Vermont Beekeepers Association

Apiology

The study of honeybees...

Detection of amitraz resistance and reduced treatment 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.

More:Amitraz

What You Need to Know (And What We’re Working to Find Out) About Products Containing Cannabis or Cannabis-derived Compounds, Including CBD

You may have noticed that cannabidiol (CBD) seems to be available almost everywhere, and marketed as a variety of products including drugs, food, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and animal health products.

More:Cannabis

A mathematical model of honey bee colony dynamics to predict the effect of pollen on colony failure

The decline in colony populations of the honey bee, known as the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), is a global concern. Numerous studies have reported possible causes, including pesticides, parasites, and nutritional stress.

More: Pollen Model

Drone and Worker Brood Microclimates Are Regulated Differentially in Honey Bees, Apis mellifera

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones and workers show differences in morphology, physiology, and behavior. Because the functions of drones are more related to colony reproduction, and those of workers relate to both survival and reproduction, we hypothesize that the microclimate for worker brood is more precisely regulated than that of drone brood.

More:Microclimate

'Intensive' beekeeping not to blame for common bee diseases

More "intensive" beekeeping does not raise the risk of diseases that harm or kill the insects, new research suggests.

Intensive agriculture—where animals or plants are kept crowded together in very high densities—is thought to result in higher rates of disease spreading.

But researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of California, Berkeley found this is not the case for honeybees.

More:Intensive

RNA virus spillover from managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) to wild bumblebees (Bombus spp.)

The decline of many bumblebee species (Bombus spp.) has been linked to an increased prevalence of pathogens caused by spillover from managed bees. Although poorly understood, RNA viruses are suspected of moving from managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) into wild bumblebees through shared floral resources.

More:Bombus

Seasonal variation of pollen collected by honey bees (Apis mellifera) in developed areas across four regions in the United States

For honey bees (Apis mellifera), colony maintenance and growth are highly dependent on worker foragers obtaining sufficient resources from flowering plants year round. Despite the importance of floral diversity for proper bee nutrition, urban development has drastically altered resource availability and diversity for these important pollinators.

More: Pollendiversity

Beekeeping in Vermont

VBA's New Recognition Program

The Vermont Beekeeper’s Association created the Vermont Beekeeper Recognition Program (formerly the Beekeeper of the Year Award) to recognize and celebrate the bbeekeeper contributions of Vermont beekeepers and others who support beekeeping in Vermont and have provided outstanding service to the VBA. The intent is to recognize lifetime achievement rather than contributions in a single year and to encourage and retain membership in the VBA or other supporting entities.

The nomination form is available to current VBA members and describes the categories of recognition. You may submit as many entries as you like and entries will be retained for two years.

Deadlines for nominations:

April 1 for Summer meeting recognition categories: (Outstanding efforts on honeybee education, Mission superhero)
November 1 for Winter meeting recognition categories: (Beekeeper of the Year, Outstanding efforts by a Mentor and Mentee, Friend of the Bees)

Complete category descriptions along with the online nomination form are available on the VBA website in the Members Only area. (Login required)

Details: Last Updated: 01 August 2019 01 August 2019

Summer Meeting 2019

A very few scenes from the 2019 VBA Summer Meeting in Townshend on the 13th.

From left: Dr. Humberto Boncristiani, VBA Recording Secretary Fred Putnam presents Cheryl Dorschner with the new VBA Mission Superhero award for her work organizing the VBA booth at the 2019 Vermont Flower Show, Windham County Beekeepers President Jeff Battaglini (holding the mic) and WCB Raffle organizer Jill Dean at left, and Bill Mares and Scott Wilson's arm presenting Dannah Beauragard with her Vermont Certified Beekeeper patch. A good day all around!

Details: Last Updated: 16 July 2019 16 July 2019

Special Subscription Offer

VBA Members may take advantage of a special subscription offer to the Mother Earth News arranged by the Windham County Beekeepers (WCB).

WCB arranged this for the recent VBA Summer meeting in Townshend. To take advantage of this discount, please login to the site and look under Publications in the Members Only menu.

Details: Last Updated: 16 July 2019 16 July 2019

Certified Vermont Beekeepers

Dannah Beauregard officially became a Certified Vermont Beekeeper July 13 at the Vermont Beekeepers Association summer meeting. Six of eight VBA members passed the written test that day and have two years to meet hive inspection and community outreach components. More than 25 VBA members are certified, according to Bill Mares and Ross Conrad (not pictured), who administer the program.

Details: Last Updated: 21 July 2019 21 July 2019

VBA Membership at a Glance

VBA membership information as presented at the 2019 Summer Meeting:

Details: Last Updated: 14 July 2019 14 July 2019

UVM Study Discussed on VPR

A recent study by the University of Vermont and the Vermont Center for Ecostudies researcher suggests viruses from managed bees have spread from apiaries to wild bumblebees. UVM researcher and pollinator specialist Samantha Alger shared her findings with Vermont Edition.