruttner, 1988) (Fig. related, and share a more remote
morphology and molecular data, into 2A), these lineages and their mem- common ancestor.
4 or 5 lineages which represent shared ber subspecies have, for the most The neighbor joining method also
evolutionary history and migration part, remained intact with the addi- requires genetic data from an out-
patterns: the O group representing tion of molecular data. Each lineage group to serve as a root to the tree
subspecies from the Middle East and is best understood as a branch of the that results. Choice of an appropriate
west- to central-Asia; the A group A. mellifera family tree with its own outgroup is important; it must not it-
constituting subspecies in Africa; the unique geographic migration his- self be a member of the group under
M group including subspecies from tory, a branch within which member consideration – the ingroup, but it
northern and western Europe and populations diversified into geneti- must be related closely enough that
eastward into central Asia; and the C cally distinct subspecies. comparisons are meaningful. Another
group representing subspecies from Readers will recall from our Feb- way to think of it is that the most re-
southern and eastern Europe. Some ruary column that these genetic di- cent common ancestor shared by the
authorities recognize a 5th lineage, vergences occur when populations ingroup and outgroup must be older
Y, from northeastern Africa and the are reproductively isolated such that than the most recent common ances-
Middle East. gene exchange with the parent popu- tor of the ingroup alone. Where the
In a pattern consistent with our ear- lation is restricted or prevented alto- root appears in the final tree gives
lier discussions about evolutionary gether. Responding to locally unique important clues to where the ingroup
descent, for example the corbiculate conditions of natural selection, these first speciated into existence.
honey bee ancestors we addressed in isolated populations become increas- In one well-known study (Whit-
March, our reconstructions of honey ingly distinct- behaviorally, mor- field et al., 2006) (Fig. 2C), the authors
bee genealogy are partly technol- phologically, and genetically. At the analyzed genotypes of 14 A. mellifera
ogy-dependent. Early studies were earliest stages when these disparate subspecies representing lineages M,
limited to focusing on geographic populations are still inter-fertile they C, A, and O from their native ranges
distributions and shared morphology are properly known as subspecies. in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The
of current and fossil species. Later But left unchecked, these same dy- outgroup was represented by data
studies take advantage of improv- namics will produce entire new spe- from two sister Asian species, Apis
ing genomic technologies to include cies. Whether at the earliest stages or cerana and A. dorsata. In the tree that

592 American Bee Journal

resulted, the outgroup, that is the
“root” of the tree, appeared squarely
in the data for the African A. mellifera
subspecies. This was interpreted as
strong evidence that Apis mellifera first
evolved in Africa. Moreover, modern
members of lineages M and C were
the most distantly related of the A.
mellifera subspecies in spite of their
modern proximity in Europe, with M
“more similar to A than to either C or
O.” This was taken as evidence for an
ancient divergence of M from A and
M’s migration into Europe across the
Strait of Gibraltar with a later migra-
tion of C and O via northeast Africa
(Fig. 2C).
The long genetic distance between
M and C bees may be of special inter-
est to beekeepers because these lin-
eages contain three of the subspecies
most well-known to commercial bee-
keeping, the German black bee A. m.
mellifera (M lineage), the Italian bee A.
m. ligustica (C lineage), and Carniolan
bee A. m. carnica (C lineage) (Fig. 1). I
suppose I could just as easily say that
beekeepers would be interested in
the short allelic distance between M
and A. I have considerable personal
experience with the (in)famous Ger-
man black bee A. m. mellifera of my
childhood, which was long enough
ago that this bee was still common in
the feral populations of rural Indiana
where I grew up. Infamous, I say, be-
cause these bees were simply vicious
to work with compared to the Italians
and Carniolans that I requeened them Figure 2. Competing theories of Apis mellifera origin and migration. The star symbol
with as fast as I could. At this point in is the proposed locus of speciation event. The M, C, O, and A lineages are described
time I can’t help but wonder if the ill in Figure 1. (Cridland et al., 2017) and (Franck et al., 2001) recognize a fifth lineage Y
temper of A. m. mellifera is an artifact centered around northeast Africa and the Middle East. The divergence times for Fig.
of its near kinship to lineage A. 2D are from (Wallberg et al., 2014).
The enthusiasm for an African ori-
gin for A. mellifera has been dampened Consistent with the model of (Whit- and C east across the Isthmus of Suez.
by a longstanding counter-claim for a field et al., 2006) (Fig. 2C), Cridland et O subsequently radiates off C. This
point of origin in the Middle East or al. note a close relationship between C model is not as contrarian to the “Out
Asia (Figs. 2A, 2B), an argument that and O, but while resurrecting lineage of Africa” hypothesis of Whitfield et
seems to be gaining strength (Han et Y they note its close relationship to A al. (2006) as may appear at first read,
al., 2012, Wallberg et al., 2014, Crid- and remote relationship to O – this in given that Cridland et al. recognize
land et al., 2017) (Fig. 2D). spite of the modern proximity of Y the significant African origin of much
The most recent team to tackle the and O. Consistent with other models, of the variation particular to the M,
problem (Cridland et al., 2017) com- M retains its distant relationship with C, and O lineages. It is the inclusion
bined data from publicly archived data C and O. of the Y lineage and its demonstrable
sets with new original data to “produce In what is admittedly the messi- shared antiquity with A that signifi-
the most comprehensive whole ge- est phylogeny to date, Cridland et al. cantly sets the two models apart. I
nome data set to date for A. mellifera.” harmonize their results with a kind am reminded once again of the self-
Among their many interesting find- of dual-origin hypothesis: A. mellifera correcting attribute of good science.
ings, the authors endorse a purported speciates into existence in northeast- More data lead to better resolution
5th lineage, Y, centered in northeastern ern Africa or the Middle East, and which leads to better understanding.
Africa and the Middle East and first A and Y are its earliest diverging It’s not so much that earlier models
proposed by (Franck et al., 2001). This lineages. From an ancestral African are rejected, but rather earlier models
region also corresponds to Cridland et (A) population, the earliest common are refined and elaborated upon as
al.’s best estimate for an origin for A. ancestors of M and C radiate off and new data or technology allow.
mellifera, with lineages A and Y consti- migrate northward, M in a westerly Against divergence dates for the
tuting its most ancient branches. route across the Strait of Gibraltar lineages M, C, A, O, Y ranging from

May 2018 593

300,000 to 165,000 years ago, we can into Britain, but then again, there is no subspecies from Central Asia. Apidologie,
place divergence dates for the subspe- evidence that humans had hive tech- 34, 367-375.
cies within them to a far more recent nology for housing and moving bees WALLBERG, A., HAN, F., WELLHAGEN,
G., DAHLE, B., KAWATA, M., HAD-
13,000 to 38,000 years ago (Wallberg in Britain until the Roman period. So DAD, N., SIMÕES, Z.L.P., ALLSOPP,
et al., 2014). For context, consider that I agree with Norman that there is no M.H., KANDEMIR, I. & DE LA RÚA, P.
anatomically modern human beings compelling reason to doubt that A. m. 2014. A worldwide survey of genome se-
are known from Africa by at least mellifera has been naturally present in quence variation provides insight into the
150,000 years ago (McDougall et al., Britain since the retreat of the last ice evolutionary history of the honey bee Apis
2005), and behaviorally modern hu- age. I just wish I had possessed this mellifera. Nature genetics, 46, 1081.
mans by 77,000 years ago (Henshil- good news that day in London now WHITFIELD, C.W., BEHURA, S.K., BERLO-
CHER, S.H., CLARK, A.G., JOHNSTON,
wood et al., 2002). In every sense of nearly 30 years ago! J.S., SHEPPARD, W.S., SMITH, D.R., SU-
the word, Apis mellifera and Homo sa- AREZ, A.V., WEAVER, D. & TSUTSUI,
piens are sympatric – sharing the same References N.D. 2006. Thrice out of Africa: ancient
time and place in our early evolution. ARIAS, M. & SHEPPARD, W. 1996. Molecu- and recent expansions of the honey bee,
lar phylogenetics of honey bee subspecies
How fitting is it that we are both pan- Apis mellifera. Science, 314, 642-645.
(Apis mellifera L.) inferred from mitochon-
global in our modern distributions – drial DNA sequence. Molecular phylogenet-
spanning the globe, albeit in the case ics and evolution, 5, 557-566.
of honey bees with a lot of help from CARRECK, N. L. 2008. Are honey bees (Apis Keith S. Delaplane
humans and modern travel technol- mellifera L.) native to the British Isles? is a Professor and
ogy. But the point is, our two species Journal of Apicultural Research, 47, 318-322. Walter B. Hill Fellow
CHEN, C., LIU, Z., PAN, Q., CHEN, X., at the University of
share a deep and common history. Georgia. He grew
WANG, H., GUO, H., LIU, S., LU, H.,
Given that we both evolved “in the up on a small farm
TIAN, S. & LI, R. 2016. Genomic analyses
same neighborhood,” so to speak, it reveal demographic history and temperate in Indiana. and is an
stands to reason that we both contrib- adaptation of the newly discovered honey excellent artist, who
uted to the natural selection factors to bee subspecies Apis mellifera sinisxinyuan illustrates his own
which the other responded. In the case n. ssp. Molecular biology and evolution, 33, articles.
of the massive colony-level defensive 1337-1348.
response of honey bees to large mam- CRIDLAND, J.M., TSUTSUI, N.D. &
malian predators, the influence of RAMÍREZ, S.R. 2017. The Complex De-
mographic History and Evolutionary
ancient Homo sapiens on A. mellifera Origin of the Western Honey Bee, Apis
evolution is obvious. Mellifera. Genome biology and evolution, 9,
We have landed at a general over- 457-472.
view of the 4-5 main lineages of this ENGEL, M.S. 1999. The taxonomy of recent
highly versatile and biogeographi- and fossil honey bees (Hymenoptera: Api-
cally mobile species, Apis mellifera. But dae; Apis).
we must wait until next time to talk FRANCK, P., GARNERY, L., LOISEAU, A.,
OLDROYD, B., HEPBURN, H., SOLIG-
about the dizzying amount of diver- NAC, M. & CORNUET, J. M. 2001. Ge-
sification that happened inside each netic diversity of the honeybee in Africa:
lineage to arrive at the ~32 subspecies microsatellite and mitochondrial data. He-
we know today. redity, 86, 420-430.
And some of that dizzying diversi- GARNERY, L., CORNUET, J.M. & SOLIG-
fication speaks to the conundrum that NAC, M. 1992. Evolutionary history of the
London lecture audience was in that honey bee Apis mellifera inferred from mi-
tochondrial DNA analysis. Molecular ecol-
day when a young American profes- ogy, 1, 145-154.
sor pretended to know something HAN, F., WALLBERG, A. & WEBSTER,
about British bees. Fast-forwarding to M.T. 2012. From where did the Western
the year 2008, my colleague Norman honeybee (Apis mellifera) originate? Ecology
Carreck published an excellent review and evolution, 2, 1949-1957.
that hits the nail on the head, “Are HENSHILWOOD, C.S., D’ERRICO, F.,
honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) native YATES, R., JACOBS, Z., TRIBOLO, C.,
to the British isles?” (Carreck, 2008). DULLER, G.A., MERCIER, N., SEALY,
J.C., VALLADAS, H. & WATTS, I. 2002.
Norman cited archaeological evidence Emergence of modern human behavior:
of honey bee body parts from middle Middle Stone Age engravings from South
Bronze age (3,700-4,000 years ago) Africa. Science, 295, 1278-1280.
waste pits and even earlier Neolithic MCDOUGALL, I., BROWN, F. H. & FLEA-
(4,600-5,000 years ago) pot sherds GLE, J.G. 2005. Stratigraphic placement
containing traces of beeswax. This not and age of modern humans from Kibish,
only destroys the “Roman import” Ethiopia. Nature, 433, 733.
hypothesis by a few thousand years, MEIXNER, M. D., LETA, M. A., KOENI-
but places evidence of A. m. mellifera GER, N. & FUCHS, S. 2011. The honey
bees of Ethiopia represent a new subspe-
in the British Isles tantalizingly close
cies of Apis mellifera—Apis mellifera simen-
to the period, ~7,000 years ago, when sis n. ssp. Apidologie, 42, 425-437.
a land bridge connected Britain to Eu- RUTTNER, F. 1988. Biogeography and tax-
rope. Norman acknowledges that we onomy of honeybees, Springer-Verlag Berlin.
cannot discount the possibility that SHEPPARD, W.S. & MEIXNER, M.D. 2003.
Neolithic humans imported the bees Apis mellifera pomonella, a new honey bee

594 American Bee Journal

T
hrough the centuries people Once, hoping to harvest sweet clo- then scraped stingers out with my
believed beekeeping or bee ver honey, I placed several hives in a finger nails. Although I am able to
charming was a gift given to meadow on the Apache Maid Ranch. receive multiple stings with little
people, who were gentle of heart and Always when I’ve been invited to or no swelling, it still hurts. Baking
slow to anger. These people talked to place hives, I promised to remove soda helps.
bees, listened to their songs and un- them immediately if they become a
derstood their moods. Stoically, they problem. One afternoon I received a a BiT of hisTory
accepted stings. You can’t keep bees phone call from the ranch informing In the days of horses and buggies,
if you don’t respect them and control me that cattle or horses had knocked before gentle bees were bred, bees
emotions. Swatting bees only angers over my hives. I rushed up to the were a serious problem for horses
them. This I know: nervous, fearful, ranch. The day was overcast, rain- and communities. Bees and horses
impatient, distrustful, and angry peo- ing and cool. The bees were wet, cold didn’t get along. Their sweat, scent,
ple do not keep bees for long. and angry. Although I knew I needed and actions angered bees. I don’t
I once placed half a dozen hives at a veil, gloves, and suit, I forgot my know why. Of course if bees stung
a ranch at the top of Copper Canyon boots and duct tape to wrap my pant a buggy horse, it could panic and
in Arizona. I was certain that these legs over said boots. run. And if a horse was corralled and
hives were a safe distance from the The bees found my ankles and couldn’t get into a barn, bees could
ranch house, horses and cattle. Fur- zeroed in. I couldn’t stop. I quickly sting it to death. Stung horses could
thermore, I believed my bees would righted the hives, got into my pickup, be saved with bed sheets soaked in
fill a few supers with mesquite and baking soda.
cat claw honey and I would give a Interestingly, cattle and bees get
gallon or two to the rancher. along better. A cow may suffer multi-
One day I attended my hives when ply stings and not get excited or maybe
it was cool and the bees were restless, the cow’s odor doesn’t excite bees or
but manageable. In full protection its thicker hide protects it. Never the
near an open hive, I was examining less, if bees were kept safe distances
a frame of brood, and had set aside from farm animals and businesses,
frame of honey, when suddenly I felt communities welcomed them for their
a presence behind me. I turned and honey, beeswax, and the pollination
saw a bikini clad woman standing of fruit, nuts, berries, alfalfa and other
close. This sudden sight of so much nectar and pollen producing plants.
bare skin was so out of context that at All bees are wild insects, but they
first it didn’t seem real. can be modified by selective breed-
Obviously, she didn’t know my ing. In the late 1800’s Catholic Monks
bees would soon send guard bees and in Italy patiently crossed and bred
if she swatted them, they would sting. wild bees. Over time they produced
Since the odor of bee venom draws the Italian bee. These bees were good
bees, this was not a good place for her honey producers and easy to handle.
to be. I firmly advised her to slowly Of course, others bred bees with simi-
back away and go. lar success. My bees were Italian bees
She did! Turns out she was a visitor and easy to manage compared with
from California. Boy did she have a what beekeepers now must contend
bee encounter to remember. Beekeepers and hives

May 2018 595

 flakes of beeswax with which they
form hexagonal comb cells for
honey, pollen storage, and brood
combs.

The Bee sPace

The Reverend Lorenzo Langstroth
(1852) discovered the bee space in the
beehive to be 3/8 inch. In this space,
bees do not glue frames to hive bod-
ies with propolis or bridge that space
with burr comb. This small space al-
lowed beekeepers to easily remove
frames from hive bodies to inspect
brood and honey. Honey is removed
from frames by centrifugal extrac-
tion. Empty honey frames are then
returned to the hive for repair and
refilling.
Consequently, the bee space gave
Beekeepers open hive the beekeeper the gift of inspection
and honey harvesting without de-
with due to the invasion of the Brazil- bees annually produced nearly a ton stroying combs and unnecessarily
ian Hybrid Africanized bee. of honey, plus blocks of solar-melted killing bees. It’s easy to see why this
The Africanized bee has spread beeswax for trade. Langstroth hive became popular.
to most southern states and beyond. Before, bees we kept in dome
Fortunately many beekeepers have The MysTerious Queen Bee shaped straw skeps or in sections of
learned to manage this bee. And for All worker bees are female; all hollow logs turned up. Honey was
now, requeening with gentle queens drones are male. Drones patrol above harvested with a knife. This method
is a temporary remedy. The African- hives searching for a virgin queen in was messy, often killing bees, and de-
ized bees survive well, better adapted her maiden flight. She’s a fast flyer stroying combs. There was no way the
to survive parasite pressure, but they and must be pursued for a midair beekeeper could inspect a hive for the
aggressively defend their nest, mak- mating to take place. Though dozens queen or brood.
ing them less than ideal neighbors. of drones pursue the queen, only the
I placed bees among mesquite, cat fastest of drones can catch her to mate, The MinisTer’s ideal hoBBy
claw, and wild flowers along the Verde losing his life in the process. It’s na- Since beekeeping is seasonal, nor-
River. Back then my domestic bees ture’s dance of life and death. It is also mally from spring into fall and since
were easy to place, as most people a dance that determines the future of beekeeping can be a hobby, like golf,
didn’t fear them if I placed them a safe the hive. In the mating, the queen re- fishing, or hiking, it easily fits into
distance from livestock and homes, or ceives her lifetime of sperm. the church’s calendar and minis-
behind borders of bushes or trees. She is able to lay both fertile and ter’s responsibilities. It’s also a good
My hives in the 1970s and 80s in- unfertile eggs. Fertile eggs produce hobby for a minister, who needs
creased over time from my first colony workers, unfertile eggs produce some respite from his parishioners
to 90 hives. And over the years these drones. Young house bees secrete and rest. While tending bees, there
are few interruptions.
From my perspective, it seems as if
modern man is killing bees through
insecticides, air pollutions, and loss of
environments. Will bees survive before
Eco-Man arrives? I wonder.

flowers & Bees

‘The relationship between bees and
flowers is a classic example of what is
known as “coevolution”. In a coevo-
lutionary bargain like the one struck
by bees and the apple tree, the two
parties act on each other to advance
their individual interests, but wind
up trading favors: food for the bee,
transportation for the apple genes.
Consciousness needn’t enter into it on
either side, or the traditional distinc-
tion between the subject and object is
meaningless.”
Hives in Winter -The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan.

596 American Bee Journal

 Coevolution is complicated. Sim-
plicity—an innocent child looks at a
bee and a flower and knows only a
bee and flower.

John W. Jenkins is a retired minister,

artist, poet, beekeeper, fly fisherman,
reader, and thinker. He is the author of “A
Voice in the Wilderness” a book of inspi-
rational essays and “Catching a Dream:
A Bicycle Journey Across America.” John
lives in Camp Verde, Arizona continuing
his journey without Doris, his wife of 60
years who passed in 2011. He continues
to explore his love of nature, the mind,
and the spirit.

May 2018 597

BEE HIVE THERMAL
INDUSTRIES
ORGANIC TERMINATION
OF THE VARROA MITE
LEARN MORE AT
www.beehivethermalindustries.com
803-504-9313
[email protected]

598 American Bee Journal

 American Bee Journal
MarketPlace PARSONS’ GOLD SOLUTION - The NEW 12 frame motorized stainless
Only Solution For Keeping Your Honey steel extractor - $850 .00 . 24 frame
Bees Healthy! Herbal Treatment Oil & motorized, SS extractor -1200.00.
Jelly - Bee Grooming Stimulant - Train 6 Frame motorized SS extractor
The Bees To Do The Work - Healthy - 550 .00 . 3 frame manual extractor
Bees Year Round. No Negative Effects - 225 .00 . 4 frame manual extractor -
On Bees, Queen, Wax or Honey. Busi- 275 .00 . Table saw resaw mandrel 15”
ness (419) 273-3066; Cell (419) 235-
long -$1250, power feed, cuts several
7037. www.parsonsgold-honeybees.
com #33 Treatment Loaded Syringe - top bars blank at a time . 4” Viking gear
$20.00 plus $8.00 S/H. Checks, Money pump -1000 .00, used very little . Stain-
Orders, Credit Cards. Parsons’ Gold less steel tank, 8’ 5” diameter 13’ 10”
Apiaries, c/o Robert B. Parsons, 2092 tall - 5000 .00 . 3300 gal, insulated .
Twp. Rd., 195, Forest, OH 45843. Stainless steel tank inside and out,
16’ long 5’ 1” wide - 4000 .00 - access
For Sale – 3000 10-frame singles. 2015 hole top. Waffle type foundation press
queens, new equipment. Also, 5-frame - 650 .00 . 55 gal . honey barrels - $5 .00
FOR SALE nucs available. Call Chris (941) 720- each . Nucs for sale . Will trade honey
6025. or beeswax . Phone 1-620-365-5956 .
1000 hives 10-frame two-story on 4-way pallets,
new outfit & queens, excellent condition, available For Sale: 200 5-frame nucs and 400 single hives madelinecooper@sbcglobal .net
in May in California. (530) 671-6188. in Florida. (772) 633-1134. Doubles for sale after almonds. Call for details
FOR SALE: Singles and 1 1/2 story hives for sale. Bobcat, Hummerbee and Superbee Trailers cus- and pricing Tim 507 217-9510.
1000 available. Call for Pricing, Jon@(208) 412- tom built. New S450 Bobcat’s, set up with masts FOR SALE: Deep extracting supers, 9-frames per
1092 or Golden @ (208) 250-8420. www.golden and fifth wheels complete. Fifth Wheels sold super. (308) 470-0177.
beeinc.com separately. Used Bobcat’s bought, sold and trade- SWORDS APIARIES – retired. Good beekeeping
ins welcome. Custom truck bodies and Custom equipment for sale. 60-frame SS extractors, chain
Five frame NUCS for sale mid-April through Fall. uncapper, 2000 gallon SS honey tank, pumps,
Price dependent on season and quantity of order. smoker boxes, all built by a beekeeper FOR bee-
keepers. www.tropictrailer.com - Eli Mendes hive bodies, 5 ¾ supers, nucs, etc. 229-502-4202.
Minimum order of 24 NUCS. No frame trade, Leave Message.
only return of our boxes. Call early to secure your 239-340-0484, [email protected] 7 5/8” SUPERS WITH 9-FRAMES DRAWN
order. FOB Lewistown PA or Dade City, FL. 5-frame nucs for sale in NW Wisconsin. 2017 LIGHT COMB IN GOOD SHAPE - $27 EACH.
Please call W. Fisher Bee Farm for more infor- queens, nice equipment, no frame exchange. Will 300 AVAILABLE - / 10 MINIMUM. ALSO,
mation. 1-800-736-6205. Ask for Aaron. be ready for pick-up end of April or first of May. METAL QUEEN EXCLUDERS, CLEANED -
Cowen Heated top and bottom bar cleaner with $125.00 each, quantity discounts on 50 or more. $5.00 EACH. (417) 882-8008 (MISSOURI)
extra SS tub and hot water supply unit purchased Queen cells available March till May in Central High Quality Michigan cutcomb: starthistle, wild-
in 2009 less than 40 hours, asking $6000.00. Item Florida (772) 215-2734. Sunnydellbees.com flower. 2018 5-frame nucs, queens. Pine Creek
available for pickup in Lewistown, PA or Dade Singles: Fresh queens, treated. Available Fall, Win- Honey, LaGrange, IN. Voice-mail (260) 499-
City, Florida. For more information call 800-736- ter, Spring - Hughson, CA. Call: 209-988-2823. 4628, ext. 1.
6205. 5 frame Nucs, 10 frame single hives on four-day DD 8 frame on 4 way pallets $170; 10 frame
pallets, doubles, and story and a half hives, avail- singles $135; 4 frame nucs $95; California,
Singles for sale, delivery possible on orders over Stockton 925-626-7800.
200. For pricing and availability call: 800-736-6205. able year round in large and small quantities. Lo- Doubles for sale after almonds $140. Also have
FIVE FRAME NUCS AND TEN cated in the Florida Panhandle. Call for pricing, deep supers, hive bodies, and other equipment for
FRAME HIVES FOR SALE. CALL Ryan Faircloth 850-510-4627. sale. Contact John (605) 760-5333.
JEROME @ (352) 406-4938 OR EMAIL: New Beekeepers Forklift Trailers: 8000 lb. tork- Turnkey operation in Southwest Idaho 40 years
[email protected] flex axle, 17.5/16 ply tires, electric brakes, tool- in business. 8 frame equipment - 3000 colonies.
2000 10-frame hives, new queens, on 4-way pal- box with lid, tilt bed, expanded metal treads. For 4 trucks, 2 Swingers. 50+ locations. 3,000 sq.
lets, very good equipment in FL. Now or after al- photos and price E-mail: [email protected] ft. shop and extracting equipment. 2,800 sq. ft.
monds in CA. Limited numbers of 4 and 5-frame Singles on nice 4 way treated pallets available in home and 17 acres available. Serious inquiries
deep nucs. Also available in FL starting in March. Late May in Texas. Plywood lids, mite treated. only. goldenbeeinc.com or call Golden Millet
Call NOW!! (262) 689-1000. 8 frames with feeder. 2018 queens. Minimum (208)250-8420.
Make your own Honey Sticks. Complete sys- order 200. 20% to hold non refundable. Good Retiring! 700 colony turn key operation. 100%
tem to start putting your honey in your own equipment. $150.00. Call 214-356-6791. of products sold retail/wholesale retail. 170K
sticks for pennies per stick. Keep the profits average gross sales. (excluding almond pollina-
for yourself. www.honeystickmachine.com We have purchased Tom Industries tion) Includes 10 acres, house, 40x60 honey shop.
Strong, healthy 5 frame Nucs (deep or medium) and we have these items for sale: 1200 medium supers, 2015 hummerbee with
available in South Florida starting in April of Handcrank Foundation Mills, 4 .9 or 5 .1 trailer, t300 kenworth, international yard truck,
2018. Limited quantities of mated queens are also with preroller – Special this month (No- locations in good standing, all sales accounts, ect.
available. Call Joseph at (561) 715-5715 to place Willing to sell bees only, or combo. $499k com-
vember) for pair - $2000 .00 . Flat style plete. Serious inquiries only! Write: AMERICAN
your order.
(Waffle style) foundation embosser – BEE JOURNAL, PO BOX 151, HAMILTON, IL
HONEY PRICE UPDATES. Call Honey Hot single sheet at a time - $650 .00 . New 62341.
Line. (763) 658-4193. honey pumps, several sizes – call or FOR SALE: 1000 strong beehives after almonds
e-mail for quote . New refractometers in California. One deep and a shallow on four way
PACKAGED BEES AND 5-FRAME NUCS.
- $65 .00 . (620) 365-5956 or email: pallets. $145.00 ea. 5000 medium depth supers in
TAKING ORDERS NOW FOR 2018. CALL very good condition in California $25.00 ea. Con-
(231) 735-1203. madelinecooper@sbcglobal .net tact (714) 745-2518 .

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING-Net price $1.00 per word per insertion. Initials, letters as in street address, counted as individual words. No advertisement accepted for less than 10
words. Payable cash in advance. Blind Classified 10% additional. (A blind ad is one in which responses are addressed to the ABJ and then forwarded to the advertiser.) Extreme care
always is exercised in establishing the reliability of all advertisers, but the publishers do not guarantee advertisements. Orders close the 20th of the second month preceding cover
date. Send typed copy to : Advertising Dept., American Bee Journal, 51 S. 2nd St., Hamilton, IL 62341 or FAX to 217-847-3660 or e-mail to: [email protected].

May 2018 599

1000 hives for sale doubles and story and a half. Successful Mid-Western Honey Com-
All 2017 queens with newer equipment. Also have pany for SALE ! Complete packaging fa- HONEY AND
brood for sale. Prices depends on quantity. Please cility with sales to over 400 stores and BEESWAX WANTED
call or text Allen @ 701-721-1773. warehouses. Very profitable company, will
DADANT ELECTRIC MELT & SLUM RAKE. show profit instantly in sales to organic stores. HONEY WANTED—Extracted or comb.
1 YEAR OLD. $5500. [email protected] Comes with a one year supply of honey. Due LEIGHTON’S HONEY, INC., 1203 Commerce
5 Frame nucs in NorthEast Oklahoma. Available to health, ready to sell. Will consider land for Ave. Haines City, Florida 33844. (863) 422-1773.
Late April through Fall. No minimums. Taking trade. Write: AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, FAX (863) 421-2299
orders now for Spring 2018. www.RoarkAcres. PO Box152, Hamilton, IL 62341. HONEY WANTED– all grades. Also, honey
com Michael Roark (918)578-9201 nucs@ For sale: Five frame NUCS, and 10-frame hives. barrels for sale. Contact Pure Sweet Honey Farm
Located-Madison County--North Alabama. Call Inc., 514 Commerce Parkway, Verona, WI. (608)
roarkacres.com
Henry, 256-859-1747 Email: hroll67182@aol. 845-9601.
FOR SALE: Custom built oversized Gunness
uncapper with a custom built stand with tray and com Round comb, Fresh, good tasting
auger system for cappings. 4-60 frame radials, ‘Food Grade” 275 gallon totes with galvanized Pollen, Varietal Honeys. 800-678-1226.
1 spin float (newly reconditioned), 1 L6 Cowen steel cage and pallet. Perfect for beekeepers.
100% recyclable. Dimensions 48x40x46. Great [email protected]
VFD progressive pump. 605-680-0156.
Complete 50 year southern California beekeeping condition. $90 each. Discount with purchase
of 10 or more. Pick up and cash only. TEXT HONEY PRICE UPDATES. Call Honey
operation. Some of the best locations in the state.
OR EMAIL ONLY! [email protected] (229) Hot Line. (763) 658-4193.
Currently have 2,.000 hives, enough locations and
560-9105.
equipment for 4000 hives. Available pollination.
Raphael Brua, 209-765-3753 - Bee Outfit for Sale
Call Jack Wickerd (909) 286-8288. - Single hives on pallets $120/each, 9 5/8” supers ROYAL JELLY
$25/each, 6 5/8” supers 15/each, 10-Frame recon- BEST 100% PURE FRESH ROYAL JELLY.
HERBAL BEE BUTTER® – Bee groom- ditioned hive clip pallets (200) $17/each, Black $65.00 per kilo + shipping. HIGHEST PO-
ing stimulant, natural, edible product, 2,500 gal. syrup tanks (2) $400/each, 1971 Ford TENCY. LOWEST PRICES guaranteed on
handcrafted by beekeeper 39 years. 20’ wooden bed 2/hooks (tandem) $2,500, 1973 large orders. TOP QUALITY. Stakich, Inc.
Chevy 18’ wooden bed w/hooks(tandem) $4,000, 248-642-7023 X 301
Experience one caulk tube, treats
Spyder forklift $7,500.
20 hives - $18.00. 5 lb. tub treats 200 FOR SALE: 200 Five frame NUCS. Tampa POLLEN
hives - $160 plus $8.00 s/h. Credit FL. 813-451-6334.
Cards. Herbal care. CO (239) 565-4420. QUALITY, CLEAN, LOW MOISTURE POL-
Mann Lake extracting equipment for sale. Chain LEN $5.50/lb. Min. 10 lbs. + shipping. LOW-
uncapper $5500. 80 frame extractor with tables EST PRICES guaranteed for large orders.
1000 colonies, 1 3/4 story new pallets good equip- and pump $10,000. 3” inlet progressive cavity Stakich, Inc. Phone 248-642-7023 X 301
ment. Ready to split shake, make nucs after al- pump $4500. Honey pump with motor $1000. Fresh 2018 Northern California raw bulk pollen
monds in Red Bluff CA $225. Call Arrowsmith Stainless steel cappings pump $3000. Custom available. Available raw uncleaned and semi-dried
and Sons. Also will have 1000 queen mothers, 3 made 55 gallon tank $1000. Hoses and fittings and cleaned. Call for pricing at (916) 224-2211.
story with 11,000 queen nucs - feed cans -new $500. Maxant wax separator $8000. All items
pallets, $300,000. 530-515-4522. purchased new in 2016. Excellent condition. 520-
Bee operation for sale in South Dakota. 90 loca- 240-3135. POLLINATION
tions – alfalfa, clover, Swinger lift trucks, honey Bees wanted for the Almonds. Art Harris, 6301
1,000 Bee Hives for sale after almond
supers, extracting equipment, shops. Call Arrow- bloom. 100 hive minimum. (530) 476- Victor St. #63, Bakersfield, CA 93308 (661) 444-
smith & Sons - 530-515-4522. 1470.
3211, (701) 226-6202 either 10fr. Singles
FOR SALE: Singles with new queens, pallets (or Bees Wanted for 2018 Almond Pollination. We
or doubles. Provide the Following: Hives are placed behind
bottom boards) boxes full of bees. Near Sioux
City Iowa. Ready to make honey. 605.809.6291. locked gates. 24/7 security with nightly patrols.
Bees for Sale - 1000 hives, Double deep. Good HONEY FOR SALE Fungicide spraying only and only at night. Win-
condition. 916-802-0945. tering yards with full service hive maintenance,
Excellent clover honey in drums and light beeswax feeding, and medication. We have forklifts and
5000 5 11/16” shallows for sale. $8/each call 559- available. Mark Gilberts Apiaries, (608) 482-1988.
350-3066. crew to place hives in orchards. You are paid 50%
U.S. sweet clover, alfalfa, thistle mix, (9 drums of on or before February 25th and 50% on or before
NUCS FOR SALE: 5-Frame NUCS @ $130 black locust-limited supply), white honey, melter April 20th. Visit: www.almondbeepollination.
(Minimum order = 50). Available in GA/MI April honey, filtered, new drums, excellent honey - com for more details. Please Call: California
- August. 50% Deposit when ordering. Balance f.o.b. several loads available. Produced by Bald- Almond Pollination Service, Inc. (209) 202-8915
due 2 weeks prior to pickup. Ray 229-921-8776. win Apiaries, Darlington, WI (608) 776-3700. E Mail: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Very nice looking & good tasting Nebraska
Hundreds of boxes with drawn comb. Deeps +
shallows. Phoenix, Arizona (480) 206-8740.
bottling honey. (402) 319-5125. BEES AND QUEENS
Nice double colonies for sale in Minnesota. 1500 CLOVER – Buckwheat, Orange, Tupelo, and JERRY FOSTER QUEENS quality Carniolan and
6 and 5/8’s supers for sale at 15.00 each. 8 foot Wildflower – pails or drums. PURE SWEET hybrid Italian queens at competitive prices. Nucs
extension for a Guinness uncapped, 500$ - Call or HONEY FARM, 514 Commerce Parkway, and packages also. Jerry Foster Apiaries, 937 9th
Verona, Wisconsin 53593. (608) 845-9601. St., Colusa, CA 95932. Phone (530) 458-4234.
text, Gary, 320-360-1164. Pacific Northwest mated queens. Orders of 50 or
Clover, Basswood, Wildflower honey available in
Supers for Sale: 10-frame, cleated, drawn comb. drums in WI. Great tasting! Light beeswax avail- more. Treasure Valley Idaho. Call for Pricing, Jon
6 5/8 shallows and full depth - $22.50 each. Also able. Call (262) 689-1000. @ (208) 412-1092. www.goldenbeeinc.com
have shallow feeders with wooden inserts and Honey and beeswax for sale. Clover, Orange QUALITY QUEENS from HAWAII, available
plastic ladders, ready to work - $10.00 each. Have Blossom, Wildflower. Many varietals available. year round. Call KARRUS QUEENS (808)
some nucs for May pickup. Call for price. Jack Smitty Bee Honey (712) 748-4292. 854-5308.
(909) 286-8288. PREMIUM HONEYS – Summer: Michigan 3 lb Packages Bees for sale, for pick up in
500 deep, 700 shallow supers with good comb Blueberry, Thistle (Knapweed) – excellent for Wisconsin. Contact: Mark Gilberts Apiaries 608-
$25/$20 each, extracting equipment, 4-way pal- creamed honeys, plus FL premium fall pepper 482-1988.
lets, lids, and boxes (209) 324-6873. and FL spring orange blossom honeys. Call Ed Let us put bees into your equipment with enough
For sale: single hives on 4 way pallets, pick up (231) 408-7485. Email: [email protected] time to feed them up for the almonds. May be
50 miles north of Bakersfield Ca. Also, supers for QUALITY HONEY, barrels, your buckets. willing to do the feeding. Also, willing to fill your
equipment in the spring. Call Rick Riggs (661)
sale, deep and med 9 frames of drawn comb, good Hollenbeck, Kirksville, Missouri. (660) 665-2542 204-2631.
for honey box. Call Fred@ 559 719-9734. evenings.
Sale: 375 deeps w/brood comb. 50 4-way pal- Doubles, singles, brood for sale
lets. Many covers. 75 5F nuc box. New frames w/ Viet Nam, Indian and Brazilian year round. FOB Jan-April, Oak-
plastic foundation. Extracting machinery. SE MN honey for sale in bulk. Beeswax and dale, CA. April-Dec., Milton Freewa-
(507) 216-1703. bee pollen in bulk. Please call 908- ter, OR. Queens less than 6 months,
For sale: 5 frame nucs in cardboard boxes, 10 great equipment. Ryan@sweetbee
frame singles, and 10 frame double deeps. Call 967-1484. Email: info@Sarahimpex. honeyco.com (360) 907-0842. $5k min.
for pricing (916) 801-0617. com purchase.

600 American Bee Journal

Early-bird pricing for 2018. Italian & Russian DIE BIENE – ALLGEMEINE DEUTSCHE IM-
Hybrid package bees, queens and nucs. Pick HELP WANTED KERZEITUNG (ADIZ) – IMKERFREUND The
up in KY, ship to 5 zones. Web: www.school Full time position available in Oregon. Bee- Bee magazines with special publications in bee
housebees.com Pails of honey for sale year- keeping experience and CDL required. Contact science and management for the hobbyist as well
around. School House Bees (859) 356-1350. [email protected] PO Box 558, as for the sideliner and professional beekeeper.
NUCS & QUEENS – shipping available. Milton Freewater, OR 97862 (360)907-0842. Three regional titles but same content today for
[email protected] 850-661-8077 Seasonal and full-time help needed at our migratory Germany except partly Imkerfreund for Bavaria.
bee operation. We are located in FL and WI. We do Monthly publications with 64 pages. Subscription
Minnesota Hygienic Italian mated
pollination, queen rearing and honey production. Euro 44.50 per year – Deutscher Landwirtschafts-
queens for sale. Call for pricing and
Some experience preferred, team environment, verlag GmbH, Postfach 870324, 13162 Berlin, Tel.
availability. Bayou Hives 9340 HWY 451
wages dependent on experience, good opportunity +49(0)30/293974-87, Fax +49(0) 30/293974-59,
Moreauville, LA 71355 (318)359-2096
or advancement. Prior work history and references www.diebiene.de
Email [email protected]
required. Contact Gary at (262) 689-1000. HIVELIGHTS, National magazine of the Cana-
Olivarez Honey Bees/Big Island Queens is seek- dian Honey Council. Published quarterly. Free
Minnesota Hygienic Italian Queens ing motivated beekeepers to join our Hawaii
for sale. Proven 2018 laying queens. sample on request, write to Canadian Honey
team! Experience preferred. Self-motivator and Council, Suite 236, 234-5149 Country Hills
Call for pricing and availability – Mark ability to work in a team environment a plus. Po-
Gaspard, PO Box 366, Moreauville, Blvd. NW, Calgary AB T3A 5K8, CANADA.
sitions are full time, salary based on experience. Subscription information available at www.
Louisiana 71355. (225) 718-1378. Email: Great Benefits Package. Prior work history and
[email protected] honeycouncil.ca.
references required. Advancement opportunities
HONEYBEE NEWS, The Journal of the New
Cisneros & Sons Honey Bees is now taking or- available. Submit resume to [email protected]
South Wales Apiarists’ Association, Inc., Inter-
ders for 2018, Italians and Carniolan queen bees. or Olivarez Honey Bees Inc/Big Island Queens,
national Subscription AUS$50.00 (Airmail) Bank
Available April to September. Call or email David P O Box 847 Orland Ca 95963, Fax: 530-865-
Draft, Visa or MasterCard payable to NSW AA.
Cisneros (530) 592-7762. alex-cisneros@live. 5570, Phone 530-865-0298
Published bi-monthly—For more information
com McCoy Honey Co. is looking for motivated in-
dividuals to work in a large commercial opera- contact: The Editor, PO Box 352, Leichhardt
SINGLE-BOX BEEHIVES AVAILABLE LATE
tion. Applicants should have some experience, NSW 2040 Australia. E-mail: honeybee@
MAY. PICKUP SW MISSOURI. SIX FRAMES
a valid driver’s license, and be willing to travel. accsoft.com.au
BEES/ FIVE FRAMES BROOD/ ITALIAN
QUEEN/NEW HIVE BODY, MIGRATORY LID McCoy Honey Co. has operations in MI and MS IBRA (the International Bee Research Associa-
AND BOTTOM. 5@$220. 10@$215/20@$210 and pollinates in CA/MS/ME/WI. Pay is based tion) is a unique organization established in 1949
EACH. THESE WILL MAKE YOUR HONEY!! on experience and queen grafting is a major plus. for the advancement of bee science and beekeep-
(417) 882-8008. ALSO 4-FRAME NUCS - $145 McCoy Honey Co. is a family business and a team ing. It publishes two magazines: JAR – the Journal
EACH. environment. Applicants should contact Ryan at of Apiculture Research, for scientists, and BW
Singles for sale out of MS available in April Semi (989) 550-3111. - Bee World, for beekeepers who want broaden
Load or pick-up only. All hives on a 4 way pal- their horizons by learning about other beekeeping
let with lid and a feeder. Price is $185 deposit MISCELLANEOUS traditions, other bees, other ideas. Members chose
required on semi loads. Contact McCoy Family which magazine(s) to include in their membership.
The AMERICAN BEEKEEPING FEDERA-
Apiaries LLC at (989) 550-3111. IBRA is a vital bridge between the local (hive)
TION has many benefits to offer its members. Send
BUTTE BEES – Italian hybrid queens selected and global concerns. IBRA is registered under UK
for a membership packet of information today! We
for overwintering and honey production. Queens charity law (Office: 91 Brinsea Road, Congresbury,
also offer a free Beginning Beekeeping Packet.
available April to September. Packages pickup Bristol, BS49 5JJ, UK) www.ibrabee.org.uk
2nd week April. Call for pricing (530) 713-4725. Contact the AMERICAN BEEKEEPING
FEDERATION, 3525 Piedmont Rd. NE, Bld. 5. IRISH BEEKEEPING—Read An Beachaire
YUBA CITY, CALIFORNIA.
Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30305-1509, Phone (404) (The Irish Beekeeper). Published monthly. Sub-
5 frame nucs for sale best price. Sacramento CA.
www.paulsbees.com 916-600-6124. 760-2875, Fax 404-240-0998, or email info@ scription $50.00 per annum post free. Dermot
Northern California Queens – Good Quality abfnet.org. O’Flaherty, Journal Manager, Rosbeg, Westport,
Bred Italians. Call Jake: (530) 517-0359. HONEY BEE INSEMINATION SERVICE Co. Mayo, Ireland
NUCS FOR SALE: 5-Frame NUCS @ $130 Susan Cobey - Instrumental Insemination Spe- ATTENTION LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS—
(Minimum order = 50). Available in GA/MI April cialized Equipment, Consulting, Training, Ranch Magazine is your monthly information
- August. 50% Deposit when ordering. Balance Custom Service honeybeeinsemination.com guide for Angora, Cashmere and meat goats, as
due 2 weeks prior to pickup. Ray 229-921-8776. [email protected] Tel. 360-969-9441. well as sheep and cattle. Comprehensive Breeder
Email: [email protected] Directory. 1-Yr $27, 2-Yrs $54. Foreign &
Marked Queens - 25 minimum order, tested PERIODICALS Canada add $36 per yr. postage. Subscribe today!
on full size deep frames - Breeders selected L’ABEILLE DE FRANCE—The most important Box 2678-ABJ, San Angelo, TX 76902. Call for
from our most productive hives-$28 per queen of the monthly publications in France - for all free sample. (325) 655-4434
+ UPS overnight. [email protected] beekeepers, from the amateurs to the professional. THE SCOTTISH BEEKEEPER—Monthly Maga-
(530) 908 1311. Each month: an article for beginners, reports from zine of the Scottish Beekeeper’s Association. Inter-
specialists, a review of the latest information all national in appeal, Scottish in character. View back
WILD SURVIVOR BREEDER QUEENS over the world. Ask for a sample Annual subscrip- numbers and Subscription rates at: http://scottish
NW Feral Stock - Hardy - Hygienic tion: 40$ US. ABEILLE DE FRANCE- 5, rue du
beekeepers.org.uk
Mite Tolerant - Disease Resistant. Copenhague-F 75008 PARIS.
SOUTH AFRICAN BEE JOURNAL—The offi-
– OLYMPIC WILDERNESS APIARY THE AUSTRALASIAN BEEKEEPER—
cial organ of the S.A. Federation of Bee Farmers’
Isolated Yards – (360) 928-3125. www. Senior Beekeeping Journal of the Southern
Associations. Published Bimonthly in English
wildernessbees.com Hemisphere. Complete coverage of all bee-
and Afrikaans, primarily devoted to the African
keeping topics in one of the world’s largest
2500 10- Frame hives, 5 frame nucs. Avail- and Cape Bee races. Subscriptions incl. postage
beekeeping countries. Published by Pender
able in CA and CO. 970-856-6710 or irish (six copies). All subscribers outside of South Af-
Beekeeping Supplies Pty. Ltd., “Bilga” 79 Nay-
[email protected] rica R100-00 surface mail, payment to be made
lor Road, Urila, N.S.W. 2620, Australia. Annual in S.A. Rands. NB. Sample copies only available
Singles or doubles for sale mostly new equipment subscription paid in advance $160 AUD.
with Kona Queens, 661-204-2632. on receipt of a donation. P.O. Box 41 Modder-
THE AUSTRALIAN BEE JOURNAL— fontein, 1645, South Africa.
Caters to both amateur and commercial
WANTED apiarists. Subscription $120.00 Australian ULADAG BEE JOURNAL - Publication of
currently for all overseas subscribers per annum. Uludag Beekeeping Association, published quar-
Honey and Beeswax wanted. All colors and
Published monthly. Victorian Apiarists’ Asso- terly in Turkish (with English titles and summaries
varietals. Send samples or call Smitty Bee Honey
ciation, Inc., P.O. Box 40, California Gully,Vic. of all articles) and English in all aspects of bee-
(712) 748-4292. Australia 3556 Ph: 03 5446 1543, Email: keeping; beekeeping news, practical beekeeping,
Wanted Cowen Chainfed Uncapper. 563-580- [email protected].
5575. and research articles, and considered a link be-
Wanted - Lease bees for Colorado Honey Flow, BEECRAFT The UK’s leading monthly beekeep- tween Turkish beekeeping and the world. Gazcilar
June to August 2018, 50/50 split. Call Jon Soffel ing magazine. View a digital copy and subscribe on Cad. No. 9/2 16220 Bursa-TURKEY Fax:+90 224
701-871-2422 line at www.bee-craft.com. 224 3964 http://www.uludagaricilik.org.tr

May 2018 601

 Advertising Index
A.N. Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 Draper’s Super Bee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 Powell Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
A & G Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598
A & O Forklift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480 EAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Queen Right Colonies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Acorn Beekeeping Equip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532 Ernst Seeds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490 QSI Honey and Food Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
American Honey Producers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 Globalpatties.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566
Anderson Bee Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 GloryBee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602 R.M. Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Apistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553 Groteguth Queens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490 Resillience Apiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
Australian Bee Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526 Roberts Bee Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
Avant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520 Hardeman Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520 Ross Rounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
Avoyelle’s Honey Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573 Hawaiian Queen Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 Rossman Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
Bastin Honey Bee Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582 Heilyser Technology Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510 Sanders Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582
Bee Box Wraps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 Heitkams Honey Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 Selby Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
Bee Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561 Hilbert’s Honey Bees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518 Shastina Millwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
BeeCulture.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574 Hogg Halfcomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 Sherriff, B.J. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Bee Excellent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 Honey B Healthy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 Simpson’s Bee Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
Bee Hive Thermal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 Honey Land Farms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489 Smith Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
BeeInformed.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 Horace Bell Honey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533 South Florida Bees-N-Queens . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
Beekeepingins.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603 Jester Bee Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 South Georgia Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582
Beeline Apiaries & Woodenware . . . . . . . . . . 560 JJ’s Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 Spell Bee Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514
Beelite Wax Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584 Stan’s Pure Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562
Bee Smart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588 KingBee Apiaries & Pollination . . . . . . . . . . . 582 Stayer’s Quality Queens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Betterbee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502 Koehnen, C.F. & Sons, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519 Strachan Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
BL Plastic Containers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 Kona Queen Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 Strong Microbials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Blue Ridge Honey Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 Suhre, Adam Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590
Blue Sky Bee Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484 Lassen Queen Bee Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510 Suhre, E. Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
Bordelon Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 Lohman Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 Sunshine Honey Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Borntrager, David. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 Little Mule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534 Superior Bee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Brand New Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584 Swienty Beekeeping Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Brother Bee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 M & N Apiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Brown Honey Co. Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 Mann Lake Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554 Taber’s Honey Bee Genetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
Browning Cut Stock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582 Maxant Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510 Texas Insurance & Financial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Brumley Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 McKenna Boiler Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582 Tinoco Bee Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519 Medivet Pharmaceuticals Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568 Tree’s for Bees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Bucko Gloves, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 Meyers, A.H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560 T.R.S. Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
Butte Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 Miller Bee Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543
Butte Valley Apiaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588 Mother Lode Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514 Veto-pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Buzz’s Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543 Vidalia Apicultural Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
CC Pollen Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589 Nod Apiary Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567 VP Queen Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Chinabeeworld.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510 Weaver, R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Complete Bee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 Old Sol Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582
Olivarez Honey Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518 Western Bee Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Contract Pros Mfg.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589 Wicwas Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
Cook & Beals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565 OxaVap.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
Wilbanks Apiaries Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Cowen Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533 Wintersun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
Park-Burris Queens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Pendell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582 Wooten’s Queens and Bees, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Dadant & Sons, Inc. . . . . . 482, 499, 500, 525, 589,
598 & Back Cover Pierco.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579 Z Specialty Food, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Dakota Gunness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 Plastic Packaging Concept. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597 Z’s Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525

602 American Bee Journal

March 2018 603
604 American Bee Journal