Vermont Beekeepers Association

Apiology

The study of honeybees...

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

Toward Audio Beehive Monitoring: Deep Learning vs. Standard Machine Learning in Classifying Beehive Audio Samples

Electronic beehive monitoring extracts critical information on colony behavior and phenology without invasive beehive inspections and transportation costs. As an integral component of electronic beehive monitoring, audio beehive monitoring has the potential to automate the identification of various stressors for honeybee colonies from beehive audio sample

More:AudioMonitoring

Reduced density and visually complex apiaries reduce parasite load and promote honey production and overwintering survival in honey bees

Managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies are kept at much greater densities than naturally occurring feral or wild colonies, which may have detrimental effects on colony health and survival, disease spread, and drifting behavior (bee movement between natal and non-natal colonies).

More:HoneybeeDrift

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign Scientists Report on Honey Bee Stressors

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) is a collaborative group of scientists, government agencies, NGO’s, private industries and agricultural and environmental concerns that work together to bring the plight of pollinators to national attention and to be the most trusted resource for information and behaviors in support of pollinating animals and the plants with which they interact.

More:Pollinator Protection

Beekeeping in Vermont

Beekeeping in Oaxaca, Mexico

Help Oaxaca Escuela Secondaria Tecnica No. 14

Paul Yanus passed this note along concerning an effort Mike Palmer is supporting.

"Mike Palmer is trying to raise money to help Oaxaca, Mexico students buy beekeeping equipment that he personally saw that was needed by them.
Mike writes “The school is trying to educate these children, with few resources. The bee boxes are rotten. The extractor is a rust bucket. They’re handling Africanized bees with falling apart bee suits and veils with rotten screens.

Details: Published: 14 February 2019 14 February 2019

Risk Management Programs

Vermont Beekeepers 2019 Crop Year

Jake Jacobs, Crop Insurance Education Coordinator at UVM's Department of Community Development and Applied Economics presented at the VBA's 2019 Winter Meeting.

She provided us with the attached handout describing how beekeepers in Vermont have a number of options available to help manage risk.

Details: Published: 14 February 2019 14 February 2019

Legislation: H. 205 - ACTION REQUESTED

Regulation of Neonicotinoid Pesticides

Here is the link to the new bill introduced on 02/12/19. It affects Vermont Beekeepers. Please read it and use the VBA forums to post your thoughts. There is a forum post already created specifically for this bill.

The VBA wants to hear from you and your responses can help us draft a position paper. (VBA members, login to the VBA website and join the discussion here.)

The Board of Directors will be meeting Tuesday, February 19, to discuss H.205.

Details: Published: 13 February 2019 13 February 2019

NEW: Windham County Beekeepers Club!

The Vermont Beekeepers Association welcomes the new Windham County Beekeepers Club!

The club's inaugural meeting is this Saturday, February 16 at the Moore Public Library in Newfane, VT and is open to all.

Let's make a point of attending and welcoming this newest addition to our fold! Visit http://windhamcountybeekeepers.com/ for more information.

Details: Published: 11 February 2019 11 February 2019

Updated Library Listings

VBA Members: The list of materials available for you to borrow from the VBA Lending Library has been updated. (It's been a few years!)

Simply login to the site and choose Members Only, then Library to see the offerings. Make your selection and let the librarian know and we'll send it to you. You're only responsible for postage when mailing the item back.

And, we're working on an update to the website where you'll be able to check out materials directly online and buy a postage paid mailing label for your return.

Details: Published: 08 February 2019 08 February 2019

2019 Vermont Farm Show Honey Products

Contest Winners

Congratulations to VBA Recording Secretary Fred Putnam, Jr. for receiving 'Best of Show' ribbons at the Vermont Farm Show last week!

And congratulations to the following for winning in their class:

Class 120 Comb Honey – Jeremey Grenon

Class 121 Extracted Light Honey – Anne Bowers

Class 122 Extracted Amber Honey – Fred Putnam

Class 123 Extracted Dark Honey – Darci Benoit

Class 124 Chunk Honey – Jeff Battaglini

Class 125 Creamed Honey – James Key

Class 126 Opaque jar (flavor) – Matt Calahan

Class 127 Honey Cookery – 1st Place - Anne Bowers; 2nd Place - Janet McKenzie

Details: Published: 03 February 2019 03 February 2019

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