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Vermont Beekeepers Association News Feed

Since 1886 the VBA has promoted the general welfare of Vermont's Honey Industry, while sustaining a friendly body of unity among the state's beekeepers.

  • VBA South Bee Yard 2025 Schedule

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  • Tropilaelaps mite - another potential honey bee pest

    Catch Brooke Decker's webinar on YouTube

    The Tropilaelaps mite (Tropi mite) has the potential to be a serious hurdle for beekeepers. It hasn’t reached North America yet, but because of its potential impact, our State Apiculturist, Brooke Decker, has asked us to be watchful of its presence.

    Brooke traveled to Thailand last year with other bee inspectors to get a first-hand look at the Tropi mite, its impact, and how it is being managed. She presented a webinar on Tropilaelaps recently. Her PowerPoint had some very interesting comparisons with Varroa. It also covered other facts about Tropi mites and videos of them on frames - a must-see. This was a very informative presentation.

    Brooke has posted the video of her presentation on YouTube. Check it out here:

    Tropilaelaps Webinar video

     

  • VBA 2024-25 Board of Directors

    VBA Board of Directors:

     
    • President, Jeff Battaglini
    • Vice President – Bianca Braman
    • Treasurer – Richard Roy
    • Membership Secretary – Mary Stoddard
    • Recording Secretary – Fred Putnam, Jr.
    • Director at Large – Colin Whitehouse
    • Andrew Munkres remains as the Immediate Past President

  • New Additions to the VBA Lending Library

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    VBA Librarian Chris Oehl reports 34 new additions to the VBA’s extensive lending library bringing the total of available books to 268.

    For a complete list of available items in the library along with instructions on how to check out materials please login to the VBA website and visit the library at: https://www.vermontbeekeepers.org/library (or find the link under Resources | for the Beekeeper)

     

  • Bee Practical Award

    The American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) is offering an award for up to $2,000 to a beekeeper with a practical beekeeping idea that is relevant to other beekeepers. The $2,000 will be split in the case more than one awardee is chosen. We are looking to fund one or more individuals that have developed a practical beekeeping practice OR have a practical beekeeping idea that needs funding to be developed.

    Please download the attached document for all the details and feel free to pass on to others.  For questions, you may also reach out to Garett Slater.

    Garett Slater
    Assistant Professor and Honey Bee Extension Entomologist
    Department of Entomology
    Texas A&M 

  • Gov. Veto is Overridden

    H.706 to Become Law

    Late this afternoon the Vermont House and Senate overrode Governor Phil Scott's veto of H.706 - a law the Vermont Beekeepers Association supported to protect Vermont pollinators. The senate overrode the veto on roll call: Yeas = 21, Nays = 8 while the house roll call results showed Yeas = 102, Nays = 43 (97 of 145 to Pass). Details

    The Vermont Beekeepers Association thanks the legislators who voted for this important legislation and the VBA members and others in the community who helped make this happen. 

     

  • H.706 Veto Override Alert

    Vermont State House in MontpelierContact Your Legislators Today

    After passing overwhelmingly in the VT house and senate, the pollinator protection bill, H706 was vetoed by the governor on World Bee Day.

    He shared the same misleading information about bee populations that we have heard from the Agency of Agriculture, and declared the bill "anti-farmer".

    The VT legislature is holding an override session on June 17th and 18th to consider overriding the governor's veto.

    We need VBA members to reach out to their senators and representatives one last time this week to support this override effort.

    Legislators have been hearing more and more from those against the bill, so it is incredibly important to express the importance of this legislation and our strong support for it. (Previously available background information is available here and here.)

    Contact Your Legislators

  • On World Bee Day, Gov. Scott vetoes bill that would restrict bee-killing pesticide

    From the Pollinatoir Working Group:

    Montpelier, VT – Today, on World Bee Day, Gov. Phil Scott today vetoed legislation meant to protect bees and other pollinators from a widely-used neuorotoxic pesticide. The bill (H.706) would  eliminate most uses of neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) in Vermont, which have been associated with alarming losses of managed and wild bee populations.

    Neonic insecticides are used on almost all corn grown and much of the soybean grown in Vermont. They’re also sprayed on apple trees, other fruits and vegetables, and ornamental plants. 

    A comprehensive 2020 study from Cornell University found that neonic-treated seeds were more costly and yielded no substantial benefit to farmers in terms of crop yields for corn and soybeans. In Quebec, where neonics have been banned on field crops since 2019, farmers have adjusted well to using other alternative seed treatments, and many are using no pesticide treatment on seeds at all and finding no loss in yield.

    While neonics provide little benefit to most farmers, they can cause substantial harm. Since their introduction in the mid-1990s, neonics have made U.S. agriculture48-times more harmfulto insects and been linked with massive losses of bees. Over the most recent five-year period for which data are available, Vermont beekeepers lost an average 53% of their hives every year. These losses of managed bees provide insight into the losses occurring each year in Vermont’s 300+ species of wild bees, which undergird ecosystems and are also important crop pollinators. 

    Read More …

  • UBeeO Workshop with Vermont Bee Lab

    UBeeO Workshop

    Join the Vermont Bee Lab to learn about UBeeO, a novel way to measure hygienic behavior in bees! In this workshop, we will demonstrate how to perform UBeeO assays and witness high-scoring colonies in the field. We will discuss guidelines for reliable testing in the Northeast and hear from Vermont queen producers about their experience using UBeeO in their selection programs.

    Two workshop dates are available, June 8 at Hundred Acre Wood Apiaries with Jack Rath and June 15 at French Hill Apiaries with Mike Palmer. Registration for either workshop is free and is required.

  • Just Got Your Nucs Or Bee Packages?—Now What??

    Mid-spring is the time of year when many new beekeepers in Vermont pick up their first nucleus colonies or packages of bees.  If you are one of those just starting out, hopefully you did your homework over the winter and have a pretty good idea of what to do next. You may have read some reference materials, attended a class, and participated in VBA webinars.  Maybe you purchased a book that you can refer to from time to time.  (By the way, the VBA has an excellent list of references designed specifically for new beekeepers under the “Resources” tab on this website.)  But uncertainty or just a lack of confidence may arise about the next task in your bee yard. It’s not uncommon.  Beekeeping may not be rocket science, but it isn’t simple either.  There’s much to learn in the first few years and the VBA is here to help!

    Read More …