Beekeeping News!


Bee Box July/August 2010 , From ProjectApis m

Christi Heintz and Meg Ribotto

The relationship between the almond grower and the beekeeper is just as important as the symbiotic connection between the almond flower and the honey bee. The flower and the bee enjoy a cooperative, mutually beneficial rapport. The honey bee needs the pollen and nectar from flowers for food and sustenance and the flower needs the honey bee for pollination and reproduction. They need each other. The grower is dependent on the beekeeper to deliver healthy colonies for the almond bloom. To ensure this mutual relationship, let us look at so me ways that almond growers can help beekeepers in the pollination process of their crops.

Nutrition. Scientists have emphasized that malnutrition may be playing a key role in the decline of colonies due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Bees can suffer from a compromised immune system related to poor nutrition. It’s summer now and bees are pollinating other crops or perhaps making honey from sweet clover or other forage. But come late summer and fall, and certainly before almond bloom in February and March, forage is limited. Growers could help by planting a flowering plant within younger orchards, o n the perimeter of fields and orchards, or on land that they are not utilizing for agricultural production. Depending on location and time of year, mustard or vetch are examples of possible cover crops beneficial to bees. Before and after almond bloom, California can seem like desert to honey bees. Nutrition is vital.

Water. Just as important as food, and somewhat underplayed, is water. When honey bees are placed within your orchard, work with your beekeeper on identifying a potable water source for the bees to avoid dehydration. Also consider that pesticides, fungicides and fertilizer may drift into a water source, so locate or provide easily-accessible clean water.

Hive placement within the orchard. Growers should be cognoscente in providing a place for the colonies which is mutually agreeable to both the grower and the beekeeper. The distribution of the hives should be convenient and accessible at all hours to the beekeeper and their vehicles for placement, servicing and removal of hives. Orchard roads should be maintained and routinely graded for easy access. If your orchard is difficult to get into, beekeepers may charge you more. Allow for hive placement in areas not p rone to flooding or shade. Eastern and southern exposures are better for morning sun and warmer temperatures so bees will fly sooner in the day. Lastly, let nature do her part with minimum interruption. Allow hive placement that limits human and honey bee interaction.

Fungicide applications. Growers need to protect their crop while at the same time keeping in mind the health of the honey bee that is doing the pollinating work. Let your beekeeper know when you are spraying and the products you are using. Honey bees come in contact with agricultural sprays in different ways. They may fly through the fungicide, the fungicide may drift to the hives, or bees may collect and bring into the hive pollen that contains fungicide residue. If possible, spray when bees are not flying or when pol len is not being produced by the tree. Later in the day and at night are best for applying fungicides while still considering exposure to honey bees.

Pollination contracts. While the honey bee and the almond flower have an unspoken agreement, it is best that the grower and the beekeeper have a written contract. Growers should line up contracts early for the following year. Beekeepers who know they have a solid almond pollination contract in hand will be more likely to invest money in the supplemental feed necessary to insure strong colonies for the early almond pollination season. When the colonies arrive at almond bloom, make sure you are getting what you contracted for. Eight frames or better is optimum. Consider an objective third party inspection, and then give your beek eeper a reasonable window to provide additional colonies, if needed. Walk the orchards during favorable flight hours and weather and make sure you see plenty of bee activity, including numerous bees coming and going from the hive entrances. Note and report on any inactive hives.


Visit Project Apis m.’s website at www.ProjectApism.org. Under Downloads you will find a pollination contract template. Your crop is important and pollinating your crop is important. The honey bee and the almond flower, by nature, already have it all figured out. These few simple guidelines above can improve your relationship with your beekeeper, your pollination potential, and your crop.

Christi Heintz and Meg Ribotto are with Project Apis m. a non-profit bee research organization. Should you have comments on this article or suggestions for other management practices for growers renting bees, please contact us at projectapis@gmail.com


Judge Upholds Ban of Spriotetramat….

This JUST IN From The Pittsburgh Tirbune-Review

By Rick Wills, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, March 13, 2010

A federal appeals court refused to delay a ban on the sale of a pesticide that some environmental groups claim is killing honeybees.  The decision prevents Bayer CropScience, from selling its pesticide, Spirotetramat, while the company appeals a lower court ruling that halted sales.  "Bayer has demonstrated neither that it will suffer irreparable injury absent a stay, nor that it has a substantial possibility of success on the merits of its appeal," U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood and U.S. Circuit Judge Joseph McLaughlin said in the ruling this week.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering what to do with existing stock of Spirotetramat, known by the trade names Movento and Ultor, said spokesman Dale Kemery.Sales of the pesticide remain legal in Europe, Canada and Mexico, according to Bayer CropScience, which is based in North Carolina. Bayer's North American headquarters is in Robinson.  The decision was handed down three years after scientists identified Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious breakdown of bee immune systems that each winter roughly halved the number of bee colonies the nation's large, commercial beekeepers own. The cause of the breakdown largely has eluded researchers.  In December, Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote banned the sale of Spirotetramat on grounds the EPA skipped steps required in any pesticide approval process, including not taking public comment. Cote's decision did not explicitly address the impact the pesticide might have on honeybees.                                                                                                                         "Bayer has been touting this as a greener pesticide. It is designed to stop insect reproduction, and it seems to do the same thing to bees," said Aaron Colangelo, an attorney for the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, which, along with the Portland, Ore.-based wildlife conservation group Xerces Society, sued the EPA.  Jack Boyne, an entomologist for Bayer CropScience, said the company is confident the EPA will reapprove Spirotetramat's registration. It is unprecedented for a lower court to vacate an approval. We believe the decision was not correct. We have been injured improperly and believe that science is on our side," he said. "As the manufacturer, we are not allowed to sell our inventory of product to our distributors."  The EPA approved Spirotetramat in 2008 for use on hundreds of crops, including apples, pears, peaches, oranges, tomatoes, grapes, strawberries, almonds and spinach. Bayer CropScience developed the pesticide after scientists identified Colony Collapse Disorder in late 2006.

"This is one of the safest insecticides for bees," Boyne said.

According to the Department of Agriculture, bees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops in the United States.

An estimated 29 percent of all U.S. honeybee colonies died last winter, about 11 percentage points higher than what beekeepers consider normal, but lower than losses during the previous two winters.

Colony Collapse Disorder is linked to viruses, mites, poor bee treatment and poor nutrition, said Dennis van Engelsdorp, a honeybee expert and researcher at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Yet the cause of the die-off remains elusive.

"Will we ever have one cause for cancer? That's what this is like," van Engelsdorp said.

Dave Hackenberg of Lewisburg in Union County is Pennsylvania's largest commercial beekeeper. Because of his concerns about the effect of pesticides on his bees, for the first time in 42 years, Hackenberg will not take his bees to Florida to pollinate oranges.

"I am not going to put my bees in orange groves. The chemicals they are using are doing something that is breaking down bees' immune systems," he said.

This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping

Global Honey Market to Expand, BIG TIME

February 8, 2010                                                                                                                                                                                      By: Alan Harman

The global honey market is forecast to exceed 1.9 million tons by 2015.

A new report by California-based Global Industry Analyst Inc. (GIA) says the market is being primarily driven by increasing awareness levels and health consciousness among the consumers, leading to increasing demand for healthy and natural food products.

In line with the trend, several honey producers are launching new products and varieties at regular intervals. The increasing trend of organic and healthy spreads is expected to continue giving rise to new variants and flavors in the global honey market.

“Increasing preference among consumers for honey-based products, is leading to a boost in the variety and assortment of honey based food products, baby products, yogurts and drinks,” the report, which GIA is selling for $3,950, says. “Moreover, honey contains antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and proteins, making itself an appealing ingredient as compared to artificial sweeteners.”

Europe and the Asia Pacific, including Japan, dominates the global honey market, the report says but warns the global honey sector is not devoid of any challenges.

Honeybee losses represent one of the major challenges encountered by honey sector worldwide. Honeybees are also susceptible to threats such as environmental stress, pests and diseases, among others. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) leading to death and disappearance of honeybees, is another key challenge faced by the global honey sector.

Lately, the U.S. honey sector is facing a steep decline in production volumes triggered by declining number of bee colonies, and increased costs, leading to rising honey prices.

Apart from disease and pests, including colony collapse disorder, the report says calamities such as drought and wildfire also affected the bee production and costs in the recent past. Various macroeconomic factors such as U.S. dollar depreciation and weak economic conditions also led to the price rise in the honey market.

The report says key players dominating the Global Honey Market include Bee Maid, Billy Bee Honey, Capilano Honey, Comvita Ltd., Dabur India Ltd,, Dutch Gold Honey Inc., Golden Acres Honey, Hebei Wuqiao Mtl. Co. Ltd., Odem International Inc., Rowse Honey Ltd, Shriro Pvt. Ltd., Sioux Honey Association and Yanbian Baolixiang Beekeeping Co. Ltd.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Killer Bees Aren’t So Bad After All…

Thursday, January 28, 2010
by Alan Harman


The researchers at the university’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences say while the bees ruined domestic hives and damaged profits in South and Central American when they arrived in 1956, the analysis shows little or no impact on North American honey production.

Charles Moss, one of the analysts behind the report and a professor in the department of food and resource economics, says a more pressing economic concern for beekeepers is colony collapse disorder.

Moss says the analysis, published online by the journal of Ecological Economics, seems to indicate virtually no hive loss to the bees and any economic loss was likely due to the cost of preventive measures taken by hive keepers to keep the Africanized bees away.

“This helps to show that the primary concerns with Africanized honey bees are liability and safety, which are everyone’s concern and aren’t strictly attached to beekeepers,” he says. “Beekeepers already have a much more pressing economic concern from CCD.”

Moss says the analysis indicates beekeepers have been taking the optimal actions to reduce the effects of Africanized bees – actions such as those widely promoted by state agencies.

Jamie Ellis of the university’s Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory says beekeepers usually change their management styles when Africanized bees are in the area. These steps can reliably keep Africanized bees from overtaking domestic hives.

“I am not surprised about the lack of effect of Africanized bees on honey production,” he says.

Ellis, who did not participate in the economic analysis, says certain factors, such as the need to replace queen bees more often, may drive costs up. And some beekeepers may lose money if they choose to leave lucrative bee-removal businesses due to worries about Africanized bee encounters.

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services head of apiary inspection Jerry Hayes says he’s worried that a more severe economic impact on beekeepers may come from overzealous zoning of domestic beekeepers due to misguided worries that having domestic bees may attract the Africanized bees.

“Honey is a byproduct of pollination, which is the most important aspect of managed honey bees,” he says. “If beekeepers are zoned, ordinanced and restricted out of areas because of fear – then it is people putting the strain on the keepers and their ability to produce, not the Africanized bees.”


                                                                                                                                                                  

January 21, 2010 - First SEBC Meeting

The Southeastern Beekeepers Club held their first official monthly meeting Thursday, January 21.  The meeting was held in the workshop of Gary Reeves in Moores Hill, Indiana.  The topic covered was "Building up for Spring".  There was a good turnout for the first meeting with beekeepers coming all the way from Clarksville, IN (across the river from Louisville) and several beginners that are getting their first bees this Spring.

Next meeting will be held on February 18 at 6:00pm in Moores Hill, In



       Many conversations and questions going on after           Hands on Wiring demo with a Beginning Beekeeper
           the class time was over. - Photo taken Jan 10                                              Photo taken Jan 10