Vermont Beekeepers Association

Apiology

Apiology – (from Latin apis, "bee"; and Ancient Greek -λογία, -logia) is the scientific study of honey bees.

Queen cells acceptance rate and royal jelly production in worker honey bees of two Apis mellifera races

Royal jelly (RJ) is an acidic yellowish-white secretion of worker honey bee glands, used as food material of worker bee larvae for the first three days and queen bee larvae for the entire life. It is commercially used in cosmetics and medicinal industry in various parts of the world.

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Making honey without bees and milk without cows

It's not unusual for vegans to miss certain foods. What is unusual, though, is Mr Mandich's solution: to create a type of honey, identical to the natural kind in every molecule, but produced without involving any bees at all.

More: VeganHoney

Early-life experience affects honey bee aggression and resilience to immune challenge

arly-life social experiences cause lasting changes in behavior and health for a variety of animals including humans, but it is not well understood how social information ‘‘gets under the skin’’ resulting in these effects.

More:Early Life

Altering social cue perception impacts honey bee aggression with minimal impacts on aggression-related brain gene expression

Gene expression changes resulting from social interactions may give rise to long term behavioral change, or simply reflect the activity of neural circuitry associated with behavioral expression.

More:Social Cue Perception

A model of infection in honeybee colonies with social immunity

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) play a significant role in the pollination of various food crops and plants. In the past decades, honeybee management has been challenged with increased pathogen and environmental pressure associating with increased beekeeping costs, having a marked economic impact on the beekeeping industry.

More: Infection

Testing the effect of pollen exine rupture on metabarcoding with Illumina sequencing

Pollen metabarcoding has received much attention recently for its potential to increase taxonomic resolution of the identifications of pollen grains necessary for various public health, ecological and environmental inquiry.

More:Pollen Rupture

A Look into the Cell: Honey Storage in Honey Bees, Apis mellifera

Honey bees, Apis species, obtain carbohydrates from nectar and honeydew. These resources are ripened into honey in wax cells that are capped for long-term storage. These stores are used to overcome dearth periods when foraging is not possible.

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Beekeeping in Vermont

Lunch & Learn Sessions

Details: Last Updated: 10 May 2021 10 May 2021

If You Missed Last Night's Workshop...

VBA President Andrew Munkres presented our first workshop of the season last evening aimed at experienced beekeepers. Reversing for Intermediate Beekeepers was followed by an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session allowing people to discuss a variety of topics.

If you missed it, you can watch the presentation as we record our Zoom presentations for later viewing. (Login required.) Simply look on the Calendar menu for Past Workshop recordings to view it and previous workshops.

There is still time to register for the next workshop - Reversing for New Beekeepers - scheduled for Tuesday, May 11 at 7PM.

Details: Last Updated: 07 May 2021 07 May 2021

Spring Workshops Announced

The VBA wants to offer training and education that will be helpful to both new and more experienced beekeepers. While we have yet to return to live, in-person sessions at our bee yards, we are beginning the season with two online workshops that will be held on the Zoom platform.

VBA President Andrew Munkres will present a workshop entitled Reversing for Intermediate Beekeepers at 7:00 PM, Thursday, May 6 via Zoom. If time permits, there will be an AMA* session for intermediate beekeepers.

And on Tuesday, May 11, we will present a video of VBA Past-President Chas Mraz from Champlain Valley Apiaries demonstrating Reversing for New Beekeepers followed by a general AMA* session for new beekeepers.

Both workshops will be presented over Zoom and a link will be emailed to registrants a day before each meeting starts. VBA members may register for these free workshops online.

*AMAs (Ask Me Anything) are free-form question and answer sessions that allow participants to share information. Much fun!

Details: Last Updated: 02 May 2021 02 May 2021

Should You Keep Bees?

Bill Mares and Brooke Decker pass along this recent article from Michigan State University's College of Natural Science and the Michigan Pollinator Initiative. It poses an interesting question as it discusses how keeping bees may not be the best way to help bees. Should you keep bees?

Details: Last Updated: 03 April 2021 03 April 2021

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2

USDA’s Farm Service Agency will accept new and modified
CFAP 2 applications beginning April 5.

Has your operation been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic? USDA is implementing updates to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program for producers of agricultural commodities marketed in 2020 who faced market disruptions due to COVID-19. This is part of a larger initiative to improve USDA pandemic assistance to producers.

Details: Last Updated: 25 March 2021 25 March 2021

Help Wanted - Seasonal Apiary Inspector

Brooke Decker, the Pollinator Health Specialist/ State Apiculturist with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) passes along the following temporary employment opportunity:

"The VAAFM Apiary Program is seeking a qualified candidate to assist with the duties of the Apiary Inspection Program. Primary duties include inspecting bee hives for regulated diseases, pests and parasites and light office work. Depending on experience and skill, the candidate may also be asked to provide educational opportunities for Vermont beekeepers. We have a strong preference for candidates with prior beekeeping experience & education."

Learn more and apply for the position online.

Details: Last Updated: 18 March 2021 18 March 2021