December, 1997

 

In this Issue:


Bee Tidings is a cooperative publication of the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and the Nebraska Honey Producer's Association. The newsletter announces events of interest to beekeepers, provides timely advice, and summarizes current research that beekeepers can use. A newsletter subscription includes membership in the Nebraska Honey Producer's Association(NHPA).

Varroa Resistance to Apistan Found In Florida
and South Dakota


A bee colony destroyed by a varroa mite infestation.
Varroa mites that do not respond to Apistan treatment were found in Florida and South Dakota in September 1997. At first, investigators were not certain if the lack of response was due to defective strips, degradation in storage, improper placement, or resistance to the chemical. It is now apparent that the problem is due to mite populations that are resistant to fluvalinate (the active ingredient in Apistan). The resistance problem is limited to a few beekeepers in two states. Apistan, which is the only product available for varroa control, continues to perform well for most beekeepers. The advent of mite resistance means that beekeepers need to sample colonies after treatment to confirm efficacy. Resistant mite populations have created an urgent need for an alternate way to control varroa. Wellmark, the company that makes Apistan, is developing another varroa control product called Api-Guard. A key component of the product is thymol, an essential oil. Formic acid gel packs have been extensively evaluated in studies coordinated by the USDA during 1997 and are another good candidate for registration. Several other compounds are in various stages of development, but are unlikely to provide a short-term solution. For now, use Apistan properly, conduct post-treatment evaluations of mite control, and exercise caution in bringing new stock into your operation. With reasonable precaution, Apistan should continue to be an effective tool for most beekeepers until alternative products are available.

Internet Offers the Latest Honey Information

At a recent meeting of the Texas Beekeeper's Association, Dr. Carl Schafer, an economist at Texas A & M University, gave an excellent presentation on forecasting honey prices. He gathered most of his data from three Internet sites:

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/ USDA Economics and Statistics System at Mann Library, Cornell University. The USDA Economics and Statistics System contains nearly 300 reports and data sets from the economics agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These materials cover U.S. and international agriculture and related topics. Most reports are text files that contain time-sensitive information. Most data sets are in spreadsheet format and include time-series data that are updated yearly.

http://www.fas.usda.gov/ The address for the attache honey reports through FAS (USDA's Foreign Agr. Service) . This gets the home page. Then do Search, then Attache reports, then Custom date (currently 1/97-11/10), then remove the All Commodities and All Countries checks so you can search for only honey in a specific country, then submit. The current Argentine report is for Aug 25, 1997. The attache reports provide early information on production in countries that export honey to the United States. This will allow you access to data before it is released to the economic forecasting service.

http://www.nhb.org/ The National Honey Board. This site has recipes, tips, and information about current promotions you can tie into. It also includes links to other beekeeping sites.

Other new Internet sites of interest to beekeepers
Several new sites of interest to beekeepers have opened recently on the Web and many older sites have been improved and upgraded. Internet access is now available at the libraries in many communities. A word of caution to beekeepers who use the Internet. There are some sites that have bad advice -- let the reader beware. Some relatively new sites of interest include:

http://www.pollination.com/ International pollination systems. This site contains information on bumble bees, blue orchard bees, alkali bees and alfalfa leafcutter bees. While honey bees are by far the best all-purpose pollinator, other bees are used in some pollination work. In addition to providing basic information, the site provides links to additional sites.

http://www.apiservices.com/index_us.htm The world's first virtual beekeeping gallery. This site is in France, but it has an English version. It contains a wealth of information

http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/ This is not a new site, but it contains links to many new sites. It has links to sites about all kinds of insects, so you will have to search the list for beekeeping sites.

Africanized Honey Bee Update

A map showing the current distribution of the Africanized honey bee in Texas is included with this newsletter. Questions regarding their distribution and regulatory policies should be directed to:

Paul Jackson
Apiary Inspection Service
Texas A&M University
College of Agriculture
College Station, TX 77843-2475
Phone: (409)845-9713

The University of Arizona has established an Africanized Honey Bee Education Project on the Internet at http://ag.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/texis/webinator/allsite_search/ It includes lesson plans for K-12 students and provides basic information for people of all ages. The site also has a lot of good information about honey bee biology.

Movement of Africanized Honey Bee in Texas


Got an Idea for a New Honey Product, But You Need Some Technical Help?


The University of Nebraska's Food Processing Center will conduct six one-day seminars for people interested in manufacturing a food product. The dates are: January 23, March 11, April 30, June 4, August 17, and October 27. The seminars are an introduction to the Entrepreneur Assistance Program. This nationally recognized program assists entrepreneurs through all phases of developing a food manufacturing business including: product development, food safety, market selection, regulatory issues, product pricing, legal concerns, packaging and promotional strategies. Seminar participants who decide to seriously pursue a food manufacturing business will receive confidential and individualized assistance with product development, business development, and product introduction into the marketplace.

The National Honey Board has funded four research projects at the University of Nebraska Food Processing Center to develop value-added products that use honey. Products developed include: honey fruit spreads, extruded snacks made with grain and honey (suitable for vending machine packaging), honey in pasta, and honey in dry baking mixes for bread. The Food Processing Center also works with entrepreneurs to help them develop their own ideas.

If you are tired of working hard and getting low honey prices, consider value-added products as a way to enhance your income. The equipment needed to produce and package all of the products described above can be purchased for less than $10,000. To receive an Entrepreneur Assistance Program information packet, contact:

Arlis Burney
Food Processing Center
University of Nebraska
143 H.C. Filley Hall
Lincoln, NE 68583
Phone 402-472-8930.

Nosema Presents a Very Real Threat to Colonies


Dysentery caused by Nosema disease.

Although extensive studies about Nosema injury have been published, Nosema disease is frequently not taken seriously by beekeepers. In the December issue of Apis, Tom Sanford provides an excellent review of what is known about Nosema.

Nosema apis is a parasite of honey bee's digestive system. Injury caused by the organism can be compounded by its role in activating viruses. Research has shown that 1) it is worldwide in distribution; 2) it causes premature atrophy of the brood food glands; 3) it reduces the lifespan of individual bees; 4) infected queens are superseded; and 5) infection reduces honey production. Frequently Nosema is not recognized as a problem because it doesn't kill outright and it is expensive to control.

With the arrival of bee mites, long-standing beekeeping problems have gotten less attention. This appears to be true for American foulbrood with many states reporting a higher incidence. It is also the case for Nosema. Dr. Andrew Matheson, former director of the International Bee Research Association, questions why beekeepers eagerly embrace vegetable oil patties for tracheal mites, but choose not to feed fumagillin for Nosema. Fumagillin therapy has a robust history of verifiable research. Vegetable oil patties provide modest improvements at best, and some scientists (myself included) remain skeptical about their value. Tom Sanford also provides an interesting review of this enigma in his newsletter.

Many queen breeders and beekeepers have expressed concern about reports of queen failures and premature supersedure. The American Beekeeping Federation has scheduled a symposium on queen supersedure for their January 14-18th meeting in Colorado Springs. While mites and mite treatments will be examined, two well-documented more traditional problems may be largely responsible for any increase in premature queen supersedure: 1) Some queen and package bee producers and recipients have shifted their disease control efforts to focus on mites and reduced their efforts to protect bees from Nosema. 2) The loss of many feral colonies and a decline in beekeeper managed colonies have reduced the availability of drones for proper mating of queens. In our efforts to address new apicultural problems, we need to be careful not to overlook old and well-documented problems as factors.

The Right Bee Truck Can Save A Back


A good bee truck should have about 5 inches of clearance between the tires and the bed when empty and 2 inches when fully loaded, making it easier to load and unload supers.
Good bee trucks differ from standard design flat bed trucks. Most flat bed trucks are built with 1.5 foot of clearance between the tires and the bed. This is too high for bee work. A good bee truck should have about 5 inches of clearance when empty and 2 inches when fully loaded. This can be accomplished by beefing up the overload springs on the back tires. The ride will not be as good, but your back will thank you every time you handle supers. You also need to adjust the placement of cross stringers so as to miss the tires. Standard beds always have a cross stringer that lines up with the tires. This stringer should be eliminated and the stringers on both sides should be doubled. This allows the tires to fit under the bed framework.

Beds for hauling bees should be 8 feet wide (2-ton trucks may want to go to 8.6 feet wide). A headgate located in front should be exactly the height of 1 drip board and the number of supers you expect to stack on the truck. Tie down hooks should not be evenly spaced along the bed. To correctly position tie down hooks, load the truck with supers stacked lengthwise and mark hook positions. Then load the truck with supers stacked crosswise and mark the hook positions. The result will be an uneven spacing of hooks, but the positions will work for tying down any load.

Bee trucks should have a metal storage box mounted below the bed between the tires and cab. This provides a safe place to transport a hot smoker. It also provides a place to store tools so you don't have to reload the truck each time you go to the bee yard.

Finally, one of the most important items in a bee truck is a checklist. I don't like admitting how many times I have arrived in a bee yard and discovered that I forgot something I needed. You may want to make a separate checklist for different activities. A checklist is especially important if your bee truck only works part-time as a bee truck. When you unload the truck for other purposes, it is easy to forget to replace all of your beekeeping equipment.

Beginning Beekeeping Class To Be March 16-17th

A beginning beekeeping class will be taught on March 16 and 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Lancaster County Extension office in Lincoln. There will be a follow-up field trip on April 4 in which participants will assemble hives and gain hands-on experience in bee handling. To register for this class contact: Barb Ogg, Lancaster County Extension Office, 444 CherryCreek Road, Lincoln, NE 68528-1507 (Phone: 402-441-7180).

Season's Greetings!
As holidays draw near,
we offer this cheer.
May your bees bring you joy,
throughout the new year.
May the joy that you find,
among creatures so small,
surround you with beauty
and fill you with awe.
May honey sweeten
your food every night.
And may all of your labors
bring sweetness and light.
- Marion Ellis



Subscription Information

Bee Tidings is published jointly by University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and the Nebraska Honey Producer's Association six times a year. A subscription includes membership to the association. Subscriptions are for one year and begin with the November issue.

To subscribe to Bee Tidings, send a $10 check made out to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln along with your name, address, and phone number to:

Bee Tidings
Box 830918
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68583-0918
This newsletter was respectfully written by:
Marion D. Ellis
209 Plant Industry, Box 830816
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68583-0816
Phone: 402-472-8696
Fax: 402-472-4687
Internet address: mellis@unlinfo.unl.edu

Your comments and suggestions about the newsletter are always welcome.