Experienced beekeepers can develop their skills and learn from national experts on beekeeping and queen rearing at this year's Master Beekeeping Workshop.
The workshop will be July 31 to Aug. 2 at the Apiculture Lab at the Agricultural Research and Development Center near Ithaca.
The program will cover all aspects of beekeeping. Classroom and hands-on training sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m. and continue through the days, followed by cookouts and team problem solving exercises. (See attached flyer for more program details.)
The workshop is designed to provide beekeepers with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. In addition, participants will receive training in pollination and bee biology, Internet resources, marketing, and presenting beekeeping information to youth and public media.
Trainers for the workshop will include: Drs. Marion Ellis and Ackland Jones, University of Nebraska, Dr. Marla Spivak and Mr. Gary Reuter, University of Minnesota, Mr. Bob Cox, Iowa State Apiarist, Mr. Bob Reiners, South Dakota State Apiarist, Mr. Charles Simonds, Nebraska State Apiary Inspector, Mr. Gary Ross, Kansas State Apiarist, and Mr. Cecil Sweeney and Ms. Joli Winer,MidCon Agrimarketing, Mr. Alfred Stark, University of Nebraska Internet Specialist, Ms. Sharon Gibbons, beekeeper, Ballwin, Mo., and Mrs. Ken Rynearson and Bob Roselle, University of Nebraska beekeeping technicians. The workshop is limited to 70 participants.
Queen Rearing Workshop:
Dr. Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota Research and Extension Apiculturist, will conduct the Queen Rearing Workshop. She will be assisted by her research associate, Gary Reuter. The workshop is limited to 20 participants and will include extensive "hands on" training in all aspects of queen rearing. All participants will receive a manual written by Dr. Spivak and Mr. Reuter.
Master Beekeeper Certificates and pins will be awarded to participants who complete the training, demonstrate a range of bee management skills, and complete six service units. Service requirements may be met by speaking to schools, civic groups, or bee clubs about bees, beekeeping, pollination, or hive products. They also can be met by working at an educational exhibit, assisting a young person prepare state or county fair entries, attending a state or national beekeeping meeting, or participating in a radio, newspaper, or television interview.
Registration is limited, and applications will be accepted on a first-come basis. Both workshops provide high quality training with low participant to trainer ratios. Cost is $70 per person and includes five meals, refreshments, training manual, and cap.
Lodging is available in Lincoln and Wahoo. A list of facilities and their rates will be sent to registrants. A van will leave Lincoln at 7:30 a.m. daily for those who need transportation.
Send registrations or inquiries to:
Include the following information:
Workshop (Master or Queen) __________________
Name: ____________________________________
Address: __________________________________
City/State/Zip ______________________________
Phone: ____________________________________
Enclose a $70 check for registration payable to Department of Entomology.
Please provide a brief summary of your beekeeping background to assist us in planning.
Insects have developed resistance to many chemicals used to control them. Manufacturers have developed new products to control resistant pest populations, but ultimately, farmers have to pay much of the development cost. During recent years, there has been an emphasis on resistance management in pest control. Scientists have learned that pest populations are much less likely to become resistant to a treatment if farmers use a resistance management program. Beekeepers would be severely limited in their management options if mite resistance to Apistan becomes a problem. (See November 1996 issue of Bee Tidings for more on this topic and recommended management strategies.)
Bee World, a quarterly publication of the International Bee Research Association, recently published an article by Dr. Max Watkins on resistance to treatments designed to control pests, how it develops and what can be done to avoid it. I highly recommend reading the entire article (Vol. 78, No. 1, pages 15-22). Selected highlights follow:
Definition of resistance:The ability of an organism to tolerate toxic doses of a substance that would be lethal to most in a normal population of the same species.
Mechanisms of resistance: (1) Resistance due to behavioral changes, reducing the likelihood of the pest becoming exposed to the agent. (2) Reduced penetration of the treatment due to thickening of the cuticle which covers mites and insects. (3) Accelerated degradation and elimination of the toxicant may be conferred when more highly active enzymes are present. (4) Modification of the site(s) of action of the toxicant can lead to reduced sensitivity.
Distribution within a population: In normal populations, a particular characteristic,such as height, will have many individuals near the average and fewer near the extremes. Just as there are a few extremely short or extremely tall people, there are often individual insects or mites that are particularly susceptible and others highly tolerant to a given pesticide. Resistance to a pesticide is genetically transmitted to offspring from the parents and is not generated spontaneously in response to a chemical treatment. It was already present in the population.
Selection pressure: Organisms possessing extreme sensitivity or extreme resistance usually exist as a tiny proportion of a normal population. Often these organisms have less efficient metabolic or reproductive capacity. Resistant strains will remain in a minority unless something happens which favors the resistant individuals. If a selection pressure is exerted (such as a pesticide application), most normal individuals are eliminated. This leaves the resistant individuals to produce the next generation. (Few pesticide treatments are 100% effective). If the selection pressure (treatment) is only for a short time, some surviving pests will be susceptible. They will breed, reproduce and dilute the population of resistant individuals. However, if the selection pressure (treatment) is continuous, the resistant insects or mites will represent a larger proportion of the population than previously. Eventually, if treatments are continuous, a dominant resistant strain can evolve. When dominant resistant strains exist, the molecule to which the organisms have developed resistance can no longer be used effectively.
Three principles can be applied in Varroa resistance management:
Moderation - Treatment periods should be kept short, infrequent and as directed on the label. Do not leave Apistan strips in colonies longer than recommended by the label.
Saturation - Varroa should be subjected to a high dose of the active ingredient to keep any resistance present in the mite population functionally recessive. Do not reuse old strips.
Multiple attack - Use biomechanical practices, rotate chemical treatments as alternate treatments become available, and use resistant bee stocks if they become available.
A good understanding of defensive behavior makes beekeeping a pleasure. The first step is to realize that bees are not miniature people. They are not capable of complex human emotions like being angry or happy with you. Rather, they respond to specific stimuli in very predictable ways. When beekeepers understand the triggers for defensive behavior, they can work their colonies without switching on the sequences of behavior associated with colony defense.
The dynamics of the defensive response include guarding, attacking, and pursuit, each of which is often mediated by alarm pheromones. (Pheromones are chemical messages used by organisms to communicate with members of the same species).
 Guard Bees |
Defensive behavior is a part of the overall division of labor in the colony. As such, the colony includes defense "specialists". Bees initiate guarding about 15 days from birth - slightly before beginning to forage. Only a small percentage of the 15-day-old bees (about 10 percent) exhibit guarding behavior. Guard bees typically spend about 1.5 days guarding before assuming other duties. We do not know why certain bees become guards while others do not.
A colony's defensive response is initiated by guard bees. Guard bees assume a typical posture, forelegs off the ground, antennae held forward, and mandibles closed. Guards approach entering bees and touch them with their antennae. Bees discriminated as non-nestmates are ejected. Guard bees are not distributed throughout the nest, but rather are concentrated at the entrance(s). In most cases, a frame of bees and brood can be placed into the center of another colony with minimal fighting. The same bees placed at the colony entrance would, under most conditions, initiate a defensive response.
Guard bees also initiate defensive behavior against large vertebrate predators such as man. Triggers for the defensive response include vibrations, rapid movement, unusual odors, and dark colors. When guard bees initiate the defensive response they release an alarm odor that recruits other bees. Smoke should be targeted at these guard bees which serve as sentinels for the colony.
Dr. Michael Breed, who studies defensive behavior, describes bee's defensive response as follows: There is a gradient of response along a continuous scale from flight to oriented flight to stinging. The bulk of the bees responding to a disturbance are just flying. Typically, only half of one percent of the bees in a colony will actually sting. The most extreme response is to land on an intruder and sting. However, most bees first engage in intimidatory behavior, in which they fly at the intruder but do not land. They especially hover near sensitive areas such as the eyes and nose. In most cases, intimidation is all it takes to deter a threat.
Occasionally, guards may patrol the area around the colony on the wing. This behavior is rare in European bees, but more common in Africanized bees. The presence of flying guard bees is one reason Africanized bees exhibit more intense defensive behavior than their European counterparts. Interestingly, Africanized bees have not spread as rapidly in the United States as most experts expected. The varroa mite appears to be an important factor in slowing down their spread. While Africanized bees in Brazil exhibit varroa tolerance, those in the southwestern United States appear to be susceptible. This raises many interesting questions. Are the mites in the United States a different strain? Is climate a factor?
Honey production in 1996 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 198 million pounds. There were 2.57 million colonies producing honey in 1996, compared with 2.65 million in 1995. Yield per colony averaged 77.2 pounds.
Midwest States |
|||
| State | Number of Colonies |
Pounds Produced |
Average per Colony |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | 60,000 | 4,380,000 | 73 |
| Kansas | 17,000 | 1,139,000 | 67 |
| Iowa | 50,000 | 3,400,000 | 68 |
| Minnesota | 165,000 | 13,530,000 | 82 |
| South Dakota | 240,000 | 20,400,000 | 85 |
| North Dakota | 220,000 | 23,760,000 | 108 |
| Wyoming | 38,000 | 1,368,000 | 36 |
| Colorado | 45,000 | 1,120,000 | 60 |
Prices: Prices for the 1996 crop averaged 89.4 cents per pound, up 31% from 1995.
 Grasshopper Nymph |
Grasshopper populations are expected to be higher than normal this year in much of the Midwest, according to early indicators.
Grasshopper populations are cyclic. Gary Hein, an entomologist at the western Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center, reported finding up to 75 grasshopper nymphs per square foot in surveys conducted in mid May. These small nymphs have already destroyed numerous sugar beet plantings. They will get bigger and the hatch will continue for several more weeks.
A high density of grasshoppers usually means reduced honey production because they consume both the foliage and bloom of nectar secreting plants. Efforts to control hoppers with chemicals can also jeopardize bees. Midwestern beekeepers should keep informed about grasshopper populations.In grasshopper outbreak years, beekeepers can often secure good crops of honey before grasshopper populations reach devastating proportions. However, late summer and fall honey harvests are non-existent. Grasshopper problems are most severe in low-rainfall regions such as in western Nebraska. The last severe outbreak of grasshoppers in Nebraska was in 1979.
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