Vermont Beekeepers Association

Apiology

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

Mite bombs or robber lures? The roles of drifting and robbing in Varroa destructor transmission from collapsing honey bee colonies to their neighbors

When honey bee colonies collapse from high infestations of Varroa mites, neighboring colonies often experience surges in their mite populations. Collapsing colonies, often called “mite bombs”, seem to pass their mites to neighboring colonies. This can happen by mite-infested workers from the collapsing colonies drifting into the neighboring colonies, or by mite-free workers from the neighboring colonies robbing out the collapsing colonies, or both.

More: mitebomb

Colony Size, Rather Than Geographic Origin of Stocks, Predicts Overwintering Success in Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the Northeastern United States

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are key pollinators of agricultural crops. However, approximately 30% of managed colonies die each winter in the United States. There has been great interest in breeding for ‘locally adapted stocks’ which survive winter conditions in a particular region.

More:Local Stock

Varroa destructor: A Complex Parasite, Crippling Honey Bees Worldwide

Varroa is also a highly efficient vector of honey bee viruses and drives changes in virus distribution, prevalence, and virulence.

More:Varroa Vector

Effect of Bodily Fluids from Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Larvae on Growth and Genome-Wide Transcriptional Response of the Causal Agent of American Foulbrood Disease (Paenibacillus larvae)

Paenibacillus larvae, the causal agent of American Foulbrood Disease (AFB), affect honey bee health worldwide.

More:AFB

Efficacy in the Varroa Mite, Varroa destructor, within commercial beekeeping operations

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor and the associated viruses it transmits are responsible for most instances of honey bee colony losses in the United States. As such, beekeepers utilize miticides to control Varroa populations. Widespread resistance has developed to the miticides fluvalinate and coumaphos. However, Varroa has largely maintained susceptibility to amitraz despite a long and extensive use history.

More:Amitraz

Coronavirus stings world's top honey makers with China beekeepers locked down

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beekeepers in China, the world's top honey producer, are bracing for a bleak start to the key spring pollinating season as travel curbs aimed at containing a coronavirus outbreak keep them at home while their bees go without food for weeks.

More: CoronaVirus

Functional Properties of Honey, Propolis, and Royal Jelly

Honey, propolis, and royal jelly, products originating in the beehive, are attractive ingredients for healthy foods. Honey has been used since ancient times as part of traditional medicine.

More: Propolis

Beekeeping in Vermont

Autumn Inspection...

Jack Visco's four year old helping with autumn inspection...

Details: Last Updated: 23 September 2020 23 September 2020

If You Missed our Winter Hive Prep Workshop...

Last night, VBA Recording Secretary and Certified Beekeeper Fred Putnam, with assistance from VBA Vice President Andrew Munkres and Past President Bill Mares, presented VBA's last online workshop of the season. The topic was "Preparing Your Hives for Winter."

The recorded session is available on the VBA website (login required). Look for Winter Hive Prep.

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The session runs about 100 minutes and covers these topics and more:

Target hive weights and weighing hives
Fast feeding
Pest mitigation
Wrapping and insulating
Actions during winter

Details: Last Updated: 22 September 2020 22 September 2020

Meet Laura Johnson

Laura Johnson's name has been submitted by the VBA Nominating Committee for the Director-at-large seat (if Bylaw changes are approved). The complete slate of officers, to be voted at the October 17 meeting, is available as part of the meeting agenda.

Laura is a native to Vermont, growing up in the Upper Valley of VT/NH. Her educational background includes a BA in Environmental Studies from St. Lawrence University and a MS in Horticulture from New Mexico State University.

Laura’s professional career includes 15 years of domestic and international work on diversified fruit and vegetable farms, as a teacher for English language learners, and in outdoor education. During two years of service with the US Peace Corps in Paraguay, her work focused on soil conservation and beekeeping. This experience opened a door of opportunity to work as a seasonal apiary inspector for the State of Vermont and led to her current career home in agriculture extension.

Laura now works with UVM Extension and the Center for Sustainable Agriculture in agronomy outreach where she offers support to farms on soil and crop health and water quality issues. In her spare time, you can find her beekeeping at her home apiary and in partnership with another beekeeper on a small, commercial vegetable farm. You may also find her canoeing the Connecticut River or hiking the Green and White Mountains.

Details: Last Updated: 21 September 2020 21 September 2020

2020 VBA "Summer" Meeting Agenda

The Vermont Beekeepers Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce the "summer" meeting to be conducted over the Zoom online platform. (Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Summer meeting, originally scheduled for July had to be cancelled.) All VBA members are invited to participate by registering at the link below.

Details: Last Updated: 21 September 2020 21 September 2020

Bumblebee on Comfrey Flowers

Photo by David Lewis

Details: Last Updated: 19 September 2020 19 September 2020

Looking at Mites

Peter Hadeka tells us "I placed Formic Pro, 2 pad dose, on 9/7. Cleaned IPM boards. Slid out today and saw many, many mites dead.

"These hives tested only 2% to 3%, but when multiplied by thousands of bees they add up. I was always under the impression that Formic didn't really kill many phoretic mites.

"I guess it does !!!!"

Fred Putnam responds by saying "Besides killing mites in capped brood, Formic kills phoretic mites (the few that are running around unattached to a bee) and ectoparasitic mites (the bulk of the emerged mites that are attached to the bees.)"

Still time to test and treat. Please watch Fred's Mite Management, Counting & Treatment video for details.

Details: Last Updated: 13 September 2020 13 September 2020

If You Missed our Mite Management Workshop...

VBA Recording Secretary and Certified Beekeeper Fred Putnam presented a Zoom workshop on mite management techniques yesterday. Despite some technical difficulties we recorded it and have made it available on the VBA website. The workshop included a pre-recorded video at one of Fred's apiaries demonstrating an alcohol wash. We've edited the recorded workshop to include the original video so the replay is of a higher quality - we encourage you to view it if for no other reason than to learn how to do an alcohol wash.

The documentation mentioned in the workshop is also available at www.vermontbeekeepers.org/mites.

Details: Last Updated: 23 August 2020 23 August 2020

VBA Statement on American Foulbrood

VBA Recording Secretary Fred Putnam wrote the following document that describes how the Vermont Beekeepers Association is addressing American Foulbrood in Vermont.

We want to address concerns about American Foulbrood (AFB) in two ways:

The broader perspective about AFB in Vermont along with what is being done specifically.
Provide information to help you identify AFB in your own colonies.

Details

Last Updated: 12 August 2020 12 August 2020

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