When I first started beekeeping with just two colonies, it was easy to remember what went on in my hives from week to week and month to month. That was years ago, and to this day, I still remember both colonies surviving the winter only to die suddenly in the spring. And I still recall starting over in my second year of beekeeping: obtaining one colony by capturing a swarm, and one by removing bees and comb from the porch wall of a local farmer’s house. Compare that to last year when I pulled my honey supers and found myself wondering why a group of…
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Lessons From Riding Shotgun in the Bee Truck
As a new field specialist for the South Central region, I have the opportunity to soak up wisdom and advice from beekeepers, their crew, and my fellow BIP field specialists on the Tech Transfer Team (TTT). And you betcha when I say I tried to make myself the largest and most spongy of (Swedish) sponges. I’ve spent the past three months asking questions on everything from disease identification to the math of corn syrup prices, and I have been met with patience, wisdom, and, of course, humor from members of the commercial bee world. There’s nowhere I learn quite as much as riding in the…
Why I Keep Going Back
I used to be a regular attendee of my local area’s annual garden show. I enjoyed listening to the speakers they had scheduled each year, and I always kept a notepad and pen handy to jot down new plant varieties I had just learned about or some gardening tip I didn’t want to forget. After several years, I realized it was not that often that I actually used my notes or put the new ideas into practice, but I kept going back to the garden show anyway. I was not sure what kept drawing me back, but now I think I know. As my enthusiasm…
BIP ArcHive: the free version is here!
The Bee Informed Partnership (BIP) is pleased to announce the release of a new beekeeper management application that is a free version of its professional honey bee health and management tracking application at research.beeinformed.org! BIP ArcHive provides a seamless way for beekeepers to record activities and observations in the bee yard, giving insights to improve colony management. Map your bee yards Track the same colonies over time Record Varroa levels Mark conditions you observe in your colonies Curate a continuous history of honey bee health! This new application called BIP ArcHive is based on the database and hive inspection procedures used by BIP Honey Bee Health…
2022/23 State Loss Data Now Available!
2022/23 state losses have been calculated from this past spring's Loss and Management Survey and are now available online! At https://research.beeinformed.org/loss-map/ you can find the level of reported loss for our three seasons (winter, summer, and annual), sort the results, and filter based on single-state or multi-state operations. Loss level is calculated per state for any operation that visits that state during the survey period when "Operation Type" is selected as "All". These results are available per year, and beginning last year we made available a download of all state loss data here. This year we see a high level of annual loss in…
United States Honey Bee Colony Losses 2022–23: Preliminary Results From the Bee Informed Partnership
Note: This is a preliminary analysis. Sample sizes and estimates are likely to change. A more detailed final report is being prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed journal at a later date. Previous years’ peer-reviewed publication can be accessed on the survey information page: https://beeinformed.org/citizen-science/loss-and-management-survey/. View the PDF version of the abstract here: BIP 2022-23 Loss Abstract To hear more about the results from BIP Science Coordinator Nathalie Steinhauer, watch this video interview from InsideTheHive.TV with Humberto Boncristiani: https://youtu.be/zYyFxjFLVjs Nathalie Steinhauer1, 2, Mikayla Wilson1, 2, Dan Aurell3, Selina Bruckner3, Geoffrey Williams3 1Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA 2Bee Informed Partnership, College Park,…
The Survey Needs You!
The Loss and Management Survey carries many voices! It's strength comes from the many beekeepers who volunteer their time to answer its questions. We're also very lucky to receive support from a wonderful community. Here are some of their voices. “This survey is how we take bees' pulse throughout the nation, so we can take steps to improve honey bee colony health. Your collective survey responses do help!“ – Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota "The BIP Loss and Management Survey generates a countrywide view from citizen scientists of current challenges in beekeeping. It is also the best…
Bee a Part of Something Big: Participate in the Loss and Management Survey
An important sign of spring is here: The Loss and Management Survey from the Bee Informed Partnership is live! We need your help to make this year's survey the best one yet! As you know, the survey helps us understand the challenges that beekeepers across the country face. This informs extension specialists, scientists, and policy makers about the issues that matter to beekeepers. By participating in the survey, you can help us gather data on colony conditions, management practices, and other important factors that affect the health, productivity, and survival of your bees. Our survey is a long-term effort: We have run the loss section…
Loss & Management Survey FAQ
You ask, we answer. April is BIP survey time! Regardless of whether you are new to taking the Bee Informed Partnership Colony Loss and Management survey or a regular by now, you may have some questions. Are you not sure why you should take the survey? Do you wonder about some of the questions in the survey? We may have some answers for you! Read over these frequently asked questions and our answers. We hope this is helpful and will help you to answer the survey here. Q: Why should I bother taking the survey? What difference will it make? A: Surveys fall under the…
The importance of spring mite loads
Collaborations That Give Back - Featuring Dr. Katie Lee Authors: Rachel Kuipers and Eric Malcolm BIP is frequently contacted by beekeepers across the country who have experienced what we suspect are mite-related losses, not realizing their mite loads throughout the course of the season. Recent findings indicate that even those maintaining the commonly suggested 3% action threshold may still lose colonies to mite-related issues. Previously, industry standard for the Varroa action threshold—the threshold at which beekeepers should take action against the mites to avoid mite-related damage to their colonies—was a 3% infestation rate or higher throughout the season. The damage threshold, or the point at…