Bees Are Collecting Pollen & Spring Is Coming!

Posted on February 25, 2013 | Comments Off on Bees Are Collecting Pollen & Spring Is Coming!

Daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths – the big, colorful blossoms that we associate with spring – may not have made their annual appearance yet, but spring is gradually moving north. Beekeepers know it because their bees are carrying more and more pollen back to the hives. This activity has been going on for some time further south, and is now reaching Tennessee and Kentucky. Though not the first photos I’ve received of pollen laden bees this year, the two I’m sharing with you here are particularly nice. They were sent to me by my Tennessee friend Fred Sloop.

                                  Click photo to enlarge – a Sloop Family photo

Lots of pollen collection not only signifies blooming in the bees’ foraging range, but also means that brood rearing is underway in earnest in the hives. Pollen consumption is integral to the rearing of new bees and, in the process, stimulates the bees to collect more pollen, which in turn ….. Hence the frenzied activity we are beginning to see.

Maybe there is a beekeeper on staff at National Public Radio, or maybe it’s something in the air. At any rate, a few days ago NPR ran a story about how the collection of pollen by bees  is facilitated by a slight, negative electrical charge in flowers. As bees fly they gain a slight positive charge from friction with the air. When they visit a flower, the pollen is literally electrically attracted to the hairs on their bodies. Honey bees actively collecting pollen will work purposefully to free it from the flower, but electrostatic attraction ensures that the flower’s needs are met whether or not the bee is interested in pollen on given flight. (The NPR spot also sights a recent study at the University of Bristol which demonstrates that bumble bees, at least, can sense the flower’s electrical field and use it to guide themselves to nectar sources and to avoid those which have just been visited by another bee.)

But wait, even more remarkable things happen after the pollen is on the honey bee’s body. NPR left out the most interesting parts. The bee uses her forelegs, which have hairs Continue reading →

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Posted in Honey bee behavior, Honey bee biology

Why Is the Honey in Those Jars Different Colors?

Posted on February 22, 2013 | Comments Off on Why Is the Honey in Those Jars Different Colors?

As beekeepers, one of the questions we hear most often is, “Why is the honey different colors?”

And of course, we know the answer and are quick to give it; the color depends on the floral source. This article from Western Farm Press expands on that response and provides details which may make us appreciate anew the uniqueness and complexity of each batch of honey, and the incredible amount of work which goes into producing every ounce. Beekeepers may want to forward it to friends. It starts off with an interview with my friend Jon Zawislak, apiculture specialist with the University of Arkansas.

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Posted in Removing and processing your honey crop, Thoughts on beekeeping by Phil

Shortage of Hives for California Almond Pollination in 2013 – Part 2

Posted on February 20, 2013 | Comments Off on Shortage of Hives for California Almond Pollination in 2013 – Part 2

As a follow up to my post on California almond pollination and a possible  shortage of bees this year, here is a link to a video on YouTube. I say possible shortage, because this video was put up very recently and indicates that there MAY be sufficient bees. I think they really won’t know until the bloom gets under way, which is likely occurring about now.

Watch this short video, and you’ll see and hear from an almond grower who spends $100,000 a year to rent bees, and from an inspector with a business called Scientific Ag Company. Scientific Ag brokers contracts between growers needing hives for pollination and beekeepers with available hives. The video shows the inspector checking brood frames and describing the characteristics he looks for to ensure that the grower gets good hives for the fees he pays. Among other things, the inspecter points out that the presence of drones is an indication of a healthy hive – something I often tell beekeepers.

New beekeepers may benefit from seeing some of the traits which a strong colony of honey bees should exhibit. All of us might be interested in a glimpse into a world of professional beekeeping on a scale few of us will ever see.

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Posted in What other beekeepers are up to

Shortage of Hives for California Almond Pollination in 2013

Posted on February 18, 2013 | Comments Off on Shortage of Hives for California Almond Pollination in 2013

Every year since 2006 when Colony Collapse Disorder was officially recognized, there has been speculation in the national media that there would not be enough honey bees to pollinate agricultural crops in the United States. Each year the ominous predictions have failed to come true. This year, though, it appears that it may really be happening – at least in the California almond groves. Migratory beekeepers have been busy moving their hives to California for the last month and the word is that, this year, there truly is a shortage of bees.

If you are not familiar with the California almond/beekeeping/honey bee connection, it truly has a fascinating history. Almonds are native to Asia, but have been grown in the Middle East for thousands of years. Brought to California from Spain in the 1700s, they were part of the early farming of Franciscan missions. By 2000, the almond groves of California’s Great Valley had grown to a half a million acres. Each acre of almonds requires two hives of honey bees for pollination; a little math will tell you that in 2000, a million hives were required. Today however, there are 800,000 acres of almond trees, producing 80% of the world’s supply. They will need 1.6 million hives of honey bees, with 1.1 million of them coming from outside of California! Continue reading →

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Posted in Beekeeping in the media, Thoughts on beekeeping by Phil

Honeybees, Beekeepers, and Pesticide Risks

Posted on February 4, 2013 | Comments Off on Honeybees, Beekeepers, and Pesticide Risks

The current Bee Culture magazine (February 2013) contains a very informative article by Dr. Jeff Harris, Research and Apiculture Specialist at Mississippi State University, on the subject of pesticides and managed honeybee colonies. I highly recommend it to beekeepers who are concerned about potential exposure of their hives to pesticides. (Jeff will be one of our special guest speakers at the Bluegrass Beekeeping School in Frankfort, Kentucky on March 9th, 2013.)

There is much discussion these days in the media and among beekeepers concerning pesticides and their link to the increased colony losses that we have suffered in the last decade. Pesticide kills of honey bees is nothing new; Jeff relates a personal story of losing most of his hives to arsenite poisoning when he was a teenage beekeeper. Recently however, increased losses attributed to colony collapse syndrome and the inclusion of pesticides among its possible causes have raised the tempo of the discussion.   Continue reading →

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Posted in Hive management

More on the 2013 Kentucky Beekeeping Schools

Posted on January 31, 2013 | Comments Off on More on the 2013 Kentucky Beekeeping Schools

Just a quick followup to an earlier post on Kentucky beekeeping schools. The Allen County Beekeeping School will be held this Saturday – February 2nd – in Scottsville. More information and registration forms for all of the schools can be found at the Kentucky State Beekeepers Assoc. webpage.

The March 9th Bluegrass Beekeepers School in Frankfort welcomes Dr. Jeffrey Harris from Mississippi State University as the keynote speaker. Michael Bush from Bush Farms in Nebraska will also travel to Kentucky for the Frankfort school. One of Michael’s presentations will be on top bar hives.

I will be present and speaking at most of these regional schools. I hope to see you there.

Phil

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Posted in Schools, classes, beekeeping groups, education

A Brief Blast of Warm Air and Bees Are Flying!

Posted on January 30, 2013 | 4 comments

Weather in Kentucky – from the deep freeze to the balmy 60s and back again. Yesterday my bees were flying and today is almost as warm. I did not see bees bringing in pollen, but would not have been surprised if I had. A beekeeper friend in Bowling Green, Kentucky sent me this photo. The temperature there reached 70°F and his bees were evidently finding pollen from some source.

What is blooming now? I suspect this is from dandelions, which flower pretty much year round here in Kentucky, but comment if you think it may be from another plant.

While this warm weather is to be enjoyed (I took my daily walk outside yesterday, instead of on an indoor track), it won’t last. The forecast in Central Kentucky calls for a high of 22°F tomorrow (February 1st).

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Posted in What other beekeepers are up to

Getting Started in Beekeeping – How to Get Bees

Posted on January 28, 2013 | Comments Off on Getting Started in Beekeeping – How to Get Bees

For anyone about to get started in beekeeping, one of the first big decisions is how and where to get the bees. The options include: buying an existing hive from a beekeeper, purchasing a package of bees from a supplier, or purchasing a nuc from a beekeeper or a supplier.  This is a decision which must be made early,

Package of bees being installed into new hive

especially if the choice is to purchase a package or nuc, since availability is often limited and orders must be placed during the winter or early spring. Continue reading →

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Posted in Beginning Beekeeping

My New Q&A Column, Ask “Dr.” Phil in Bee Culture Magazine

Posted on January 24, 2013 | 1 comment

If you are a reader of Bee Culture magazine, you have likely seen my new question & answer column, titled Ask “Dr.” Phil, in the January issue.

This new monthly column is the result of a series of conversations with Bee Culture editor, Kim Flottum. He asked me about writing some articles for the magazine and, during discussions about possible formats, I told him I would be most interested in writing a Q&A column because answering questions is something that I both enjoy and spend a lot of my time doing. That was certainly the case when I was the Kentucky State Apiarist; a large part of my job was responding to questions, mostly from beekeepers, but sometimes from the general public as well. They came to me through the telephone, at meetings, and in emails. Continue reading →

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Posted in Beginning Beekeeping, Questions from beekeepers and Phil’s replies, Schools, classes, beekeeping groups, education, The beekeepers book shelf

For New Beekeepers (Beekeepers2Bee)

Posted on January 21, 2013 | 2 comments

I’m receiving more and more emails from folks who are interested in beekeeping or who are planning to become beekeepers this spring – beekeepers2Bee. I have been giving advice to new and potential new beekeepers for more than a few years, and much enjoy doing it. I find the enthusiasm and excitement of beginners invigorating.

New bee emerging.
Photo by Mary Parnell Carney

To this group I want to point out my Beginning Beekeeping page here at philcrafthivecraft.com. There you will find beginning beekeeping information and tips waiting for you. Continue reading →

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Posted in Beginning Beekeeping