Apiology

Apiology – (from Latin apis, "bee"; and Ancient Greek -λογία, -logia) is the scientific study of honey bees and is a look at recently published articles curated by Vermont Certified Beekeeper Scott Wilson.

Influence of Pollen Nutrition on Honey Bee Health: Do Pollen Quality and Diversity Matter?

Honey bee colonies are highly dependent upon the availability of floral resources from which they get the nutrients (notably pollen) necessary to their development and survival. However, foraging areas are currently affected by the intensification of agriculture and landscape alteration.

Pollen Nutrition

One Health, One Hive: A scoping review of honey bees, climate change, pollutants, and antimicrobial resistance

Anthropogenic climate change and increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) together threaten the last 50 years of public health gains. Honey bees are a model One Health organism to investigate interactions between climate change and AMR.

More:OneHealth

Effect of comb age on cell measurements and worker body size

The honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) mainly use beeswax (comb) for brood rearing and food storage. Changes in the color and cell dimensions occur due to repeated food storage and brood rearing in the comb.

More:Cell Size

Giant hornet (Vespa soror) attacks trigger frenetic antipredator signalling in honeybee (Apis cerana) colonies

Asian honeybees use an impressive array of strategies to protect nests from hornet attacks, although little is understood about how antipredator signals coordinate defences.

More:MURDERHORNETS

Honeybee Social Distance in Colony to Combat Parasitic Attack; Study on Ectoparasite Varroa Destructor Exposure Shows Anti-Transmission Behavior

Honeybees experience a threat every day when they reside in an uncontrolled environment. Very much like what humans do today, the bees perform a social distancing whenever they detect an incoming parasite and the risk it brings.

More:SocialDistance

Epidemiology of Nosema spp. and the effect of indoor and outdoor wintering on honey bee colony population and survival in the Canadian Prairies

The epidemiology of Nosema spp. in honey bees, Apis mellifera, may be affected by winter conditions as cold temperatures and differing wintering methods (indoor and outdoor) provide varying levels of temperature stress and defecation flight opportunities.

More:Canadien Winter

Evaluating toxicity of Varroa mite (Varroa destructor)-active dsRNA to monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) larvae

Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) are parasitic mites that, combined with other factors, are contributing to high levels of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony losses.

More:Varroa Toxicity

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.

More:Royal Jelly

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

Beekeeping in Vermont

Beekeeping in Vermont

Ask Me Anything (About Beekeeping)

If you missed our Ask Me Anything (About Beekeeping) workshop this week, the recording is available to VBA members (along with many others) online. Simply login to the site and look under the Calendar menu. (Co-hosted by VBA members, Fred Putnam, Tony Antonucci, and Jeff Battaglini.)

Preventing the spread of diseases esp. AFB
Re-queening calendar and recordkeeping (if a colony is queenless)
Summer actions to prep for winter.
Mite management and virus loads - options for this time of the year
Weather impacts - Dealing with too little or too much rain
Water supply
Pollen sub
Dearths or not
Extracting tips
Tips on handling defensive colonies

Extended Use of Oxalic Acid Workshop Recording

If you missed our Extended Use of Oxalic Acid for Mite Mitigation workshop this week the recording is available to VBA members (along with many others) online. Simply login to the site and look under the Calendar menu.

Jack Rath describes the preparation and use of OAE and answers questions. The data sheet from the Vermont AAFM that Jack references in the presentation is available here. There have been two changes which may make it a preferred method for Vermont beekeepers. It now can be used with honey supers on. Vermont now has in place a 2EE authorization for Oxalic Acid Extended (OAE) use. Be advised you must follow the directions as specified in the sheet provided by Vermont AAFM and this can only be used in Vermont at this time.

AFB Announcement

American Foul Brood (AFB) has been confirmed in hives located within 5 miles of Chester, Vermont. Traceback investigation is underway and appears to have been a result of using old frames contaminated with AFB scale.

Registered beekeepers within the 2-mile radius will be contacted by phone. All beekeepers should perform thorough inspections and report any suspect disease to the State Apiculturist Brooke Decker at 802-272-6688.

What Should I Be Doing For My Bees Now?

If you missed Thursday's online workshop it was recorded and is available under our Calendar menu in Past Workshops. (Login required.)

Co-hosted by VBA members, Fred Putnam, Tony Antonucci, and Jeff Battaglini, the program begins with a short presentation on seasonal beekeeping tasks and situations. Following that, an "Ask Me Anything" (about your honey bees) session where the hosts fielded questions from the participants.

"Pesticides Threatening Pollinators, Lawmakers Punt on Limit to Bee-killing Poisons"

So begins an article from the May 19 issue of the Addison Independent featuring Chas Mraz of Champlain Valley Apiaries who expressed dissapointment that H.626 was passed in a watered-down version that "did not ban neonicotinoids — even temporarily."

Spring Management & Reversing Workshop Recording

If you missed Thursday's workshop we recorded it and made it available to VBA members (along with 27 others) online. Simply login to the site and look under the Calendar menu.

This workshop covered the steps you should be taking to manage your colonies in the spring. Swarm control and supering as the nectar begins to flow along with general discussion are included. (The Northeast Beekeeping Calendar is a good reference tool.)

Protect Your Apiary From Bears

It's not hard to set up an electric fence but it can seem daunting if you've never dealt with electric fences before. Vermont Certified Beekeeper Fred Putnam covered the basic principles for installing any electric fence with special focus on deterrent electric fences for apiaries in this online workshop recorded last night. (Login required.)

Also see our Guide to Protecting Bee Hives from Bears and Skunks.

Deadouts Redux

If you missed yesterday's Deadout Analysis Workshop (or if you'd like to view it again) we've posted the recorded presentation online for members to view. Login to the site and look under the Calendar menu for Past Workshop & Events Recordings.

Presenters Fred Putnam and Andrew Munkres describe many of the factors and causes leading to the loss of overwintered colonies. The workshop includes photos giving you the ability to diagnose the causes and adjust your management for next winter to improve survival. (Also see the updated VBA Deadout Diagnosis Guide.)

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