Vermont Beekeepers Association

Apiology

The study of honeybees...

'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

Catch the Buzz

General Beekeeping News...

Beekeeping in Vermont...

"Added Sugar" Labels Update

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says new guidance about added sugars that will provide an alternate labeling option for pure maple syrup and honey will be released next year.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Thursday that the new rules will provide “a path forward for pure, single-ingredient” maple syrup and honey products that does not involve an “added sugars” declaration along with the nutritional facts.

Congratulations Dr. Samantha Alger!

VBA Advisory Board Member Samantha Alger has successfully defended her Ph.D. and is now officially Dr. Samantha Alger!

Her work has aided both the scientific and beekeeping communities to better understand how disease transmission between bee species occurs.

In addition, we applaud her ability to channel newly gained scientific knowledge into useful tools and recommendations for beekeepers in this state. We look forward to Dr. Alger’s bright future and offer her congratulations for her amazing achievement.

Dr. Alger will be facilitating a partnership between VBA and the UVM Beekeeping Club - one of the topics discussed at the last VBA board meeting.

Congratulations Michael Palmer

EAS 2018 honors Michael Palmer with the Divelbiss Award
For Outstanding Apicultural Contributions

Fred Putnam Jr. speaking at Killington Town Office

If you happen to bee in Killington on August 8, 11:00 A.M. buzz on over to the Killington Town office to hear Fred teach kids about honeybees, beekeeping, culminating with a fabulous Vermont honey tasting.This is part of the Town of Killington kids summer camp organized by the Town of Killington Recreation Director, Cathy Foutch.

Tunbridge Fair Volunteers Needed

A VBA Volunteer is still needed for the following shift at Tunbridge Fair!

Saturday - Sept 15th - 1pm to 5pm

We need your email address, home address and phone # so we can send the ticket for attendance. Contact Bob Haven directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Peter Hadeka Talks Bees at VINS

VBA Ambassador Extraordinaire Peter Hadeka was at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) Incredible Insect Festival on July 7 and reports success!

"They had a tent and table, chairs, all ready for me. I brought some props, super with new and used frames, smoker, VBA brochures, some honey, for tasting and a little to sell. I also borrowed an observation hive from Bob Davin in Hubbardton. That was a big hit for sure. Not only the kids but the adults were thrilled to see a Queen etc.

"They said that they had 450 visitors and many of them wandered around and visited my display. The weather improved so it was a delightful day for sure. (Fairly close to my set up they had a couple of presentations with live birds of prey. Many of them flying between two people. Pretty impressive display.)

The festival ran from 10 to 5. I was set up before 10 and left after 5. Never sat down the whole time."

If you are interested in helping us promote beekeeping in Vermont and the VBA please contact us.

VBA 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 contributions of Vermont beekeepers that 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.

2018 Summer Meeting Minutes & Financials

VBA Members: The minutes and financial statement from the 2018 Summer Meeting have been posted online in the Members Only area of the VBA website. Minutes compiled by Steve Silverman with assistance from Lisa Newton.