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BEE INFORMED PARTNERSHIP 39 STEP BY STEP 61 Sen nel Apiary Program – Call all beekeepers! Producing Ross Rounds. Kelly Kulhanek Kim Carpenter

GOFIGURE 42 THE COMB DISH 67 Fig trees have been around literally forever. How much do you know Comb honey dishes are stylish, expensive, prac cal, and hard to fi nd. about fi gs, really? Jim Thompson Chris Adams SMOKERS! 71 THE FUTURE OF POWER 44 A very useful tool when used correctly. Nikol Tesla and the buzz of female empowerment. David MacFawn Joshua Casper A HONEY BEE’S GUIDE TO MORE! BEEKEEPING MANAGING BEEKEEPERS 77 DEVELOPMENTS 49 This isn’t in a book. From the last 100 years. Peter Sieling Peter Borst

A VIEW FROM FRENCH HILL 56 Mee ng Michael Palmer (Part I). Adam Foster Collins

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800.289.7668 Executive Publisher – John Root Associate Publisher, Senior Editor – Kim Flottum, [email protected], Ext. 3214 Assistant Editor, Design – Kathy Summers, [email protected], Ext. 3215 Social Media, Event Specialist & Subscription Coordinator – Amanda DeSimone, [email protected], Ext. 3255 Advertising – Jean Newcombe, [email protected], Ext. 3216 Publications Assistant – Kelsey Kelly, [email protected], Ext. 3220 Contributors Clarence Collison • James E. Tew • Ann Harman • Kim Lehman Connie Krochmal • Jessica Louque • Toni Burnham • Ross Conrad • Jennifer Berry • Ed Colby

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BEE CULTURE, The A.I. Root Co., 623 W. Liberty St., Medina, OH 44256 Subscription Information U.S., one year, $25; two years, $48. Newsstand price: $4.99. All other countries, (U.S. Currency only), $20.00 per year additional for postage. Digital Edition $15. Send remittance by money order, bank draft, express money order, or check or credit card. Bee Culture (ISSN 1071-3190), June 2019, Volume 147, Issue 6, is published monthly by The A.I. Root Co., 623 W. Liberty Street, Medina, OH 44256. Periodicals Postage Paid at Medina, OH and additional mailing offi ces. Subscriptions, Book Orders – 800.289.7668, Ext. 3220 • www.BeeCulture.com • [email protected] Advertising – 800.289.7668, Ext. 3216; [email protected] Published by The A.I. Root Co. Copyright© 2019. All rights reserved. Black locust blossoms. Kim Carpenter photo

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6 BEE CULTURE June 2019 Bee Culture’s Best . . .

NEW FOR YOU 11 FIRE UP THE BBQ 79 Book – The Lives of Bees. Domestic Beekeepers’ Marketplace; Time for Summer fare with honey!. The TipZstand; BEEpothecary; Simple Harmony Farms Ann Harman Uncapper. EXTERNAL HIVE INSPECTION 82 THE STORY OF A.I. ROOT 24 You can tell a lot about colony conditions by simply watching Gleanings in Bee Culture – the early days, the 1870s. the hive entrance. A.I. Root Ross Conrad

IT ALL STARTED WITH A SWARM BIGGER PICTURE 85 OF BEES 26 Package installation. It’s time to start planning for Bee Culture’s annual Fall event. Jessica Louque This year’s theme is the History of American Beekeeping and the A.I. Root Company. Please join us as we celebrate 150 years THE VERMIN SEASON HAS BEGUN 89 of A.I. Root. Go read about it . . . Bee Culture Staff James E. Tew

A CLOSER LOOK – DEFORMED BOTTOM BOARD 88 WING VIRUS 27 And there are angels. Deformed wing virus is a single-stranded RNA virus of honey Ed Colby bees. Clarence Collison

FOUND IN TRANSLATION 33 In Every Month – Fat’s Domino Effect. Jay Evans Honeycomb Hannah 7 What’s going on in the hive? BEE KIDS’ CORNER 74 Mailbox 9 All the buzz . . . for the kids. Kim Lehman The Inner Cover 14 Crystal ball.

It’s Summers Time! 17 Home, babies and a soapbox. Honey Market Report 18 Coming up. Next Month 19 All Around The Beeyard 20 Good ideas from beekepers. BEETALK 22 Your ques ons answered by our writers.

Page 89 Calendar 94

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Proudly8 carrying: BEEBEBEE CULTURECCUULLTUTUUURRE JuneJJuJunuunne2e 201920190011919 Free BC For Your another off boxthorn, another three off clover and then Winter food School when boxthorn fl owered again. Bee Culture Just a quick note to let you With the increase in dairying, and 623 West Liberty St. know how much I am enjoying my rotational grazing, all the hedges Medina, OH 44256 apprentice bee keeper class and have gone replaced by wire fences. [email protected] your magazine samples have helped Now the wind whistles through the make this endeavor entertaining district and it’s no longer viable and educational. We plan to order for commercial beekeeping unless BeeCulture to keep ourselves up to there is natural shelter. date on all the latest. Rivers used to be lined with Jayne Schilke willow trees a valuable Spring Olympia, WA source of nectar and pollen. Greenies have been pushing • that natives should line our rivers so in some regions they have been I’m in an apprentice class cleared. The fi rst problem after taught by Tim and Shelby Weibel the clearance was fl ooding and increasing. (sp) in Olympia, Washington, and scouring of banks as there is now We are now facing a second wanted to thank you for giving nothing to hold back the water. year with honey in beekeepers shed us a free copy of the Bee Culture Most of our rivers are polluted unsold. Packers are also holding magazine. from dairy runoff and are no honey they paid well over the world I actually enjoy it so much, I’m longer swimming quality. This price for the honey. It was to be ordering a subscription! So much has caused farmers to replant the used to bulk out Manuka. This is information is in this magazine and riparian strips to prevent runoff. a situation caused by the packers its very helpful. We’ll be getting By planting a few Manuka bushes bulking out honey to reduce our fi rst box of bees this week, farmers think they can now charge good quality Manuka to a +5 umf hopefully. for having hives on their land. They which gave them greater income. Pam Easley have forgotten about all the free Beekeepers also didn’t say no to Olympia, WA pollination bees provide to clover receiving $10 per kg for any sort of and other pasture plants. honey. fi Editor’s Note – We are happy to Manuka has caused a doubling Now we are nding out that the send magazines for your beekeeping of hive numbers in 10 years. best quality Manuka doesn’t meet meetings and schools. Please let us Settlers for the last 150 years the new standards. No allowance know at least four weeks in advance have been clearing the stuff for was made for regional differences and send your (how many, name and more pasture and now people are by our ministry of agriculture fi address of where to send) in an email buying land and planting the stuff of cials. to [email protected]. Please again in the hope they will strike With no honey sales, this has note that this offer is only good in the gold. caused some beekeepers to reduce U.S. due to postage costs. Clover honey is now only staff. Some can’t afford to feed produced in sheep and cattle their hives following the second country. poor Manuka crop in a row. Big Major Ag Changes In We still have stands of adjustments ahead for beekeepers native bush the produce kamahi, in NZ until the madness ends. NZ rewarewa, beech honey dew and Frank Lindsay New Zealand is the land of milk other bush honeys. All and all these Wellington, NZ and honey but things have changed little islands produce 12 distinct over the last 20 years. varieties of honey but a lot of the Increase in dairying in the last markets for this were lost as they Beekeeping Safari 10 years has seen scrub plants, were put into bulking out Manuka. Bees for Development has gorse and broom removed for more This has now all stopped with the a long history of sharing its grass causing a loss of valuable new Manuka regulations so we will experiences in other countries pollen. have to start marketing our other with some lucky UK beekeepers. Many eucalyptus trees have unique honeys again. In fact, next year will see the been removed in Canterbury to twentieth anniversary of our ever- With nearly 1 million beehives, allow pivot irrigators to work. These popular ‘Safari’ to the Islands beekeepers are having to feed trees provided valuable autumn of Trinidad and Tobago, where supplements. food for bees when clover didn’t our host and Trustee Gladstone Here 10 years ago it wasn’t produce. Solomon introduces holidaymakers necessary as some hives would get In Taranaki all paddocks to tropical beekeeping with both pollened out. We only see this now (fi elds) used to be surrounded European and Africanized bees. with a failing queen. by hedges: barberry, boxthorn In 2018 we decided to organise With such high hive numbers and hawthorn. In the 1970s you a beekeepers’ safari to Ethiopia. We close together. Some Winter could get two boxes off barberry, have been working in the Amhara apiaries 500 metres apart, AFB is region for many years and we have June 2019 BEE CULTURE 9  Correction reduces the amount of nectar the honey bees have to fetch for the same In the April issue, in the nectar concentration, and for the article titled Thermal Effi ciency, same effort they can collect a weaker we inadvertantly dropped Figure 7 nectar if the thermal efficiency is shown here, with comparison data higher. in Figure 6. For the complete article If we take away the nectar burned please view on our web page. up by the bees fl ying there and back Our apologies to the author, to a nectar patch 6 kilometers (just Derek Mitchell. under 4 miles) away, we get the graph Bee Culture Staff in fi gure 7. This has moved all of the established Bees for Development black lines in the graph up and to the Ethiopia, an NGO with a proven right compared to fi gure 6. Our thought experiment track record in training young Together these graphs show illustrates just one nectar people to become beekeepers, that to fl y further, the honey bees concentration and one level of thermal with the objective of alleviating have to collect a more concentrated poverty while also preserving and effi ciency. We can use maths to give nectar, or have a higher thermal encouraging biodiversity. values for all reasonable values of effi ciency nest, or collect even is a new way of nectar concentration and thermal Apitourism more nectar. The vertical distance combining bees and beekeeping effi ciency and draw a graph of the from the x-axis to the red “M” line with travel, witnessing the creation amount of nectar for each unit of compared to the vertical distance of new employment prospects and honey, fi gure 6. from the x-axis to the black economic growth – while exploring The red M line shows the nectar effi ciency line gives the relative some aspects of a country that to honey ratio if the conversion from amounts of nectar constituting the other, more traditionally-led nectar to honey needed no energy. honey and the total used making travellers may well miss altogether. From this graph you can see that the honey. Apitourism offers the host country improving the thermal efficiency an opportunity to increase or strengthen local beekeeping - thanks to added support and targeted fundraising. So, what do lucky UK beekeepers do during the Winter months? They go on a Bees for Development Beekeepers’ Safari! We look forward to welcoming more of you soon. Please see our website www. beesfordevelopment.org or call us now for details of this year’s Safaris: 01600 714848. Francine Sagar Bees for Development Figure 6: Nectar to honey ratio versus nectar concentra- tion at various thermal effi ciency percentages, distance BEETALK hive to nectar patch zero kilometers I just had to drop you an email to let you know that Richard Taylor’s face on the BEETALK column brings a smile to my face every month. It brings back memories of a simpler time when all we had to worry about was Penncap-M and delivering our honey to the government loan program every Fall (I am being facetious about those serious issues obviously). Kent Pegorsch Waupaca, WI

Figure 7: Nectar to honey ratio versus nectar concentra- tion at various thermal effi ciency percentages, distance hive to nectar patch 6 kilometers

10 BEE CULTURE June 2019 Look What’s New – and defense. These are extremely detailed collections of information Tom and hundreds of observers have gathered over many years. He then gathers all of these bits The Domestic Beekeepers' and pieces and brings them togeth- Marketplace – provides U.S. bee- er to help understand why it is that keepers the opportunity to market bees in the wild do much better, of- their small batch, nutrient-rich, ten very much better than bees that American-made natural honey to are, for lack of a better term man- consumers, not just locally, but na- aged. This to differentiate bees in tionwide. This is great news because the wild from bees in the boxes we many low-cost, imported honey vari- are familiar with. eties are forcing American beekeep- But for the most part, all of this ers out of business. is somewhat familiar. Tom has ad- “There are many health benefi ts dressed these issues, in detail or of raw honey, but consumers often by suggestion in the past. This is a have a diffi cult time fi nding it,” Ste- grand review, up until chapter 11, fanie Gesuero, co-founder Domestic Darwinian Beekeeping. Beekeeper's Marketplace, says. “And If you read nothing else in this honey that is typically found in gro- book, read chapter 11. And espe- cery stores is imported, pasteurized The Lives of Bees. The Untold Story cially in that chapter read page 279. and stripped of its natural health of the Honey Bee in the Wild. Thom- I don’t think I’ve ever referred to a benefi ts.” as D. Seeley. Published by Princeton specifi c page in any of the hundreds Additionally, honey is often University Press. Hardcover. ISBN of books I’ve reviewed here over the mixed with high fructose corn syr- 9780691166766. Color and black years, but this one is worth the no- up and other sweeteners, as well and white. 6.25” x 9x25”, 360 pag- tice. as being contaminated with toxins, es. $29.95. It is a list of 21 differences be- which can be harmful to consumers' I guess I’ve been waiting for this tween bees that are wild and those health. book all along, but just didn’t know living as managed colonies. Twen- A University of California, Da- it. It is a gathering of most of the ty-one ways we get in the way bees vis report, co-authored by Daniel A. wisdom Tom Seeley has collected would choose to live, and the ways Sumner and Tristan Hanon, “Con- in his career, at least so far. Parts we make them live as managed colo- tributions of the U.S. Honey Indus- and pieces of his previous research nies. Twenty one. And the argument try to the U.S. Economy,” reveals work, and his already published is, that bees tend to know better that in 2017, U.S. honey production books appear here, though you have than we do. That is precisely why weighed in at 147.6 million pounds; to look for them because these piec- they choose to live the way the do. honey imports exceeded that num- es no longer stand alone. They are, A few, to digest. ber at 447.5 million pounds and the or have become, part of the greater Nest cavity walls have propolis annual U.S. honey consumption whole of this book. coating, managed hives don’t was 585.2 million pounds. These Tom goes back to the nest, for Nest relocations are rare, man- numbers prove that honey is in de- “it is the qualities of a colony’s in- aged are moved frequently mand and there's room for domestic ert nest, as much as the abilities of Combs not moved between col- growth. its lively bees, that determines how onies, managed combs moved often Domestic Beekeepers' Mar- long a colony survives, how much Nest entrances high and small, ketplace is doing its part to make it reproduces, and thus how well it compared to low and large American-made honey more readily achieves genetic success”. The list goes on for 17 more spe- available to consumers by connect- Nests – the location, direc- cifi c differences. ing them directly to the source – the tion and size of the entrance, and We may not be able to change beekeepers. This saves both time shapes, next cavity volume, propo- all of the ways we manage bees so and money. lis envelope, site selection and comb we can manage bees, but we can This new online platform is easy building are drawn together to build change some. The more, and the to use and consumers can quickly the nests that bees choose to reside sooner, the better. fi nd local, raw honey producers sim- in when given the chance. Dr. Seeley has taken the mea- ply by entering their state or county All of the chapters, save one, sure of the way we keep bees, and information into the “Local Honey have the same detailed, in-depth has found that we are wanting. All Tracker” search tool. overview and examination of the who have bees in their lives need to Local honey has so many health lives wild bees live. The annual cy- study this book. benefi ts: cle of a colony, and its reproduction, Kim Flottum • Excellent source of antioxidants, food collection, temperature control, vitamins, minerals and live en- 

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 11 zymes your honey without having to fi ght • Antibacterial and antifungal prop- with the bucket. The TipZstand erties holds the bucket high enough that • Phytonutrient powerhouse you can put a quart jar under the • Helps to fi ght digestive issues valve. The jar sits on the table and • Soothes a sore throat you open the valve with one hand. • Eases allergies. The TipZstand is spring loaded so “We’re committed to providing that the bucket will automatically a fair-trade marketplace for domes- tilt as the bucket becomes lighter. tic beekeepers that supply Ameri- Bottling honey is now a one-hand can-made all-natural honey,” Gesu- operation using the TipZstand. ero says. “The more local beekeepers The TipZstand also works for who produce honey, the more our other dispensers that you may have You can peruse the research at our American honey bees can pollinate for parties. No more need for a trash blog site, BEEpothecary.wordpress. and reproduce. This helps our agri- can in front of your drink dispens- com, by clicking on the Propolis tab culture, our honey bees and keeps ers. The TipZstand can be placed or searching the blog entries for in- America healthy. Natural honey away from the edge and a paper tow- formation on the various beehive re- loaded with endless health benefi ts el can be placed under it to catch the sources. Find out what the power of is just a few clicks away.” dribbles from the dispensers. bees can do! For more information visit: The TipZstand can be used with Our products include: Dietary https://www.rawhoneyjar.com/. or without the springs. Or just one Supplements for your Health: Propo- spring. When not in use, the springs lis oil, Tincture, Nasal Spray, Throat fi t neatly in compartments in the Spray and just out, Raspberry and As a backyard beekeeper, I bottom platform. You can even use Bubble Gum Flavored Propolis Oils; found myself gathering honey ev- the TipZstand with the springs and All Natural Skin Care Products: BEE ery Fall. After all the dirty work; leave the legs tucked away and place Rescue Cream, BEE Intense Body removing the super from the hive, it at the edge of the table or count- Cream,Rejuvenae Facial Cream and extracting the honey and straining er. The TipZstand collapses down to Gourmet Flavored Lip Balms; Men’s the honey into fi ve-gallon buckets, I just 2½ inches high so it fi ts neatly and Women’s Shaving Products: started bottling my honey. When the in your cupboard. Pre-Shave Oil, Hot Lather Shaving honey level got near the bottom of This is a MUST HAVE addition Soaps, Beard and Stache Oils and the bucket problems began. to your beekeeping operation (or Wax, and Aftershave Creams; Goat’s Many beekeepers use the fi ve your kitchen). Contact your local Milk Bath Soaps with beeswax, gallon bucket to store and bottle bee supplier or go to www.MyTipZ- honey, herbs and propolis. Various their honey. It works great. Until you stand.com Honeys: Raw Ohio Honey, Propolis get near the bottom. Then you have Honey, BEE Bread (pollen in hon- to prop up the bucket to get the rest We, Jeannie and Saum and ey), BEEhive Delight (Pollen and of the honey out. Doing so requires Laurie and Peter Dotson, are bee- propolis in honey),Creamed Honeys three hands; one to hold the jar be- keepers and and bee-lovers. We - Regular, Cinnamon, and Choco- low the table, one to tip the bucket, have established BEEpothecary, latte Beeswax Items: pure, strained and one to open the valve. All three LLC, to hand-craft quality health beeswax in 1 oz ingots, 1 lb blocks, have to happen at the same time. I supplements, skin care products, beeswax candles. was born with only two hands and shaving products, soaps, and can- Products can be seen on our on- therefore I have a problem with this dles with honey bee resources. line market at BEEpothecary.us procedure. So, I invented the TipZ- BEEpothecary harnesses the Check out our new gift sets for stand to help me out. amazing, researched-based benefi ts Mother’s Day and Spring! The TipZstand is the Bucket of bee propolis, honey, beeswax and Health ~ Powered by BEES! Bottling Stand to help you bottle pollen, in our products.We round them out with other natural, food- grade oils and butters, herbs and The Simple Harmony Farms essential oils. We grow and harvest Uncapper – Our uncapper is a brand many of our own ingredients. We new design which offers a simple use no artifi cially made chemicals. and superior way for the hobby or Our dietary supplements are pro- sideline beekeeper to uncap honey. duced in an FDA/ODA certifi ed pro- The biggest advantage our duction space. uncapper offers is the time it saves. Our products are different from The beekeeper has only to grasp the others on the market because we frame once to bring the frame from add bee propolis to just about every- the super to the extractor. Both thing we create. Bee propolis is the sides of the frame are uncapped at secret to our brand's success, and the same time. All other methods its use and effectiveness for human of uncapping require re-positioning health is backed up by over 70 years the frame and hands multiple times of research from around the world. during the uncapping process. All 12 BEE CULTURE June 2019 other ways waste time processing every frame. We uncap and load our 30-frame extractor in just under 5 minutes. The uncapper is designed to work with all sizes of Langstroth frames, including shallows, medi- ums and deeps. Some other advantages are: FOR ALL YOUR PROCESSING NEEDS • There is no heat, electricity or sharp edges. • Wax waste is minimal, saving your bees the time it takes to rebuild the frame. This also saves you time since your honey strainer will be slow to fi ll with cappings. • The uncapper body is made from AMERICAN MADE IN OUR NEW FACTORY 3100 EXTRACTOR high density polyethylene and the rollers are cut on a CNC lathe 978-772-BEES from a solid piece of 2" aluminum www.MaxantIndustries.com bar stock. It is incredibly durable. The body protects the rollers from damage, even if dropped. • See the uncapper pictures, videos and frequently asked questions at https://simpleharmonyfarms. com/uncapper. • The uncapper is $395. Active duty and military veterans will get a simple harmony farms hive tool for free with their purchase!

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 13 INNER COVER “Tomorrow belongs to those who (This from another ad in an April, can hear it coming…” 2019 growers magazine). ― David Bowie “The future is already here – it's “…and a lot of it will be wrong, just not evenly distributed.” but just enough of it will be right.” The Economist ― Ray Bradbury, William Gibson Fahrenheit 451 But what about other aspects of In the past several months there keeping honey bees? Take a look at has been an overwhelming wave some of these recent headlines from of information, from magazine and various publications – newspaper articles, blogs, webinars, • Indoor Wintering. In America, over podcasts, books, email blasts, social 100,000 hives now winter indoors, media sources by the dozen, meeting mostly in Idaho. Canadians have talks and the like on the changes in agriculture due to, because of and in wintered most of their bees indoors spite of artifi cial intelligence, robotics, distant monitoring, unmanned aerial for decades; and the knowledge devices, optical sensing, data collection and more. Beekeeping, in particular accumulated is available for a new pollination, overwintering and remote sensing data collection have received generation of bee buildings. as much, if not more of this kind of attention. • Wintering Sheds: Why are more Here are just a few recent headlines on several aspects of agriculture North American beekeepers over- in general – wintering their bees in cold storage? • The FAA has awarded the fi rst air carrier certifi cation to a commercial • WSU to use new refrigerators in drone package delivery company. The company will be delivering food to study to help save honey bees homes. • Bees may do better being kept in • Picking strawberries takes speed, stamina, and skill. Can a robot do it? the dark. Controlled Atmosphere Short answer, yes, by the end of the year by a robot called Berry 5.1, using storage could give bees an edge in GPS, cameras, gentle hands and unending energy will be harvesting acres the fight against the devastating per hour, nearly 24/7, no matter the weather. Varroa mite. • How Self-Driving Tractors and AI (Artifi cial Intelligence) are changing Agri- • Beekeeper develops ‘smart bee’ culture, using computer vision, data science and deep learning algorithms. winter storage system. Bravo and • Your next salad might include leafy greens planted, grown and harvested Agri-Stor to design a building that by robots in California greenhouses. would control temperature, humid- • Optical Sensing Solutions for Food Sorting and Grading of Fruits, Grains ity and CO2 levels and allow for and Vegetables. Optical sensing helps ensure consistent quality and im- smart phone monitoring. proves effi ciency. This includes moisture content in dates, sugar levels in oranges, bruises or rot inside pears and color binning of apples. “Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the “The future depends on what you do today.” steamroller, you're part of the ― Mahatma Gandhi road.” Stewart Brand Now take a look at these, from just a few sources I found during March and April. These several headlines are looking at what’s happening to the OK, let’s look at another side of beekeeping industry today. Take a look – technology that hasn’t been explored • Dropcopter releases pollination results – Way more fruit using a drone here yet. Developing the Genius Hive, than when using honey bees. Technique shows a 25 – 60% pollination remote sensing, advanced computer set on cherries and almonds, and signifi cantly increasing the pollination technology, communications and data of king blooms on apples. collection and smart phone apps for • Mechanical pollination of almonds using an electrostatic orchard sprayer better colony management. Take a affective in apples and cherries, increasing fruit set and reducing costs. look – • WSU Researcher Licenses Pollen Suspension while Continuing Electro- • Data Sharing Risks and rewards static Research. Pollination results boosted 10 – 200% in cherry, pear and • The Genius Hive will be able to tell apple orchards in Washington. you what it needs to do better. • Firman Pollen, proud partner in the Precision Pollination System plants orchards strictly to produce pollen to use in Scumby Pollen Puffer and Beehive Inserts. (this is an ad in a grower magazine in April, this year) • PollenNation NW, Pollen Collection, sales and application. Apples, pears and cherry pollen Introducing “ULTRA-SET” Pollination Technology, an electrostatic application process used in California and Washington to Crystal increase yields 30% to 50% per acre in Cherries, almonds and Pistachios. Ball. 14 BEE CULTURE June 2019 • New Technology Makes Commer- Aware, but not participating. We’re couple of farm magazines we get and cial Beekeeping More Effi cient. still trying to find enough bees to turn it into something you can use. • Measuring Thermal Effi ciency get to almonds next year, while the A good friend has a saying – I know • BXML Parts 1 & 2. The Power Of almond growers are looking for ways a good idea when I steal it – and this Big Data and Analytics. to get rid of bees for pollination. We’re is a good idea, and we stole it. • A Chat with the Co-Founder of still trying to fi gure out wintering in Over my 30+ years here I’ve been the ApisProtect Colony Monitoring huge holding yards with no forage in countless honey houses, beeyards, System and feeding all winter, while a very storage buildings, bee trucks, back- • Electronic Record Keeping – The few beekeepers are moving into yards, insemination rooms, and just Path To Better Beekeeping. controlled atmosphere buildings to about everywhere a bee or beekeeper • The MiteCheck App weather the storms of winter. Some can be. In all those places I’ve seen • Technology Acceptance Model – vegetable growers are using robots to dozens and dozens of ways that Nudging beekeepers Into the fu- do the mundane and manual, saving beekeepers have solved equipment, ture. labor costs and improving effi ciency, technique, management, biology, • Arina: Using remote Hive Monitor- while we’re still scraping boxes all employee, government, neighbor or ing Data. winter with imported labor. And the other problems somewhat outside the • Decoding the Songs of Bees for computer age is here, whether we like box, outside our normal experience, Improved Colony Health it or not, and remote sensing, seeing, or simply a better idea of a way to do • As a big part of this there is a long hearing and learning are part of the things that saves money, time, grief, list of smart phone apps you can real world for some growers and for pain, and money again. fi nd and what they can do for you. a few beekeepers, but far too many That’s what this column is about. Developed by Dr. Malcolm Sanford haven’t tuned in. Show us what you have created to and published in his newsletter. For the most part, you don’t see solve those problems. Tell, draw or Contact him here for more info. any of this in the supply catalogs you photograph what you’ve done, tell us Patreon

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 15 We’ve Got Queens!

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Home, Babies and A Soapbox different kind of ad- We’re home for another short stint before our next venture last week. We trip – about three weeks. So we’ve been trying to catch had a Japanese film up on things – bees, poultry, mowing, painting – without crew come to Medina. a lot of luck. They are making a doc- The bees have had a hard time this year. Our Spring umentary about bee- has been terrible – wet, cold one day, a random hot day, keeping, beekeepers, then cold again, then more rain. We’re hearing from lots apitherapy and bees of folks that it’s hard getting the bees going this year. in general. Kim was Kim and I picked a part of another fi lm up three packages on a they did several years cloudy, spitting rain kind ago and they contact- of day and got them in- ed him to be a part of stalled. One queen was this second fi lm. Their dead on arrival. So the main interest was in next day got another products of the hive – queen. After several more honey, wax, propolis. days of rain and being So we got our much gone for three days – you more experienced guessed it – three more friend, Nancy, to come dead queens. So tomor- to the house and make row off we go for more her wonderful lip balm. queens. How long do we So they started keep this up? We’re hear- the day filming Kim ing a lot about problems at work and in the Root beeyard. Then we went to our with queens. house and they fi lmed Nancy and Kim making lip balm. But it’s what we do, It’s interesting to have a group of people in your home so we’ll keep trying. I hope that you don’t know and you can’t really converse with. most of you are having One member of the crew spoke English and was quite better luck. personable. It was a fun, unique experience and Nancy As of today we have 41 birds living at our place. We did a great job. have seven little ducklings – we lost one, 18 chicks – lost As most of you know Kim and I do a lot of travelling two and 16 elder hens varying in age from two years to and Kim does a lot of speaking. Sometimes we have a seven years. We spent the weekend shuffl ing everyone table and sell books, hand out magazines and mostly talk around. All of the little ones were getting out of their to beekeepers. I’ve learned a lot over the years about how current containment. to treat speakers from both sides of the equation. I’m so glad Years ago, when I had just started to plan meetings that Kim ac- myself I witnessed a speaker from out of the country commodates struggling to fi nd his own ride back to the airport. This my desire for just blew me away and I thought, that should never the poultry. happen. So as a rule when we plan a meeting we take They’re so really good care of our speakers. We try to make sure they much fun – don’t have to stress over anything except the topic they they’re messy are speaking on. We make their hotel arrangements, we and noisy and feed them, we get them to and from the meeting site and stinky some- if they’re fl ying I’ll even make their fl ight arrangements times – but I and make sure someone is there to pick them up at the find it very airport and drop them back off when it’s time. peaceful to The majority of groups that we visit are the same just go hang and we are treated wonderfully. But we’ve had occasions our there in where we had to fi nd our own way, not only from the the pen or airport to the hotel, but the next morning from the hotel the coop. The to wherever the meeting was being held and at the end young ones of the day we’re on our own. are still skit- If you’re a speaker this has probably happened to tish, but the you. If you’re planning a meeting treat your speakers older ones will well. They deserve it. Make sure they don’t have to worry eat out of my about the details. hand. See you somewhere soon I hope. We had a

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 17 JUNE – REGIONAL HONEY PRICE REPORT

7 5 1 4 2 6 3

62% of the bees are behind schedule. What Was Spring Like? too much. But bee work is fully 67% too much rain. But, as a result, 58% Winter losses averaged 43%, but We polled our reporters this month behind where it should be, and 55% are behind in their bee work, and 50% ranged from 22 – 60%. on what Spring was like where they of the bees are behind too. Losses of the bees are behind where they Region 7 had a tough Spring this were this year. For the most part, across the board were 28%, ranging should be. Winter losses were 32%, year. 100% of our reporters went for unpleasant to worse seemed to be from 0 – 60%. but the range was 0 – 90%. the too cold, too wet decision, with the answer. In Region 3, 68% felt Spring Too cold was the vote in Region fully 56% thinking there was just too For Region 1, 86% said it was too was too cold and too wet, but 40% 5, but that means that 60% of our re- much rain. As a result fully 100% are cold, and too wet, with 46% getting thought there was too much rain, porters are behind in their bee work, behind where they want to be, and at more rain that they thought they while an equal 40 thought there was and 80% of the bees are slow to take least 90% of the bees are later than needed. As a result fully 50% were just enough. 63% are behind in their off so far. Winter losses were high at normal. Winter losses ranged from 0 behind in their bee work, and an bee work, and at least 50% of their 77%, ranging form a low of 55% to – 100%, with an average of 61% loss. equal 50% of the bees were slow in bees are slower than they should be. a high of 100%. Overall winter losses, across all building. Overall, Winter losses were Overwinter losses were a surprisingly Region 6 was too cold also, but regions averaged 41% for our report- 41%, ranging from 0 – 100%. low 20%, ranging from 0 – 35%. rainfall was optimal with 54% think- ers this season. It will be interesting For Region 2, 80% were in the too In Region 4, 100% or our reporters ing there was enough. What this to see where these beekeepers fall cold, too wet frame of mind, but 50% felt it was too cold and too wet this means is that only 46% are behind relative to the annual BIP Survey. felt there was enough rain, and 50% Spring, but only 25% thought it was in their bee work, but intrerestingly, Stay tuned.

REPORTING REGIONS History 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SUMMARY Last Last EXTRACTED HONEY PRICES SOLD BULK TO PACKERS OR PROCESSORS Range Avg. $/lb Month Year 55 Gal. Drum, Light 2.32 2.19 2.35 2.50 2.26 2.11 3.25 1.50-3.25 2.26 2.26 2.23 2.28 55 Gal. Drum, Ambr 2.05 2.13 2.25 2.40 2.05 1.97 2.05 1.35-2.60 2.13 2.13 2.15 2.26 60# Light (retail) 216.38 184.20 201.67 203.67 157.50 181.19 200.00 125.74-325.00 207.38 3.46 206.30 203.03 60# Amber (retail) 215.23 183.68 200.00 193.25 215.23 177.75 223.33 119.74-325.00 208.09 3.47 206.88 201.90

WHOLESALE PRICES SOLD TO STORES OR DISTRIBUTORS IN CASE LOTS 1/2# 24/case 108.51 75.00 97.80 76.25 61.20 87.00 108.51 57.60-194.44 90.99 7.58 89.84 83.04 1# 24/case 164.65 108.68 136.59 110.06 134.00 138.66 168.00 86.40-300.00 136.10 5.67 129.34 126.08 2# 12/case 126.54 97.82 115.84 101.77 126.54 104.40 126.54 79.20-192.00 117.49 4.90 120.48 111.26 12.oz. Plas. 24/cs 112.39 111.89 102.67 87.92 83.76 106.72 96.00 66.00-180.00 101.78 5.65 102.40 100.33 5# 6/case 145.43 110.25 157.75 122.30 113.16 140.33 145.43 71.50-240.00 135.10 4.50 136.55 125.30 Quarts 12/case 179.69 146.55 133.50 152.40 144.03 141.51 179.50 108.00-300.00 155.39 4.32 159.95 146.58 Pints 12/case 95.34 98.37 78.67 84.28 95.34 82.04 90.00 60.00-140.00 90.67 5.04 91.57 95.08

RETAIL SHELF PRICES 1/2# 5.33 4.50 4.42 4.67 4.30 4.46 7.00 2.39-9.00 4.97 9.94 5.01 4.85 12 oz. Plastic 6.89 5.76 5.47 5.55 4.63 6.48 7.15 3.50-12.00 6.04 8.05 5.98 5.77 1# Glass/Plastic 9.37 7.91 7.74 6.56 6.87 7.42 9.50 4.50-17.00 7.99 7.99 7.76 7.39 2# Glass/Plastic 14.68 13.20 12.82 11.23 11.79 12.67 16.00 6.87-25.00 13.42 6.71 13.74 12.09 Pint 12.19 11.31 10.35 12.25 10.67 9.84 10.60 6.00-21.00 10.88 7.25 10.33 10.29 Quart 19.51 18.02 14.37 15.50 17.34 18.19 20.19 9.50-32.00 18.28 6.09 18.27 17.05 5# Glass/Plastic 31.22 27.36 40.75 26.25 26.18 27.78 31.22 17.89-48.00 29.50 5.90 28.87 26.61 1# Cream 10.91 9.94 10.98 9.93 11.32 7.75 12.00 7.00-16.00 10.33 10.33 9.89 9.64 1# Cut Comb 13.09 9.28 10.49 10.20 12.50 11.25 15.00 6.00-24.00 11.18 11.18 11.87 11.33 Ross Round 9.56 7.92 9.56 8.50 9.56 10.75 12.49 6.00-13.00 9.62 12.83 9.90 9.08 Wholesale Wax (Lt) 7.83 4.78 5.40 5.60 6.00 6.38 7.25 3.00-15.00 6.66 - 6.48 6.56 Wholesale Wax (Dk) 6.92 4.44 4.18 4.17 6.92 3.17 8.15 2.00-15.00 5.33 - 5.28 5.69 Pollination Fee/Col. 92.58 77.17 70.00 90.00 92.58 92.00 96.00 30.00-160.00 90.17 - 87.85 83.65

18 BEE CULTURE June 2019 NEXT MONTH Welcome to NEXT MONTH, where Region Three • Make sure they have plenty of food our Honey Reporters share a line or two • Stay healthy • Watch for Ag. Chemical spray in area about what they will be doing NEXT • Mite control • Make sure bees have adequate expansion month with their bees. Advice is given for • Keep suppered up room each region so you can see what others are • Treat for mites doing where you are, and, of course in all • Finish replacing last years queens Region Six the rest of the regions. Check these out. • Treat with apivar • Mites medication These reporters are successful in business. • Check Queen status • Varroa treatment • Prevent swarming • Splits Region One • Keep check on small hive beetles. • Re-Queen • Make splits • Provide water • Make sure they have enough honey • Monitor mites • Monitor temperature • Keep hive by fl owering bloom and water • Supper • Insure room in hive for queen • Leave more honey Region Four • Add supers • Feed pollen sub • Locate food source for good fl ow • Hive beetle control • Reduce number of supers to cover frames • Keep healthy bees to gather enough pro- • Remove full supers and only leave on with bees visions for winter. Do not expect a fall two or three at most • Treat with oxalic acid fl ow as it used to be. • Make sure the electric fence is working • Monitor for Varroa and treat as necessary • Treat for mites to keep the bears out • Add honey supers to allow more room so • Move Queen into brood Boxes • Feed bees do not swarm • Re-queen failing Queens • Q right • Splits Region Seven • Change all old frames • Treat for parasites • Mite count and medicate • Use brook in my goods hives to make up • Buy some package bees and nucs • Check Queens for my losses • Start removing honey • Pull honey periodically to add to honey • Check for beetles • Do not over super bank • Feed constantly • Api-guard • Plan for summer splits and re-queen • Extract honey • Pollen supplement fed • Raise Queen and make up nuc Region Five • Harvest honey • Alcohol wash everybody • Clean and check • Supers on early • Make splits if possible Honey Reporters • Don’t over super • Use Apivar • Keep feeding new hives • Re-Queen no matter how good she is Wanted • Add supers Region Two We are expanding our Honey • Count mites in hives Reporter populaƟ on and need new • Feed • Check for swarming reporters in EVERY region. We ask • Varroa treatment that you fi ll in most of the whole- • Continue to inspect sale or retail or both secƟ ons, most • Re-arrange hive structure months, and our short survey on • Check to see if the hives have enough the back. We give you a FREE sub- honey going into Summer Ɵ • Check to see if Queens remain strong scrip on for your service. So if you • Provide constant water source are interested send an email to • Harvest honey [email protected] and put • Be sure brood nest contains adequate REPORTER in the subject line. In- honey reserves clude name, email, phone number • Check for disease • Check to see if Queen is in good shape and mailing address and we’ll get • Mite strips after extract you the next Honey Report form. Sign up today and be a part of the BEST Monthly Honey Price and Bee- keeping Management Report in the industry.

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 19 AL L A RO T U N D H B E E E Y AR D

Number 1 Tip of the Month – Honey Warmer

There are many ideas for honey warming cabinets on the internet. Most involve an insulated box with a heat source. My intent was to incorporate all the best ideas. My design uses a medium hive body with an in- candescent light bulb mounted inside, on a plywood base with a removable foam telescoping box top. Safety was a concern, so I purchased a porcelain base for the light bulb and a four inch metal octagon electrical box where I made all my electrical connec- tions. I also purchased a 110V temperature controller thermostat with a digital LED display and remote tem- perature sensor on EBay for $4.25 The controller was mounted on the outside of the medium hive body with the wires passing through a hole I drilled into the met- al octagon box. The wires on the controller were pretty light gauge stranded wire, so I tinned the ends with sol- der to prevent fraying. Make sure you know how to wire or bench test the controller fi rst, as the one I bought had black wires that were actually the common (-) which are normally white with red for input (+) and yellow for output or load (+). Once the controller and light bulb were installed and wired, I mounted the medium on a piece of plywood. To hold the honey, I cut 1 x 3 fi ring strips to length so that they would set on the frame rests in the medium. The last step was to build the cover. I made mine from two layers of 1” foam board sized to fi t snugly over the medium. All corners were glued and taped for dura- bility. Testing has been successful. It takes about fi ve days to liquefy eight quarts with the thermostat set to be- tween 38 and 40 degrees Celsius (100 – 102°F) I have not tested with a fi ve-gallon bucket yet, but plan to af- ter this year’s harvest. I might also try stacking honey supers in place of the cover if I ever need to warm some prior to extracting. Jeff Rysenga, Fremont, IN

Bee Culture wants you to share your good ideas with our readers. Be precise and include a photo or sketch if possible, but that may not be necessary. If we use your idea you get a free one-year subscripƟ on. The best each month gets $100.

20 BEE CULTURE June 2019 This idea concerns the problems Keep It Simple of old or damaged wax in frames. If you keep bees long enough as I have A tip that I picked up is tipping the hive back to check for queen cells, since 1999, you realize that the rather than inspecting every comb. This has save me countless hours. Peter frames have to be cleaned out and Good, simple record keeping (I use Excel and have a sheet per api- replaced with new wax. ary). Looking through the sheet before starting inspections often means that I have devised a system to clean some colonies do not need inspecting e.g. if we do an artifi cial swarm then it out frames that is essentially cost is checked on the next visit but then marked NFI (no further inspections) if free except for the input of my la- all is well. Shorthand in the notes keeps them simple – BAS (brood all stag- bor which is considerable. I melt the es), QS (queen seen), VSNEY (virgin seen no eggs yet). Tip: get someone else wax out of the frame using hot, not to take the notes. Peter boiling water. This can only be done well in the Winter months when the Carry an old honey bucket to collect up bits of wax – that stuff is valu- bees are not fl ying or they will come able. Peter around the work area and ultimately I have a fi ve-gallon pail with a The Bucket Boss – Contents drown in the water trying to fi nd the multi-pocket insert liner for stor- Matches, lighters, tweezers, mea- honey they smell. The device I use ing and carrying tools in which I sure spoon, marker, queen cages, is a 50-gallon drum cut in half. The transport most all of my beekeeping pencil, hive tools, frame spacer, two drums are then set on a frame equipment. I have an apron that I pens, screwdriver, pair of scissors, and fi lled ¾ full of water. Bring the use to carry corn pollenating sup- minishear, retractable knives, small water to a temperature that will melt plies (tassel bags, shoot bags, paper pry bar, wonder bar, hammer, wire the wax out of the frame by starting clips, stapler and staples, pens, pen- cutters, bee brush, frame scraper, a fi re under the frame that has the cils, markers and a nursery book). saw, pail opener, entrance reducer, barrels, see picture. Dip the frame Now I use it to carry beekeeping small scisssors/shears, frame grip, in the hot water, and after the wax tools and supplies. It is my every day frame holder/hanger, spade bits, is gone a swipes of the hive tool will carry or EDC. hand drill with bit, hole saws (1 further clean the frame and it is I also have an old small metal fi le inch diam.), adjustable strap, mite done. box in which I store my smoker. It jar and powdered sugar, insect re- I work off of an old door set on will extinguish a smoldering smoker pellents for mosquitoes and ticks, two saw horses set close to the fi re. quickly in case the surrounding bee- pieces of screen and hardware cloth, The door is big enough to hold boxes yard is too dry to dump out hot coals queen cages, queen introduction as well as provide an adequate work to prevent a grass or brush fi re. A cages, duct tape, water bottle, feed platform. frame rest or holder that hangs on pail covers with screens, fi le, bag of The wax can be further pro- the side of the hive body when in- quick start pellets. cessed and cleaned using crock pots specting and working bees is the ul- found at the local good will stores. timate extra piece of equipment that Sandra Center, Omaha, AR every beekeeper should have. I have deer stands in the woods on which I place bait hives to catch swarms. Be sure to remove the bait hive before hunting season. Portable deer stands make excellent bait hive platforms because of their adjustable hangers and are easy to position on Beekeeping Apron – Contents a tree. Bring a portable ladder when Charcoal lighter, hive tools, bee using and hanging a portable deer brush, cigarette lighter, tape mea- stand. If the deer stand has a chain sure, pruning shears, queen cag- it can be easily locked to the tree es, frame hanger, magnifying glass, with a padlock. If not bring a bicy- pens, marker, needle, batteries, bee cle cable and lock to secure it to the escapes, small jar of ethanol, plastic tree. Be careful and BEE CAUTIOUS queen cell cups, queen introduction when moving hives up and down a cages, pruning shears, counter, rec- ladder. Daniel Palmer tractable knife, reusueable cable tie, frame spacers, corks or corn cobs, rubber stoppers.

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 21 Send us your questions, we’ll fi nd the answers. Our reglars and our gests will share what they know. Send your questions to Kim@BeeCultre.com, bwith BEETALK in the subject line. This month’s gests include Dewey Caron, author of several books and many aricles, and Denzil St Claire, who helps e rn QueenRight Colonies, right here in NE Ohio and Ger Hayes. er places. Hopefully this will lead to There is no way to test if a queen real insights into why bees select is properly mated except for her certain plant resins and better strat- subsequence performance. Dewey e egies for disease. Jay Evans, DC Caron, Bolivia

Honey Bees like smooth surfac- By looking at her brood patterns es. In the scenario you gave all they and consistency. You can improve are doing is smoothing the surface. your odds by raising queens a bit Then what? Roughed up wood or later in the year and after you and not they will coat surface with mixed your neighbors have large healthy t propolis resins. Propolis does loose colonies. Jay Evans, DC its antimicrobial properties over time and colony continues to add You don't really know when coatings of propolis which is help- you rear your own queens, but your a ful according to some data. Jerry best bet is to keep them isolated for Hayes, MO a brood cycle and make sure they have a good laying pattern. If you I plan to try some roughened haven't had any issues in the past, l Langstroth hive bodies during this you probably will be fi ne. Jessica bee season. A wire brush seems to Louque, NC work quite well in scratching the surface. Ann Harman,VA We beekeepers do not have ac- k cess to what ‘well mated’ is or means. I have not attempted this but a If it means is her spermatheca fi lled Question 1 gut reaction is, if this has any mer- to capacity with viable sperm and I have seen several sources now advocat- it, where are all the feral colonies workers are produced in quantity ing the benefi ts to honey bee health of the of bees and why is it that the feral we won’t ultimately know until she propolis envelope which develops natural- colony populations have all but van- runs out of stored sperm and fails ly inside a tree cavity based colony. Many ished except for the swarms that es- in the future. If she is mated with suggest that roughening the wood on the cape managed colonies? Denzil St. drones that have been exposed to inside of a convenƟ onal hive would trigger Clair, OH some varroacides which kill the bees into coaƟ ng the now roughened sur- sperm she could have a full sperma- face with propolis. Has anyone out there Beekeepers in Bolivia routinely theca with dead sperm. This will be tried this approach with convenƟ onal boxes roughen (with wood fi le) interior of evident immediately as she will be a (Langstroth, BriƟ sh NaƟ onal…)? If so, how boxes (and use rough plain wood) drone layer. Jerry Hayes, MO did you go about doing this? Did it work? and also impregnate hemp rope with Did you encounter other negaƟ ve issues as propolis. They do not treat for varroa Once she starts laying, look for a result of doing this? but propolis use alone is probably a nice, mostly solid, brood pattern. not the reason they have few var- Then watch to see if your colony Providing a rough surface for roa issues (the Africanized bee pop- prospers. Ed Colby, CO a propolis envelope has very little ulation has several Varroa control downside and seems likely to fi t with means, including mid and after sea- One of the few ways I am aware bee colony defenses at some level. Of son reduction in rearing of drones.) of to gauge the quality of a mated course, ‘results may vary’ depending Dewey Caron, OR queen is to observe the number of on the types and ease of collection of attendant bees that surround her your local plant resins, so it is very Question 2 as part of her retinue. The rule of tempting as a research question to I raise my own queens, which means I’m thumb is that the more bees in her identify the best resin sources, or guessing that aŌ er a virgin quits fl ying for court, the better the queen typical best constituents of those resins, maƟ ng fl ights, she’s well mated. As far as is considered to be. Alternatively, and work is ongoing in that realm I’m concerned, that’s a complete guess. assessment of mating quality, mor- at the University of Minnesota (Mar- How do you know if she’s well mated, or phometry, and disease presence in la Spivak), various places in Brazil, maybe, mated enough to get the colony queens is offered with a fee for ser- and the lab of William Collins (Fort through next Winter and Spring? vice model from the NC State Queen Lewis College, Colorado) among oth- & Disease Clinic through the Bee

22 BEE CULTURE June 2019 Informed Partnership (BIP). Problem list of criteria will apply. Densil St. about it. Jessica Louque, NC is you sacrifi ce the queen in order Clair, OH to fi nd out how good she was. Ross I think only having spore Conrad, VT Question 3 counts on two bees is not informa- So I sent bees from each of my two colonies tive enough. I would not panic. If Every year beekeepers have un- to Beltsville for nosema count. One came you want to panic there is a prod- realistic expectations of queen and back over seven million, one 1 million. Why, uct called Vita Feed Gold that there package bee suppliers and then and what do I do now? Do I treat with some- is data on Nosema control. Jerry complain about virgin queens and thing? Requeen? Hope? Hayes, MO packages that do not build all sum- mer. In order to improve their op- Nosema can reoccur in once The best beekeepers I know tions many attempt to produce their contaminated colonies as nurse bees don't test for Nosema. For a thou- own stock and as a result arrive at clean comb from diseased colonies; sand reasons, colonies thrive, or the same conclusion - poor queens/ stress factors like Varroa, heat, cold, they dwindle and perish, with or poor stock. may also contribute to any new out- without Nosema. Keep your bees The things that apply to garden- break and effect different colonies well nourished and mite-free. Then ing, full sun/partial shade/moist differently as a result. Results may sleep easy. Ed Colby, CO conditions/34-0-0/0-0-60 fertiliz- vary from colony to colony because ers, etc., should also apply to queen internal, external, environmental, Based on the work of Rhoades rearing - lots of sun/temperature 60 conditions and how a colony reacts and Skinner, (2011) Effects of Treat- plus/no rain in the forecast/drones to each vary. Prophylactic treat- ment with Thymol, Fumagillin, Hon- galore, etc. True beekeeping dictates ment as recommended with Super ey-B-Healthy, and Nozevit on caged that the beekeeper determine the DFM keeps colonies in good mid gut honey bees infected with Nosema what, when, where, of any beekeep- health. Denzil St. Clair, OH apis and N. ceranae in the Proceed- ing venture. For example, the weath- ings of the American Bee Research er over history has been nice for the Nosema is certain to be bad for conference and Hackett 2008 Annu- period chosen to produce queens, did bees at some level. Consistently high al Report on USDA/ARS Research you (pick) a nice queen to produce Nosema counts like that are proba- on Bees and Pollination, USDA/ lots of extra drones at least a week bly a sign to change your genetics, ARS, Pg. 4, I would use a drench of ahead of any (determined) queen? especially since there are few consis- either Pro Health from Mann Lake Queens should only be taken from tent treatment options currently.Jay or Honey-B-Healthy. On a warm brood so a brood pattern can be ob- Evans, DC day, drizzle a cup of these essential served to some degree before being oil feed stimulants (four teaspoons placed into a breeding program. Ne- Nosema counts can vary so per quart of sugar syrup) over the cessity cannot determine quality of a widely within a colony. I wouldn't top bars of the hive and let the queen nor can breeders go on mat- do anything to treat because that's bees clean up the mess, medicating ing fl ights with the queen, but we oftentimes worse than having Nose- themselves at the same time. Alter- can certainly infl uence the outcome. ma present. You could try splitting native, the Rhoades and Skinner Records will also help, what worked, the colony and requeening one and study suggests that by using thymol what did not, times, dates, weather, starting over, but in our yards, we based Varroa treatments, nosema results, and then if the beekeeper is don't really bother with Nosema be- pressures may be reduced as a side planning to sell queens, a whole new cause we're not going to do anything benefi t.Ross Conrad, VT

Since Nosema ceranae is now the prevalent one you can be certain that workers, queens and drones will all be affected. At present there Seeds for is no treatment for it. Keep your eyes open for results of research. In the meantime monitor your colonies for honeybee habitat queen performance and replace her if necessary. Make certain your col- onies do not suffer for lack of forage, especially during times of excessive rain or of drought. Ann Harman, VA

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June 2019 BEE CULTURE 23 “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He before January 1,1, fforor one shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the reason because I could nnotot Lord.” get it into the postst oofffi ce; – Psalm 27:14 and besides, I wasas aafraidfraid someone might taketake thethe journal for the sakesake ofof the engine, and nnotot fforor its own intrinsic vvalue.alue. Seriously, this iss thethe the way I felt aboutt it. I wanted my readersders to subscribe for Gleanings becauseuse they wanted it. story of However, iinn spite of my formerer attitude towardd premiums, whenn the Waterburyy a.i. root watch factory started, the manufacturers were anxious GettingSubscribers to get their watches into the hands of the ppeopleeople A.I. Root exactly as I wasas anxious to getget Gleanings into the hands of the people. They To make it a little more of an object for some found out how Gleanings had made its way even into beekeeper in every neighborhood to canvass his locality foreign lands, and into the hands of good, kind people for subscribers, I agreed to make the price of Gleanings and they decided that instead of spending great sums of 60¢ for a club of ten names. This offer was not more liberal money in newspaper advertisement they would rather than many publishers made, and in many ways it seemed give the watch at a very low price to someone who would about right. Well, in those days of sharp competition in and could make known its good qualities as I did. This furnishing staple articles, there was much cutting under enabled me to pay handsomely the friends who worked the agents were offering many periodicals at 75 percent among their neighbors for the up building of the journal; of the publisher’s prices, or even less. They did not go therefore I gave a watch to everyone who sent me fi ve around to the houses as publishers originally intended new subscribers at a $1.00 each. A great boom in the they should but transacted their business through the subscription list came from that offer of a watch for fi ve mails. In other words, they simply got the publisher’s subscribers. In December, 1881, I sent out a gross of customers away from him by announcing that they would watches in only fi ve days. sell cheaper. In the December issue of Gleanings for 1875, I Gleanings would have been advertised for 75¢ in its announced that while Gleanings for 1876 would be $1.00 own columns, had I not refused the advertisement. Why per year, including the new department, “Our Homes,” did I not sell it for 75¢ myself? Why, if I charged one Gleanings alone without “Our Homes” would be sold at man but 75¢, I would have had to do the same with all. the old price for 75¢. I did not like to ask people to work for me without paying them, and for such work I wanted to be able to pay liberally. Still I was obliged to have but one price and to adhere to my printed rule, or else I should have been called dishonest. Several times I received 75¢ with the request to send Gleanings one year, at the same price that others were receiving or else return the money. Of course, I had no choice but to return the money. I finally concluded that only 25 percent off the publisher’s price to agents would be about right. This left little margin for presents and premiums, but I felt it better to have the paper published and sold for what it was worth of itself.

The Value of Premiums In the December number of Gleanings for 1877 I announced that I could not very well send a steam engine for hive-making as a premium for renewing a subscription

24 BEE CULTURE June 2019 I announced that those who wished their paper copy to Washington and they had also so decided. continued without interruption would please remit for the I made inquiries of those who should know in regard next year shortly after the December number was out. As I to getting such a decision revoked, but it seemed pretty did not wish to intrude it on anyone not wanting it, I took certain that a decision made by the Postmaster General, it for granted that all who did not remit before January 1 whether right or wrong, was seldom if ever recalled. I wished it discontinued, therefore no one needed to take asked our postmaster what feature of my journal I should the trouble to write me if they wished their subscription remove in order that it might pass through the mails. If stopped. This applied also to “Our Homes.” After two I recall aright, his reply seemed to indicate that it was installments any reader could tell whether they desired it all objectionable. for the next year. If so, the extra 25¢ was to be remitted In thinking the matter over it occurred to me that God before January 1. had sent this trial to caution me in regard to selfi shness In 1875 I gave 16 pages of reading matter per issue for and that Gleanings might be remodeled into shape where 75¢, and the next year 24 pages without counting the four it would do more good. I wrote briefl y to the Postmaster pages of “Our Homes,” for $1.00. Furthermore, I decided General asking what features of our journal must be that all who paid only 75¢ at the beginning of the year omitted to allow it to pass through the mail, sending could send the extra 25¢ or not as they chose. The main copies of our letterheads, envelopes, etc., consenting to point was that no charge was made to any one for the omitting all mention of the manufacturing business as Home department, and the 25¢ extra, therefore, had no well as every advertisement of anything I had for sale reference to it. I wanted these four pages to be a free gift. in its columns if this were demanded, and I closed with I considered it a duty to prune all matter sent me for something like this: publication and I always took this liberty when necessary, “I do not know to whom I am writing, whether it be unless forbidden, and in case of copy where pruning was to one who believes in the Bible and Jesus Christ, or not; forbidden, I reserved the right to throw it into the waste but if I know myself, the primary purpose of Gleanings basket if I thought it needed pruning. If articles were is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to benefi t my to be returned back if not accepted, I wanted that fact fellowmen and especially to this end are the last two mentioned and stamp enclosed. leaves devoted. In behalf of the hands I employ and the I never wanted Gleanings to be the vehicle for many whom Gleanings helps, I beg that your decision unprofi table controversy, and as I might err in trying to may be reversed.” guard against this I announced that I would freely return The decision excluding Gleanings came just after the the money to any dissatisfi ed subscriber for all unexpired April number, 1879, was mailed. Before the May number subscription. was out, one of the clerks called from the top of the stairway saying, “Good news,” and sent a paper fl oating Gleanings Ruled Out of the Mails down which fell at my feet. I raised it and read that the In 1879 the editor of our county paper was also decision of April 1,1879, excluding the publication named postmaster. He remarked that my journal was but an Gleanings in Bee Culture, from going into the mails at advertising sheet, and it ought not to be allowed to go pounds rates was revoked. Furthermore, the news also through the mails at journal rates. I thought this pretty came that instead of paying three cents a pound, as I hard but allowed the subject to pass by. had heretofore, Gleanings could go at 2¢ a pound, and A few days afterward sample copies for which I had before paid eight cents a hhe came to me with an pound, could also got for two cents a pound. The greatest offi cial paper bearing the motive I had in sending out the sample copies was to get ststamp “Washington” and the last two pages containing the Home Papers scattered sisigned by the Postmaster around where they might do good. GGeneral, declaring that In the middle of April, 1882, I got out a supplement of ththe publication known as Gleanings, which I called the Juvenile Gleanings, or Boys’ GGleanings in Bee Culture and Girls’ Bee Journal, the fi rst number of Gleanings ever hhad been declared printed in the middle of the month. Later on, I decided to uunmailable at pound make the Juvenile Gleanings double its former size so that rratesa under the section it would be as large as the regular Gleanings. Since many inincluding periodicals of the little folks read Our Homes I thought it might be wwhose primary purpose just as well to have Our Homes in the Juvenile number, wwas to advertise the thus the old Gleanings could be all bees. No one could eeditor’s business. I make any objection if I threw in the Juvenile without any rremonstratede and asked additional charge; also no one could dispute my privilege wwho it was that decided of making it just as I wished, partly for old and partly for susuch matters. He showed young folks. Finally, the juvenile feature was dropped, mme a law wherein this the mid-month number being the same as the number dduty was assigned to the issued the fi rst of the month. ppostmaster where the On May 27, 1876, Gleanings had 1615 subscribers. mmagazine was mailed On July 28, 1876, I had 1697, 89 new names during that aand he stated that he month. On March 31, 1877, I had practically the same hhad pronounced it an number; but by July I had over 2000. The last of August aadvertising sheet, but I had 2333; in November, 2513; and on September 28, to be sure, had mailed a 1878, I received my 4000th subscriber. BC

June 22019019 BEE CULTURE 25 It All Started With A Swarm Of Bees Join Us October 11 - 13 To Celebrate 150 Years Of The A. I. Root Company and American Beekeeping History

Friday Afternoon: tours of the A. I. Root Candle Factory Evening: meet and greet with the speakers and snacks

Saturday & Sunday: Register Now! L. L. Langstroth and A. I. Root discuss old times www.BeeCulture.com Jim Tew talks about all the old authors L. L. Langstroth talks about My Hive A. I. Root talks about the beginnings of the beekeeping industry Wyatt Mangum displays and discusses early beekeeping equipment Tammy Horn Potter looks at the history of women in Beekeeping Gerry Hayes looks the history of the industry organizations, groups, movements Gabe Dadant talks about the history of the Dadant Company Jim Thompson discusses equipment from his extensive collections Plus much, much more! Only $60 per person!

To See Lodging Information And Register Visit www.BeeCulture.com

Join us in the conference room at 640 W. Liberty, Medina, OH Registration begins May 1 and space is limited so don’t wait! 266 BEEBBEEE CULTURECUC LTTURURE JuneJunJuJuunnee2 201920190011919 Deformed wing virus (DWV) is a single-stranded RNA virus of honey bees and an emerging infectious disease that is considered a major cause of elevated losses of honey bee colonies. Although DWV represents a major threat to honey bee health worldwide, the pathological basis of DWV infection is not well documented. Koziy et al. (2019) investigated clinicopathological and histological aspects of natural DWV infection in honey bee workers. Emergence of worker honey bees was observed in fi ve colonies that were clinically affected with DWV and the newly emerged bees were collected for histopathology. DWV-affected bees were two times slower to emerge and had 30% higher mortality compared to clinically normal bees. Hypopharyngeal glands in bees with DWV were hypoplastic (incomplete development of a tissue), with fewer intracytoplasmic secretory vesicles; cells affected by apoptosis (death of cells which occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism’s development) were observed more frequently. Mandibular glands were hypoplastic and were lined by cuboidal epithelium in severely affected bees compared to tall columnar epithelium in non-affected bees. The DWV load was on average 1.7 x 106 times higher in the severely affected workers compared to aged- matched sister honey bee workers that were not affected by deformed wing disease based on gross examination. A Closer Thus, DWV infection is associated with prolonged emergence, increased mortality during emergence and hypoplasia of hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands in newly emerged worker honey bees in addition to deformed wing abnormalities. LOO k The occurrence of wing deformity is associated with the transmission of DWV through Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) during bee pupal stages. Such infections with DWV add to the associated pathology of V. destructor and play a major role in colony collapse in the course of varroosis. Using a recently developed RT-PCR (Real-Time DEFORMED WING VIRUS Polymerase Chain Reaction) protocol for the detection of Clarence DWV, individual bees and mites originating from hives Collison differing in Varroa infestation levels and the occurrence of crippled bees were analyzed (Yue and Genersch 2005). It The occurence of wing deforit is was found that 100% of both crippled and asymptomatic bees were positive for DWV. However, a significant associated with the tansmission of difference in the spatial distribution of DWV between DWV through Varoa mites (Varoa asymptomatic and crippled bees could be demonstrated: when analyzing head, thorax and abdomen of crippled destctor) during bee pupal stages. bees, all body parts were always strongly positive for viral sequences. In contrast, for asymptomatic bees viral independent transmission results in covert infections. sequences could be detected in RNA extracted from the True covert infections are a known infection strategy for thorax and/or abdomen but never in RNA extracted from insect viruses, resulting in long-term persistence of the the head. virus in the population. They are characterized by the DWV replication was demonstrated in almost all absence of disease symptoms in the presence of the virus DWV-positive body parts of infected bees. Analyzing and by vertical transmission of the virus. To demonstrate individual mites for the presence of DWV revealed that vertical transmission and, hence, true covert infections the percentage of DWV-positive mites differed between for DWV, a detailed study was performed on the vertical- mite populations. In addition, it was demonstrated that transmission routes of DWV. In total, 192 unfertilized DWV was able to replicate in some but not all mites. Virus eggs originating from eight virgin queens, and the same replication in mites was correlated with wing deformity. number of fertilized eggs from the same queens after DWV was also detected in the larval food, implicating that artifi cial insemination with DWV-negative (three queens) in addition to transmission by V. destructor DWV is also or DWV-positive (fi ve queens) semen, were analyzed transmitted by feeding. individually. The F0 queens and drones and F1 drones and In the absence of V. destructor, DWV infection does were also analyzed for viral RNA. By in situ hybridization, not result in visible symptoms, suggesting that mite- viral sequences were detected in the ovary of an F0 queen

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 27 that had laid DWV-positive unfertilized eggs and was inseminated with DWV-positive semen. In conclusion, DWV was able to replicate in some vertical transmission of DWV from queens and drones to drone and worker offspring through unfertilized and but not all mites. fertilized eggs, respectively, was demonstrated. Viral sequences in fertilized eggs can originate from the queen, A positive relationship was found between increasing as well as from drones via DWV-positive semen (Yue et numbers of mites on individual bees and the incidence al. 2007). of morphological deformity and death. This probably Deformed wing virus normally causes covert infections refl ected the large number of viral particles transmitted but can have devastating effects on bees by inducing by the mites, which resulted in many multiply infested morphological deformity or even death when transmitted bees dying before emergence. These results demonstrate by the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. In order to the importance of the role of viruses when considering the determine the role of Varroa mite in the development of pathology of Varroa mites and that much of the pathology crippled wings, Gisder et al. (2009) analyzed individual previously associated with the effects of mite feeding could mites for the presence and replication of DWV. The results be attributed directly to secondary pathogens vectored by supported the correlation between viral replication in Varroa mites (Bowen-Walker et al. 1999). mites and morphologically deformed bees. Quantifi cation Deformed wing virus infected semen was used for of viral genome equivalents revealed that mites capable artifi cial insemination of DWV-free virgin queens. High of inducing an overt DWV infection contained 1010 - 1012 titers of DWV could subsequently be detected not only in genome equivalents per mite. In contrast, mites which the spermatheca, but also in the ovaries, demonstrating could not induce crippled wings contained a maximum venereal transmission of DWV in honey bees. Subsequent of only 108 viral genome equivalents per mite. They vertical transmission of the virus to the progeny of concluded that the development of crippled wings not DWV infected queens was also demonstrated. Neither only depends on DWV transmission by Varroa destructor transmission route is 100% effective. Whether venereal but also on viral replication in V. destructor and on the transmission of DWV occurs during natural mating DWV titer in the parasitizing mites. remains to be determined (de Miranda and Fries 2008). Under fi eld conditions, Varroa mites were shown to Amiri et al. (2016) examined whether sexual be highly effective vectors of deformed wing virus between transmission during multiple matings of queens is bees. Adult female mites obtained from honey bee pupae a possible way of virus infection in queens. In an naturally infected with DWV contained virus titers many environment with high prevalence of deformed wing virus, times in excess of those found in their hosts and, beyond queens (n = 30) were trapped upon their return from a that, which might be expected from a concentration natural mating fl ight. The last drone’s endophallus (n effect. It is therefore possible that DWV may be capable = 29), if present, was removed from the mated queens of replicating within the mite. Bees which tested positive for deformed wing virus quantifi cation, leading to the for DWV exhibited characteristic morphological deformity detection of high-level infection in three endopalli. and/or they died during pupation. After oviposition, viral quantifi cation revealed that Asymptomatic bees had much lower virus titers than seven of the 30 queens had high-level deformed wing virus those which were deformed or had died during pupation. infections, in all tissues, including the semen stored in It is therefore suggested that for DWV to cause pathology the spermathecae. Two groups of either unmated queens it must be present in pupae above a certain concentration. (n = 8) with induced egg laying, or queens (n = 12) mated The amount of DWV vectored by Varroa mites will depend in isolation with drones showing comparatively low on the mite’s level of infection, which will in turn depend deformed wing virus infections served as control. None on whether they had fed previously on dead or deformed of the control queens exhibited high-level viral infections. bees and also on the rate of replication of the virus within They demonstrated that deformed wing virus infected the mites. Consequently, developing bees infested with drones are competitive to mate and able to transmit large numbers of mites could suffer a high incidence of the virus along with semen, which occasionally leads to deformity if the mites are heavily infected or harbor an queen infections. Virus transmission to queens during especially virulent strain of virus. mating may be common and can contribute noticeably to queen failure. Deformed wing virus was purifi ed from diseased bees, and it genome was cloned and sequenced (Lanzi et al. 2006). The genomic RNA of DWV is 10,140 nucleotides in length and contains a single large open reading frame encoding a 328-kDA polyprotein. The coding sequence is fl anked by a 1,144-nucleotide 5’ nontranslated leader sequence and a 317-nucleotide 3’ nontranslated region, followed by a poly(A) tail. The three major structural proteins, VP1(44kDa), VP2 (32 kDa), and VP3 (28 kDa), were identifi ed, and their genes were mapped to the N-terminal section of the polyprotein. The C-terminal part of the polyprotein contains sequence motifs typical of well-characterized picornavirus nonstructural proteins: an RNA helicase, a chymotrypsin-like 3C Drone with DWV. photo by Jennifer Tsuruda. protease, and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The 28 BEE CULTURE June 2019 June 2019 BEE CULTURE 29 genome organization, capsid morphology and sequence comparison data indicate that DWV is a member of the recently established genus Ifl avirus. DWV comprises two widespread genotypes: the originally described genotype A and genotype B. In adult honey bees, DWV-B has been shown to be more virulent than DWV-A. However, their comparative effects on earlier host developmental stages are unknown. Tehel et al. (2019) experimentally inoculated honey bee pupae and tested for the relative impact of DWV-A versus DWV-B on mortality and wing deformities in eclosing (emerging) adults. DWV-A and DWV-B caused similar, and only slightly elevated, pupal mortality (mean 18% greater mortality than control). Both genotypes caused similarly high wing deformities in eclosing adults (mean 60% greater wing deformities than control). Viral titer was high in all of the experimentally inoculated eclosing adults, and was independent of wing deformities, Worker with deformed suggesting that the phenotype ‘deformed wings’ is not directly related to viral titer or viral genotype. These found in other countries in Europe. viral traits favor the emergence of both genotypes of Phylogenetic analyses in two regions of the viral DWV by not limiting the reproduction of its vector, the genome show that several of the DWV strains obtained ectoparasitic Varroa destructor mite, in infected pupae, from honey bees and Varroa are genetically very closely and thereby facilitating the spread of DWV in honey bees related, confi rming the important role of Varroa in the infested by the mite. transmission of DWV. Identifi cation of closely related It was recently proposed that at least three distinct sequences also confi rmed that the same strains of DWV master variants of deformed wing virus, DWV-A, DWV-B have been successfully transmitted between various and DWV-C (Martin et al. 2012; Mordecai et al. 2016) honey bee colonies and apiaries. It also has been exist. DWV-A is the classical DWV variant isolated established that simultaneous infection, in one apiary, of from bees (Fujiyuki et al. 2006; Lanzi et al. 2006), while honey bees with two or more different strains of DWV is DWV-B comprises variants with sequence similarity to quite frequent. This phylogenetic study compared honey VDV-1, hence, to the DWV-variant originally isolated bee and Varroa DWV strains from Carniolan honey bees as a virus that replicates in the mite Varroa destructor (Jamnikar-Ciglenecki et al. 2019). BC (Ongus et al. 2004). DWV-B also comprises recombinants between VDV-1 and DWV-A (Martin et al. 2012). Finally, References DWV-C is a recently described viral variant that can be Amiri, E., M.D. Meixner and P. Kryger 2016. Deformed wing virus phylogenetically distinguished from type A and type B can be transmitted during natural mating in honey bees and (Mordecai et al. 2016). infect the queens. Sci. Rep. 6:33065. doi:10.1038/srep33065 Benaets et al. (2017) using radiofrequency Benaets, K., A. Van Geystelen, D. Cordoen, L. De Smet, D.C. identification tracking technology found that covert de Graaf, L. Schoofs, M.H.D. Larmuseau, L.E. Brettell, S.J. deformed wing virus (DWV) infections in adult honey bee Martin and T. Wenseleers 2017. Covert deformed wing virus workers seriously impact long-term foraging and survival infections have long-term deleterious effects on honeybee under natural foraging conditions. In particular, their foraging and survival. Proc. Roy. Soc. B 284:20162149 http:// experiments show that adult workers injected with low dx.doiorg/10.1098/rspb.2016.2149 doses of DWV experienced increased mortality rates, that Bowen-Walker, P.L., S.J. Martin and A. Gunn 1999. The DWV caused workers to start foraging at a premature age, transmission of deformed wing virus between honeybees (Apis and that the virus reduced the workers’ total activity span mellifera L.) by the ectoparasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni Oud. J. as foragers. Altogether, these results demonstrate that Invertebr. Pathol. 73: 101-106. covert DWV infections have strong deleterious effects on de Miranda, J.R. and I. Fries 2008. Venereal and vertical foraging and survival. These results are consistent with transmission of deformed wing virus in honeybees (Apis previous studies that suggested DWV to be an important mellifera L.). J. Invertebr. Pathol. 98: 184-189. contributor to the ongoing bee declines in Europe and Fujiyuki, T., S. Ohka, H. Takeuchi, M. Ono, A. Nomoto and T. the USA. Kubo 2006. Prevalence and phylogeny of Kakugo virus, a The route of DWV infection is directly through novel insect picorna-like virus that infects the honeybee (Apis contaminated food, feces, and air, or indirectly through mellifera L.), under various colony conditions. J. Virol. 80: the varroa mite, which acts as a vector. Positive DWV 11528-11538. samples were obtained from Carniolan (Apis mellifera Gisder, S, P. Aumeier and E. Genersch 2009. Deformed wing carnica) colonies and of varroa mites from the whole virus: replication and viral load in mites (Varroa destructor). territory of Slovenia during a survey between 2007 and J. Gen. Virol. 90: 463- 467. 2014. Nucleotide sequences of 471 nucleotides for the L Jamnikar-Ciglenecki, U,. M.P. Ocepek and I. Toplak 2019. protein gene and 573 nucleotides for the helicase gene Genetic diversity of deformed wing virus from Apis mellifera were compared. High genetic diversity was observed carnica (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and varroa mite (Mesostigmata: among these Slovenian Carniolan honey bee DWV fi eld Varroidae). J. Econ. Entomol. 112: 11-19. samples, as well as with almost all the strains previously Koziy, R.V., S.C. Wood, I.V. Kozii, C.J. van Rensburg, I.

30 BEE CULTURE June 2019 deformed wing virus, cause equally low pupal mortality and Verical tansmission of DWV om equally high wing deformities in host honey bees. Viruses 11: 2 doi:10.3390/v11020114 queens and drones to drone and Yue, C. and E. Genersch 2005. RT-PCR analysis of deformed wing virus in honeybees (Apis mellifera) and mites (Varroa worker off spring through unferilized destructor). J. Gen. Virol. 86: 3419-3424. and ferilized eggs, respectively, was Yue, C., M. Schröder, S. Gisder, and E. Genersch 2007. Vertical- transmission routes for deformed wing virus of honeybees (Apis demonstated. mellifera). J. Gen. Virol. 88: 2329-2336.

Moshynskyy, I. Dvylyuk and E. Simko 2019. Deformed wing Clarence Collison is an Emeritus Professor of Entomology virus infection in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) Vet. Pathol. and Department Head Emeritus of Entomology and Plant (In Press) Pathology at Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS. Lanzi, G., J.R. Miranda, M.B. Boniotti, C.E. Cameron, A. Lavazza, L. Capucci et al. 2006. Molecular and biological characterization of deformed wing virus of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). J. Virol. 80: 4998-5009. Martin, S.J., A.C. Highfi eld, L. Brettell, E.M. Villalobos, G.E. Budge, M. Powell et al. 2012. Global honey bee viral landscape altered by a parasitic mite. Science 336: 1304-1306. Mordecai, G.J., L. Wilfert, S.J. Martin, I.M. Jones and D.C. Schroeder 2016. Diversity in a honey bee pathogen: fi rst report of a third master variant of the deformed wing virus quasispecies. ISME J. 10: 1264-1273. Ongus, J.R., D. Peters, J.-M. Bonmatin, E. Bengsch, J.M. Vlak and M.M. van Oers 2004. Complete sequence of a picorna- like virus of the genus Ifl avirus replicating in the mite Varroa destructor. J. Gen. Virol. 85: 3747-3755. Tehel, A., Q. Vu, D. Bigot, A. Gogol-Döring, P. Koch, C. Jenkins, V. Doublet, P. Theodorou and R. Paxton 2019. The two prevalent genotypes of an emerging infectious disease,

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 31 ORGANIC VARROA CONTROL

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32 @NODAPIARYBEE CULTURE June 2019 found in translation

Fat’s Domino Effect Jay Evans, USDA Beltsville Bee Lab

I have highlighted the insightful In a sense there is no single on- fat body cells themselves might work by Dr. Samuel Ramsey showing switch for this whole process, the migrate to deal with threats to bee that Varroa mites slice their way entire fat body is reading the lay of integrity. In a provocative recent into and devour the fat bodies of the land inside a bee, with each lipid paper focused on the much-studied honey bees (Varroa destructor feeds droplet advancing or retreating in fruit fl y Drosophila, (“Fat body cells are primarily on honey bee fat body tissue terms of energy release depending motile and actively migrate to wounds and not hemolymph, https://www. on local currents. As if that’s not to drive repair and prevent infection”, pnas.org/content/116/5/1792). weird enough, the cumulative effects https://doi.org/10.1016/j. “Fat body” does not do these tissues of these very local decisions are not devcel.2018.01.026), Anna Franz justice. While they are a gathering limited to a bee’s get-up-and-go. In and colleagues show that fat body place for lipids and proteins thought fact, the switches going on in fat body cells actually perceive and then to give honey bee resources for the cells can make or break some of the ‘swim’ to distant wounds in their own future, the fat body turns out to be a key traits of bee social behavior, from body. These are not rapid responses. complex tissue, and arguably organ, reproduction to the provisioning of In some cases, cells took hours to that is essential for bee health. nestmates with food. For example, move towards a nearby wound. Still, In many ways, the fat body is like Vanessa Corby-Harris and colleagues the very fact that cells both move and, the human liver. For one, it drives have shown that the breakdown of in the authors’ words, ‘multitask’ the process to generate and process fats in fat body cells can explain why by clogging wounds and releasing fats and other energy reserves, a key nurse bees lose the very organs that immune proteins, adds to the lore of metabolic trait of our own livers. Like make them good nurses. Nurse bees the fat body. Overall, recent research the liver, the fat body also makes produce the jelly fed to developing suggests that many disease battles proteins that help protect the body larvae using specialized glands in are won or lost within the squishy from pesticides and even pathogens their heads. Over several studies, band of fat body cells. like viruses and bacteria. In other including “Fat body lipolysis connects Now that we know Varroa mites ways, the insect fat body is quite poor nutrition to hypopharyngeal specifi cally target fat body cells in unique. In larvae and pupae, the gland degradation in Apis mellifera” their quest for nutrients, there is an fat body is spread across much of https://doi.org/10.1016/j. increasing sense that honey bee fat the insect body from head to tail. In jinsphys.2019.04.001) Corby- bodies are a key focal point for bee adults, the fat body is centered in Harris and her team build the case diseases and mortality. Some time the abdomen, but is still very much that the decay of these glands, long ago, Gennaro di Prisco and colleagues a cloud of cells over a large (for a bee) known to occur when worker bees are proposed that the Varroa x virus x area. While it plays a similar role, the under food stress, is driven in part bee triangle is complicated by both insect fat body is more like liver paté by signals from fat cells on the other mites and viruses ganging up on their than the liver you would picture from side of the bee’s body. bee hosts. In short, mites appear a chicken or mammal. Fat body cells also play a to benefit from immune-beating So what does it mean to make complicated role in bee disease. efforts of the viruses they carry. and break fat? Lipid droplets, or “fat The cells themselves harbor viruses In their model, viruses released by pills” to use a less technical term, known to be damaging to bee health, feeding mites suppress a key ability are components of fat body cells including Deformed wing virus. of bees to seal up wounds, in effect that act like small machines for These viruses reproduce in fat body increasing the success of feeding both collecting and breaking down cells and arguably use the diffuse mites by keeping the feeding site fat (or lipids). These fat machines nature of these cells to expand their open. It will be interesting to see respond to signals from the bee’s reach in the bee body. At the same how this model evolves now that we body that indicate whether times are time, fat body cells release many know mites are directly collecting 1) favorable for storing energy or 2) a of the protein components of bee fat body cells, rather than the blood bit tighter, in which case stored fats immunity, attacking viruses and surrounding these cells. Maybe some have to be metabolized, or “burned”, other pathogens in all parts of the clever scientist will show that the by enzymes to provide needed energy. bee body. Even more remarkably, slow race of fat body cells to a wound

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 33  site is even slower when those cells are burdened by viruses. Or, perhaps, “We have been using our mite-damaged or devoured fat cells will break some sort of circuit in the uncapper for years. We love fat body, limiting the strength of these our Gunness!” cells to work together to regulate bee Dave Holbrook Clintonville, WI energy, immunity, or survival in the face of chemicals. Fat bodies have been understudied compared to other organs, perhaps because they look We sell liquid sucrose and boring on the surface. Now that the secret of their importance is out, fat 55% High Fructose Corn Syrup bodies should receive more scrutiny as feed for your bees. as bee sentinels ready to send energy where needed one day and then race to the scene of a damaging injury Dakota Gunness, Inc. the next, all while being attacked by P.O. Box 106, Abercrombie, ND 58001 ravenous mites and sneaky viruses. 888.553.8393 or 701.553.8393 Don’t bother walking a [email protected] • www.dakotagunness.com mile in my shoes, that would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head, that’ll freak you right out.

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38 BEE CULTURE June 2019 BEE INTERNET OF THINGS Calling All Beekeepers!

What is the Sentinel Apiary program and was a great success. Program? The program included 64 beekeepers B P The Sentinel Apiary Program is a sampling 418 colonies, for a total of colony health monitoring program that 1,901 samples. helps inform beekeeper management We were thrilled to find that decisions, while simultaneously 2018 Sentinel Participants had providing the Bee Informed signifi cantly lower Varroa loads than E A Partnership (BIP, www.beeinformed. the historical national average, and org) with some of our most valuable the lowest Varroa loads of any year data. Beekeepers enrolled in the of the program. This speaks clearly Sentinel Apiary Program monitor four of the value of monthly monitoring E or eight colonies in one apiary for six R and actionable, near real-time months. Each month, participating data. beekeepers take a sample of about 300 bees from each Sentinel colony. Why join the Sentinel Apiary They also provide us with information Program? T about their colonies including queen Enrollment in the program status, brood pattern, and frames includes all the materials you need of bees, as well as any management to take your samples, pays for all they have recently performed, such the labor for us to process your as feeding, treating, supering, etc. samples in our diagnostics lab, and I N Samples are then mailed to our lab at for the helpful handouts on how the University of Maryland where we to evaluate and track the health of process them for Varroa and Nosema. your colonies. Our participants Beekeepers receive a report of their say that Sentinel acts as extra N E results within two weeks so they can incentive to do thorough colony make timely management decisions. health checks every month, and To date, 189 beekeepers in 31 U.S. that their record keeping and states have taken almost 7,000 beekeeping have improved as a samples from Sentinel colonies! result. We all think we will remember F R For more details, please visit our that the second colony from the left website: https://beeinformed.org/ was queenless and the third from programs/sentinel/ the right needed feeding, but once you leave the yard, sometimes it’s O S 2018 Program Summary hard to even remember your hive The 2018 Sentinel Apiary tool. Sentinel data sheets and reports Program was the fourth year of the are designed to help you keep track R H M I E P D

Author Kelly Kulhanek holding a sample from the UMD Sentinel Apiary at Kelly Kulhanek Beltsville, MD.

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 39  BEE INTERNET OF THINGS reproduction, indicating a possible outside source of mites. This has led us to begin investigating the extent to which Varroa from highly infested/crashing colonies spread to nearby apiaries across the landscape.

2. Correlation of internal physical symptoms to mortality using historical Sentinel samples. We save ~10% of all Sentinel samples as a historical record, and recently a PhD student in our lab, Anthony Nearman, has made exciting headway in correlating internal abnormalities (such a sting gland swelling, see image) in these bees to colony mortality. This could pave the way for a Map of 2018 Sentinel Apiary Locations. Colors indicate different new method of colony sampling climate zones as designated by NOAA. to better predict mortality. of exactly what’s happening in each participants track the same colonies of your colonies so you can perform for at least six months, if not multiple 3. Collaboration with NASA- optimal management. This program years. These longitudinal data DEVELOP to investigate landscape is perfect for individuals and ideal for allows us to ask specifi c, interesting effects on Sentinel colony health bee clubs as the sampling and colony questions about landscape effects using NASA-Earth satellite imagery. assessments are perfect opportunities on colony health and the effi cacy of This summer we had the amazing for training new beekeepers and the beekeeper management practices. opportunity to work with NASA to monthly results provide an excellent Longitudinal data is considered develop a tool which can intake platform to share and discuss at each the gold standard for research in information about your Sentinel meeting. Sentinel helps you be the our community. We would not be Apiary and show us a variety of best beekeeper you can be. able to do this research without landscape factors around it such Sentinel Apiaries. Here are some of as precipitation, soil moisture, Contribute Valuable Data to the ways we have begun using the and land cover. This will allow us Honey Bee Science four years of Sentinel Data we have to make correlations between Sentinel Apiaries produce collected: the landscape, colony health, some of the most valuable data BIP 1. Investigation of inter-apiary and how the effectiveness of collects. No other database has this Varroa transmission. Sentinel management practices varies much detailed information on this data revealed rapid increases in across space Figure 1. Example of many colonies for this amount of Varroa populations that cannot what the NASA-Developed tool will time. Sentinel is unique because be explained by normal mite look like: allowing us to determine a radius around Sentinel Apiaries to look at surrounding landscape factors.

Beekeeper Testimonies “It was very valuable for our beekeeper association to participate in the Sentinel Apiary Program. We learned how quickly Varroa mite numbers can increase in late Summer and into Fall, and how important it is for the beekeeper to monitor for Varroa both before and after treatment. “Before” because we want to know the number of mites per colony to see if we are at or close to the threshold for treatment and “After treatment” because we need to know if the treatments have been 2018 Sentinel Participants (red) compared to the historical national effective”. – Lindsay, Maryland average (gray) monthly mite loads. 40 BEE CULTURE June 2019 BEE INTERNET OF THINGS

“Participating in the Sentinel Author Kelly Apiary Program has brought a Kulhanek taking discipline to our practice of beekeeping a sample from a for monitoring Varroa infestation not Sentinel colony. only in a single hive, but the whole apiary. We have learned if we treat a couple of hives in the apiary, we need to treat them all to have any sizable impact on Varroa due to drifting or robbing. Our apiary participating in the Sentinel Apiary Program is a teaching apiary and the sampling program has been a very effective teaching tool in developing better beekeepers.” – Scott, Missouri

How to join Preliminary We are accepting new and results of existing participants for 2019! experiments Please visit our website at on inter-apiary mite beeinformed.org/sentinel to fill transmission. out an application form and submit Red arrows payment. Pricing is at cost (we do indicate not profi t off this program) at $275 distance and direction for four colonies and $499 for eight traveled by bees colonies. Email the program director from crashing Dan Reynolds at [email protected] colonies, with questions. BC potentially bringing mites to new apiaries. ABF Members ABF has partnered with BIP to provide a $100 sponsorship to 50 ABF members. Check your email for a notice from ABF titled “ABF wants to Sponsor YOU!” for a special sponsorship code. Comparison of a swollen sting gland (left) to a healthy sting gland (right). Internal symptoms like these seem to be good predictors of colony mortality.

Example of what the NA- SA-Developed tool will look like; allowing us to determine a radius around Sentinel Apiaries to look at surrounding landscape factors.

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 41 on Earth. Through a chemical process, she changes the profi le of the fl ower into a structure made of fat called a gall. Go FIGure This gall ensures that her offspring have access to nourishment. Flora clutched the tig again and curisied to the wasp . . . The hatched male and female wasps will mature into “As if you are the only ones the fl owers care for!” adulthood and inbreed before leaving the synconium. The Bees History Repeats Itself The fi g tree is ancient, prehistoric even. It was the Chris Adams third tree referenced in the Bible and mentioned more than 50 times in the holy text. It has also been theorized No argument stands in the way of bees being titled it was the fi rst crop domesticated by humans. the supreme pollinators of the planet. However, for all of The wasp too is mentioned in the Bible and is possibly their bad PR, bees’ Apocrita cousins, wasps, know a thing older than the fi g. It has been argued that it dates back or two about pollination. to the mid-Triassic period or 240 million years ago. Wasps, as it were, have a strong relationship with the According to an article in Science Daily, Brazilian fi cus tree, or fi g tree. If it weren’t for the wasp, perhaps biologist Luciano Palmieri indicated there are fi g wasp Adam and Eve wouldn’t have been able to cover up in fossils dating back 34 million years. “They closely the Garden of Eden. This symbiotic liaison has endured resembled the species alive today, indicating that the for millennia. The wasp is the fi g tree’s seed production symbiotic relationship evolved early and has not changed factory and distribution center, while the fi g serves as the fundamentally since then.” placenta for this female Aprocrita. Palmieri further elucidated that it has been molecularly demonstrated the relationship existed 65 million years Sex 101 ago, “suggesting that it might be even older, perhaps going Nearly 50 percent of the approximate 750 fi g tree back to the age of dinosaurs.” species are monoecious (possesses male and female fl owers). The remaining ones are dioecious containing Wasp as pollinator two types of fi gs on different plants: gall (male and female The discovery of the mutually benefi cial fi g-wasp fl owers and seed (female only). The fl owers are made relationship occurred 50 years ago but isn’t the only within the enclosed syconium structure. exclusive bond. The Mexican honey wasp is a pollinator In the monoecious variety, a scent is released from of the avocado and a producer of honey. the syconium drawing the wasp inside it via the ostiole, A 1999 research paper in the Chapingo Magazine a challenging minute opening, which often results in the Horticulture Series stated that “The stingless bee species wasp losing her wings and antennae upon entry. and the Mexican honey wasp showed a greater preference There, she releases her pollen payload, which she for the avocado bloom. We assume that the original obtained from the fl ower of her birth, fertilizing the fl ower pollinators of the avocado, before the introduction of of her offspring’s birth. the honeybee to the American continent, were stingless In turn, the wasp deposits her eggs into the fl ower bee and wasp species, which are better adapted for its through her long ovipositors. After task completion, she pollination.” has 24 hours to live, making the most of her time left Even the broad-leaved helleborine orchid exclusively offers food and sex to the wasp. “Darwin himself noted that even though the helleborine packs a substantial reservoir of nectar, it is pollinated by only two species of insects – the common wasp and the European wasp,” reported a blog post on the Discover Magazine website. However, the fi g wasp is not responsible for the pollination of all figs. Common figs do not require pollination, such as the Mission, Brown Turkey and Adriatic. Seventy-eight percent of fig varieties are common, explained Houston Wilson, assistant cooperative extension specialist at the University of California Riverside Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, via email. But they do pollinate the popular Calimyrna fi g and the non-edible Caprifi gs. “Edible fi g groups have long-styled fl owers in the synconium, so when the female wasp enters she searches around for good oviposition sites, but typically won’t fi nd any because of the long-styled fl owers and so she moves on. It is through this search process that she pollinates The relationship between the fi g tree and its wasp benefactor fl is prehistoric; possibly 65 million years old. Creative Commons the owers,” Wilson wrote. Attribution CC photo. It only stands to reason (even anecdotal reasoning) 42 BEE CULTURE June 2019 that wasps can “get their pollination on,” The bee did evolve from predatory wasps, so their near homogeneity will display more similarities than differences. Bees, possessed of hairy bodies, are well-adapted for pollination but we now know there’s more than one way to bless a fl ower.

Undermining a relationship is a victimless crime? Wasps are considered to be highly intelligent insects, but the fi g tree is not nature’s idiot. Over time, plant has outwitted beast. The wasp’s parasitical ways ultimately overcome. An unknown evolutionary process resulted in the fi g tree, “co-opting the wasp’s parasitism and making it part of its own reproductive cycle,” Palmieri said. In particular, the dioecious tree. The female fi g wasp pollinates the tree fl ower inside the synconi- In these fi g trees, young fi g wasps develop in male um. Creative Commons Attribution CC; Simon van Noort photo. fl owers due to the fact that the ovipositors of the female fi g “The short answer is yes for dried fi gs and usually no wasp are too short to deposit eggs in the female fl owers. for fresh fi gs,” according to Figweb.org, a site maintained A 2016 BBC.com article by Deepa Padmanaban by the Iziko Museums of Cape Town, South Africa and reported that some females will still attempt to lay eggs dedicated to fi gs and the fi g wasp. “Figs that are grown in the female fl owers. for dry fi g production are usually cultivars that need “From the wasps’ point of view this is utterly futile, pollination (caprifi cation).” as it means they cannot reproduce –so when it enters it However, what you might presume to be mama wasp commits reproductive suicide,” Padmanaban wrote. being masticated is most likely the seeds inside the fi g. Yet, the female fl ower receives pollination from this “Don’t worry! We don’t end up chomping on wasp win-lose situation; her Jezebel antics duplicating the exoskeleton. The fi gs produce fi cin, a special enzyme scent of the male, enticing the pregnant female wasp. that breaks down the insect’s body into proteins that “There is a lesson here about the nature of cooperation. get absorbed by the plant,” explained Starre Vartan in a The fi gs and the wasps are utterly dependent on each Mother Nature Network article. other, but that does not mean they are ‘loyal.’ In a sense each is always exploiting the other,” Padmanaban New phase expressed in the BBC.com article. Palmieri has stated there is evidence of a new phase in the wasp-fi g paradigm, which appeared over the course fi Is the g a fruit? of yearly observations. A fig is not actually a fruit; it is an inverted “While studying the interaction between fi gs and inflorescence, a cluster of hundreds of tiny flowers fi g wasps, we often found larvae of other creatures that contained inside a bulbous stem necessitating a virtual played no role in the development cycle,” he said. “As hide and seek game between the wasp and fi g tree. some of these larvae reached adulthood, creatures no “What we commonly refer to as the fi g “fruit” is one recognized would start coming out of rotten fi gs on technically a synconium, a fl eshy structure lined with the ground.” hundreds of small drupes,” Wilson wrote. He identifi ed 129 non-fi g wasp insects, belonging to The fl owers produce seeds internally after being fi ve orders and 24 families, that interface with fi gs but pollinated by fi g wasps. conduct disparate functions. “At some point, the ancestors of fi g wasps began “These examples give us just a glimpse of a far greater laying eggs in the fl owers of ancestral fi g trees. We believe complexity of interactions,” Palmieri said. “In addition to these infl orescences were still open, so they could be the evolutionary implications of pollination mutualism, pollinated by various insects,” Palmieri said. an additional factor relating to the success of the 750- So the fi gs you pluck out of a plastic package contain odd fi g species is probably the highly diversifi ed fauna of no fruit. insects associated with fi g trees, such as nonpollinating “The type that you’ll mostly get in the store likely wasp species. Pressure from these parasitic wasps will contains no fruit. I like to use broccoli as an analogue – have been, and continues to be, a key driver of fi g species you’re eating the reproductive structure (fl owers) but no diversifi cation,” fruit,” wrote Phoebe Gordon, an orchard systems advisor at the University of California Cooperative Extension in Bee Thankful Madera and Merced Counties, in an email. And while the European honey bee is the face of commercial and backyard pollination, the well- A mouthful of wasp? documented and alarming decline of it makes one Are there wasps in my fi g? A question of urban legend appreciate that other pollinators play a crucial role in proportions that happens to be somewhat true. At least facilitating the production of fruits and vegetables and one fi g wasp – the egg-laying one – will be present inside sustainability of aesthetically pleasing fl owers. the fi g. Just ask a number of fi g trees. BC

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 43 The Future Of Power Nikola Tesla and the buzz of female empowerent. Joshua Casper

Nikola Tesla changed the beekeeping in New York and the world with his genius, and often sociology of the hive. “Because it is wowed inquiring minds with his a female dominated domestic social thoughts on the future of power. insect people then often the make Only this time it was not proto-feminist arguments about it.” electrical, it was about the “Whenever you see a social Nikola Tesla feminine mystique and the order insect like bees or ants the work that of the hive. collaboratively it does liken itself to a predicted the glass ceiling would be human society. You see for instance shattered decades before it was even “The modern woman, who Marks or Einstein or – Tesla – fi nd a so conceived. He predicted that the anticipates in merely superficial lot of traction in writing about and status of women would change before phenomena the advancement of her watching and observing bees because the word feminism had even become sex, is but a surface symptom of they believe it to be a microcosm part of the English lexicon. something deeper and more potent of human societies where there is “The female mind has fermenting in the bosom of the race.” collective labor and a shared goal.” demonstrated a capacity for all So said visionary scientist Nikola Tesla changed our world. It the mental acquirements and Tesla. Tesla, the mercurial genius was actually his innovation, not achievements of men, and as who gave us electricity, radio and lit Edison’s that paved the way for generations ensue that capacity will up the sky with man-made lightning, the electrifi cation of America. The be expanded; the average woman will shared his thought on the future. quintessential futurist, before the be as well educated as the average The enigmatic inventor foretold the notion of a computer or an iPhone was man, and then better educated, for wonders of our present-day world. even contemplated, Tesla envisioned the dormant faculties of her brain will Women had just gained the right to the concept of a world-wide-web, be stimulated to an activity that will vote when he spoke to the inevitable with us logging onto a smartphone, be all the more intense and powerful success of the modern women’s sending an email to coworkers and because of centuries of repose. Woman movement. Facetiming a loved one. will ignore precedent and startle According to Tesla, you need not “When wireless is perfectly civilization with their progress.” do more than examine the life of bees. applied the whole earth will be Tesla saw the harbinger of The queen her army of workers converted into a huge brain, which a gynocentric society in which would rule the hive. in fact it is, all things being particles women would become an essential Tesla shared his thoughts with of a real and rhythmic whole. We component of the industrial economy. Collier’s in a 1926 article, When shall be able to communicate with The female intellect would displace Woman is Boss: one another instantly, irrespective of the conventional patriarchy that had “The acquisition of new fi elds of distance. Not only this, but through heretofore been taken for granted. endeavor by women, their gradual television and telephony we shall see “It is clear to any trained observer, usurpation of leadership, will dull and and hear one another as perfectly as and even to the sociologically fi nally dissipate feminine sensibilities, though we were face to face, despite untrained, that a new attitude toward will choke the maternal instinct, intervening distances of thousands of sex discrimination has come over the so that marriage and motherhood miles; and the instruments through world through the centuries, receiving may become abhorrent and human which we shall be able to do his will an abrupt stimulus just before and civilization draw closer and closer to be amazingly simple compared with after the World War. the perfect civilization of the bee.” our present telephone. A man will be Tesla’s notions of women’s and “People do use bees and the able to carry one in his vest pocket.” innate abilities and the changes hive and the colony as a screen to During a time when society was that would incur as a result of their project human ideas and human almost entirely patriarchal, Tesla communal engagement were indeed values,” said Dr. Lisa Moore author likewise foresaw a reification of prophetic and ahead of their time. of Buzz, which talks about urban gender roles. The intuitive engineer However, his attitude toward gender

44 BEE CULTURE June 2019 was by no means enlightened. He to me. The world has experienced – the ideas that humans have had still idealized women in much the many tragedies, but to my mind the about the hive – refl ect prevailing same way as a largely patriarchical greatest tragedy of all is the present views about the body politic. In society did, as delicate Victorian economic condition wherein women other words, bee politics have been maidens or maternal caretakers. In strive against men, and in many invented to justify human ones.” fact, he bemoaned what he deemed cases actually succeed in usurping “Our civilization will sink to a the inevitable shift in gender politics. their places in the professions and in state like that which is found among The Croatian native believed industry.” the bees – a state wherein the male is that the intellectual capability and “This growing tendency of women ruthlessly killed off.” industriousness of women would to overshadow the masculine is a sign “In this matriarchal empire which result in a change in traditional of a deteriorating civilization.” will be established the female rules. gender roles that women had hitherto “In place of the soft voiced, gentle As the female predominates, the been expected to fi ll. Yet, he saw the woman of my reverent worship, has males are at her mercy. The male is inevitability of woman entering the come the woman who thinks that her considered important only as a factor workplace and becoming an integral chief success in life lies in making in the general scheme of the continuity element of the industrial economy herself as much as possible like man- of life.” as a disruption to the natural social -in dress, voice and actions, in sports “What [Tesla] is talking about is order. and achievements of every kind” changing gender roles how they are He had mixed feelings on the He used the hive and the notion threatening to men, explained Dr. fermenting changes he saw as an of the queen bee to underscore his Moore, a Professor at SUNY Purchase outgrowth of first-wave feminism views. Tesla saw an analogy between in New York “almost a crisis in and women’s suffrage. Somehow his the changing social morays, with masculinity and often when they talk outlook almost about a crisis amounted to in masculinity, an internal they bring up debate bees. They between see bees as Gloria Steinem a female- and Phillis dominated Schlafl y on the society because Equal Rights bees are so Amendment, miraculous less than a and amazing, I decade after think it is also the nineteenth fascinating to amendment people who are was ratifi ed. men but also “While he threatening.” may have some Tesla the progressive man espoused ideas,” said the antiquated Dr. Moore, “I notion of the think it’s still fair Victorian riddled with inconsistencies and women summoning their agency and maiden whose purity and delicateness ambivalences, because it was a time the gender roles of the hive. While at made her almost untouchable, while of great social change and perhaps, the same time he averred the abilities Tesla the scientist saw the societal he was trying to sort out women of women he saw it as an anathema changes at hand, and women’s becoming capable of voting and to the natural social order. ability to make a genuine intellectual therefore having a political voice.” “That he used the social contribution and used the dynamics Tesla had earlier pontificated structure of bees to demonstrate of the beehive articulate his feelings about the mixed emotions he felt his prognostications is not at all about the society he foresaw. about women’s place in society in surprising.” The Hive, by Bee Wilson “Tesla’s quotes say some very a 1924 article entitled: Mr. Tesla explains: “Studying bees is a way interesting things about him; his Explains Why He Will Never Marry. of studying ourselves…. Bees are preoccupations or insecurities,” “Woman’s determined competition nothing like men, and yet human explained Dr. Moore, “His own personal with man in the business world is beings have always seen their own beliefs demonstrate something about breaking down some of the best hopes and fears played out in the life his own heterosexual anxieties that traditions--things which have proved of the beehive.” women being seen as a distraction the moving factors in the world’s slow The Economist adds: “The makes it seem like its almost women’s but substantial progress.” author’s proposition is that humans fault – maybe they can be equals “The tendency of women to push have always viewed the beehive as a intellectually, but they are also other aside man, supplanting the old spirit miniature universe with order and things . . .” of cooperation with him in all the purpose – and have looked to the Tesla’s ideas are both prescient affairs of life, is very disappointing hive to make sense of human society and apocryphal at once:

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46 BEE CULTURE June 2019 Despite his foresight, neither the using their natural intellect to usurp “Imagination falters at the waning society Tesla romanticized what he saw, as did many, the prospect of human analogy to this nor the one he prognosticated and natural social structure of patriarchal mysterious and superbly dedicated foreboded at once are accurate supremacy. civilization of the bee; but when we representations of gender. Tesla “It is not in the shallow physical consider how the human instinct for was a confirmed bachelor and imitation of men that women will race perpetuation dominates life in its essentially lived an ascetic and assert fi rst their equality and later normal and exaggerated and perverse chaste life sans romance. From afar their superiority, but in the awakening manifestations, there is ironic justice he mischaracterized women as docile of the intellect of women.” in the possibility that this instinct, with and angelic, best suited for maternal the continuing intellectual advance domesticity. Women, by finding “Through countless generations, of women, may be fi nally expressed their place in the public sphere from the very beginning, the social after the manner of the bee, though it and asserting their intellectual subservience of women resulted will take centuries to break down the and professional agency are not naturally in the partial atrophy or at habits and customs of peoples that abandoning their maternal instincts least the hereditary suspension of bar the way to such a simply and and dominating at the expense of mental qualities which we now know scientifi cally ordered civilization.” men. the female sex to be endowed with no He saw the changing social less than men.” “The center of all bee life is the structure as women competing with queen. She dominates the hive, not and trying to outdo men. Though he “The signifi cance of this lies in through hereditary right, for any egg recognized their ability and saw this the principle dominating the economy may be hatched into a reigning queen, as a distinct possibility, Tesla saw of the bee--the most highly organized but because she is the womb of this the concept of a matrilineal society and intelligently coordinated system insect race.” as social upheaval, with women of any form of nonrational animal life- abrogating their best qualities at the -the all-governing supremacy of the “He is in what we would call expense of both sexes. instinct for immortality which makes a culture clash – how does that Tesla cited the concept of the divinity out of motherhood.” change the social contract – and bee colony’s highly organized social what happens to the nice domesticity structure, centered around the queen Tesla’s thoughts and analogy to that we’ve all depended on it sort of with female workers evolving and the life of the hive, in very many ways evaporates and that’s scary. I can dutifully taking on different roles and bear stark similarity to the human understand a crisis in masculinity more complex responsibilities, as well characteristics imparted upon bees it totally makes sense why he would as the drone, sans stinger performing for centuries. Due to their complex have those feelings and bees become his one evolutionary function, to social structure we see the colony as another way to work that out.” copulate, sacrifi cing his short life in a microcosm of ourselves. explained Dr. Moore. the process. “Man is a purposeful animal,” “I think we are always working out Like many who have studied wrote Wilson, “and no sooner had our cultural anxieties and sexuality hive culture closely, Tesla imbued he admired the industriousness of around gender as human beings and bees with his own notions of human the bees than he felt that he –or even we choose to look to other places to behavior. He avowed the innate better, his wife –must emulate it in talk about it because it is hard to talk abilities of women. He saw women some way.” about it with humans and because we

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June 2019 BEE CULTURE 47 want to know we are right. Whenever certainly passé, as is the notion of a hand in working and caring for you see a social insect like bees or either the Queen Bee usurping men their young. ants the work collaboratively it does in some way by gaining agency, Male penguins don’t suppress liken itself to a human society . . . or that women will lose or have to their masculinity though they, like “There are the vast, desexualized subdue their maternal instinct to female penguins, participate in child- armies of workers whose sole aim thrive as workers or professionals. rearing. Moreover, females, during and happiness in life is hard work. She continued: “Tesla, he was gestation, leave behind their egg and It is the perfection of communism, of coming up at a time of tremendous like males, hunt in the deep waters socialized, cooperative life wherein all shifts in the fi rst wave of feminism of the ocean for food, while males things, including the young, are the and tremendous shifts in women’s care for it. Neither males nor female property and concern of all.” rights and women’s access to the penguins subjugate nor defi ne their public sphere and I can see that roles strictly based on sex. Aptly, the Dr. Moore added: “Bees have being something that he had to sort moniker emperor is applied to both different roles probably based much out and understand. Bees and the males and females. more on division of labor which is colony are metaphorically powerful, As did Tesla, humans, as they what organizes their hive much because when you can’t talk about have throughout history will continue more than gender. As human beings, human culture it is easy to talk about to use the miraculous honey bee and gender is so much more important to it in animal culture.” the animal kingdom, to explain the us as an organizing principle that we A paradigmatic cultural shift in changing world around them. look other species to explain things gender roles has indeed taken place. Tesla, also proved to be if nothing that are very humanistic about No longer does sex or gender defi ne else, clairvoyant. gender, but I don’t think bees really one’s station. Second and third- have gender. I think it’s interesting wave feminism has allowed women, “We shall be able to witness and how much cultural work humans with the power of their intellect, to hear events – the inauguration of a do to act as if bees do have gender. take their place at the core of our President, the playing of a world series It’s just a human category we lay on economy. Women’s accomplishments game, the havoc of an earthquake or bees – as humans we need a lot of have made Tesla seem somewhat the terror of a battle – just as though scaffolding to support our own claims clairvoyant. we were present. to gender. It demonstrates more In fact, if anything, a good about humans than – bees.” analogy for modern societal norms If you want proof, just go into your The idea of the maiden whose would be that of emperor penguin. ‘vest pocket’ pull out your smartphone sole lot in life is as legal or proverbial Largely monogamous like humans, and use some wireless power to look chattel and merely maternal is both male and female penguins take it up. BC

48 BEE CULTURE June 2019 MORE! Beekeeping Developments Peter Borst

In a previous article I looked at various beekeeping Like a true inventor, Paul was not content to work inventions from the 20th Century; some with potential in only one fi eld. His next patent was issued for a car- and others that looked good on paper — to somebody. I top fi shing pole carrier. In the patent application he would like to call attention to some of the true innovators explained: of that period. I often think that if A.I. Root had picked The average amateur fi shing enthusiast now has a different fi eld to work in, say electronics, he would no satisfactory means for carrying fi shing poles while be as widely recognized today as Thomas Edison. But traveling to and from fi shing areas in his automobile. It beekeepers the world over benefi tted from inventors like is an object of my invention to provide a device which will him. A more recent candidate for the Beekeeper’s Hall of serve this purpose. Patented May 20, 1958. Fame should be Paul W. Pierce. Honestly, I don’t know if it caught on, not being a fi shing enthusiast, but his next one changed beekeeping The Beginnings of Pierco forever. His original plan was for a new type of bee hive Near as I can tell, Paul’s fi rst invention was patented frames and a special super to accommodate them. The in 1936: a tool for transferring tiny honey bee larvae application states: into wax cups in order to mass produce queen cells. The bee frame is a unitary molded plastic structure Prior to his invention, the usual method was to pick including a permanent, molded plastic comb foundation the minute grubs up with a special wire tool, a trimmed characterized by a novel cellular confi guration and quill, or match stick. The new device had a retractable integrally joined to the frame bars in such a way as to metal spring that could be slipped under the larva and condition the frame to support the weight of a honeycomb pulled back to gently push it into place. Probably not a for an extended period of time without warping and to huge seller, since queen rearing is highly specialized, permit machine uncapping of the comb. Patented May but clever nonetheless. 25,1971. In 1941, he patented an electric uncapping knife. I remember when this fi rst came out. They only Prior to this invaluable tool, beekeepers uncapped honey made the medium 6⅝ depth and they were very skinny, combs with various knives, either heated by dunking in only ¾ inch wide. Actually, that width had been used by scalding water or with live steam fed through the blade. The new knife had heating elements inside the blade and the tool was plugged into ordinary house current. One of the fi rst skills I acquired in beekeeping was the use of this knife. After uncapping a few thousand frames, we got pretty good at it. Many other uncapping devices have been devised since then, but none became so universal as this one.

An assortment of plastic frames. Early plastic comb.

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50 BEE CULTURE June 2019 Hale cautioned the group that: While a well-trained engineer may be one who “can do with one dollar what any fool can do with two,” if this engineer has no commercial training the chances are great that some commercial man will get 95 cents of the dollar, leaving the remaining fi ve cents to the engineer as his reward. Hence, the need for complicated and comprehensive patent fi lings. But, of course, just because a patent is granted is no guarantee that the idea has merit. My next example will give an idea of how far one can carry just such an idea. Ultra Violet Queens Perhaps some of our readers have heard the name Fred W. Muth. He and his brother Clifford had a bee supply and honey sales company in Cincinnati, Ohio in the early 20th century. The name Muth is remembered today for the square sided honey jar (www.beeculture. com/history-muth-bottle-part-1). Clifford was attending the store one day when a certain Mr. Balinkin ventured in. Clifford recalled: He was born and raised in Russia and went to Turkey and graduated from the Roberts College at Constantinople, specializing in physics and more especially light radiation. A Cincinnati professor at the Roberts College at the time induced Mr. Balinkin to come to the United States and continue his research and study here. Actually, Isay Balinkin was born on September 14, 1900 in Odessa, Ukraine. In the Summer of 1921, he made his way to Constantinople, Turkey, – a political refugee. He did travel to the US and studied at the University of Cincinnati, obtaining his PhD in 1929. Balinkin became an expert on light and color. This is what led him to seek out the Muth’s and their assistance Morris bee smoker. in obtaining some bees. Balinkin wanted to see if he Langstroth in his original frame design but the Hoffman could use ultraviolet light to benefi t the health of the frame became the standard because of the wide end bar honey bee. which automatically keeps the frames at the correct According to a very lengthy piece in the 1926 Report distance from each other. So, Paul had a special super of the Iowa State Apiarist, Mr. Muth and Balinkin did with notches to hold the frames in place. The skinny a series of experiments where they exposed queen frames were perfect for mechanical uncapping machines bees to various levels of both infrared and ultraviolet which had been developed by then. For the average beekeeper, the frame seemed odd and it had a tendency to twist. Over time, the frame evolved into the form that is on the market now, which more closely resembles the Electric smoker from standard frame in width and comes both in medium Pierco. and deep sizes. Still, many people never liked the plastic frame itself for many reasons, even though the combs held in them were practically indestructible. Eventually hard plastic foundations were made available which allowed beekeepers to combine them with the traditional wood frame and hive box. It pleases me that a beekeeper was able to benefi t from his own inventions and make a success of it. Speaking of inventors, I wish to digress a bit. In researching this article I learned an awful lot about inventors, patents, and so on. The following struck me as an extremely valuable lesson. In 1905, the “electrical section” of the Western Society of Engineers convened in Chicago. Their esteemed Chairman Hale was introducing Mr. Charles A.S. Howlett, who was to read a paper entitled “The Commercial Aspect of Engineering.”

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 51 light. These colors are at the opposite ends of the light better tool for the job. The “solutions” to this dilemma spectrum and are invisible to the human eye. Mr. Muth are legion. In the 1800s smoking bees went from a pile states in his report that if you project UV light for “three of puffballs burning in a pan to the can and bellows minutes upon your skin you can receive a burn without smoker perfected by Moses Quinby. It changed over the having felt heat which will mark you for a long, long years but not that much. time.” But he was convinced it could be of benefi t since: In 1955, Stewart R. Taylor of Oakwood, IL. applied The poultrymen for the past two or three years have for a patent for an aerosol can which contained the been experimenting with using quartz mercury lamps chemical constituents of smoke. In his patent application in their hen houses during the winter period and the he repeated the essential misunderstanding: that when information that you can receive from their bulletins is bees smell smoke they become terrifi ed that their hive that the hens show a much increased egg-laying with the is about to burn up. Research has shown that the effect use of these lamps. produced by smoke on insects is anesthetic. I have used Then we should suppose it might increase egg laying smoke on yellow jackets myself and it causes them to in honey bees! His claims were not modest. He said lose their ability to guard the nest. they raised 200 queens, exposed them to UV light and Taylor’s product “Hive Bomb” appeared in the bee mailed them out. The results: “Eighty-one per cent of the magazines in the 1950s. Advertisements proclaimed “No queens showed an increase in egg-laying from 10 to 40 Sparks, No Heat, No Fire Hazard.” It was still on the per cent and the offspring were extremely gentle.” Now market in 1971, as evidenced by this testimonial from whether this is true or not, he and Balinkin got a patent “The British Bee Journal”: for the idea July 19, 1932. Dr. Balinkin went on to have My bee-keeping so far this year has been greatly an illustrious career in industrial color applications and enhanced by the use of the American Taylor’s hive bomb, received an award from the Inter-Society Color Council an aerosol of hardwood smoke concentrates. I only hope in 1965 for his accomplishments. my supply lasts until more can be obtained. It offers Meanwhile, Mr. Muth began selling his Ultra Violet instant subjugation, is easier to handle than the smoker Queens. An advertisement in Bee Culture (1928) states: and gives no noxious fumes when standing idle on the Have you been reading the accounts of our treatment ground. of Ultra Violet rays to queen bees in the Beekeepers I have a vague memory of trying it. In the 1970s I Item? These treatments have been conducted for the past worked in a bee supply store, so I tried everything. I am fourteen months. An eight-page booklet will be mailed to pretty sure I only used it once or twice. There’s nothing you free describing this upon request. quite as effective as a real bee smoke, but that didn’t Did he sell many? I don’t know about that, but stop inventors. The next “big idea” was ultrasound. the adverts were still running in 1938, claiming “Over Ward Spangler had done research on the pacifying 150,000 Ultra Violet queens used by beekeepers.” I can’t effect of vibrations on honey bees. Commercial fi nd any reference to them after that date. Clifford F. beekeepers had already noticed that bees tended to Muth, Sr. died in 1952, aged 55, may he rest in peace. remain calm in the hives when on the trucks, even if the motors were just idling. Spangler experimented with Anything But the Bee Smoker a device which applied vibration to an observation hive I think it’s safe to say that most beekeepers regard and found that a wide range of frequencies caused the the bee smoker as their most important tool, followed bees to “cease activity” but that the most pronounced by their favorite truck. At the same time almost any one effect was between 500 and 1000 hz., which produced of them would throw the thing in the bin if there was a an 80% reduction in fl ight from the hive. He stated that over 6000 hz. there was no effect nor was there any response to vibrations without contact unless the sound was strong enough to vibrate the hive. In other words, bees don’t really hear the sound, they feel it. But that didn’t stop enterprising inventors. Products were already on the market which claimed to

BeeZ Smoker, no longer available. Portable bee smoker. 52 BEE CULTURE June 2019 control pests using Ultrasound — high pitched sounds beyond the range of human hearing. A patent was issued for “Ultrasonic rodent control” in 1975. By the 1980s a device was being marketed that was touted as a replacement for the bee smoker. The “Bee Calm” device looked like a cigarette lighter, and was battery powered. An article appeared in the “American Bee Journal” (Lord, 1985) in which the gadget was extensively tested (they used 120 colonies!). They divided the colonies into the “manipulation group” and the “hammer group.” There were three treatment modalities: control, Bee Calm, and an actual bee smoker. Their conclusion, based on the number of stings, was that the device offered no protection whatever to the beekeeper. Oh well. The next logical step would be to somehow power up the delivery method of the smoke, and eliminate the repetitive stress on the beekeeper’s second hand, while the fi rst hand is working the hive tool. I don’t know about other old timers, but the cartilage at the base of my left thumb is completely gone, and working a bee smoker now is a painful exercise. Several devices have been patented to alleviate this, such as: A portable vapor bee Smoker including a housing, a reservoir carried by the housing, vapor fl uid containing liquid smoke carried by the reservoir, a vapor generator carried by the housing and coupled to the reservoir for receiving the vapor fl uid, and a heat source carried by the housing for heating the vapor generator for turning the vapor fl uid into a vapor. Inventor: Paul P. Younger, Queen Creek, AZ. Patented Dec. 1, 2005. Eddie Woods checking a hive with the Mk4 Apidictor. I have no idea if this thing was ever marketed. It used the same idea (liquid smoke) as Taylor’s Hive Bomb, but was vastly more complicated and particularly B.B.C. for general use, and is also used by Ludwig bulky. The next invention is more of a hybrid. In fact, I Koch for recording bird song. However it proved far too have brainstormed about just such a device. It would cumbersome for use inside a hive, and in subsequent consist of an ordinary bee smoker but the bellows would years a crystal microphone, such as is incorporated in be replaced by a motorized device to blow air, controlled hearing aids, was used instead. by a trigger in the handle. Daniel Stearns of Marlow, NH Woods soon patented a device which he would call was issued a patent for just such a one. It looks sort of the Apidictor (US Patent 2,806,082). His idea was that like a cross between a cordless drill and a bee smoker. a honey bee colony in a hive could be diagnosed by Stearns’ device went a step further. Instead of simply analyzing sounds coming from the bees. He identifi ed attaching a blower to an ordinary smoker, his had a ceramic heating element inside the smoke chamber so the fuel did not even have to be lit. It was marketed in 2010, but not widely adopted. According to Edith Stearns, many people failed to grasp the fact that the fuel did not need to be lit, and they ruined the device, leading to demands for a refund. The gadget was fairly pricey as well, at $150. On top of that, the batteries were built in so if they ran down, you had to stop and recharge the device. Now, you can get a much cheaper imported gadget which actually is an ordinary smoker with a tiny fan inside the plastic handle. It runs with four ordinary AA batteries, so you don’t have to recharge it, like the one I mentioned previously.

Smart Hive Monitors The monitoring of bee hives with electronic devices has a long and fascinating history. Edward Woods wrote: In very early experiments in 1945-46 the author used the moving-coil microphone 4017A made by Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd., which is favoured by the Apidictor.

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 53  several distinct sounds which he called hum, hiss, and warble. He proposed that the warble was an indication that the queen’s egg laying was slackening, and a swarm would be soon to emerge. Either that, or the hive was undergoing “supersedure,” which he deemed desirable but needing to be monitored. If the colony became queenless for too long a period the warble would change to a “roar,” indicating the colony is pretty far gone. In the late 1950s, Woods described the Apidictor as mainly a “swarm predictor,” although he touted it use for monitoring such things as queen introduction, acceptance, drone breeding, and the health of the colony in Winter. Woods’ story is a fascinating one, which was documented by Rex Boys, in his “Listen to the Bees” (1999): Eddie’s Holy Grail was to design a portable electronic instrument that would predict swarming with more notice and without laborious hive inspections. Although he had a design, it was not until 1964 that industry produced components small enough to make it practicable and in that year he launched the ‘Apidictor’. About 300 were sold worldwide. Apidictor 2. Writing on the Bee-L discussion group, Rex tells it straight: Eddie always emphasised that the maximum benefi t You can go check the internet for electronic hive occurred in commercial apiaries where time is money. In monitoring devices, there are many. An ad in one of the the swarming season, all hives had to be inspected every bee magazines proclaims confi dently: nine days, each inspection taking fi ve to 10 minutes and Now monitoring the health of over six million honey 95% of them proving negative. An apidictor test took 10 bees in hives … to deliver a 24/7 early warning system seconds and only one in 10 indicated the need to do a full so beekeepers can give at-risk hives immediate attention brood inspection. Hence the work load was reduced to and improve bee health, giving beekeepers actionable 10% of what it had been. insights and alerts to help prevent losses and increase Such a device would be so useful that one beekeeper colony productivity. stated “Instead of sweating and squashing bees, one could sit in air-conditioned comfort and sip a drink of Parting Comments one’s choosing while the computer did the work.” As a fi nal example of modern inventors contributions Maybe Eddie’s gadget didn’t catch on, but the idea to beekeeping, I would like to describe the different did not die. U.S. Patent 2015/0084784 A1 describes a tack taken by Kelton Temby, founder of Keltronix. In solar powered device that could track “a wide variety of 2015, he began marketing a system which monitors bee parameters” including weight, temperature, humidity, fl ight activity with a video camera. According to Kelton, tilt angles, acoustic information, GPS location, physical “EyesOnHives shows the characteristic heartbeat orientation, wind speed and direction, etc. The authors signature of a healthy hive’s orientation activity.” This acknowledge the most useful information would be the information is recorded and displayed on a computer changes in weight, indicating an onset or cessation of in graphic form. Employing several of these, beekeepers honey production. can compare the daily activity of the bees and check for signifi cant anomalies. Visit his website to get more information. Personally, I don’t think that every colony in every apiary needs to be monitored, whether via electronics or Mountain Grey Caucasian actual physical inspection. The whole game of beekeeping is to be able to open one or two colonies in a locale, Republic of Georgia and gather the pertinent information. Experienced Queens 3# Packages beekeepers can tell at a glance the condition of a colony $60.00 $140.00 and what actions (if any) need to be applied to the whole apiary. Remote monitoring sounds attractive, and there Clip and/or Mark $5.00 Ea are many different ways this can be carried out. The Prices do not include shipping, handling, or insurance information would be even more valuable if it were Shipping season starts first week of May shared among local beekeepers, with monitors covering Winters Apiaries a wide area. Regional monitoring has already been used 3225 Long Creek Rd. by some organizations to enable their members to get the big picture. BC

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Meeting Mike Palmer, Par 1 Vermont is my childhood home and bees have been in decline of the honey bee. This meant that the long-held my family for generations. I read Dadant’s First Lessons traditions and methodologies of modern beekeeping were and Enoch Tompkins’ Practical Beekeeping when I was now in question. There was a perception that the entire still in elementary school. I worked bees with my Grand- subject of apiculture required a reevaluation and this father every summer while growing up through the 80s. proved highly attractive to people. In essence, bees and However, I never had bees of my own until 2009, when beekeeping needed to be saved. I had fi nished university and was living in Halifax, Nova The wave of new beekeepers with so little trust in Scotia. By then, Colony Collapse Disorder, the Varroa experienced beekeepers created a real and pressing need mite and the Internet had combined to make bees a hot for mentors and teachers. Who could they look to for topic in public discourse. Interest in beekeeping was practical information? For the most part, it turned out about to take off like never before, and I was swept up to be the new beekeepers themselves. Almost overnight, with it. websites and blogs dedicated to beekeeping appeared to While fear of doomsday for the bee was stoked fi ll the void. Well-meaning and enthusiastic people with through viral news, the internet also provided a platform less than fi ve full seasons of experience were publishing for an international exchange of ideas, opinions and in- books and DVD’s, giving talks and teaching classes on formation. Through conversations online, anyone could how to keep bees. access and take part in a living microcosm of the entire To their credit, many of the experienced beekeepers subject of apiculture and its major schools of thought. did not turn away from this potentially insulting and The debate at that time was lively to say the least. frustrating situation. Perhaps because of their deep love There was a rapid infl ux of new beekeepers who were of the bee, they stuck it out. They swallowed their pride, under the impression that the mismanagement and greed pulled in their horns (well, most of the time) and stayed of commercial beekeepers were largely to blame for the in the discussion. Truthfully, I think most would now

56 BEE CULTURE June 2019 admit to having benefi tted from the forced reexamination of their work and the heated debate at every step. I was certainly attracted to the idea of making a differ- ence and ‘saving’ the bees, which had been so important to my growing up. So I tried a lot of ideas and enjoyed these efforts with genuinely good intentions. As I tried, I learned. And as I learned, I found myself wanting to share what I’d learned and did so. But a common saying emerged online: “If you want to know the answer to everything, just ask a second year beekeeper.” It hurt, but I had to admit that it rang true. It was at around this time that I began to notice the posts of Mike Palmer in discussion forums on the in- ternet. Through all of the combative posturing between competing philosophies, Mike was making an impression by meeting each with clear logic and a respectful demand for reasons and results. Over time, I read along as Mike challenged one apparent guru after another; taking Mike and queen cells. them to task on their theories and methods. Whatever the position, Mike was always ready to challenge it with “In 2008, our club had received a SARE grant to com- hard-won experience. In doing so, he helped people like pare the performance of packages with that of nucleus me to make better choices with our bees. colonies. We were in the planning stages when we saw I learned that Mike was an old-school commercial Mike give a presentation to the Virginia State Beekeepers beekeeper from Vermont. He started a discussion thread meeting, and right away, we were like, ‘This is the guy’. online in January of 2007 called Wintering Nucs, in He had so much experience and a practical plan for how which he outlined his method of using resources from to manage nucs. So I went right up to him after that non-productive colonies to make nucleus colonies. These meeting, introduced myself and we really hit it off. When nucs were overwintered and sold or used to make up for he visited our club in 2011, we got his permission and losses in the Spring. That thread continued there with hired someone to do a proper recording.” 271 replies and countless views over an 11 year period. Its For several years, the Prince William Regional Bee- content has resulted in scores of new conversations and keepers’ video was really the only Mike Palmer presenta- the experimentations of thousands of other beekeepers. tion available online, but in 2013, the dam broke. In that early post, Mike credited Kirk Webster, a In October of that year, Mike was invited to speak longtime friend and ‘sometimes mentor' with encourag- at the 82nd annual National Honey Show in the UK and ing him to experiment with nucleus colonies. Mike took he did three presentations. First was a revised version the whole thing to another level and deserves credit for of The Sustainable Apiary, then Queen Rearing in the that, but the fact that he gave a nod to a beekeeper that Sustainable Apiary, and Comb Honey Production in the shared his knowledge, resonated with me and added to Northern Champlain Valley. Each of these talks are like my respect for both of them. I was particularly pleased to precious gems in terms of practical information for the know that this sharing of information between respected modern beekeeper. Thankfully, the organizers decided beekeepers was happening in my home state and it made to share these high-quality recordings on the internet. me feel a bit homesick. Word quickly spread of their existence and info-starved While I admired Mike Palmer, I must admit that he beekeepers like myself rabidly gobbled them up. The last scared me. He seemed so sharp and methodical in his time I checked, the three talks had been viewed a com- analysis and criticism. As I read along, I witnessed his bined total of almost half a million times. dissection of many arguments with clarity and effi ciency This exposure snowballed as more clubs invited Mike that could only come from years of actually doing it. It Palmer to speak and published their videos online. People became clear to me that such experience and under- visited Mike's apiary and interviewed him in the fi eld with standing was exceedingly rare – even in discussion groups iPhones and more videos appeared. with contributors numbering in the tens of thousands. I Mike's refi nement of wintering nucleus colonies was tried to fi nd out more about Mike, but he did not have a core to his teaching, and turned into something that website and there wasn't a lot of information out there. people took up at all levels. Hobbyists and commercial In the Spring of 2011, the fi rst video of Mike Palmer's beekeepers alike employed aspects of Mike’s ideas and it presentation The Sustainable Apiary, was posted by the wasn't long before many of them were making videos of Prince William Regional Beekeepers Association (PWRBA). their own. The equipment manufacturers capitalized on They had invited Mike to Virginia to speak to their club the trend by offering ‘palmer-style nucs’ and 'resource and got his permission to record and share the talk on- hives.’ line. I must have watched it 10 times. There was so much Through his sharing of practical information, Mike practical information in that one presentation, that each Palmer became one of the most widely respected beekeep- time I listened to it, I learned something new. ers in the world. By 2014, it was hard to fi nd a beekeeper In the video, PWRBA club member Karla Eisen does who didn't know his name. the introduction. Years later, I asked Karla about that In my own life about a year later, my father broke his time and how she came to know Mike. back in a work accident, and it really highlighted how far

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 57  “Shouldn’t you be on vacation this time of year?” I asked over the sound of the gun. He set it aside, turned and reached out to shake my hand. “This is my vaca- tion,” he replied. “I don’t have to be out in those friggin’ beeyards for a while.” Mike appeared to be pure energy. He almost seemed to vibrate and never really stopped moving. His keen in- tellect and inquisitive nature was immediately apparent in conversation and he seemed to know a little about a lot. We shared thoughts about people and conversations we were both aware of online. We talked about ‘internet experts’ and how rampant misinformation can lead many well-meaning beekeepers down some pretty misguided paths. I told him about my treatment free effort and about my recent losses and was struck by the fact that he was not in the least bit condescending and showed no sense Mike checking the breeders of an “I told you so” attitude. “Drought late Summer, followed by a spike in mite from home I was. I decided to leave Canada and return numbers. I’ve seen it before in 2011. Don’t worry,” he to Vermont to be near my family. I sold my bees in Nova said, “we'll get you fi xed up.” I had no idea what he meant Scotia, landed a great corporate job in Middlebury and exactly but I must admit, at that moment I felt a lot better. bought a dozen colonies to start my beekeeping there. I I was actually talking bees one-on-one with Mike Palmer was still keeping bees treatment free after six years. in his Vermont wood shop. It was pretty great. In April of 2016, Mike posted a video of himself Like Edward O. Wilson or Tom Seeley, Mike has an opening a hive in the early Spring and adding pollen almost childlike enthusiasm for bees and for nature as a substitute. There's still snow on the ground in the video, whole. While certainly critical, Mike is also warm-hearted but when he opens the hive, it is just teeming with bees. and light. He loves to tell stories and laugh. Unravelling You can't even see the top bars. It blew me away. None the mysteries and chasing the elusive next big honey of my hives looked like that in the Spring. season gets him up in the morning and likely fi lls his Interestingly, I still had not met Mike. We lived about dreams at night. an hour and a half south of his place, but I think I was In that conversation, I revealed that I had been somehow still timid about meeting him. Although Mike soul-searching regarding my career and my interests as was critical of the treatment free approach, I was con- well as my hesitations about beekeeping as a vocation. vinced that breeding from survivor queens was the only He told me about his crew and about how things work way to beat the mite, and was committed to seeing it in his operation and said that I was welcome to join the through. I hoped to reach some point of success before team for the coming season. I knew that learning from imposing myself on Mike's valuable time. Unfortunately, someone like him directly could make all the difference it would be just the opposite. in reaching my goals. He said that they would begin ear- In late July, my bees began to collapse from mite ly inspections of hives in late March or early April and damage and a drought compounded the problem. I broke suggested that I come along sometime on a weekend to down and treated with formic acid, but it was too late. get my feet wet. I agreed that I would. Between August and November, I went from 72 colonies After fi ve hours of conversation, I returned to my car down to 50. By Christmas, there were only fourteen left. and made the drive south to my place. I called my Dad I decided it was time to meet Mike Palmer and contacted on the way home to tell him about the meeting and about him about a visit. how much I enjoyed it. On the 28th of January, I drove to snowy St. Albans About two months later, on April fools Day, I got this and then up the winding French Hill Road to Mike's place. email from Mike: A big, white dog appeared in front of me in the drive, We’re planning on working tomorrow. Weather report barking. Mike had told me to look for a yellow jeep and keeps changing. there it was, parked between two large, board and batten Hoping to go to NY. If we can only get a few hours of barns. I pulled in and shut off the Subaru, leaving only good weather, we’ll work in Vermont nuc yards. the sound of the dog. We usually meet at my shop at 8-8:15. I could see footprints in the snow leading to a side I was there the next morning. There was six inches of door in the larger barn. I knocked. Nothing. I tried the fresh snow on French Hill, but it was forecast to become door and it creaked open. I recognized the two big ex- sunny and warmer through the day. I arrived to fi nd Mike tractors from a video I'd seen online. Mike Palmer’s honey loading his truck for the day’s work. The white dog was house. I stepped inside. I could hear a radio in the dis- there, barking. tance and noticed light coming from another door inside. “It’s okay, Wilson. You’ve met Adam before.” BAP! BAP! BAP! It was the sound of a pneumatic stapler. You know how pet people each have their own, “Hello?” I called out in the direction of the door. strangely high-pitched baby talk for animals? Mike has “HEL-LO!.” It was Mike. I made my way to the door that. Wilson stopped barking but kept his distance. and looked into his wood shop. He had his back to me We loaded 30 pound blocks of fondant and buck- and was still holding the staple gun. “Just a sec, this ets of pre-mixed pollen substitute for feeding bees. We glue is wet.” BAP-BAP-BAP! I leaned on the door frame. would go to some of his New York yards and check for

58 BEE CULTURE June 2019 colony strength, food stores and add pollen sub. We put our smokers in old metal sap buckets, Mike's preferred method of transport, and one small connection to his prior work in maple before he got into bees. As we rolled out in Mike’s fl atbed truck, he talked excitedly. The new season and interested company had him energized. He pointed out everything as we drove; the alder fl owers in the marsh along French Hill Road, tree types that will give nectar and pollen later in the season, historic sites, places he used to have bees, and places other people once had bees. He fi lled me in on the histories of lands and farms and people here and long gone. His having lived in the area for 40 years gives him a connection and a storyline for everything around us. Mike was born into a classic American childhood; playing out his early years in the post-war 50s in Garden City, New York on Long Island. He played baseball and stick ball with his school friends growing up. His father was an accountant with American Home Products. As a kid, Mike caddied at the Garden City Golf Club, where his father was a member. Mike attended the University Mike in the beeyard. of Vermont in the 70s and intended to become a veter- inarian, but became frustrated with what he felt were By day’s end, we’d checked more than 200 hives and unnecessary courses and dropped out. He and his wife, found only a handful dead. Mike was feeling upbeat and I Leslie, were part of a commune in St Albans, Vermont, was deeply impressed. After six years treatment free, and for several years. When the group parted ways, Mike and becoming accustomed to a certain norm for spring bees, Leslie got a share of the land on French Hill, where they the bar for ‘good wintering’ was now set at a new height. still reside today. The video I saw a year earlier was no fl uke; it was the The conversation absorbed me, and the hour and a real deal. When it comes to keeping healthy bees, Mike half drive to the other side of Lake Champlain seemed Palmer knows what he’s talking about. like no time at all. I returned home feeling very fortunate to have the Mike slowed the truck and we drove along the edge experience of working with Mike. I was even more excited of a nondescript fi eld and into the brush. Before long, we about bees and about my own prospects as a beekeeper. came to a small clearing where another, smaller truck Conversely, back at my little corner of corporate was parked next to a group of tar paper-clad hives in America, things were getting worse. Our exciting little- the snow. A man got out of the truck. He had long, grey engine-that-could company in Vermont was taken over hair and a handlebar mustache, complete with a carefully by a giant corporation from another state and I was laid waxed curl at each end. It was Kork, Mike's friend and off with thirty other people in May. While many were in long-time helper and, as I would later come to know, a tears and exchanging bitter dialogue that day, I quickly great beekeeper in his own right. left the offi ce and was back in my bees within the hour. Kork is ex-military and quickly gave me the rundown I’ve since decided that the corporate environment really on the day’s operation. The plan was to open each hive, isn’t the place for me. There are no bees there. check the cluster size and food stores. If they were light, Later that season, I got a text from Mike. we would add a chunk of fondant and a pollen patty; if “We’re catching queens Tuesday if you'd like to come they were heavy, just the pollen sub. Each hive would get along.” marked weak, medium or strong and a deadout would He didn’t need to ask me twice. I was there at 8 am be broken down, diagnosed and loaded on the truck to that Tuesday, and I've pretty much been there ever since. bring back to the honey house. Mike talks about measuring beekeeping experience in The very fi rst hive I opened was incredible. I couldn’t “bee years”. Taking care of one hive for a year is equal to even see the top bars under all the bees. Not only that, one bee year. Ten hives is 10 bee years. I’m now entering the hives were two deeps and a medium, and there were my third season at French Hill and we care for around a bees coming out the bottom entrance as well. thousand hives, so the bee years have been adding up for me. But perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is how very little any of us know for sure. The miracle of the bee and our inability to completely understand her is much of what captures us and holds us. The other day, as Mike and I rode along through the Vermont farmland, he told me the story of how he used to drive an aging beekeeper around on his route. He said the old guy would tell him tales of days gone by, and that he’d never realize that he’d told Mike these things a million times. It’s a good story and he apparently has no idea that he’s told it to me before, but I don’t mind. I feel BC Mike’s nuc. blessed to be riding along, hearing it again. June 2019 BEE CULTURE 59 THREE amazing new Wicwas Books!

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60 BEE CULTURE June 2019 step by step Producing Ross Rounds Kim Carpenter

What is Comb Honey super and 28 round combs in an eight-frame super. Clear Simply stated, comb honey is honey that is produced covers are placed on each side of the comb and then a by the bees in the beeswax comb and then taken out of label wrapping around the covers to hold them together. the hive by the beekeeper and placed in a container for Thus the fi nished product. Easy to harvest, assemble sale. The beeswax and the honey can be eaten straight and quick to sell. out of the container, tasting just as it would as if it were straight out of the hive. Advantages of Ross Round Comb Honey/ Compared to Other Methods Why Make Comb Honey Traditional cut comb honey that was made before Producing quality comb honey is an art in its purest section comb honey was created involved using a regular form. Many people recognize comb honey from a part of wedge top frame with a sheet of thin super foundation or their childhood where their local beekeeper produced just running a bead of beeswax on the top bar as a guide it and that’s how they consumed honey in those days. for bees to start building comb on. These comb honey It’s a sense of not only nostalgia but also of going back frames were usually medium sized frames and you could to your roots and consuming healthy foods. Producing harvest four square sections of completed comb from each comb honey in its different forms is not only enjoyable as frame with a 4”x4” cut comb cutter. a hobby but it can also greatly add to your income as a When the frames were ready for harvesting, the beekeeper and help diversify your product line from the beekeeper would lay each comb honey frame on a fl at hive. In Upstate NY we see comb honey being sold from surface and using a very sharp knife would cut out the $15 up to $30 depending on the container size. There is perimeter of the comb to remove the frame. Then each defi nitely an ever growing market for comb honey, with the square was carefully measured to be the proper size, supply usually not being able to meet the local demands. cut, then carefully placed on a straining rack for excess honey from the cut edges to drip off of the comb honey. What is Ross Round Comb Honey When making good quality comb honey it is a must to Ross Round Comb Honey is a round section comb make sure all the honey drains off of the fi nal product honey produced in a less than shallow sized super with before being placed into the container. One, to give it the special plastic section frames that use a thin 3-7/8” best presentation possible and two, to make sure that the foundation. Each frame contains four round sections liquid honey wouldn’t crystallize in the container around that the foundation gets placed into for the bees to build the piece of comb, thus detracting from the fi nal product. comb on. The end result is 32 round combs in a 10-frame Once drained the section of cut comb would be carefully lifted up and placed into a clear square plastic container, sealed and then placed in the freezer for a few days to kill any wax moth eggs or larvae that may be present.

Ready to go. Frames, rounds and follower Springs, for tension on the unattached A stack of Ross Round supers. boards all ready. follower board. June 2019 BEE CULTURE 61 Disadvantages: While the traditional cut comb honey What comes with a Complete Ross Round Super Kit creates a beautiful fi nished product it is a labor of love and What Supplies Do You Need? and sometimes not all pieces of comb will be able to be When initially purchased, depending on what used for the fi nal product for sale. If it is at the end of supplier you purchase the kit thru, the kit includes an the nectar fl ow and the bees have not fi nished all parts assembled wooden Ross Round super, seven or eight of the frames, when harvested those unfi nished pieces plastic frames with 64 or 56 rings installed (depending on of comb would be fed back to the bees unable to be sold whether it is a 10 frame or eight-frame super), a follower so you may not get the full harvest you are anticipating. board and three metal super springs. The plastic frames Traditional Basswood section comb methods have are installed starting all to one side of the box which always used the square wooden basswood boxes which has the pre-attached follower board, then the removable would fi rst need to be soaked in water then manipulated follower board is added to the last frame with the three into a special jig to assemble together with the thin super metal super springs holding it in place for easy removal foundation. When the basswood boxes were completed You will need to purchase also the 3-7/8” Thin Super by the bees they would be taken out of the super, frozen Foundation to go into the Ross Round Super. Some bee for a few days then put into a clear cellophane bag and supply companies sell the kit and then the extra supplies cardboard carton for sale. separately like your foundation, covers, rings and labels. While the completed product looks presentable and Other companies will put all the supplies together as one nostalgic, the monetary cost of the basswood boxes is big kit. So your initial cost can range anywhere from $75 more than most section comb systems on the market to $129 depending on what supplier you go thru and what and the assembly of each new comb honey system is options you chose to start out with. time consuming leaving most to look into other methods of comb honey production. Choosing the Right Colony The Ross Round Comb Honey system takes a lot of When choosing a colony for ANY comb honey mess and complication out of making section comb honey. production, it is important to choose the right colony. When initially purchased, the Ross Round Comb Honey Not all colonies will make comb honey so it’s important System comes completely assembled; all that is lacking to look at each colony objectively to decide whether it’s a are the sheets of foundation. good candidate or not for comb honey production. Choose When getting ready to assemble the frames for your strongest colonies that are best at producing new comb honey production one simply snaps apart the comb and with lots of foragers bringing in nectar. Usually two-piece plastic frame and places the sheet of 3-7/8” your comb honey production colonies will be established thin super foundation in it and snaps the frame back colonies that have made it thru a Winter, not necessarily together. In each round cavity in the frame there will be a new colony from a nuc or package. But every year and already installed two plastic rings that the foundation area is different with nectar fl ows so you may get lucky goes between, that when fi nished will be part of the fi nal with a new colony fi lling out a super. But nine times out product that after your clear cover is applied onto your of 10 you would use a strong, queen-right, established label will wrap around. colony as your comb honey producer. There is no cutting or draining of the comb required. I usually look for the colonies that are strongest, When completed the beekeeper simply snaps the frame almost on the verge of swarming to add my Ross Rounds apart to remove each round section and with a small knife Supers to and I do not use queen excluders. You would removes any excess pieces of foundation around the rings. not want to use a colony for comb honey production if it The clear covers are then applied to each side then the is not queen-right, has a high pest infestation (i.e. mites, comb is frozen for a few days to kill any wax moth eggs or hive beetles, wax moths), or is just barely getting along. larvae that may be present. Then when taken out of the You want to choose your best colonies as they will give freezer and at room temperature you put on your label you the best results, not your sub-par colonies. and your product is ready for sale. When and How to Super There are several opinions on when to super your colony for comb honey production. Beekeepers usually always live by the motto to super early and super often so that their colonies don’t run out of space and swarm. Keep in mind that if you add supers early with the pure wax foundation and there is not a nectar fl ow on, the bees may remove some of the beeswax foundation to be used elsewhere in the hive. So your sheets of thin foundation may end up with holes in them that the bees may or may not fi ll back in, possibly leaving your fi nal product uneven. So while you may prevent the colony from swarming, you may also not have as perfect of a fi nal product on some of your frames. Another way to super is to wait for the nectar fl ow to start and two days into the nectar fl ow, add your Ross Round Supers. You bees will by then have their wax glands producing again now that a nectar fl ow is on and Frames with assembled rounds in place. will immediately start building comb. And since a nectar 62 BEE CULTURE June 2019 bees can fi ll that Ross Round Super up tremendously fast as long as the blooms last, sometimes in a weeks time. That’s why I go back and check after a week of having the super on. If the super is ½ to ¾ full I will add another Ross Round Super on top and check it in another week. Remember, fresh nectar takes up a lot of space in the supers but as they start dehydrating it and making it into honey, it takes up less space. So you want them to have ample space to store the fresh nectar and build fresh comb. Since it’s the springtime there will be many other fl owers in bloom that they will collect nectar from as well besides the Black Locust, so the supers will have no problem getting fi lled up. The Spring honey is usually the most delicate and lightest of the honeys, along with being my personal favorite. Once you go back in on week two and see that your White rings. fi rst Ross Round Super is capped, take the super off of the hive and harvest the combs. You would not want to leave fl ow is on, they will most likely not chew out pieces of the the super on indefi nitely during the Spring and Summer, thin foundation but will build the comb out evenly which as any comb that they’ve capped with nice fresh white will then be fi lled up immediately by incoming foragers. comb will darken over time with the bees walking on it Another useful trick for supering that you can use and make it look less appealing for sale. is that you can get a newly captured swarm to build out They also could eat that honey in the supers or the good comb honey frames by keeping the swarm in one queen could start laying in them. So harvest your supers deep and adding your Ross Round Super on top. Since or fi nished individual frames of the Ross Rounds as soon they are already in comb building mode from swarming, as they are ready. they will build out your supers easily, even more so if That’s a benefi t of using the Ross Round Supers in there is a strong nectar fl ow on. that you don’t have to wait until the entire super is full, When you add your Ross Round Supers, it’s important you can take out individual frames to harvest them unlike to have that super on as your only super for them to work other comb honey kits on the market. on. If you were to add a regular super with drawn comb on top of a Ross Round Super, the bees will work the When to Harvest drawn comb fi rst and work on the undrawn Ross Round Once you go back in on week two and see that your Super last or not at all. I will add my Ross Round Super fi rst Ross Round Super is capped, take the super off of on top of a very strong colony without a queen excluder the hive and harvest the combs. You would not want to typically just into the nectar fl ow and then I will check leave the super on indefi nitely during the Spring and back with it in one-week increments. Summer, as any comb that they’ve capped with nice fresh We’re very lucky here in Upstate NY where we have white comb will darken over time with the bees walking three very strong nectar and pollen fl ows, so the bees are on it and make it look less appealing for sale. They also very busy and produce a lot of extra honey and pollen could eat that honey in the supers or the queen could for you to collect. start laying in them. So harvest your supers or fi nished Around Memorial Day weekend in May is usually individual frames of the Ross Rounds as soon as they are when we notice the Black Locust Trees are blooming ready. That’s a benefi t of using the Ross Round Supers around our area in Canandaigua, NY. In that time the in that you don’t have to wait until the entire super is

Opaque covers for the bottom, if necessary. Clear covers for the top. June 2019 BEE CULTURE 63  house, the removal of the fi nished Ross Round comb is very easy. Place the frame down on a level surface. Using your fi nger, hive tool or pocket knife, starting in the top corner of the frame, the two sections of the plastic frame will easily break apart. You will see that the rings are now joined to the foundation sheet in the middle and the bees have built comb perfectly on both sides of the foundation inside the rings. The rings are part of your fi nal product. Do NOT remove the rings. All that needs to be done to it now is to remove any excess foundation that is around the outside of the rings. A sharp knife works well to do this, going around the outside of the rings just to get any remaining bits of foundation.

Freeze Your Comb Honey Before Selling Now that you have separated the two pieces of the frame and removed each round section, you can carefully Removed, fi nished section opaque on bottom, clear on top. place the Ross Round Comb into a ziploc bag and place into the freezer for three to four days or until you’re ready to sell them. This will ensure that if you had any wax full, you can take out individual frames to harvest them moths in your hive, that any larvae from them or any other unlike other comb honey kits on the market. insect will die in the freezer and not end up in your fi nal product. Any comb honey with wax moths and wax moth Taking Supers Off The Hive webbing on them should not be used for resale that is You have two options on when & how to harvest when why it’s important to freeze your combs for at least three using the Ross Round supers. Option one is you can days. You don’t want your customer to have a surprise take out one frame at a time if you want to and replace when they go to open the comb honey container or take the rings and foundation in it and put it right back into a bite of the fi nal product. the super on the hive that day. This way if you have an You can leave your comb honey in your freezer for as order for a customer that needs some comb, you can long as you need to without fear of it crystallizing but be fulfi ll that order. very careful that your freezer you are placing them into You don’t have to wait until the whole super is fi lled is a freezer dedicated to comb honey and bee products. out to harvest which makes the Ross Rounds system Or one that does not have any strong smells like meat, incredibly convenient to use. If I run into that situation onions, garlic, etc in it. The comb honey can easily pick of needing just a frame or two, I’ll either take that frame up any off smells in a freezer and make the fi nal product into the house, remove the combs and refi ll the foundation distasteful and unsalable so err on the side of caution and rings and go replace that frame right away that day. when deciding what freezer to place your comb in. Or I will take a cookie sheet out into the apiary with me, along with the sheet of foundation I need and rings and Packaging the Final Product just replace everything right there in the apiary so I don’t Once you’re ready to package up your Ross Round forget about it. You don’t want to leave empty spaces in Comb Honey, take them out of the freezer in the ziploc your Ross Round Super. bag and let them come to room temperature. Any moisture Option two is you can wait until the Ross Round super that may be in there will accumulate on the ziploc bag is completely fi lled out before you take it off and refi ll it. If and not on your comb honey. Once at room temperature your bees only fi ll out half a super, no big deal, you can you can now carefully place your clear and opaque covers harvest those frames and refi ll them and your super will over the rings and fi nished Ross Round Comb. be ready for use for the next nectar fl ow. You will notice there are small tabs on the inside of the covers so you line those up against the edges of the Harvesting Your Ross Round Honey Combs rings to create a nice even seal. When you take the completed plastic frames out of Some beekeepers will put clear covers on both sides the hive, whether in the apiary or in your home or honey of the comb and others will do one side of clear and one of opaque. This way if you have one side of the comb that looks perfect you can put that on the clear side and the other side that is not as perfect can go on the opaque side. Also the opaque cover on the bottom will not show the scratches on the retail shelves like the clear side will thus keeping your fi nished product more refi ned looking.

Labeling Once your covers are on your Ross Round combs you can now add your label to the product. Refer to your state’s labeling laws on honey as to what you need to put on the label. If you purchase one of the fi ve labels made Various label styles. by Ross Rounds, then the weight has already been put 64 BEE CULTURE June 2019 宐宲宵宨季 害宵宲宧宸宦宷家季 宙宲宯宸宰宨季 室宱宧 害宵宬宦宬宱宪 宇宨室宯宨宵家宫宬害家季 季宲害宷宬宲宱家孤 室容室宬宯室宥宯宨孤 宺宨宯宦宲宰宨孤 :HRIIHU\RX 宆宲宱宷室宦宷季宸家孤季 ... everything you need ... a full line of ... the real Protector! woodenware for to be successful! ‡9HQWLODWHGIDEULF all your needs! ‡7RROV +DUGZDUH ‡6ROLGSRO\FRWWRQ ‡0HGLFDWLRQV )HHG ‡4XDOLW\:KLWH3LQH IDEULF ‡%RRNV ‡86$PDGH ‡)HQFLQJRU ‡$QGPRUH ‡ZRRGJUDGHV 5RXQGYHLOV ‡8QDVVHPEOHG ‡$OO\RXUIDYRULWH $VVHPEOHGRU IHDWXUHVIHDWWXUX HV 3DLQWHG Rochester, Washington: As low as 360-280-5274 [email protected] Pueblo, Colorado: $49.95 719-250-4005 [email protected] Mendon, Michigan: 269-496-7001 [email protected] Callall foror a freeree 22019-20019-20 CCataloatalog oror orderorder oonlinenline aatt wwww.beelinewoodenware.comww.beelinewoodenware.com!

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 65 A Ross Rounds Comb Honey section ready for sale. on the label for you in ounces and grams. A completed Ross Round Comb will weigh eight ounces or 227 grams and that is pre-printed on the label. If the weight is less than that you can always put a sticker over that on the A charcuterie board with seveal cheeses. label with what the weight actually is. There will also be a spot on the label for you to write or have your information Storage Tips for your Customers printed onto it. Let your customers know NOT to store their Any of the beekeeping suppliers that sell the Ross comb honey in the refrigerator as this will make your Round Comb Honey Supers will also sell the labels that honey crystallize. The best place to store it is at room go along with it and some may offer the printing service temperature in its covers or in the freezer. If stored in the for them as well. freezer, let them know to unthaw it fi rst before they go to eat it unless they like a tasty frozen honey treat. The honey Eating the Final Product will not go solid in the freezer but will remain in a stable The labels that are used for the Ross Rounds are liquid form in the comb if in the freezer. If leaving it at made to be removable by the end consumer without too room temperature, make sure to keep the honey covered much effort and fuss. They can simply peel the label right with either the covers the Ross Round Comb came with off, remove the top cover and enjoy the comb honey right or in a Tupperware or comb honey container. You would in the packaging or cut it out. not want to leave the honey exposed to the air to absorb The honey comb can be scooped out with a spoon and moisture, then it may begin to naturally ferment and your eaten and then the cover placed back on top for the next process of making Mead has started. use. Or you can remove both covers and set on a plate, then using a sharp knife, go around the inside of the rings Refi lling the super/Cost of Goods/Marketing to separate the rings from the completed comb. Then you These topics are for a follow up article, and other tips can cut the comb into slices and spread on toast, biscuits, and tricks, to come. BC waffl es or anything that you already like honey on. Comb honey is also great for using with Charcuterie Kim Carpenter and her husband, Ben own and operate Boards; a tray of cheeses, cured meats, nuts, berries, etc. Hungry Bear Farms. Add honey to your Charcuterie or Cheese Board at your next party and you’ll be the talk of the town!

666 BEE CULTURECULTURURERE JuneJune 20192019 the comb dish Comb Honey Dishes Are Stylish, Expensive, Prac cal, And Hard To Find Jim Thompson

Many years ago beekeepers and James Beatty. They formed harvested their honey from trees, the Beatty-Brady Glass Company. gums, skeps, and honey boxes That company was merged into (supers without frames). That honey the National Glass Combine of 19 was in the comb but was in irregular different glass companies. shapes. Extractors were not that In 1904 Indiana Glass Company prevalent so the honeycomb was had identified itself within the placed on a plate and covered. The National Glass Combine and in 1907 plate was usually kept on the dining the National Glass Combine failed due room table. to the depressed economy. Indiana Beekeepers started producing Glass Company was sold to Frank comb honey in basswood sections Merry, Harry Batsch, Harold Phillips, and thus the comb honey dish Charles Smailey, Rathburn Fuller, became used more for the basswood and James Merry Overleaf. Thus sections with the wood rim removed Indiana Glass became manufacturers and for cut comb honey. of Pressed and Blown Glassware. The plate was replaced by comb Indiana Glass made at least three dishes which looked more like small types of comb honey dishes from caskets or butter dishes. The dishes about 1910 to 1913 as well as other were made by companies like the products. They became known as the Boston & Sandwich Glass Co. from main maker of comb honey dishes. 1830-1850s. The pattern of some of The dishes were similar in size and these pieces was known as: Gothic had splayed feet. They were Rayed Arches & Heart, Horn of Plenty, Flower, Garden Paneled Thistle, Pineapple, etc. and Honey Box (with bees) design. In 1885 a comb dish which was The Honey Box also known as the originally named Sensation and Honey Dish with fl at bottom with lid later called Thousand Eyes was continued to be in their catalog. manufactured by the Adams Glass Another interesting fact is that Co. In 1890, Adams Glass Company the honey dishes that I mentioned made the King’s Crown, aka XLXR, made in the 1830-1850s are called which had the standard 5” square Victorian glass. In the 1900s to 1930 dish with an overhang called wings the glass is called Early American on four sides. Press Glass (EAPG), from 1925 to In 1920 there was a Vaseline 1940 the glass is called Depression colored covered honey dish. One was Glass. Classic Glass items were sold at auction recently for $460. produced from about 1940 to 1970 The cover or top is about the only and Contemporary Glass items were thing that reminds a person of a produced from about 1970 to 2002. beehive. The color of Vaseline glass Contemporary Glass may have been is a pale yellowish-green, which gets produced after 2002, but Indiana its nickname from the appearance of Glass Company closed their doors petroleum jelly of that time. Vaseline in 2002. The reason I brought up glass, in most cases, is considered the different names is that the comb to be harmless and only negligibly dishes are sometimes called Victorian radioactive. glass, sandwich glass, carnival glass, It is interesting that in 1895, the or contemporary Glass. Pennsylvania Railroad Co. built a Tiara Glass was marketed from large building intending to build and 1970 to 1998, by Tiara Exclusives repair railroad cars. However the idea of Dunkirk, Indiana through home of repairing railroad cars was soon parties held by sales agents. The abandoned and the building and offices of Tiara Exclusives were property was sold to George Brady adjacent to the Indiana Glass

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 67  Company as many of the Tiara Glass 1983 – Ice Blue Etched bankrupt. In 2009, Home Interiors items were made by Indiana Glass. 1999 – Spruce Etched was bought by Penny and Steve However Fenton Art Glass and L.E. 1984 – Coral Carlile, of Marshall, Texas. The new Smith also made some glass items for 1999 - Amber or Gold Etched name was Celebrating Home. Many Tiara. Both Indiana Glass Company 1986 – Pink people have said that somehow things and Tiara Exclusives belonged to 1999 – Plum were not the same. To this I would the Lancaster Colony Corporation, 1986 – Regal Blue have to agree because the time period who had purchased the companies 1999 – Plum Etched for the honey boxes or comb dishes in 1957. 1987 – Regal Blue Etched has been replaced by honey pots for Apart from paper labels, Tiara extracted honey. The home parties Exclusives did not mark their glass This chart makes some sense, have been replaced by catalog and on except for a few pieces and then it but it also creates some questions. line sales where you can see a larger was “Tiara in the mold”. The early “honey boxes” (before 1970), selection of goods. According to the information on had splayed feet and the fi rst one In the 1970s there were other the internet, the Years and Colors of that Illinois Glass made was clear. comb honey dishes made by the Honey Box, sold through Tiara They had different colors through other companies such as Higbee, were: the years, including blue, multiple Cambridge, Westmoreland, and 1970 - Amber- Splayed Feet color and others with splayed feet. Fenton. There were ceramic or pottery 1987 – Pink Etched The last one with splayed feet was comb dishes, glass square comb 1971 – Amber or Gold in 1970, but by Tiara. From then honey dishes with a pedestal, and 1988 – Crystal on, the feet on the “Honey Box” were even round comb honey dishes for the 1978 – Crystal Etched short hexagonal pegs. Since the last round section honey. What makes the 1989 – Amethyst year for Tiara Exclusives was 1998, comb honey dishes diffi cult to fi nd 1978 – Milk Glass that meant that the Spruce and Plum is that many people refer to them as 1989 – Imperial Blue Honey Boxes were not sold by Tiara candy dishes. 1979 – Black Exclusives. That is consistent with At some honey shows there are 1991 – Aquamarine what I had heard, there were pallets classes that one can enter comb 1982 – Chantilly Green and pallets of those that were sold to honey dishes and honey pots. While 1994 – Aquamarine Etched Home Interiors. the average comb honey dish has a 1982 – Ice Blue Home Interiors and Gifts started value in the 35 to 40 dollar range, 1994 – Peach in 1957 by Mary Crowley in Carrolton, there are some that have been sold 1982 – Horizon Blue Etched Texas. They sold Candles, Picture for as much as $5,000. It would be 1995 – Decorated Cranberry Frames, etc. and of course Honey a shame for a person to enter a very 1983 –Chantilly Green Etched Boxes. They used the home party valuable comb honey dish and have 1996 – Decorated Ruby system of selling and at one time it get ruined. 1983 – Horizon Blue had over 140,000 representatives. You probably can tell that I am 1998 – Spruce However, on April 29, 2008 they went opposed to having comb dishes and

68 BEE CULTURE June 2019 honey pots as a class at a honey show. There are two reasons. Why should a person risk losing a valuable antique in order to gain a small premium? Finding a qualifi ed judge is hard to do and so in many cases someone is found to choose an item that looks good to them. In judging comb honey dishes, one should look for the following items.  The approximate age of the comb dish  Is it really a comb honey dish rather than a butter dish?  Rarity  Condition  Maker or manufacturer  Appearance, Beauty, Utility, Unique features  Reproduction or genuine  The materials of construction: ceramic, glass, or metal?

References: Vintage Pattern Glass Honey Dish Store Tiara Glass from the Glass Encyclopedia Home Interiors and Gifts Indiana Glass Vaseline Glass Personal Collection

Jim Thompson is a historian and beekeeper living in Smithville, OH.

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 69 Harvest The Best… with SUNDANCE™ POLLEN TRAPS and COMPLETE ROSS ROUND SUPERS.

SUNDANCE POLLEN TRAPS Imagine the cleanest pollen available with no heavy lifting, chalkbrood mummies or risk of foulbrood scales. There is no substitute for the Sundance Trap quality and cleanliness. Leading experts from the USDA and universities as well as commercial beekeepers and hobbyists agree that Sundance Traps are the best pollen traps available. COMPLETE ROSS ROUND SUPER Produce comb honey with no dripping from cut edges and no liquid honey in the consumer package with Ross Rounds equipment. Easily shipped or delivered, stocked on shelves, purchased and taken home without danger of leaking. Enjoy providing locally grown, unprocessed, all-natural honey with a complete Ross Rounds Super.

For more information visit www.RossRounds.com. For dealers near you please email [email protected].

70 BEE CULTURE June 2019 A Ver Usefl Tool When Used Corectly David MacFawn

Smoker size and the fuel used can have an impact on the beekeeper’s satisfaction. Large smokers are generally easier to light and stay lit for a longer period of time. Smokers with a fi nger guard are more comfortable to use. The type of fuel you use also impacts the smoker’s ability to stay lit. There are at least two schools of thought as to why smoke works to calm bees. One school of thought is it interferes with the bees’ senses and masks alarm pheromones released by guard bees. This is most likely the primary reason smoke works. However, the other bees gorging themselves fi lling their honey stomachs. This school of thought is it makes the bees believe there is a makes it more diffi cult for the bees to sting since their fi re and their colony are in danger. This results in the honey stomach is full. This is why it is recommended

Lighting. Start at the bottom using pine needles, newspaper or other non-toxic flamable fuel. Once burning well, add small amounts of fuel, puffing to ignite, while adding more fuel. When bottom third is full and burning well, puffing. Pack the rest in firmly, use your fist, puffing. Keep puffing until lots of cool, white smoke comes out.

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 71  One, maybe two puffs in front door before opening. Carry in metal box. to smoke the hive entrance and wait a few seconds to The smoker should be lit from the bottom. I use pine minutes prior to opening the hive. needles and pack the canister with as many pine needles The beekeeper may also consider smoking their hands as I can stuff into the canister. I live in the Columbia, if they do not wear gloves to mask scents. Smoking your South Carolina area and I can pick up pine needles for hands helps helps mask odors from other bees, food or free. Be careful of leaves such as poison ivy. sweat. Also, smoking a sting will help mask the bee’s Collecting pine needles that have been run over by alarm scent and minimize further stings. cars on a road makes lighting a smoker easier and more Smoking the frame ends moves the bees so you can comfortable. The pine needles are soft and pliable and pick up the frame with your hands. When smoking, you easy to stuff into a smoker’s canister. Also, pine needles only need a puff or two from a well-lit smoker to control that have been run over with a mower and collected in a the bees. If you smoke too much, the bees may get upset. bag, also makes the pine needles soft. After working a few colonies, you should start getting a A metal smoker box is recommended to transport sense of how much to smoke by listening and watching the smoker from one beeyard to another or to place the bees. Watching the bees is how you learn what a the smoker into after use. A metal smoker box may be normal colony does in response to smoke. purchased from a bee supply company, or it may be The size of your smoker should match the number of something as simple as an old correct size ammo box. colonies you are going to work. A good quality smoker will When fi nished using the smoker, the nozzle hole should cost $35 to about $45. A 4-inch in diameter by 7-inch-tall be closed with a cork, rag, or other material to put the smoker (4x7) is good for fi ve to ten colonies in the same fi re in the smoker out. This will allow coals to be available yard before inserting more fuel. A shield is nice to keep the for quickly lighting the smoker the next time. beekeeper’s fi ngers from touching the hot smoker canister If you do not close the smoker nozzle after placing and reduces burning potential. A 4-inch in diameter by your smoker in a metal box, if packed correctly, it will 10 inches tall smoker (4x10) is recommended for over ten still be smoking for use later. However, if the smoker is colonies or colonies in several outyards. Again, a heat/ not going to be used soon, the smoker nozzle hole should fi nger shield is recommended. Smokers today are made be stuffed closed with a cork, rag, or other material. This out of stainless steel which prolongs the smoker’s life will keep creosote from building up if using pine needles rather than tin or galvanized steel as was used in the past. and save some coals for later use. Rather than stuffi ng A 4x10 inch smoker will last two to three hours if the nozzle, a smoker can be laid on its side, cutting off packed correctly. The fi re should be started and coals the draft, allowing the fi re to extinguish. No air, no fi re. established prior to packing the canister tightly with fuel. There are a variety of smoker fuels. You want to use

72 BEE CULTURE June 2019 Make sure fuel below grate is Made in MAINE Quantity Pricing Available! removed.

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something all natural, without grease/oil, pesticides or preservatives. Pine needles, punk wood (rotten wood) from cherry, hickory or other hardwood, wood shavings, burlap all work well. Some beekeepers even use dried grass/hay. Smoker fuels are often available from bee supply companies. Don’t use starter fueld, gasoline or other fl amable liquids. Creosote buildup will occur with pine needles and other wood products with resin. Creosote buildup can be burned to ash with a propane torch and removed with a hive tool or chisel. “Frank Eischen with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Weslaco, Texas, has tested smoke from 40 different plants to control varroa mites. The most promising are dried grapefruit leaves and creosote bush, a woody perennial. Creosote bush smoke drove 90 to 100 percent of the mites off bees after a one-minute cage test. Grapefruit leaf smoke drove off 90 to 95 percent of the mites in 30 seconds. The fi ndings are preliminary: more research is needed before scientists recommend that beekeepers use these plant smokes to control mites.” It should be noted that Creosote and Grapefruit may be harsh on your bees like tobacco was found to be. You want a cool, white smoke emitting from your smoker. A hot blast coming from your smoker will burn the bee’s wings, hair/setae and antenna. A properly lit smoker makes working bees easier and more enjoyable. Lighting the smoker from the bottom, establishing a well-lit coal base, and stuffi ng the smoker’s canister tightly with fuel is the key to maintaining a well- lit smoker, emitting plenty of cool, white smoke. Only a puff or two is typically required to control the bees from a well-lit smoker. BC

David MacFawn is a Master Craftsman beekeeper living in the Columbia, SC area. He is author of two books, https://outskirtspress.com/

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 73 How Plants Attract Hello Friends, Summer is here! Pollinators Adventures are awaiting you! &ůŽǁĞƌƐůŝŬĞƚŽƐŚŽǁŽī͘dŚĞ&ůŽǁĞƌƐůŝŬĞƚŽƐŚŽǁŽī͘dŚĞLJƐĂLJ͕͞>ŽŽŬĂƚŵĞ͊^ŵĞůůŵĞ͊dŽƵĐŚŵĞ͊͟tŚLJ͍LJƐĂLJ͕͞>ŽŽŬĂƚŵĞ͊^ŵĞůůŵĞ͊dŽƵĐŚŵĞ͊͟tŚLJ͍ ĞĐĂƵƐĞŇŽǁĞƌƐŶĞĞĚƚŽĂƩƌĂĐƚƚŚĞĂƩĞŶƟŽŶŽĨďĞĞƐ͕ďƵƩĞƌŇŝĞƐ͕ŚƵŵŵŝŶŐďŝƌĚƐ BeeB B.QueenB Qu n ĂŶĚŽƚŚĞƌƉŽůůŝŶĂƚŽƌƐ͘dŚĞƐĞŝŶƐĞĐƚƐĂŶĚĂŶŝŵĂůƐƉƌŽǀŝĚĞƉŽůůŝŶĂƟŽŶďLJĐĂƌƌLJŝŶŐ ƉŽůůĞŶĨƌŽŵŽŶĞŇŽǁĞƌƚŽĂŶŽƚŚĞƌ͘tŚĞŶĂŇŽǁĞƌŝƐƉŽůůŝŶĂƚĞĚ͕ƐĞĞĚƐĐĂŶ Bee B. Queen ĚĞǀĞůŽƉƐŽƚŚĞƌĞĐĂŶďĞĂŶŽƚŚĞƌƉůĂŶƚ͕ƚŽŵĂŬĞĂŶŽƚŚĞƌŇŽǁĞƌƚŽďĞƉŽůůŝŶĂƚĞĚ͕ Challenge ƚŽŵĂŬĞĂŶŽƚŚĞƌƐĞĞĚ͕ƚŽŐƌŽǁĂŶŽƚŚĞƌƉůĂŶƚĂŶĚŽŶĂŶĚŽŶ͘

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&ůŽǁĞƌ^ŚĂƉĞĂŶĚ^ŝnjĞ &ůŽǁĞƌƐĂĐĐŽŵŵŽĚĂƚĞĚŝīĞƌĞŶƚƐŬŝůůƐ͕ǁĞŝŐŚƚ͕ĂŶĚƐŝnjĞŽĨ ƉŽůůŝŶĂƚŽƌƐďLJŽīĞƌĞĚĚŝīĞƌĞŶƚƐŚĂƉĞƐĂŶĚƐŝnjĞƐŽĨ ďůŽŽŵƐ͘,ŽŶĞLJďĞĞƐŶĞĞĚŇŽǁĞƌƐƚŚĂƚŚĂǀĞĂůĂŶĚŝŶŐ ƉĂĚůŝŬĞƐƵŶŇŽǁĞƌƐĂŶĚďĞĞďĂůŵ͘,ƵŵŵŝŶŐďŝƌĚƐĐĂŶ ŚŽǀĞƌƚŽĐŽůůĞĐƚŶĞĐƚĂƌƐŽƚƵďƵůĂƌŇŽǁĞƌƐůŝŬĞ ĐŽůƵŵďŝŶĞĂŶĚĐĂƌĚŝŶĂůŇŽǁĞƌǁŝůůǁŽƌŬĨŽƌƚŚĞŵ͘ 74 BEE CULTURE June 2019 Produced by Kim Lehman -www.kim.lehman.com Design Your Own Flower www.beeculture.com tŚĂƚŬŝŶĚŽĨŇŽǁĞƌǁŽƵůĚĂƩƌĂĐƚLJŽƵ͍ƌĂŝŶďŽǁĐŽůŽƌĞĚŇŽǁĞƌ ƚŚĂƚƐŵĞůůƐůŝŬĞďƵďďůĞŐƵŵĂŶĚŝƐƐŚĂƉĞĚůŝŬĞĂƐůŝĐĞŽĨƉŝnjnjĂ͍ June 2019 ,ĂǀĞĞĂĐŚŽĨLJŽƵƌĨƌŝĞŶĚƐ͕ĐůĂƐƐŵĂƚĞƐŽƌĨĂŵŝůLJŵĞŵďĞƌƐĚĞƐŝŐŶ ĂŇŽǁĞƌƐƉĞĐŝĮĐƚŽƚŚĞŵƐĞůǀĞƐ͘ŽůůĞĐƚĂůůƚŚĞŇŽǁĞƌĚĞƐŝŐŶƐ͘^ĞĞ ŝĨLJŽƵĐĂŶŵĂƚĐŚƚŚĞŇŽǁĞƌƚŽƚŚĞƉĞƌƐŽŶŝƚǁŽƵůĚĂƩƌĂĐƚ͘ ,ĞƌĞĂƌĞƐŽŵĞƋƵĞƐƟŽŶƐƚŽŐĞƚLJŽƵƐƚĂƌƚĞĚŝŶĚĞƐŝŐŶŝŶŐĂŇŽǁĞƌ ũƵƐƚƌŝŐŚƚĨŽƌLJŽƵ͗ ͻtŚĂƚŝƐLJŽƵƌĨĂǀŽƌŝƚĞĐŽůŽƌ͍ ͻtŚĂƚƚŚŝŶŐƐƐŵĞůůŐŽŽĚƚŽLJŽƵ͍ ͻŽLJŽƵůŝŬĞĨĂŶĐLJŽƌƐŝŵƉůĞ  ƚŚŝŶŐƐ͍ ͻtŚĂƚŇĂǀŽƌƐŽƌĨŽŽĚƐĚŽ  LJŽƵĞŶũŽLJ͍ ͻtŚĂƚĂƩƌŝďƵƚĞƐĚŽLJŽƵŚĂǀĞ  ƚŚĂƚŵĂLJĂīĞĐƚŚŽǁ  LJŽƵƌŇŽǁĞƌŐƌŽǁƐ͍ Learn to Observe  ;ŚĞŝŐŚƚ͕ŵŽƌŶŝŶŐ 'ŽŽƵƚƐŝĚĞĂŶĚůŽŽŬĂƚĂǀĂƌŝĞƚLJŽĨĚŝīĞƌĞŶƚŇŽǁĞƌƐ͘  ƉĞƌƐŽŶ͙Ϳ A magnifying glass may be helpful for looking at the ƉĂƌƚƐĂŇŽǁĞƌ͘tƌŝƚĞĚŽǁŶLJŽƵƌŽďƐĞƌǀĂƟŽŶƐ͘ ͻĞƐĐƌŝďĞƚŚĞĐŽůŽƌĂŶĚƐŚĂƉĞ͘ &ĂŝƚŚŶŶ͕&> ͻŽĞƐŝƚŚĂǀĞĂƐŵĞůů͍ ͻĂŶLJŽƵĮŶĚƚŚĞƉĂƌƚƐŽĨƚŚĞŇŽǁĞƌ͍;ƐƚĂŵĞŶƐ͕ ĂŶƚŚĞƌƐ͕ƐƚLJůĞ͕͕ůĞĂǀĞƐ͕ƉĞƚĂůƐ͕ƐƚĞŵ͕;ZĞŵĞŵďĞƌ͕ ƐŽŵĞŇŽǁĞƌƐĂƌĞĐŽŵƉŽƐŝƚĞ͕ŵĞĂŶŝŶŐƚŚĂƚƚŚĞLJ ĂƌĞƌĞĂůůLJŵĂŶLJƟŶLJŇŽǁĞƌƐƉĂĐŬĞĚŝŶƚŽǁŚĂƚ ůŽŽŬƐůŝŬĞŽŶĞŇŽǁĞƌ͘Ϳ DĂƌLJĞƚŚLJůĞƌ͕K,, ͻtŚĂƚŬŝŶĚŽĨƉŽůůŝŶĂƚŽƌƐǁŽƵůĚďĞĂƩƌĂĐƚĞĚƚŽ ƚŚĞŇŽǁĞƌ͍;WŽůůŝŶĂƚŽƌƐǁŝƚŚůŽŶŐŽƌƐŚŽƌƚ ƚŽŶŐƵĞƐ͕ůĂƌŐĞŽƌƐŵĂůůƐŝnjĞĚ  ďŽĚŝĞƐ͕ĂďŝůŝƚLJƚŽŚŽǀĞƌ͙Ϳ

Whath did the big flower say to the small flower? What’s up, bud? Beecome a Bee Buddy Thank You Flowers! Send two self addressed Name &ůŽǁĞƌƐŶŽƚŽŶůLJĂƩƌĂĐƚ stamped envelopes and Address Age pollinators but they also the following information to: Bee Buddies, PO Box Birthday Month ĂƩƌĂĐƚŚƵŵĂŶƐ͘tĞƐƚŽƉĂŶĚ E-mail 1693, Bastrop, TX 78602. take in the scent of the roses (optional) ǁŚŝůĞǁĂůŬŝŶŐďLJ͘tĞĚƌŝǀĞƚŽ ůŽŽŬĂƚďĞĂƵƟĨƵůǁŝůĚŇŽǁĞƌƐ We will send you a membership card, a ŐƌŽǁŝŶŐĂůŽŶŐƚŚĞƌŽĂĚ͘tĞ prize and a birthday surprise! ƉůĂŶƚŇŽǁĞƌƐƚŚĂƚďƌŝŶŐĐŽůŽƌ ĂŶĚũŽLJŝŶƚŽŽƵƌǁŽƌůĚƐ͘ Send all questions, photos and artwork to: [email protected] or mail to the above address. dŚĂŶŬLJŽƵŇŽǁĞƌƐ͊June 2019 BEE CULTURE 75 (G<(1($>G*7:G ,E+.(5/$G "(, B.7:G ,75(EG 9:7&@$>.75G 3/>(G :( 5$(G 5&G+(5>1(5(<<G Improve your beekeeping skills! ONLINE COURSES 
       
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76 BEE CULTURE June 2019 A Honey Bee’s Guide To Managing Beekeepers Peter Sieling The Beekeeper’s most common drones (males). Unlike bees, nearly occurs multiple times. Females don’t complaint, after the cost of equipment, every female is a fertile queen. drive them out in the Fall and they bad queens, government idiots, and Most astonishing is the fact that continue to consume valuable stores low honey prices, is that bees don’t these queen-like workers don’t year round! It seems not only contrary read and follow the advice of how-to kill each other when they come in to the law of natural selection, but bee books. They swarm in spite of contact. Females apparently produce also a powerful argument against the the most modern swarm prevention a pheromone which inhibits this theory of Intelligent Design. methods. They reject the queen you natural tendency, although some just bought for $40. The more time Communication you spend inserting expensive Beekeepers, with their chemicals into your hives to kill poor sense of smell, must use pests, the more dead bees and more rudimentary forms of empty moldy equipment you have communication. They do this in the Spring. with a complex series of sounds It turns out bees do read emitted through the proboscis books – of sorts. I discovered (an orifice located on the lower this one day as I studied the portion of the head) by exhaling mysterious washboard dance on foul gases produced in their the front of the hive. It resembles respiratory system, and moving the computer assembly language and air over and between various mouth as I watched, I started to make organs. Beekeepers also use visual out common patterns. I made a communication – a series of shapes digital recording, then downloaded printed on sheets of compressed Google’s washboard dance/ wood pulp, called “books”. English translation program (the free version). Imagine my Controlling Beekeepers amazement when I discovered Beekeepers, like mites, can’t be this: eradicated. Therefore, bees must strive to minimize their damage. How to Manage Beekeepers Beekeepers aren’t content to just The most serious threat remove a portion of our honey facing bees today is the common and pollen to feed to their young. Beekeeper (Homo destructor). They paw through the brood nest, No doubt you’ve seen these rearrange combs, pack us onto large vile creatures peering down at conveyances and move us to distant you after ripping off your roof. areas with poor food resources, They smell like smoke and cover insert dangerous chemicals into themselves with a synthetic, sting- our colonies, and spread diseases resistant skin. Beekeepers cause researchers have observed frequent across the globe – then wonder why more destruction to honey bees than aggressive behavior in both worker/ we die. In an attempt to save us, they Colony Collapse Disorder, Varroa worker and especially in worker/ again paw through and rearrange mites, American foulbrood, Nosema drone interactions. It is believed that our combs and insert ever more ceranae, and bears combined. They human queens are less fertile than deadly chemicals into our hives with inhabit every continent and efforts to honey bees, laying less 1000 eggs per contaminated gloves and hive tools. eradicate them have largely failed. It day. They can live up to ten years and It makes you wish you could sting is, therefore, to the bee’s advantage possibly even longer. them multiple times. to understand the habits and control Drone beekeepers have two methods for this virulent pest. primary functions: robbing honey bee Stinging colonies and mating with the females. Our best defense is our stinger. Beekeeper Biology Emerging science suggests the Pretend to be gentle until the Beekeepers consist of only shocking claim that male beekeepers beekeeper has torn your hive into two castes, queens (females) and survive mating and that mating pieces, then send out waves of

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 77  kamikaze bees while he or she Integrated Beekeeper Management. have lots of spaces between the walls tries to put it back together. To Some principles include: that make excellent cavities for bee discourage beekeepers, find gaps Swarm early and often. After colonies. in their protective covering. For swarming early, swarm late. When Beekeepers, because they example, when beekeepers squat swarming, don’t settle too high or possess virtually no instinct, rely or bend over, a large gap frequently too low. Beekeepers have a self- heavily on books to survive and to opens on their lower back between preservation gene and will reject a manage bees. This means they don’t the shirt and trousers. Better yet, try swarm 50 feet high. Settle somewhere respond quickly to subtle variations entering clothing between the sock between nine and 49 feet. Beekeepers of conditions as we do. Books don’t and trouser cuff. Upon entering a are quite clumsy and when falling change quickly and once one is pant leg, always crawl up, working from that height, they frequently published it can’t be updated easily. your way to the inside of the leg. don’t get up, like mites falling on a This means that the honey bee’s best Once you pass the knees, continue sticky board. defense against Homo destructor is upward. Beekeepers will become Try swarming in the rain. If you the numerous how-to bee books in anxious, and will quickly replace the are caught, your natural instinct is print. hive cover and leave the area. to chew the foundation right down to Unfortunately the translation The beekeeper veil may seem the wires. It costs beekeepers about a stopped abruptly when the bees to be an impenetrable barrier, but dollar a sheet. If your beekeeper uses noticed my cell phone recording beekeepers rarely replace old veils. plastic frames, fi nd some American them. Two bees suddenly fl ew up my You can frequently gain access to foulbrood spores and spread the pants legs while a third found the gap the face through an opening in the disease through the brood nest. between my shirt and pants. A fourth metal-fatigued screen. Once in, don’t Beekeepers hate that. found a hole in my veil and stung sting immediately. Make a few orbits Don’t make honey, or make too the end of my nose. I broke a new around the head or burrow into the much honey. Disappear, leaving only record that day when I leaped over hair. This gives other bees time to the queen. Ball your queen for no the electric fence, clearing three of fi nd the hole in the veil while the apparent reason. Move right in with the four wires. I wish I’d remembered beekeeper fl ails his arms, attracting the beekeepers. Human colonies to shut off the electricity. BC still more bees and increasing his personal distress. When stinging, aim for areas with concentrated nerve endings, such JZ’s BZ’s as lips, the tip of the nose, and ears. Look for and enter orifi ces such as ear 866-559-0525 canals, nostrils, or the oral cavity – particularly effective if entered during an intake of breath caused by another to order bee crawling up the inside thigh. Cups, Cages Integrated Beekeeper Management (IBM) & Cell Bars Effective stinging offers only a temporary solution. Long term management solutions require

78 BEE CULTURE June 2019 Fire Up The BBQ

The calendar might say the fi rst distinctive fl avors work very well in tea or a nice cool punch or other day of the Summer season is June barbecue sauces; ones with a mild beverage. 21 but that has been set by the earth fl avor can be used with any recipe. and sun. People use the Memorial Now it’s time to dust off your grill. HONEY ICE CUBES Day holiday at the end of May to begin If you have a large grill you need to ½ cup honey Summer. Cooking meals outside and make sure it is not occupied by a 2 cups very hot water being joined by friends and neighbors swarm from one of your hives. Bees 2 tablespoons lemon juice will now be popular. You have some are very clever at finding a small honey from last year’s harvest so now entrance to a dry cavity. Swarms Blend the honey with the hot is the time to have a BBQ party using making themselves at home in a grill water and lemon juice. Pour into ice that honey. Invite your neighbors have been found so you might have cube trays and freeze at once. Serve whether they live just through the a bigger cleanup than you expected. with lemonade or any fruit punch. garden gate or several miles away. Your favorite grilling tools are Delicious in iced tea, too. Tell them your honey will be featured. ready for the season, all wrapped up Joy with Honey Although honey will be an in that silly apron. You fi nally got a Doris Mech ingredient in all the recipes for new pair of insulated mitts for this today’s barbecue it might be wise year’s grilling. Guests have been So you invited all your beekeeper not to mention that at the beginning. invited for the Start of Summer BBQ. friends. You might need this next Many consider honey as just a Here are some recipes you can try recipe because it makes a large sweetener. Adding sweetness to a now and during grilling season. amount. It’s another recipe you can recipe is true when used in quantity The day before your barbecue make beforehand and keep cool until in a recipe for something sweet, you can make some honey ice cubes. serving time. but in small amounts it is a fl avor Then as your guests are arriving enhancer. Just a small amount does you can dump the cubes into an not make a dish taste sweet – it just ice bucket. They can be used for ice Ann Harman tastes better! Honeys with a strong or distinctive fl avor could dominate the fl avor of some dishes. You can certainly experiment with honey recipes using your own honey and then with other honeys. One precaution to keep in mind – honey will scorch more easily than sugar. Using lower temperatures, adding sauces to grilled foods later during cooking, and shorter time exposed to heat will all help to control scorching. Nobody wants a steak, chop or burger tasting like burned toast. Honeys with strong or

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 79  LEMONADE HONEY PUNCH 1 teaspoon basil, crushed Combine honey, soy sauce and For Ginger Honey Syrup: ¾ teaspoon salt lemon juice. Mix well. Add lamb and 1 cup honey ½ teaspoon white pepper chill one hour, turning occasionally. 5 thin slices of ginger, peeled ¼ teaspoon garlic powder Remove lamb. Reserve honey mixture. ½ cup water ½ cup feta cheese, fi nely crumbled Grill lamb 3 to 4 inches from source of heat for six to seven minutes. Turn For Lemonade: In a medium bowl, combine all and top with onion slices and grill 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice ingredients; mix well. Refrigerate six to seven minutes longer. Brush 24 ounces apple juice at least one hour to allow fl avors to lamb with honey mixture frequently 5 cups water – you can substitute blend. Stir before using and serve during cooking. club soda for the water with vegetables. Arizona Cook Book lemon slices for serving National Honey Board Throughout the season take Simmer the Ginger Honey Syrup Although beef is a popular meat advantage of the succession of fruits in a heavy saucepan for about 30 for grilling, using other meats during ripening. They make a refreshing minutes. Set aside to cool. Remove barbecuing season give a nice variety dessert during hot weather. Use this the ginger slices and discard. In a of fl avors. These next two recipes can quickly-made sauce over ice cream, large pitcher combine the lemon be used throughout the season. Since angel food cake or sliced fresh fruit. juice, apple juice and water. If using they are both for chops cooking time club soda instead of water, add it will be quick. HONEY BERRY PUREE before serving. Stir in the cooled 2 cups blackberries or raspberries Ginger Honey Syrup. Fill each glass ROSEMARY PORK CHOPS ¼ cup honey with ice and the lemonade, garnish 4 center-cut pork chops 2 tablespoons fruit-fl avored or regular with a lemon slice. Makes 10 cups. 1 cup apple juice brandy (optional) National Honey Board ½ cup cranberry juice ¼ cup lemon juice Puree blackberries in blender TERIYAKI STEAK APPETISERS 1 teaspoon pepper or food processor. If desired, press 1-1/2 pounds sirloin steak 1 teaspoon salt through sieve to remove seeds. Or 1/3 cup salad oil ¼ cup honey mash berries with a fork. Stir in ½ cup chopped onion 1 tablespoon rosemary honey and brandy, if desired, until 1 crushed garlic clove 1 teaspoon sage blended. Serve over angel food cake 1/3 cup soy sauce or sliced fruit. 1/3 cup honey Combine all ingredients except National Honey Board ½ teaspoon ginger pork chops and mix well. Pour over chops in a shallow dish or in plastic If you didn’t find a swarm Cut steak across grain into long bag. Marinate in refrigerator for two establishing itself in your grill, evict strips. Combine all ingredients in pan to 24 hours. (Short marinating times any other critters and then you or plastic bag and add steak strips. give better results.) Grill chops for 12 are ready to begin enjoying grilling Marinate several hours, turning to 15 minutes, turning once. season – with honey, of course. BC several times. Shake excess marinade SueBee Honey Collector’s from strips. Put strips on metal Edition Cook Book Ann Harman cooks with honey, skewers and grill until browned. teaches new beekeepers and writes for Williamson Co. Texas Area HONEYED LAMB CHOPS Bee Culture from her home in Flint Hill, VA. Beekeepers Assoc. Cookbook 4 loin lamb chops, 1-inch thick ¼ cup honey Everyone likes something to 2 teaspoons soy sauce nibble on while waiting for the main ¼ cup lemon juice dish to come off the grill. Prepare a 4 onion slices tray of various veggies such as carrot strips or the colorful mini-carrots, broccoli, caulifl ower, sweet pepper strips, sliced radishes. Here is a delicious dip for them.

BEES IN THE HERB GARDEN DIP 1 pint sour cream 6 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed, undiluted 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon cream-style horseradish 2 teaspoons rosemary, crushed 1 teaspoon chervil, crushed

80 BEE CULTURE June 2019 Project Apis m. Your “go-to” non- profit honey bee research organization, with programs in the USA & Canada  PAm is dedicated to enhancing the health of honey bees while improving crop and honey production. 



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June 2019 BEE CULTURE 81 EXTERNAL HIVE INSPECTION You can tell a lot about colony conditions by simply watching the hive entrance.

In the age of ubiquitous Varroa Swarming couple weeks to be sure they are on mites, potentially devastating Keep bees long enough and you’re the path to becoming queen-right. small hive beetles, unpredictable bound to eventually come upon a weather patterns, rampant viral hive with thousands of bees pouring Full Pollen Baskets infections, nosema with minimal out of it, even when additional room Bees carrying pollen into the hive symptoms and antibiotic resistant has been added in response to the packed onto their hind legs indicates American foulbrood, it is hard to bearding behavior (more on this a couple things. First it means that exaggerate the importance of regular below). The bees will all take to the the bees are raising brood. Whether hive inspections. While a thorough air creating a huge humming cloud the brood is worker or drone, or and complete inspection cannot be before usually settling down nearby both, will take opening up the hive conducted without opening up the to form a cluster. Thus, observations and inspecting the brood nest. Pollen hive, much can be deciphered prior should not be restricted to just the being brought into the hive also tells to opening up a hive, by observing hives, or even within the apiary. the beekeeper about the types of what is happening outside. During the swarming season it is plants that are in bloom at the time. good to always look for “bees in the General activity level trees” all around the beeyard so there Heavy loads One of the fi rst and most obvious is a chance you can capture a new How the bees land at the entrance indications of the overall health (old) colony, even if you miss their of the hive can reveal a lot about the and well-being of a colony can be mass exodus. amount of nectar being collected by deduced from simply observing the foragers. While the average load is level of activity at the hive entrance. Mating fl ights typically in the 20-40mg range, it is Generally speaking the more activity Even rarer, though still within claimed that a worker bee can carry observed in front of the entrance, the the realm of possibility, is seeing a up to 100mg of nectar in its crop or better. When more than one hive is queen bee at the hive entrance. A honey stomach. (BIP 2011) The honey located in an apiary, it is fairly easy virgin queen will sit at the entrance, bee is normally very agile, but when to tell which colonies are strong with grooming herself by cleaning her weighed down with a heavy load, not a large population of bees and which antenna prior to taking off on her so much. Foragers that land heavy are weak. The struggling colonies orientation or mating fl ights. Upon on the landing board at the hive have less activity at the entrance than return from a successful mating entrance and waddle slowly into the the stronger ones. fl ight, the tip of her abdomen will hive, or lose their grip when trying carry the remains of the reproductive to land on a vertical surface by an organs of the last drone she mated upper hive entrance and fall down with. Opportunities to spot a virgin to the bottom board before heading queen are extremly limited and don’t inside are signs that the foragers expect to see her during inclement are arriving with a heavy load, there weather. are copious amounts of nectar being collected and the honey fl ow is on. Balling the queen Make sure the colony doesn’t run out Observing a small tight ball of of storage space. bees near the hive entrance with a queen in its center is an another rare Air conditioning occurrence, one that I have only seen Another sign of a honey fl ow that once in my 27 years of beekeeping. is detectable without opening up For one reason or another, when a the hive is the heavy smell of nectar queen is not desirable to a colony, stored in the honey comb being she is forced out of the hive and dehydrated and converted into honey. (hopefully) replaced by the bees. This is usually accompanied by Ross Conrad Check back on such a hive within a dozens of bees at the hive entrance all

82 BEE CULTURE June 2019 lined up in the same direction fanning their wings intently. This coordinated movement of air through the colony can also be seen during periods of hot weather when the bees need to cool the interior of the hive in order to maintain the optimum brood rearing temperature of 94-95˚F (34-35˚C) and may be accompanied by bees bearding on the outside of the hive.

Bearding When a colony has thousands of bees clustered on the outside of the hive creating a bee beard, it usually means one of two things. Either the colony is overheating and most of the hive’s inhabitants have moved outside in order to allow for greater air fl ow (and heat removal) from within the brood nest, or the hive is so crowded The activity level outside of the hive can tell you a lot about the colony’s that there is little room inside for all condition before you remove the cover and look inside. the bees to fi t comfortably. In both cases, the colony will likely benefi t is often accompanied by the piping of Chalk brood mummies are from additional room added to the new queens. commonly found lying near the hive, additional ventilation, or both entrance of infected hives as and should be watched closely for Refuse out front housecleaning worker bees perform signs of swarming. Hive detritus scattered about their work. Meanwhile, dead larvae on the ground in front of the hive and pupae may be dragged from the Amount of honey in the hive entrance can provide an indication hive after suffering chill brood or Without opening the hive, the of the colony’s condition. harm from treatments for diseases or beekeeper can get a good feel for Dead bees are normal at certain pests like Varroa. Grass matted down how much honey is in the hive by times of the year such as late Winter, in front of the hive and droppings lifting up on one end of the bottom but can be a tell-tale warning sign that resembles cat feces with bits hive body. This “heft test” gives only at other times of the season. Look at of honey bees in it, are a sign that a rough idea and unless the hive is the condition of the dead bees. Are skunks have been feeding on the bees impossible to lift, the hive will still the wings shriveled and deformed? in your hive. The number of clues to have to be opened in order to more Think Varroa. Do the dead bees all a colonies state of health and well- accurately assess and confi rm the have their tongues sticking out? being that can be found simply by level of honey stored within the hive. Think pesticides. Are the bodies of looking at the dead bees by the hive the bees half eaten? A mouse or other entrance are astounding. Take the Smell scavenger has gotten there before you time to look closely. Most of the smells associated and eaten the evidence. with beekeeping and bee hives are wonderfully pleasing: The sweet smell of honey; the vanilla scent of propolis; and the aromatic delight of beeswax. However there is one smell that is not so pleasing, the unpleasant smell of American foulbrood. If you are located in an area where goldenrod is abundant and in bloom, don’t confuse the musky sour smell of goldenrod nectar being converted into honey with the foul smell of AFB.

Sound When inspecting a colony, do not overlook your sense of hearing. The sounds that emanate from a hive can tell you whether the colony is alive, such as a gentle hum of a colony clustered up during Winter, or in the process of raising a new queen which Recently deceased bees in the snow are an indication that the hive is still alive.

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 83  Robbing Finding small pieces of wax cappings in or around the hive entrance? It could be a sign that the colony is being robbed out by others. Additional clues that may indicate the presence of robbing behavior are overly aggressive guard bees and the hive is light on honey (see heft test above). A colony being robbed of its honey can easily be mistaken for a strong hive simply due to the amount of bee activity at the hive entrance. Look closely at the fl ight activity of the worker bees fl ying in and around the hive. Robbing bees will hover around the entrance with numerous quick, jerky motions before they land. This behavior is quite different from a returning forager that belongs to the hive, as they will tend to fl y in a more direct path, land and then calmly walk into the hive without much resistance or challenge from guard bees at the entrance. If you suspect robbing, the fi rst thing you should do is reduce the size of the hive entrance, and then check to see if the colony has enough food or whether it needs to be fed.

Orientation fl ights Another event that will result in a lot of activity outside the entrance of the hive is when a large number of young bees all reach the age when they transition to become foragers at around the same time. Young bees making their fi rst orientation fl ights outside the hive can look a bit like robber bees, as they all face the hive entrance and hover back and forth in front of the hive, sometimes landing by the hive entrance and then taking to the air again as they learn to recognize their home. Look for some Pollen being brought into the hive is a sign of brood rearing. This pollen of the other indications to be sure chart will help you identify which plants the bee pollen has been gathered what you think may be orientation from by matching the color of the pollen with the color on the chart. MyBee- Line – fl ights really are not robbers. www.mybeeline.co Note the time of day you see this, too. Early morning, even up to lunch beekeeper valuable time by providing History of Vermont Beekeeping published time is too early for these fl ights. They an idea of what to look for once the by Green Writers’ Press. are mid to late afternoon activities. hive cover is removed. BC Although there is much one can BIP- Bee Informed Partnership, determine about the state of a colony Ross Conrad is the Author of Natural (2011) From the fl ower to the hive, Basic without opening the hive, external Beekeeping: Revised and Expanded Beekeeping, Cool Entomology: https:// inspections cannot defi nitively tell Edition and Co-author of the newly beeinformed.org/2011/07/21/from-the- you all that much. Ultimately external released Land of Milk and Honey: A fl ower-to-the-hive/ inspections are NOT a substitute for opening up the hive in most instances. Inspecting the conditions outside a hive is simply part of a full inspection and can help save the

84 BEE CULTURE June 2019 BIGGER PICTURE Jessica Louque Package Installation It’s that time of year again, where toddler toys to mark apiaries and said We tried explaining that we we forget all the bad things that giving markers to the bees prevented would not have visitors, or a need for happened in beekeeping seasons drift. What I heard was “Greg said we handicapped parking, because if you past and get excited about new bees should buy a lot of yard fl amingoes had to have handicapped parking you and new honey fl ows and all of the and put them in front of the bees” and wouldn’t be able to run from an angry seasonal entertainments that come ordered zombie fl amingoes. Greg tried cloud of bees that some negligent tech with a new year of bees. For us, that to assure Bobby that he did not say on a cell phone knocked over. We means getting ready for the season any of those things when the Amazon ended up having to rent offi ce space with last minute orders to Dadant packages arrived. I think the awful in town, and build our ag barn. and pretty much anyone else we work green color was Greg’s retribution Somehow this was suspicious and with – just to make sure everyone is for the fl amingo fi asco. The red was they have blocked us continuously on as frantic as us. This year, we were somewhat the fault of Lowe’s because getting electricity and water in the running late as always, and made one year, I had a gallon of true red building, saying they are just waiting it by the skin of our teeth getting Valspar paint but on the hives, to write us up if they fi nd an offi ce in everything in order. We called Patrick it turned out this odd pink color. the barn. I am assuming that a small and Mark at the Tightsqueeze Dadant Apparently, Bobby wasn’t looking for part of this comes from people not in Virginia and asked them to send a repeat pink and went with brick. understanding contract research, but us 160 double deep hives’ worth of One of our problems was being most of it is just this one guy giving equipment with plastic frames and able to feed all the colonies. We’re us problems. feeders, IPM boards, and robbing still getting up and running with that It also seems to be a diffi cult screens. As always, they may have amount of bees, and we’ve had a lot of concept to understand that I want cried a little when they were off the issues with the zoning and planning internet in the building to upload phone, but everything was ready to department here in our county. We data from a weather station 24/7, not go for us. We talked to Susan and originally tried to build an ag building to hook up my offi ce computer and Tim down at the Carolina Honey Bee that had offi ces in it, but some well- work in a metal building with no AC Company in Travelers Rest, South meaning neighbors had talked to the in August. The biggest problem with Carolina, and Bobby drove down to zoning board and told them about this is that we don’t have running hot pick up the packages. As always, they our “ag business” and they basically water or electricity to make our sugar were good packages, but we had a treated us like a Dollar General that’s syrup, or cold storage for our sugar. pretty good running joke when Tim run outside. We go through about 19,000 pounds told us one of the guys was red/green color blind so he couldn’t tell the difference when they were marking queens, meaning we have both in this year’s batch. We only had three packages not take out of 160, and by the look of it, they just moved over a couple hives into some monster colonies. I made the mistake of letting Bobby pick the colors this year. What I mean to say is that I told him to get “primary rainbow colors” except for orange. Bright royal blue, crayon yellow, grass green, etc. What we ended up with was baby poop green and brick red, no purple at all – at least blue and yellow were good. I blame some of this on Greg, our biologist, because I was making fun of him a few days before the paint choosing. He had read this paper Bobby, Maggie, Henry, Greg, George, Jessie, and Charlie about a guy who used his kid’s hiding his giant forehead sting

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 85 all kinds of crazy things, like a pound which is about 13,000 pounds of of sugar to a bucket of water (doesn’t sugar. During the six weeks of the matter what size bucket, it’s always study, we will use about 55 gallons just a pound of sugar), a bag of sugar of syrup per week, using about 200 (any size will do) to any bucket size of pounds of sugar per week. After that, water, a pound of sugar to a gallon of we’ll boost up the feeding again in water, a pound of sugar to a liter of September to augment the fall fl ow water – all bad math. with as much as they will eat. In reality, a gallon of water weighs The best thing for this year’s roughly eight pounds. This means for package installation was being able every gallon of water, you should to fi nally have everybody involved. be adding roughly eight pounds of We all decided that George was old sugar. If you mix in a five-gallon enough to help (mostly because we container, you’re only going to get were getting tired and we needed about 2.5-3 gallons of water because more hands) after realizing that you have to add 20-24 pounds of Charlie had been helping since he sugar as well. For us mixing in a was younger than George is now. 300 gallon tank, every 100 gallons of While Bobby drove down to South water is roughly 800 pounds of sugar. Carolina, I had Greg, Henry, and We’re feeding 160 colonies (give or Charlie helping me take fi ve frames take a few weaker, dead, or stronger out of every hive, spray the other ones) ne to two gallons per week, so fi ve with sugar water, set the queen maybe 300 gallons of sugar syrup at excluder, feeder, and lid behind the 1:1 per week. To make 320 gallons, hives, and get the ratchet straps you can do a rough estimate and put ready. Charlie was having a slow day in 180 gallons of water and then fi ll at school so we let him stay home Package in the hive. to the 300-gallon mark with sugar. (much to Maggie’s dismay). For purchasing, 180 gallons is about When Bobby came in with the of sugar a year in our bee studies, and 1440 pounds of sugar added in, bees, it was just in time for Maggie if we buy it in bulk (18 pallets full fi ts likely rounded to 57 of the 25-pound and George to be home from school. in a standard semi truck), we get it bags. We will only feed them like this We are not conventional package a lot cheaper but we have to store it. through the first couple weeks of installers – at least from what I’ve Even if we buy in a store for normal June or so, then it drops to two liters seen from other installations. We price, we buy everything they have in per week for studies. open the package, take the can out, stock of 25 pound bags and it’s not We’ll use roughly 520 bags of and put the whole package in the hive going to be enough. We’ve worked out sugar that weigh 25 pounds during and put the queen between the fi ve a deal with Walmart for the time being the Spring season on package bees, remaining frames. The front is closed of ordering by the pallet, so we’ll see up with the robbing screens so they how long this holds up. stay in for 24 hours, sugar syrup is At the suggestion of Tim (Carolina added to the feeder and sometimes Honey Bee), we created a sugar pump we throw a little pollen on top of the system similar to his since we don’t frames, and then we open them up have access to the level of hot water sometime the next day. Having the that we need to mix higher than a queen in the frames helps the bees 1:1 sugar syrup. Bobby and Greg put migrate over unless there was already everything together and hooked it all a queen in the package, which does up on our trailer, cutting down on the happen sometimes. Tim’s bees have mixing in a bunch of fi ve-gallon water anomalies where there are multiple carriers and having the kids take it queens in his colonies and we usually out in pitchers (that’s what we did get three to fi ve packages that have on the day of package installation). two queens. It still takes a little work, but the They are also very chill bees. pump keeps the syrup constantly Maggie and Charlie are a little rough circulating so the sugar doesn’t settle with package installation and both and stays in solution. had a couple stings. Charlie in The difficulty lies in getting particular had one in his forehead through the fi elds if it’s wet or muddy because he said he was too manly with so much weight. Think about to wear a veil (a regrettable decision that math for a minute. I know people later but he doubled down and had teach this occasionally wrong in another sting because he wouldn’t beginner beekeeper classes, but let’s wear it after the fi rst sting). talk about sugar syrup ratios. A 1:1 To be fair, I wasn’t wearing a veil ratio is roughly a pound of sugar to Charlie, Greg and Henry spraying either and probably prompted him to a pound of water. I’ve seen people do frames. not do it either, but I don’t get stung

86 BEE CULTURE June 2019 very often if I keep my hair back (and Olivarez Honey Bees/Big stay away from Maggie and Charlie). Island Queens is seeking Henry didn’t get any stings, I didn’t motivated beekeepers to get any stings, and I think Bobby join our Hawaii team! Ex- and Greg both had one each but they perience preferred. Self-mo- STANDING installed the most packages. George tivator and ability to work in was a sugar carrier and didn’t get a a team environment a plus. Positions are full lot of bee action. We were lucky to time, salary based on experience. Great Bene- GUARD fi ts Package. Prior work history and references have slightly cool, sunny weather for required. Advancement opportunities avail- the most part and get everything done able. Submit resume to [email protected] or BC NIGHT before nightfall. Olivarez Honey Bees Inc/Big Island Queens, P O Box 847 Orland Ca 95963, Fax: 530- Jessica Louque and her husband Bobby 865-5570, Phone 530-865-0298 AFTER run Louque Agricultural Enterprises, a contract research business specializing in apicultural studies. NIGHT!

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June 2019 BEE CULTURE 87 WE’RE BUYING HONEY ACROSS THE U.S.A.

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88 BEE CULTURE June 2019 The beginning, but not the end Bee books are generally at the beginning phase of one’s beekeeping journey, but bee books are rarely at The Vermin the end of that journey. Using book information and information gleaned from others, we learn to fl y in our beekeeping lives. Like some young birds, we fl y clumsily at fi rst, but with practice and experience, both birds Season Has and beekeepers – each in their own way – become adroit fl yers. After years of experience and education, most of us become accomplished beekeepers. Begun Bee books vs bee experience Bee books and publications Book information and advice is fi xed and rigid. In Go read about it . . . an attempt to soften that informational rigidity, many authors use “weasel” words like usually, frequently, and What one bee book teaches... mostly; but in the end – in one easy chapter – complex 1. Skunks like feeding at hive entrances. book topics such as Swarming, Requeening, and 2. Skunks generally come at night. Wintering are discussed and fi nalized. Seemingly, if the 3. They can withstand stings in the mouth and nose beekeeper performs a hypothetical list of recommended 4. They upset the bees causing the colony to be aggressive items, chaotic subjects (such as those listed above) the next day become contained and manageable. 5. For multiple reasons, mostly odoriferous ones, skunks In my mind, I see an analogy of an eight-year old kid are diffi cult to trap learning the fundamentals of the piano. True, at fi rst 6. The book says that I should: build a fence, elevate what they play is music of a sort, but the same musical my hive stands, put contrivances on the hive entrance piece played by a musician with years of practice and that discourage skunks (most contrivances are home- experience is vastly improved. Bee book information is a designed, and none are standard) critical aspect of beekeeping, but without the aging and smoothing effects of competence and experience, the What experience teaches . . . bee-book-beekeeper stays trapped in the rigid phase of 1. You have precious few friends if you have captured a herky-jerky beekeeping.1 skunk in a live-capture trap in your beeyard. 2. Skunks do not consent to drowning without one ugly, Experience and events stinky fi ght. This is not my personal experience but was Acquiring and/or accumulating beekeeping experience told to me by a good source. and competence is rarely controlled and measured. In the 3. The skunk stench in the apiary is far, far more “Experience” world of beekeeping, the swarm is departing, persistent than any book ever indicated. The odor can and you are not prepared. Adrenalin-charged emotions linger for weeks. Oh, the many pleasant memories of the causes the excited beekeeper to run, shout, and formulate skunk eradication/relocation process. plans as the swarm begins to depart. Bee books simply 4. It’s disconcerting to have skunks in the beeyard when cannot elicit adrenalin fl ows in beekeepers like a runaway moving bees at night. Their eyes glow. swarm or a sting in the nose. 5. A casual fence will not keep anything out – including Experience acquisition comes fast. I sense that one skunks. So, it must be a serious fence. Even then, is really only in the pure book phase of beekeeping for most animals easily dig under them. “So, bury the fence the fi rst year or two. By then, experience has taught bottom.” Good advice. I will work for hours burying the things like package queens are not always successfully introduced, and comb construction is not what you thought it would be. Reading about bees and experiencing bees and their ways is a lifetime journey for those who stay in beekeeping. Gathering experience and experiences never ends.

So, I have skunks in my beeyard The vermin season has begun. Of all the books I have digested and all the pamphlets I have read, I am still uncertain how to deal with the consequences of the “Vermin Season.” The skunks are already here. The racoons and groundhogs will soon follow. Even the occasional squirrel and woodpecker will become involved. They always do.

1In April 2019, Bee Culture, I discussed some bee books that have meant a lot to me. I love bee books – new and old. My comments are not meant to refl ect James E. Tew otherwise.

June 2019 BEE CULTURE 89 my bee hives is brief, high-quality time. And then, even during that brief time, I must stop, clean my hands, and photograph some of the bee things I am seeing so I will have visuals for you in future articles and in my videos. I am not complaining but describing necessities. Much of our bee work is not actually bee work at all. On those days when actual bee management is ongoing, the moment should be savored. Such true bee moments are rare. Okay, enough break. Let’s get on with it.

Finally . . . The skunks and the other animals were here last year. They are here this year and, no doubt, they will be here next season. For those reading this piece and who have a highly compassionate opinion about animals My skunk family’s front door. There’s no place like home. being allowed to coexist with our bees, I do not disagree. But I wish they would live in the bushes – not under my storage barns or around my bees. A few years ago, at one fence bottom in a trench about 18” deep. Right. I’m time, I had six skunks living beneath a small storage barn 70 years old. I will not be digging a two-foot trench to near my home. Due to increased populations of vermin, bury fence. I have few friends (none) who are physically I cannot feed birds. I was feeding a lot of animals other able to do the digging for me. The fence suggestion isn’t than birds. practical for me or many other beekeepers. So, I wonder, is this common bee management issue 6. Trapping, relocating, shooting, poisoning – state and truly covered in the bee books? I don’t feel that it is. county regulations abound. I can legally do none of Maybe vermin populations are simply a natural part of those things. Plus, this is a very distasteful procedure. beekeeping. Are any of you doing anything novel with the In Ohio, vermin cannot be relocated or trapped. bee/vermin issue? Maybe solar-powered electric fencing? Options? Well, I guess I shouldn’t go any farther. Feeding large amounts of bubble gum? I’ve been told that works. Maybe we should all just adjust to the smell of Let’s take a break for a few paragraphs… fresh skunk. Otherwise, it seems to be a never-ending I’m as surprised as anyone that I am writing about obnoxious battle. this skunk topic at this point. When I sat before my blank- screened computer this morning, my embryonic kernel of Then the bill came . . . an idea was to complain about mice invading my Winter Last month, I described the effects of a storm pushing dead-out equipment and how this pest has overtaken my down two large trees in my apiary. Upon examination, a storage barn and has chewed the wiring on my tractor. tree that remained standing was seriously diseased and I truly do not know what to do about the mice in my would seemingly be dead within a year or two. To allow barn, in my dead-out equipment, or in my life. Trap and/ me to run my new apiary fence up to the nearest healthy or poison? I have grandkids and the neighbors have cats. tree, this standing tree came down, too. Bottom line, I really don’t have a good plan for mice, skunks, or any three trees came down. The other bottom line – the bill for other vermin in my yard. I wonder what some of you do. services was just under $5000 for three trees and stump So much of my beekeeping tasks are not really grinding. That was a painful but necessary number, but keeping bees but are indirectly aimed at keeping bees. It’s the expense of the tree removal caper ravaged my bee fence building, it’s vermin control, it’s grass cutting and operation budget. Some yard improvements will not get weed trimming, and it’s article writing. The many tasks, done this season. such as these, aid and support my beekeeping, but I am For a quick review of some reasons for the expense, not actually managing my bees when I perform these I asked that the company move fast. The ground was tasks. As I have written before, the actual time I spend in frozen and due to the cold, the bees were quiet. In my area, storm damage was common. Other jobs were ahead of mine, but due to my two reasons, I was bumped to the front of the list. Apparently, bumping to the head of the line is not cheap. Indeed, the ground did thaw a bit and indeed, the bees did begin to fl y. Changes were made and all ended well. The bees were never aggressive but explaining that to the landscape workers was naive folly. You can trust me on this point – there are no chapters in books on how to manage this beeyard/tree removal problem. One just makes up solutions as one goes along. A charge card is a necessary tool.

If I had any good luck, it ran out . . . In this area of Ohio, fence installation people are busy One of my glowing eyed nocturnal seasonal friends. in the Spring season. A company I used before could do 90 BEE CULTURE June 2019 the work in fi ve weeks. I confessed to them about the bees my cap and fell (or fl ew) back behind my glasses again. being in their work area and in fi ve weeks (late May or This time – she stung me on my upper left eyelid and very early June), there would be plenty of fl ight. scored a good one. Don’t you know – don’t you just know that the fence Please understand when I tell you that I was just people had prior experience fencing around fl ying bee one big refl ex. I was not idly standing by while all this hives, and it had a bad ending. They were polite, but they was ongoing. When she exited the top of my glasses, I were emphatic, the colonies would have to be moved. My thought, for a millisecond, that I had survived, but then luck ran out. I was abruptly back in the fracas. All this happened fast I considered trying to sell the notion that I could close – oh, so fast. I can’t say that enough. During the time the beehives while the fence people worked. In a perfect it took me to write these short paragraphs, I could have world, this small fence job could be done in three/quarters been stung about 20 times. of a day, but who can say. Rain? Illness? I don’t want these big colonies closed up very long. I decided that I Eyeglasses in the beeyard did not want to risk the effects of colony confi nement. I When in the yard, I almost always wear safety glasses will move my colonies to a remote location so work can or my prescription glasses. This time, my prescription proceed for about one short day. All this effort for one glasses actually worked against me by trapping the bee short work day. This is not bee colony management. This behind my lens. I have a pair of common clear safety is looking into the glowing eyes of skunks at night. This glasses that I wear if I am only doing a walkabout in the is real physical labor. yard. However, if I plan to wear my veil, I don’t usually This tree/fence event that I am presently living take my safety glasses Please know that I do respect eye through is in the Bee Experience category. When the bee protection in my bee yards. book that I referenced above cavalierly recommended Of the safety glasses that I have, the pair I like the installing a fence for skunk control, there was no mention best is apparently no longer available. They are 3M of city fencing regulations, no mention of installation Z87+U6 3MFO (Is that a model number or some kind of labor costs and the diffi culty in establishing a safe work lens description?). After an hour of looking, I cannot fi nd area for the workers. No mention of a fi ve-week delay these glasses listed on the web. I like this model because while my neighbor, who was stung last year by my bees, they touch all the way around my eye on both eyes. A continues to mow his lawn every three – four days. What second pair that fi ts “okay” is the 3M SECUREFIT PRO I describe here is a prime example of the differences glasses. These glasses do leave more space at the temple between book recommendations and beeyard experiences. and near the bottom, but the space is small (But so was Bee experience comes dearly in both time and money. the space around my prescription glasses.).If nothing else, wear typical goggles. In some way, protect your eyes. Safety gear warning – again – and again Buckle your seat belt. Never use a power saw without I took this experience as a warning… safety guards. Stay on the path. Don’t drink the water. My sting story presented here is a fl uke – or an Wear hearing protection. Wear a veil in the beeyard. Again, accident – or a coincidence – or maybe a twist of fate, wear a veil in the beeyard. but I shudder to think what would have happened if that Well, here’s the rub. I was honestly in the act of bee got beneath the eye gear of one of the tree removers. putting my veil on when the following incident happened. Now the fence people are coming. Later in the Summer, I had just walked into the yard to get you a photo for this an electrician is coming to energize my storage/bee barn. article. As I neared the colonies everything seemed to I seriously doubt that a visitor to my yard would be as happen at once. You should know that a few hours earlier, lackadaisical about a bee behind their glasses lens as I I had reversed the bottom deeps on several colonies. In was. the process, I moved the entrance on one. Foragers loaded These safety glasses are cheap. I plan to buy several with pollen were confused. Bees were fl ying all about. pairs and give them out when a non-bee person is near my As I leaned my head back to reach for my veil, a bees. It’s a dramatic move. I know. It makes the person disoriented bee randomly managed to fl y under my left feel that they may be at risk. It’s not the mass attack for eyeglass from the bottom. She crazily fl itted over my which we beekeepers are preparing, but rather the fl uke left eye and attempted to exit at the top of my glasses. experience, the rare occurrence. I am too complacent Instead of exiting, she struck the underside of the bib of about stings, but I have now been alerted. We are responsible for non-bee people visiting our yards. Hoping for good luck – which almost always does happen – is not enough preparation for the rare, fl uke experience. BC

Dr. James E. Tew, Emeritus Faculty, Entomology, The Ohio State University and One Tew Bee, LLC; [email protected]; http:// www.onetew.com; https://youtu.be/Y308wPp7UeY

https://youtu.be/Y308wPp7UeY

Common protective eye glasses appropriate for the beeyard. I like the red pair best. June 2019 BEE CULTURE 91 92 BEE CULTURE June 2019 www.beeculture.com$26

June16 2019 BEEBEE CULTURECULTURE December 201893 KENTUCKY VIRGINIA Heartland Apicultural Society (HAS) will be held at Virginia State Beekeepers Association will hold their calendar Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, July 8-10. Summer meeting May 31-June 1 at Fredericksburg Hos- Keynote speakers will be Jay Evans, Jerry Hayes, pitality House. INTERNATIONAL Reed Johnson, Juliana Rangel, Jennifer Tsuruda and Speakers are Kim Flottum and Jennifer Tsuruda. 66th Annual Beekeepers’ Field Day, sponsored by Agri- Geoff Williams. For more information visit www.virginiabeekeepers. culture and Agri-Food Canada, June 21, 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 For information visit www.heartlandbees.org. org. p.m. at Beaverlodge Research Farm, 1000.8 Township Road 720, Beaverlodge, Alberta. NEW JERSEY Sustainable/Biodynamic Beekeeper Training - June 6-8. Speakers include Kirsten Traynor, Shelley Hoover, Bee-ginner’s Beekeeping: The Basics of Apiculture, Classes take place at Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary in Samantha Muirhead, Paul vanWestendorp and more. May 2-4; Review of Basic Beekeeping, February 16. Both Floyd. Participants must have bees. Four sessions total with For information contact Christine.Curran@canada. held at Rutgers Eco Complex, Bordentown. Gunther Hauk, Alex Tuchman and Vivan Struve-Hauk. ca or 780.354.5100. For more information visit http://www.cpe.rutgers. edu/courses/current/ae0404ca.html. Spikenard Summer Festival - June 20-22 at Spikenard 2019 Beekeeping Tour to Cuba, November 9-17. Learn Honeybee Sanctuary in Floyd. how the Cubans do it! OHIO Arrangements by: Transeair Travel LLC 2813 McKin- Lorain County Beekeepers Association 25th Field Mentorship Program - June 23-24 at Spikenard Hon- ley Place NW, Washington, DC 20015, 202.362.6100 Day will be held June 1 at Queen Right Colony, Spencer. eybee Sanctuary. [email protected] Website: transeairtravel.com. This even is free For more information visit www.spikenardfarm.org; Guest speaker will be Albert Robertson from Canada [email protected] or 540.745.2153. Apimondia 2019 held in Montreal September 8-12. For speaking on Saskatraz Bees. more information visit Apimondia2019.com. Lunch tickets are $10. Please contact gargas1@fron- WASHINGTON tier.com to reserve your tickets. Washington State University Bee Lab will present a CALIFORNIA For information visit www.loraincountybeekeepers. Queen Rearing and Bee Breeding Workshop, June 14-15 The 4th Annual International Conference on Pollinator org. at Washington State University, Pullman campus. Biology, Health and Policy will be held July 18-20 at Instructors are Susan Cobey, Brandon Hopkins, Tim University of CA, Davis. Reception July 17. PENNSYLVANIA Lawrence, Steve Sheppard, Nick Naeger, Jennifer Han Early-bee registration is $325/person; $150/students. Summer Beekeeping 2019, Delaware Valley College, and Melanie Kirby. After May 15 $425/person; $250 students. Main Campus, Feldman 122. Introductory Beekeeping, For information visit http://bees.wsu.edu/queen- Keynote speakers are Christina Grozinger, Lynn Dick. three sessions - July 26, 27, 28, $219. Vincent Aloyo is rearing-and-bee-breeding-workshop/. For information visit https://honey.ucdavis.edu/ the instructor. pollinatorconference2019. To register and get more details visit www.delval.edu. WEST VIRGINIA WV Beekeepers Association Annual Fall Meeting will COLORADO SOUTH CAROLINA be August 23-24 at the Robert H. Mollahan Building of the The CO State Beekeepers Association will hold their EAS 2019 will be held at the Greenville Convention WV High Technology Complex in Fairmont. Summer meeting June 7-9. Center July 15-19. Featured speakers are Jamie Ellis and Dwight Wells. Speakers include Jonathan Lundgren. Speakers include Dewey Caron, Dennis vanEngelsdorp, For information visit www.wvbeekeepers.org. For details and registration visit http://coloradobee- Kirsten Traynor, Geoff Williams, Meghan Milbrath, Jen- keepers.org/summer-bee-college-2019/. nifer Berry and Jay Evans. For information www.easternapiculture.org. GEORGIA Young Harris Beekeeping Institute will be held May 22-25. Speakers include Francis Ratnieks, David Tarpy and Wyatt Mangum. For information and registration visit www.ent.uga. edu/bees.

Georgia Beekeepers Association will hold their Fall meeting September 26-28 in Cumming. Speakers include Jennifer Berry, Leo Sharashkin, Clarence Collison and Lewis Bartlett. For information visit www.gabeekeeping.com.

ILLINOIS IL State Beekeepers Association will hold their Summer meeting June 7-8 at McHenry County College, Crystal Lake. Friday is the members-only Short Course taught by Keith Delaplane and Jerry Hayes. This session is limited in size. Saturday is a day of presentations. For more information and to register visit www.ILSBA.com.

KANSAS Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers Funday will be held June 1 in Lawrence at the Douglas county Fairgrounds. Speakers include Judy Wu-Smart, Matthew Smart, Randy Oliver, Katie Lee and Marion Ellis. For more details visit www.NEKBA.org or call Jo Patrick, 913.645.8947.

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June 2019 BEE CULTURE 95 y hearing’s shot, and my eyes aren’t so great either, We’d gone to Denver for Marilyn’s but my nose is still pretty good. Checking a 24-colony niece’s graduation from alcohol rehab. yard in late March for feed and mites, the last hive I She’s 24. (The niece, not Marilyn!) Mlooked at had a nice brood pattern but only a frame of bees. I was Only yesterday the little darling fl ew about to close it up and let that colony sink or swim, when I caught free as a bird, hopping freight trains, the faintest whiff of something vile. A mouse? American Foulbrood panhandling, frolicking in the woods. (AFB)? Or was I dreaming? The other bums called her “The Swamp I dug down to the empty lower brood box, where the answer Queen.” She ruled the roost, until the revealed itself – AFB. Sunken dead brood shot through with holes, party ended. When she fl ew back to and elongated, dried-up larval mummies laid out like coffi ns in the Colorado from Georgia in November, she bottoms of cells. was so sick that the plane nearly made In the occupied upper super, the bees appeared to have cured an emergency landing in Omaha. Her themselves. But the combination of this colony’s weak condition – face was yellow/green. At 5’7” and 82 plus all that diseased comb – sealed its doom. I didn’t like doing it, pounds, she looked like an Auschwitz but I sprayed the poor darlings with soapy water and threw both survivor. The hospital in Denver wanted boxes of brood and bees onto my AFB pile in the barn. to turn her away, to die somewhere else. Now would be a good time to burn that 20-year accumulation of Then an angel looked kindly on this AFB frames and boxes. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Bees can’t get poor child and made an end run. This to the pile. Nevertheless, it needs to go. The books all say to burn physician got her admitted for a urinary it. But I use lots of plastic frames, and the thought of burning all tract infection. Think of it! Too sick to that plastic doesn’t sit right. waste resources on for her devastated Wait a minute. Gentle reader, I just had an epiphany. liver, they had to let her in for treatment Last Summer at a bee conference, I spoke to a Colorado Ag of a relatively benign condition that met Department offi cial about the conundrum of dealing with AFB- hospital guidelines. contaminated equipment. During the warm months when you’re And now? She’s back from the likely to fi nd AFB we generally have a fi re ban. Then there’s the brink. She put on 30 pounds. She’s environmental and ethical issue of burning all that plastic. radiant, with laughter in her eyes. Her This woman said to me, “Why doesn’t the Colorado State fellow rehab patients packed the house Beekeepers Association rent a backhoe and bury that stuff?” To for her graduation. Each spoke of which I replied, “What a great idea!” Sounded expensive, but I how she captivated them with her wit, supposed we could do it. Then, like other great ideas people give her dark-side tales, her street-savvy me, I forgot all about it. optimism. Until now. My thought train went like this: “My heavy- As of yesterday she’s six months equipment-operator neighbor Stony could dig me a hole . . . but sober. She knows she can’t afford a slip- where?” up. She expresses profound gratitude to Then I saw the light. It should not surprise you that the solution the literally dozens of people who prayed revealed itself to be so simple, because the answers to life’s questions for her and shepherded her to spiritual are usually right under your nose. and physical health. I asked her what I called the dump. I told them I had a truck-load of bad juju she believes in. “Goodness,” she told me. that needs to get buried deep and forever. The guy on the phone She just moved into a halfway sounded intrigued. “Sure,” he said, “We can dig you a hole.” house down the street from the rehab “What would that cost me?” I countered. facility. She’s looking for a job. She “Two cents a pound,” he said. wants to go to college. She has a dream. “I can afford that. But I mean how much for the hole?” At a post-graduation family dinner, “Aw, we won’t charge you for the hole. Just give us a little we talked about the doc who bent the advance notice.” rules and saved her life. No one can Then he asked me all about AFB, and why bees get it. I told him remember her name. it’s contagious, like the fl u. It’s out there in the bee world. Some So take heart. It’s not all dog-eat- hives get it. Others seem to have resistance. But contaminated dog. Miracles happen. And there are equipment is an AFB reservoir. angels. “Bring over your load,” he said. “We’ll get ‘er done.” Plastic pollutes our environment and never really goes away. If Ed Colby I eschewed plastic in my hives and stuck with beeswax foundation, I could simply wait for a snowy day when I have nothing better to do and burn my AFB-contaminated equipment. But I use plastic And There because it’s convenient and durable. So I guess I’m part of the problem. Are Angels My gal Marilyn and I just got back from Denver, right in front of another “bomb cyclone” that closed roads and airports and dumped massive snowfall from the Rockies to the Midwest. BOTTOM BOARD 96 BEE CULTURE June 2019