The most opportune time for honey bee colonies in most areas of the U.S. is during spring build-up. The surplus of pollen and nectar that usually accompanies spring allows a growing colony to create a surplus of pollen and honey. It is also a time of year where the colony is trying to work through its kinks and get the colonies population dynamics under control as far as nurse bee to worker ratio. This ratio is crucial for hive ventilation and keeping moisture and bacteria from infiltrating the hive and causing problems. Some diseases that arise during this opportunistic time period are Chalkbrood, AFB, EFB…
Bee Educated! A Semester with Pollinaterps
I've been around the research block a few times. In high school, I was involved in a student lead permafrost research initiative where I got the chance to travel to Churchill, Manitoba and get my hands dirty with my first taste of fieldwork. I started in on-campus research way back in my very first semester of freshman year, studying vampire bat behavior. I spent a summer in an entomology lab at the Smithsonian, identifying parasitic wasps, and pan trapping at sites all over Maryland. And now, as a seasoned sophomore, I got the chance to expand my research horizons to the vanEnglesdorp lab. I had…
Beekeeping Equipment: Excluders!
The options for beekeeping equipment are seemingly endless. Lids, hive tools, suits, smokers, pallets or bottom boards; even backyard beekeepers need a lot of stuff. But how much of this equipment is really necessary? The answer is probably not much, but it definitely makes certain aspects of beekeeping easier. Today I want to look at one piece of equipment in particular, the excluder. Over the years I’ve heard many views on whether or not they are necessary, financially worth it or good for a hive (and of course the only thing beekeepers have more of than equipment is opinions). Called honey excluders or queen excluders…
Honey Bee Saltwater Sampling: Efficiency Improvement
Since a young age, I have had an attraction to engineering and mathematics, narrowing down my ideas for the future with numerous years of study. Not until my later teenage years did I realize that I didn’t explore much outside the realm of engineering and math. I decided that if I took advantage of the large array of research done at University of Maryland, I might find something else I am interested in, or perhaps at least narrow down what I would like to do in the future. The Bee Informed Lab was the perfect opportunity. I was asked to review the efficiency of the…
Colony Loss 2013-2014
Preliminary Results: Honey Bee Colony Losses in the United States, 2013-2014 May 6, 2014 Dennis vanEngelsdorp1*, Nathalie Steinhauer1, Karen Rennich1, Michael Wilson2, Kathy Baylis3, Dewey M. Caron4, Keith S. Delaplane5, Jamie Ellis6, Kathleen Lee7, Eugene J. Lengerich8, Jeff Pettis9, Robyn Rose10, Ramesh Sagili4, John Skinner2, Angela M. Spleen8, David R. Tarpy11, Dominic Travis7, James T. Wilkes12 for the Bee Informed Partnership. Note: This is a preliminary analysis. A more detailed final report is being prepared for publication at a later date. The Bee Informed Partnership (http://beeinformed.org), in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is releasing…
Colony Loss Survey 2012 – 2013
A national survey of managed honey bee 2012-2013 annual colony losses in the USA: results from the Bee Informed Partnership Abstract: For the past six years in which overwintering mortality of honey bee colonies has been surveyed in the USA, estimates of colony loss have fluctuated around one-third of the national population. Here we report on the losses for the 2012-2013 seasons. We collected data from 6,482 US beekeepers (6,114 backyard, 233 sideline, and 135 commercial beekeepers) to document overwintering mortality rates of honey bee colonies for the USA. Responding beekeepers reported a total 30.6% (95% CI: 30.16-31.13%) loss of US colonies over the winter,…
It’s a Buzzing World – Finding Precise Counts and Pollinaterps
As a junior searching for research experience, I was able to join the vanEngelsdorp Lab this semester to discover an interest in research I never knew I had. From day 1, I was welcomed and taught how the lab worked as well as the various projects that were occurring. Shortly after, I began my own independent project, comparing the precision of various methods to prepare Nosema samples, in addition to joining the PollinaTerps. My independent project was created in hopes of finding a more consistent manner to crush honey bee samples in preparation for Nosema counting. The current method involves the use of a Pin…
Importance of knowing how lipid soluble pesticides, fungicides and miticides can affect Honey Bees
This semester, I had the opportunity to intern in Dr. vanEngelsdorp’s lab and was able to research potential pesticide (check out pest control madison wi for pest control services) , fungicide and miticide effects on honey bees. Honey bees have fat bodies that functions as a reserve for food. Fat bodies are composed of trophocytes, which are cells containing mostly fats, some protein and glycogen, and oenocytes, which are secretory cells involved in wax production [1]. Studies regarding certain pesticide, fungicide and miticide usage have shown to have a negative impact on the fitness of honey bees and are also strictly not used in pest…
Bees in the Classroom
Have you ever thought about teaching your kids, grandchildren, a young family friend, or even a class at a local elementary school about honey bees? Well, I have! I love going into elementary classrooms and teaching the youth about honey bees. They are our next generation of bee keepers, farmers, scientists, and researchers so we need to get them excited early. When I go and talk to a classroom of students I make sure to always bring a few things with me: My bee suit – it gets their attention and gets them involved because they love to put it on. Honey – for them…
The Pygmy Shrew: A little mammal that is causing big problems in Canadian overwintering colonies
Typically when critter infestations come up into beekeeping conversation these common mammals come to mind: bears, skunks, mice, opossums and raccoons. Just like their size, pygmy shrews often fall under the radar. However, Fletcher Colpitts, Chief Apiary Inspector of New Brunswick, Canada, is working to make information about the pygmy shrew more available. He recently posted an info sheet about the pygmy shrew that every beekeeper should read: http://www.nbba.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/shrew_screen.pdf The pygmy shrew is the smallest mammal native to North America. It can fit through a hole in a honey bee hive as little as 1 cm, and surprisingly only weighs an average of 3 grams.…