From the Queen's Courtby Melanie Kirby A•Bee•Cs By

ISSUE 72: AUGUST 2016

From the Queen's Court by Melanie Kirby 2 A•Bee•Cs by Dennis Brown 5 X•Y•Zs by Phill Remick 6 Bee Science: ABRC Proceedings, Part 1 10 Beekeeping 'Round the Globe: Was Conference 18 Diverse Pollinators: Bees in your Backyard 20 Apitherapy Association of America Conference & Memoriam 21 Meet the Beekeeper: Tara Chapman 23 Bee Thinking About: Organic Honey by Elizabeth Grossman 25 Upcoming Events 35 From the Queen’s Court by Melanie Kirby

“Summer Time…and the livin’ is bee-zy…”….time to wind up for fall and winter preparation while also enjoying the glowing and slowing long summer days. Speaking of long summer days, my travels this summer took me to the exotic universe of Morocco—which, surprisingly enough, is quite similar to New Mexico (my home state) with desert in the south, mountains in the north and a mélange (mix) of cultures and traditions. Editor Melanie Kirby I had the great pleasure of traveling with two new beekeepers, Rachid [email protected] El Khazerri of Houston, Texas (a native Moroccan who has been living Design & Layout in the US for the past 25 years), and Tara Chapman (a Texan who keeps Jon Weaver, Johnny4Eyes.com bees in Austin). We left the last week of July and boarded a plan to Website & Ecommerce Minneapolis then to Paris then to Rabat, Morocco. Upon arrival in KelleyBees.com Rabat at 11pm, we were ushered by Rachid’s brother Brahim, to his family’s flat in the city of Sale, across the river Bou Regreg from Address Rabat. Brahim’s lovely family, Amina (his wife) and his two adolescent 807 W. Main St. children, Cena and Simo, welcomed us with a feast of dates, milk, P.O. Box 240 almonds, pastries and hot mint tea (which I learned, is the national Clarkson, KY 42726 all-day drink of Moroccans). Phone 270-242-2012 It will be my pleasure to share the adventures we had on this trip 800-233-2899 visiting beekeepers and queen producers in various parts of the country…but for this issue of the newsletter, I’ll focus on introducing © 2016 Kelley Beekeeping Tara Chapman, who is featured in our Meet the Beekeeper segment. All rights reserved. She is an urban beekeeper who has made a niche for herself as an urban bee enthusiast with mad skills for marketing her micro-apiary honey comb, conducting apiary tours and classes for aspiring urban beekeepers in her area. She will be joining our list of contributors to share urban beekeeping information- from how to find bee yards, to CALL FOR PHOTOS working with restaurants and public schools. Want to see your bee-related photo on the cover of this In next month’s issue, I will feature the beekeepers I met as I share newsletter? Send photos to the wonders of Moroccan beekeeping with all you avid readers! Mr. [email protected] El Khazerri and his family did a wonderful job in organizing our trip.

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 2 Queen’s Court cont'd

Each day was planned with apiary visits and site seeing, and of course, all around the fabulous sumptuous feasts of sweet and savory delicacies of their multi-cultural landscape.

I’ve never taken time off in the summer from my farm duties so this was a first and well worth it. I hope to return and to work with some of the beekeepers and the universities there to help develop a species conservation program for Bab el-Mrisa Gate, Sale, Morocco their unique strains of honeybees; which include Apis Mellifera Mellifera (the local black bee, also present in Spain, France and the Iberian Peninsula), Apis Mellifera Sahariensis , Apis Mellifera Linnaeus (from Libya), and Buckfast lines. The bees were all so gentle, something that I had not anticipated being that it is northern Africa. But, unlike the Apis Mellifera Scutellata (Africanized bees) from South Africa, this northern territory hosts a myriad of bee species that are able to tolerate extreme heat while remaining gentle and productive.

But I’ll save more of that for next month’s issue. What I want to share this issue is that it is time to prepare for fall and winter! Some parts of the U.S.A. are experiencing menacing floods while others are bracing through drought. The diversity of our expansive country is hard to wrap one’s noggin around; but all the more interesting as we learn what our neighbors are dealing with and how we can learn from others to adapt and be proactive in our hive management plans.

Kelley Beekeeping has beaucoup (lots!) of tools and services to help you along. Whether you are needing a new extractor to harvest all that golden and amber sweetness, or needing overwintering wraps and fall supplements, Kelley Beekepping has what you need when you need it. You can view their full catalog online and even make purchases online by visiting www.kelleybees.com.

As the cover shares, Kelley Beekeeping will be holding their Grand Ribbon Cutting for their new facility this September 23, 2016! Mark your calendars and come share the joy! A new building signifies that Kelley Beekeeping is investing in the here and now, AND the future. By anticipating the needs of their patrons—you and your bees—they are prepared to assist you in your beekeeping journey. And we all wish you a very long and enlightening journey with your bees! Melanie Kirby has been keeping bees professionally for over 20 Whistle while you work, years. She specializes in longevity-based queen breeding and serves as an international consultant on sustainable beekeeping Melanie concepts and practices. She was recently appointed to the American Honeybee Germplasm Repository Program board, which is a new national committee dedicated to preserving and sharing honeybee stock. She can be reached at [email protected] Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 3 Bee Natural Canvas Jacket 100 % Natural Cotton Canvas Jacket with hooded veil. Features include : Upper Left chest pocket w/velcro closure, Lower right utility pocket. Premium YKK Brass zippers, Elastic around the wrists, and waist, and thumb strap. Size small to 3X $57.95 Size 4X-5X $63.95

Bee Natural Canvas Pants 100 % Natural Cotton Canvas Pants. Features include 2 large pockets with brass zipper closure, 2 hive tool pockets, brass zipper closure at Sturdy Non Shrink ankles, and elastic waist and ankles. Size small (30-34 waist), medium (34-38 waist)and large (40-44 waist) $21.95

1-800-233-2899 www.kelleybees.com If you have a question you would like to share, email it to [email protected] A•Bee•Cs Beginning Beekeeping by Dennis Brown

Hi Dennis, Thanks for always being available to help us new-bees. I checked my weak hive Sunday and I don’t know what’s going on. It appears they are not drawing out new combs on the foundation. All the sugar syrup is going into any available cell in the brood nest in a random pattern, not just in the honey arch. There is plenty of capped brood and I see some grubs too. I found the queen on a honey frame just walking around aimlessly. I know she’s laying but I wonder if she’s run out of brood cells. Does it make sense to put a fully drawn frame from my big hive into the middle of the brood nest to give her some more space? Why wouldn’t they draw out new frames? There is plenty of pollen coming in and I’m still feeding this hive. Everything else looks normal. Cindy P

I’m definitely thinking of splitting my big hive. I re-read your chapter on splits (Beekeeping: A Personal Journey.) and I think I’d like to have at least one more hive before spring. While I’m pulling out frames for the splits, should I use any of them to help the weak hive? I remember you said something about rotating them out.

Hello Cindy, Are there any cells filled with sugar water between the brood cells? How many frames of bees are there in the hive? Do you see any eggs in any of the cells? How many boxes does the hive consist of?

Response: It's a standard ten frame brood box with four nuc frames. At least two new frames were drawn out but that's where they stopped. Two more might have the tops drawn out but only on one side. So there are six frames of bees and some leftovers. Sugar water is in every available free cell, including in the brood cells. I can't see eggs but plenty of grubs and lots of capped brood.

Cindy, it appears that your original nuc came with a bad queen. If it were me, I would order one queen, make your split on the strong hive then get rid of the weak hives queen. (Destroy any queen cells that may be present.) Then I would combine (unite) the weak hive between the two splits using the newspaper method. This is assuming that there are no diseases in any of the hives. You will still have only two hives, but they should be able to get strong before winter gets here. (July now) You will have two strong hives going into the spring. Make splits again next year to increase hive numbers.

I hope this helps. Enjoy your bees! Dennis Brown is the author of “Beekeeping: A Personal Journey” and “Beekeeping: Questions and Answers." Dennis Brown Contact Dennis at www.lonestarfarms.net.

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 5 X•Y•Zs Advanced Beekeeping by Phill Remick

WHICH WAY IS UP?

You’re at a party with a few beekeeping buddies, when the topic swings to entrance reducers. Questions like, ‘Have you ever wondered why you need two different sized, notched exits? What about those two notches? Which way are they installed, up or down?’ Let’s talk about one of the Langstroth beehives most important components, the entrance reducer.

When you purchase a solid bottom board it usually arrives with two different sides. The bee way is all that is different. These two interchangeable sides are known as a ‘reversible bottom board.’ One side has a 3/8” bee way, the other side has a 3/4” depth. Point of reference: The standard screened (with drawer) bottom bee way for Varroa Mite monitoring is 3/4”.

Did you know that the average entrance reducers you acquire are crafted for 3/4” bottom boards, not 3/8”? With reversible bottom boards, one can transpose the hive body or super by turning it from the 3/8” side to the other and inserting the reducer. I use 3/4” screened bottoms, since reducers fit without modification, plus they function with moving and robbing screens which are quite handy, especially with wasps and hornets. Standard reducers won’t fit 3/8” bottoms.

A TALE OF TWO NOTCHES So why are there two notches cut into the standard entrance reducer? The smallest opening is for times of dearth, wintering and weak colonies. This ‘setting’ permits maximum hive protection when placing the single notch in position (upward in a ‘U’ shape). By reducing entrances down to this smallest opening in weak hives, the insertion allows bees inside to more adequately guard against robbers and other intruders. With a fragile swarm, Queen- less hive, cut-out or nuc, the single notch promotes increased hive security. Think like a bee and realize less space to defend the hive threshold is paramount from the inside-out bee perspective.

The 3/4” side is placed with the notch up, not down. In other words, the reducer doesn’t look like a doorway added as an afterthought in the center of the hive entrance. The inverted reducer can keep (depending on their size!) lizards, snakes and mice at bay.

A reducer is beneficial component for spring packages too. They may lessen drifting, as bees orient to their new neighborhood. Obviously, with packages and the introduction of sugar syrup as feed, there exists a risk of robbing which a reducer can greatly discourage. This installation can aid in controlling ventilation inside their domicile as well.

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 6 X•Y•Zs continued

Honey bees ‘move up’, from the hive body into a honey filled supers, especially during winter. Frequently, deceased bees on the bottom board can clog the primary entrance. When the reducer is inverted, it allows the bees a bit more room when exiting the hive if that condition exists. The 3/8” threshold of the inverted reducer is ‘bee size’ so bees can easily crawl over a grouping of lifeless comrades lying on the bottom board and get out through the higher entrance/exit opening. We see this normally during a long winter. In late spring and summer, the majority of your colonies, assuming they are strong, will do fine without any entrance reduction. Reducers run in different sizes, but for the sake of demonstration and less confusion, I use the above reference numbers with this caveat: It is more likely to find a 13th floor in a hotel, than discover two beekeepers who agree on everything!

Triskaidekaphobia aside, if you’re averse to spending $1.00 to purchase an official, aesthetically correct entrance reducer, consider any clean, untreated, scrap of wood, cut the desired width and length, to do the job.

Phill Remick is a former commercial beekeeper and seasonal apiary inspector who teaches beekeeping, offers year round apiary consulting and sells supplies near Edgewood, NM. Contact: [email protected]

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Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 7 300 Hives or More?

We have a SPECIAL just for you. Call us at 270-242-2019 ext. 213 e-mail [email protected]

Bee Science American Bee Research Conference / American Association of Professional Apiculturists Meeting January 8, 2016 • Jacksonville, FL

Title: “Honey Bee Transcriptional Response to Virus Infection” Laura Brutscher1,2,3, Katie Daughenbaugh1, and Michelle Flenniken1,3

1Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, 2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, 3Institute on Ecosystems, Montana State University, Bozeman MT

Honey bees are important pollinators of numerous crops (global economic value over $200 billion annually) and plant species that enhance the biodiversity of both agricultural and non-agricultural landscapes. Since 2006, honey bee populations in the U.S., Canada, and in some parts of Europe have experienced high annual losses. While multiple biotic and abiotic factors contribute to colony health and survival, pathogen prevalence and abundance are correlated with colony loss and Colony Collapse Disorder. Honey bees are infected by a variety of pathogens (i.e., viruses, bacteria, microsporidia, trypanosomatids, and the Varroa destructor). The largest class of honey bee pathogens are positive sense, single-stranded RNA viruses, thus understanding honey bee antiviral defense mechanisms may result in the development of strategies that mitigate colony losses. Honey bees, like all other organisms, have evolved mechanisms to detect and limit virus infection. RNAi is a major antiviral immune mechanism in solitary insects and is involved in honey bee antiviral defense. Viral infection in honey bees also likely results in activation of innate immune pathways (e.g., JAK-STAT, Toll, Imd, and additional dsRNA-triggered pathways), however the relative role of these pathways and RNAi in honey bee antiviral defense is not well understood. To further investigate honey bee antiviral defense mechanisms, we utilized high-throughput sequencing to identify genes that are upregulated during virus infection. Bees were infected with a model virus (Sindbis-GFP) in the presence and absence of dsRNA and collected at 6, 48, and 72 hours post-injection. Bees treated with dsRNA (virus sequence-specific and nonspecific) had reduced levels of virus as compared to untreated virus-infected bees. Our results indicate that honey bee antiviral defense may involve both sequence-specific RNAi and non-specific dsRNA mediated pathways. Virus-infected bees had a greater expression of genes involved cell morphogenesis, proteolysis, endocytosis, transcription, and other pathways, as compared to mock-infected controls. In addition, virus-infected bees had increased expression of genes involved in RNAi (i.e., dicer-like and ago2), as well as genes associated with insect innate immune pathways (e.g., Toll and JAK/STAT). However, the majority of genes with increased expression in response to virus-infection are not well characterized. Further investigation of these genes will likely reveal additional honey bee innate immune pathways and result in a better understanding of the effects of dsRNA on honey bee biology.

The Flenniken Laboratory is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (USDA-NIFA-AFRI) Program, Montana Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, the National Institutes of Health IDeA Program COBRE grant GM110732, National Science Foundation EPSCoR NSF-IIA-1443108, Hatch Multistate Funding (NC-1173), Project Apis m., the Montana State Beekeepers Association, Montana State University, and the Montana State University Agricultural Experiment Station. Laura M. Brutscher is supported by the Project Apis m.-Costco Honey Bee Biology Fellowship. M. Flenniken is a member of Hatch Multistate Funding NC1173: Sustainable Solutions to Problems Affecting Bee Health the research presented is inline with Objectives 1 and 3 of this project, specifically (1)To evaluate the role and causative mechanisms of parasitic mites, viruses, and microbes in pollinator abundance and honey bee colony success and (2) To assess the effects of exposure to pesticides and other xenobiotics on the survival, health and productivity of honey bee colonies and pollinator abundance and diversity.

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 10 Bee Science cont'd

Establishing a Honey Bee Germplasm Repository at Washington State University Susan Cobey, Brandon Hopkins, Walter Sheppard Washington State University

The ability to cryopreservation honey bee germplasm offers many advantages for conservation of genetic resources, breeding purposes and food safety. Worldwide, the diversity of honey bee subspecies, ecotypes, and selected stocks are increasingly challenged by the impact of parasites and pathogens, loss of habitat and malnutrition, and pesticides. The agricultural need for honey bee pollination services is critical to our food supply.

Techniques for the long term storage of honey bee semen in liquid nitrogen have been perfected to enable the recovery and reconstitution of valuable subspecies and commercial stocks. In addition, this ability overcomes some of the limitations of bee breeding and enables breeding across space and time. It also provides a means for the easy transport and use of select stocks between locations with varying seasons.

This ability provides a valuable tool for the WSU / Cooperative industry project to import germplasm from endemic populations of honey bees in Europe to enhance our domestic breeding stocks. The declining genetic diversity of U.S. breeding populations is of concern. Honey bees, not native to the U.S., were established from small subset samplings of bees introduced before the passage of the1922 Honey Bee Act restricted importation. Bottlenecks effects; the small founding population, the limited and declining commercial breeding populations and the widespread loss of colonies, need to be addressed.

European Old World stocks of several subspecies; Apis mellifera ligustica (the Italian honey bee), A. m. carnica (the Carniolan honey bee), A. m. caucasica (the Caucasian honey bee) and A. m. pomonella (the Tien Shan Mountain honey bee) have been successfully Imported into the U.S. under USDA-APHIS permit. The Caucasian honey bees known for their propensity to collect propolis, a self medication, have been re-established in the U.S. under the WSU program. More recently we have introduced, A. m. pomonella, a subspecies well adapted for cold weather pollinating conditions. Semen from these four subspecies has also been cryopreserved in the WSU Germplasm repository for future breeding purposes. Working directly with commercial queen producers, these stocks have been or are are being incorporated into domestic breeding programs to enhance and increase the fitness of our domestic honey bees.

The establishment of germplasm repositories is also a mission of the USDA. The goal of the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) is to acquire, evaluate, preserve and provide a national collection of genetic resources to secure biological diversity to support a sustainable U.S. agricultural economy. Honey bees have now been added to the list of critical species. This effort is also gaining worldwide interest. Apimondia, the International Beekeeping Congress, has proposed to initiate the establishment of honey bee germplasm repositories in several locations, worldwide. These programs include a research component with the goal to prefect and explore new technologies to improve the success, practicality and public access of honey bee stocks. Of the 28 distinct subspecies of honey bees, there is a need to converse and preserve these valuable and highly diverse genetic resources. THE EFFECTS OF CROP PROTECTION FUNGICIDES ON HONEY BEE (Apis mellifera) FORAGER MORTALITY Fisher II, A., J. Rangel & W.C. Hoffmann.

The honey bee (Apis mellifera) contributes approximately $17 billion annually in pollination services for several

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 11 Bee Science cont'd major food crops in the United States including almond, which is completely dependent on honey bees for nut production. Every year, over 1.5 million honey bee colonies from around the country are contracted for pollination services from January to March during the almond bloom in California. As with most agro-ecosystems, almond orchards face multiple challenges to crop productivity caused by pests and pathogens, which growers prevent or control primarily with pesticides. In particular, fungicides are often sprayed in combination with other products to control fungal pathogens of almonds during the blooming season. However, little is known about the potential synergistic effects of fungicides used in almond orchards during bloom on honey bee health.

To assess the effects of select fungicides used during almond bloom on honey bee forager mortality, we collected hundreds of foragers from a colony located at the Texas A&M University research apiary in Bryan, TX. We used a wind tunnel and atomizer set up (wind-speed: 2.9 m/s) to simulate field-relevant exposure of honey bee foragers during aerial application of the fungicides in almond fields. Using the spray simulator, we exposed foragers to an untreated diluent (control) or to either the label dose, or a range of dose variants (from 0.25 to 3 times the label dose) of the fungicides iprodione, Pristine® and Quadris,® alone and in various combinations. We then placed groups of 40-50 foragers belonging to each treatment group in plastic containers. The containers were placed in an incubator with daily provisions of 50:50 sucrose/water solution and water. Forager mortality was monitored every 24 h over a ten-day period, and was compared between experimental and control groups.

Our preliminary results indicate a significant increase in forager mortality resulting from exposure to the fungicide iprodione (22g/L H2O) compared to untreated controls. We also found synergistic effects of iprodione when applied in combination with Pristine® (21.8mL/L H2O) and Quadris® (125mL/L H2O). In addition, Kaplan- Meier survival analysis between treatment groups showed a significant negative effect of iprodione, alone and in synergism with other fungicides, on forager survival rate. Our study indicates that fungicides sprayed during bloom in almond orchards may affect the worker force in honey bee colonies used for pollination services in that agro-ecosystem.

Authors: Adrian Fisher II, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. E-mail: [email protected]. Phone no.: 979-845-1079. Juliana Rangel, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX Wesley Clint Hoffmann, USDA-ARS Aerial Application Technology Research Unit, College Station, TX

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 12 Bee Science cont'd

Title: “Honey Bee Pathogens and Colony Health” Ian Cavigli1, Katie F. Daughenbaugh1, Madison Martin1, Emma Garcia1, Laura M. Brutscher1,2,3, and Michelle L. Flenniken1,2

1Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, 2Institute on Ecosystems, 3Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA, 59717

Honey bees are important pollinators of agricultural crops. Since 2006, US beekeepers have experienced high annual honey bee colony losses, which may be attributed to multiple abiotic and biotic factors, including pathogens. However, the relative importance of these factors has not been fully elucidated. To identify the most prevalent pathogens and investigate the relationship between colony strength and health, we assessed pathogen occurrence, prevalence, and abundance in Western US honey bee colonies involved in almond pollination. The most prevalent pathogens were BQCV, LSV2, SBV, N. ceranae, and trypanosomatids. Our results indicated that pathogen prevalence and abundance were associated with both sampling date and beekeeping operation, that prevalence was highest in honey bee samples obtained immediately after almond pollination, and that weak colonies had a greater mean pathogen prevalence than strong colonies.

Survey and Risk Assessment of Apis mellifera Exposure to Neonicotinoid Pesticides in Urban, Rural, and Agricultural Settings Lawrence, Timothy; Culbert, Elizabeth; Felsot, Allan; Hebert, Vince; and Sheppard, Walter

The public’s concern about honey bee decline, fueled by the media and special interest groups, have placed a disproportionate emphasis on neonicotinoids as a primary cause. This has led to well intentioned, but arguably ineffectual public ordinances and policies to restrict their use by local jurisdictions. In 2013, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) was petitioned by a local jurisdiction to restrict the use of neonicotinoid pesticides to certified pesticide applicators. The petitioners argued that bees in urban environments would be exposed to higher levels of neonicotinoids due to misapplication by home owners and other non-certified applications. The WSDA rejected the petition because of insufficient evidence to support the petitioners concerns. However, to address this concern the WSDA and the Washington Commission on Pesticide Registration funded a study to examine potential honey bee colony exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides from pollen foraging. A comparative assessment of apiaries in urban, rural and agricultural areas was undertaken from September of

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 13 Bee Science cont'd

2013 through the summer of 2014. Apiaries surveyed ranged in size from one to hundreds of honey bee colonies, and included those operated by commercial, sideline (semi-commercial), and hobbyist beekeepers. This study specifically evaluated residues in/on wax and beebread (stored pollen in the hive) for the nitro-substituted neonicotinoid insecticides imidacloprid and its olefin metabolite and the active ingredients clothianidin, thiamethoxam, and dinotefuran. The combined data from 1,490 separate neonicotinoid residue evaluations on materials gathered in the fall of 2013 and spring/summer of 2014 at 149 bee hive locations. Beebread and comb wax collected from apiary hives in agricultural landscapes were more likely to have detectable residues of thiamethoxam and clothianidinthan hives in rural or urban areas (51% of samples vs <10%). The maximum neonicotinoid residue detected in wax or beebread was 3.9 ppb imidacloprid. A probabilistic risk assessment was conducted on the residues recovered from beebread in apiaries located in different landscapes. The calculated risk quotient based on a dietary no observable effect concentration (NOAEC) suggested little concern for adverse effects on bee behavior or colony health. Our findings of comparatively infrequent and low levels of detections of neonicotinoid residues over significant areas of landscapes and observed levels that seem not to be associated with colony scale effects, suggests insufficient justification for municipalities to legislate bans on the use of neonicotinoids to protect pollinators. Recurring bee kill incidents from misapplication of neonicotinoids would be better served by focusing on education and clear precautionary label statement that emphasize limiting their use before and during bloom.

Refinement of techniques for monitoring bee health and productivity in commercial orchards of the Upper Midwest Meghan Milbrath1, Rufus Isaacs1, Clint Otto2, Matt Smart2 1Michigan State University Department of Entomology, East Lansing, MI 2Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND

The use and maintenance of land can directly affect pollinator health. Different cropping or planting systems have different levels of forage availability, affecting the health of the pollinators that they support. Recently, many programs have been implemented to provide conserved land areas with forage plants for bees. These areas have been created under various federal and local programs, and are found throughout the country. There are some areas in the country where these pollinator focused conservation lands are critically important, including concentrated areas of pollination dependent orchard crops, like Western Michigan. Understanding the value of these conservation areas is important to their continued support and their success. Detailed colony health and productivity data can inform location choices of conservation target areas, as well as decisions for planting and seed mixes.

This project focuses on the application and development of monitoring techniques to quantify 1) how land- use conditions surrounding apiaries affect the health and productivity of honey bees in Michigan orchard landscapes, and 2) forb utilization rates of honey bees and other pollinators foraging on conservation lands. This project provides much needed information on pollinator health in orchard systems and the value of conservation lands in these areas.

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 14 Bee Science cont'd

The team at Michigan State University is working with commercial beekeepers, using apiaries placed in areas with varying proportion of the landscape in conservation plantings. We monitored the health and examined the available food resources of colonies in four locations. Hive health and productivity were measured throughout the summer, using weight and sensor data, visual inspections, and disease testing kits demonstrating changes over time and between sites. To link the resources to the surrounding landscape, we determine the floral source of incoming pollen using molecular techniques, and performed plant transects in a 2.5 mile radius around each apiary to determine what landscape types contained the most diversity and quantity of useful flora.

This project demonstrates the actual value and ecosystem services provided by pollinator focused conservation lands, while adding information on forb use to determine important species to add to and improve seed mixes. By identifying the community of pollinators that are using conservation sites, and by recording differences in colony health of honey bees at these sites, and establishing a record of the plants that are most widely used by all, we can determine the value of various conservation plantings, and better inform land use decisions to protect pollinator health.

NC1173 Objectives 4 and 6 Johnson, R.M.a, T. Janinib & J. Jasinskic -- ARE PESTICIDE COMBINATIONS APPLIED TO CUCURBIT CROPS TOXIC TO BEES? -- aDepartment of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, bAgricultural Technical Institute, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, c Department of Extension, The Ohio State University, Urbana, OH

Beekeepers have reported losses when bees are pollinating cucurbit crops (melons, squashes, cucumbers etc). To determine the role that pesticide exposure may play we surveyed cucurbit growers (n=12) in Ohio to identify the insecticides and fungicides used in these crops. All growers reported using seeds treated with the neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam. Among the foliar insecticides carbaryl, a carbamate, was the most commonly applied (45%) followed by the pyrethroids bifenthrin (36%), permethrin (36%) and zeta-cypermethrin (27%). The fungicide chlorothalonil was most commonly used (82%) followed by the sterol biosynthesis inhibiting (SBI) fungicide myclobutanil (72%), azoxystrobin (63%) and a mixture of pyraclostrobin and boscalid (9%). To assess the hazard posed by the combination of the seed treatment insecticide and tank mix combinations of foliar insecticides and fungicides we fed newly emerged bees 1:1 (w/w) sucrose water for 3 days that was either plain or spiked with thiamethoxam at a level found in cucurbit nectar (11 ppb; Stoner & Eitzer, 2012 PLoS ONE 7: e39114). Next, we treated bees topically with a range of sublethal and lethal concentrations of insecticides (carbaryl and bifenthrin) or insecticides plus fungicides (chlorothalonil, myclobutanil and pyraclostrobin + boscalid) dissolved in acetone and mixed in the ratio of the maximum label rate for application to cucurbits. Log-probit lines were fit to dose-response mortality data recorded 24h after treatment and LD50 values were determined (Johnson et al., 2013, PLoS ONE 8: e54092). No effect of thiamethoxam was observed on bee mortality and co-treatment with thiamethoxam did not alter the observed toxicity of either carbaryl or bifenthrin. The fungicide myclobutanil did significantly increase the toxicity of bifenthrin, likely through P450 inhibition, but no other insecticide affected bifenthrin toxicity. Carbaryl toxicity was increased slightly when combined with the formulated blend of pyraclostrobin and boscalid. The most popular foliar insecticides applied to cucurbits are highly toxic to bees by themselves and this toxicity may be increased when tank-mixed with certain fungicides.

NC1173 Objective 3 and 6

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 15 Bee Science cont'd

Lin, C.-Ha., P. Monaganb & R.M. Johnsona – SOYBEANS AS A POTENTIAL NECTAR SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES – aDepartment of Entomology, The Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH, bMetro Early College High School, Columbus, OH

Honey bees can be a valuable asset to soybean growers. Introducing honey bee colonies to soybean fields could significantly increase bean production, potentially adding US $ 110.5/ha, or $ 11.3 billion to world economy (Milfont et al. 2013 Environ. Chem. Lett. 11: 335-341). In 2014, the total acreage of soybean plantation in the U.S. reached a record high of 84.8 million acres (USDA-NASS 2014), up nearly 90% since the 1970’s. This dramatic expansion of soybean cultivation has radically transformed the landscape composition of the American Midwest, but the effect of this transformation on the foraging resources of honey bees remains poorly understood. To evaluate the potential of soybeans as a nectar source for honey bees, we examined pollen content and determined the floral origins of summer honey provided by beekeepers. Soybean pollen was found in 46% of 65 honey samples harvested in Ohio (2012 – 2014), suggesting that honey bees frequently forage on soybeans in this region. Using honey samples harvested from 29 apiaries in 2014, we further investigated the relationship between the use of soybean nectar by bees and the amount soybean cultivation in the surrounding landscape. For each sample, we examined the 300 pollen grains using a light microscope and recorded the abundance of soybean pollen. The area of soybean fields within 1.5 km radius from each apiary was calculated using QGIS software and the 2014 USDA Crop Data Layer (https://nassgeodata.gmu.edu/CropScape/). We found a positive correlation between the abundance of soybean pollen in honey and amount of soybean cultivation near the apiaries (figure), although some of the samples collected in soybean-dominated areas contained very few or no soybean pollen. Our results suggest that soybeans can be an important nectar source exploited by honey bees. However, honey bees’ preference for soybean nectar may be influenced by many factors (e.g., soybean varieties, soil and climate conditions, and alternative foraging habitats) that require additional research.

CHART: Correlation between the abundance of soybean pollen in honey and soybean cultivation within 1.5 km radius from the apiary in 2014.

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 16 Bee Science cont'd

NC1173 Objectives 1 and 5 Richardson, R.Ta., J.W. Christmanb & R.M. Johnsona – FUMAGILLIN EXPOSURE SUPPRESSES REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES PRODUCTION IN HONEY BEE HEMOCYTES. – a Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, b Section of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH

The gut-infecting microsporidia, Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae, are economically important pathogens of the honey bee, Apis mellifera. A drug, fumagillin, is registered for the treatment of Nosema infections, but the side effects of fumagillin exposure in honey bees are poorly studied. We used an oxidant sensitive, fluorogenic dye to measure hemocyte reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, an important innate immune function. Across a dose-response gradient of fumagillin exposure, ranging from 0.002 to 9.1 ppm, larval honey bee hemocytes exhibited decreased ROS production. Results indicate that fumagillin exposure disrupts normal innate immune function in honey bees by inhibiting hemocyte ROS production.

NC1173 Objectives 4 and 6 Sponsler, D.B., M.E. Wransky & R.M. Johnson – MECHANISTIC MODELING OF PESTICIDE EXPOSURE: THE MISSING KEYSTONE OF HONEY BEE TOXICOLOGY -- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH,

The relationship between honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) and neonicotinoid insecticides is one of the most controversial issues in contemporary ecological risk assessment. While laboratory studies have documented both lethal and sublethal effects of neonicotinoids on individual honey bees, field studies have usually failed to detect effects in free-foraging colonies. These discrepancies have prompted a strong interest in the development of ecological models to explore how the intoxication of individual bees relates to the impairment of colony-level functions like foraging, reproduction, and disease resistance. While these modeling efforts are promising, they are hindered by the fact that any model of toxic effects is predicated on some model, either explicit or implied, of toxic exposure, and there currently a lack of mechanistic models describing how honey bees encounter pesticides in their environment or how these pesticides are distributed among colony members. We present a model of pesticide exposure in honey bees that simulates the collection of seed treatment neonicotinoids by individual bees during spring corn planting. We then apply this model to explore the results of an empirical study of honey bee exposure to neonicotinoid-laden dust produced during the planting of treated corn seed. Integration of our pesticide exposure model with existing models of pesticide effects will enable the capturing the whole system of honey bee toxicology in a framework that enables more thorough explanation, more reliable prediction, and more targeted mitigation.

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 17 Beekeeping 'Round the Globe New Insights into Old Questions: WAS 2016 Hawaii As published in the WAS Journal • August 8, 2016 By Ethel Villalobos

The summer is progressing and the Hawaii WAS conference is right around the corner, October 13-15, 2016! The University of Hawaii Honeybee Project and the Hawaii Apiary Program are looking forward to welcome you to our lovely island this October!

We can’t wait to share new ideas, research, and Hawaii’s culture with you during your visit. The conference theme is “New Insights into Old Questions” and we hope you come with an open mind and lots of questions for our speakers.

The talks will include a diversity of opinions and research subjects; this bird’s eye view perspective of current issues will help us be more prepared for the challenges of improving bee health and promoting pollinator conservation. The sessions will have a healthy balance of technical and practical knowledge, with national and international speakers sharing their findings.

Speakers & Presentations We have a few sample titles of the upcoming presentations that will give you an idea of the diversity and scope of the conference:

Dr. Stephen J. Martin from the University of Salford (UK), a world leader with over 25 years experience in

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 18 'Round the Globe cont'd bee diseases will present “A Brief History of Honey Bee Viral pathogens.” Having such an illustrious researcher present distilled information on bee viruses is an opportunity not to be missed.

Dr. Jonathan Koch, a researcher at the University of Hawaii in Hilo (Big Island of Hawaii) will speak to us about “The Value of Natural History Collections in Bee Conservation.”

Graduate student Scott Nikaido has been focusing on the health of the young bees, a stage often ignored by researchers. Scott will be presenting the latest on his work. The title of his talk is “Banking on the Future: Brood Mapping the Next Generation of Bees.”

Dr. David Biron from the National Center for Scientific Research in France will share with us the importance of conserving genetic diversity within the European honey bee races. His talk is titled: “Honeybee Conservation Centers in Western Europe: an innovative strategy using sustainable beekeeping to reduce honey bee decline.”

Graduate student Jessika Santamaria will present her current work on disease transmission in the insect community; her presentation is aptly named “The Mite-y Mess! Evidence of Varroa induced viral spillover in Hawaii.”

Dr. Yamandu Mendoza Spina will introduce us to “Beekeeping in Uruguay.” The beekeeping community in Uruguay is very large, and the country, along with Argentina, is among the leaders in honey production in South America.

MSc. Lauren Rusert, Director of the Hawaii Apiary Program will give us her insights on the “Queen Breeding Industry in Hawaii.”

The small hive beetle can be a difficult pest to predict and control, especially in warmer climates. Graduate student Jason Wong has been tracking beetle populations for over two years and is ready to share his data about colony dynamics and small hive beetle pressure here in Hawaii.

Lic. Marianyela Ramirez Montero from CINAT of the University of Heredia in Costa Rica will introduce us to the health issues present in Africanized honey bees. The title of her talk is “Truth or Dare: Do Africanized Bees Need Treatment?”

Many well respected and familiar names will also be presenting including, Dr. Eric Mussen (sharing his knowledge about pesticides), Dr. Elina Lastro- Niño (UC Davis, an expert in queen breeding and in-coming 2017 WAS president), Dr. Karl Magnacca (local expert on native bees), and Dr. Patricia Couvillon (an expert on bee behavior and learning).

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 19 Diverse Pollinators The Bees In Your Backyard by Dr. Joseph S. Wilson & Dr. Olivia Carril

A Guide to North America’s Bees

The

BIn YEour BEackyaSrd

Joseph S. Wilson & Olivia Messinger Carril

The Bees in Your Backyard provides an engaging introduction to the roughly 4,000 different bee species found in the United States and Canada, dispelling common myths about native solitary bees while offering essential tips for telling them apart. The book features more than 900 stunning color photos of bees living all around us—in our gardens and parks, along nature trails, and in the wild spaces between. It describes their natural history, including where they live, how they gather food, and their role as pollinators. There is even a full chapter on how to attract them to your own backyard. Ideal for amateur naturalists and experts alike, it gives detailed accounts of every bee family and genus in North America, describing key identification features, distributions, diets, nesting habits, and more. This book provides the most comprehensive and accessible guide to all bees found in the United States and Canada. Among the photos of bees visiting flowers are macro-photos that demonstrate how to distinguish between different kinds of bees.

This book is written by Dr. Joseph S. Wilson, who lives in Utah, where he is an assistant professor of biology at Utah State University. He has been studying bees and wasps for more than a decade.

Dr. Olivia Carril lives in northern New Mexico. She has studied bees in deserts, on mountain tops, on Greek Islands, and in swamps for twenty years. Of particular interest to her is the relationship shared by bees and the plants they visit.

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 20 Apitherapy 2016 Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course and Conference

SAVE THE DATE 2016 Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course and Conference (CMACC)

October 21-23, 2016 The Redondo Beach Hotel • 400 N. Harbor Drive • Redondo Beach, CA 90277

The American Apitherapy Society proudly announces its 20th annual Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course &Conference to be held in the beautiful beach community of Redondo Beach, CA located just 15 minutes south of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Invest in your health and join us for a weekend of Apitherapy while perhaps extending your stay in the area to enjoy the many ocean front activities this area has to offer such as bicycling, kayaking, sailing, or just enjoying the miles of white sandy beaches, the boardwalk, restaurants, shops, and unrivaled sunsets of the Pacific ocean.

Medical doctors, a spectrum of holistic health practitioners, veterinarians, researchers, backyard beekeepers, and members of the general public interested in self-reliant health care will convene from all over the United states and the world to learn about apitherapy. Apitherapy, an ancient healing modality, refers to the therapeutic use of products from the beehive: honey, pollen, royal jelly, propolis, and bee venom therapy.

Attendees will receive basic training in the therapeutic properties of each of the hive products including a hands on bee venom therapy session where participants obtain practical experience with this amazing healing practice. Presentations are given by the CMACC faculty who are some of the most prominent and experienced apitherapists in the world. Examples of material covered in these presentations are allergic reactions, techniques of BVT, informed consent and legal issues, propolis and cancer, lyme disease, Parkinson’s disease, veterinary apitherapy, wound healing, and much more. Certificates of completion will be available to all participants.

The AAS is a nonprofit membership organization established for the purpose of education in the advancement of Apitherapy. CMACC has been named in memory of Charles Mraz, an American pioneer in the use of bee venom to treat diseases.

All CMACC 2016 information and registration is now available at www.apitherapy.org where you can view all CMACC information and register for the course online. Conference information will also be shared and distributed via our free monthly newsletter from now until the conference date to include any updates or changes. You can sign up to receive our newsletter via a link at the bottom of the home page on our website.

There is an early registration incentive with reduced fees for those registering by Monday August 15, 2016 so BE AN EARLY BEE and don’t miss out on this opportunity! A Saturday night sunset happy hour/dinner banquet will be held on the water at the R10 Social house in Redondo Beach within walking distance of the Redondo Beach Hotel giving attendees the opportunity to mingle with the AAS Board, the faculty, and others involved with Apitherapy. Membership or a one year renewal to AAS is included with the course fee. For further questions please contact the AAS office at [email protected].

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 21 Apitherapy In Memorium: Dr. Theodore Cherbuliez, MD

Dr. Theodore Cherbuliez, MD and his long time and very influential involvement with the American Apitherapy Society, Inc.

My story about bees started (and I did not know this at the time) as a teenager. With my siblings I spent the two months of the summer in the Swiss Alps, where the family had rented a chalet. During the war, most men were mobilized and we took to helping the peasants in their chores. This is how I befriended an elderly beekeeper. At that time bees did not interest me, just the relation to the old man did. Many years later, living then in the suburbs of NYC, and practicing as a psychiatrist, I was looking for a model to represent psychotherapy.

This model had to entail a relationship between two parties extending over some time, and benefitting both. One party (the therapist) worked for the other, but could only know very little about this other. If, during the time they worked together they indeed were quite closely linked, ultimately their individual fates were completely independent from each other. The relationship – the foundation upon which the work to be done relies – was destined to change into an identification. I stumbled by accident (so I believed then) onto the situation of a beekeeper and his bees. And indeed this model, that working with bees implies a relationship, became central to my thinking. That is when I started beekeeping with two hives, which later expanded to as many as twenty. And now, living in Maine, I continue with nine hives.

When I met Charles Mraz, an elderly beekeeper, some 25 years ago, I quite naturally took to learning about Apitherapy. At that time, the old Apitherapy Society, moribund, had received a new life and a new name from the capable hands of Brad Weeks, its President, who invited me to take the Vice- Presidency. Upon his leaving New England for the west coast, in 1995, I assumed the Presidency, which I held for the next ten years. During these years, AAS developed a strong teaching curriculum, with courses given once or twice a year culminating with a test that both measured and reinforced the knowledge acquired during the classes. I assumed the responsibility of the academic curriculum and of the structure of the tests. AAS also created an informational network: a list of persons throughout the Country and with some representation outside, ready to assist people in their quest for access to Apitherapy.

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 22 Meet the Beekeeper Tara Chapman, Two Hives Honey

1. Name: Tara Chapman

2. Occupation: Owner and Founder of Two Hives Honey

3. Location- institution: Austin, TX

4. How did you get your start in beekeeping and what inspired you to seek to study them? I saw an advertisement for an intro to beekeeping class online at Round Rock Honey outside of Austin, and signed up simply to have something fun to talk about at dinner parties! I didn’t actually start a hive until a year later, when a chance meeting with a new friend that was interested in bees prompted me to finally dive in. Very quickly I was hooked, and cold-contacted Laura Weaver of BeeWeaver to plead for an opportunity to work their spring queen-rearing season. Thankfully they took a chance on me, and the rest is history.

5. What is some past research or programs that you worked with? We won a grant from the Austin Food and Wine Alliance to develop and administer a 4th grade curriculum to teach kids about the importance of honey bees and a bit about the fascinating behaviors of the hive. Kids at that particular age are very special—they still haven’t fully developed the filters that often inhibit free thought and expression in adults, yet they are old enough to really understand complex systems. I find children ask far more challenging questions than most adults, and we will have a much broader impact by teaching kids because they in turn are eager to share their knowledge with other children and adults alike. The curriculum and materials are being finalized now, and we will be in Austin area schools this fall.

6. What are you currently working on? Two Hives Honey’s focus is mostly on urban beekeeping. We launched a new initiative last year, catering to urban beekeepers, that is akin to skydiving tandem for beekeeping. I was inspired to develop the HoneyHomes program after recognizing the trend of folks taking one or more intro to beekeeping classes and never starting a hive. I realized that the steep learning curve was to blame, and though we are all fortunate to have a breadth of knowledge available to us with the click of a button on the internet, the massive

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 23 Meet the Beekeeper cont'd amounts of conflicting information that is generally very region specific was quite overwhelming. The program allows urban beekeepers-to-be to learn how to keep bees on their own hives under our mentorship, and we take care of their bees until they are ready to resume ownership.

7. Where do you see the next few years of research or beekeeping management leading? In many cities, including Austin, urban beekeeping has become very popular. I don’t see this trend slowing, and it’s important to me that we foster these interests and educate this niche segment so that the ‘trend’ can be one that lasts. I feel a responsibility to my potential new urban beekeepers to help them not only understand how to start and manage their hives, but also to fully educate them before they take the plunge on the responsibilities they are assuming in starting a hive in an urban environment. I think the needs of this group are different than that of ‘traditional’ beekeepers, and it’s important that as a community we welcome these new folks—I think they play a critical role in the education of the masses about the role and plight of the honey bee and the challenges involved in producing food.

8. Where can we find information about your research/organization? I am very active on social media, and folks can follow us at: Instagram: @twohives Facebook: www.facebook.com/twohiveshoney

9. Anything on or off topic that you find interesting about yourself/organization to share with readers? Before jumping into beekeeping, I spent 10 years in and out of Pakistan and Afghanistan, working for the federal government. The ongoing joke is that I traded one type of protective gear for another.

10. How can readers contact you and get more info on your organization? Readers can contact me at [email protected] and visit our website at twohiveshoney.com

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 24 Bee Thinking About Buying Organic Honey? Here’s What You Should Know by Elizabeth Grossman

In order to produce organic honey, bees need access to swaths of land that haven't been treated with pesticides—and that is increasingly hard to find.

“It takes two million individual blossoms to produce a pound of honey,” explains Zac Browning, owner of Browning’s Honey Company in Jamestown, North Dakota. On a June morning, his hives are humming. The little sacs on the bees’ hind legs are bright yellow with pollen from dandelion, clover, and other wild plants blooming around the apiary.

In early summer, North Dakota’s grasslands are full of wildflowers. As Clint Otto, research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, says, this is when “the magic happens on the landscape and there’s nectar all over the place.”

But even in North Dakota, which Browning calls “the last best place in North America to keep honeybees,” wildflowers and other native plants are increasingly hemmed in by agricultural and other development. Less than 10 percent of North Dakota’s native grassland prairie remains, and in the past decade alone, North Dakota has lost well over 100,000 acres of grasslands to crops, predominantly corn and soybeans.

“There’s a direct relationship between honey per hive produced in North Dakota and the amount of grassland in relation to acres converted to row crops,” says Otto. This means “a lot of herbicide and very little opportunity for habitat,” he explains.

This change in the landscape, along with ongoing challenges to honeybee health, from parasites, disease, and pesticides, is a prime culprit in declining domestic honey production. And it helps explain why nearly all the organic honey in the U.S. now comes from Brazil, India, and Mexico.

According to the National Honey Board, only about one-quarter to one-third of all honey consumed in the U.S. is made here. The U.S. also now produces only about two-thirds of the honey that it did in the early 1990s. At the same time, demand has increased, with per person consumption nearly

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 25 Bee Thinking About cont'd doubling since then. To make up the difference, annual imports have more than tripled since the early ‘90s, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). And in the past 10 years, U.S. beekeepers have been losing an estimated annual average of 30 to 45 percent of their hives to bee death, a rate that entomologists and beekeepers find alarming.

So between declines in bee numbers and pesticide-free plants, with the exception of a few honey brands from Hawaii (where the industry has been hard hit by pests in recent years), there’s almost no honey sold commercially that’s entirely domestically produced and certified organic.

Currently, to be certified organic, honey must meet the general USDA organic standards. But there aren’t yet requirements specific to honey. USDA does have recommended guidelines, but an actual organic standard for honey has been in the works since 2001. The most recent version of those recommendations is dated 2010 and suggests a 2-mile radius for organic forage, but many beekeepers suggest a larger area should be pesticide-free. According to a USDA spokesperson, the agency doesn’t yet know when that standard will be finalized.

Now, some beekeepers even question whether consumers looking for high quality honey should even be seeking out the honey that is typically sold as organic in the U.S.

Challenges for Beekeepers

In North Dakota, more row crops means less prairie. On their own, these grasslands can support as many as a hundred or more different plant species in a single acre. But more herbicide use means fewer wild blooming plants of the kind that bees use for food. It also means that bees may be bringing pesticide contaminants back to the hive as row crops (corn, soy, wheat) are typically treated with both herbicides and insecticides.

The combination means less available food for bees plus the potential stress of pesticide exposure. Both take a toll on bee health and honey production. And what’s happening in North Dakota—which produces more honey than any other U.S state—mirrors what’s been going on nationwide. It also compounds the challenges for producing organic honey.

Bees forage close to home first if they can. “But they will often go a mile or two–even three or four or more. I know bees that have made honey even five miles away,” says Gene Brandi, president of the American Beekeeping Federation.

All of this factors into thinking about what it means to produce organic honey. “To be certified organic involves several things,” says Steve Ellis, who runs the Old Mill Honey company based in Barrett, Minnesota. “You have to be organic in managing your hives,” he explains. “For example, if you’re controlling for the varroa mite”—a parasite that’s been plaguing bees around the country—“there are chemistries and control methods that are certified organic,” explains Danielle Downey, executive director of Project Apis m., a nonprofit that’s working with beekeepers and commercial farmers.

“And beyond that, you have to be able to certify that all of the farmers in that area have organic

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 26 Bee Thinking About cont'd practices for at least a three-mile radius,” Ellis explains. “So in most commercial beekeeping operations that is a nonstarter because we do not have control over the farmers around us,” he says, pointing to “pesticide drift.” A circle with a three-mile radius has a 19-mile circumference and encompasses more than 28 square miles. “So unless you are in a wilderness area or a national forest that does not have a program of [pesticide] spraying … it’s very difficult for most beekeepers,” he says. Beekeepers in Mexico and Brazil, on the other hand, tend to have more options for larger forage areas removed from agriculture.

Further, notes Brandi, because “about 90 percent of the United States’ commercial bees pollinate California almonds” and those almonds are treated with pesticides, “those bees would be disqualified” as organic honey producers.

That’s also why one of the few commercial producers of certified organic honey is in Hawaii, where bees forage on 1,000 acres of mesquite forest. “But even Hawaii is kind of tough for bees,” says Anthony Maxfield, a beekeeper on the north shore of Oahu, and president of the Hawai’i Beekeepers Association. “Hawaii is a testing ground for a lot of GMO crops,” on the islands he explains. “But there are places in Hawaii where it is possible to have an organic apiary,” he says. And that’s in a relatively remote area of the Big Island, Maxfield explains.

Thinking Local: Is Organic the Best Honey?

Organic honey “is not really the best honey,” says Maxfield. “The best honey you can get is … from where you live,” he adds. Maxfield is skeptical about the quality of the imported honey that’s sold as certified organic in the U.S., simply because it’s usually been heavily processed. That heating and filtering can strip the honey of nutrients and pollen that makes it special, Maxfield says.

Project Apis m.’s Downey also points to the importance of maintaining healthy local bee habitat when it comes to long-term bee health. “[North Dakota’s] Zac Browning tells the story of how his grandfather kept bees and never had to move them,” says Downey. Commercial beekeeping is now “the last nomadic agriculture,” as beekeepers earn a living moving their bees to pollinate crops— rather than from honey production.

That has flipped since the 1980s, Downey explains. But now, with increasing attention to the disturbing decline in bee populations, there is what Downey calls “a great shift in paradigm.” People are now recognizing the value of “investing in great habitat where you are,” she says. “Any amount of forage you can plant for bees–any flowering plants–if everyone took that approach with their own little balcony or lawn, that would do a lot of good,” she says.

Everyone we spoke to agreed that organic honey isn’t much of a practical reality in the U.S. But that could change. To flip the balance of domestic and imported honey, more local bee habitat is essential. Producing more local honey away from large-scale, chemical-intensive agriculture lowers the chance that those bees will bring pesticides back to the hive. And this is good for beekeepers, no matter how many hives they have.

Reprinted with permission from Civil Eats and author.

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 27 Bee Thinking About The Phenology Garden—Ohio

Reprinted from Catch the Buzz news feed by Kim Flottum

The Phenology Garden at A.I. Root Candle Co. contains 28 plants, which includes Herbaceous Perennials, Woody Ornamentals, and Native plants. The garden was established in 2014. The garden is one of 30 Phenology gardens across Ohio that is a replicate garden. Phenology is the study of recurring, seasonal biological events and their relation to weather. Medina Master Gardeners visit the garden weekly to record data on first and last bloom of each plant, and the pollinators that visit each plant. The goal is to learn more about pollinator activity and flower preference across the entire blooming season. Come and see the garden, the flowers, the pollinators and visit with the Medina Master Gardener Volunteers on August 13th.

PHENOLOGY GARDEN COMMON NAME SPECIES NAME Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa False Indigo, Baptisia australis Cheddar Pink ‘Tiny Rubies’, Dianthus grantianopolitanus Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea Perennial geranium, Geranium ‘Nimbus’ Daylily “Raspberry Pixie’, Hemerocallis Sedum Autumn Joy, Hylotelephium telephium ‘Herbstfreude’ Siberian Iris, Iris siberica Bee balm “Raspberry Wine’, Monarda didyma Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa Beardtongue ‘Husker Red’, Penstemon digitalis Garden Phlox ‘David’, Phlox paniculata Hybrid Sage ‘May Night’, Salvia x sylvestris Redosier dogwood, Cornus secricea Cutleaf Elderberry ‘Laciniata’, Sambucus Canadensis Manchurian Lilac ‘Miss Kim’, Syringa pubecens subsp. Patula Common Lilac ‘President Greavy’, Syringa vulgaris Oakleaf Hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia Weigela ‘Red Prince’, Weigela florida Blue Giant Hyssop, Agastache scrophularifolia Rattlesnake Master, Eryngium yuccifolium Common Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum Joe Pye Weed, Eutrochium purpureum Clustered Mountainmint, Pycnanthemum muticum Pinnate Prairie Coneflower, yellow Ratibida pinnata Swamp Verbena, Verbena hastata Culver’s Root, Veronicastrum virginicum Golden Zizia, Zizia aurea

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 28 Bee Thinking About cont'd

Here is what should be blooming the next several weeks:

Blue Giant Hyssop Hybrid Sage ‘May Night’ Purple Coneflower Common Boneset Culvers Root Rattlesnake Master Clustered Mountainmint (star of the garden for pollinators) Joe Pye Weed Blue Vervain Wild Bergamot

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 29

come join our Gathering for the honeybee

learn experience the sacred honeybee healing mind body & spirit for the love of honeybees humans & Mother Earth at Spring Creek Community Center, Hot Springs, NC weekend of September 11, 2016 special classes before Gathering

Apiary Class: Sept 7 (Wednesday) with Lady Spirit Moon Apitherapy Class: Sept 8 & 9 (Thursday &Friday) with Lady Spirit Moon

Gathering: Sept 10 & 11 (Sat & Sunday) perfect for all ages

for details about our presenters, event schedule and to register now go to www.BEehealing.buzz

$$$ Buy your Gathering tickets early for a special discount!

Adult 2-Day tickets $80, if bought by July 31, 2016 on August 1, 2016 ticket will go up to $100 Adult 1-Day tickets $65, if bought by July 31, 2016 on August 1, 2016 ticket will go up to $75 Youth 2-Day tickets $30, if bought by July 31, 2016 on August 1, 2016 ticket will go up to $40

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 30 BeeThe Magazine OfCulture American Beekeeping Get Ready For Bee Culture’s Next Event A CASE FOR HONEY Our case of honey is  lling nicely this winter. Speak- ers committed so far include Dan Conlon, Warm Colors Apiaries, Massachusetts; Bob Binnie, Blue Ridge Hon- ey Company, Georgia; Dave Shene eld, Clover Blos- som Honey, Indiana; Steve Conlon, ThistleDew Honey, West Virginia; Roger Stark, Howalt-McDowell Insurance, South Dakota, Joann Dunlevey RS, Food Safety Special- ist, Ohio Dept. of Ag; and a Representative of The FDA. Other speakers are  rming up travel plans and will be announced as they become known. This well rounded group has all aspects of this topic well covered. U.S. Producers, Packers, Producer/Pack- ers, Insurance and Risk Brokers, Marketing, and all the new Food Safety rules and regulations from both Federal and State level perspectives Unfortunately, missing from this discussion will be the National Honey Board, the marketing arm of the honey industry, and those large packers and importers who have chosen to have their annual meeting on the same weekend. The coincidence has not gone unnoticed. The focus of this event will remain on promoting and informing ambitious US Honey Producers and Packers of U.S. Honey. New this year will be a Friday Night Social held in Bee Culture’s Conference Center, the location of the Two day Conference on Saturday and Sunday. It’s a low-key, meet and greet with the speakers and attendees from 5pm to 7pm on Friday where you can pick up your fold- ers with speaker pro les, conference agenda, and lots of information on Medina’s dining and shopping opportu- nities. Supper afterwards is on your own but you’ll have plenty of places to choose from, and lots of people to join with. Tuition is $150.00 per person which includes the Friday night social and classes and an exceptional lunch on Saturday and Sunday. On line Registration opens April 1, 2016. Friday Night Social, October 21, and classes and lunch Saturday and Sunday October 22 & 23, Bee Cul- ture’s Conference Center, 640 W. Liberty St., Medina, Ohio. Register early. Mark Your Calendars Now!

October 22 and 23, 2016 at Bee Culture’s Conference Center 640 West Liberty Street Medina, Ohio

34 BEE CULTUREWatch BeeCulture.com and theseMarch pages 2016 for program and registration information DON’T MISS OUT! Kelley Beekeeping is looking for resale partners! Ask yourself these questions: Is your local beekeeping community strong and active? Do you teach beekeeping classes? Would you like to run a business that aligns with your passion? If you answered YES, we may have an opportunity for you! Contact Us Today Email: [email protected] Or Call: 800-233-2899 ex. 213

Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 32 Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 33 Kelley Beekeeping • Issue 72: August 2016 34 September 2016

North Carolina: Bee Healing Gathering September 10 & 11, 2016 Info: www.Beehealing.buzz

Kentucky: Kelley Beekeeping New Facility Ribbon Cutting September 23, 2016 Info: www.kelleybees.com

October 2016

Hawaii: Western Apicultural Society of North America Annual Conference October 13-15, 2016 Ala Moana Hotel Waikiki Beach Honolulu Hawaii Info: www.westernapiculturalsociety.org

Kansas: Kansas Honey Producers Association Fall Conference October 28 & 29, 2016 Whisky Creed Wood Fired Grill Conference Room 3203 Vine St. Hays, Kansas Info: www.kansashoneyproducers.org

We’d love to share news of your upcoming events. Please send the event name, date, website and/or contact information by the 10th of each month for inclusion in the following month’s issue. [email protected]