Vermont Beekeepers Association

Apiology

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

Altering social cue perception impacts honey bee aggression with minimal impacts on aggression-related brain gene expressionGene expression changes resulting from social interactions may give rise to long term behavioral change, or simply reflect the acti

Gene expression changes resulting from social interactions may give rise to long term behavioral change, or simply reflect the activity of neural circuitry associated with behavioral expression. In honey bees, social cues broadly modulate aggressive behavior and brain gene expression.

More:Bee Social Cue Perception

A pan-European epidemiological study reveals honey bee colony survival depends on beekeeper education and disease control

Reports of honey bee population decline have spurred many national efforts to understand the extent of the problem and to identify causative or associated factors. However, our collective understanding of the factors has been hampered by a lack of joined-up trans-national effort.

More: Colony Survival

Etruscans Transported Bees by Boat to Reach the Best Flowers!

The discovery of an ancient Etruscan honey harvesting workshop at Focello in Italy, and the analysis of charred remains unearthed at the site, has let archaeologists to propose a remarkable hypothesis. Of all the Etruscan techniques, skills, and social norms discovered to date, Etruscan bee boats are a unique beekeeping and honey manufacturing system and a testament to humanity’s obsession with honey.

More:Bee Boats

Control of the microsporidian parasite Nosema ceranae in honey bees (Apis mellifera) using nutraceutical and immuno-stimulatory compounds

nosema ceranae is a microsporidian parasite that causes nosemosis in the honey bee (Apis mellifera). As alternatives to the antibiotic fumagillin, ten nutraceuticals (oregano oil, thymol, carvacrol, trans-cinnmaldehyde, tetrahydrocurcumin, sulforaphane, naringenin, embelin, allyl sulfide, hydroxytyrosol) and two immuno-stimulatory compounds (chitosan, poly I:C) were examined for controlling N. ceranae infections.

More: Nosema

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

Beekeeping in Vermont

Meet Darci Benoit

Darci Benoit is VBA's new Membership Secretary seat. She was nominated to replace outgoing secretary Scott Wilson.

I started beekeeping in 2013 and made many many mistakes. Thankfully I learned from those mistakes by listening to the successful and helpful beekeepers around me in the bee clubs. I currently operate a small apiary at my home which partially supplies my bee themed gift shop - Bees on Broadway which I run part time when I am not working my "real job" as a paralegal. I live in Swanton with my husband of 15 years, our daughter, dog, 3 cats, 8 chickens and many bees.

Details: Last Updated: 17 October 2020 17 October 2020

Meet Jeff Battaglini

Jeff Battaglini is VBA's new Vice-President. He replaces Andrew Munkres who is VBA's new President effective October 17.

Jeff started his beekeeping journey years before he brought his first hive home. He noticed there were very few pollinators around the native Vermont landscape. So he started researching bees and talking to local beekeepers. He joined the Vermont Beekeepers Association (VBA) and all the local beekeeping clubs he could find. Jeff also started taking beekeeping classes and broke ground on his apiary site in October 2014.

Details: Last Updated: 17 October 2020 17 October 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

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: 12 October 2020 12 October 2020