[Pollinator] 🐝🐝NY Bee Wellness Newsletter Mid Winter 2019🐝🐝
Pat
seawaytrailhoney at gmail.com
Sat Feb 2 06:08:23 PST 2019
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| Note: if you find information in this newsletter useful, please acknowledge NY Bee Wellness |
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| Mid Winter 2019 Newsletter NY Bee Wellness
NY Bee Wellness - an independent grassroots educational 501c3 |
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| Contents:
- Check your bees & feed!
- Weather reports
- Sticky boards
- Fall Survey results!
- Mandatory Hive Registration
- Michael Palmer's Website
- NEW research links
- Apimondia
- AFB Vaccine?
- AFB Dogs
- Varroa & SHB news
- Nosema volunteers
- Jan USDA Honey Report
- Bee Forward shirt
- Links
- Donate
- Quiz Yourself!
- Weird brood?
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Stay Warm! |
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| Check your bees when the weather breaks. Make sure they have enough feed and ventilation; you may have to "center" the cluster if they are against the one side of the hive, and redistribute honey frames.
Use only solid feed now
Candy Board recipe- Z. Huang
Making candy boards
Winter Prep- Extension.org
Wintering : NY Bee Wellness page
Medhat Nasr: Biology of Wintering Bees |
| NOAA Climate Prediction Center monthly and seasonal maps
http://www.nrcc.cornell.edu/regional/snowsurvey/snowsurvey.html
Includes:
Analyses for Industry,Turf Grass, Apple Frost Risk, Grape Bud Hardiness, Roadway Freezing/Thawing, Heating Degree Days, Mosquito Control, Extreme Precipitation, East Coast Winter Storm, Pest & Crop Management,
Emerald Ash Borer, Gypsy Moth, Lawn Watering, Stewart's Disease Risk, Climate Resources |
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| So, where's the cluster at? Are they alive?
Using an 11x17 piece of white posterboard paper coated with some adhesive material, make grid lines for ease of tallying any varroa mites spotted.
- 3 day sticky boards (divide by 3 for an average 1 day count, ideally should be less than 12 varroa mites). You can use posterboard coated with petroleum jelly (use a mini paint roller) with wide mesh screening for hives that do not have a screened bottom board.
The screening must have mesh big enough for varroa mites to fall through
Click on the photos below and zoom in, to see where the cluster is and the amount of debris (wax, pollen, Mites, SHB, etc) there is.
Sticky board from a screened bottom board on the LEFT;
Sticky board with screening from the floor of the hive, on the RIGHT |
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Results! Fall Survey 2018 NY Bee Wellness
Highlights: Very poor early Spring weather resulted in lower survival, with many hives “limping” out of Spring 2018 resulting in delays of adequate brood patterns and honey yields pushed back by at least a month. The silver lining for this is reduced varroa mite counts for many hives.
Rainfall was very localized and scattershot, with some regions receiving adequate rain and good honey harvest, while others received too much or too little rain. Many beekeepers replenished their stocks by two-fold, with a greater number of beekeepers creating their own nucs or splits. There was a loss of about 15% of new hives, which may be due to : lack of beekeeper experience, swarming, new split/nuc failure, poor weather, sales of nucs, etc.
Close to 45% of beekeepers still do not monitor varroa mite levels, checking the counts can help to assess hive health and dynamics.
Survey link:https://mailchi.mp/b800e84d7f78/fall-2018-survey-results-ny-bee-wellness?e=7b3e53d1f3
http://tinyurl.com/y8unllfb
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| Yes, you do have a voice!
Mandatory Hive Registration in NYS This is a serious issue that will affect all NYS beekeepers. Unfortunately few beekeepers are aware of the undertaking to reinstate mandatory registration (which was repealed in 2010), and that most beekeepers are being kept woefully uninformed and is some instances misinformed.What many would like to see is for the State of New York to provide services for all beekeepers, with no strings attached, and release information about disease info, spraying, and other programs which may affect honey bees such as tick control measures using pesticides-- all info which Albany possesses. A hive and frame fumigation chamber centrally located in NYS would be extremely helpful in controlling pathogens. There is a website with an online petition , map of petition signatures, press articles, Q&A page, comments page, and contact info for your representatives.https://www.freenybees.com/
NOFA-NY 2019 Policy Resolution:
Resolution: The members of NOFA-NY call upon Governor Cuomo and Agriculture Commissioner Ball to improve the Apiary Program in the following ways:
- Keep hive and apiary registration voluntary in NYS.
- Provide notification and communication of county spraying for mosquitoes, use of bee toxic substances for tick abatement, and outbreaks of honey bee disease such as American Foulbrood, for all beekeepers and the general public.
*NOTE: A 2/3 majority vote is necessary for passage of a resolution. There are about 2400 active NOFA-NY members.
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York/NOFA-NY
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| Donate to support beekeeper education! (click here) |
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| Michael Palmer's NEW website
https://www.frenchhillapiaries.com/
Videos, photos:queens, bees, honey
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| Discussions trending on Bee-L:
An online Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology
Winter storms have not slowed traffic on BEE-L, where topics of discussion ranged from domestication of the honey bee, aggression of the European black bee (Amm), locally adapted stock, debate of beekeeping and beekeeper ethics, and observations that package prices have gone through the roof!
The discussion of honey bee stocks may have set an all-time record for length of discussion! Debated was the question of whether there are truly distinct races left in the US, if not the world. Distinctions between yellow Italians and darker Carniolans may have been blurred by years of migration and importation of packages, not to mention the unknown outcome of melting pot queens open mating with multiple drones of unknown ancestry. Geographic obstacles like mountains and large bodies of water are no match for semis and the USPS!
Regardless speculation of a more or less homogeneous gene pool, many expressed preference for one race over another. Southern producers claim Italian lineage, West coast producers are more preferred to darker bees such as the New World Carniolan. And many discussed the pros and cons of the European Dark Bee (Apis mellifera mellifera (Amm)), reputed to be fierce though some say it is a workable bee with many virtues. Some claim there are still pockets of pure Amm. In the Southeast US, where beekeepers bemoan how they are hot and very undesirable. However, there are some in the British Isles striving to breed a purer strain of Amm, culling “yellow characteristics” and vilifying those who bring in genetic material that may impede the purification efforts. Some beekeepers like Italians, some keepers like Buckfasts. In England, Brother Adam is both saint and Abbey goat! His strain was heralded as the savior of British beekeeping, yet others curse the pollution of the gene pool.
Which brings this article to beekeeping and beekeeper ethics. Is it ethical or moral for one beekeeper to bring in genetic material contrary to a neighboring beekeeper’s efforts to isolate a specific genetic configuration? Is it moral or ethical for a commercial beekeeper to set down a holding yard of 100 or 200 hives next to a hobbyist yard of 10 or 20 hives? What are the implications of 3 beekeepers setting up 3 yards within a 1-mile radius? It’s fine if the carrying capacity of the 1-mile radius is 20 hives, but what if each beekeeper wants 15 hives? How shall be resolved the 15-hive excess?
The “tragedy of the commons” discussion also tackled the conflict between invasive species such as Japanese knotweed, star thistle, purple loosetrife and others, and environmentalists who observe the species are invasive! The invasive species provide good forage for honey bees but get the environmentalists’ panties bunched! Unresolved. Ironically, the discussion of invasive species was fueled by invasive Europeans with invasive honey bees in tow, who stole a continent from indigenous people. Truly a tragedy of the commons.
Finally, there was a discussion of the shocking rise in the price of package bees. Some vendors are charging upwards of $170 for a 3-lb package! Speculation included supply and demand, possibly the dissolution of a major player (Brushy Mountain), acquisition of another player (Kelley Bees), and major losses by some suppliers. The speculation was tempered by the opinion that the product is worth the price (based on the price of honey). Hopefully the high price of packages will encourage beekeepers to take better care of their stock!
Aaron Morris, BEE-L Owner/Editor/Moderator
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Insects Journal has a Special Issue "Honey Bee Research in the US: Current State and Solutions to Beekeeping Problems"
Includes:
- Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus: Honey Bee Queen–Worker Interaction and Potential Virus Transmission Pathways
- Initial Exposure of Wax Foundation to Agrochemicals Causes Negligible Effects on the Growth and Winter Survival of Incipient Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Colonies
- Is the Brood Pattern within a Honey Bee Colony a Reliable Indicator of Queen Quality?
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Proceedings from the international group COLOSS (Prevention of Honey Bee COlony LOSS). Honey bee research association. Abstracts begin on page 11.
Some entries:
3. Investigating colony-level health traits in Canada's honey bee population
4. Honey bee dependence on wild flowers in an agricultural landscape
13. Monitoring Sensitivity to Amitraz Helps Maintain our Arsenal of Anti-Varroa Weapons
20. What tools do we need to tackle SHB in different stages of invasion? |
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| Apimondia 2019 MONTREAL
We may not have a world class beekeeping event this close for many years. The last Apimondia in North America was in Vancouver Canada in 1999.
Reserve your hotel room now, you can always cancel later if you need to.
Apimondia 2019- a power point about this great event
by Dr. Pierre Giovenazzo, Université Laval, Apimondia 2019
To Register under NY Bee Wellness, use:PASSWORD: APIAMBPROG2019 Ambassador's Identification Code: 0009 |
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Farm Bill Exempts Pure Maple, Honey From Added Sugars Label
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| Potential Vaccine for American Foulbrood disease?
First-Ever Honey Bee Vaccine Offers Hope for Pollinators and Fruit Growers
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Can we have an AFB Sniffing Dog in New York?
Mack has been trained to detect the scent of dead bee larva. According to Preston, “Larva that die from the AFB bacteria have a specific scent.” Unlike human inspectors, who must open the colonies to examine the inside, Mack sniffs the outside of beehives and sits to alert Preston when he’s found a trace of AFB. “Mack can complete more inspections than humans, and he can also inspect colonies during cold weather, when colonies cannot be opened for human inspections,” says Preston. |
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Here is an organization that trains dogs for invasive species detection:
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| Varroa Mites Feed Primarily on Honeybee Fat Body Tissues, Not Hemolymph
For decades, scientists have assumed that varroa mites feed on honeybee hemolymph (blood). But a new study suggests that these parasites instead have a voracious appetite for a honeybee organ called the fat body, which serves many of the same vital functions carried out by the human liver, while also storing food and contributing to bees’ immune systems.
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Genome Published of the Small Hive Beetle, a Major Honey Bee Parasite
Beekeepers and researchers will welcome the unveiling of the small hive beetle’s genome by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their colleagues. The small hive beetle (SHB) is a major parasite problem of honey bees for which there are few effective treatments.
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WANTED: Dedicated citizen-science beekeepers for a nosema project. CONTACT: doncoats at verizon.net
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| NY Bee Wellness videos
1) Tips on Working Bees Randy Oliver
2) Healthy Bees, Meghan Milbrath (MSU)
3) Nosema & Varroa Mites Randy Oliver
4) The Times They are a Changin', Randy Oliver
5) Mite resistant queen stock , Meghan Milbrath (MSU)
6) Biology of Wintering Bees, Medhat Nasr PhD, Alberta
7)Proactive Beekeeping, Medhat Nasr PhD
8)"What is Killing Our Bees" Medhat Nasr PhD |
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| Crop Insurance Program (ELAP)
Info from Cornell Dyson School of Applied Economics; Apiary Fact SheetAgent locator |
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| Mite wash jars, oxalic, books available for purchase |
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| Time to order bee friendly plantings! Check your County Soil & Water Conservation for available native plants
https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/9395.html |
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| Great How-to videos from the University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre
to provide new and advanced beekeepers with demonstrations by our staff on a variety of topics ranging from how to open a hive to queen rearing. |
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| National Honey Report, with NYS, January 30, 2019
Includes export reports. |
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| Bee Forward Thinking T-Shirt by Saratoga Tea & Honey Company
All proceeds from this tea shirt go to NY Bee Wellness! |
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| * www.pollinator.cals.cornell.edu; Master Beekeeping online course
* COLOSS- International Honeybee Research Association, a good resource, with link to the Bee Book
* Randy Oliver's website, http://scientificbeekeeping.com
* Invasive Species NEWS
*OSU recorded Webinars (Ohio State University) *Be sure to check the Bee Health eXtension website, which includes the "Ask an Expert" option.
*Subscribe to Bee-L, a list serve for Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology
Bee-L archives
* Northeast Regional Climate Center Quarterly reports and MAPS, OUTLOOKS
***If you have an article, photos, or other info to share, please send to:
newsletter at nybeewellness.org |
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| * University of Montana Master Beekeeping Course, online
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| Apprentice: March 25 - May 3 |
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| Journeyman April 29 - June 28 |
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* Northeast Pollinator Partnership- a citizen science project creating a deeper understanding of the value of wild bees
* Northeastern IPM Center link to IPM Insights: Invasive species
* Northern Bee Network - www.northernbeenetwork.org (anyone from any state can sign up and join for free!)
* Varroa resources - https://pollinators.msu.edu/resources/beekeepers/ ,includes the Sugar ROLL technique
* Journey North!- Follow and help plot the the mapped signs of Fall!/ or The National Phenology Program
* Bee Health app- Alberta Agriculture, focuses on honey bee diseases- for SMART PHONES!
* Peter Borst's collection of written articles on various topics
* Honey Bees 101 for Veterinarians |
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| Support Beekeeper Education! https://youtu.be/wtt9DhJFsVU
Your support continues the work of NY Bee Wellness, a grassroots, non-membership educational non-profit dedicated to new, beginning, and small scale beekeeping. If you benefit from the info, videos, workshops, surveys, website, or know of someone who does, please DONATE !
Shopping on Amazon? Use this link and Amazon will donate to NY Bee Wellness at no cost to you!
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Donations can also be sent to:
NY Bee Wellness POB 25291 Rochester NY 14625
NY Bee Wellness is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Sincerely,
- Pat Bono, Project Director, NY Bee Wellness
Pat at NYBeeWellness.org |
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| QUIZ YOURSELF!
Take the online NY Bee Wellness honey bee disease quizzes:
- Tracheal Mites Quiz
- Varroa Mites Quiz
- Foul Brood Quiz
- SHB & Chalk Brood Quiz
- Nosema Quiz
All quizzes are self grading and can be used for teaching. Quizzes written by Al Avitabile PhD. |
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| Unusual or dying brood?
- Send a sample of any brood and bees to the Beltsville Bee Lab
- Bees can be checked for mites: scoop up 1/2 cup of bees (~300 bees) and do an alcohol wash
- Toss out old frames or frames with dead brood- have a bonfire (check NYS DEC Rules), Recommended to replace 20% of very old comb with new comb/frames
- Download the Bee Health App to diagnose or the Field Guide to Honey Bees and their Maladies
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| Copyright © 2019 NY Bee Wellness, All rights reserved.
Teaching New York beekeepers how to keep honey bees healthy!
Our mailing address is:
NY Bee WellnessPOB 25291Rochester, NY 14625
Add us to your address book
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