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Volume 149 No. 4

April 2009

Va Th ri e V et a al lu s e o 36 f 9

Contents
Commercial Beekeeping 101323

Email ABJ@dadant.com Web http://www.dadant.com

Advertising Manager-Marta Menn Editor-Joe M. Graham Publishing Department- Amy Leebold & Dianne Behnke

United States 2008 Honey Production Up 8 Percent USDA-NASS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314 Wax Working 101 TLee Sollenberger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 Efficient Splits Roy Hendrickson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 The Learning Curve2009 Randy Oliver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Articles

Whats New in BeekeepingPart Two: Scientific Beekeeping Peter L. Borst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349 Next Up, The SurvivorsPart Two of Two Parts M.E.A. McNeil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 Whats Missing From the Current Discussion and Work Related to Bees That Is Preventing Us From Making Good Progress? Kirk Webster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359 Minnesotas Land of 10,000 Lakes Promotes Honey and Beekeeping Cecil Hicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363 Continuing Efforts to Safeguard U.S. Honey Imports Part I of Two Parts Sylvia A. Ezenwa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366 The Value of Varietals Grant F.C. Gillard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369 A Red Maple Honey Tasting Joseph Riddle and George S. Ayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

Efficient Splits 335

Departments

Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Newsnotes . . . . . . . 305 The World Honey Market . . . . . 311 Classified Advertising . . . . . . . 381 Advertising Index. . . . . . . . . . . . 384

Columns
The Classroom Jerry Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 The Traveling Beekeeper Larry Connor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323 Honey Bee Biology Wyatt A. Mangum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 The Other Side of Beekeeping George S. Ayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
The American Bee Journal ISSN 0002-7626
THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL (ISSN 002-7626) is published monthly at American Bee Journal, 51 S. 2nd Street, Hamilton, IL 62341. Periodicals Postage Paid at Hamilton, IL and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to American Bee Journal, 51 S. 2nd Street, Hamilton, IL 62341. In the United States, $25.45 a year; two years, $48.20 and three years, $67.90. Canada $30.45 a year; two years $58.20 and three years $82.90. Foreign $43.45 a year; two years $84.20 and three years $121.90. Subscriptions stop at expiration date printed on label. Available in microfilm form at moderate prices by writing to National Archive Publishing Co., 300 N. Zeeb Road, P.O. Box 998, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106. 1-800-420-6272. Copyright Dadant & Sons, Inc., 2009. All rights reserved, printed in USA. The Publishers cannot guarantee advertisements in this magazine, but we ask that any advertising complaints be made known to us, so we can further check the companys reliability. Opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. American Bee Journal, 51 S. 2nd St., Hamilton, IL 62341. (217) 847-3324. Fax (217) 847-3660.

April Cover Picture

A honey bee visits a European plum flower (Prunus domestica). Spring fruit bloom is a welcome sight to both bees and man! This beautiful photo was taken by Tibor I. Szabo, RR 1, Puslinch, Ontario, Canada N0B 2J0.

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Letters to the Editor

Send your letters to the editor, Attn: Joe Graham, Dadant, 51 S. 2nd Street, Hamilton, IL 62341, Fax: 1-217-847-3660, or email: abj@dadant.com.
Due to size and content, we may be unable to publish all information received. Thank You!

LARGE FLORIDA FERAL COLONY

I took this picture in mid January this year. I have it in a Dadant bee box in my yard in Alva, Florida. It should be requeened as soon as possible because it probably has African Bee genes in it. The local bee inspector, Freddy Howard, told me that wild hives should always be requeened when caught in South Florida. It was in a construction company yard in Hollywood, Florida in an old junk delivery van. Greg McCurry

SNOWY WINTER IN QUEBEC

Just like to share our winter hive with you all. We reside in Magog, Quebec and who wouldve thought that we could get this much snow 20 minutes from the Vermont border? Well, we sure did. We have seven hives total, one which is inside as an observation hive. Robin Bedard Magog, Quebec

Large feral colony found near Hollywood, FL (Greg McCurry Photo)

ROOFTOP APIARIES
Thanks for the great article on The Rise of the Rooftop Apiary. Its a trend that is really taking off, and its good to have the movement be given prominent national attention in the magazine. Thanks especially for the mention of my doings and Melissas shot of my Brooklyn Bee honey. There is, however, one small error in the article. While Andrew Cote is currently an active and valued member of the New York City Beekeeping Meetup, he didnt join until 2008, almost two years after I founded it. John Howe Founder and Organizer, New York City Beekeeping Meetup http://www.meetup.com/nyc-beekeeping-meetup/ www.thebrooklynbee.com you know, in winter, this is achieved by consuming honey and the heat created by the chemical reation of digestion, as well as movement (wing vibrations) also generating heat, and finally by the clustering of bees together interspersed in the empty cells of the comb, and in the bee space between them. In a normal, ten-frame deep super, it is relatively easy for bees to achieve this, (provided, of course, there is a critical mass of individuals that collectively can generate enough heat and there is sufficient food supply for them). In an observation hive the problem is more complicated because, at the outset, there are fewer bees, and each super has only one frame between two sheets of cold-conducting glass on each side. Left by itself, unless the room where the observation hive is located is carefully kept at the right temperature, the bees cannot do this. The trick is not so much to provide an exact temperature, but to make it possible for the bees to control the temperature themselves. To solve the problem, I have found that making up two cushions of 2'' foam rubber cut an 1/8 of an inch wider and longer than the glass size, and applied to each side, gives them enough insulation to cluster in the small space, as long as the room where the observation hive is kept does not go below say 55F. (I have not experimented below this temperature.) Of course, each super must have its own insulation, even if there

Snow-covered hives in Magog, Quebec (Robin Bedard photo)

OVER WINTERING OBSERVATION HIVES

This is a follow up to my letter published July 2007 about manipulating observation hives. This one is about wintering over an observation hive in an unheated room. One of the most remarkable things about honey bees is their capacity to control the temperature in the hive. For reproductive purposes it must be maintained at 92 degrees F. As

Snow on our house in Magog, Quebec (Robin Bedard photo) April 2009

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are few bees in it since all the supers make up this admittedly peculiar hive and heat loss in any one can cause serious problems. (It also helps to reduce the size of the hive and eliminate empty supers). I have also introduced the sensor from an indoor-outdoor thermometer. It is not always accurate in recording temperature, because in a multi-frame hive, the cluster can move around, but its a quick way to check what is going on in the hive. If there is even a four or five degree difference between the room temperature and the warmer hive temperature, then it is OK; if there is no difference between the two, the hive is in trouble. Jeff Murray Cambridge, MA

BEE CLUB QUEEN REARING

I very much enjoyed Roy Hendrickson's article on queen rearing organized by a bee club. So nice to see that my article series on bee breeding has spurred such discussion. While visiting Denmark, my husband and I were delighted to find a beekeeping club that introduced new beekeepers to the trade by having them graft and raise their own queen. The club helped everyone graft a row of queen cells. They then raised them as a joint effort. Because the new beekeepers have such a wonderful hands-on experience, the club's retention rate is close to 100%. I think active beekeeping clubs in the U.S. have the potential of creating a similar program. I could certainly imagine the dedicated members of the Back Yard Beekeepers Association of Connecticut establishing such a recruitment program. We have to stop believing that queen breeding is an impossible task for small- to medium-size beekeepers! I agree wholeheartedly with Roy that small beekeepers can band together in their breeding efforts. The large-scale commercial breeders will always be important. Raising small numbers of late spring or summer queens can help small beekeepers keep strong, healthy hives led by young, well-mated queens. Kirsten Traynor Contributing Author www.mdbee.com

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University of Minnesota Department of Entomology 1980 Folwell Ave. Room 219 St. Paul, MN 55108-6125 (612) 624-3636

PENNSYLVANIA
The Capital Area Beekeepers Association will be conducting their 22nd Annual Short Course in Beekeeping on Saturday, May 2 and Saturday May 9, 2009. The course is designed for beginning beekeepers, but will also benefit experienced beekeepers. Part I on May 2 will be held at the Dauphin County Agriculture and Natural Resources Center, Dauphin, PA beginning at 8:00 a.m. Part II on May 9 will be held at the Milton Hershey School Environmental Center, Hershey, PA beginning at 12:00 noon. The cost for registration is $35 which includes a one-year membership in the Association. For more information or a registration form, contact Jim Hoover (717-691-1413) or e-mail Hooverdrone@aol.com.

News Notes
NEBRASKA
Nebraska Value-Added Products Workshop: The University of Nebraska will offer a Value-Added Products Workshop June 1213, 2009. The first day will cover techniques for managing bees for comb honey production and techniques for producing creamed honey. Day 2 will be devoted to mead making. Presenters will include Ken Schramm, Marion Ellis, Joli Winer and Cecil Sweeney. Registration is $25 per day or $45 for both days and includes lunch and a workbook. Program details and registration information can be requested from jcunninham@unl.edu or by calling Jeri Cunningham at 402-4722123.

ILLINOIS
ORGANIC BEEKEEPING WORKSHOP AT SPIKENARD FARM Friday afternoon, May 8 all day Saturday, May 9 The present CCD crisis calls for an honest evaluation of our beekeeping practices that may be at the core of the honey bees compromised immune system. Add to that poisons and impoverished forage our bees encounter in the landscape and you have the causes of a serious degradation of health. The crisis is not something that came out of nowhere. It was anticipated years ago, as workshop leader Gunther Hauk described in his book Toward Saving the Honeybee, published in 2002. With over 30 years experience and proven results with beekeeping practices that respect the colonys innate wisdom and intrinsic needs as an organism, Gunther Hauk will show practical ways to raise the honey bees health and vitality, ways that have been successfully practiced by hobby beekeepers, as well as professional ones in Europe. For more information about lodging, meals and workshop fee, call Spikenard Farm at 217-942-3732, email us at info@spikenardfarm.org or visit our webiste www.spikenardfarm.org

CONNECTICUT
The Connecticut Beekeepers Association will be having its spring meeting April 4th at Jones Auditorium. This is at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven CT. We will be having speakers from the Ag station speaking on their current honey bee research projects. The full agenda is available at www.ctbees.com

CONNECTICUT
BACKYARD BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION APRIL 28: ROSS CONRAD NATURAL BEEKEEPING On Tuesday April 28 Ross Conrad, beekeeper and author of Natural Beekeeping, will speak. Conrad offers up an alternative to chemical practices and delivers a program of natural hive management. Meetings are at 7:30 p.m. in the Norfield Congregational Chuch in the Community Room on Norfield Road in Weston, Connecticut. At 6:30 p.m. there is a New Bees meeting for beginning beekeepers. Each month we have a timely hiving and inspection weekend hands-on workshops, a beginning beekeeping course, mentor program and more. All events are free and open to the public. Please check our website for the dates and locations or more information at www.backyardbeekeepers.com Contact Serge Boyce 203-259-4861 or sergeboy@ optonline.net if you have any questions. 2009 BYBA Speaker Schedule: May 26: Joshua Fisher - Fim Documentary Pollen Nation June 30: Dinner Meeting September 29: Doug Dingman - American Foulbrood October 27: Gary Reuter - Queen Rearing and Breeding November 17: Zachary Huang - Honey Bee Anatomy Workshops: Saturday April 11: Hiving Package Bees: Dick Marron

MINNESOTA
SUCCESSFUL QUEEN REARING SHORT COURSE

University of Minnesota July 10-12, 2009

Why not rear your own queens? The University of Minnesota Queen Rearing short course teaches one method of rearing queens that works consistently for both hobby and commercial beekeepers. Topics covered include queen and drone biology, timing of queen rearing in northern climates, stock selection and breeding for hygienic behavior, setting up mating yards, and record keeping. Everyone will have a chance to try their hand at grafting larvae and raising their own queens. A unique feature of the course is the section on queen rearing equipment designs that will allow you to build your own! The cost for the 21/2 day course is $150.00, which includes an 80-page manual, lunch, and refreshments. Those attending the course may purchase a professional video demonstrating the queen rearing techniques at a discount price of $30. Dr. Marla Spivak and Mr. Gary S. Reuter teach the course at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus. Enrollment is limited to 32 people, so register early! For further information and on-line registration, please visit our website. www.extension. umn.edu/honeybees/components/public courses.htm

FLORIDA
AMERICAN APITHERAPY SOCIETY Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course & Conference - CMACC 2009 Apitherapy Conference Takes a Look at the Science of Ancient Healing Treatments Using Bee Sting Therapy and All Beehive Products April 17-19 at the DoubleTree Guest Suites Tampa, Florida Apitherapy training and conference of the American Apitherapy Society, Inc. Visit our website www.apitherapy.org for further information or call the AAS Office (631) 470 9446

VIRGINIA
The Virginia State Beekeepers Association will hold its spring meeting on April 17, 18, 2009, at the Northampton Community Center, Hampton, VA 23666. Featured speakers will be Ross Conrad from Vermont and Nancy Ostiguy from Pennsylvania State University.

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MASSACHUSETTS
4th Annual Field Day June 20th, 2009 UMass Agronomy Farm, South Deerfield , MA. Hosted by the Franklin County Beekeepers Association. Fall meeting October 17, 2009 - Knights f Columbus Hall, Leicester, MA. Hosted by the Worcester County Beekeepers Association (Marla Spivak confirmed). For each event please check the MBA website: http://www.massbee.org/ Meeting Link for more information as we post it.

Formic Acid Treatment 2910 Glenmore Road North Kelowna, British Columbia, CANADA Tel/Fax: 1-250-762-8156 (the best way to reach me is by phone Pacific Time) Email: billruzicka@mitegone.com (Include your phone number so I can call you back) Website: www.mitegone.com Link for more information as we post it.

NATIONAL HONEY BOARD POSTS RESEACH INFORMATION ON WEB

The National Honey Board (NHB) recently posted on its Web site a summary of ongoing and past NHB-sponsored research projects devoted to maintaining the health of honey bee colonies. You can find this information by going to www.honey.com, clicking on the Honey Industry tab at the top of the page, and clicking on the Research category. The Research Summary will be updated anytime a project is completed or initiated. Posting of detailed results may be delayed until publication of those results by the researcher(s). NATIONAL HONEY BOARD CONTINUES PROVIDING FREEBIE AND OTHER MATERIALS TO THE BEEKEEPING INDUSTRY At its first full meeting in November, 2008, the new National Honey Board voted unanimously to continue providing the annual Freebie to beekeepers and honey industry members to help them promote honey. This has traditionally been a recipe leaflet/brochure. Other promotional and educational materials are available for a nominal cost. Materials are also available for fairs, special events and to educators. Visit the Honey Industry section of www.honey.com or call the National Honey Board office at 800-553-7162 for more information.

VERMONT
Organic Beekeeping: Principles and Practices -May 15-16 - Lincoln, Vermont This workshop covers topics suitable for commercial and hobby beekeepers with a primary emphasis on intermediate and advanced management practices. For beginners, there will be a special Friday afternoon session. Friday 4:00 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Beginners session 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.) Saturday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Cost: $85 covers both days ($110 with optional beginners session) Presenter: Ross Conrad is a former president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, and author of Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches To Modern Apiculture. Ross has given bee related presentations and taught organic beekeeping workshops and classes throughout North America since 2001. His 13-year-old beekeeping business, Dancing Bee Gardens, supplies friends, neighbors, and local stores with honey and candles among other bee related products, and provides bees for Vermont apple pollination in spring. For more information visit http://www. mettaearth.org/classes.php4

HAYES RECEIVES 2009 PROFESSIONAL APICULTURISTS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Jerry Hayes, chief of the Apiary Section of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, is the recipient of the 2009 American Association of Professional Apiculturists Award of Excellence. In addition to managing a team of 14 apiary inspectors, he has administered $1.2 million in honey bee grants issued by the Florida Honey Bee Technical Council over the last 4 years. He has also facilitated numerous research projects in Florida with logistical and technical support. He is a strong advocate for basing decisions on research-based science, and his monthly column in the American Bee Journal is a fountain of good advice. He works tirelessly for beekeepers, and his public relations skills are exemplary. In addition to running an excellent program in Florida and having a major influence on beekeeping nationwide, Jerry has made important contributions to international apicultural by contributing his time and expertise to apicultural development in Nepal, Guyana and Ukraine. The award was presented at a joint meeting of the American Association of Professional Apiculturists, the Apiary Inspectors of America and the American Bee Research Conference in Gainesville, Florida on February 3-6, 2009.

FORMIC ACID SEMINARS

If you are holding any beekeeping programs and can use handbooks on formic acid use, please let me know. I have the last few hundred of tabloid form. To mail, I need 3 weeks notice. The updated version can be downloaded from my website: http://www.mitegone.com. I will be travelling to Florida this early October from BC Northwest Washington Idaho Montana Central States to South Eastern states to Florida where I will be until December. In early December I will go south Route I-10 to Phoenix, Arizona and fly home. In spring, April from Arizona north to BC CANADA; I can side track from this route if there is interest. If you are interested in formic acid seminars, see the program on the website and let me know. There is a lot of new information. Recognized Organic treatment, It works anywhere including Florida and St. Lucias tropical climate and deters SHB. Hope to hear from you. Bill Ruzicka Bills Honey Farm Home of the MiteGone

Jerry Hayes (left) was named recipient of the 2009 American Association of Professional Apiculturists Award for Excellence by Marion Ellis, professor, Lincoln, Neb.

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NEW RESEARCH PROPOSALS TO BE REVIEWED Approximately $245,000 is available for NHB funding of new research to find ways to maintain the health of honeybee colonies. The NHB received 25 proposals by the February 15, 2009 deadline. The NHBs Research Committee, along with a selected panel of industry people, will be reviewing the proposals within the next few weeks to select research projects for funding. NATIONAL HONEY BOARD TO CONTINUE CORE MARKETING PROGRAMS The National Honey Boards 2009 marketing programs will continue the core activities seen in recent years, and expand on some. Core program areas include: General Consumer Public Relations Hispanic Public Relations Foodservice and Chef Education Applied Science, including public relations and advertising to food processors and bakeries International Market Development Minor League Baseball Promotions The largest activity is public relations, delivering success with food and beauty media outreach. NHBs public relations agency pitches honey information, honey stories, press releases, and honey images to food and beauty editors across the country to generate publicity in various media without having to pay for expensive advertising. The single largest promotion in 2008 was with three Minor League Baseball teams, promoting honey as each teams natural energy booster. For 2009, the NHB will work with five Minor League Baseball teams to promote honey at the ballparks and with related activities. The Minor League Baseball season runs from April through September. Watch for more information on www. honey.com in the near future. With bulk or ingredient sales accounting for nearly half of all honey sales, the NHB is expanding its efforts to target food processors and bakeries. International marketing activities will focus on the Middle East, the largest market for exported U.S. honey. Hispanic public relations and foodservice and chef education round out the list of NHBs continuing core marketing programs. AUSTIN, TEXAS SITE OF NEXT MEETING OF THE NATIONAL HONEY BOARD The next meeting of the Board of Directors of the National Honey Board (NHB) will be held in Austin, Texas on April 23-24, 2009 at the Austin Courtyard Downtown Convention Center, 300 East 4th Street, Austin, TX 78701. NHB meetings are open to the public.

VITA RESEARCH AWARDS HELP UNSCRAMBLE AND COMBAT THE CURRENT HONEY BEE CRISIS
A project to develop a new, green biocontrol agent to combat the varroa mite that is decimating the worlds honey bee colonies has won the Vita 2009 Research Award, Meantime, the results of the Vita 2007 award have just been released providing further evidence that three viruses, almost certainly induced by the varroa mite, are implicated in honey bee losses across the globe. The 2009 Vita Research Award is being awarded to a team of researchers at the University of Parma, Italy. They have already discovered several fungi that can kill varroa and their next crucial step, for which Vita has awarded the research prize, is to ensure that the fungi are perfectly safe for bees and will be effective in the warm, humid environment of the hive. Meanwhile, the results of the 2007 Vita Research Award, just announced, provide important further evidence that three viruses implicated in the demise of honey bee colonies are global rather than regional in distribution. Working in Jordan, Dr Nizar Haddad applied the latest molecular (DNA) techniques to detect honeybee viruses. With the first work of its type in the region, he showed that three of the six main honey bee viruses were widespread in Jordan and by implication in neighboring countries. These three viruses Acute Bee Paralysis Virus, Sac Brood Virus, and Deformed Wing Virus never before conclusively identified as being widespread in Jordan have been implicated in recent colony deaths in many other parts of the globe. Jeremy Owen, sales director of Vita (Europe) Ltd said: "The biannual international Vita Research award series which we launched in 2005 is exceeding the hopes we had for it. The two completed studies thus far have produced vital information with practical implications for treatment. "As the largest dedicated honey bee health company in the world, we are eager to foster much-needed new research to combat threats to honeybees. The next award will be in 2011 and I would encourage researchers across the world to consider making an application and to talk to us soon." The Vita research award, valued at around Euros 10,000, was launched in 2005 with well-known beekeeper President Viktor Yuschenko of the Ukraine as patron. The first award was made to Dr Alexandros Papachristoforou of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for his work on chalkbrood control. He discovered that Apiguard, a varroa control product, also had a major inhibitory effect upon chalkbrood and this finding has given beekeepers another weapon in their armory in fighting chalkbrood, which in many parts of the world debilitates and even kills honey bee colonies.

About Vita (Europe) Ltd Vita (Europe) Ltd is a mite control and honeybee health specialist based in the UK and operating across the globe. Vita researches, develops, manufactures and markets acaricide products and is the world's dominant supplier of honey bee health products to the honey and pollination industries.

FIRST WINNERS OF THE EVA CRANE MEMORIAL PRIZE NAMED

DISSECTION WITHOUT DESTRUCTION

Traditionally, classification of bees has been conducted with the aid of a microscope. More recently, detailed information for bee classification has been obtained with the use of scanning electron microscopy. These methods provide the necessary detail, but sample preparations are laborious, time consuming, invasive and destructive. Mark Greco and colleagues in Sydney have now developed X-ray computerized microtomography (MicroCT) as a new method for the non-invasive imaging of insects. The basic principles of MicroCT are similar to those used in medical CT scanners, however with MicroCT it is now possible to achieve a resolution down to a few micrometers. by combining MicroCT with user-friendly DISECT 3D software (BeeView) Mark has been developing Diagnostic Radioentomology (DR) to look inside insects without damaging them. We can now virtually dissect the same insect at infinite angles and repeatedly, which can not be done using conventional microscopy, said Mark, who used Australian stingless bees as his model. Although they were dead, he is planning to look inside some live, immobilized bees soon without harming them using his new techniques. Researchers can now also electronically store these images and resue them with BeeView to review the same morphology or explore new regions within the original sample. Contact: Richard Jones, Director International Bee Research Association, 16 North Road, North Road, Cardiff, CF10 3DY Email: joneshr@ibra.org.uk Telephone: #44 (0)2920 372409 www.ibra.org.uk

NEW ON-LINE JOURNAL EXPLORES APITHERAPY

Cancer Cured, MRSA Vanquished, Arthritis Alleviated, Wounds Healed Without Scars. These are just some of the claims made for products associated with the industrious honey bee: claims that are often seized upon by the unscrupulous and manipulated to exploit the vulnerable and unwary. However, these products do have potential and that potential is examined in a scholarly and absorbing way in a new e-journal that provides a unique online resource as-

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sembling high quality information that has undergone rigorous scientific analysis before being published. The International Bee Research Association is proud to announce the launch of: The Journal of ApiProduct and ApiMedical Science The products of beekeeping are no longer just honey and wax, but now include pollen, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom and bee brood. There is the need to scrutinize and protect the purity of these products. Particularly, today, as with rising costs and perhaps some disillusionment with pharmaceutical and synthetic products, there is a resurgence of interest into what the hive can offer. JAAS sets out to put in place a prominent platform from which good proven, verifiable science can be proclaimed to the widest possible public. It has an International Editorial Board and papers submitted will be passed to specialists to ensure a high standard is maintained. This journal will be an important resource to professionals and students, as well as a boon to individuals who do not have access to specialist web sites through institutional subscriptions. Visit the web site now to find out more: www.ibra.org.uk Contact: Richard Jones, Director International Bee Research Association, 16 North Road, North Road, Cardiff, CF10 3DY Email: joneshr@ibra.org.uk Telephone: #44 (0)2920 372409 www.ibra.org.uk

SAUSALITO-BASED TEAM WINS HAGEN-DAZS - UC DAVIS HONEY BEE HAVEN DESIGN COMPETITION
DAVIS, Calif. Its a honey of a garden, the judges unanimously agreed. The Sausalito-based Sibbett Group created a series of interconnected gardens with such names as Honeycomb Hideout, Nectar Nook and Pollinator Patch to win the international bee-friendly garden design competition, a gift to the University of California, Davis, from the Hagen-Dazs brand. The design, the work of landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki, will be brought to life this summer on a half-acre site at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road on the UC Davis campus. Sibbett is a principal with the Sibbett Group; Baker is a senior landscape architect with RRM Design Group; and Kurotaki is an independent design consultant and an exhibit designer who works for RRM Design Group. Last December Hagen-Dazs ice cream committed $125,000 to the UC Davis Department of Entomology for the garden project. This encompasses site planning, preparation and the design competition. The

key goals of the garden are to provide bees with a year-around food source, to raise public awareness about the plight of honey bees and to encourage visitors to plant beefriendly gardens of their own. Well not only be providing a pollen and nectar source for the millions of bees on Bee Biology Road, but we will also be demonstrating the beauty and value of pollinator gardens, said design competition coordinator Melissa Missy Borel, program manager for the California Center for Urban Horticulture. My hope is that it will inspire everyone to plant for pollinators! The winning design fits beautifully with the campus mission of education and outreach, and it will tremendously benefit our honeybees at Bee Biology, said Lynn Kimsey, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology. The garden will be a campus destination. Kimsey served as one of eight judges who unanimously selected the design from among 30 entries, submitted from as far away as England. The winning team will be honored at the garden dedication in October, where they will be presented with an engraved name plaque. They will also be given the sweet reward of free Hagen-Dazs ice cream for a year. We had so many wonderful garden concepts submitted that making the final choice was really difficult, Kimsey said. The Sausalito teams design zeroed in on sustainability and visitor experience. The four interconnected gardens, Honeycomb Hideout, Nectar Nook, Pollinator Patch and My Backyard form the physical and interpretive framework for our honey bee haven design, the authors said. A series of trails connect the gardens. Trellises define the entry ways and reinforce the passage to the next space. Incorporated into each of the four sections are gathering spaces that serve as orientation points for guided tours, facilitated programs and chat time with beekeepers and entomologists, the team explained.

Identification labels will help visitors know more about the plants, or what they can plant in their own yards. The design also includes a Learning Center building and paths labeled Orchard Alley, Save the Bee Sanctuary, Round Dance Circle and Waggle Dance Way. Judges initially narrowed the 30 designs to six, and then focused on diversity (the winning design has 40 different plants), bloom balance, vision, generational learning, cost feasibility and attention to detail. Judges also declared the Sibbett Group design the most river or environmentally-friendly. Schenker praised the Sibbett Group design as beautiful and very functional. The interpretive elements are imaginative, said Schenker. I think this design team has a great range of expertise and has taken a very well-rounded approach to the program. Majors said the cost estimate was well organized and the cost of materials very realistic. The introduction outlined how the design was scalable which shows the collaborative approach of the four-person team and their willingness to work with budget, he said. Honey bees pollinate more than 100 different U.S. agricultural crops, valued at $15 billion. However, in recent years, the nations beekeepers have reported losing from one-third to all of their bees due to a mysterious phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. In response, the HagenDazs brand launched the "Hagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees" campaign in February 2008, committing a total $250,000 donation for bee research to UC Davis and Pennsylvania State University, and redoubled its efforts in 2009 with a second $250,000 donation, bringing the brands total donation for honey bee research to a half million dollars. It also formed a scientific advisory Bee Board, created an educational Web site (www.helpthehoneybees.com) and introduced the new Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream flavor. Bees are crucial to nearly 50 percent of their all-natural flavors. During the last several months, the public

Winning design for the Hagen-Dazs - UC Davis Honey Bee Haven competition.

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has answered the Hagen-Dazs brand's call to action by donating more than $30,000 to support additional honey bee research at UC Davis. In addition, numerous companies have launched programs to donate a portion of their proceeds to UC Davis honey bee research. Keith Keatly Garvey Comminications Specialist Department of Entomology 396A Briggs Hall One Shields Ave. University of California, Davis Davis, CA 95616 Phone: (530) 754-6894 Fax: (530) 752-1537 kegarvey@ucdavis.edu http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/home.cfm

The Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis will be the site of a one-half acre bee friendly garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley, UC Davis Department of Entomology)

THE HAGEN-DAZS BRAND REDOUBLES EFFORTS TO HELP THE HONEY BEES

Three years later, scientists still stumped over whats mysteriously killing off entire hives Oakland, Calif. (February 26, 2009) Over the last three winters, more than one in three honey bee colonies in the U.S. have mysteriously died; a staggering phenomenon scientists have named Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. And for the second year, the Hagen-Dazs brand is taking the lead in driving solutions to solve this dire puzzle threatening our food supply and stumping scientists from around the world. Because honey bee pollination is required to produce one-third of all the natural foods we eat, honey bees play a critical role in ensuring we have enough food to feed our growing population. Why hasnt the cause of CCD been identified? Three basic factors are hampering research into the crisis: lack of awareness among the general public, lack of action aimed at alleviating the problem, and lack of funding to determine the root cause and address much-needed solutions. The Hagen-Dazs brand has found that

while consumer awareness of the honey bee crisis increased in the last year, largely through the brands education efforts, the study revealed that only a little more than half of consumers are aware of the crisis. And only one in six is aware of something specific that they can do to help the honey bees. Funding on the scale required to seriously tackle this issue also remains elusive. The Farm Bill approved by Congress last year included a provision to fund more research, yet Congress has not yet allocated the money, putting the allocation in question. In the meantime, bees continue to die by the billions. Thats why the Hagen-Dazs brand is stepping up for a second year and redoubling its Hagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees campaign efforts. Elements of the campaign include: A second donation to UC Davis and Penn State Universities of $250,000. This brings the brands total donation for honey bee research to a half million dollars over two years. Continuation of the Hagen-Dazs brands public education efforts with: A special flavor, Vanilla Honey Bee, and all bee-built flavors (flavors that use at least one honey bee-pollinated ingredient) of ice cream, sorbet, frozen yogurt and bars proudly carry a HD loves HB symbol and message under the lid. A full-scale awareness effort, coupled with unique print and online advertising. Part of the brands donation to UC Davis is being used to create a Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven a one-half acre beefriendly demonstration garden coordinated by the California Center for Urban Horticulture. Visitors to the garden will be able to glean ideas on how to establish their own bee-friendly gardens and help to improve the nutrition of bees in their own backyards. An upgraded interactive website (www. helpthehoneybees.com) premiering in April with a focus on examples of how consumers have gotten involved in helping to save the hardworking honey bees. Thousands of people reached out to join in our efforts to save honey bees over the course of the year. Were making a difference, but there is still much to be done, said Ching-Yee Hu, Hagen-Dazs brand manager. We are so proud to continue our support. This is a problem bigger than simply protecting our source of all-natural ingredients, like the almonds in our Vanilla Swiss Almond flavor. This issue affects our ability to provide food for our tables. The brand encourages everyone to find a way to become a bee crusader in 2009. Do your part to help save the honey bees. Heres how you can make a difference: Create a bee friendly garden with plants that attract honey bees. Select a plant with a long growing season or a group of plants that together will offer flowers from spring through fall. A great resource for information can be found at www. helpthehoneybees.com, or from the horticulturalist at your local plant nursery. Avoid insecticides in your garden. Instead, promote good bugs (called beneficial in-

sects) in your garden bugs that will happily eat the bad bugs chomping on your plants. A comprehensive resource for information is www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/ and http://horticulture.psu.edu/extension/mg Every time you buy a Hagen-Dazs ice cream bee-built product, a portion of the proceeds of the sale go toward helping the honey bees. Tell a friend - The honey bee disappearance is already having an effect on the worlds mo/st beloved foods. However, many people have yet to learn about this issue and how they can help. Visit www.helpthehoneybees.com to send a Bee-Mail or to create your own animated honey bee to help spread the word. Visit the Hagen-Dazs Bee Store at www.helpthehoneybees.com - All proceeds from our bee store will fund CCD and sustainable pollination research at Penn State and UC Davis. For full details on how the Hagen-Dazs brand is helping honey bees and how you can take part, please visit www.helpthe honeybees.com.

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World Honey Market

UNITED STATES inter losses have not been as high as in the previous couple of years. However, there have been some locations where beekeepers have registered heavy losses. Some simply attribute losses to the harsh winter, while others still blame colony collapse disorder. As this was written in early March, the jury was still out on losses in several northern areas since March is often the month when weak colonies finally succumb. Package bee and queen companies were experiencing heavy demand, which they attribute to both commercial beekeeper deadout replacement, as well as the increased interest in beekeeping at the hobbyist level. California almond pollination experienced its first glut of bees in a few years as lack of water forced growers to cut back on acreage. Also, almond prices declined on the world market causing growers to reconsider how many colonies they would rent. However, according to our reporters, most strong 8frame or better colonies were eventually rented to growers. Some beekeepers received significantly below the top rate of $150 per colony, especially if they had not locked in previous contracts with growers. Early indications are that pollination prices will be down next season, but no one knows what the dollar range will be yet. Early honey flows were just beginning in the Southeast. As this was written, the Florida orange flow was in progress. Some freeze damage was sustained earlier in February and early March, but other beekeepers also blamed dry conditions for poorer flows. Dry weather is also a problem in parts of the Southwest. The brush is dry enough that wildfires had broken out in some parts of Texas. And, of course, California continues to suffer from drought, even though the state received some nice rains in February and March. After a slowdown in wholesale honey demand earlier this year, demand has

picked up for remaining stocks of honey and prices have risen in some parts of the United States. Predictions from a number of beekeepers and packers indicate a continued strong demand for honey at the world level since crops have been down significantly in several large honey-exporting countries. Retail honey sales have also held up well considering the recession. Some of our reporters, however, were worried about what consumer demand would be like later this year if the economy continues to slip. NORTHEASTBeekeepers were starting to check and feed colonies on warmer days. Early indications point toward lower losses than in the last couple of years. Better beekeeper preparation and perhaps better overwintering weather is credited for the difference. However, beekeepers still dreaded the cold and unpredictable months on March and April when many colonies could still succumb to lack of stores or sudden cold snaps. In early March a severe snowstorm hit the northeast putting a temporary halt to any outyard work. Plentiful moisture should help spring plant growth once warmer temperatures return. Maples, willows and other early nectar and pollen sources should be starting anytime now. Package bee and queen demand are again expected to be strong, even if winter colony losses are lower. Many new beekeepers are starting this season. Most stocks of locally produced honey have dwindled, so market activity was rather slow. Although most consumers still show a strong preference for locally
Intermountain West Northeast West Central East Central

Mideast

Southeast Southwest

produced honey from the Northeast, some reporters cautioned that the poor economy could slow demand in 2009. MIDEAST Cold, snowy weather also continued throughout much of the Mideast into March. However, on warmer days bees were beginning to gather tree pollen and nectar. The snow and rain has been very beneficial for ground moisture conditions, but certain locations, such as western North Carolina, remain very dry. Beekeepers are checking for deadouts and feeding colonies on warmer days. Reports on winter losses are mixed at this point, but the demand for package bees and queens should again be strong, provided beekeepers have the money to buy replacement bees. Demand for local honey remains good, but most stocks are sold out. However, beekeepers are worried about what the declining economy will mean for sales this coming summer and fall when new crop honey is available. SOUTHEASTColonies are showing good growth, but have needed feed at times, especially after cold snaps have temporarily shut down nectar flows. The February and early March freezes did some damage to orange and other early flows in Florida, but the extent of the damage was still unknown. On the other hand, some reporters suggest that the dry weather has also reduced orange flows. Bees have also begun working ti ti and gallberry, as well as a myriad of wildflowers coming into bloom now in the state. More rain is needed to replenish ground moisture. The February USDA National Honey Report says that an amazing 80,000 of Floridas 200,000 colonies were moved to California this year for almond pollination. Unfortunately, for some of those who did not have contracts and prices locked in, this almond pollination season has been a disappointment since supply eclipsed demand, resulting in lower prices and some colonies not being rented. Bees are working maple, alder, elm, willow and early wildflowers in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina. Mixed reports are coming in on colony conditions. Some reporters indicate strong colonies coming out of winter, but others say that clusters are small and that they are doing quite a bit of feeding to insure colony survival and build up. An early March snowstorm and cold snap temporarily put a halt to bee work until temperatures warmed. Package bee and queen producers were scrambling to insure continued bee build up in preparation for the busy package bee and queen season fast approaching. More rain is needed to help spring and summer honey flows. Prices for honey sold at the wholesale level have held steady for the most part, although no new crop honey was yet available for sale. Prices quoted were

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U.S. HONEY, BEESWAX AND POLLEN PRICES FROM OUR REPORTERS

Northeast Mideast Southeast Southwest East Central WestCentral InterMountain West
Wholesale White lb. Blk.$1.30-$1.50 $1.00-$1.50 $1.15-$1.45 $1.20-$1.40 $1.20-$1.45 $1.25-$1.45 $1.30-$1.40 $1.00-$1.45 Amber lb. Blk $1.00-$1.30 $0.90-$1.35 $0.85-$1.30 $0.95-$1.30 $1.10-$1.35 $1.20-$1.35 $1.00-$1.30 $0.90-$1.35

HONEY MARKET FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2009

In volumes of 10,000 pounds or greater unless otherwise stated (From February 2009 USDA National Honey Report) Prices paid to beekeepers for extracted, unprocessed honey in major producing states by packers, handlers & other large users, cents per pound, f.o.b. or delivered nearby, containers exchanged or returned, prompt delivery & payment unless otherwise stated. -Report includes both new and old crop honey(# Some in Small Lot +Some delayed payments or previous commitment) ARKANSAS Soybean light amber $1.15 - $1.26 CALIFORNIA Orange Blossom extra light amber $1.21 Wildflower extra light amber $1.16 FLORIDA Orange extra light amber $1.40 Palmetto extra light amber $1.30 Pepper extra light amber $1.30 Pepper light amber $1.10 Wildflower amber $1.13 DAKOTAS - Clover white $1.22 - $1.35 Clover extra light amber $1.21 - $1.25 MONTANA - Clover white $1.26 - $1.27 WISCONSIN - Clover white $1.50 Prices paid to Canadian Beekeepers for unprocessed, bulk honey by packers and importers in U. S. currency, f.o.b. shipping point, containers included unless otherwise stated. Duty and crossing charges extra. Cents per pound. Province Not Reported - Canola white $1.24 Prices paid to importers for bulk honey, duty paid, containers included, cents per pound, exdock or point of entry unless otherwise stated. EAST COAST Argentina Mixed Flowers extra light amber $1.14 Brazil Mixed Flowers white $1.27 - $1.44 Mixed Flowers extra light amber $1.24 - $1.25 Mixed Flowers light amber $1.08 - $1.25 Mixed Flowers amber $1.09

1 lb. CS 24 $40.00$55.00 2 lb. CS 12$41.40$60.00 5 lb. CS 6 $42.00$55.00

Retail

$36.00$46.00 $36.00$43.00 $37.00$50.00 $1.00$2.25 $2.00$3.75 $2.55$5.25 $3.95$7.00 $4.25$6.00 $5.95$15.00 $5.00$10.00 $7.00$13.50 $2.50$4.00 $2.50$5.00 $2.25$4.50 $12.50$26.50 $84.00$125.00 $2.20$2.75 $2.05$2.35 $3.50$8.00 $7.00$15.00

$38.00$48.00 $36.00 $52.00 $42.00$45.00 $.89$2.50 $1.75$3.20 $2.40$4.75 $3.99$5.49 $3.50$6.00 $5.79$10.00 $7.00$8.75 $7.50$11.50 $2.49$3.20 $2.25$4.25 $2.50$4.00 $14.50$25.00 $75.00$120.00 $2.20$3.00 $2.05$2.25 $3.00$6.00 $6.00$15.00

$40.00$45.00 $35.00$45.00 $35.00$55.00 $.90$2.25 $1.40$3.25 $2.50$5.00 $3.00$6.25 $3.58$6.50 $5.25$9.25 $6.00$9.70 $7.25$10.00 $2.25$3.99 $2.50$5.50 $2.00$5.25 $15.00 $25.00 $70.00$130.00 $2.20$2.50 $2.05$2.25 $3.00 $5.00 $6.00$10.00

$39.00$50.00 $39.00$47.00 $39.00$60.00 $.95$2.75 $1.99$4.45 $2.45$5.25 $3.25$8.00 $3.25$5.50 $5.00$11.50 $8.00$12.00 $8.00$21.00 $2.00$3.90 $2.50$4.75 $2.25$4.99 $15.00$30.00 $82.00$140.00 $2.20$2.50 $2.05$2.25 $3.25$6.00 $7.00$15.00

$38.00$49.00 $35.00$50.00 $36.00 $56.00 $1.05$2.50 $1.59$3.75 $2.95$5.25 $3.29$6.50 $3.50$5.50 $4.50$10.00 $5.50$13.00 $7.75$14.00 $1.99$4.00 $2.50$5.50 $2.00$5.50 $15.00$27.00 $80.00$135.00 $2.20$2.50 $2.05$2.25 $3.25$6.00 $7.50 $15.50

$39.00$45.00 $36.00$48.00 $35.00$54.00 $.99$2.20 $1.55$3.50 $2.75$5.00 $3.25$6.25 $3.75$6.00 $5.10$9.75 $6.00$9.00 $8.00$12.25 $1.75$3.75 $2.50$4.75 $2.25$5.00 $15.00$30.00 $74.00$130.00 $2.20$2.50 $2.05$2.25 $2.50$6.00 $7.00$12.00

$40.00$60.00 $34.00$55.00 $38.00$56.00 $1.00$2.75 $1.50$3.60 $2.70$5.25 $3.50 $6.50 $4.75 $7.00 $5.00$10.50 $5.95$9.25 $8.50$13.00 $1.75$3.85 $2.75$5.50 $2.50 $5.50 $15.00$30.00 $75.00$125.00 $2.20$2.50 $2.05$2.25 $2.50$5.50 $7.00$15.00

Jars 8 oz. $.96$2.50 Squeeze $1.89Bear 12 oz.$3.50 Jars 1 lb. $2.50$5.50 Jars 2 lb. $3.99$6.75 Jars 11/2lb.$4.50(Pint) $6.75 Jars 3 lb. $5.50(Quart) $9.75 Jars 4 lb. $7.50$9.25 Jars 5 lb. $8.99$13.00 Creamed $2.5012 oz. $4.25 Comb 12 oz. $3.00$5.00

Round $3.00Plas. Comb$5.50 1 Gallon $15.00$25.00 60 lb.

Beeswax

$70.00$120.00 $2.20$3.50 $2.05$3.00

Light per lb. Dark per lb.

Pollen

Wholesale $3.50per lb. $6.50 Retail $5.50per lb. $15.00

The above prices are not meant to provide a realistic picture of prices in all states of the particular area. They are intended merely to show what a few beekeepers are receiving for their honey, beeswax and pollen and we realize prices may vary tremendously, even within individual states. The bulk prices for honey are stated per pound, delivered buyer's warehouse, containers exchanged or furnished by buyer, unless otherwise noted. Where prices are not shown, insufficient data were available. ranging from $1.20 to $1.45 for white and $1.00 to $1.20 for amber grades. Retail sales have held up well through the winter season, but beekeepers continue to worry about what effects the recession will have on consumer spending in 2009. SOUTHWEST Bees came out of winter fairly strong and have built up well for the most part. Lack of moisture will be the main honey flow limiting factor in the Southwest, as beekeepers start their new season and early honey flows begin. In Texas, brush flows have begun, but dry weather may curtail this honey flow. Earlier, bees were building up on maples, cedar, elm, dandelion and assorted wild fruit tree bloom. On the Gulf Coast beekeepers are moving colonies into place for the Chinese tallow flow. Bees are building up normally in Louisiana and Arkansas and the moisture situation seems to be better. In Oklahoma, colonies were just starting to build up on nut and pine bloom in the south and on maple and willows in the northern part of the state. Wildflowers, as well as citrus and alfalfa, have begun to bloom in parts of New Mexico and Arizona. More rain in needed in both states to help later flows. Most of the 2008 honey crop has been sold, so the wholesale market has been rather quiet. Prices for remaining lots of honey have held up well or even increased in some cases. Retail honey sales were reported to be good in 2008.

EAST CENTRAL February and March brought a number of colony losses to this area, despite many beekeepers saying that they have been feeding on warmer days. The winter was extremely long and cold in the East Central area. Some locations also had significant snowfall, which should help dry ground moisture conditions. As this was written, a number of beekeepers were still assessing winter losses, but many thought their losses would again be higher than normal. Package bee, nuc and queen demand is expected to be heavy again this spring. Beekeepers were busy trying to save as many remaining colonies as possible in March. Maple, elm and willow have begun to

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bloom and bees have been working them for pollen on warmer days. However, a number of beekeepers are also feeding quite a bit of pollen supplement to help early spring brood rearing. Remaining supplies of bulk honey are disappearing as packers continue to rebuild their inventories. According to beekeepers who still have honey to sell, offering prices have increased by 15 to 20 cents in some cases. What demand will be like later in the year is anybodys guess. Optimistic beekeepers believe that the lower world honey supply will cause U.S. bulk honey prices to rise, while others have said that the poor economy could cause a downturn in demand and offering prices. WEST CENTRAL Many of the commercial beekeepers still have their colonies in California or the Southern states. These will be returned to the West Central states shortly for clover and alfalfa flows. Due to drought and poorer almond nut prices, a number of beekeepers report either having to reduce their pollination asking price or not renting all the colonies that they had moved to California. Colonies overwintered in West Central outyards seem to have done fairly well, but where stores were low last fall due to poor honey crops, more colonies have been lost to starvation. Beekeepers have been feeding when possible, but the cold weather or snow cover has at times precluded this work. Demand for package bees, nucs and queens is again expected to be strong this season. The combination of snow and rain has improved moisture conditions and this should help spring flows. Beekeepers are hoping for early build-up pollen and nectar from maples, willows and dandelions. Wholesale honey demand remains fair to good with prices for white honey varying from $1.25 to $1.45. Amber grades are running about 5 to 10 cents below white honey prices. Beekeepers are hoping that retail honey demand will remain strong during 2009. INTERMOUNTAIN Commercial beekeepers in this area have also been preoccupied with almond pollination in California. We are hearing similar stories from many beekeepers. Those who had written contracts and were able to provide strong colonies with eight frames of brood did okay. However, some beekeepers who did not have contracts either accepted a lower price or were not able to rent all their colonies to almond growers. Beekeepers who do not move their colonies generally report fair to good overwintering. However, March and April are still difficult months for beekeepers in the Intermountain states and at times many colonies are lost during this late winter/early spring period. Beekeepers have been feeding their outyards where they are accessible. Snow cover has generally been fair to good this winter, which

will help replenish ground moisture and reservoirs. Beekeepers anticipate their first pollen from maples, willows and other early sources sometime in March or early April. Wholesale and retail honey prices have held up well through the winter. Most bulk stocks of honey have been sold. WESTThe almond pollination season remains a major topic in California. After several years of colony shortages and rising pollination rental fees, this year was a turning point. A combination of a severe water shortage and lower market prices for almonds caused growers to cut back on inputs anywhere they could. Where growers were not locked into previously signed contracts, many were bidding down per colony rates significantly below the $150 per colony often quoted in 2008. In addition, growers rented fewer colonies this year. Eventually, most strong colonies (8-frame strength or better) were placed in the almonds. However, we also heard that some long-haul out-of-state beekeepers faced their return trip with unrented colonies or they were forced to combine weaker colonies to provide top-grade colonies for picky growers or graders. Early indications are that offering prices for 2010 almond pollination will be lower, but know one knows where the base will be at this time. The drought remains a major concern in California, despite February and March rains, which were very welcome. However, a February 20th Associated Press story says Federal water managers said they may have to cut off all water to some of Californias largest farms as a result of the deepening drought affecting the state. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said Friday that parched reservoirs and patchy snow and rainfall this year would likely force them to cut surface water deliveries completely. It would be the first time in more than 15 years such a move was taken. The move would be a blow to farmers, who say the price of some crops would likely rise if they have to rely only on well water. Colonies were building up well for a number of beekeepers in California as warmer weather and spring plant bloom became plentiful. Beekeepers were moving colonies into citrus areas in southern California. Farther north into Oregon and Washington, colonies were beginning to build up on maple and other tree pollen. Colonies will need to be moved into the apple and other fruit orchards soon for pollination. Bulk wholesale trading has slowed until new crop honey starts coming on the market. Prices currently being offered are ranging from $1.20 to $1.40 for white honey and from $1.15 to $1.30 for amber grades. CANADA Canadian beekeepers were just starting to check colonies as this was written in

early March. No general colony loss reports had been received yet, but beekeepers were hoping that better colony overwintering in the United States would also mean fewer colony losses in Canada. The winter has been harsh at times with extended periods of very cold, windy weather. Some provinces have also had large amounts of snow, but this is generally regarded as good because it insulates colonies and provides good ground moisture for spring plant growth. ARGENTINA The extremely severe drought situation of Argentina had only a partial relief by early February with some scattered showers. However, this level of rain was not enough to change the prospects of one of the worst crops of the last 20 years. Lucky beekeepers able to produce some honey were located in the vicinity of sunflower fields. Now, most migratory beekeepers are moving to northeastern provinces such as Entre Rios in order to harvest some eucalyptus honey. Nevertheless, most honey producers fear that the large congregation of apiaries may offset the possibility of a decent honey crop given a limited supply of nectar. The current honey crop is now estimated at between 50,000 to 55,000 metric tons with a carryover from the previous 2007/2008 crop of about 6,000 MT held by exporters at their warehouses. This unsold honey was kept by middlemen because of the depressed export prices experienced during November and December 2008. Therefore, we can estimate the total supply of Argentine honey for year 2009 at approximately between 56,000 MT to 61,000 MT. Right now (early March 2009), the FOB price is again at US$3,000 per MT, so exporters are more willing to export their previous crop inventory, along with the new crop. During January 2009, the Argentine Customs Office reported honey exports for just 2,100 MT sold for US$5.39 million, equivalent to US$2.58 per kilogram (US$1.17 per pound). Germany absorbed over 1,100 MT (US$2.8 million or US$2,510 per MT), while the USA ranked third with imports for 214 MT (US$623,000 or US$2,910 per MT). Some exporters trust that the recent 15% devaluation of the Argentine Peso against the US dollar may foster a higher level of trade with US buyers. As of the end of summer, beehives in Argentina are finishing the bee season undernourished with both a light level of honey stores and with poor pollen reserves. Efforts to obtain some federal assistance in terms of sugar were unsuccessful so far. Beekeepers are trying to harvest as much honey as possible to sell it and to buy granulated sugar and HFCS. The current honey price at the beekeepers level is now 96 cents per pound (US$2.10 per kilogram).

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United States 2008 Honey Production Up 8 Percent

Honey: Price by Color Class, United States, 2007-2008

Honey: Number of Colonies, Yield, Production, Stocks, Price, and Value by State and United States, 20081

oney production in 2008 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 161 million pounds, up 8 percent from 2007. There were 2.30 million colonies producing honey in 2008, down 6 percent from 2007. Yield per colony averaged 69.9 pounds, up 15 percent from the 0.7 pounds in 2007. Colonies which produced honey in more than one State were counted in each State where the honey was produced. Therefore, yields per colony may be understated, but total production would not be impacted. Colonies were not included if honey was not harvested. Producer honey stocks were 50.4 million pounds on December 15, 2008, down 4 percent from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude stocks held under the commodity loan program.

Honey Prices Record High Honey prices increased to a record high during 2008 to 141.0 cents, up 31 percent from 107.7 cents in 2007. U.S. and State level prices reflect the portions of honey sold through retail, cooperatives, and private channels. Prices for each color class are derived by weighting the quantities sold for each marketing channel. Honey prices for 2008 were up from the previous year for all color classes and marketing channels. Prices for the 2007 crop reflect honey sold in 2007 and 2008. Some 2007 crop honey was sold in 2008, which caused some revisions to the 2007 crop prices. (Courtesy USDA-NASS)

1 For producers with 5 or more colonies. Colonies which produced honey in more than one State were counted in each State. 2 Honey producing colonies are the maximum number of colonies from which honey was taken during the year. It is possible to take honey from colonies which did not survive the entire year. 3 Stocks held by producers. 4 Average price per pound based on expanded sales. 5 Value of production is equal to production multiplied by average price per pound. 6 CT, DE, MD, MA, NH, OK, RI, and SC not published separately to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 7 Due to rounding, total colonies multiplied by total yield may not exactly equal production. 8 Summation of States will not equal U.S. level value of production.

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The Classroom
by Jerry Hayes
Please send your questions to Jerry Hayes, 17505 NW Hwy 335, Williston, FL 32696 Email: gwhayes54@yahoo.com
the life cycle over and keep their species alive. For longer journeys, they can squeeze themselves in-between the honey bees abdominal segments or other body joints and folds. They do this in winter when there is no brood or little brood or when the hive is collapsing and there is no young larvae and the colony is doomed to death. They ride the bees as they drift to other colonies and thus spread themselves around and survive. Life finds away. All of that to say this, varroa can and do ride around on older foraging age honey bees, but not to any great percentage in a normal healthy colony with a laying queen. This is not a reproductive strategy. The reproductive strategy is to stay in the brood nest where they must have open cells of larvae to reproduce and survive. They will also ride around on drones as they drift from colony to colony, which is probably a more relevant dispersal tactic. The device you shared may work to some degree, but unless the hive is collapsing and bees are leaving to find a colony to accept them, this may not be a prime varroa control method. Caveat Emptor. Thanks for letting me let my opinion fly. Fraiser fir optimal altitude (normal for northern states), but at which trees wont grow that far south. We also know that Africanized honey bees, common in Argentina, have not yet invaded Chile. One theory is that they simply cannot cross the Andes. Ill pass your question on and may get better feedback.

Q A

VARROA IN DEPTH

Hi Jerry, over the past year I have asked you a lot questions about Varroa mites. I am finally to point I can share with you why I had so many questions. Please note that the website is currently under construction and show my plans to take my hobby to a real business level. www.kwapiary.com Karen

Bee well, Dick

Karen, I think it is great that you are looking at non-chemical control of varroa. There are several mechanical methods to do this such as inert dusts (powdered sugar, honey bee grooming behavior) and, of course, soft chemicals (thymol, formic acid, etc.) and harsh chemicals (coumaphos, fluvalinate, amitraz) that are proven varroa control methods. Some are, of course, less toxic to all honey bee life stages than others. Here is what I think I know about the varroa life cycle. Varroa has to reproduce on developing honey bees entering the cell when the larva is young. Mites start feeding on the pre-pupae shortly thereafter. When they emerge, they do become phoretic (exposed on adult honey bees) and this is the stage where most are killed or removed by the various varroa control methods. Because they emerge in the brood area, they naturally hitch a temporary ride on a young nurse bee that is in the brood area to feed and care for the young. They generally do not stay on an adult nurse bee any longer than necessary. It is a dangerous world out there and they can get knocked off, groomed off, bitten off, etc. They are seeking an open cell with the appropriate age larva to jump into and start

IS THE SKY THE LIMIT?

Jerry, a customer of mine asked me an interesting question: What is the maximum elevation for keeping bees? There must be one, right? I remember seeing bees up in the Swiss Alps, but I have no idea how high up that was, or if maybe they were there just for the summer. Do you know? Here is my answer to the beekeeper. How close did I get? Fascinating question. My only experience is visiting the Rocky Mountains in Colorado during the summer at 78,000 ft where the flora resembled alpine varieties with deep corollas. Bumblebees were the only bees seenno honey bees. Their tongues are too short and they would starve there. Bumblebees also can fly and forage at 40 degreeswhich is too cold for honey bees. Latitude would also be a consideration. For example, in North Carolina there is a high mountain way above the

Dick, I dont think it is altitude entirely. Honey bees start their clustering behavior when the temperature decreases into the upper 50 degree F range (57 degrees to be precise, but nothing is really precise in honey bees). So cold temperatures are a limiting factor and yes it is tied to altitude at times. But, there are some areas that I know about personally in the U.S. Southwest desert that go 8-10,000 ft., but there are months where temperatures are consistently above 57 degrees F for a number of hours per day and there are nectar and pollen sources that make these areas places where honey bees can survive from season to season. Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) (AHB) have evolved in a nontemperate part of the worldno winter and no reason to store lots of honey or cluster for long periods of time. They are still under the biological 57 degree F clustering mandate, but physiologically and behaviorally they lack the tools to get over large mountain ranges. Remember, mountain ranges always have valleys and AHB can usurp the genetics of EHB they mate with such as the AHB found at 8,000 ft. in Flagstaff, AZ. They take what they need, genetically, and keep the defensive aggressive trait as well. Eventually, AHB will make it to Chile, either over, around or via a rogue beekeepers pocket.

RESEARCH DATA IS SOOO IMPORTANT!

Jerry, are Carpathian bees very productive on a relative scale? Since we use to ship Wisconsin bred dairy cows to Central and

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South America, where they did well, I wonder if with the right timing, Carpathian bees might be suited for isolated, protected (from Africanized) areas of Central and South America. The basic question is their inherent productivity. Their adaptability may be just a matter of timing of the year. Thanks, Ed Fielding

are released from the package. Please, if possible, can you email me the answer as to why this occurs as I am in the midst of revising a textbook? Thank you for your time.

Alphonse Avitabile

Carpathian bees seem to be adapted to a long winter, a short intense spring/summer and it is all over with. As a temperate bee, attuned to seasons, winter being the most significant, they are highly adapted to survive in these harsh conditions. This was the problem in Brazil with European honey bees that were brought over with colonists from Europe they were not tropical bees. There are no seasons in parts of Brazilcertainly no winter which messes up a temperately adapted honey bee. There are no biological, seasonal cues to direct and coordinate behavior. These bees often do not do well in tropical/subtropical climates. This is what prompted the Brazilians to pull off the environmental blunder of the century and with little research data collectedbringing bees from Africa to Brazil. They collected honey bees from a similar latitude and brought them to Brazil to breed with the European bees they had in order to obtain better traits for a tropical climate. Well, the blunder was that they didnt know that the African bee they imported (Apis mellifera scutellata) had defensive/aggressive traits that were dominant. Apis mellifera scutellata is one of the most successful invasive insect species ever. On its own, without any help, it has populated most of South America, Central America, Mexico and parts of the U.S. in only 50 years. Truly remarkable. It is a super bee. Brazil now tolerates approximately 300 human deaths from AHB each year. All of that to say the Carpathian or any other temperate bee will not do well in tropical and subtropical parts of South and Central America.

Good Morning Alphonse. Like everything else in beekeeping, there could be several answers, all of which may be correct to some degree or another. Since package bees have been so popular, especially during the last several years as a consequence of colony deaths, sometimes the producers are not providing a quality product (my opinion). Older bees, lots of drones and collecting bees from colonies that are falling apart healthwise to re-coup money from these colonies before they die has sometimes been the norm rather than the exception. Honey bees have always died in transit, in the mail, as a simple result of not being handled with all care and deference. This is tough trip for a box of bees. If they are old bees and drones, they die more easily. If the journey is longer with wide temperature swings (and add perhaps unpressurized airline cargo shipping holds), this is more stressful and more they die easily. If the packages are not kept upright, then the sugar syrup can included in the package will leak and may coat and kill the bees making them appear wet, of course. If they are overheated in transit, they will vomit their stomach contents before they die, which makes for a wet appearance as well. Couple all of this with exposure to pesticides used in the mail facilities and in the delivery trucks to keep out insect pests and it is surprising that packages arrive alive at all. Honey bees are tough. Good thing too. I hope this helps.

ness in these already trying times? There are alternatives giventhat also add on costs to an already costly business/hobbyand none of them are as simple and cost effective as extracting and bottling in my own kitchen. Apparently, the powers that be feel that extracted honey is a processed food (why then, have we not called it processed honey all these years?). My view is that it has only been moved from one container (comb) to another (bottle), as I dont even heat what little extracted honey I sell. It sells as fast as I can bottle it, and with never a complaint). Does all the extracted honey sold in this State have to adhere to the same rules as honey from other states or countries? Apparently, none of this applies to comb honey, which leads to my final questions: Whats a small beekeeper to do? Are we to only sell comb honey if we cant afford to comply with the rules? Or, should small beekeepers become outlaws; selling their extracted honey to friends, family, and past customers from under the table?

Sincerely, Terry Combs,

RULES ARE RULES!

ROUGH TRIP

Dear Jerry, as you know, on occasion bee packages arrive with bees in a high degree of agitation, appear soaking wet, and often have a layer of dead bees on the bottom. Any remaining live bees do not recover once they

Jerry, let me add my voice to the multitudes that praise your Classroom for the wealth of information we all derive from it. That said, I have what I feel to be some serious questions about some new rules/regulations going into effect here in Illinois. According to the Illinois State Beekeepers Association website, in order to sell extracted honey, retail or wholesale, the beekeeper must now have an IL Dept, of Public Health inspected and approved honey house. With the percentage of beekeepers in this State with fewer than 6 hives at 60% or so, hasnt a serious blow been dealt to the small beekeeper trying to sustain his/her hobby/small busi-

Terry, I have not read your new honeyselling regulations or consulted with your state officials. However, in many states, with the active assistance of the state beekeepers association, the process of extracting honey is not considered processing, but rather harvesting. Then, part-time beekeepers are exempt from bottling/packaging food regulations up to 1-4 barrels (600# per barrel). These are all state rules and regulations, so the beekeepers in each individual state have to actively and professionally work towards helping provide a sustainable parttime and full-time industry. If you educate your legislators, then all this makes sense. Are backyard gardeners required to meet certain regulations to sell sweet corn, depending on if it is shucked or not? Of course not. It is the same situation I think as putting a heavy burden on part-time beekeepers whose activity adds so much to the environment. Thanks for the Classroom compliment. We are all in this together.

HORSES AND BEES DONT MIX

Dear Mr. Hayes, I need some information regarding potential bee/horse issues, if they exist. The president of the Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association directed me to you. I live in a small subdivision in Windsor,

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CO. The HOA (home owners association) does not currently allow beekeeping, though the Town of Windsor does (through a recent change that my wife and I initiated). We have asked our HOA to allow beekeeping. Many in our HOA keep horses, and one member voiced significant concerns regarding beekeeping near or around horses. I am looking for information, including data or evidence, showing that bees either are or are not a threat to horses. If a threat, at what distance from horses is it safe to keep bees in an environment where horses are kept? If a threat exists in some areas, does it exist equally from Africanized and non-Africanized bees? (Colorado currently does not have any Africanized bees.) If you have any information in this area, or could direct me to someone who might, please share it with me. Please note: My intent in keeping bees is for hobby purposes only (though Im not sure this is relevant). I do not keep horses, though two of my neighbors do, and I am one 2-acre lot away from a common area of our subdivision used as an arena for horse riding.

find. However, in your location I would be careful, cautious and have lots of liability insurance. Better yet, find a friends property out in the country to place your colony on that does not have this potential livestock/honey bee conflict problem.

Thank you, Bob Kentwort

Bob, this is an often-asked question. You can go back hundreds of years and find that horses and honey bees have never had a cordial relationship. This is not free-flying errant honey bees that decide to attack, but it seems to be most problematical with hot sweaty horses that are in close proximity to a honey bee colony. The odor seems to be the trigger to alert the bees to a perceived danger. With European honey bees this does not seem to translate to cows, goats, lamas etc. Horse sweat is the key. In Brazil a distance of 1/4 mile has been established between Africanized Honey Bees (AHB) and anything. I would agree with this distance in US regions with AHB plus lots of trees and shrubs in-between the two. European honey bees can still kill a horse, but a concealed distance of 100 yards provides a nice barrier to separate horses from colonies of bees. The main precaution is to be sure the horse(s) have plenty of acreage in which to take flight when the stinging becomes a problem. In other words, placing a horse in a small fenced-in area, which has a beehive close by, is a recipe for disaster. We lost a 900-pound horse here in Florida to an attack by Africanized honey bees. The bees were approx. 20 yards away. All honey bees use carbon dioxide emissions as the last targeting cue in an attack, flying in the nose, mouth, etc. At the autopsy the veterinarian found 3-4 pounds of bees in the horses lungs and stomach. The horse died of asphyxiation due to swelling that was caused by hundreds of stings to its nose and mouth area. I think that your desire to become a beekeeper is great and I would certainly encourage it with the gentlest honey bees one can

Hawaii Hi, I am an amateur beekeeper in the state of Hawaii. I have one quick question for you and if you do have the time, I would greatly appreciate a brief answer. In your article that is published in the August 1985 American Bee Journal - Queen Excluder or Honey Excluder? http://www.beesource. com/pov/hayes/abjaug85.htm you have a diagram of the closed bottom entrance and the spacer above the queen excluder. 1) Can the spacer simply be three pieces of 3/4'' wood stapled together to form three sides, leaving an entrance that is 3/4'' in height by 15 1/2'' in width? 2) Can the drone escape simply be a standard entrance reducer turned so that the small rectangle is the opening? 3) Are you still convinced (as this old article suggested) that the top entrance above a queen excluder and below the supers is a justified hive design for an amateur beekeeper who likes the idea of broodless supers and high honey production? 4) And finally, with a hive set up as you diagrammed in the article, and a bit of beekeeping sense, could you use a Sundance II Pollen Trap for short periods of time by placing it above the two deep hive bodies and removing the queen excluder and supers? Thank you for your time. I was just fascinated by your article and want to switch over my three hives that are currently set up as most amateur hives (bottom entrance, queen excluder...) are. My supers often get ignored (by the bees) while deep hive bodies seem to be honeybound. I am keeping bees on the island of Maui and we are still varroa mitefree... yeah!

GIVE IT A TRY!

for you. And, honey bees can use the equipment that we like, but it may not meet their prime physiological needs. So, if we can make some minor adjustments in the home we give them, they do not do remarkably better, but a little better. Regarding your questions: 1) Yes. That is what is easiest to do. 2) Yes. That is what I do now. 3) Yes. I think my original data showed a 10% increase in honey production, which isnt phenomenal, but it is significant. 4) Give it a try. It should be okay, but I have not tried that myself. Let me know.

Q A

Good luck.

Wa k e U p Pe o p le!

Subject: Good news for European beekeepers! Europe has passed legislation to reduce pesticide use. Lets hope other countries will follow this example. Phil Chandler

Aloha, Ethan Romanchak Native Nursery, LLC

Whoa. Ethan you certainly have dug through the archives. That was a long time ago, but I am still asked about the article from time to time. I still like it, but it has had some refinements over time. It never really caught on, as it is different than what most people are taught and what most equipment is designed for. Remember that honey bees are adaptable, just like you are. You can survive away from Hawaii, lets say in Alaska in winter. But, that may not be the optimum

I would like to make one comment if I could. I think that on the surface fewer chemicals in our own backyards (country) is very good thing, but and there is always a but, I dont know if this is a long-term solution. We have found in many cases that if food cannot be produced safely and cost effectively here, that it forces production over to other countries that do not care about massive pesticide and fertilizer effects on people and the environmentjust the money that they can get from U.S. buyers. When we take a look at many fruits and vegetables in the grocery store, they have foreign labels on them that come from countries that do not have environmental awareness coupled with regulations that match the EUs or ours. They may use anything and dont care about our health or environmental concerns. Case in point. We were involved in a request from an Asian country to ship some produce to Florida. On analysis, there were lots of chemical residues from chemicals not approved in Florida. When this information was brought to their attention, they indicated that they had lots of internal mouths to feed and that they would produce as much food as they could in anyway they could. And then, there are always third country transshipments if direct shipments cant be made legally. We beekeepers know all too well how that works because the Chinese have been beating us over the head with it for several years now in order to avoid the U.S. tariffs imposed on their bargain-basement honey and funny honey. However, if U.S. or European consumers do not care how their food is produced or where it comes fromonly that it is inexpensive, then it really doesnt matter much does it? The market will rule.

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FOLLOW-UP Hello Jerry, we have gone so far down the road of chemical agriculture that there are no easy solutions. My faith is in reviving the idea of small-scale and localized food production (such as www.wholesomefood.org), but that would take an enormous effort. Perhaps President Obama will lead people back to the land- it could help solve the unemployment problem!

Regards, Phil Chandler

I was in the Caribbean recently for a honey bee meeting and as a region they are pushing a farm-to-table initiative. This increases small farmer revenue and brings fresher and hopefully healthier food to the consumer. The large tourist hotels are even participating. I like it. President Obama has his hands full and time will tell how engaged he is in this issue. Remember that China is/has been buying all of our debt, so I doubt he can do much about their food exports to the US. And, even if he did push this as an employment technique, we are a very lazy nation that feels more entitled than active. I would be surprised if a significant number of people would actually attempt to supplement their diets with their own home, porch, patio, roof or backyard grown foods. We have it very good and very few realize or appreciate it. Getting off my soapbox now.

I think moving them is a good idea. I dont know where you are in this great country of ours, but depending on temperature, you can consider moving them when the temperature is above 57 degrees F. You will have to move them two to three miles away in order for any of the field force that has imprinted on the location not to come home to the original location. I would wait until dusk or night, so that the bees are back in the hive. Screen or stuff grass in the entrance for your 2 to 3 mile trip. Be sure that supers and hive bodies are somehow secured together with hive staples or nails, so your supers and tops dont slide off. Finally, select someone you dont mind losing as a friend to help with the lifting on and off and any other adventures you may have in the dark with your beehive. It will be fine.

Tony Homan Apiaries

518 CR 520 Shannon, MS 38868 662-401-3254 662-767-3880 Fax 662-767-3490 PRICE LIST FOR 2009

Caucasian & Italian Queens 1-24 $14.00 25-49 $13.00 50-UP $12.00

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MARKING & CLIPPING $1.00 EA.

Q It Behooves To Move!

Hey Jerry, I have been getting the ABJ for about a year now and love the column. I have a couple of hives about 50 yards from my house. They have been fine for the past 4 years and havent bothered anybody. However, my son and his fiance are getting married in our backyard in June. My wife thinks it would probably be better to move them before the wedding. I would like to move them to a place that is more protected anyway. When is the best time to move them, and do I have to move them a certain distance? I would appreciate any advice you could give me. Thanks, Matt

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by LARRY CONNOR Wicwas Press 1620 Miller Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49001 LJConnor@aol.com

Dave Mendes, 48, is a curious mixture of his Massachusetts roots and his Florida base of operation. He started beekeeping in seventh grade, and had 300 colonies in high school. Now, from his Florida base, he carries out specific management practices that would not work nearly as well in New England as they do in North Fort Myers, but the standards he uses all get back to basic beekeeping principles he learned many years ago when he started bees. He calls it Beekeeping 101, the basics.
y visit came at the end of his huge labor to push out 17 semi-loads of bees to California for almond pollination. Mendes was balancing his work crew in Florida with the trucking companies and their sometime independent drivers with grower needs, changing weather conditions, and evolving expectations. Brother Eli and his adult son were in California to position and manage the bees in the almonds. This million-dollar pollination contract is something Mendes takes very seriously. He was sending bees to almonds when the spot pollination market price was dropping to half of the price paid of 2008. Yet he had good relationships with his grower and had a contract price that was set. For Mendes, the demand for bees motivated him to invite other beekeepers to join in under Mendess pollination contract. Like the circus act where the guy keeps a dozen or more plates in the air at all times, that means that he had to coordinate with other beekeepers and rely on them to deliver when and where they had agreed. For Mendes, it is all part of what he does. I found Dave at his home, talking on his cell phone. The voice mailbox had been filled that day by the owner of a new trucking company he had tried and the outcome was less than both expected. The company kept calling and Mendes had turned the entire matter over to his accountant. He had to get his own bee work done, and he was a few days late in shipping the last load. Talking with the grower, he knew exactly the stage of bloom development the almonds were in, and had been given a breather with temperatures in the fifties in California, and the possibility of some much needed rain for the trees. The full mailbox kept me from calling ahead to let him know when I was arriving, but he knew I was coming from an email. The base of his operation is located along Route 31 in Charlotte County, just north of the Caloosahatchie River that transects the southern part of the peninsula. He has protection from the Babcock-Webb Wildlife Area to his north and west, and a large ranch to the east where he keeps many of his bee colonies. He is located about a half hour drive from the location in Labelle where I ran Genetic Systems in the 1970s for Dadant and Sons. This was country I knew and could appreciate. The vast expansions of open sky, pine trees, palmetto and cabbage palms hid the diversity of flowers that were producing nectar and an abundance of pollen. A freeze had hit the week before, yet the pollen kept coming into the colonies. Intentionally, Mendes is not in a citrus area. At the sprawling company layout a twoman crew was busy adding one-inch rims to the plywood lids Mendes uses on all of his colonies. The rims were a new part of the plan to give the bees a constant mixture of protein and real sugar (not corn syrup), a mixture that Mendes changes during the year depending on what the bees are expected to do. This mixture contains a great deal of sugar since all the colonies had lots of foundation to draw out, and Mendes knows that they will be able to do that with the mix he feds them. The rims allow the crew to put several pounds of this sugar-protein mixture on each hive. Earlier in the day Mendes and some of his crew had been making the mix for the last load of bees headed for the almonds. 480 colonies in double-boxed hives on six-hive pallets had been brought in from out-yards and were worked up for pollination units. Weaker colonies were combined with stronger hives to meet the tight contract requirements Mendes had with the grower in California. They were strong hives and would be excellent pollination units. Its beekeeping 101, Mendes said again. You have to provide strong colonies if you want the bees to pollinate the crop and make money for the grower. That way you get invited back to pollinate the next year. Some of the growers have been working with me for 20 years. Thats basic too you have to work with the grower, whether it is almonds or blueberries or cranberries. Beekeeping 101, Larry. It is all basics you learned when you got started. The new rims make the bees happy. They have room at the top of the hive for cluster space and ventilation during the move and can get at any small hive beetles that may be there, he explained. Its a simple thing to do, but I do not see the bees out-

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(l) Mendes uses special buckets and lids to feed his large number of colonies in an open feeder system. Instead of experiencing problems with open buckets, these inverted containers provide a great deal of feed in a controlled manner. (r) Mendes replaces five combs out of every ten each year as his management plan to avoid chemical buildup and potential disease problems. Large bags of sugar and protein mix are placed on each of his 10,000 colonies on a continuous basis to build them for the "marathon" race they run from Florida to California, back to Florida, then to Maine and Massachusetts. By the time the bees finish the "race" they are exhausted, and require rest and rebuilding in the south Florida location during the fall months.
side the hives like I did when I did not have the rims. Each lid had a groove for upper flight if necessary, but later in the season, when the bees were done feeding and the nectar flow began, the lids are turned over to prevent the bees from constructing burr comb. The vent/flight hole then provided a place for water to drain off any rainfall. The crews had spent the day assembling the colonies onto a large sandy work area, equalizing and combining hives, adding the feed patties and rims, and placing the bees on fresh clean pallets to meet Californias stringent rules against bringing in ants. Each completed pallet was placed on a second pallet to keep the entire setup off the ground to prevent re-contamination. Mendes had just paid over $1,300 at the California border to have one load taken off the truck, power washed, and put back on the truck. Sometimes you just have to write the check, Mendes said. He would repeat that statement many times, acknowledging that he spends an enormous amount of money getting the bees fed and built to the proper strength to move into California and his other pollination contracts. He admits to a huge labor bill, a huge feed bill, and he pays his drivers well for doing what he wants them to do (because he wants the good ones to return). He has cultivated a small group of drivers and he wants to use them for every move, since he can trust them to do the best thing for the bees. The last driver phoned Dave and told him that he was several hours out, and would not be there in time to load the bees that night. I could tell that Dave was not happy. But he expressed it this way: I do not like to load the bees in the morning, it is not good for the bees. But moving bees is always crazy and you never know what problems you will run into as you put the bees on the truck and get them screened and ready for the road. LOADING BY THE FULL MOON I was asleep on the floor in Daves house when I smelled and heard the coffee maker. It was 3:58 am, Feb. 10, 2009. I pushed my stuff into a bag and was handed a to-go cup with instructions that I had to drink it on the way to the bees. It was cloudy but about 58 degrees when we got to the loading area. Colonies were spread out into two long rows, doubled up during the evening to speed the process in the morning, hives six to a pallet, and the semi was positioned in the center. Dave started the moving process, gently picking up each pallet and slowly moving it to the truck and gently lowering it onto the truck. He would readjust as he saw anything that was not perfect and might cause trouble on the road. Working back and forth over the sandy soil, Dave was expert at the use of the loader. His helper, Lolo, checked each hive, gave it a puff of smoke and brushed off any animal

(l) Dave Mendes in an open feeding location on his site in North Fort Myers. (r) Dave Mendes checking a colony on a 6-way pallet that will be loaded on the semi truck for California. Each colony has been inspected and, if necessary, reconstituted to form a powerful pollination colony.

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(l) When prepared for California, each pallet is placed on another on the ground. That way all colonies have few if any ants on them when they reach border checkpoints in California. (r) Dave Mendes loads the truck at 4:30 in the morning.
or plant material that the California border folks would find objectionable. I did my best to stay out of the way and to photograph the process, using a mixture of time exposure on a monopod and flash on close-up shots. The light on the loader was not only helping Dave see what he was doing, but it was giving me something to light the scene. They started loading about 4:30 a.m. and most of the bees were on the truck in an hour. It took more time to load on the screens and to unroll them to keep the bees from getting out during the four-day trip. It was Tuesday morning, and they would hopefully be loaded into the almonds on Friday night. The driver did not have long enough tie-downs to go all the way over the bees and secure them to the bed of the truck. Dave ran off several times to find other tiedowns and long buckles to secure every row of colonies with a tie-down. Since they had just worked the colonies and placed them on new pallets and given them new lids, nothing was propolized, and none of the colonies were secured with staples or strapping. Knowing what a shift in the load could mean, Mendes was careful each row of hives was properly secured. The edges of the screens were rolled and clipped together to keep the bees from finding an exit hole. A drop screen was lifted up and stapled to the hives. The bees were sealed into their screen enclosure. A water hose was secured down along with a sprinkler hose that was run along the length of the load, for use when the bees hit hot weather on their trip across the country. Bees loaded, paperwork finished, the driver slowly pulled out with this load of bees. As the truck pulled out, Dave said to me lets get breakfast. We went to a diner on Route 80 (runs from Fort Myers to Labelle and further east). We talked. Dave repeated his mantra, that what he does is all Beekeeping 101, the basics. He wants healthy bees, well fed bees, strong hives, and does everything he can to keep the bees away from harm. FIFTY PERCENT COMB REPLACEMENT Years ago Mendes moved to Florida for the citrus flow. It is an early and beneficial build up for the colonies for blueberries and cranberries. Now the almonds and systemic insecticides have changed that. Mendes does not put bees in citrus because of the use of systemic insecticides. He had a new, and very expensive program of replacing half of the combs in each colony every year as a method of reducing the residues of pesticides (both environmental and beekeeper added) as well as pathogens (bacteria, viruses and fungi). He has been selling colonies with some of the better of the old comb and discarding a lot of it that did not meet his standards. Some folks still want the older comb for their bees. I want the new comb. I know it is better for my bees. The use of the new feed patties, which are high in cane and/or beet sugar, promote the construction of new comb in the hives. When the bees return from almonds, they will go into north Florida in an area where the

(l) Each strap secures 24 colonies, and must be secure. The screen enclosure prevents bees from flying. (r) On the road as the sun is starting to shine. Mendes prefers to load in the evening, allowing more time for 'issues' that always develop. The semi turned right for I-75. Dave in the flatbed turned left to grab breakfast, and then off to load honey for a buyer. He had put off the honey customer while shipping out 17 semi-loads of bees, giving him about 9,000 colonies of his own in almonds in 2009. Another thousand colonies remain in Florida to help rebuild colonies when they return in about six weeks.

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Dave Mendes loading colonies in the middle of the night

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bees will produce gallberry and tupelo honey. From there most of the colonies will move to blueberries in Maine, and after that into cranberries in Massachusetts. By the time the season is over, and in spite of additional feeding, the colonies returning to Florida will be pretty worn out. In the fall Mendes reconstitutes the colonies and has an extensive queen rearing operation to produce all the queens he requires. He has his own strain of bees. Then, the whole cycle repeats. Mendes is also vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. He admits that he was not a regular registrant at national bee meetings, and took on the six-year commitment as vice-president, president and pastpresident of the ABF not fully knowing what it all involves. But he likes the lobbying part of the job, visiting in Washington DC to talk with legislators, agencies and research leaders and program funding folks. We also discussed the Project Apis m, and the good that group can do to target specific research needs of the industry. The Federation will meet in Orlando in January 2010, and we discussed possible changes to the Sideliner Program, moving it to Thursday and Friday so sideline beekeepers would not feel cut out from the business meeting. We brainstormed about ideas for hobby beekeepers on Saturday, maybe even using some of his bees at the hotel in a secure area. There are not too many places where you can do bee work at a January convention! So, you will have to stay turned for developments on that front. The Federation is undergoing some steps forward in terms of management, both organization and web-based. The possibility of web-based seminars (webinars) has been discussed. We shared our ideas about some of these issues, and possible future programs. By the time this article appears, some of those decisions should be set by Federation leaders. If the program takes off, it should change the nature of this national beekeeping organization.

The sun was bright and the day off to a record high temperature as Dave, back on his cell phone, took off to load some honey for a customer. I drove around some of my old haunts from the 1970s, tried to see things I recognized, and even got in an hour at one of my old favorite Gulf Coast beaches, once isolated and remote, but now surrounded by high-rise condos. In April Dr. Connor hopes to be teaching queen rearing and other courses in Oklahoma and Texas. Check out his calendar at www.wicwas.com.

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Notice to all Commercial Beekeepers Concerning the Ineligibility of Nicaraguan Beekeepers to receive H2a visa status for the USA
On Jan 17, 2009 the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) removed Nicaragua from the list of eligible H2a countries.There was no advance warning of this change. The change to the program has caused a severe shortage of qualified beekeepers for the commercial beekeeping industry in the USA. The industry has used a large number of Nicaraguans over the last decade to fill job positions and now finds itself without the labor force to which they have become accustomed. All labor certification requests processed by the Department of Labor (DOL) were not approved until the last day legally permitted which is 30 days prior to the date of need of the worker in the USA. Thus if a date of need was Feb 20, DOL would not issue a labor certification until Jan 20. As you can see this sets up a big part of the problem as everyone is required to submit labor certification documentation to USCIS when requesting an H2a worker. If an application was received at USCIS prior to Jan 17 then they processed it and allowed Nicaraguan workers. If an application was received on or after Jan 17 an application requesting Nicaraguan workers would have been denied. Agriworkers.com would like to take this opportunity to explain to our clients and the beekeeping industry in general the steps we have taken since first being made aware of the change disallowing Nicaraguan workers. 02/09/09- received the first denial for Nicaraguan workers from USCIS and a request for "further evidence". 02/11/09- informed all clients via email or fax of the new regulation effective Jan 17. We explained that we would proceed with the requests for "further evidence" if they wished but we stated that we thought it would be very difficult. We thought it might be best to look for workers in an eligible country. We decided on Costa Rica. Most clients agreed with our assessment. 02/12/09- sent clients via email or fax the list of eligible H2a countries which we received from USCIS on Feb 11. 02/12/09- sent "additional evidence" requested by USCIS (passports and past visas of Nicaraguan beekeepers) as well as a personal appeal for the need of experienced Nicaraguan beekeepers. 02/12/09- contacted newspapers and radio stations in Costa Rica to coordinate a massive advertising campaign. We also contacted a number of beekeeping associations and set up a beekeeper meeting for Feb 14. 02/13/09- advertising ran for 4 days in all Costa Rican markets.Response was overwhelming. 02/13/09- arranged hotel stays, travel itineraries, cellular telephone service and a conference room to conduct interviews. 02/14/09- meeting was conducted with over 30 beekeepers attending as well as 4 government officials in a remote area of CR explaining our desire to contract Costa Rican beekeepers. 02/15/09- all team members including our attorney arrived in San Jose Costa Rica. 02/16/09- hired new support staff in San Jose Costa Rica to answer telephone inquiries, eliminate non-beekeepers and schedule interviews.We received more than 800 calls over the following 10 days. 02/18/09- met with H2a officials at US embassy in San Jose Costa Rica. We explained our mission and they agreed to work with us to the best of their ability. We also communicated directly with the Vice-Consul who offered his support to our request to help us speedily expedite Costa Rican H2a visa interviews. 02/18-21/09- conducted initial interviews and eliminated another group of non beekeepers. We requested change of country for our clients to Costa Rica and paid the corresponding fee of $585.00 to USCIS per application. 02/21/09- met with one of our clients who flew to CR to have opportunity of sitting in on the interview process and talking directly to applicants. 02/22/09- initial analysis of applicant data and discussion of location options for apiary tests for all successful applicants. 02/23/09- contacted a number of apiaries throughout the country and arranged for apiary tests. 02/25-28/09- conducted over 60 apiary tests in different locations. 02/27/09-on the last day permitted by law USCIS responded with a denial to our request to use Nicaraguan workers for one of our clients despite the fact that they had prior H2A status and posed no threat to national security. 02/28/09- USCIS approved our first application requesting Costa Rican beekeepers. 03/02/09- consolidated the database and qualified over 50 Costa Rican Beekeepers. Contacted the US Embassy requesting interviews early for the week of Mar 9. 03/03-15/09- more advertising and interviews will be conducted throughout Costa Rica to meet beekeepers that were unable to contact us earlier. We expect to qualify between 75-100 Costa Rican beekeepers by Mar 15. There you have it. That is what Agriworkers.com has done to date in order to advance our clients possibilities of receiving qualified beekeepers before the end of March. Is it a little late? Yes possibly, but better a little late than never. If you are struggling with a similar situation then we invite you to contact us. If you or your agent have processed paperwork only to find that your Nicaraguan workers will not be allowed to work this year then www.agriworkers.com can help with the appeal process and/or supply your agent or outfit with qualified beekeepers. Contact us or have your agent contact us NOW!

Our goal is to serve our clients responsibly, respectfully and in a timely manner. Visit www.agriworkers.com or email us at info@agriworkers.com or call 1-888-467-3181 toll-free.

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f course, after keeping my lovely bees in their golden palaces for several years, I discovered the downside of beeswaxthe burnt brown, blackened to the color of ink, old wax combsused and reused by the worker bees to the point of extinction, especially comb from the brood nest. This beeswax needed replacing every couple of years before the spring buildup to assist the bees in maintaining a healthy brood nest and eventually to fill the honey supers with rich ripe honey for my annual honey removal. I could wax eloquent here, describe how the intrusion of wax moths, (Galleria mellonella), in the wild acts as black wax cleanup crews for the honey bees, or show you ancient dark wax so strong, it would bear weight without crushing the cells, (an architectural marvel to be sure), but as a new beekeeper you have just begun your voyage into the wondrous world of bees and their wax workings. You have yet to witness all the extraordinary creativity of honey bees. Suffice it to say, the beeswax, which takes pounds and pounds of consumed honey by the youngest members of the colony in order to physically create their vast network of waxy hive structures, is worth money in your pocket as candles, as blocks to sell to crafters, or artisans, or to fatten your credit account with the beekeeping supply houses, who wish to purchase it from you. According to Eva Crane, author of Bees and Beekeeping, Science, Practice and World Resources, ...much of the beeswax produced by bees, which could be harvested by beekeepers is wasted, and I have seen much evidence of this in many countries, in the tropics, subtropics and temperate zones.

The wax is left or thrown away because beekeepers do not bother to collect it and render it into marketable blocks. Is it worth it to render beeswax? Is beeswax worth turning into other products with a high retail return on your investment of time? The current online retail price for a pound of filtered domestic beeswax is $8.95 plus shipping. If you raise your colonies organically, you can command more than that price, (I charge $12.00 per pound for my organic filtered wax and no one quibbles). I dont make a ton of candles, but the few I do make meet a niche market. I also render my wax into small decorative ounces and larger one pound blocks for artisans. I use it around here as well, primarily for waxing plastic foundation sheets for my colonies. For me, it is a simple matter, if the honey bees make a byproduct, I lay awake at night figuring out inexpensive ways to collect, clean and package what my girls produce. Pollen, propolis, beeswax and naturally crystalizing honey are a couple of items most beekeepers find to be more of a nui-

Photo 1. Economy solar wax melter offered by Dadant.

sance rather than realizing their potential retail value. If you throw your beeswax out, rather than render it, you are pitching pennies and ultimately dollars in the trash. Thats plain bad economics in my book. So, how do I do it? As low tech as possible and with the least amount of effort needed to produce the best quality wax. If you are a hobby beekeeper or a small sideliner, these methods will work for you. The two methods I use to process old combs and cappings are a solar wax melter and simmering water process. I tend to use my solar wax melter more often than the water rendering process, because Im lazy and I live in North Central Texas, an area with tons of sunshine kilowatts. A solar wax melter is worth it to handle hive scrapings and old comb no matter what size (operation) you run. It keeps the trash out of the bee yard away from the hive beetles and wax moths, as Billy Hummer of Hummer and Son Apiaries in Bossier City, Louisiana discussed with me the other day. His operation runs about 300 colonies and although most of his large volume cappings are processed with expensive mechanized equipment, his solar unit, designed by his late father, Stan, produces clean wax even on a 45F day. It is no elaborate affair, a simple box sized to fit their rendering needs, a sloped or angled metal pan deep enough to hold about ten pounds of wax, and a catch pan. His solar melter is topped by a double pane of glass. You can buy similar solar wax melters starting at $59.95 from Dadant, photo 1, on up to $85 from Brushy Mountain, (who include a nice piece of high tech greenhouse plastic for the top). All economy models are

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(l) Photo 2. Fresh wax blocks from my economy solar wax melter. Darkest wax is rendered from old combs. (r) Photo 3. Prefilter used in my solar wax melter.
basically an unpainted pine or cypress box somewhere around 19-20'' wide x 24-29'' long x 8'' deep with a removable top. All units have legs to angle the box towards the sun. Inside is a shallow galvanized steel pan to hold your cappings, or comb almost as wide as the box and about 6 shorter than its length. The pan sits on a sloped wooden rest, close to the lid where the suns rays are most concentrated. The rendered wax drips downhill to collect in a loaf-shaped pan placed beneath the flanged lip of the drip pan. Some companies provide the plastic for the lid. Some provide the wax pan; others offer it for purchase. In all cases, some assembly is required. There are other high end solar wax melters available. Walter T. Kelley Company makes a fabulously efficient unit for $290 and change. Kelleys model, designed by Edwin Holcombe, actually separates residual honey lurking in the cappings prior to wax cake formation, producing a clean wax block without the need to scrape the bottom clean of debris, a common problem with the economy models. The exterior of this melter is a typical pine box, but the brilliance is the inside engineering, where two drip pan inserts made from stainless steel, one for honey, one for wax, do all the separating. A deluxe solar wax melter is also offered by Mann Lake Ltd. It costs a few pennies shy of $400 and is made completely from galvanized steel, (which quickly heats up on a warm day), with a double insulated plate glass lid. It is designed like the economy models with the sloped galvanized drip pan that sits above a wax pan (not included). One of the other nice features of this unit is the heavy-duty steel pivoting stand, which allows you to adjust the melter to the declination of the sun. Any raw wood model needs priming and painting for best solar reflectivity and longevity of the box. According to William L. Coggshall and Roger A. Morse in their book, Beeswax, The inside of the box should be painted white and the outside black. Insulation under the large metal pan that holds the wax refuse is helpful. Cogshall, Morse, Crane and Hummer all suggest that a double pane of glass or plastic for the lid about 1/4 apart will concentrate more radiant solar action, which results in a quicker melt time. Unless you have deep pockets, I expect that your first solar wax melter is likely to be one of the economy models. This is all well and good, but the biggest downside of these models is the need to strain the honey residues from washed wax cappings, or in the case of old brood combsremoving the slumgumthe detritus of brood rearing cocoons, propolis, bits of pollen and wax moth gunk from the finished wax block. All this trash floats downhill, at least a little during the rendering process. In photo 2, I have solved this problem. Each of these wax blocks is from different types of rendered raw wax, the lightest from cappings and the darkest from nasty black brood comb. There is nary a trace of scurfy residuals in these blocks of wax fresh from my economy solar wax melter. The solution? Add a prefiltering device above the wax pan, photo 3, which includes a honey filtering material, (available from bee supply companies), arranged over a basket insert made from hardware cloth. Also, it is best to add about an inch of clean water to the bottom of the wax pan to dissolve burnt honey and to float any other debris that slips through the filtering cloth during the solarization of the wax cappings, or old combs. The filtering cloth can be reused a couple of times. Wipe off the hot slumgum with a paper towel when you open up the melter to remove your cleaned wax in the catch pan. I find a heavy duty spatula or metal paint edger is also useful for scraping off the blackened slumgum debris from the galvanized drip pan before adding fresh cappings and comb for rendering. All these inexpensive additions to the economy solar wax melter from paint to catch pan will give you lovely, clean blocks of wax. And the best part? It is cheap to runno electricity needed. An alternate method of rendering cappings and comb is the simmering water process. This process offers the convenience of anytime; no sunshine, nor warm days are needed to get the job done. However, it takes a lot more equipment to clean wax this way compared to dumping the cappings/comb in the solar wax melter and walking away. I use the following equipment to accomplish this task: a 3 burner Coleman propane camp stove, an inexpensive stainless steel 12 qt. stock pot, a filter bag, a couple of fire bricks, a long handled, (wooden) spoon, a stout rubber band, and a large tub. METHOD 1. Make a filter bag no larger than 18 x 12 flat from burlap or honey filtering cloth by sewing up the two long sides and leaving the top open. If you know someone who sews, this is a 10 minute job at best. If not, an old burlap bag cut down to the smaller size will work. 2. Fill the bag with five pounds of cappings, or crunched old comb. No more than that, or it will not fit in the stock pot properly. Wrap the top of the bag closed with the rubber band. 3. Rinse the bag of cappings/comb in a tub of warm water at least 4 times before continuing. This will dissolve any excess honey left in the combs, (although my bees do a pretty good job of this ahead of time). 4. Place a fire brick in the bottom of the stock pot. Rest the filter cloth bag of cappings on the brick as shown in photo 4, (this is necessary to keep the cappings bag from burning during the heating process). Add enough hot water to fill the pot about 3/4 full. 5. Heat the water in the pot until it barely reaches a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer the bag of wax bits 15 to 20 minutes. The object is to release the wax from the combs, not do a rolling boil. Boiling temperatures tend to darken the wax, something to be avoided especially with light colored cappings. Stir occasionally with a long handled wooden spoon. As the wax is released, the bag size will diminish. You will be able to feel the lumps disappear as you stir. 6. After 20 minutes squish the bag between the bottom brick and the wall of the pot using the long handled spoon. Turn off

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the heat. Place the second fire brick on top of the bag to hold it down beneath the surface of the waxy water, (this method works best using the burlap bag; it is easier to quickly remove the honey filter cloth bag from your murky brew and place it on a tray covered with tin foil to reclaim the excess wax after it cools). The brick may stick out of the water, but the bag must remain at least 2'' below the surface. It is much easier to break the wax free of the brick rather than disentangling the bag from the wax. Trust me!

7. Allow the wax and water to cool, photo 5. This will take some time. I usually let it sit overnight and finish up the next day and start a new batch. 8. After the pot is cold and the wax has hardened on top, carefully remove the wax from the water. I usually dump the filthy water outside being mindful of the brick as I am doing so. It is not advisable to dump any of this down the drain as the bee debris and unclaimed wax will come back to haunt your plumbing later. 9. After loosening the wax from the side of

the pot, hose off the underside of the wax, which will be darker than the top, photo 6. I use a stiff brush to loosen any debris that has clung to the bottom; you may wish to cut off the darkened bits and reprocess this waxy dirt with your next batch. Dry the wax. 10. The filter bag can be dumped and examined to see what kind of job you really did on your processing. The renderings should be wax free, dark and crumbly, photo 7. Any chunks of wax will look yellow and not crumble. These may be

(l) Photo 4. Set up for simmering water wax rendering process. (r) Photo 5. The cappings bag must rest on a fire brick during simmering. The wax has cooled enough to be removed.

(l) Photo 6. The dirty underside of the wax requires additional filtration. (r) Photo 7. Completely dried out cappings and comb will crumble in your hand and show no wax bits.

(l) Photo 8. My double boiler with wax pouring pitchers. (r) Photo 9. Pouring pitcher with cone paint strainer and finished wax blocks.

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reprocessed. 11. You can proceed to melt and filter your wax further by using a double boiler, two pouring pitchers and a painters filter. FOLLOW-UP PROCESSING. My double boiler is an old hot plate slow cooker. I fill the pan with hot water and turn the thermostat on high to get it started; turn this down to medium once the wax is melting well. Using a candy thermometer will help you judge the temperature, (which should not be above 160F, or your wax will darken considerably). I place the dry rendered wax from the simmering water process into the largest pouring pitcher and set this in the hot water

of the double boiler. When it is entirely melted, I pour the hot wax through an inexpensive cone paint strainer, photo 9, (available at home improvement centers), into the smaller pouring pitcher. This does a nice filtration job, although some really fine residue may still be left on the bottom of the pitcher. You will see this when pouring up wax blocks, candles, or ornaments using various molds. Stop pouring at this point, and refilter your wax using a piece of paper towel. The paper towel is very absorbent and some wax will be lost during the refiltering, but the remaining residue is removed leaving beautiful clean wax. The used paper towels make dandy smoker, or fireplace starters.

Although wax rendering is a messy job, the sweet scent of fresh wax is absolutely intoxicating. Opening the solar melter is like Christmas time in August. I never know what color of wax will be waiting for me. Why add colorants when the bees bless us with such variety? REFERENCES Coggshall, William L., and Roger A. Morse. Beeswax, Production, Harvesting, Processing and Products. Cheshire, Connecticut: Wicwas Press, 1995. Crane, Eva. Bees and Beekeeping, Science, Practice and World Resources. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1990.

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owever, there are major variations in the spring build-up conditions from one beekeeping territory to another. Colony management should reflect the environmental conditions of a specific territory, instead of following some predetermined norm or average. An excellent case in point is my territory along the southern shore of Lake Erie (Northeastern Ohio). As the recurrent northerly winds cross the lake, they are cooled to within a few degrees of the water temperature. The excess moisture given off by the cooling air forms a heavy cloud layer, adding additional insult to the already declining air temperatures. From a beekeepers perspective, once the winds turn out of the north, all colony management activities within 15 to 20 miles of the lake shore grind to a standstill. This general weather pattern is usually repeated throughout the month of April, most of May, and occasionally into the first half of June. The end result is a very short four to five week buildup period, characterized by inclement, often impossible weather conditions; pure frustration for any beekeeper running more than a few colonies. Nowhere is this situation more clearly illustrated than with the make up of early season splits or divides. Traditionally, spring splits are started with three or four frames of brood, along with the adhering bees and housed in standard ten-frame equipment.

Because of our recurring cold weather, colonies made up in this fashion will often remain static until either enough brood emerges to form an adequate-sized cluster to allow for broodnest expansion, or until warmer weather arrives. In worst case scenarios, prolonged cold weather takes its revenge in the form of chilled brood or partial starvation, again due to inadequate cluster size. In order to increase the efficiency of my spring management program, I made several basic changes to the split make-up process. First, I reduced both the initial size of the split and the size of the box in which it was housed. Second, instead of putting the emphasis on brood when making up the split, I now put the emphasis on adult bees. Perhaps the most significant change is the manner in which the new colonies increase their size. Heat rises! To take advantage of that principle the new splits are allowed to expand their broodnest vertically through the use of multiple nuc boxes. In my cold spring environment, the differences in colony growth rates between vertical expansion in small brood boxes, and horizontal expansion in standard equipment, borders on the phenomenal. Spring divides are started with two deep frames of brood along with the adhering bees. A frame of brood is defined as a full depth frame two-thirds full, on both sides, with brood ranging in age from eggs to

emerging bees. The two-thirds full of brood figure is an average. In practice, with a little experience, the process of equalizing brood in the splits quickly becomes routine. Additional adult bees, those destined to establish the new colonys cluster and field force, are apportioned in the following manner. For each frame of brood and adhering bees that are removed from a strong overwintered colony (hereafter referred to as the donor colony) to start a split, an additional frame of young bees is shaken from the same donor colony into the split box. If two frames of brood are removed from the same donor colony, two additional frames of bees are shaken in. If the same donor colony has an excessive number of field bees, shake a third frame of young adults into the split box. Rarely are early season splits made up on a one-to-one basis with the donor colonies. The usual practice is to remove excess brood and adult bees from a number of overwintered colonies and combine them at random in the split make-up process. A WORD OF CAUTION: Be careful not to remove too much brood from your strongest overwintered colonies too early in the season. Instead, be conservative and treat your strongest colonies as resource colonies. That will allow you to remove excess brood a second or third time later in the season as need dictates. The same holds true with adult

Two typical frames of brood (minus the adults) used to start spring splits

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(l) Emergency queen cells discovered during the first split inspection. These cells must be destroyed; otherwise the caged queen will be lost. (r) Two splits on their new location, note the size of the entrance.
bees, but to a much lesser degree. Practically speaking, its almost impossible to remove too many adult bees from a strong overwintered colony; continually emerging brood will quickly replace any temporary shortage of adults. The splits are started in five-frame nuc boxes. Their smaller cavity size helps retain the heat given off by the cluster, and nuc boxes minimize the effort required to relocate the splits in order to prevent drifting. The nuc boxes I use are nothing more than rebuilt hive bodies with a permanently attached solid bottom board, external handholds on each end, and a migratory cover. They are provisioned in advance with three frames, one filled with honey and two frames containing good quality worker comb. A piece of 8 mesh hardware cloth or aluminum window screen is folded into a V shape to serve as the entrance closure. Out in the bee yard the two empty brood combs are temporarily removed to provide additional working space. Two frames of brood are removed from the donor colony(s) and placed next to the frame of honey. Two, but preferably three frames of young adults are then shaken into the space previously vacated by the empty brood combs. Once the shaking process is complete, the empty brood combs are returned, the lid is secured, and the new split is ready to move. If a number of splits are planned, I would recommend the use of a transfer box. This is nothing more than a standard hive body with a fixed base and hinged plywood cover. Its only function is to hold the frames of brood and extra bees that are removed from the donor colonies. In practice, the transfer box allows the operator to collect resources from several donor colonies, then switch gears and quickly make up a number of splits. If multiple splits are the order of the day, the newly made up units should be placed in the shade to prevent overheating. Once the split(s) have been relocated, an entrance reducer is installed to help retain cluster heat. The size of the entrance opening is determined by the anticipated nighttime temperatures for the next three or four nights. Needless to say, pay close attention to the entrance size in the event of extreme temperature variations. Dont let the splits overheat! Caged queens are installed immediately upon the splits arrival at the new location. My personal preference in queen cages is the JZs-BZs plastic queen cage. This cage, while small in appearance, actually has more interior volume than the traditional three-hole wooden cage. More importantly, its narrow size eliminates the hassle of removing a frame in order to introduce the queen, a major consideration when heat conservation is of prime importance. In

Ten-day-old split, queen has been accepted

Three week old splits, ready for additional space

Transferring into standard equipment, brood to the center

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order to minimize queen losses I cover the candy when introducing queens. With the JZs-BZs cage there is a plastic cap specifically designed for this purpose. Absent the cap, a piece of either electrical or duct tape will suffice. Weather permitting, the splits are checked in three to five days. Im specifically looking for emergency queen cells on the brood frames. If cells are present, the caged queen will be killed upon release! My inspection procedure is to carefully remove and set the queen cage to one side. I then remove and thoroughly examine each brood frame for the presence of cells. To get a clear unobstructed view its usually necessary to shake some of the adult bees off the brood frame. Frames where the corners are open, or where there is an open space between the comb and the bottom bar require especially close examination. Bees can get very creative, so destroy anything that even remotely resembles a queen cell. Understand, if you miss a cell the caged queen is a goner! If no cells are found, the colony is reassembled and the queen candy exposed for a timed queen release, or if desired, the queen can be manually released. With the JZs-BZs cage, manual queen release is accomplished by removing the cage access cover adjacent to the candy tube. If queen cells were found and destroyed, reassemble the colony, and leave the queen cage candy covered. Repeat the inspection procedure in three or four days. (After seven days all remaining larvae are too old to develop into a queen.) Again,remove any cells that are present, reassemble the colony and release the queen as described above. In most instances (90 % or

better) there wont be any queen cells present on the second inspection. In general this inspection procedure will eliminate most queen acceptance problems, weather related or otherwise. Supersedure, well thats a different matter entirely. No attempt is made to locate the queen when selecting brood or bees to make up splits. I simply make sure that the donor colony queen is not present on any of the selected frames. (There is a major time differential between actually locating a queen, and checking for her presence on a few select frames) If the queen is located, that frame is transferred into a small nuc box brought along specifically for that purpose. When I do locate and temporarily remove a queen from a strong colony, I remain vigilant. There is a reasonable chance the colony may contain a second queen, a mother/daughter combination. Thats one of several possible explanations for the colonys excellent condition. Despite ones best efforts, on occasion a donor colony queen will end up in one of the splits. The error will most likely come to light during the first inspection of the new splits. If that inspection is made three or more days after the split was made up, the presence of eggs signals that there is a queen at work. Some form of corrective action is required. Either remove the caged queen and use her elsewhere, or if possible, return the laying queen to the correct donor colony. Once the queen(s) are released and laying, the new colony is left alone for a couple of weeks. By that time most of the brood should have emerged and the queen will need additional room. That additional space will take the form of a second five-frame

box. This is where the real benefits of small colony vertical broodnest expansion come to light. The heat generated by the now substantial cluster will allow the queen immediate access to the second box of comb, irregardless of the outside air temperature. Watch as the colonys growth rate doubles, almost overnight! If there is a flow in progress, and drawn comb is in short supply, fill the second box with foundation. This will slow the colonys growth rate, but the quality of the resulting comb will make up for that shortfall. When the second box is full of bees, brood, and honey, the colony is ready to be transferred into standard equipment. The frames that contain the most brood are placed in the center of the hive body. Those containing lesser amounts of brood are placed outside the former, and the frames containing mostly honey are placed to the very outside. Once the transfer is complete, a variety of options become available. If the main flow is imminent, add an excluder, a couple medium supers of drawn comb and run the colony for the flow, as a single. You might be surprised at the size of the crop. If you need more drawn brood comb, add a hive body of foundation. For those of you lucky enough to operate in territories with a long build-up period prior to the main flow, add a second box of drawn comb and allow the colony to develop into a strong double broodnest unit. Whatever the end use, you have a very respectable colony that was derived from a couple frames of brood, some extra bees, and a queen. My beekeeping dictionary defines that as an Efficient Split.

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338

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by DR. WYATT A. MANGUM Mathematics Department University of Mary Washington 1301 College Avenue Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401-5358 e-mail: wmangum@umw.edu

Absconding Season: A Fall Swarm with Eight Queens

Part 3

ach time I go to my bee house, I never quite know what surprises the bees will have in store for me. The bee house holds 30 single-comb observation hives and three larger glass hives. Along with an apiary beside the house, opportunities abound to watch bees and witness unusual and unexplained behavior. This is especially true in late summer to early fall when some colonies swarm. Although uncommon, fall swarming has been a longstanding mystery. Swarms departing so late in the season have virtually no chance of surviving the winter. This article gives a description of two small swarms found in late August. Beekeepers may have seen similar swarms. If so, they may compare their observations with mine. The first swarm landed on the ground next to the bee house. As mentioned in the previous article, I put discarded carpet in most of my research apiaries and also around the bee house. While the carpet serves mainly for weed control, small objects on the ground become easy to see, especially those things commonly overlooked in the grass and leaf litter of a typical apiary. Here the carpet really paid off making all the backbreaking work loading and moving it worthwhile. A couple of feet from the swarm cluster, I spotted a little ball of bees (see Figure 1). Recall the previous article dealt with an absconding swarm that balled its mother queen (for unknown causes). Briefly this situation appeared the same until I found three more queen balls next to the swarm and another on an outside shelf on the bee house. It is possible for a queen to break free while the bees continue balling until her odor diminishes at her former location. Surprisingly though, each ball had a queen. The queens were probably sisters, a situation similar to an after swarm. (With reproduc-

Figure 1. Bees balling a queen.

tive swarming in the spring, the first swarm with the mother queen is called the prime swarm. Subsequent swarms, containing one or more virgin daughter queens, are called after swarms.) I removed the queens from the balls and caged them. Remarkably, this swarm had five queens (so far). Occasionally, one must remove a queen from a ball. Most commonly balling occurs when a newly-introduced queen is prematurely released among bees not ready to accept her. From a bee management perspective, the risk of death is too great. Technically speaking, she may survive the hostile treatment, but with injuries, usually by getting a leg or two pulled out of joint. Any of that damage still renders her unfit to produce enough eggs for a honey production colony or a reliable pollination unit. The safest recommendation is to put her back in

the introduction cage for a few more days, and see if the bees will stop balling the cage. First the beekeeper must get the queen out of the ball. Understand that bees balling a newly-introduced queen (not their mother queen or nest mate) are generally more hostile than the ones shown here and can quickly sting and kill a queen. Some old bee books advise putting the ball in water to make the bees disperse. That does work, if water is close by, which for most of my apiaries is rare. I have two other ways of removing a queen from a ball. The easiest is with the bee smoker. Puff small amounts of cool smoke over the ball. If the smoke is hot, pack extra fuel at the top of the smoker. The unburned fuel helps cool down the smoke before leaving the nozzle. Let the smoke gently waft over the ball so that just a few bees leave at a time. Do not apply too much smoke. If the new queen has not laid many eggs, expect her to be light enough (and excited enough) to immediately fly away once released. To avoid losing the queen, I pick her up when a couple of bees are still grasping her. Be particularly careful with those bees (see Figure 2). They will usually have their abdomens arched as if prepared to sting the queen, but very often do not, unless provoked even more. Sometimes I remove them with a little more smoke or, rather than smoke the queen anymore, I try gently nudging the bees away from her or quickly plucking them off. Whatever technique one chooses, its a delicate operation. A queen can be removed from the ball without any smoke, a practice I prefer, but it is more difficult. I just move the bees around in the ball with my fingertips, plucking off the pesky ones that keep getting in the way. All the while I keep looking for the queen in the web of tightly packed bees. Hunting her this way has the light touch and

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Figure 2. Workers in a ball arching their abdomens as if preparing to sting the queen below.

tedious feel of safe cracking nudge three fidgety bees to the right look for any part of the queen tap two irritable bees to the left, keep looking. Watching for any part of the queen to appear in the ball is critically important (for the first technique also). We are accustomed to recognizing queens from their dorsal (back) perspective, a pattern of recognition that becomes insufficient here. In a ball any part of the queen may appear first, a leg, head, abdominal tip, etc. Being able to identify her by just seeing, for example, one leg or the side of her head is a consummate beekeeping skill and one worthy to acquire (see Figure 3). Eventually, I got the queen to appear (see Figure 4) and caged her. Given its small size, I decided to put the swarm in an observation hive where I could continue watching it. (This observation hive had a single comb, a little smaller than a standard brood frame.) Since the swarm might abscond, I left the five queens caged. While

the bees were going into the hive, I found a sixth queen in a small ball, but she was dead. Along the lower edge of the comb I spotted a seventh ball. Apparently that queen had been free at least to walk in the hive before being balled. Spotting queen balls among other bees is an acquired skill, gained mainly by practice. So I marked Figure 5 to show what I think caught my eye to see this one. Hopefully, this example will help other beekeepers begin to learn the subtleties of spotting these balls. We are looking across the lower edge of the comb with the ball in the middle of the picture (circled). Notice to the right and left of the ball, the bees are in roughly a single layer, marked as lines. The ball, as an abrupt knot, contrasts sharply against the single bee layers. The other thing I watch for is the orientation of the bees themselves. In a ball many of the bees are facing inward, so one sees a tight pack of abdomens, although nonaggressive bees walking on the ball obscures this orientation. After most of the bees were in the hive, I put on the glass, making a tight fit with six queen cages packed inside. Although the hive was crowded, I noticed an eighth queen in the hive. Like the others, the bees were balling her too, however she had managed to get inside the hive before the ball formed around her. In all this swarm had eight

Figure 3. A queens leg protruding from a queen ball (circled in black). It has a reddish color.
queens (one was dead), quite a strange spectacle for August. In an out-apiary where I grow spring splits into full size colonies, I found another late summer swarm. It had gone into an unused hive stored under a stand holding two other hives. The stored hive had a couple of old combs, which probably attracted the swarm. As I knelt down to inspect the swarm, I noticed a clump of bees close by. The bee clump appeared too tightly packed for just bees standing on the ground. Immediately, I became suspicious. They could be balling a queen. In fact, they were balling two queens. A double ball. If two queens were in the grass, were others in the swarm? Most likely the bees would be balling them too. Instead of looking for individual queens, I picked through the swarm looking for queen balls amid the excited mass of bees and found five of them. After carefully extricating the queens from the balls, I caged all seven as shown in Figure 6. As I finished looking through the swarm, I noticed the bees were becoming more agitated in a man-

Figure 5. A queen ball at the lower edge of the comb. See text for explanation. Figure 4. A queen almost teased out of the ball of bees.

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(l) Figure 6. Seven queens plucked from balls, all from one swarm. What a rack of trophies in my homemade queen cages dangling from their (hanging) wires. (r) Figure 7. The swarm returns to its waiting queens. The queen cages are on top (of the metal cover) to help the swarm orient to them.
ner indicating the swarm would take flight a few minutes. If I missed one queen and she took flight, as opposed to being held in a ball, the swarm could be lost. Most all the bees flew up in a cloud except for the ones that continued balling the queen cages. After a few minutes, the swarm began returning to the queen cages (see Figure 7). They were not going anywhere. Spring has been the traditional time when the mysteries of swarming bloom forth to their seasonal wonder. I would say, do not forget about late summer and fall swarming. Chapters of blank pages still wait for the pens of future bee scientists to tell why in the world bees would ever swarm as the season shuts down. Acknowledgments The author thanks Suzanne Sumner for her comments on the manuscript.

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ears ago I was riding along to the almonds with beekeeper Gary McClaughry. He joked that he was thinking about writing a book entitled My First Thousand Mistakes in Beekeeping. He hasnt written it yet, and perhaps some day Ill steal the title from him (Ive already made enough mistakes for a sequel, too!). I often chuckle when a beekeeper, after reading my articles, approaches me as though I am some sort of great beekeeper who knows all the answers. In reality, that illusion is due to the fact that (1) hes never seen the mess at my home yard, and (2) he simply doesnt realize how many unanswerable questions there really are! The learning curve in beekeeping goes something like this: One starts out the first season overwhelmed by all the information, and makes a slew of mistakes that year. But if he or she sticks with it and successfully gets some sort of honey crop the second or third year, he may well feel that he is close to the top of the learning curve of knowing all that there is to know about beekeeping. So if you want to talk to someone who can give you a definitive answer to any beekeeping question, ask a second- or third-year beekeeper. Because from that point on, you begin to realize how little you really know! Indeed, each year the learning curve ahead of you appears to loom larger. This is part of the wonderful challenge of beekeeping. A couple of years ago I was chatting with Richard Adee (who can wear the title of The Worlds Largest Beekeeper). Despite his vast knowledge from a life of beekeeping experience, he expressed his delight that beekeeping was a field of endeavor to which you could devote lifelong study, yet know that you would always have questions yet to answer. That sort of inquisitive and humble attitude is a common attribute of the best beekeepers! Colonies sicken and die. Get over it! Ive taught beginning beekeepers for over

20 years. After seeing the guilt and embarrassment that some feel when their colonies die for lack of proper husbandry, I always include in my beginners classes a personal story from a gazillion years ago when I was a graduate student in fisheries biology. Part of our project involved the raising of thousands of salmon fingerlings in large tanks of recirculated water. One morning, when I arrived at the rearing facility, my buddy Jim met me at the door, white faced and shaken. He explained that he had screwed up and closed the wrong valve the night before, and now several thousand fingerlings were floating belly up. Our major professor was due to arrive in a few minutes, and Jim didnt know how he was going to explain that he had suffocated the fish, and ruined the whole experiment. When the professor arrived, he calmly took the news in stride, then spoke a brief yet memorable sentence to my distraught friend, Jim, youre not considered to be a real fish culturist until youve killed your first million fish! It took a few moments for the meaning to set inthe price for being able to advance up the learning curve is the experience gained by multiple failures, more so than from lucky success. My point to new beekeepers is to not beat yourselves up over lost colonies (OK, theres no excuse for letting them starve). Bees sicken and die, with or without your help, and especially since the arrival of the varroa mite. When you fall off the horse, dust yourself off, and get back on the horse. This is exactly what the Adee clan did last year after their devastating losses (as well as did the majority of other beekeepers who were decimated by CCD). Despite all the problems facing bees and beekeepers, Im happy to report that the industry appears to be on the rebound. Varroa management, revisited A couple of years ago I began a series of articles on the management of the varroa mite! Since that time CCD reared its ugly

head, we discovered that Nosema ceranae had snuck into the U.S., beekeepers learned to pronounce the word imidacloprid, and the feeding of pollen supplements became commonplace. These past years have been a real learning curve for me, and for the industry as a whole. I am greatly indebted to all the researchers and beekeepers who have shared information and collaborated with me to try to make sense of what has been happening. I feel that it might be valuable to bring us all up to date at the start of this season (unless, that is, you started your season midwinter in the California almond orchards). Please allow me to review and update the topics Ive covered, in roughly the same order that they were published in this Journal. Please note that this article is only going to be shorthand updatesyou can read the original articles in the back issues, or at www.scientificbeekeeping.com. Nutrition I began my series with a discussion of the concept of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for varroa. At the top of my list of cost-effective management techniques is making sure that your bees obtain adequate nutrition. Research by Dr. Frank Eischen confirmed that colonies winter better and stronger, and handle parasites better if they are well fed. Beekeepers everywhere are finding that protein supplementation during times of pollen dearth results in healthier colonies. The health and strength of a colony is based largely upon two factorsconstant replacement of older bees with fresh brood, and the length of foraging life of adult bees before they die. Both of these factors are largely dependent of the daily state of colony nutrition, especially with regard to protein, which is supplied by pollen. Furthermore, the wintering ability of the colony is directly proportional to the amount of protein available in late summer and fall. Beekeepers can practice better husbandry

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I caught Dennis Lohman (lohmanapiaries@frontiernet.net) assembling one of his mixers specifically designed for blending pollen supplement. Dennis runs bee operations in California and Mexico, produces honey in the Dakotas, pollinates and brokers bees, produces queens and packages, and designs and manufactures a line of stainless steel extracting equipment!

A pollen supplement feeding trial in one of my colonies. Not only must a supplement be palatable, but it must be nutritionally as complete as possible, and not contain ingredients that may be harmful to bee health. All photos by the author.
by either moving bees to good late summer pasture (this generally is the most cost effective), or by feeding them pollen supplement. If colonies have plenty of stores, protein supplementation alone may be enough to allow them to continue rearing fresh brood. If not, feeding as little as gallon of light syrup per week will help to maintain an active broodnest. On the other hand, strong colonies can benefit from a lot of pollen supplement. My friend Keith Jarrett has shown me that it is cost effective to feed several pounds of supplement at a time, in order to avoid the labor required for weekly feedings. Keith is a firstrate, sharp-pencil, commercial pollinator, who produces huge wintering colonies by large-scale supplemental feeding. The race is clearly on for who can develop the best pollen supplement (no one has yet

developed a pollen substitute). It needs to be palatable, cost effective, and supply the necessary nutrients for colony growth and disease resistance, as well as having no toxic effects (such as may be found with some soy, milk products, salts, or drugs). I hesitate to make any recommendations, since proprietary interests are at stake. Ive posted two tested formulas to my website. An even lower-tech colony nutrition solution is simply to place fewer hives in each yard to minimize competition for forage (this also helps to reduce parasite transfer). Several beekeepers, including myself, are having great success by cutting our traditional stocking rates in half. You may find that you have less problem with varroa in smaller yards. Then theres the HFCS/sucrose debate. Most trials find sucrose to be a better feed, especially for stimulation and buildup, and also for wintering. However, others report that bees treat high fructose corn syrup similarly to honey, and winter well on it, and that is has fewer granulation issues. Lots of California beekeepers are using HFCS/sucrose blends. One aspect of HFCS is that the processing method may leave it quite acidic. Bees actually prefer acidic foods, but unfortunately the combination of sugar, water, acid, heat, plus a metal catalyst results in the rapid formation of bee-toxic hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). That combination of factors exists in heated metal syrup tanks, or those left in the sun or a warm shed. Beekeepers have had problems with batches of syrup gone bad. Definitely do not feed bees any syrup that has darkened, or has a bitter off flavor. However, a lab test is necessary to determine if the HMF has reached harmful levels. Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk found that beekeepers tanks could contain layers of syrup, as a result of dumping fresh syrup on top of old. Best practices would be to use plastic tanks, or if you use a metal tank, to clean it first, and use the syrup quickly. For bee feeding in general, it is wise to use only high-quality fresh ingredients. Aged, off-spec, or floor sweepings may either have experienced nutritional degradation, or contain harmful contaminants. Ditto for syrup, including fermentation or dead bees in the feeders. A good rule of thumb is: If you wouldnt be willing to eat or drink it yourself, you shouldnt be feeding it to your bees. Breeding The ultimate resolution to our problem with varroa lies in bee breedinganything else is simply a band-aid to get us by until we are all using varroa-adapted bees. Dr. Jose Villa (2008) reviews the recovery of feral bee populations after their initial decimation by varroa mites. It appears that if the unforgiving hand of natural selection is allowed to function, that feral populations come to terms with varroa in a time frame of 5-10 years. This has happened time and again throughout the world.

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Unfortunately, what works in the relative low density of feral populations may not be enough to keep varroa at bay in colony-dense managed apiaries, yet. I will be covering this topic in detail in an upcoming series of articles. Although I am sanguine about the promise of breeding varroa-adapted bees, it is certainly frustrating to beekeepers that despite 20 years having passed since varroas arrival, most queen producers still arent able to offer such stocks. However, two stocks that hold great promise are available: the VSH/SMR line maintained by Dr. Robert Danka of the ARS Baton Rouge Bee Lab, and the Russian bees developed by Dr. Tom Rinderer in conjunction with collaborators in the industry. The Russians are a good example of a mite-adapted bee (although not yet quite as good as the mites original host, Apis cerana). Rather than being a one trick pony, they exhibit multiple traits to fight the mite at every turn. This suite of special adaptations may be why Russian outbred crosses are not as mite resistant as purebred stock. Although Russian bees have been successfully used in a number of geographical areas, it helps to be aware of their origins. They herald from the Primorsky regionan area with a cold winter, a cool, dry spring and summer, followed by a warmer, wet August and fall. They are adapted to winter very well with small clusters, and then to build up rapidly in response to pollen flows, and then shut down again to conserve stores. The Russian Bee program has been selecting to improve the original Primorsky imports for better mite resistance, less propensity to swarm, and good honey production. The main fault that I hear about them is that they do not build up early enough for almond pollination (although recent research by Baton Rouge suggests that fall feeding and space restriction may alleviate this problem). They have been enthusiastically adopted by many small-scale non-migratory beekeepers. I made the mistake of trying out Russian queens mated to Italian drones, and wasnt impressed. Ive since learned that the outcrossing of Russians doesnt work wellits like trying to make a running truck by combining Chevy and Mercedes parts. After hearing the glowing praise given to Russians by many beekeepers that Ive visited or spoken to, Im going to give them another try this year, and see if I can tweak colony management (by feeding, etc.) to get them to build up early for almond pollination. They appear to be an excellent choice for nonmigratory beekeepers, especially in cold winter areas, or those with summer drought. To me, the Russians, even though they are likely not the perfect bee for every operation, represent a model for a mite-adapted bee, and a foundation of potential breeding stock for continual improvement. My hat is off to Dr. Rinderer and the other dedicated researchers at Baton Rouge, as well as to Charlie Harper and the other cooperative breeders who have taken over the program! The second available stock of interest is

Dr. Tom Rinderer and Russian Bee breeder Carl Webb at Carls home apiary in Georgia. The members of the Russian Honeybee Breeders Association are very enthusiastic about their stock, which consists of 18 queen lines maintained to ensure genetic diversity.These bees often need no treatment for varroa or tracheal mites or hive beetles, and can produce honey crops comparable to those of Italian stocks.
the VSH/SMR line. This trait, by which bees suppress mite reproduction by the removal of any reproducing mites from worker brood, is the most important trait in any varroa resistance breeding program. The stock is not touted as a production stock, but rather as a source for VSH alleles that can be bred into your existing stock. As far as I am concerned, any queen breeder should have plenty of VSH drone mothers in every mating yard in order to improve the mite resistance of his stock. In my own 500-colony operation, after a brutal learning curve, I find that having the bees themselves do most of the hard work for mite control allows me to be a bit more complacent about varroa management, largely prevents colony losses due to varroa buildup, and saves me time and money (not to mention that I havent needed to use a synthetic miticide in over five years). As I travel the country, in almost every area I find a few brave pioneers who are foregoing most or all treatments, and breeding their own mite-adapted stock. These (generally) small beekeepers often take serious losses, yet have the motivation and fortitude to continue, fueled by the progress they see, and the satisfaction gained from contributing to the long-term solution. I support them in their efforts wholeheartedly, and see their successes as harbingers of the future of beekeeping! Mite monitoring and treatment thresholds When I wrote about treatment thresholds two years ago, I was puzzled by the fact that some American researchers suggested that we could allow mite infestation levels in fall of up to or over 10% (10 mites per 100 bees), whereas the Europeans were adamant that infestations of over about 1% would be fatal. What I didnt realize was that the Europeans were, as always, ahead of us in varroa experience. The key to solving the puzzle is viruses. Bee viruses are normally not much of an issue without the presence of mites (varroa or tracheal) or Nosema (apis or ceranae). Dr. Mark Goodwin told me last week that colonies of bees in New Zealand can appear healthy with mite levels in the 2030,000 range before viruses finally cause them to collapse! Dr. Mike Allsopp similarly documented mite levels of up to 50,000 when the mite initially arrived in South Africa. And anyone who witnessed the first years of varroa in the U.S. can probably remember the massive levels that mites could build to before the colony finally succumbed. What changes is that the viruses, especially Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), apparently evolve to better take advantage of the mites as vectors (there is debate as to whether the viruses actually reproduce in the mite), or simply become more virulent. The result is that our mite thresholds now follow the European model, in which a 1000 mite total population is playing dangerously close to initiating a viral epidemic in the hive. So lets do the math (dont you get tired of me saying that?). Lets say that a moderately strong (15-frame strength) colony has 30,000 bees and a mite population of 900. About two-thirds of the mites will be hidden in the brood, leaving a third out on the bees. That would give you roughly 300 mites on the adult bees. Divide 300 mites by 30,000 bees,

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and that gives you a 1% infestation of the adult bees. A 1% infestation of adult bees indicates that the colony is leaving the safety zone. Note that naturally mite-adapted races of bees seldom allow the mite level to exceed 2%. So I aim to intervene when mite levels look like they are going to exceed 1%, which in reality buys me a month of time before they actually double to 2%.

spring buildup, and will roughly double each month until they peak about the first of September. Use your own judgment and experience as to what levels you can feel comfortable with at which times of the year. During times of nutritional or disease stress, keep mite levels lower. If you use a miteadapted stock, you may be able to give them a little more leeway at certain times of the year. Successful beekeepers generally keep a close eye on that mite buildup, and take action before it gets out of hand. By doing so, they avoid a lot of costly surprises. By action, I mean either one of the biotechnical methods, or a synthetic chemical or natural treatment. How best to monitor mite levels Stickyboards counts of natural mite drop are OK if you get enough readings, but dont put too much stock in their accuracy. Ditto with drone brood inspection. Better are accelerated mite drops, but their accuracy depends upon using an accelerant that worksthe last chemical treatment that you used does not necessarily meet that criterion! A sugar dusting drop is my favoritemechanical mode of action, quick, cheap, and easy. Otherwise, I suggest a jar sample of 300 bees from the broodnest. Knock the mites off with ether, alcohol, detergent water, or powdered sugar. A caveat is that jar samples have the limitation that the sample of bees may not well represent the actual infection level of the entire colony. Always take multiple samples! Monitor mite levels in early spring, again before supering, then at August 15th to see if you need to remove your supers and treat, and finally in late fall. Knowing the actual level of the pest is at the heart of any IPM program. Biotechnical methods Another aspect of IPM is management techniques. There is an old saw in the technology field: Any new technology must be ten times as good as the thing it seeks to replace. In beekeeping, we have a similar general resistance to change, but with the low margins of return for commercial operations, even small improvements tend to be eventually adopted in order to keep up with the competition. In general, I see that commercial beekeepers rapidly adopt innovations that save money or time; whereas small beekeepers look for sustainability and lack of chemicals, and are willing to experiment further from the norm. In some aspects, the commercial guys are leading the industry. In others, the small-timers are on the cutting edge. Of the biotechnical methods, for the hobbyist/sideliner, weve got sugar dusting, small cell, and screened bottoms. I just covered sugar dusting last month, so Ill skipdirectly to small cell. A few studies comparing mite levels in small cell to regular (5.4mm) cell combs have been completed in the last year, but only one has been published (Taylor

In any case, in the past few years, successful commercial beekeepers have learned to keep mite levels low all season. They now cringe at ether roll numbers that they used to ignore. I personally aim for no more than a 1-2% infestation by August 15. This is the critical date to get mite levels down, way down, so that the colony can rear a generation of winter bees that arent mite compromised or virus infected. Since the mite population doubles roughly every month when the bees are rearing brood, you need to do the math before you put your honey supers on. Realize that mite levels may increase by a factor of four during a two-month honeyflow! Ive found that it really helps to give my colonies a shot of Apiguard thymol gel a couple of weeks prior to supering up for the main flow. I regularly hear of beekeepers who put in a chemical treatment in September or October, that caused the stickyboards to turn red with mites. Sure, they can belatedly get mite levels down, but the damage has already been done to the wintering bees, viruses have likely already gone epidemic, and their colonies are nothing more than dead bees walking. It should be no surprise if those colonies dont make it to spring. Monitoring When I receive calls from beekeepers whose bees are having problems, the first question that I ask them is, What are your current mite levels? If they answer that they are not sure, then I tell them, Yes, you have a problem. Folks, varroa is still our number one problem. Not necessarily directly, but simply that an excessive varroa infection saps the strength of a colony, and gives viruses a foothold. Whats excessive? I cant speak for all areas or operations, but as far as I can tell, once you get above about the 2% level, the mites are soon going to start taking a bite out colony production. As a rule of thumb, mite levels typically follow the production of drones. Levels are at their lowest at the beginning of

2008). None found small cell to be of advantage in mite control, and at least one to the opposite! However, the few HoneySuperCell (HSC) colonies in my operation still chugged along just fine all season without any treatment. I dont know whats up. My HSC experiment brings me to an example of my learning curve. Last spring, I moved the HSC test colonies to the almonds. Id pollinated this orchard in previous years, but last year there was a changea neighbors orchard had come into production, and my grower didnt want the bees he had rented to fly to the neighbors. So he had me move some drops of 24 colonies from the edge of the orchard to the center. I thought that one of these drops would be a relatively isolated location for the test colonies. To my dismay, when I checked back a week later, the colonies appeared to have suddenly collapsed from CCDthe adult bees mostly gone, with just a handful of young bees and the queen trying to cover a large area of brood. Forward to this year. I went back to the same orchard, and again set bees into one of the mid-orchard drops. I checked all the colonies individually for strength as they went in. Six days later I again checked all 152 colonies in that orchard, one by one, to make sure that they met my 11-frame contract topout. I needed to boost about a half dozen of them, but overall they had continued to grow during the six-day interim. However, when I got to the 24-colony mid orchard drop, I was dumbfounded! All the colonies had again collapsed (no HSC in the group this time) with the same symptoms. I stood there thinking about it until my brain hurt. Then it struck methis was a denselyplanted six-year-old, mechanically-pruned orchard. Normally we place mid orchard drops where there is a tree missing, which creates a hole in the canopy that returning foragers can orient to. However, in this particular instance, the trees were absolutely uniform, and from a bees-eye view, completely lacking landmarks, other than edge details. In this situation, all that the returning bees could see was a vast, uniform sea of gray, leafless, mechanically-pruned branch tips of uniform color, height, and density (my natural-colored hives unfortunately blended into the shades of the soil). The colonies were not sickthe foragers had apparently simply drifted to drops of hives at the row ends, thereby leaving the colonies depopulated. Ive been pollinating almonds for over 25 years, yet this was a first (and expensive) lesson to meone more tiny step up the learning curve! Screened bottomsthe jurys still out. They may provide some small degree of mite control, and are really handy for getting stickyboard counts, or for sugar dusting. They are great for summer ventilation, and dont appear to be a problem in winter provided that you dont have strong winds blowing under the hives, or if you slide in a solid closure sheet (an easy way to instantly change from screened- to solid-bottom).

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Kirk Webster in Vermont, checking 4-way nucs prior to winter. These queens, mated in the current season, will become his production queens next spring, after proving themselves over the winter.
They can be a problem when moving pallets with a forklift if the bees cluster under them. This brings us to the most practical biotechnical method, with three variations on the theme: Breaking the brood cycle As I question successful commercial beekeepers on aspects of their management of varroa, one common practice stands out the breaking of the brood cycle to interrupt mite reproduction. The most common method of breaking the brood cycle is by making splits, or by shaking (or purchasing) packages. If the packages are relatively mite free, the new colony may well go a year before mites (and viruses) build to harmful levels. I spoke with one large Southern California outfit that shakes packages to make up new colonies in their own operation on a regular basis. They are able to get by with only one mite treatment a year! Others buy packages in the spring, then shake their bees out in the fall for sale to almond pollinators, and start fresh again next season. Making up nucs does not break the varroa cycle as well as shaking broodless splits, but it can be improved upon by making them up with ripe queen cells, and then giving them some sort of varroa treatment just as the new queens first brood reaches the capping

A close up of one of Kirks 4-way nucs. Each feeder has separate entrances left and right. During winter, bees cluster in the empty feeders, and all four small colonies share their heat through the thin pressboard dividers.
2007). The questions for each individual operation are what times of year to do it, and how many times are optimal. I find that in my operation there is little benefit to cutting out the first round of drone brood, since my early spring mite levels are so low, following winter oxalic dribble. It may be best to check the drone frames with a cappings fork in order to determine when they contain enough mites that removal would be of benefit. A further question is to determine just how many drone brood removals at appropriate times will be enough. In my own operation, I have found colonies in which I inadvertently left drone frames in all summer (yes, I screw up regularly). Some of those colonies still maintained low mite levels! Perhaps a couple of removals in mid spring would be adequate to set the mite population back this would also avoid selecting for varroa specializing on worker brood (a potential problem noted by Dr. Roger Hoopingarner). We need more research to fine-tune the use of drone brood trap frames, especially to see if they are cost-effective in a commercial operation (I suspect that they would be). Next month A review of the mite treatments. References Oliver, R (2007) Tactics: Biotechnical Methods (II). American Bee Journal 147(5): 399-406. Taylor, MA, RM Goodwin, HM McBrydie and HM Cox. (2008) The effect of honey bee worker brood cell size on Varroa destructor infestation and reproduction. J. Apic Research 47(4): 239-242. Villa, JD, D Bustamante, JP Dunkley, LA Escobar (2008) Changes in Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colony Swarming and Survival Pre- and Postarrival of Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) in Louisiana. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 101(5): 867-871(5)

stageyou only have about a one-day window during which there is no sealed brood for the mites to hide in. A number of northern beekeepers are having success with making up weak nucs (1-2 frames of bees) during summer, and letting them build to wintering size, to provide the production colonies for the next year. One advantage of this technique is that each queen gets a chance to prove herself prior to supering her colony up for honey production. It also allows those beekeepers to raise their own queens for the next season. There are other ways to break the brood cycle. Some hobbyists simply cage the queen for a couple of weeks. Or they can do it more naturally by using mite-adapted bees such as the Primorsky Russiansthey shut down broodrearing at the first sign of pollen dearth, and scour out the then-exposed phoretic (hitchhiking) mites by vigorous grooming. This process sets the mite level back at least twice a year. Drone brood trapping Another method of breaking the brood cycle is by periodically removing the drone brood, in which most mite reproduction takes place. This is a cost-effective method for small- or (perhaps) large-scale beekeepers, especially if a cut-out (as opposed to freeze-kill) varroa trap frame is used (Oliver

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At least since Aristotle, scientists have studied bees closely. The life of the honey bee colony is full of wonders and is attached to all the other branches of science, so to study bees is to study nature.

ristotle observed: Bees can tell the approach of rough weather or of rain; and the proof is that they will not fly away, but even while it is as yet fine they go fluttering about within a restricted space, and the bee-keeper knows from this that they are expecting bad weather. It is advisable to plant about the hives pear-trees, beans, Median-grass, Syrian-grass, yellow pulse, myrtle, poppies, creeping-thyme, and almond-trees. Still, the relationship between beekeepers and scientists is an odd one. My mentor once said: It is interesting that the bee dance means something, but in the end it doesnt make any difference to beekeepers. Scientists should work on more practical things. Many of the great discoveries in beekeeping have been made by people with keen minds. It is often noted that Langstroth started scientific beekeeping in 1851. Amos Root was certainly as much an entrepreneur as a scientist. For Root, the dancing of the bees held a particular mystery. He wrote in 1908: So far as I know, all alike are ignorant as to what the bees are thus exercising for. I have stood, sat and lain beside a single comb observation hive for hours that have lengthened into days and weeks. I believe that all are interested in these things, even though it may be of no money value to us. I should like to know what the bees are doing it for. Not long after these words were written, the Austrian Karl von Frisch began to study the habits of the honey bee. He soon determined that bees have a keen sense of smell and highly sensitive color vision, but

another 30 years was to pass before he realized that the excited dancing of the bees has a purpose: As the day advances the direction changes by the same angle as that traversed by the sun in the meantime, but in the opposite rotation. Thus, the recruiting dancer shows the other bees the direction to the goal in relation to the position of the sun. Those hours at the observation hive when the bees revealed this secret to me remain unforgettable. Thirty more years were to pass. Von Frisch received the Nobel Prize for his discoveries. His work inspired a generation of new scientists including Martin Lindauer, Adrian Wenner, James and Carol Gould, Donald Griffin, Eileen Crist and Tom Seeley. Dr. Seeley has certainly advanced our understanding of the bees intelligence as much or more than any other scientist. Starting in the early days at the Dyce Lab working with Roger Morse up to the present, spending long summer days on Appledore Island Tom has dedicated his life to the understanding of what the bees are doing it for. Any of Toms many studies would deserve an entire article. I am not going to do more than give short shrift to what I believe to be the most remarkable discovery since the work of Von Frisch. Martin Lindauer, a student and colleague of Von Frisch, noted that swarms do not simply come out and fly directly to a new home, but spend quite a bit of time deliberating on which is the best of the sites that the scouts have found. Most beekeepers have observed that a swarm typically will spend hours or even days on a

tree limb, stump, or other way station till it moves into its chosen new home. The decision making carried out by bees in the process of selecting and moving to a new home has been thoroughly dissected by Tom and his colleagues. These deliberations consist of scout bees dancing to show the direction and quality of the nest sites they have found. For example, if a scout has found a nice hollow tree, she will dance excitedly and attempt to recruit other scouts to visit and see for themselves what a find she has stumbled upon. An unprotected overhang might be offered as an alternative by another scout, but not with the same degree of enthusiasm. However, the conclusion is not a matter of a simple majority, there is a complex process for getting the best results but quickly, so the swarm is not left hanging on a limb too long. To understand what they do, think of choosing a presidential candidate. A few likely choices soon come forward. One may have a lot of supporters initially, but another may have particularly enthusiastic supporters, so it would be a mistake to vote at this point on the basis of a simple majority. The supporters are given an opportunity to lobby and try to persuade others to join them. A candidate eventually emerges that is the clear front runner, the process ends, and the entire group goes with that choice. The beauty of the bees system is they usually get the one that is the best choice. According to Seeley and Visscher: It appears that scout bees have a behavioral rule regarding the advertising of nest sites. The rule seems to be as follows:

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At the 1956 Vienna, Austria Apimondia Congress, Dr. Karl von Frisch, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1973, addressed the Congress on The solar compass as the Basis for Communication in the Colony.

Upon returning to the swarm for the first time after visiting a possible nest site, produce a dance whose strength (number of waggle runs) reflects the quality of the site, and upon making subsequent returns to the swarm, produce dances whose strength declines by about 15 waggle runs per return. By following this rule, nest-site scouts from superior sites will advertise their sites more strongly and will abandon their sites more slowly than will scouts from inferior sites. By turning this observation into an equation and changing the values, they determined that the bees have reached the optimum balance between quality and efficiency. They neither reach a decision too hastily nor does it go on and on like a baseball game in the umpteenth inning. Another mystery solved? Perhaps. But what about A. I. Roots other question: Why certain bees from certain colonies will arrange themselves in rows all up and down on the outside of the front of the hive and stand there and scrape away. In one hundred years, I dont think anybody, scientist or otherwise, has come up with a good explanation for that one. While some beekeepers may doubt the importance of knowing how honey bees choose between a tree trunk and somebodys attic, nearly all of them are concerned about bee diseases. Since the discovery by Louis Pasteur of Nosema in silk worms, and his subsequent lecture in

1878 on the Germ Theory of Disease, the search for control of disease and parasites has continued unabated. The Greeks knew of the use of disinfectants such as nut-gall, chalk water, wine, vinegar, and alum. From these we have learned to produce tannin, soap, alcohol, acetic acid, and sulfuric acid. Very early on beekeepers attempted to use disinfectants to treat and cure bee maladies. Root describes the treatments in vogue for foulbrood in 1908: One is carbolic acid and the other is naphthol beta. I would advise every beekeeper who has once had foulbrood in his apiary to medicate all syrups he feeds to his bees. This ought to put a quietus on the worst enemy with which beekeepers have to contend. But the results were not all equally successful. Bailey points out: Remedies that were recommended were phenol, formalin, Izal, sour milk, salt and other chemicals lethal to bees, all to be fed in syrup to ailing colonies and as preventives to healthy ones. Poison sprays were certainly used, probably with less consideration than today for bees. To further summarize, these words from the late great George Imirie: American beekeepers, always very independent and resistive to any change in long used established procedures, simply REFUSED to accept any treatments recommended by scientists, but used homeopathic substitute medicines and this resulted in the

death of their bees, cost of annual replacement, and discouragement to the point that they gave up beekeeping or changed over to raising pigeons, growing tomatoes, or capturing butterflies. Well then, what have the scientists done for us? The age of modern antibiotics began with the discovery of penicillin, for which Fleming, Chain, and Florey justly received the Nobel Prize in 1945. Soon antibiotics were tried on bees as well, most notably sodium sulfathiazole, or Sulfa. I have some bee supply catalogs from the late 1940s and early 50s. In 1947 they said: Everybody is talking about the cures they have made with Sulfa. This is the new wonder drug. Chemicals quickly came into fashion. In the 1948 catalogs you can find Para-Moth (paradichlorobenzene) to kill wax moths and Phenol (carbolic acid) for taking off honey, although they wisely state: This requires a careful operator and we do not recommend it to the average beekeeper. Fumadil (fumagillin), for the treatment of Nosema, appeared in 1954. In 1956, Kelley offered 5% Chlordane for ants and Cyanogas (cyanide) to kill infected bees. Terramycin was introduced in 1957. The 1958 catalog states that Terramycin, Sulfa, and Fumagillin can all be mixed in the same batch of syrup. When I began beekeeping in the 1970s all of these chemicals and more were commonly bought and used by beekeepers. The Organic Gardening movement was just starting up and many people realized that if we used these various chemicals on our food products, ultimately we would end up eating them. So the debate between the need for chemicals to control pests and the desire for safe food began and has continued ever since. Jerome Rodale, who helped popularize Organic Gardening, declared Im going to live to be 100 unless Im run down by a sugar-crazed taxi driver. Unfortunately, he died shortly afterwards of a heart attack at age 72 while taping an episode for the The Dick Cavett Show. While there can be no doubt that chemicals in our food supply pose a serious threat, the health benefits of consuming fruits, vegetables, and grains such as decreased risk of heart disease or various types of cancers far outweigh any theoretical risks posed by pesticides. Nevertheless, there are many problems associated with the chemical approach to combating pests and diseases. One of the most serious is the development of resistance in organisms to the various drugs and chemicals we use to try to wipe them out. Believe it or not, resistance to penicillin was first observed in 1947, only two years after the famed Nobel Prize had been awarded to Fleming, et al. Antibiotic resistance in honey bee disease was only recently discovered. Jay Evans wrote in 2003 that despite the use of Terramycin (oxytetracycline) in bee hives for 50 years, it was not until the

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1990s that TM resistant foulbrood began to be widespread. In response to the threat of losing one of the chief tools in combating this fatal bacterial infection, scientists have had to develop alternative antibiotic treatments. The phenomenon of resistant bacteria is widespread and serious. The study of it has brought a lot of very new information to light. As Evans mentions in his report, tetracycline resistance might be epigenetic in nature. Until recently it was assumed that resistance arose in a population due to the killing off of susceptible organisms, leaving only less susceptible ones to breed and reproduce, leading to resistant lines. The study of epigenetics has found that organisms may exchange genetic material through many ways besides reproduction. A bacteria that is successful in resisting drug treatment may in fact pass this resistance to other bacteria, even other species. This idea flies in the face of what we were taught in school, that we inherit our traits from our parents and pick up only bad habits from our peers. Another problem with the constant dosing of our bees (and ourselves) with antibiotics, insecticides and the lot, is the potential effect it has on beneficial microorganisms. Martha Gilliam spent decades studying the gut organisms of honey bees and produced many surprising findings. In her 1978 work, she concludes that differences exist in the intestinal microflora of honey bees from caged colonies and from free-flying colonies. Also, feeding 2,4-D or a combination of oxytetracycline and fumagillin to bees causes shifts in the microflora. She does not say antibiotics promote chalkbrood. But following her research over the years a picture emerges. Thus, since the pathogen [chalkbrood] is often present in bee colonies which never show symptoms of the disease, breeding of queen bees from such colonies would seem a logical approach for control (Gilliam, 1988). Our efforts to develop control methods for chalkbrood are based on determination of the mechanisms that enable bee colonies to cope with and survive the disease, particularly those colonies that do not show clinical symptoms even when the pathogen is present in high concentration. Genetically determined hygienic behavior (uncapping of cells and removal of diseased and dead larvae) by nurse worker bees was found to be the primary mechanism of resistance or tolerance to chalkbrood. A secondary mechanism of resistance is the addition during pollen collection and storage by bees of antagonistic molds and Bacillus spp. that inhibit the pathogen. Bee colonies that are resistant or tolerant have more of these antagonists. Beebread and the guts of worker bees, the major sources of the pathogen, were the primary sources of the antagonistic microorganisms. Thus, the antimycotic substances were produced

by microorganisms that originated in worker bee intestines. These microorganisms were added to pollen by the bees (Gilliam, 1997). This points to hygienic behavior as the primary mechanism for controlling disease, and also to the presence of beneficial gut organisms as a component of the phenomenon of hygienic bees. The message of some thirty years of study is that bees need to be selected and bred for hygienic behavior. Finally, a brief word about viruses. I would like to commend Jerry Bromenshenk on the work that he has done to uncover the causes of CCD. He has looked at bee samples from over all the country. Multiple viruses have been found in every operation they have looked at, but not one stands out as the chief culprit. Their work also does not support the early suggestion that new viruses may have been imported from Australia. Jerry is a strong proponent of the use of new technology for the rapid identification of viruses such as IVDS (Integrated Virus Detection System). IVDS was developed by the Army for inexpensive and rapid screening of viruses. One of the more confounding things about the new ways of detecting viruses is this: Typically DNA testing is done by seeding the sample with a small portion of DNA called a primer. If the targeted DNA is present, the primer causes that segment of DNA to be multiplied until there is enough to be measured easily. Unfortunately, it has been discovered that snips of viral DNA may also be present in the genes of the host. Now, what this means is unclear. Has the host picked up sections of the viral DNA to build a defense against it? Or has the virus snuck into the host DNA, in order to get copied when the host cells reproduce? And what are you going to do about viruses, anyway? Isnt the common cold a virus and theres no cure for that. Well, researchers from Israel have a plan for bee viruses. They use a technique called RNA interference (RNAi). What RNAi can do is switch genes on or off. So if you can target the virus, you may be able to prevent it from replicating and harming the host. The discovery of RNAi may well be one of the transforming events in biology of the decade. Stay tuned. Selected References Bromenshenk, J. et al. 2007 Preliminary Findings with Respect to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Bee Alert Technology Inc. http://www.beealert.info Crist, Eileen 2004 Can an Insect Speak?: The Case of the Honeybee Dance Language. Social Studies of Science 34:7 http://sss.sagepub.com/ Evans, Jay D and Tamieka-Nicole Armstrong 2006 Antagonistic interactions between honey bee bacterial symbionts and implications for disease. BMC Ecology 6:4 http://www.biomedcentral.com/ bmcecol

Gilliam, Martha 1997 Identification and roles of non-pathogenic microflora associated with honey bees. FEMS Microbiology Letters 155:1 http://www3. interscience.wiley.com/journal/ 118512081/home Imirie, George 2001 Special Paper for Tennessee Beekeepers. George Imiries PINK PAGES http://pxbacher.home. comcast.net/~pxbacher/PinkPages/ index.html Root, A. I. and E. R. Root 1908 ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture. The A. I. Root Company Medina, Ohio http://books. google.com/ Seeley, Thomas D. and P. Kirk Visscher 2004 Group decision making in nest-site selection by honey bees. Apidologie 35:2 http://www.apidologie.org/ von Frisch, Karl 1973 Decoding the Language of the Bee. Nobel Prize Lecture. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/ medicine/laureates/1973/frisch-lecture. html

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he end of the rainbow for beekeepers, survival stock, is pursued in a variety of ways. Some European models breed pure lines; Americans are more of mind to go for the ideal mutt if it works, add it in. Within that loose model, strategies range from live and let die with no chemicals to Integrated Pest Management1 (IPM; treating only when needed and then with the most benign treatments). For many, IPM is a way of easing the most adaptive stock toward that pot of gold. In any case, it is not a quest for the faint of heart.

The Ohio Beekeepers Association has begun a statewide breeding exchange, the Ohio Queen Program2 (OQP), which teaches IPM. The project, involving hundreds of colonies, was founded by Dana Stahlman and is now headed by bee geneticist Joe Latshaw. What a survivor stock needs to survive varies geographically, and the harsh Ohio winters were the first challenge for this program. The harder the winter, the better the selection pressures, said Latshaw. The program has had some success and has added

goals of mite resistance and even, in at least one region, untreated stock. The OQP works like this: Each of nine regional volunteer coordinators selects his best two survivor queens in a closed population breeding scheme.3 Latshaw instrumentally inseminates the queens with pooled semen from 100 to 150 drones using equipment that he has invented.4 Drones from the strongest survivors in each area provide the predominant genetics, although a number of other stocks are combined in the semen from

Joe Latshaw, who coordinates the Ohio Queen Breeding Project, is selecting from the strain on the right for survivor stock.

Brian Neuman is a hands-on participant in the Ohio Queen Program

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(l) Melanie Kirby of the Southwest Survivor Queenbee Project grafting queens from two-year-old thrive and survive colonies showing pest and disease resistance, good honey production and gentleness. (r) Mark Spitzig shows grafted queens from the survivor stock breeder queen named Lulu of Ed Costanzas A Bee Honey Company in New Mexico, a member of the Southwest Survivor Queenbee Project. (Photos courtesy of The Southwest Survivor Queenbee Project)
Carniolans Latshaw has bred to VHS lines. He calls it a hodge-podge, albeit a calculated one. The coordinators then rear the queens for a year, use their offspring to select for the next round, and sell open-mated progeny to further distribute the genetics. A regional coordinator in Northeast Ohio is actively pursuing local untreated stock. Brian Neuman started by choosing winter hardy Carniolans and New World Carniolans (a few Minnesota Hygienic, Russian and swarm-captured Italian bees added diversity to the original mix). Five years ago, he stopped feeding his bees and lost about one fifth. From those winter-hardy survivors he made splits. Then, in 2006, he withdrew treatment from his main mating yard, resulting in what he remembers as the excruciating painful loss of 52 of 60 hives by the following spring. The daughters of those eight surviving queens went into the first round of the Ohio Queen Program, in 2007. They were instrumentally inseminated with the sperm developed by Latshaw. Losses had been huge statewide that year, so Neuman speculates that they had hardy stock to start with. Last year 40 of Neumans 50 colonies (80%) overwintered with no chemicals, with the exception of his outyards; there he reverts to IPM and uses a half treatment of thymol in spring and fall. Part of the OQP is to teach others how to raise their own queens, said Neuman, who said that participants in queen rearing classes go home with ripe queen cells. They have raised second and third generations, distributing the genetics even farther than I alone could, he said. The program has trained 280 beekeepers in free classes in queen rearing and IPM management; it also offered free grafting. The program is funded and run by volunteers, with the Ohio State Beekeepers Association providing support with such needs as class manuals. (This year a two or three day course will cost $50.) Im cautious when I talk about this program, said Latshaw, recalling past claims for miracle bees. But Were doing pretty well. The pie in the sky Im aiming for is no treatment, but Im not sure if the bees are capable. There are so many stresses. As difficult as it is, Latshaw says there is enormous interest in the Ohio model, with inquiries coming from Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Last winter was exceptionally harsh in Ohio. The last time we had this much snow was during the blizzard of 78. It looks like another good year for the natural selection process, said Neuman. This method was developed as much for the genetics of the bee as for saving me time, money and labor. and survive approach. When we encounter hives that are displaying below normal health, they are merely monitored. We either see them bounce back or dissipate. Either way, we have not had to use any commercial medications on our bees. The bees are moved to follow the availability of bloom from 3900 to 8400 elevation desert to alpine conditions. Summer monsoons and wet winters make fall and spring good foraging seasons, but the bees must adapt to widely varying conditions. For example, unusually high winds had a heavy impact on their naturally mated queens last spring. Spitzig speculates that African honey bees in the Las Cruces area in Southern New Mexico may not create enough stores to survive the six month winter dearth; in dozens of swarms he has found very few to be aggressive or runny. The essence of our protocol is that we allow Mother Nature to weed out the weak for us, said Kirby. But Mother has helpers: The data on each colony is extensive, with lineage and location histories traceable and a name for every second year hive. The bees are supplemented twice a year with essential oil pollen patties and dusted with powdered sugar and garlic powder nothing that the humans wouldnt eat. Truth be told, that would be novel cuisine. Now, the project is gathering stock from other survivor queen producers across the country to be kept in the isolated mountain breeding yards. Bees that test best for hygienic behavior, by liquid nitrogen assay, will be grafted and outcrossed. Daughters will be made available to other queen rearers as well as to the public. The sources of untreated survivor stock for this project cover the map: Old Sol Enterprises, Oregon; Champlain Valley Bees and Queens,7 Vermont; Purvis Brothers Apiaries, Georgia; Olympic Wilderness Apiaries, Washington State; VP Bees, Maryland; Bee Weaver, Texas; and their own Zia Queenbee Company, New Mexico.

The Southwest Survivor Queenbee Project is another network of beekeepers dedicated to breeding stock suitable to a rigorous local climate. Melanie Kirby and Mark Spitzig of the Zia Honeybee Company5 formed a consortium with five other professional beekeepers in New Mexico with startup funding from the Western SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research Education6). State Bee Inspector Greg Watson serves as the projects technical advisor. Spitzig said their experience has shown It makes sense to develop bees locally. The group selects queens that have overwintered at least two years, with longevity their first criterion followed by honey production, disease resistance, behavior, and temperament. Zia grafts from them and crosses their daughters to other lines. The group is mindful of the importance of diverse drone saturation to create variation in sub-sister families and has the advantage of isolated mating yards in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range of the Southern Rockies. Daughters are distributed back among the members for review. Kirby reports low mite counts in the colonies, no foulbrood and rare chalkbrood or nosema. She attributes the health of the bees to what she calls a thrive

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Kirby and Spitzig invite experienced beekeepers to share their untreated stock in order to help develop the survivor cross-stock genetic pool. They hope to expand their network of cooperating beekeepers throughout the Southwest and Rocky Mountains.

treatments, and look for those that thrive. It may be only 1% or 2%, but it will increase over the years. He invites an exchange of his queens for proven survivor stock. If more people work together nationwide, we can spread the genes around.

It is worth a look at some of these wideflung apiaries propagating survivor stock that are supplying the Southwest project. In his family run apiary, Old Sol Enterprises,8 John Jacob has selected and hybridized bees over six years, resulting in breeder queens from untreated stock. Old Sol expects to sell 7,000 queens this season although he is so far north that his queens are ready weeks later than many. Jacob, trained as a biologist, is president of the Southern Oregon Beekeepers Association. He collaborates with other beekeepers, selecting from their survival colonies and from feral bees. He maintains several lines, used primarily for pollination although he also selects for honey production, which, he says, has not diminished with the resistant stock. The Jacobs have about 500 hives for pollination and 750 mating nucs between Medford and Grants Pass. Survivor stock is more of a strategy than a strain, says Jacob. In 2000, he found mites crawling on his Apistan strips, and so, he says he had no choice but to breed more resilient bees. His attempts brought on several years of heavy loss. He acquired Russian resistant stock from the USDA breeding program to add to his surviving Minnesota Hygienic Italians and New World Carniolans. Although the Russian line was a vast improvement, the casualties continued. By 2002, with his apiaries naturally culled out, he added SMR (Suppressed Mite Reproduction) genetics. These smart bees, later renamed VSH (Varroa Sensitive Hygiene), were developed by John Harbo and Jeffery Harris of The USDA Honey Bee Breeding and

In 1997, Dan and Judy Harvey heard that most feral bees were wiped out by varroa mites, and they went looking for survivors. Their Olympic Wilderness Apiary10 is located in the temperate rain forest of the Northwestern Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. They put out the word to loggers, and soon were collecting swarms. We just assumed they had some resistance, he said. We didnt know what we were doing. It was a steep learning curve for them, finding out how to evaluate the bees and rear queens. They came up with a combination of tests, which they still find effective: Eriksons screen wash test11 for mites, liquid nitrogen12 for hygienic behavior and professional lab tests for disease. They found a lot of variability and bred from the healthiest bees. In 2000 they began adding USDA genetics, first Russian and later VHS/SMR bees, as well as semen for tracheal mite resistance from Baton Rouge. The initial aggressiveness of the Russian stock was bred down. With no chemicals in the production colonies and an overall IPM philosophy (antibiotic and organic mite control in mating nucs), handmade chemical-free cappingswax foundation, and good grooming behavior in the bees (evidenced by microscope observed bite marks on dead mites), Harvey said the program worked out well. But in the spring of 2008, a freak weather pattern collided with the arrival of the microsporidian Nosema ceranae, resulting in the loss of 90% of the carefully bred colonies. Cold, wet weather persisted for a year, from one summer to the next, causing pollen shortages and leaving nutritionally distressed

John Jacob of Old Sol Enterprises in Southern Oregon sells untreated queens from several lines that he has developed over a decade. (Photo by John Jacob)
Genetics Laboratory at Baton Rouge.9 (The name change reflects the understanding that they dont suppress mite reproduction, as first thought, but have varroa sensitive hygiene, sensing and cleaning out infected brood.) Jacobs stock strengthened until two years ago, when he bought a few Australian colonies and observed that there were more mites than Id ever seen. He speculated that the upsurge may be related to the DNA of susceptible Australian drones, which have no varroa exposure in Australia, or bees weakened by the arrival of Nosema ceranae. After ten years without treating for nosema, he treated last year where he found spores. I want to emphasize the IPM approach and collaboration, said Jacob. He suggested that all beekeepers rear queens. Withhold

(l) The family run apiary of John Jacob in Southern Oregon will sell 7,000 untreated queens this year. He works with Integrated Pest Management practices and collaboration with other survival stock breeders. (r) John Jacob keeps untreated stock for pollination, queen rearing, and, in this case, a large bee mitten for the wonderment of Makai Jacob. (Photos by Mysti Jacob)

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bees going into winter and susceptible to infection. Tests found very high levels of N.cerana in his apiaries, but none in some feral populations in the area. Harvey speculated that because microsporidians are common in the naturally damp Northwest environment, the feral bees may defend themselves well from them after all, he observes, they deal with bears. He remarked that the fungus chalkbrood can be inhibited by probiotic yeasts and molds, as well as by hygienic behavior. Down but not out, Harvey is breeding the nosema-free feral bees with the survivors of the environmental pressures of last year. He thinks that the advantages must go both ways; the genetics help the surrounding feral bees as well. Working with bees in trees has led Harvey to conclude that standard hive systems hold too much moisture. He leaves a 3/8 opening across the back and front of his hive tops. Observing how high in the tree cavity the nest is naturally built, far from potentially infectious hive debris, he is experimenting with an added empty 6 5/8 sterilized box on the bottom board. In the spirit of natural selection surfers, the Harveys have stayed afloat through the latest crisis, greatly encouraged to find ourselves once again in a unique situation.

Adam Finkelstein and Kelly Rausch, at VP Bees13 near Frederick, Maryland, have been breeding bees without chemicals for 10 years. Finkelstein was an apiary inspector in Virginia when he witnessed decimating losses to

varroa in the early 90s. With a background in biology, he understood from population genetics that a combination of traits can evolve to suit an environment. I thought I could do something, he said. He and his wife, who is an NIH biologist, could afford to take the challenge. We both had other jobs. We werent betting our livelihood. They chose to work with a closed mating protocol, with Rausch doing instrumental insemination to help control the variables. They started with bees from the Honeybee Improvement Project14 of Jack Griffes, who worked on isolating a line of chemical free bees. Together with some early VSH/SMR stock from Harbos project for the USDA at Baton Rouge, they added Minnesota Hygienic and Carniolan bees. Abandoning chemicals from the start, they went full face into the forces of selection, losing almost all of their 60 colonies. Finkelstein remembers one hive, in 2000, thriving in the midst of colonies crashing all around it. The next year there were four left. They kept making II queens from survivors, adding more genetics, and the bees came back stronger. I decided ok, I believe this, he said. Along the way, the pair found that bees with hygienic behavior simply clean out the brood nest, whereas bees with VHS/SMR behavior can tell which pupae have mating mites, open the cells and clean them out specifically. Even though bees with pure SMR expression did poorly for them and needed to be cross-bred, Finkelstein considers the genetics to be crucial to their program: If it wasnt for the research Harbo did, I wouldnt be here, he said.

The continuing selection process includes survivor bees that have overwintered for two years from many other survivor stock producers. Breeder queen daughters are open mated in drone saturation areas. At last, VP Bees has begun to sell their hard won queens, and a SARE farmer grant will help support further research into selection methods. Finkelstein cautions that breeding such stock takes careful observation, meticulous records and a degree of obsessiveness. I breathe and live and think about these crosses. And now I am finding people as interested in these crosses as I amIt takes time and patience, but it is achievable.

Dann Purvis, of Purvis Brothers Apiaries15 in Blairsville, Georgia, knew he was in it for the long haul. In 1996 he concluded that bee breeders were dead men walking with genetic diversity depending on too few queens. He took on the task of breeding survivor stock, which he thought might take 25 to 30 years. In the eight years it did take, he said, I thought Id lose everything. He now has 1000 colonies and 1800 breeding nucs, kept without chemicals, with the exception of thymol in his production colonies. The survival rate in his apiaries, which continues to rise, is now about 70%. He intentionally brings it down every year to 50%, using what he calls a simple weeding program. He sells all of the three-week old queens he can produce, which tend to be large, some as big as a quarter. Purvis began this odyssey by gathering

Adam Finkelstein and Kelly Rausch of VP Bees near Frederick, Maryland, have been breeding survival stock for 10 years. (Steve Marlin photo)

Jack Purvis of Purvis Brothers Apiaries measuring weight gain in hives

Jack Purvis teaching a queen rearing class for the Eastern Apicultural Society

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what he calls his tool box: six different lines brought into a large closed population breeding group. We collected lots of 50 queens each from anyone who had something different, including feral, Old and New World Carniolan, German Black Bees, purebred Italians and English Buckfast, as well as Russians for grooming behavior with some stock coming through Australia. I used to breed fish, he said, It was easy. I came into bees thinking I could breed the same way, but there are so many factors with bees. If you roll a pair of dice, you can count the sixes. But breeding bees is like having a bucket full of dice and rolling it once a year. Its one thing to focus on just the goal of survival without chemical treatment, he pointed out: This is binary; do they survive? But there are myriad other characteristics to consider in addition not the least of which is honey production. He instrumentally inseminates 400 breeder queens a year, keeping track of various lineages (none of which now includes Italian stock). To do it, he collects an equal number of drones from each survivor colony in a large cage. He randomly selects drones and collects semen directly into a tube, cutting out the homogenization step. A queen is inseminated by about 15 drones each. The large gene pool (20 drones from each of 1000 colonies) makes inbreeding unlikely. Sue Cobey came up with this system, he said, I didnt agree at first, but I found out that she was right. He also found that a highly analyzed, micro-managed approach is limited to developing specific genetic traits. He has found it quite possible to breed for foulbrood and chalkbrood resistance, initially using the nitrogen test. But he concludes from his experience that it is much more difficult to breed for varroa/virus resistance. He has abandoned the nitrogen test because the best survivors were not necessarily the most hygienic by that assay. To breed viable survivor stock, he said, You have to look at the whole picture, observe them over a year. He calls it Gods breeding program. To create selection pressure, the bees are inoculated with mites, which Purvis calls

Jack Purvis at the insemination station.

perpetuates swarming. If I had to pick one trait, itd be grooming behavior, he said. The eponymous Purvis brothers are four bee-savvy young men, now off to other careers. Dann Purvis said, We could sell many times the queens if we could produce them. Im looking for a young person to train to do this. He concludes after trying every breeding program: Youve got to have a large gene pool. You have to dump the diseases on them and select the survivors. Its so simple its stupid. In sum, It just takes time, money and work.

My entire operation is resistant and untreated, said Danny Weaver, of his 5000 Bee Weaver16 colonies. We got mites early on, within a few months of when they were discovered in the country, in 88 and 89 in North Dakota, where he summers some of his Texas stock during dry months. Colony loss immediately followed. Over the two years that he used acaricides, he observed deleterious effects on queens. He had studied molecular biology in a University of California PhD program, and began to think about genetic solutions, but it was new territory. I thought it possible, but there were those, like Ruttner, who said it was like trying to make sheep resistant to wolves. With a decision to bet the farm, he started breeding in 1992 from queens that survived exposure without treatment. It was far from an odds-on bet. He initially devoted 2000 colonies to the experiment, eventually losing thousands. I didnt know if the survivors just got lucky or there was a strain of less virulent mites. It was unknown. I was trying to extrapolate from what had been done with other species. Not many more colonies survived in the third year. I was very discouraged the first few years, he said. Weaver calls his stock mongrelized. Russian stock was suggested by Thomas Rinderer17 of the USDA at Baton Rouge, with the observation that the mites first

Dann Purvis dissecting for tracheal mites, which have subsided in the survivor stock at Purvis Brothers Apiaries.
eight-legged hypodermic needles for their propensity to inject viruses. Collecting mites for that purpose was a skill he learned from the Australian bee virus expert Dennis Anderson, who visited Purvis apiaries and speculated that there is virus resistance among his bees. Success with tracheal mite resistance has created the reverse problem: finding enough Acarapis woodi to inoculate the bees in a similar way for selective pressure. He is encouraging yet realistic when he recommends his path. Some tips from his experience: Put away those pest strips and collect the survivors. Cull mite-infested bees two months before the colony dies, when the mites would move horizontally on robbers. Dont breed from swarm cells; it

(l) Bee Weaver has 5000 survivor stock colonies kept in Texas and summered in North Dakota. (r) Danny Weaver is perched atop colonies he has developed for mite and disease resistance for over a decade. (Photos by Woody Welch)

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10 11 12

Dave Tarpy, associate professor of Entomology, North Carolina State University, will teach queen rearing in public classes.

13 14

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http://www.owa.cc/ Erickson, Eric, American Bee Journal, August 2000 http://www.beeculture.com/storycms/ index.cfm?cat=Story&recordID=290 http://www.vpqueenbees.com/ HIP 1995 protocol; An IPM approach for survival stock rearing, http:// griffes.tripod.com/HIP1.html http://www.purvisbrothersbees.com/ http://www.beeweaver.com/home.php http://www.ars.usda.gov/pandp/ people/people.htm?personid=4720 Associate Professor and Extension Apiculturist, Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh

came together with Apis mellifera on Russian bees. Weaver collaborated with John Harbo on the development of SMR/VHS bees. Minnesota Hygienic bees proved less resistant in his apiary. They just remove dead brood, he observed, whereas VHS will remove live brood. By 1999 we had real traction, a high level of resistance, he said. We could go off chemicals and go organic. But, its a trade-off. The bees are not as strong and dont leap into spring. The selection process is ongoing. Drones are reared as mite factories to maintain selective pressure. Genetics from other beekeepers resistant stock are added. But Weaver says that the VHS and Russian stocks are important contributions, noting that fewer than 1% of colonies headed by other standard commercial stock will survive without treatment for a year. Disease management is handled primarily by requeening. In the off season, treatment, if any, is by IPM (for example, a hive with active European foulbrood too early in spring for requeening is sometimes, but not always, treated with oxytetracyline mixed in sugar). Weaver, who was on the honey bee genome steering committee, has a new quest: to research the genetic markers for survival traits. Now it takes a year to identify survivor queens, but this way perhaps it will be possible to identify the markers without wasting a year. He has received a Small Business Innovative Research Grant from the USDA to pursue the research. In describing his odyssey toward breeding survival stock, he says, Plenty of beekeepers dismiss the whole idea. Some are disbelievers. Our bees are living proof that you can do it.

work to do this properly, but the problems are avoidable. Sue Cobey of UC Davis suggests that small-scale beekeepers organize in geographically specific groups to increase genetic diversity, agree to stop treating, then requeen or use IPM for susceptible bees. She suggests connecting with a research program that can help establish a viable evaluation and selection program. If it seems like selecting in the dark, she said, Well, thats where we are. Indeed, there is a sense of the blind men and the elephant, with many opinions about the nature of this huge subject. The key point here, said Vermont beekeeper Kirk Webster, Is that now theres a viable and growing pool of unrelated, mite-resistant bee stocks and management techniques being used in the U.S. that all beekeepers can test, combine and utilize in their own locations and circumstances. All regions of the country should now be able to move toward really healthy bees and long-term solutions to our beekeeping problems. This is enormously good news.
1

The American Honey Producers Association

All Beekeepers Welcome Get Involved! Write
P.O. Box 158 Power, MT 59468 (406) 463-2227 or (406) 463-2217 Fax (406) 463-2583

Lambs Honey Farm

Fresh Queens March - September (715) 928 - 1204
Jasper, TX * Ridgeland, WI
All queens are caged at 21 days or older

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So the question, How do we do it? has many answers. There is probably not one way to do a breeding program, says Dave Tarpy18 of North Carolina State University, But there are a lot of wrong ways. There needs to be a large enough population to avoid inbreeding, enough stock to see variation in alleles. Its a tremendous amount of

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Footnotes The Environmental Protection Agency site on IPM: http://www.epa.gov/ pesticides/factsheets/ipm.htm http://www.ohiostatebeekeepers.org Page, R.E. Jr.; Laidlaw, H.H. Jr.; Erickson, E.H. Jr. (Bee Res. Unit, USDA-SEA, Univ. Wisconsin, Madison, Closed population honeybee breeding: The distribution of sex alleles with gyne supersedure, Journal of Apicultural Research, v. 22, 184190, 1983 http://www.LatshawApiaries.com http://ziaqueenbees.com/ http://www.sare.org/ Kirk Webster : Described in Part I of this article. Contact is by phone (802) 758-2501 http://www.oldsolenterprises.com/ Harbo, John and Jeffrey Harris, The SMR Trait Explained by Hygienic Behavior of Adult Honey Bees. http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/ publications/publications.htm?SEQ_ NO_115=178712

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or several years, now, it has been unbearably dreary and frustrating for me to listen to discussions between beekeepers, read the bee journals, and especially, go to bee meetings. All the conversations have revolved around killing mites, fear of not being able to kill mites, and constant calls for someone to do something. Powerpoint presentations came into their own during this time, getting fancier with each passing month and giving at least the subliminal message to our nation of techno-dependent morons that, though the situation looks dire at the moment, things are actually well in hand and soon to be resolved. Meanwhile, the health and resilience of our bees, as well as the colony count, were steadily declining. Mite control chemicals appeared to prop things up for awhile, but in the end their main contributions were the creation of ever more virulent mites and the slow poisoning of our beehives. Bees and mites were never allowed to live together and co-evolve, and the true purpose and potential of varroa mites was never even considered. Thankfully, those days are over. Somehow, a few years ago, our community started coming back to life, and now there are all kinds of creative things going on, and many hopeful signs for the future. Granted, American commercial beekeeping still has its head firmly planted in the sand, and has decided to exist by exploiting two of the many unsustainable weaknesses built into our industrial agriculture system: the huge almond monoculture, and continued acceptable prices for diesel fuel. (In the end, almond pollination is going to be the venus fly-trap that finishes off the old commercial bee industry for good.) But this situation is counterbalanced by the ever increasing army of new, young and old hobby beekeepers coming on the scene, unencumbered by memories of the good old days, and ready to use their enthusiasm, creative en*Champlain Valley Bees and Queens. Box 381, Middlebury, VT 05753. Phone: (802) 758-2501

ergy, co-operative spirit and money to help build a better future for beekeeping. This is the soil out of which will grow a new beekeeping industry based on a healthier vision of the honeybee colony, agriculture, and our place in the natural world. Even the mite control conversations are more cheerful now, with the emphasis on softer treatments, and

Somehow, a few years ago, our community started coming back to life, and now there are all kinds of creative things going on, and many hopeful signs for the future.

there are both private and publicly funded breeding programs focusing on mite resistance. Best of all, there are whole meetings now devoted entirely to people who never treat their bees, and have found a variety of ways to make it work in their own situations. None of these schemes are perfect, (and why should we expect them to be?), but many of those involved, who were already keeping bees before the advent of mites, are now enjoying their beekeeping more than ever before. It puzzles some of us, however, that despite all the above-mentioned good news, beekeeping is still in a shaky situation at best; our colony count is still declining, and were still described, both inside and outside the industry, in terms of calamity and crisis. Most of us who figured out a way to keep bees without treatments, and still make a living from them, lost plenty of sleep and probably shortened their life span as part of the process. But looking back, we realize now that most of the stress we experienced came from ignorance

Despite disastrous weather during the second half of the summer in 2008, bees untreated for six years produced a crop equal to the longterm average.

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The wild power of nature that produced this magnificent tulip poplar tree needs to be harnessed in order for agriculture and beekeeping to thrive in the future.
and our inability to be flexible in our thinking. We didnt know what we were doing, and had no good models to follow. Today the process seems relatively simple and straightforward requiring steady work and attention, just like any worthwhile endeavor, but well within the grasp of the vast majority of beekeepers. Why are we having so much trouble abandoning our self-destructive habits and working in a more creative and positive direction? Is it really a co-incidence that many of the people who actually solved some of the problems confronting our community lived in rented barns in New England, travel trailers in an industrial district of Tucson, or some other situation considered marginal by most of society? Why are the beekeepers in Scandinavia, who have not treated their bees for many years and are doing just fine, still being marginalized in various ways and continuously encouraged to just shut up? After Kirsten Traynor described so well the current state of German beekeepinghow incredibly organized, meticulous and capable they are you have to ask: Why have they made so little progress with varroa resistance after living with these mites for so long? I have a list of four things which have been for the most part left out of the current discussions about bees, and which I believe are of enormous importance for the future health of our industry, and for that matter all of agriculture. Ill go so far as to say that, if these four things are included in our vision of beekeeping in the future, then our community will recover its health, sanity, prosperity and peace of mind; and help to lead agriculture in a similar recovery. If they are neglected, then beekeeping and agriculture will continue in its self-destructive course, ending in a rural version of Mutually Assured Destructiondespite the hopeful signs mentioned earlier. Ill list my four topics first, then come back to each one in more detail and try to show how they are related to each other:

But what we really need now is to bring wildness back to the farms, suburbs, and cities where we spend most of our time, and to, cultivate more Wildness in all of these places.
First; the Element of Wildnesswe need to learn how to utilize the things we dont know, cant know, about Nature, as well as the things we do know (or think we know). Second; FarmersPeople who make a nice life for themselves by working and living closely every day with their own crops and livestock, are almost extinct in North Americabut they are the only ones who can solve our current problems, and the only way to produce good food and keep society stable in an energy-poor future. Third; Using Horizontal breeding methods instead of Vertical methodsfor bees, crops, and other livestock. And Fourth; The Element of Mindwere stuck in a mindset thats harmful and destructive to everything we touchespecially ourselves. Yet, this mindset represents only a fraction of what were capable of. If you need something to help you remember these four points, just think of, Wild Farmers getting Horizontally Minded. Maybe that will help... So,The Element of Wildness. There was a period of time, two or three decades ago, when lots of people seemed to have those big Sierra Club books sitting around in the living

room, with pictures of mountains and redwood forests on the cover, and down in the corner the quote from Henry David Thoreau: In Wildness is the Preservation of the World. Truer words were never spoken, and now we need this element of wildness to help us end the waste and destruction we have perpetrated upon the world. But were stuck with a very limited concept of Wildness. We see it as it was portrayed in those oversized Nature booksas places where primeval forests or other ecosystems are left undisturbed by people; where we can go for short periods of time to camp and be restored by the incredible power, majesty and subtlety of untrammeled Nature. All of this I approve of completely along with the supreme importance of preserving all such places that still exist. But what we really need now is to bring wildness back to the farms, suburbs, and cities where we spend most of our time, and to cultivate more Wildness in all of these places. As a first example, lets use cornour most important crop. Even in our highly manipulated, subsidized, gas-guzzling and science-dominated corn production, the importance of Wildness is clearly shown by the constant need for new varieties to replace the last batch of hybrids or GMOs that are currently breaking down due to pressure from pests and diseases. Where does at least some essential part of the genetic material for these new varieties come from? The most remote valleys and hillsides of Oaxaca, Mexico; sometimes accessible only by mule or on foot; where agriculture is more primitive, and varieties have been carefully cultivated and preserved for an uncountable number of generations by indigenous people and subsistence farmers. This pool of wild genetic material gets smaller every year, due to the incursion of more and more modern, sciencecreated varieties into Oaxaca. Depending on this kind of a system to get our corn varieties has provided some excitement for a few plant explorers; created a small elite class of corn breeders and technicians, along with a temporary supply of corn big enough to feed livestock, people and vehicles; but its utterly breathtaking in its stupidity when you consider the way its putting the entire N. American corn crop at risk in the future, and the way it has squandered the original and incomparable gift of corn; given to us as countless stable varieties by indigenous people and American farmerswhen there were still American farmers. The same situation exists, as slightly less glaring examples, in many of our other major crops. And all by neglecting the element of Wildness. Is it that much different with our bees? So far, the only bees that have been able to coexist with varroa here without treatments, and pass on that ability for many generations, came from more primitive places where agriculture is not as advanced as ours: far eastern Russia and Africa (via South America). Other lines of bees have been selected based on labor-intensive monitoring of one or a few traits, which resulted in a few colonies with good mite-fighting ability, but so far it has not been possible to propagate them into

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a large and stable population of colonies that dont require treatments. The important point, however, is not that we should always rush off to a primitive place to get our breeding stock, though that may be helpful. The vital thing is to cultivate wildness at home where we live; to acknowledge, enjoy and utilize the mystery and unknowable power of Nature, as well as the few things we think we know about Her. We need to breed bees along these lines in order to create diverse regional populations that are stable, resilient, and easy to care foras the basis for future pollination when energy is scarce, and crops and livestock (including bees) must all live in the same place year-round. The way to accomplish this is through Horizontal breeding schemes, but first lets look at the only people who can successfully carry them out: Farmers. The prospect of having no farmersor very few farmersin the future is even more frightening than the prospect of having no oil; though of course these two problems are closely linked to each other. What passes for farming in North America now is largely a process of converting petroleum energy into food energy. Once the indigenous peoples of North America had been destroyed or subdued, and their land and resources appropriated, the vital working people who replaced them on the landfarmers became the next target for exploitation and destruction by a predatory and greedy society. Power mechanics was the means by which so many farmers were forced or persuaded to move to urban areas and sell their labor for wages. This process has continued right up to the present moment, and now, by some estimates, there is only one half of one percent of our population making a living from farming without any other job. We now have so few people raising crops and livestock full-time, (many of them are nearing retirement) and are so dependent on petroleum for the production, processing and transport of food, that its possible to envision scenarios where the disruption of the supply of oil, and/or the continued loss of farmers could cause people to be without food in both rural and urban locations, while surrounded by some of the best and most productive farmland in the world. And we lost so much more than just food security when we decided to create a society without full-time farmers. For one thing we lost a continuous paradise for honey bees at least a part of which used to stretch from New York and Pennsylvania all the way to the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansaswhen farms were smaller and almost all of them had crops, livestock, pasture, fencerows and woodlots. A varied landscape with plenty of good food for bees year-round, and much greater possibilities for beauty and human communities than the vast monocrops of corn and soybeans offer today. The most important thing we lost though was the slowly accumulated experience, wisdom, and reverence of people who worked with living things day after day over many generations. There is no other way to obtain this kind of knowledgewhich of necessity includes all the unknown mysteries of Nature,

as well as what can be scientifically demonstratedexcept by having teachers who lived in this tradition, and by paying attention as you live the same way yourself. Frankly, weve also lost a lot of the honesty, integrity and humility that eventually accrues to anyone who seriously pursues this way of life. We dont understand the creative act of farming anymore, and as a society it seems normal to us to accomplish things by using up resources and exploiting other people. Thats why we need to expand our conception of what farming is, and to begin again cultivating new farmers on this creative model. Of all the definitions of farming Ive heard, I still like Masanobu Fukuokas (author of The One Straw Revolution, and The Natural Way of Farming) the best: Farming is really the cultivation of better human beings. This lack of understanding of both what farming really is and the importance of focusing on it as we face the future was, I think, responsible for some of the surprising responses I received when the bees began to stabilize without treatments, and I began describing how the apiary was moved in that direction. The responses were extreme on both ends of the spectrumsome people believing that I actually can walk on water; and others so outraged that they resorted to theft, harassment and all sorts of other connivances to try to ob-

One of the most important tools used by successful farmers since before the dawn of history, was the use of Horizontal methods of plant breeding and selection, as opposed to the Vertical methods used by most modern plant breeders.
tain whatever secrets I must be withholding from everyone. Both of these reactions are completely unrelated to reality, as any one of my friends, neighbors or regular helpers will gladly tell you. The only secret is steady work and attention over a long period of time. Im just a farmer whose inspiration comes from the world of Nature and the knowledge and wisdom handed down from genuine successful farmers for thousands of years. If there is a secret about farming thats being withheld from the American people, its the wonderful way of life thats possible when a small farm really succeeds. There is no other place where all the positive aspects of humanity can be more fully developedwhere the net result is creative and not dependent on the exploitation of people and Nature. Our current wasteful, greedy and destruc-

tive system of agriculture doesnt have a billy goats chance in hell of producing food for our people 100 years from now. In fact, it remains to be seen whether it will still function 10 years from now. In all the discussions and arguments about what we must do to prepare for the future, there is one thing we all must agree on: In North America, at least, and for a long list of good reasons, we need more Farmers... One of the most important tools used by successful farmers since before the dawn of history, was the use of Horizontal methods of plant breeding and selection, as opposed to the Vertical methods used by most modern plant breeders. Another term used to describe Horizontal methods of breeding is Recurrent Mass Selection; and you can read all about these things in Raoul Robinsons books: Return To Resistance and Self-Organizing Agro-Ecosystems, which are available free at http://sharebooks.ca if you cant obtain published copies. Recurrent Mass Selection was the means by which people produced numberless stable varieties of all our crop plants that reproduce by seed. In fact, this was the way they became crop plants and then distinct varieties in the first place. I have to oversimplify a little bit, but think of it this way: When the people who actually grow the crops select a relatively small number of plants to supply the seed from a large number of similar plants (the crop), based on the total performance and adaptability of the seed plants, and then use that seed to produce the next cropand repeat the process year after yeara stable variety is eventually developed that is slowly but surely developing and improving the characteristics desired by the cultivators. It also will have resilience, vigor, and resistance to pests and diseases that are present in the environment in which the crop is growing. So far so good. But then along came Gregor Mendel, whose work on inheritance supplied plant breeders and scientists with the basis of Vertical plant breeding. At first, it took quite a long time for anyone to develop even a single practical application for Mendels work. But eventually plant breeders became fascinated by the process of transferring a single trait (such as genetic resistance to a specific disease) from a non-productive, wild type plant into a very productive susceptible variety, by making back crosses over several generations. The growing interest in this process created the intellectual framework that now underlies most of plant breeding, and has led to the development of the most damaging biological technology of allmodern genetic engineering. Theres mounting evidence, however, that following the path of Vertical plant breeding was a serious mistake. Many of the varieties created in this way seemed spectacular at first, but pests and diseases mutated quickly and soon were attacking them againrequiring more and more pesticide use in order to obtain a crop at all. The answer was to keep breeding new resistant varieties, but now its gotten to the point, in some cases, where pests can adapt faster than new varieties can be created by this method. Chemical companies are

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A rogues gallery of North Carolina beekeepers1. . . plus one yankee me (second from left).
always happy to step into the breech here and supply pesticides for controlling pests and diseases when this kind of single-gene resistance fails. Here is a big part of the answer to the questions of why we need to use so many agricultural chemicals in the first place, and why the environment for bees is being continually degraded. Again, Im oversimplifying so this wont get too long, and leaving out completely the question of soil fertility and farming methodswhich have an enormous effect on pest and disease problemsbut I think the basic points are sound: Crop varieties that are developed by Horizontal methodsfor reasons that are not entirely clearhave resistance to pests and diseases that are based on several factors working together, and have much greater stability, resilience and productivity over the long run, than varieties developed by Vertical methods. Horizontal breeding is also best accomplished by farmers themselves, and theres no need for extra high-tech equipment or overeducated experts to make the process work. As is so often the case, we abandoned the simple, effective methods worked out with so much attention and sacrifice by countless generations of our ancestorsalong with the wild resilience that their crops possessedand adopted methods that feed the self-importance of a few individuals, produce only short-term results, and in the end undermine our food ecology, health, and social stability. Were making the same mistake with our honey bees. Were trying to ensure the failure of modern beekeeping by focusing too much on single traits; by ignoring the elements of Wildness; and by constantly treating the bees. The biggest mistake of all is to continue viewing mites and other pests as enemies that must be destroyed, instead of allies and teachers that are trying to show us a path to a better
1

My own methods of propagating, selecting and breeding bees, worked out through many years of trial and error, are really just an attempt to establish and utilize Horizontal breeding with honey beesto create a productive system that preserves and enhances the elements of Wildness.
future. The more virulent a parasite is, the more powerful a tool it can be for improving stocks and practice in the future. All the boring and soul-destroying work of counting mites on sticky boards, killing brood with liquid nitrogen, watching bees groom each other, and measuring brood hormone levelsall done in thousands of replicationswill someday be seen as a colossal waste of time when we finally learn to let the varroa mites do these things for us. My own methods of propagating, selecting and breeding bees, worked out through many years of trial and error, are really just an attempt to establish and utilize Horizontal breeding with honey beesto create a productive system that preserves and enhances the elements of Wildness. My results are not perfect, but they have enabled me to continue making a living from bees without much stress, and have a positive outlook for the future. I have no doubt that many other beekeepers could easily achieve these same results, and then surpass them. In so many cases, the only thing preventing

interested in beekeeping without treatments

us from breaking out of an old destructive pattern and doing something genuinely creative is the condition of our Mind. What kind of a mind is it that accomplishes everything by using things up; where the evidence of success almost always involves the destruction of Nature and the diminishment of other people? Whatever else you can say about it, this is the collective mind of our culture. Greed, fear and the illusion of security bind us to our old habits, and those who benefit the most from our predatory system make sure the blinders remain firmly in place. Theres also an endless supply of liquid, botanical, electronic and economic narcotics available to prevent us from experiencing another, more genuine, reality. If I learned anything from my mentors, it was that participating in the current culture is not necessary for a happy and healthy life; and that most people only use a fraction of their minds potential. The heart and mind of real farming requires both of these these things: some degree of separation from popular culture, and the use of the minds full potential for creativity. Its becoming impossible to ignore the fact that we cant live on the Earth for much longer by destroying things and using them up. We have to learn to live in the future by actively creating a better world, beginning with the realm of Biology. This can only be accomplished by focusing on the health and well-being of other living things before ourselves. Farming is the place where a happy and healthy life can be a by-product of this work. We can see the answers all around us if we just learn to look with eyes of generosity instead of the eyes of greed. Every tradition has a commentary on this dilemma, like this one from St. Thomas: The Kingdom of Heaven surrounds you, but you see it not... When the Mind can make this transition, and function from a place of compassion, humility, and generosity; a whole new type of farming (and beekeeping) is born. Farmers can use Horizontal breeding methods to reestablish the intimate relationship between crops, livestock and people; within which the element of Wildness can be preserved and allowed to protect us all. In time the process becomes increasingly self-organized, as more things are accomplished with biological energy and Natures self-knowledge, instead of with steel, petroleum, and scientific neurosis. Much of the drudgery disappears and is replaced by a steady attention to many details, and when successful, farming can resume its rightful place as the most interesting and satisfying of all occupations. This is a transition we must make in order for people to have decent lives in a fossil-energy-poor future. Frankly, Im optimistic that this transition will actually take place. Smoke and mirrors may keep things limping along the way they are for awhile longer, but when energy becomes a really serious problem, that crisis will force us to change in a fundamental way. Or consider Winston Churchills very astute observation: You can always count on the Americans to do the right thingafter theyve exhausted every other possibility...

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A person would be hard pressed to find a state that does more to promote the use of honey and beekeeping than the state of Minnesota. While the state might be best known for being the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it is also a U.S. leader in the production of honey and promoting beekeeping.
innesota has more than 200 commercial beekeepers in the state and while the bulk of them make their living largely from honey production, a few large bee operations truck their bees across the country for pollination. Annual production of honey is approximately 10 million pounds, which places it among the top tier of honey-producing states in the U.S. In 2007 Minnesota placed number five in honey production. But, by far, the largest portion of beekeepers in the state are the hobbyists with nearly 800 people who enjoy beekeeping and raising a few colonies. Minnesota has two major active organizations for beekeepers--the Minnesota Honey Producers Association (MHPA) and the Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association (MHBA). Residents are encouraged to check out their web sites at www.minnesotahoney producers.org and www.mnbeekeepers. com. The state provides plenty of opportunities for anyone wishing to learn more about honey bees, honey production, or becoming a beekeeper. Depending upon where people live in the state, there are a number of local bee organizations available for joining if theyre interested. These bee groups include the North Central Beekeepers Association, the TriCounty Beekeepers Association (near St. Cloud), the Lake Region, Todd County Area Beekeepers Association, and the Southeastern MN Beekeepers Association.

Last year MHPA celebrated its 100th birthday. Its main goal is to promote the sale and use of honey, along with educating current and future beekeepers across the state. Every year MHPA sponsors and selects an annual Minnesota Honey Queen to help promote honey and beekeeping. Their queen makes public presentations throughout the year that include greeting the public during the state fair held at the end of August and also she visits a number of school classrooms to talk to students about beekeeping. The 2008 Honey Queen was Allison Hull, the daughter of Jeff and Vicki Hull of Battle Lake (pop. 780), Minnesota. At the time of her reign Allison was an 18-

year-old freshman/sophomore at Alexandria Technical College Majoring in EWeb Development and Management. Shes also a fourth generation beekeeper and her family has been in the beekeeping industry for more than 100 years. As the 2008 Minnesota Honey Queen, Allison made nearly 50 guest appearances during the year promoting and educating the public about her states honey and beekeeping industry. At the 2009 joint North American Beekeeping Conference and American Beekeeping Federation Con-vention scheduled in Reno, Nevada, in January 2009 she represented her state at a Honey Queen Reception and also was selected as the 2009 American Honey Princess (see photo).

In recent decades a lot of Minnesotas farmland, once visited by foraging bees, has since converted to corn and soybean crops and fence rows has all but disappeared from the scene.

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According to proud parent Jeff Hull, his daughter Allison (along with her three siblings), has been a good beekeeping assistant over the years, helping to extract honey, add supers, and build hives and frames. Jeff Hull helps run the family commercial beekeeping and honey business, along with his dad, Dwight, and brothers Wes and Jeff. Between them they manage some 4,000 hives. Since 1951 the Hull family has shipped bees to Northern Louisiana for the winter months. In recent decades, when the almonds are in season, they haul bees to California for pollination. All but about 500 hives will return to Minnesota for the honey season when the weather warms up. They usually keep about 500 hives in Louisiana during the summer months for honey production. These bees will forage on a number of southern crops including cotton, soybeans, and a variety of tree blossoms including the Chinese Tallow tree. Jeff tells the family beekeeping story of his grandfather, who during the 1950s worked for a Louisiana beekeeper and his payment, in lieu of cash, was a one pound package of bees per day. Jeff Hull is also involved with raising queens for Marla Spivak, noted bee researcher and associate professor of Entomology at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus. Her research centers on breeding a line of hygienic honey bees that can resist diseases and mites on their own instead of relying on antibiotics and pesticides. According to Jeff Hull, for the past 60 years the Hull Family has shipped their honey to Sioux Honey Association at Sioux City, Iowa, in the fall for processing. He is currently on the board of directors of this organization. MHBA also sponsors a Youth Beekeeping Scholarship and staffs a daily beekeeping demonstration at the Minnesota State Fair, at the St. Paul Campus. An annual food products made with honey Fair contest is quite popular and attracts

several hundred cooks with the winner receiving a sweet reward of $2,000. MHPA publishes an annual eight-page newspaper titled Bee Lines which is distributed free to the public during the state fair. This artistic publication highlights the story of honey bees, beekeeping, breaks down the cost of getting started with beekeeping, introduces the annual Honey Queen, provides some Blue Ribbon Fair honey recipes, and has a couple pages for bee activities for kids. The 2008 Bee Lines also features a story about Marla Spivak, associate professor of entomology at University of Minnesota, and describes her research work on breeding better bees that are more resistant to diseases and mites. Denny Jarosch of South Haven (pop. 208), Minnesota, secretary of the TriCounty Beekeepers Association, is fairly typical of many of the hobbyists. He enjoys beekeeping on a small scale and manages only a few hives. He raises enough honey for his family and to give to some friends. If theres any left over, as a TriCounty beekeeper member, he can sell honey to visitors at the annual Benton County Fair in St. Cloud (pop. 62,232). His bee association meets at the Whitney Center in St. Cloud on the first Monday of each month. He says there are usually 25 to 30 members who attend for friendly comradeship, exchange of beekeeping ideas and experiences, and to listen to guest speakers. He recommends joining a local beekeeping association for anybody interested in raising bees. Another way of learning about beekeeping includes mentoring under a current beekeeper, or taking a class. Every year the University of Minnesotas Entomology Department offers a popular Beginning Beekeeping in Northern Climates class. This two-day introductory beekeeping course is taught in the month of March. In mid-July instructors teach a three-day Queen Rearing class. Also, people interested in earning University academic Entomology credit, can register for a three-week Bee Management course taught each sum-

mer, which is entirely hands-on in which students learn to handle and manage bees. Check out their web site at www.extension. umn.edu/honeybees/components/short course.htm. The motto of MHBA is Better beekeeping through education. To help reach this goal, a MHBA library, with some 120 books, videos, and other resource materials covering all aspects of honey bees, beekeeping, and the use of honey bee products, is available to its members. There are also

2009 American Honey Queen Diane Jurchen of Iowa (left) and 2009 American Honey Princess Allison Hull of Minnesota (right) after their coronation at the American Beekeeping Federation Convention in Reno, NV on Jan. 17, 2009 (Photo courtesy of Anna Kettlewell, American Honey Queen Program Chairperson)

Beekeeper Conrad Legatt stands alongside his hives set in a Walnut Tree grove near his St. Joe, Minnesota, home.

Bees and trees make a sweet setting for one of Conrad Legatts honey bee yards.

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Conrad extracts honey from his 50 hives in his garage. He sells his honey locally in quart jars.

Conrad pulls a bee pollen tray from one of his hives.

a few sideline/hobbyist beekeepers in the state and one of these is 59-year-old Conrad Legatt of St. Joseph (pop. 5,604), Minnesota. Since 1978 hes been raising honey bees on his five acres of rural land where he and his wife raised their five children. This past year he managed 50 hives. He says his wife, Kathy, calls his beekeeping activities his overgrown hobby. Conrad was raised on a farm with seven siblings. He called it a multi-functional farm with dairy cows, chickens and pigs. Following high school he spent a few years in the U.S. Army and then attended vocational school for two years. He later drove school buses and overland coaches. Today he feels fortunate to work in a wood-working plant located only a few miles away from his home where he is employed in maintenance and engineering. His wife, on the other hand, has a daily 60 mile (one way) commute to the outskirts of the Twin Cities for her job. Conrad keeps one yard of 10 beehives at his home located near their garden in a sheltered Black Walnut tree grove that he planted several decades ago. The remainder of his hives are scattered in rural sites within 20 miles. He hauls his hives in his extended eight-foot bed pickup. The town of St. Joseph is located a few miles west of St. Cloud and local residents refer to it only as St. Joe. St. Joe is home to a number of theology students studying at St. Benedicts College. Every year Conrad makes up an observation hive for the schools annual Earth Day and Agriculture Celebration. Conrad admits that the hilly farmland, which has a smattering of woodlands in his neighborhood, isnt as bee friendly as it used to be when there were more dairy farms around the area. With milk cows, farmers had plenty of pastureland, along with hay fields of alfalfa and clover. There were also a lot of natural blooming plants growing along the fence rows. Today, he

says three-fourths of all these dairy farms are gone, pastures are planted into cash crops of corn and soybeans, and most of the fences have long disappeared. Even some of the low swampy lands that once held an abundance of wildflowers are now planted in agricultural crop land. Conrad said 2008 started with a late spring and this led to a late honey flow. During the honey season his bees largely foraged on deciduous Basswood tree blooms in July, along with dandelions, wildflowers like Goldenrod, plus a few clover and alfalfa fields. Over the years his hives have normally produced somewhere between 60 to 70 pounds of honey each. This year turned out to be a little below average. He extracts honey in his garage using a manual uncapper hot knife and a radial extractor that will hold 18 medium or shallow frames. He then sells his honey locally out of his home. He belongs to the Minnesota Honey Producers Association (where hes the current treasurer), the Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association, and the Tri-County Beekeepers Association. He likes the monthly organizational meetings when he and fellow beekeepers can socialize and talk about how they work bees. He says each member has to settle on what works best for him/her when it comes to beekeeping. As you might suspect, wintering bees in a colder state like Minnesota takes a few extra precautions and preparations. For Conrad, in the fall, after honey is extracted, he pulls pollen traps that he set in the hives. He then dries the pollen, cleans it, freezes it, and sells it to local customers by the pound in plastic bags. Conrad said he sells pollen to a number of local residents who live in the region who are interested in using pollen for nutritional and health reasons, especially people who have allergies. He then medicates his bees with Fumagilin-B and formic acid for mites. He says he doesnt pull all the honey, but leaves a little extra in his hives to help with over wintering. He next feeds a sugar water solution. He then winter wraps all hives with a wax cardboard sleeve and tops each hive with a board designed to

absorb and catch moisture. Every spring, when its time to nuc and split hives, about 60 percent of his hives will receive a new queen that he reared. He raises his own queens by grafting larvae into queen cells. He does this in a bee box with three separate chambers. While the scientific bee research field around the world continues to investigate bee loss problems in the industry and attempts to come up with solutions to controlling mites and other diseases, life goes on for Minnesota beekeepers. Whether they are commercial, sideliner or hobbyist, they all have a common link--they enjoy raising honey bees and promoting the use of honey.

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Continuing Efforts to Safeguard U.S. Honey Imports

Part 1 of Two Parts
by SYLVIA A. EZENWA, J.D.

Author has requested that we do not reproduce article digitally. Article only authorized for printed copy.

For a printed copy of article, please contact us E-Mail: info@americanbeejournal.com Phone: (217) 847-3324 Toll-free: (888) 922-1293

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Continuing Efforts to Safeguard U.S. Honey Imports

Part 1 of Two Parts
by SYLVIA A. EZENWA, J.D.

Author has requested that we do not reproduce article digitally. Article only authorized for printed copy.

For a printed copy of article, please contact us E-Mail: info@americanbeejournal.com Phone: (217) 847-3324 Toll-free: (888) 922-1293

April 2009

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Continuing Efforts to Safeguard U.S. Honey Imports

Part 1 of Two Parts
by SYLVIA A. EZENWA, J.D.

Author has requested that we do not reproduce article digitally. Article only authorized for printed copy.

For a printed copy of article, please contact us E-Mail: info@americanbeejournal.com Phone: (217) 847-3324 Toll-free: (888) 922-1293

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s this honey? she asks abruptly. I nod, not wanting to insult her with the mention of my rather obvious sign that says, Local Raw Honey. So why is this honey so much darker than this other honey? She lifts the jar to the sunlight for closer examination. I nod and explain, Its easy. Its location, location, location. Every farm where I keep my bees has a different balance of flowers from different crops. Different crops produce different nectars and different nectars produce a different kind of honey unique to that location. Yes, but why is this one so dark? That honey was produced on a farm that specializes in strawberry production and thats the honey the bees produced from the nectar of the strawberry blossoms. Does it taste like strawberries? she asks with a curious incredulity.

Let me give you a sample and you be the judge, I offer. Reaching into my plastic tub of ice cream tasting spoons, I dispense a very small portion of my strawberry blossom honey from my set of open sample bottles. Wow! she exclaims, that does taste like strawberries. What did you add to flavor it? Not a thing, I explain. Thats the natural taste of the honey the bees produce from the nectar of the strawberry blossom. Would you like to try a sample of my blueberry blossom honey? Does it taste like blueberries? Im not really a fan of blueberries. Not really, but again, you be the judge. I pull up my sample bottle of a lemon-yellow honey that was produced from another farm, this one specializing in blueberry pro-

duction where my bees pollinate the blueberry blossoms. Tasting that sample, she exclaims, Youre right! Oh, thats fantastic. What other ones do you have? We spend the next few moments sampling honey from a watermelon farm, woodland meadows, wildflowers and my vaguely ubiquitous clover honey. She picks out a couple of bottles of her favorites, and as she pays me for the honey she says, And to think I thought honey was just honey. Meeting Customer Expectations Ive lost track of how many times Ive witnessed that same scenario. My purpose in offering these different varieties, or varietal honeys, is partly a marketing strategy catering to customer preferences, in some cases creating a preference. But I also hope to create an educational experience. People forget that honey bees pollinate a host of crops, and that each crop produces a unique nectar as unique as a flowers scent. When Im selling honey at the farmers markets, I always bring my sample bottles of varietal honeys and my tub of ice cream tasting spoons. I give out free samples and invite my potential customers to engage in a taste challenge. Can they tell the difference? Do they have a preference? Do they still believe honey is just honey? Can they appreciate how locally produced honey is superior to the run-of-the-mill, store-brand honey from the grocery store? Most of all, I want the farmers market to become a multi-sensory experience rather than a mere shopping trip. The market is alive with sights and smells and tastes and engaging conversations that delight the senses. Its especially fun when shoppers bring their young children along. And yes, it all sells more honey.

Different honeys are produced from farms that, to the best of my observable knowledge, did not have discernibly different flora. The farms were all about five miles apart, and yet each produced a uniquely different honey.

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began to notice differences in color and taste, even though I could not discern or describe what made the differences. From all given observations, these farms were all within five miles of each other and they all produced the normal spectrum of local flora. And yet the honeys produced were quite different from each other. The Keys to Varietal Honeys I think the primary key to producing and marketing varietal honeys is to have different locations that grow different crops. The honey from each location has to have some discernable quality to distinguish it from the other honeys. A second key is to have some method of harvesting and storage where the unique honeys can be segregated. Since I still keep honey in five-gallon buckets, I use self-adhesive address labels to mark the source of the honey stored in that bucket. When pouring honey into bottles and jars, some method of identifying the variety is required. I use small, self-adhesive return address labels above my normal label. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of marketing varietal honeys is educating the consumer. Simply placing a label identifying the flora source or production location is not enough. Different consumers have different preferences and the best way I find to explain the different qualities of the honey is through taste challenges. Ice cream tasting spoons are available from suppliers such as http://www.icecreamsupply company.com (3,000 for $29.99) or smaller quantities of larger spoons are available from dollar-type stores in packets of 50 for $1. The Value of Varietals The real value of offering varietal honeys is to offer the consumer a choice. Given a choice, most consumers will express a preference, and meeting preferences encourages repeat sales. Varietal honeys also help me to stand out among other vendors. Sometimes Im asked,

My farmers market display. I line up different honeys and because of the color contrast, it generates no small interest in people who come up and say, Is this all honey? Thats when I break out my sample spoons and start the taste challenge.
What is Varietal Honey? I define varietal honey as any honey that is different than another kind of honey. The different honeys may come from a different crop (strawberries vs. blueberries), possess a different color (lighter vs. darker), come from a different location (Oak Ridge vs. Cape Girardeau), come from different harvest times (summer vs. fall) or simply look and taste differently beyond my ability to describe it. The opposite of varietal honeys is a homogenous blend of the various honeys into an intermingled product that veils and unifies the distinctive qualities of each respective honey. This is not a bad idea, however. I still sell honey through a couple of health food stores and offering varietals is too confusing and the management is unable to fully explain the differences. It is easier, not necessarily better, in these cases to simply offer a rather nebulously vague product called Honey even if it comes from the nectar of specialty crops. And I have to offer this caveat: bees fly two miles (our estimate) to gather nectar. Thats a territory that covers over 8,000 acres. When I have bees pollinating a forty-acre watermelon patch, I have to confess I cannot claim any kind of exclusivity with respect to the nectar source in the other 7,960 acres. True varietal honey would have to be labeled as the influence of a majority and the proximity of a specialty crop. But lets face it: there are a lot more blooms that the bees visit and unless I can find 8,000 acres of any single crop, its hard to claim the exclusive variety. Still, I get a lot of questions like, What did the bees make this honey out of? And consumers want answers even when you dont know every flower the bees visited. How I Got Started with Varietal Honeys When I began expanding my outyards and taking local farmers up on their offers granting me locations to set a few hives, I wanted to give each respective landlord a bottle of honey from their own crops grown on their own farm. Thats when I

(l) A potential buyer sizes up my varietal honeys. (r) This view of the table from a different angle shows my honey-tasting spoons and sample bottles of honey.

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Which variety is best on hot biscuits? or Which one do you recommend in my tea? These kind of conversations engage and educate the customer. Sometimes Im asked by other beekeepers if I charge a higher price for varietal honeys from specialty crops. I dont, but I find consumers at the farmers markets will buy several

smaller bottles of different varietals rather than a larger jar of my normal honey. Smaller-sized bottles are more profitable for me (as larger-sized jars are more economical to the consumer) and due to time and space constraints, I usually limit my specialty crop honeys to 8ounce, 16-ounce and 24-ounce plastic squeeze bottles.

The homemade sign I use (simply a white board with a message that changes from week to week). Sometimes it reads, Strawberry honey now available. Other vendors use their signs to announce weekly specials or anticipated harvests of special vegetables.

This approach also means that I need an 8-ounce, a 16-ounce and a 24-ounce size of each varietal honey, and each bottle must be labeled with its respective variety. Marketing varietals does take extra time and labor, but nothing draws a crowd at the farmers market better than my educational explanation as I hand out samples. Giving away free samples generates increased sales. Perhaps the best proof of the power of offering varietal honeys came from a scheduling conflict I experienced this past fall. Normally I attend a fall festival at our local apple orchard always held on the first Saturday in October. This past season, a new market opened up on the same day. The organizer of the competing market was a friend of mine, so I gave him my support in lieu of my regular appearance at the fall festival. Another honey producer, a buddy of mine, learning that my presence would be elsewhere on this day, brought his single-variety honey to the fall festival. He was inundated with requests from people who said, Wheres the strawberry honey? Wheres the blueberry honey? Whats new this year? He tried to explain he didnt have those varieties, but the response was repetitive, Well, we got it [the varietal honey] here last year! The customers at the fall festival failed to remember me, but they remembered my product. The powerful remembrance of varietal honey, created by free samples and taste challenges, produced a self-sustaining, repeat demand. Offering varietal honeys takes time to explain and educate the consumer, but it creates a higher awareness of your product line that moves your honey into a higher realm of appreciation. When customers find you have a special honey they prefer, theyll be back.

These two photos of my label show the extra label I add (Strawberry Fields) to designate the floral source. I use a regular label for these sizes, then add my floral source label on top. Yes, its somewhat more work, and Im contemplating recreating my normal label to include the floral variety. For now, I simply use these small return address labels to designate the honey variety.

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Introduction eekeepers frequently ask, Does maple honey taste like maple syrup? Given the price differential between the two substances and their common source (maple trees), it is easy to understand this interest. With modern laboratory equipment we can evaluate many characteristics of honey with great precision (color, its composition, pH, its tendency to crystallize etc.) The main characteristic, however, that separates honey from its competition, is taste, and we havent yet designed laboratory equipment to evaluate flavor. As unsophisticated and old fashioned as it may seem, we have to rely on our subjective human sensory equipment for this, and tastings have become the timehonored method of characterizing the olfactory and gustatory qualities of honey, fine wines and other gourmet foods.

An Introduction to Joe Riddle and our Red Maple Honey Tasting

Allow me to introduce Joe Riddle, coauthor of A Red Maple Honey Tasting. In 2005 Joe enrolled as a freshman majoring in Entomology at Michigan State University. He comes from St. Marys, Pennsylvania where his parents, Michael and Teresa, are beekeepers. He works as an Undergraduate Research Assistant for Dr. Zachary Huang, our Apiculturist at Michigan State University. He also helps me with my column, The Other Side of Beekeeping, by caring for and photographing my plants while I am out of state photographing important honey plants in other parts of the country. Ill get back to Joe in just a moment, but now I need to fill in some background on what Joe is writing about. In March of 2005 I wrote a column about maples, indicating that there is frequent interest among beekeepers about the qualities of maple honey. Given the price differential between maple syrup and honey, its easy to understand the origin of this interest. Then, in April of 2005, Mr. Rowland of Beeman Apiaries in Owego, New York sent me a sample of what he felt certain was red maple honey. After reading his description of how the honey was obtained, I agreed that he was probably correct. I now had the opportunity to shed some light on the qualities of maple honey. I decided to use Mr. Rowlands honey in a honey tasting during the Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Week, Beekeepers Meeting. Because Joe planned on attending the ANR Week meeting, I asked if he would like to help me with that tasting. He answered affirmatively. I did not, however, tell him that the real purpose of the tasting was to decide if the honey had any resemblance to maple syrup. In this way neither Joe nor the participants initially knew what they were tasting, nor for that matter, why they were tasting it. This made the initial part of the tasting a double-blind test, the gold standard of the pharmaceutical industry for testing new drugs. This procedure allows the placebo effect to be evaluated and prevents the one administering the tests from unintentionally giving away information about the material being tested. With this as an introduction, please read Joes article. George S. Ayers

Materials and Methods In April 2005, we received a sample of honey from Joe Rowland, a beekeeper in Owego, New York, located near the PA-NY border. He thought it was nearly pure red maple (Acer rubrum) honey. From his description of the circumstances under which the honey was collected, we thought there was a very good chance that his assessment of its origin was correct. His bees had been overwintered, in his words, in acres and acres of red maple. In anticipation of moving to a new spring location, the hives had been stripped of nonessential comb in preparation for the move. Shortly after that there were six or seven days of warm sunny weather with ambient temperatures of 60 to 70F. When Mr. Rowland returned to relocate his bees, he discovered that the bees had been busy making honey. Dandelion had not yet bloomed and he could find nothing except red maple in blossom. Realizing that this new honey was likely that of red maple, he took it home to extract. From the cappings, it was easy to distinguish last years old, unused, honey from that which had just recently been made, and he carefully extracted only the new honey. This was the honey we received. We stored it at -20F until we used it in the honey tasting described below in March of the following year. Because of the interest beekeepers have in the potential similarities between maple honey and maple syrup, we decided to submit the sample to a panel of beekeepers to see if they would detect a maple flavor. To prevent bias from affecting the results of our honey tasting, it was important to conduct at least part of the tasting as a double blind test where neither the participants nor the one administering the tasting knew the real purpose of the tasting. One of Michigan States undergraduate Entomology Majors, Joe Riddle, agreed to conduct the tasting at the 2006 Michigan State University, ANR Week Beekeepers Meeting. He was told only that his job was to keep the tasting on schedule and to prevent the participants from discussing their perceptions of the honeys being tasted. This precaution helped rule out the possibility that the opinions of a single or small group of participants would influence the other participants1. To help make the purpose of the honey tasting appear little more than to obtain information about the qualities of several honeys, three honeys were used in the tasting, only one of which was the honey described above. Two of them were essentially shams. The honeys were provided to the participants in labeled souffl cups (A, B and C), each accompanied with a coffee stirrer for sampling the contents. The participants were also supplied with water to rinse their mouths in between samples. Three sets of short questionnaires were developed for the purpose of gathering the data. Each set was stored in a sealed envelope indicating only the order in which it was to be made available to the tasting panel. After each set of questionnaires was completed, they were collected and the next one was passed out. This procedure helped preserve the double blind character at least through the first questionnaire. The first questionnaire was designed to acquire unbiased descrip1

In a previous honey tasting (See the Other Side of Beekeeping, May 1998), we had discerned such activities where participants actually started changing their responses to the questions in the questionnaire apparently based on comments made by a small minority of the tasting panel.

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tions of the honeys. With the second set, it was becoming clear that the tasting had something to do with maple honey. We were not sure that our participants would be familiar with real maple syrup. We, therefore, provided a sample of fancy, light maple syrup2 to them at the time the third questionnaire was handed out. By this time, it was clear that one of the honeys was suspected to be maple honey. The questionnaires and the results for each are provided below. For the purpose of facilitating the readers interpretation of the results, sample A was Mr. Rowlands honey. In order to preserve the aura of being a typical honey tasting, the two sham honeys had quite different flavors (honey B was tupelo and honey C was alfalfa3). Results Below we present the raw data of the three relevant questionnaires. We have not presented data from the two sham honeys. For purposes of clarity in this writing, we have changed the question numbers so they are consecutive; otherwise, there would be gaps in the question numbers corresponding to the identical questions for the two sham honeys. The questions, question numbers, and question subparts (a, b, and c etc.) are presented in a standard font. For the purpose of associating individual responses with a particular participant, each participant has been assigned a number which is provided below in an enlarged, bolded and underlined font. Some participants, in addition to simply circling what they considered their best response, wrote comments pertaining to their response. We consider these comments to be part of the individuals response. To help keep the association between an individual and that individuals total response clear, and to separate it from responses of other participants, each individual total response is separated with a comma. Where questions and responses involve one of the three honeys, the honeys are identified as A, B and C. Honey A is the suspected red maple honey.
2 3

QUESTIONNAIRE 2
4. Do any of the three samples remind you of maple syrup? a. YesIf so, which one or ones? 1Calso asked the question, Real or fake maple syrup?, 2C, 7A, 8A, 12No b.MaybeIf so which one or ones? 5Aemphasized maybe, 7A, 10C, 11Amaybe C c. If more than one reminds you of maple syrup, which one most reminds you of maple syrup? 2C, 7A, 11A d.NoNone of them remind me of maple syrup. 3, 4, 6, 9, 12 e. Im not sure what real maple syrup tastes like. Received no responses 5. If one reminded you of maple syrup, how strong was that resemblance? a. Just a hintNot very strong. 5, 8, 11in addition circled not very strong b.There was a moderately strong resemblance. 7, 10 c. There was a strong resemblance. 2 d.None reminded me of maple syrup. 3, 6, 9, 12 1 A tastes very faketoo sweet4, 4 provided no answer

QUESTIONNAIRE 3
6. Now that youve tasted some real maple syrup, are any of the honeys reminiscent of maple syrup? a. No 4, 6, 7, 9, 12 b.Yes If so, which one or ones? 1 The closest is B but not really close, 2A, 3B, 5A, 8A, 10C, 11Avery faintly Our interpretation of the results The responses to Questionnaire 1 were made while neither the participants nor the one administering the tasting realized that the tasting had anything to do with maple syrup. Questionnaire 1, therefore, provides a relatively unbiased assessment of the participants perceptions of the qualities of what we think was red maple honey. They are straightforward and require little interpretation from us. In general, the participants thought that the honey was relatively good; but in question 3, where the participants were asked if honey A reminded them of anything else, it didnt remind them of anything akin to maple syrup, either artificial or real, nor did it remind them of any other type of syrup. It did, however, seem to remind them of a wide variety of other things. Based on question 1, the intensity of the flavor for the most part was reported as average or strong (6 and 3 respectively) with only three reporting it as mild. The answers to questions 1, 2 and 3 seem to us to be somewhat at variance with what was reported in the March 2005, The Other side of Beekeeping where the literature reported there seemed to suggest maple honey is of rather low quality without much flavor or aroma5. Questionnaire 2 resulted in some ambiguity in the responses because of multiple voting by the participants. When we consider all the parts of question 4 together, we think they are best interpreted as the results provided in Table 1. A summary of the results of question 5 is provided in Table 2. We also think that the following comments are interesting and informative: Participant 1 who voted for C seemed to ask in question 4 whether we were asking for a resemblance to real or artificial maple syrup. This participant, in question 5, also added that honey A tastes very faketoo sweet. This participant also indicated that honey C, the honey this participant voted for, had no flavor. Interestingly, even though no participant had previously indicated
4 5

Purchased from Morse Farm Sugarworks in Montpelier VT. The alfalfa honey was purchased from a local health food store and the tupelo honey was purchased from L. L. Lanier and Sons in Wewahitchka, FL.

QUESTIONNAIRE 1 (FOR HONEY A)

1. Relative to most honey, how would you describe the intensity of the flavor of Honey A? a. Mild flavor: 2, 6, 11 b.Average flavor strength: 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 c. Strong flavor: 5, 7, 12 2. Relative to most honey, how would you describe the overall flavor of Honey A? a. Delicious:1, 2, 7, 12 b.Good:3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11 c. Pleasant: 5, 6 d.Unpleasant: Received no responses e. Unpalatable: Received no responses 3. Does HONEY A remind you of anything else (another honey, a fruit, a flower etc.)? If so what? 1 Very sweet and fruity 2 Apple 3 Hint of anise 4 No 5 Slight bite 6 Fruit 7 No answer 8 Licorice 9 Mint 10 Not harsh, Peach? Slightly abrasive, not very viscous 11 Faint licorice/anise 12 Hint of some kind of strong berrya strong berry and something elsevery good

Participant 1 also made similar comments for honeys B and C, apparently to explain why none were reminiscent of maple syrup. See comments under maple in general on page 217 and under the headings of Honey on pages 218, 219 and 220.

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an unfamiliarity with real maple syrup, after sampling real maple syrup, the responses changed somewhat. The results of the voting after tasting real maple syrup are provided in Table 3. In addition to the summary provided in Table 3, one of the participants, who after tasting real maple syrup, switched from C to B indicated that while B was the closest to maple syrup, it was not really close. The participant who had originally voted for A, but maybe C again indicated A was the closest, but only very faintly so.

Table 1. Summary of results of question 4

Responses Votes for honey 'A' Votes for honey 'B' Votes for honey 'C' Votes for 'None' Number of votes (participants) 4 (5, 7, 8, and 11) 0 3 (1, 2, and 10 ) 5 (3, 4, 6, 9 and 12) % 33.30% 0% 25% 41.70%

Table 2. Summary of results of question 5

Question 4 response Question 5 responses (participants) 3 Just a hint--Not very Strong (5, 8, 11) 1 There was a moderately strong resemblance (7) 1 There was a moderately strong resemblance (10) 'C' 1 There was a strong resemblance (2) 1 No response except comments about each honey (1) 4 None reminded me of maple syrup (3, 6, 9, 12) 1 No response (4)

'A'

'NONE'

Discussion Our tasting suggests that there are individuals in U.S. society who are unfamiliar with fancy, light maple syrup. Perhaps some of our participants had never tasted it. This is understandable given the high price of this product, as well as the large amount of artificial maple syrup that is on the market. The apparent unfamiliarity with maple syrup may also be explained in part by the fact that all the participants were beekeepers who normally have an abundance of honey to use on foods that frequently receive syrups. Even in restaurants, beekeepers will sometimes ask if honey can be substituted for other syrups, or for that matter, other sweeteners normally served by the restaurant. In retrospect, for those participants who after tasting real maple syrup selected honey A as the one they thought most resembled maple syrup, we should have added a question similar to question 5 that addressed how close they perceived that resemblance to be. Even without this question, we feel justified in stating that while there might be a slight resemblance of our red maple honey to maple syrup, we feel our data suggest that if it exists, it is only very slight. As a result of our tasting, we would not recommend that beekeepers expend considerable amounts of effort into producing maple honey, at least not red maple honey, expecting to be able to demand prices similar to that of maple syrup. We think, as with the participants in this tasting, there would be many customers who would not perceive a similarity. Our honey tasting, however, suggests the following interesting questions. 1. If our honey had been a product of sugar maple (Acer saccharum), the species from which most maple syrup is made, rather than red maple, would the resemblance have been greater? Do closely related species, species within the same genus for example, produce similar honeys? This is a topic about which our industry knows very little. Privet, for example, has a reputation of producing awful honey in Europe, yet Joe Graham, editor of the American Bee Journal, tells us that he receives word from some southern U. S. beekeepers who claim privet honey is of high quality. Is this a species difference, the result of different environments or simply a mistake of some type by those who claim the high quality; the latter explanation perhaps resulting from the bees producing a honey blend? We really dont know. 2. If we had chosen what would normally be considered a lower grade of maple syrup, would our results have been different? There was, in fact, one member of the audience attending the tasting who afterwards strongly suggested that this probably was so. Perhapsbut again we simply dont know.

Table 3. How participants voted before and after tasting

maple syrup and summary after tasting maple syrup * First vote

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[participant(s)] 'A' (5,8,11) 'A' (7) 'C' (10) 'C' (2) 'C' (1) 'none'(4,6,9,12) 'none' (3)

Second Vote 'A' 'none' 'C' 'A' 'B' 'none' 'B'

Final Summary *
Final tally Percent 4 'A' 2 'B' 1 'C' 5 'none' 33.3% 16.7% 8.3% 41.7%

* See Table 1 for summary before tasting maple syrup

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376

he Hippocastanaceae, depending on the reference, is made up of about 2 or 3 genera and 15 to 25 or more species (frequently cited as 2 genera and 15 species). About 13 of the species belong to the genus Aesculus, which consists of the Old World horse chestnuts and the New World buckeyes and is the only genus native to North America. The family has members native to Europe, East Asia, and North America, south to northern South America. The family consists of woody shrubs and trees that can be either deciduous or evergreen. The leaves are palmately compound2 with three to nine leaflets placed oppositely on their branches, and are without stipules3. The terminal buds are large, generally sticky, but sometimes simply smooth and hairless (glabrous). The twigs are stout, often with coarse raised, corky areas known as lenticels. The white, red or yellow flowers are arranged in showy panicles4. The individual flowers are bilaterally symmetrical (zygomorphic)5 and are generally bisexual, but are sometimes intermixed with male and/or female flowers. The calyx consists of either 5 lobes or 5 individual sepals and the petal part of the flower (corolla) consists of either 4 or 5 petals (generally 5). There are 5 to 8 stamens (generally 8), and the pistil is made up of three carpels6 with united styles and stigmas and the ovary is placed above the attachment point of the petals (superior). The fruit is leathery, warty or smooth and frequently splits into thirds when ripe, revealing 1 to 3 glossy seeds. Useful recognition characters include: woody plants with oppositely placed palmately compound leaves, conspicuous inflorescences and leathery fruits that generally split into three parts to reveal 1 to 3 large glossy seeds. The family is of limited economic importance, its major contribution being a source of ornamentals. Apparently only the genus Aesculus is cultivated, but provides a number of fine ornamental species and varieties that are widely planted[3, 4, 7 &15].
1

California buckeye
Scientific name: Aesculus californica Origin: The species is native to California. Plant description: Aesculus californica is generally a large shrub in the northern reaches of its native habitat, but in its southern distribution can become a large tree 40 to 50 ft tall. The trunk is smooth and gray (often whitish). The palmately compound leaves are placed oppositely on their stems, and consist of five to seven (generally five), 2.4 to 6.7 inch long finely toothed, elongate pointed leaflets that are widest in their lower half (lanceolate). California buckeye is one of the first trees to leaf out and one of the first to drop its leaves. It can start losing leaves as early as June, and once leafless, remains largely so until the next February.

2 3 4

5 6

I am indebted to Eric Mussen, Extension Apiculturist, Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis for providing copies of his files concerning the California buckeye as it relates to the apicultural industry. Palmately compound: Leaves where the leaflets are distributed like the fingers on a hand. Stipules: a pair of leaf-like structures found at the base of the leaf stem. Panicle: an inflorescence with a central stem that has side stems that themselves have side stems with the flowers attached to the second set of stems and the inflorescence blooms from the bottom up. Bilaterally symmetrical: only a single plane can be passed through the flower to produce mirror images (think like a snapdragon). Carpel: The basic building block of the female part of a flower.

Aesculus californica inflorescence. Photo taken in Henrys Garden on the campus of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA on 4/29/08

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The inflorescence is placed at the ends of the branches (terminal), is panicle-like, 4 to 8 inches long and made up of both bisexual (perfect) and male (staminate) flowers. The individual flowers are white to pale pink, 0.47 to 0.71 inches long, bilaterally symmetrical, with stamens that protrude beyond the petals and are terminated by obvious orange anthers. The fruits are more or less pear-shaped, smooth, and 2 to 3 inches in diameter with frequently 1 fruit per flower cluster, but occasionally more (2-9). There is usually one glossy brown seed per fruit that ranges in size from 0.8 to 2 inches in diameter.[7, 10&16]. Distribution: California buckeye is found below 5577 ft in the foothills that surround the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. At least in the 1940s the two largest concentrations were in Tulare and Solano counties. Within its range, it is found on dry slopes, canyons and borders of streams[7, 10&16]. A very detailed account of the species distribution is provided by Vansell et al,[24]. Blooming period: Munz[10] sets the general blooming date as May, June. Vansell in 1926[20] stated that it blooms as early as April in the Winters Hills of Solano County to September in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He goes on to state In warm dry areas the length of the blossoming period is about five weeks, while in cooler areas with moist air, the blossoms keep coming on for nearly three months. In a later publication, however, by Vansell et al.[24] that provides a detailed distribution of the species, the blooming period, which they call time of yield7, is stated as May 1 to July 10. Importance as a honey plant: Historically there has been some confusion about the importance of California buckeye as a honey plant[21]. Richter[13] in 1911 states that the plant Yields considerable honey in some localities. A few beekeepers in the vicinity of Sacramento believe they have good evidence that the honey poisons their bees. John Lovell[9] in 1926 states only that Considerable honey is obtained from the California buckeye (A. californica). Pellett in his 1976 edition of American Honey Plants[12] says of California buckeye, This species is reported as yielding considerable honey in some localities in California, and some beekeepers think it is poisonous to the bees. The work of Vansell clearly proved that California Buckeye can be seriously injurious to bees. The following are quotes from Vansell describing the severity of that injury[19]. The effect upon the whole colony is most demoralizing. Many of the young worker larvae are killed outright and are devoured by the adults or thrown out of the hive. Others develop into adults of very abnormal appearance, being wholly unable to fly on account of the crumpled condition of the wings. The legs are often abnormally small and the whole body may be dwarfed. Queen and drone brood are affected similarly. Many of the adult field bees feeding upon buckeye become very much swollen, as in a dysenteric condition. Their intestines are gorged with a very sour melodorous yellow substance to such an extent that a slight pressure will cause them to burst with a snap. Many of the affected bees become shaky and are picked almost free of hairs by other workers so that they appear shiny, as in the case of paralysis8. Apparently, none of the poisoned mature bees or the emerging young are able to fly and they crawl out of the hives by hundreds, and die. I have seen dead bees in front of single colonies to the depth of 3-4 inches.
7 8

Perhaps time of yield is the time A. californica is yielding nectar and pollen in sufficient quantities to increase hive weight. Paralysis: apparently refers to a viral disease that causes a weakness accompanied by trembling and sprawling wings and legs. Affected bees also often become hairless perhaps as a result of their hive mates tugging at them. In this state they appear dark and shiny.

One very serious aspect of this malady, even in slight cases where it otherwise might not be serious, is that the bees nearly always try to supersede the queen (even though she be young and good). They usually fail in their attempt because the emerging queens are deformed and unable to fly. In cases where mating does take place these buckeye queens are poor layers. In addition to the symptoms that appear at the hive, numerous dead bees can commonly be found under buckeye trees especially near the end of the buckeye honey flow[5]. In another writing Vansell et al.[24] describe the progression of symptoms as follows. In mild cases there is a spotty brood pattern with a mix of capped, uncapped and empty cells. In this condition the colony population simply fails to grow. In more severe cases there are only eggs, day-old larvae and capped cells. The absence of uncapped brood is a common symptom of Aesculus poisoning. In yet more severe cases only eggs remain. The cells do not contain dead brood as in some diseases or other types of poisoning. In still more severe cases the eggs fail to hatch and shrivel, and egg laying may cease altogether, but when failing queens are moved to clean colonies they can sometimes regain their egg-laying capacity, suggesting that the Aesculus toxins somehow adversely affect egg fertilization or some other aspect of egg maturation. Throughout all of this, the larvae that survive emerge as deformed adults. In almost all cases of buckeye poisoning, light colored immature, and deformed bees accumulate at the hive entrance. The early confusion mentioned above can be explained by the fact that in some years the California buckeye produces one or more of the effects described above, but in other years, even in the same location, it doesnt. This variability is now generally explained by the observation that during dry years not much in the buckeye region blooms except buckeye. Under these conditions the bees get a full dose of the causative substance, whereas during wetter years, when other nectar plants bloom more profusely, the substance is much diluted, and under these latter conditions the symptoms are much less severe and often hardly noticeable. Heavy feeding of sugar syrups during heavy buckeye flows also ameliorates the effects described above[20]. The question arises whether the toxin is found in the nectar, in the pollen or in both. This matter is not clear to me, but would seem to be of some importance when it comes to managing hives or hive parts that have been in buckeye territories, as for example: (1) when trying to prevent symptoms from showing up after the buckeye season as they did in the Sechrist et al.[14] work mentioned below, (2) when trying to manage a colony with buckeye poisoning symptoms to get it to bounce back and (3) when managing frames that came from a colony that had succumbed to buckeye poisoning. In all three instances the beekeeper might want to remove the toxic substance or substances. Removal of nectar/honey and removal of pollen are two different issues. I have found no experiments that to me definitively answer the question of where the toxin is located. In experiments reported by Vansell in 1925[19], hives far removed from a buckeye source succumbed to the buckeye poisoning when they were given, buckeye materials from hives that had succumbed to the toxin while they were in a buckeye area. Here I suspect that the term buckeye materials was chosen because Vansell recognized that both honey and pollen were probably involved in the materials given to the second set of hives. This experiment clearly demonstrated that the toxin can remain in the hive for at least some period of time. Experiments were carried out in 1931 by Sechrist et al.[14] to find ways of collecting buckeye honey that would not result in serious poisoning. In their words, Experience this season (1931) has shown more clearly than ever that the buckeye honey must be removed from the hive at the end of the flow; otherwise the characteristic spottedness of brood, dwindling, and destruction of the colony may become evident long after the buckeye blossom season. As a proof of this, they report a case where a colony had been relatively unaffected during the buckeye blooming period during a year when other plants were also yielding nectar and pollen. Later in the year, however, when a forest fire destroyed the existing bee forage, and the colony was forced to consume their buckeye stores, typical symptoms of buckeye poisoning occurred. A similar situation in another part of California was also mentioned. In these cases, clearly there may have been both buckeye

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pollen and honey in those colonies. To me neither of these experiments were the definitive experiments for which I was looking. The fact that feeding sugar syrup during a buckeye flow seems to ameliorate the impact of the toxins, which I interpreted as probably being the result of nectar dilution, originally suggested to me that at least the nectar is toxic to bees. Harvey Lovell, however in his popular 1966 Honey Plants Manual[8] reports that the species, produces pollen that is poisonous to honeybees and will kill entire colonies within a few weeks according to J. E. Eckert. It was formerly thought that the honey was poisonous but Eckert found that buckeye honey could be fed to colonies in other areas without ill effects to the bees. Did Eckert know of definitive experiments that I have yet to find? Eckerts writings suggest that he did indeed believe that it was the pollen that was responsible for buckeye poisoning, but in his contributions to the topic of honey bee poisoning in the 1946, 1949 and 1963 editions of The Hive and the Honey Bee [6], there is no mention of that elusive, definitive experiment; in fact there are no statements quite so sweeping as those provided by Harvey Lovell. In these writings Eckert states only that in cases like the one presented by California buckeye, if the toxin is in the nectar, the symptoms are likely to disappear when the offending species stops blooming, and if it is found in the pollen, the potential for adversely affecting the hives population can persist just as it does with buckeye poisoning. While I may personally have some questions about the pollen alone containing the toxin, my unsuccessful search of the literature for the definitive experiment convinces me that this is the prevailing hypothesis. It is, for instance, the explanation to which Atkins seems to subscribe in the 1975 and 1992 editions of The Hive and the Honey Bee[1]. The situation is made a bit more complex by the presence of a plant bug, (Irbisia solani9) that feeds by piercing the twigs, leaves and buds of the buckeye. The feeding injuries exude small droplets of sap, which the bees might also gather. Eckert[5], demonstrated that Buckeye sap is toxic to bees, but was unable to substantiate that the exudate from the bugs feeding was collected by bees. California buckeye is credited with producing several toxin types. The exact toxin, or toxins causing the symptoms just described appears not to have been identified. Both a saponin (possibly heat labile), and aesculin (a coumarin type compound) have been reported in Aesculus[2]. More on the topic of surviving or avoiding buckeye poisoning is presented in Additional Information below. Honey potential: While I can present no honey potential data, the species does appear to be a quite a good nectar producer. Vansell and Eckert[23] provide a sugar concentration range of 33-51%. Honey: Vansell and Eckert[23] in their Table 3 provide the information that the color of the honey is light amber, and in their general discussion of the species state, The honey has a pronounced odor and flavor and quickly darkens with age and light exposure; it is of nongranulating character. Harvey Lovell[8], in addition to stating that the honey is not toxic to bees (discussed above), also states that it is not toxic to humans. I have found no indication in the literature to contradict this statement. Pollen: Vansell and Eckert[23] provide the information that when freshly collected the pollen is a reddish-orange color. Additional Information: Managing bees in the Buckeye area. Proposals for managing bees in the buckeye area of California seems to have changed over the years. A dearth period frequently exists in the Central Valley after the spring flush of wild flower and fruit bloom ends. If the hives are left in the Central Valley, the large bee populations that developed during the good times use up their reserves, and the population goes into decline and is then not ready to take advantage of better, later times when alfalfa, blue curls, cotton, jackass clover, spike weed and yellow star thistle etc. bloom. As a result, much of this latter bloom goes into again increasing colony populations rather than making honey. During the Central Valleys dearth periods the bee forage was generally more productive in the mountains than in the Central Valley, and the threat of insecticide

poisoning was also less there than in the Valley. During the 1930s the improvement of roads into the mountains did much to open up these areas to beekeepers. To be sure there were problems associated with the mountains including, bears, skunks, ants, transportation over rough terrain, as well as plants that were poisonous to bees, but the foothills around the Central Valley did present opportunities for the beekeeping industry[24]. California buckeye is a good honey producer and starts blooming about the time pollination in the Central Valley ends, and apicultural researchers and beekeepers tried to devise balancing acts that took advantage of that honey production, and at the same time also reduced the deleterious effects of buckeye poisoning to an acceptable level. Two characteristics of buckeye poisoning figured into these schemes: (1) Healthy workers are relatively immune to the buckeye toxins as they work buckeye, and (2) a buckeyed colony can rebound if the effects of the buckeye poisoning are not too severe, especially if the stored products that were accumulated during the buckeye period are removed from the hive and the colony is requeened. These colonies can then have a second productive period later in the summer. What seems a very complex scheme proposed by researchers in the late 1920s and 1930s went something like this[14&17]10. The beekeeper would start in the Central Valley and when the dearth period occurred (about the end of orange blossom season and the beginning of the buckeye season), the surplus of workers that had developed during the good times, but would go on to consume the colonys stores, were to be removed from the colonies and taken to the foothills where they would be given comb with unsealed brood and eggs from which to develop a queen. Because these excess workers were relatively unaffected by the buckeye toxins, they produced a small crop of buckeye honey and at the same time the hives left in the valley, with their now smaller populations, consumed less of their stored products and were now better prepared to effectively harvest the later honey flow. After the stores of the buckeyed colonies were harvested, the hives from the buckeye area were given a nucleus with a queen and by the end of the summer they could develop a second crop of honey. The combination of the honey from the foothills and the increased production from the Valley seemed at least to some to warrant the complexity and extra work involved. At about the time these recommendations were developed, there was also interest in finding bees that were resistant to buckeye poisoning. Italian x Carniolan hybrids were found to be less affected by the buckeye than the more usual bees then used by the California beekeeping industry, but immunity was not complete. In addition, there was some concern that these untested hybrids might be more adversely affected by other afflictions (European foulbrood and perhaps wax moth) than the more pure Italian strains then used[17&22]. A more recent recommendation provided in 1979[11] prescribes much simpler procedures that basically stress avoiding situations where buckeye poisoning is likely. These recommendations include: where conditions are favorable to buckeye poisoning, move the bees to areas where buckeye is scarce or where practicable cut down the buckeye. It is also suggested that heavy feeding of thin sugar syrup will greatly diminish the adverse effects of buckeye poisoning, but since the buckeye blooming period can be long, moving to another location is generally economically the better approach. Bees rented for fruit pollination should be moved before buckeye blossoming has progressed very far. Fortunately this is possible because there is a sufficient window of opportunity between the cessation of fruit bloom and the start of the buckeye season for this to occur. In areas where buckeye is relatively scarce and other conditions are unfavorable for the development of buckeye poisoning, for example in the presence of sufficient competing forage, apiaries will generally be little affected. I have found no recent recommendations concerning the use of strains of bees that are relatively unaffected by the California buckeye.
9 10

Frequently in the California buckeye literature this insect is reported as Urbisea solani. It is not clear to me how popular this scheme became or even it is practiced at all today. It did, however, resemble practices used by the package bee producers of the area and was therefore deemed doable.

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Miscellaneous other interesting facts According to Stone[16] all parts of the California buckeye are toxic. The seeds are poisonous to humans, yet many indigenous California groups found ways to render them edible such as cracking them open, pounding the seed contents into flour and removing the toxic substances using a lengthy leaching process. The resulting meal was then cooked and eaten. Medicinal uses were also found for different parts of the plant. Mashed but unleached seeds were used as a fish poison to aid in harvesting fish, and the young shoots were sometimes used as the spindle or twirling stick for making fires[18]. California buckeye seeds are generally not eaten by wildlife. The exception seems to be squirrels such as California ground squirrel[18]. References 1. Atkins, E. L. 1975 and 1992. Injury to Honey Bees by Poisoning. In The Hive and the Honey Bee (Dadant and Sons and J. Graham respectively serving as Eds.). Dadant and Sons, Inc. 2. Barker, R. J. 1990. Poisoning by Plants. pp. 306-328. In Honey Bee Pests, Predators, and Diseases (Sccond ed) . Morse, R. A. and R. Nowogrodzki Eds. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, NY. 3. Baumgadt, J. P. 1982. How to Identify Flowering Plant Families. A Practical Guide for Horticulturists and Plant Lovers. Timber Press Inc. Portland OR. 4. Cronquist, A. 1979. How to Know the Seed Plants. W. C. Brown Co. Publishers. Dubuque, IA. 5. Eckert, J. E. 1933. Buckeye Poisoning of the Honeybee--A Progress Report. Journal of Economic Entomology 26:181-187. 6. Eckert, J. E. 1946, 1949 and 1963 Injury to Bees by Poisoning. In: The Hive and The Honeybee (R. Grout Ed.). Dadant and Sons. Hamilton, IL. 7. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus Third. A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc. New York. 8. Lovell, H. B. 1966. Honey Plants Manual. A Practical Field Handbook of Identifying Honey Flora. A. I. Root Co. Medina, OH. 9. Lovell, J. 1926. Honey Plants of North America. A. I. Root Co. Medina, OH. 10. Munz, P. A. 1973. A California Flora. University of California Press. Berkeley.

11. Mussen, E. C. 1979. Buckeye Poisoning. Cooperative Extension, Department of Entomology, University of California Apiaries Special Issue, April 1979. 12. Pellett, F. C. 1978. American Honey Plants. Dadant and Sons, Hamilton, IL. 13. Richter, M. C. 1911. Honey Plants of California. California Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 217. Berkeley, CA. 14. Sechrist, E. L., F. E. Todd and G. H. Vansell. 1933. A search for a Method of Producing Honey in the Poisonous Buckeye Area in California. American Bee Journal 73:390-391. 15. Smith, J. P. 1977. Vascular Plant Families. An introduction to the Vascular plants Native to North America and Selected Families of Ornamental or Economic Importance. Mad River Press, Inc. Eureka, CA. 16. Stone, W. J. 1993. Hippocastanaceae--Buckeye Family. p. 682. In The Jepson Manual Higher Plants of California (J. C. Hickman. Ed.). University of California Press. Berkeley, CA. 17. Todd, F. E. and G. H. Vansell. 1932. Data Concerning One Method of Apiary Management for use in the California Buyckeye Area. Journal of Economic Entomology 25: 500-502. 18. USDA, NRCS. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA 19. Vansell, G. H. 1925. Buckeye Poisoning in California. American Bee Journal 65:575-578. 20. Vansell, G. H. 1926. Buckeye Poisoning of the Honey Bee. California Agricultural Experiment Station Circular 301. 21. Vansell, G. H. 1926. The California Buckeye and its Relation to the Hive Bee. Journal of Economic Entomology. 19:133-136. 22. Vansell, G. H. and F. E. Todd. 1932. Resistance of Hybrid Honeybees to a Plant Poison in California. Journal of Economic Entomology 25:503-506. 23. Vansell, G. H. and J. E. Eckert. 1941. Nectar and Pollen Plants of California. California Agricultural Experiment station Bulletin 517 (revised). Berkley, CA. 24. Vansell, G. H., W. G. Watkins and L. F. Hosbrook. 1940. The Distribution of California Buckeye in the Sierra Nevada in Relation to Honey Production. California Agricultural Experiment Station. Berkeley, CA.

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FOR SALE
CALIFORNIA HONEY BEE PACKAGES Packages 2-3-4 lbs. from March thru August. AUSTRALIAN HONEY BEE PACKAGES Distributor for Browns Bees - Australia Bee Packages 4 lbs. from Oct. thru Feb. Shamrock S Pollination, Inc. - Cell (209) 605- 3932. FAX (209) 358-5989. LIQUIDATION - boiler, forklifts, melters, tanks, woodshop, more. Joe Holt (509) 943-6033. 1000 hives 10-frame two-story on 4-way pallets, new outfit & queens, excellent condition, available in May in California. (530) 671-6188. 500 colony palletized operation located in BC southern interior, mating nucs, all extracting equipment, excellent sales, room for expansion. Serious inquiries only. Phone/Fax (250) 378-5208 or email: alan@nicolavalleyhoney.com. For Sale: New Hummerbee Turbo and XL model beekeeper forklifts with more performance enhancements. Used beekeeper forklifts. Our full time knowledgeable staff offers more to you in parts, service, and advice. View our website: www. hummerbeeforklift.com or call A & O Forklift at 800-943-8677 (remember we are eastern time zone) or leave a message. Heavy Duty Clear View Masts for Bobcats 12 lift - double action cylinders - 42 forks (48 optional) - all roller bearings/no sliders - fits Bobcat 743 - 763 & S130 - S160. Call A & 0 Forklift, Inc. (800) 943-8677. HAWAII, 1,000 colony beekeeping & bottling company - $375,000.00. Also available 3,750 sq. foot honey house & apartment on 1 1/2 acres, sold for appraised value. Turnkey operation. Contact: M. Cummings, PO Box 10628, Hilo, HI 96721. 1000+ hives for sale in California after almonds. 4 or 6 hives on a pallet as singles or 1 story. All equipment in good shape. Please order early to get what you want. 4.9 small cell hives available also. Call Dave Mendes (239) 340-0625. Get the CCD Solution NOW! Why wait? $99 intro kit treats 100 hives and 1.5 acres. Guaranteed to improve your hives. No poisons. No chemicals. No toxins. Explains CCD. From GW Agriculture: the inventors of Ultra High Technology for Agriculture. Go to: theccdsolution.com, email: gwagriculture@yahoo.com or call (214) 592-9800. Cut Comb Honey TraysThe Best Cut Comb Honey Trays (12oz/340g) Tight Snap-On Clear Plastic Lid Cream Coloured Base. Sold Coast to Coast by Mail. 2008 Prices: $55.00/100 - $262.50/500 Contact NOD Apiary Products Tel: 877 483 2929 Email: Info@NODApiaryProducts.com The Bee Cozy - Winter Hive Wraps!Light, quick and easy to use. Fits like a glove! Constructed of UV resistant poly and fibreglass insulation. Give your bees the ability to manage their own environment. Your bees will come out of the winter stronger and use less feed. Faster start-up - more honey. No more bundling! No more binder twine! Contact NOD Apiary Products Tel: 877 483 2929 Email: Info@NODApiaryProducts.com Mite-AwayII, The Bee Brief, The Bee Cozy The best prices available for NOD Apiary Products. Direct to you from the web. Check out www.SaveYourBees.com or contact us at Info@SaveYourBees.com. Lowest beekeeping supply prices on the net. For Sale: $140 for single hives of bees, $14 for Pacific Northwest Queens in lots of 100. (208) 4121092, or (208) 250-8420. www.goldenbeeinc.com. 200 colonies of bees for sale. (530) 633-4789. For Sale: 2# or 3# package bees from CA. For pickup in Rhinelander, WI; mid-April. Chris Hansen (715)369-0383 hansenhoneyfarm@gmail.com HONEY PRICE UPDATES. Call Honey Hot Line. (763) 658-4193. BROKER OF BEES AND BEE EQUIPMENT: Find out what is for sale or request a listing agreement at www.morrisweaver.com. Morris Weaver Enterprises, 1118 Neal St., Navasota, TX 778682511, Phone (936) 825-3083, Fax (936) 825-7714. Eight frame beehives for sale after 09 almonds - $85.00. Godlins, Steve (559) 804-8680 or Paul (559) 804-8678. For Sale: Beehives processing equipment, supers. Retiring. (308) 631-1003, (308) 635-0958. After 7:00 pm Mountain Time. For Sale: 700 8-frame colonies of bees on 4-way pallets. Excellent condition. Pick-up in Bakersfield, CA. 1-661-331-9048. Singles and nucs for sale March to November, possible to purchase entire bee outfit also, Fresno, CA area. Call (559) 277-8456. 500 colonies deep and shallow or flats - $115, nice equipment and bees. All treated with Apiguard and Fumagilin, all or part. After almonds. Call Duane @ (701) 867-2503 or (605) 848-1471. For Sale: box of bees with fall queens. Your pallets and lids. On orange locations near Bakersfield, CA. $100 in lots of 100. Call 661-204-2631. For Sale: 150 strong beehives on brand new equipment available after the almond season. (916) 988-3226. For Sale: 500 doubles after almond pollination; you pick; $135. 03 Ford 550 14 ft. alum. bed, 125K - $22,500.00. Bales of burlap - $150. Swinger, you choose 97 - $15,000.00 or 03 $18,500 (605) 661-1764.

300 colonies for sale in central California after almonds. Negotiable. (209) 777-5549. 1987 IHC 9670 cabover, 433K, 350 Cummins, 13 speed, 24 foot flatbed. Beekeeping ready. Excellent condition. Dadant 85-frame extractor. Dominisse Honey , Randolph, NE (402) 337-0408. Cowen Silver Queen uncapper and Woodman 30frame extractor. (785) 322-2050. Five Frame NUCS for sale mid-April to September. Price for orders less than 100 is $90.00 each. Orders over 100 is $80.00 each. The minimum order is 25 Nucs. FOB Lewistown PA or Dade City FL. Please Call W. Fisher Bee Farm for more information at 1-800-736-6205. Ask for Aaron. After almonds. 250 dds @$125. 150 1.5s @$115. On 4-way pallets. Good equipment. Treated, strong hives. Pick up near Porterville, CA in March or ND in May. Cash only. (701) 570-1246. Top Bar Hive handmade, plans, info, pictures, video, community: www.NetShed.com 500 single story hives, 10-frame on pallets for sale, available in April. Phone (209) 858-2876. For Sale: 1800 - 1 1/2 story colonies, 10 frame equipment on 4 way clip pallets with flat covers. Available after almonds, Modesto, Ca. area. Downsizing. Ask for Brent. 701-938-4647, 701290-0175 ND Cell, 209-613-6340 CA cell . brentw@ndsupernet.com. 5-frame nucs for sale in Texas. $60 w/GOOD frame exchange; $70 w/no frame exchange. Will be delivering a load to Wisconsin add $2. Karl at (979) 657-0612, or contact me by email at metisdumont@yahoo.com 400 strong singles for sale in California after almonds. (530) 520-8558. 800 hives, double deep, 4-way pallets, good equipment, 2008 queens, available in Washington end of April - first of May. (509) 936-0130 (509) 935-7076 Used clean honey drums. Pallets for hives with bottom boards. Candy Boards. 2 2000 gallon tanks. (308) 237-9826 or (308) 470-0177. Dadant bee blower,1000# storage tank,30 frame Maxant extractor,Cowen uncapper handi man complete.New and used telescoping covers and bottom boards.Hives complete,6 and a quarter supers,white comb.Northwestern Il. 815-244-2437. NEW YORK; 100 single colonies, headed with HOWLANDS NORTHERN Stock. (607) 657-2517. For Sale: 4 and 9-frame nucs. Queens available, Hawaiian and Minnesota hygienic cross good honey producers. Available April 30th. Minnesota operation. (507) 327-5399 or (936) 636-2384 Texas. 3000 medium (6 5/8) supers with 9-frame of comb. Arkansas, (870) 926-6621. May singles on pallets pickup Texas - $90.00. Also, North Central warehouse. Honey-B-Healthy. Gary (701) 984-2696. For Sale: Electromelt with slum rake and auger. New $5,700.00. Asking $2,000.00. Contact Randy Johnson (903) 785-6081.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING-Net price 80 cents per word per insertion. Initials, letters as in street address, counted as individual words. No advertisement accepted for less than 10 words. Payable cash in advance. Blind Classified 10% additional. (A blind ad is one in which responses are addressed to the ABJ and then forwarded to the advertiser.) Extreme care always is exercised in establishing the reliability of all advertisers, but the publishers do not guarantee advertisements. Orders close the 20th of the second month preceding cover date. Send typed copy to : Advertising Dept., American Bee Journal, 51 S. 2nd St., Hamilton, IL 62341 or e-mail to: abjads@dadant.com.

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Queen cells, northern stock, $5 each: brood with bees, NY overwintered, no hive beetles $12 per frame; 4-frame nucs $60 with 1 year old queens May 10, with new queens May 30; limited quantities. Call (315) 684-7225. johnstonshoneybeefarm.com Honey-B-Healthy feed additive, original maximum strength effectiveness. Special limited time. Sale price - $445 per 5 gallons (effectively treats 2200 colonies) plus freight. Mackrill Honey (701) 984-2696. 1,000 strong 10-frame hives, story and half or 2stories. Located in southern California. Call (909) 709-9192. Ready to split 500 2-story 10-frame hives on 4ways. Located in southern California. Call (951) 551-7150. 700 singles on pallets. 100 5-frame nucs, new queens. Mite treated. Call (605) 520-5772. Ventura/Santa Barbara. 100 hives, 20 locations, mobilehome. Avocado contracts. All or part. Goldcoastitalian@aol.com or 805-665-7030. For Sale: 4 & 5 frame nucs, available end of April in TX. $70 w/frame exchange, $65 w/o frame exchange. Will deliver to SD for more $. (936) 366-1851. 25 HIVES FOR SALE (NORWEGIAN STYLE) Per hive: insulated bottom board, 2 insulated brood chambers, 2 supers, frames, feeder, insulated top. No winter wrapping needed. Ideal for hobbyists. $250/unit OBO. Call Kent. Home (403) 626-3126. Cell (403) 892-4108. Complete Cowen 120 Frame Extracting System / 2 Cook and Beals uncappers Bogin Shoots / Dadant Dryer and bottler / 6,000 and 1,000 gallon horizontal, stainless steel dairy Tanks / Toyota Fork Lift 3,000 Lb., pneumatic tires, Low hours / 2 Dewalt 16 Radial Arm Saws, 3 phases / Monyo and Roper pumps / 281-732-5840 , 281-996-1523

HONEY WANTEDall grades. Contact Pure Sweet Honey Farm, Inc., Verona, WI. (608) 8459601. M-F. Beeswax and Cappings Wanted. Cappings rendered. Call for details. (209) 667-8255, Stevinson, CA. Need Sage honey and Sage comb honey. Also need Certified Organic Honey from any flower source. Will pay top dollars. Call (818) 355-3339.

ROYAL JELLY
BEST 100% PURE FRESH ROYAL JELLY. $55.00 per kilo plus shipping. HIGHEST POTENCY. LOWEST PRICES guaranteed on larger orders. CERTIFIED TOP QUALITY. Stakich, Inc., 1155 Vaughan Rd., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304. (248) 642-7023. Stakich@Stakich.com Highest Quality, 100% Pure, Fresh Royal Jelly - $38.95 per kilo plus shipping (please mention this ad when ordering). Quantity discounts available. Potency tested, certificate of analysis shipped with each order. Lyopholized (freeze dried) royal jelly also available. GloryBee Foods, Inc., PO Box 2744, Eugene, OR 97402. Call toll free, (800) 456-7923, fax (541) 762-7173 or email Sales@GloryBeeFoods.com.

PACKAGE BEES with Italian Queens. Pick up only at our warehouse. Since 1978. Sam & Joyce Van Vleet, 21770 Black Lane, Cottonwood, CA 96022. Phone (530) 347-1987. MISSOURI 3 lb. Packages with Italian queens. Available for April pickup in Springfield $76.00. Complete hives also available. Reserve yours now at (417) 276-4252. Queens for sale, spring 09, central CA. Also, 5frame nucs, packages, bulk bees and we can fill dead outs. Allen Bee Co. (559) 674-1144. Queen cells from Georgia. Survivor stock - $2.75. Nucs in May. (361) 362-1408, David. For Sale: Package bees for pickup in central Iowa in early April. Call (641) 527-2639 or e-mail ehoney37@netins.net. Russian X Russian bees for sale. No mite treatment for 3 years. Nucs in complete single story hives on pallets or bottom boards - $145.00. Available May 1st. Russian queen cells available March & April - $4.00. All pick up only at Shepherd, TX. (605) 488-0005. www.southbeekota.com Nucs for sale in MI. Available mid-April, minimum order of 20, quantity discounts. Nick (616) 836-1026.

POLLEN
QUALITY, CLEAN, LOW MOISTURE POLLEN - $3.90/lb. Also SPANISH, BRAZILIAN and AUSTRALIAN POLLEN, VERY SWEET $6.90/lb, min. 10 lbs. Shipping $9.00. LOWEST PRICES guaranteed for large orders. STAKICH, INC, 1155 Vaughan Rd., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304. Phone (248) 6427023. Stakich@Stakich.com. Pollen supplement and pollen substitute patties made to your specifications and delivered anywhere. Fast service. Visit www.globalpatties.com or call. Toll free (866) 948-6084.

HELP WANTED
EXPERIENCED BEEKEEPERS WANTED for seasonal or permanent positions in Hawaii. Reasonable pay based on experience, housing, medical, bonuses, profit sharing. MUST HAVE U.S. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. References Required. Contact Gus Rouse, Kona Queen Hawaii, P.O. Box 768, Captain Cook, HI 96704. Phone (808) 328-9016, FAX (808) 328- 9460, Email: queenbee@aloha.net. NOW HIRING! We are looking for experienced beekeepers and mgrs to join our progressive growing business. Permanent and seasonal positions available with advancement opportunities. Hiring for Hawaii, California/Montana. Salary based on experience. Excellent benefits package. US Social Security # and references required. Submit resume to info@ohbees.com or Olivarez Honey Bees, Inc./Big Island Queens, Administrative Office: 1750 Dayton Road, Chico, CA 95928. Phone (530) 865-0298, FAX (530) 865-5570.

HONEY FOR SALE

CLOVERBuckwheat, Orange, Tupelo, and Wildflowerpails or drums. PURE SWEET HONEY FARMS, Verona, Wisconsin 53593. (608) 845-9601. Excellent clover honey in drums and light beeswax available. Mark Gilberts Apiaries, (608) 968-3500. QUALITY HONEY, DRUMS OR BUCKETS. EVENINGS (660) 665-2542. HOLLENBECKS, KIRKSVILLE, MISSOURI. 30 drums honey, buckets possible, white - light amber. Delivery possible. SW Michigan (269) 313-5698. U.S. sweet clover, thistle mix, alfalfa, thistle mix, black locust, white honey - black raspberry, filtered, new drums, excellent honey - f.o.b. several loads available. Produced by Baldwin Apiaries, Darlington, WI (608) 776-3700. Oregon raspberry or meadowfoam honey, drum lots only, F.O.B Albany, Oregon. Olsen Honey Farms (541) 926-0443. HONEY FOR SALE. Call Honey Hot Line. (763) 658-4193. Premium Honeys - Michigan Blueberry, Knapweed (Star-Thistle)excellent for creamed honeys, and Florida Citrus and Brazilian Pepper (October). Call Ed (231-408-7485) or Steve (239-896-0777). Fax: 863-674-1969. Email: edeisele@gmail.com; seisele007@gmail.com.

POLLINATION
Bees wanted for the almonds. Art Harris, P.O. Box 82194, Bakersfield, CA 93380. (661) 444-1470.

CORN SYRUP
HFE55 55-gallon drums or 5 gallon pails. Nashville, TN area. Johnson Honey Farm (615) 859-7253.

BEES AND QUEENS

JERRY FOSTER QUEENS-quality Carniolan and hybrid Italian queens at competitive prices. Nucs and packages also. Jerry Foster Apiaries, 937 9th St., Colusa, CA 95932. Phone (530) 458-4234. COMA APIARIES - Italian queens, packages and nucs. Small orders welcome. Order: 8057 Bass Pond Road, Millville, CA 96062. Phone (530) 547-5773. Online: www.damoc.com Package bees in Ohio. Taking orders now for spring 2009. Waldo Ohio Apiaries, George Taylor, P.O. Box 122, Kilbourne, OH 43032. (740) 5246241. Email: WALDOBEE@MSN.com Website: www.waldobees.com SURVIVOR CROSS-STOCKS. From the shores of Lake Superior to the banks of the Rio Grande ROCKY MOUNTAIN REINAS (SW Survivor Queenbee Project) and GREAT LAKES SOOPER YOOPER Queens. Honey bees chosen by Beekeepers for Beekeepers! www.ziaqueenbees.com Tel: (505) 689-1287; (505) 929-8080 (cell). For Sale: $140 for single hives of bees, $14 for Pacific Northwest Queens in lots of 100. (208) 4121092 or (208) 250-8420. www.goldenbeeinc.com

WANTED
Round Comb, Fresh good tasting Pollen, Varietal Honey. 800-678-1226. mstco@moon shinetrading.com Clean/Dry Bee Pollen - preferably from the Pacific Northwest. Please send samples. Contact Nancy at GloryBee Foods, Inc., PO Box 2744, Eugene, OR 97402. Toll free (800) 456-7923. Wanted: 2 loads of good heavy lease bees for clover/alfalfa flow in North Dakota and need 2,000 supers. (701) 260-0815. Wanted to Lease: 1024 beehives doubles. 2048 9 5/8 supers. Good clover and alfalfa locations. Good moisture last fall and this spring. Call between 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM. 1-308-738-2153.

HONEY AND BEESWAX WANTED

HONEY WANTEDExtracted or comb. LEIGHTONS HONEY, INC., 1203 Commerce Ave. Haines City, Florida 33844. (863) 422-1773. FAX (863) 421-2299.

LABELS
Custom Labels. FREE BROCHURE . (319) 759-0161 leave message or amysbeelabels@hotmail.com

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American Bee Journal

MISCELLANEOUS
THE AMERICAN BEEKEEPING FEDERATION has many benefits to offer its members. Check out our health insurance and liability insurance. We also have a long distance for less program. Your support is needed for any one of our various funds which benefit the industrys promotion, bee research, honey purity, and legislative action. Send for a membership packet of information today! Contact The American Beekeeping Federation, P.O. Box 1038 Jesup, GA 31598, ph. (912) 427-4233, fax (912) 427-8447 or e-mail: <info@abfnet.org>. HONEY BEE INSEMINATION SERVICE Equipment*Training*Consultation* Custom Service. S. Cobey, PO Box 73581, Davis, CA 95617. (530) 554-2527, honeybee @breeding.com. Website: www.honeybee. breeding.com.

SUPPLIES
LAPPS BEE SUPPLY CENTER - commercial pricing along with top quality. Fast and friendly service. Check with us before you buy. FREE CATALOG. Box 278, 500 South Main Street, Reeseville, Wisconsin 53579. 1-800-3211960.

VIDEO TAPES/DVD
BEGINNING BEEKEEPING VIDEO2 hrs! All survival essentials: building hive; installing, feeding, medicating, inspecting, managing bees; harvesting; diseases & parasites; behavior. $35 Dr. Iacobucci, 172-BJ Washington, Pembroke, MA 02359 http:// www.roctronics.com/bee. htm.

PERIODICALS
LABEILLE DE FRANCEThe most important of the monthly publications in France - for all beekeepers, from the amateurs to the professional. Each month: an article for beginners, reports from specialists, a review of the latest information all over the world. Ask for a sample Annual subscription: 40$ US. ABEILLE DE FRANCE- 5, rue du Copenhague-F 75008 PARIS. APIACTAAn international magazine of technical and economic information on beekeeping, Quarterly issues in four versions: English, French, German and Spanish. Current year (surface mail): US $24.00; back years: US $28.00; Air mail surcharge: US $4.00. For subscriptions and list of publications: APIMONDIA, Corso VittorioEmanuele II, 101, I-00186 Rome, Italy. Tel. +39-6-6852286 - Telex 623254 Fax +39-6-6852286/6852265. Postgiro account no. 57499006. THE AUSTRALASIAN BEEKEEPERSenior Beekeeping Journal of the Southern Hemisphere. Complete coverage of all beekeeping topics in one of the world's largest beekeeping countries. Published by Pender Beekeeping Supplies Pty. Ltd., PMB 19, MAITLAND, N.S.W. 2320, Australia. Subscription by Bank Draft. Annual subscription paid in advance US $36.00. Free sample copy on request. THE AUSTRALIAN BEE JOURNALCaters to both amateur and commercial apiarists. Subscription $35.00 Australian currently for all subscribers per annum seamail and $50.00 airmail. Published monthly. Single copy $3. Victorian ApiaristsAssociation, Inc., Editor, Mrs. Eileen McDonald, RSD McKenzies Hill, Castlemaine.Vic, Australia 3450 Ph: 03 5472 2161, Fax 03 5472 3472.

BEE CRAFT AMERICA. A full color digital beekeeping journal for beginners and experts alike covering all aspects of beekeeping in North America. For a free sample copy, send your name and email address with 'BCA' in the subject line to secretary@bee-craft.com. Bee Craft Ltd, 107 Church Street, Werrington, Peterborough PE4 6QF UK. We do not pass email addresses onto any third party. BEE CULTUREThe Magazine of American Beekeeping. FREE sample copy. 1 year $25.00, 2 years $48.00. Foreign postage add $15.00 for 1 year and $30.00 for 2 years. A. I. Root CO., POB 706, Medina, OH 44258. Visit our website: www.beeculture.com. All subscriptions must be prepaid. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. MASTERCARD, VISA and DISCOVER. All checks or money orders must be in U.S. CURRENCY. DIE BIENEThe Bee magazine with special publications in bee science and management. Agencies in the regions: Hessen, Nassau, Rheinland, Saarland, Mecklenburg - Vorpommern, Thueringen. This magazine is a monthly publication with 64 pages. Subscription U.S. $28 per year. die biene, GrtelstraBe 29 a-30 10247 Berlin, Tel: 030/293974-87 Fax 030/293974-59. HIVELIGHTS, National magazine of the Canadian Honey Council. Published quarterly. Free sample on request, write to Canadian Honey Council, Suite 236, 234-5149 Country Hills Blvd. NW, Calgary AB T3A 5K8, CANADA. Subscription information available at www.honeycouncil.ca. HONEYBEE NEWS, The Journal of the New South Wales Apiarists Association, Inc., International Subscription AUS$50.00 (Airmail) Bank Draft, Visa or MasterCard payable to NSW AA. Published bimonthlyFor more information contact: The Editor, PO Box 352, Leichhardt NSW 2040 Australia. E-mail: honeybee@accsoft.com.au IBRA is the information service for beekeepers, extension workers and scientists. Our members support this service and enjoy the benefits of belonging to IBRA, which includes Bee World. We need your involvement - join IBRA - support this important information network and extend your beekeeping horizons. For more information contact: IBRA, 18 North Road, Cardiff CF1 3DY, UK. Telephone (+44) 1222 372409. Fax (+44) 1222 665522. INDIAN BEE JOURNALInternational in appeal; keeps you updated with beekeeping developments in India and the world. Issued quarterly. Publishes research on Asiatic honey bees, tropical apiculture and pollination. Solicits your support and welcomes your subscriptions. Annual Subscription (foreign: including surface mail): US $20 for individuals and US $40 for institutions by Bank Draft payable in Pune (India) draw in favour of India Bee Journal, Pune and set to Dr. K.K. Kshirasagar, Editor, 1294 Shukrawar Pet, Pune 411 002, India. IRISH BEEKEEPINGRead An Beachaire (The Irish Beekeeper). Published monthly. Subscription $22.00 per annum post free. Graham Hall, Weston, 38 Elton Park, Sandycove, Co. Dublin, Ireland. ATTENTION LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS Ranch Magazine is your monthly information guide for Angora, Cashmere and meat goats, as well as sheep and cattle,. Comprehensive Breeder Directory. 1-Yr $24, 2-Yrs $44. Foreign & Canada add $15 per yr. postage. Subscribe today! Box 2678-ABJ, San Angelo, TX 76902. Call for free sample. THE SCOTTISH BEEKEEPERMonthly Magazine of the Scottish Beekeepers Association. International in appeal, Scottish in character. Subscription rates from: ENID BROWN, MILTON HOUSE, MAIN STREET, SCOTLANDWELL, KINROSSSHIRE KY13 9JA SCOTLAND, U.K.

SOUTH AFRICAN BEE JOURNALThe official organ of the S.A. Federation of Bee Farmers Associations. Published Bimonthly in English and Afrikaans, primarily devoted to the African and Cape Bee races. Subscriptions incl. postage (six copies). All subscribers outside of South Africa R100-00 surface mail, payment to be made in S.A. Rands. NB. Sample copies only available on receipt of a donation. P.O. Box 41 Modderfontein, 1645, South Africa THE SPEEDY BEEMonthly beekeepers newspaper. The happenings of the beekeeping industry, plus how-to articles. $17.25 per year (12 issues) in U.S. Canada and Mexico add $3.00 postage. Others please contact us for pricing. Air mail rates on request. Sample copy free. The Speedy Bee, P.O. Box 998, Jesup, GA 31545.

Sell it Fast!!! Place your ad in the

ABJ MarketPlace

GOT WAX? GET PAID! Its that simple! Light and dark. Rendering services available.

BEE EXCELLENT
Phone (218) 776-3593 Fax (218) 776-3502 E-mail bexcel@gvtel.com Global inquiries welcome.
4119-14th Ave. NW Fargo, ND 58102 1-800-246-1749 INDUSTRIES 701-277-1867 Fax Richard Cossette www.TRSIndustries.com

T.R.S.

Custom Bee Nets For Any Size Truck Or Semi-Trailer Lumber Tarps, Top Tarps, Steel Tarps & Roll Tarps Call today for a quote. Will ship anywhere in U.S. or Canada
ALL ORDERS SHIPPED ASAP

April 2009

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Advertising Index
A & E Apiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 A & O Forklift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Agriworkers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 Allinger Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 American Bee Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372 American Beekeeping Federation . . . . . . . 385 American Honey Producers . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 Arrowsmith & Sons, Apiaries. . . . . . . . . . . 388 Avoyelles Honey Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 B & B Honey Farm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 Bayer, John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 Bee Excellent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 Beeline Apiaries & Woodenware . . . . . . . . 320 Bee Weaver Apiaries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 Bees For Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 Bees Forever Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 B Fields Queens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Betterbee, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 Bostic Hills Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 Brand New Industries, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 Browning Cut Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 Browns Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372 Brushy Mountain Bee Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 Buzzs Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 C.C. Pollen Co.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372 Cedar Glen Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 Contract Pros Mfg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 Cook & Beals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 Cowen Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 Curtis, Harold P. Honey Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 D&L Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 Dadant and Sons, Inc. . . . . 303, 333, 352, 376, 384, & Back Cover Dakota Gunness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 Employment, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 Feed Bee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 Foster, John Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 Gardners Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 Glenn Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Glory Bee Beekeeping Supplies. . . . . . . . . 310 H & R Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 Hardeman Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 Harris Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 Hawaiian Queen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 Heilyser Technology Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365 Heitkams Honey Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 Homan, Farris & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Homan, Tony Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 Homer Park Italian Queens . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Honey B Healthy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 Honey Land Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 Honey SuperCell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 Horace Bell Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 Horton Family Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309 JZ BZs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 Jester Bee Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 K & M Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 Killians Woodenware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 Koehnen, C.F. & Sons, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 Kona Queen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Lambs Honey Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 Lohman Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 Long Creek Apiaries, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. . . . . . . . . . . 304 LorAnn Oils, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 Malka Queens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 Mann Lake Ltd. . 298, 299, 321, 338, 387, 389 Maxant Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368 McCarys Honey Bee Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 McKenna Boiler Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 Medivet Pharmaceuticals Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . 386 Mega Bee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328 Merrimack Valley Apiaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . 372 Meyers, A.H.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 Miller Bee Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 Mite-Away II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 Mite Gone Enterprises, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 Mother Lode Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386 Mulder Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 New England Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 Old Sol Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 Olivarez Honey Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 Olympic Wilderness Apiary . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 Parsons Gold Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Pendell Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 Pierco, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388 Plastic Packaging Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365 Powell Apiaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 R.M. Farms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 Root Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322 Ross Rounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300, 341 Rossman Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385 Shamrock S Pollination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 Shastina Millwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385 Sherriff, B.J. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 Simpsons Bee Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 Southwest Bee Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 Spell Bee Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 Strachan Apiaries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 Swienty Beekeeping Equipment. . . . . . . . . 390 Swinger Forklift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 Tabers Honey Bee Genetics . . . . . . . . . . . 309 T.R.S. Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 Weaver, R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 Wellmark International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 Western Bee Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 Wiest Truck Line, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 Wilbanks Apiaries Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 Wilson Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 Wintersun Chemical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 Wootens Golden Queens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Zs Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

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PO Box 307, Jesup, GA 31598-0307

H & R APIARIES
Ph 912-427-7311

Fax 912-427-4131

95 YEARS COMMERCIAL PKG SHIPPING AND QUEEN RAISING. ALL BEES ARE YEARLY INSPECTED BY THE GA. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

2009 PRICES
Quantity 2-Lb. Pkg. w/Queen 3-Lb. Pkg. w/Queen 5-Lb. Pkg. w/Queen Queens

ITALIAN BEES AND QUEENS

1-9 $52.00 $58.00 $78.00 $18.00 10-24 $50.00 $56.00 $76.00 $17.00 25-99 $48.00 $53.00 $74.00 $16.00 100-UP $46.00 $51.00 $72.00 $12.00

ALL QUEENS MATED NATURALLY

Plus shipping cost, handling fee by Priority Mail or Express through US Postal Service. Call for shipping charges. PACKAGE BEES AND QUEENS WILL BE SHIPPED BY U.S. POSTAL SERVICE. For tested Queens add $5.00 each Clip & Mark $4.00 each Queen Queenless Pkgs. Deduct $5.00 per pkg. Mark Only $2.00 Clip Only $2.00 Add $3.00 for Apistan tab installed per package. Add $1.50 for Queen tab installed per queen ship separate Cage allowance given on cages you bring for refill. Cages must be in good working shape to receive credit. TERMS: Small orders cash, larger orders $5.00 deposit per package and balance three weeks prior to your requested ship date. All packages must be paid in full in advance of shipment. MASTERCARD & VISA ACCEPTED. SHIPPING STARTS APRIL 1, DEPENDING UPON SPRING WEATHER.

April 2009

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2009 Prices

Gardners Apiaries
Spell Bee Co.
510 Patterson Road Baxley, GA 31513 Ph: (912) 367-9352 Fax: (912) 367-7047

PACKAGE BEES AND QUEENS

Over 100 Years of Experience All Bees are State Inspected

*2 LB. PKGS 1-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$50.00 10-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$47.00 25-100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$44.00 100 + . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$42.00 *Hybrid Italian Queens 1-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$18.00 10-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$16.00 25-100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$14.00 100 + . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$13.00 *3 LB. PKGS 1-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$60.00 10-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$56.00 25-100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$53.00 100 + . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$51.00

Pick-up Packages 2 lb. ... $42.00

3 lb. ... $51.00

Pick-up Queens ... $13.00

Cells ... $2.50

*Above prices do not include shipping. Queens clipped or marked add $1.50 each. Package return - $1.50 each Riteway Queen Shippers upon request. Please call or write for shipping details or truck prices. Terms: 10% down. Balance due 2 weeks prior to shipping.

MAY GOD BLESS YOUR ENDEAVORS THIS YEAR

High Quality Beekeeping Equipment & Bottling Machines at swienty.com

... for better honey

AL N CA LIIF RN ER FO OR HE H RN T T NIA R R O O N PACKAGE ACKAGE BEES EES IA

QUALITY ITALIAN AND CARNIOLAN QUEENS
All bees fed Fumagilin Fall & Spring

POWELL APIARIES
4140 Co. Rd. KK Orland, CA 95963 Phone: 530-865-3346 Fax: 530-865-3043 Package Delivery Available
Member: California Bee Breeders Assoc. American Honey Producers Assoc.

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Dadant Quality Suits & Coveralls

A Great Value for Your Money!

Dadant Clothing
The Ultimate in Protection
Zipper Veil-Suit Combination was designed by Dadants. We added all the features our beekeepers wanted for total protection and comfort for a full day's work in the bee yard. This Zipper Veil-Suit Combination offers the fine features of the Dadant Folding Veil and the Dadant Coveralls to provide total protection for the beekeeper. We recommend using with the Dadant Plastic Sun Helmet. When ordering, state catalog number and size range. Because of numerous sizes, branch points may be temporarily out-of-stock of some sizes. Note sizes are based upon chest sizes. Ship wt. 4 lbs. M01103 Small (36-38) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $61.95 M01105 Medium (40-42) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $61.95 M01107 Large (44-46) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $61.95 M01203 X-Large (48-50) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $61.95 M01203X XX-Large (52-54) . . . . . . . . . . . . $65.95

Snow-White Coveralls
The Best for Beework
Polyester-Cotton Blend Six Roomy Pockets Full Front Zipper Wide Variety of Sizes Available
Dadant coveralls are snow-white, polyester-cotton blend. Snow-white because white is less annoying to bees than darker colors and they are less apt to sting. Full front zipper for easy on and off. When ordering, state chest size by item number. Wt. 4 lbs. per pair. M01063 Small (36-38) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M01065 Medium (40-42) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M01067 Large (44-46) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M01121 X-Large (48-50) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

50 $38. per pair 70 $40. per pair 95 $42. per pair

Dadant Zipper Veil Suit

The Ultimate In Protection

All the features and more that you are looking for in a Hooded Suit!

Heavy Duty-Zippers Unobstructed Vision Relaxed Fit Elastic Waist

Two Large Chest Pockets Rugged Quality Zippered Leg Cuffs Easy on & off

Classic Hooded Design...

but with a difference! Our cotton polyester blend is double lined, 2 full layers, to protect the back of the head. Give yourself confidence, full vision and rugged Dadant quality with our newest Protective Bee Suit.
Zipper Veil Hooded Suit Note sizes are based upon chest sizes. Ship wt. 5 lbs. V01180S Small (36-38) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $67.50 V01180M Medium (40-42) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $67.50 V01180L Large (44-46) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $67.50 V01180XL X-Large (48-50) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $67.50 V01180XXL XX-Large (52-54). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $67.50

Dadant & Sons, Inc.

51 S. Second St. Hamilton, Il 62341

Phone: 217-847-3324 Fax: 217-847-3660 Toll-Free 1-888-922-1293

or contact your nearest branch

www.dadant.com