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City Bee, Country Bee
By: Jay Evans, USDA Beltsville Bee Lab

In Aesop’s fable, City (Town) Mouse, Country Mouse, a city mouse regales her skeptical country cousin with a rosy view of high density living. Sampling both, the country mouse prefers to stay put, largely because “the country mouse lives in a cozy nest at the bottom of a tree. Her home is small, but it is warm and comfortable.” Plus… no cats!

Beekeepers and bee scientists like to contrast the lives of bees under our care in apiaries (dense cities of colonies) versus those out on their own in trees. Aside from giving general insights into bee biology, these comparisons can predict the risks of managed and feral bees sharing disease while also showing how well ‘city’ and ‘country’ bees deal with various stresses. We have great data for the numbers of managed colonies, but how many country bees are we talking about?

I have discussed before the achingly beautiful (and hard) work by Tom Seeley and students assessing feral bees in a U.S. forest. Borrowing from those and similar studies, we can get a rough estimate of how many country bees there are in hollow trees and other cavities. My Sunday afternoon and small brain can’t grapple with honey bee density in deserts and the vast tundra, but considering four adjoining states (New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia) with decent land-use data from the USDA (https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/major-land-uses/maps-and-state-rankings-of-major-land-uses/), we can estimate ‘suitable’ acreage (fallow fields, pasture and forests) at around 58 million acres total (60% of the available land). Using consensus estimates of 2.5 colonies/square-mile (one colony/square kilometer, 0.004 colonies/acre), one arrives at 233,000 feral honey bee colonies in these four states. According to USDA (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Bee_and_Honey/) ,there were 67,500 managed colonies in these states on January 1, 2021, surveying beekeepers with five or more hives. Even doubling this number to account for backyard beekeepers and those who evade surveillance, there are still fewer managed than feral colonies in these regions.

So, free-living bees are likely to be important for their own sake, and for the environment. What’s it like out there? Taking a disease angle, several studies have compared the relative disease loads of managed and feral colonies in the U.S. Amy Geffre and colleagues from San Diego sampled boxed and free-living colonies (three colonies each) seven times over the course of a year to measure virus levels for three common bee viruses (Preliminary analysis shows that feral and managed honey bees in Southern California have similar levels of viral pathogens. 2023. Journal of Apicultural Research, 62:3, 485-487, DOI:10.1080/00218839.2021.2001209). Both colony types were remarkably similar in virus levels, changing with the season but hardly differing from each other.

In Persistent effects of management history on honey bee colony virus abundances (2021. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 179:107520, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2020.107520), Lewis Bartlett and colleagues found similar patterns between free-living and managed colonies but noted that the style of management might play a role. Namely, colonies maintained in a larger commercial apiary (hundreds of colonies) tended to have the highest levels of most viruses, with feral and low-intensity ‘backyard’ colonies being about the same. As in most field studies, there is abundant variation for viral disease within each category, so these results will need even more sampling to see how viruses and bees fare under different management styles. Nevertheless, they suggest that beekeepers adopting a ‘country bee’ approach by spacing out colonies to reduce urban interactions will be doing their bees a favor.

In the most ambitious study to date, Chauncy Hinshaw and colleagues surveyed 25 colonies each from feral and managed colonies in Pennsylvania (2021. The role of pathogen dynamics and immune gene expression in the survival of feral honey bees. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8, 594263. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2021.2001209). They surveyed ample bee numbers per collection (75 worker bees), perhaps getting a better sense of average disease loads. Even better, they paired similar city and country colonies from a bunch of regions, which helps account for other factors that might change virus loads. In this study, managed colonies tended to have lower levels of mite-transmitted deformed wing virus, presumably reflecting mite treatments, and roughly similar levels of black queen cell virus and nosema. Perhaps reflecting pathogen exposure, feral colonies had higher levels of several immune response proteins as well. Given the higher number of sampled colonies, these researchers were also able to show how their measurements related to colony fates. As in prior studies, deformed wing virus, presumably alongside mite loads, was a good predictor of a bad colony outcome.

Colonies showing higher levels of two immune genes, once other factors were evened out, were more likely to survive the study period. Arguably, these proteins might be good predictors of genetic components that help bees survive in the face of disease.

More can be done to contrast the lives and successes of city and country bees. These comparisons can help improve bee management by those of us keeping bees in clusters of Langstroth high-rises. It is also fun to think of bees in the ancestral habits they have followed for thousands of years. Country bees almost certainly have more threats now than they did when humans were more scarce, and there has to be some level of contact between city bees and country bees that muddies all of these comparisons, but in many ways the presence of country bees at all is comforting. Left to their own care, they are making country homes work wherever they can, and that is a good lesson for beekeepers.

In full disclosure, the lives of country bees were not on my mind until a recent inquiry from British bee researcher Francis Ratnieks and his graduate student Ollie Visick. In their Laboratory for Apiculture and Social Insects (https://www.sussex.ac.uk/lasi/), they are comparing the lives of free-living honey bees in their native range to their hived cousins. As ecologists, their studies will give insights into how honey bees used to live in the forests and fields of England. I thank them for the prompt (and welcome hot tips from any of you) and look forward to reading their results!

We all know that one of the greater challenges in beekeeping is shepherding bees through our variable northern Winters. But what other weather factors should we consider when we are planning our beehive inspections, splits, mite control or feeding regimens?

In my experiences with beekeeping, I have come to rely on signals from nature and the variable weather patterns in my own surrounding environment rather than reliance on specific calendar dates that follow the same schedule year after year. So in this article, I will relate some of the clues and weather events that signal the appropriate time to take certain actions that have resulted in my success in getting at least one hive through every Winter for the past thirteen years. My greatest result occurred several years ago with nine hives going into Winter and those nine hives successfully surviving through the following Summer. This result allowed me to sell a few nucleus hives (nucs), raise a few more queens and take another step toward being a self-sustaining beekeeper.

As the Year Starts
At the beginning of the year, shortly after Christmas, is when I briefly open hives to add a cane sugar food supplement to the hive. It seems that every so often around the Christmas/New Year’s holidays there is a day or two that gets above 45°F (7°C) that allow for both cleansing flights and the insertion of extra food supplies. There are various ways to supply additional food resources including hard candy boards, sugar patties or granulated sugar over newspaper. I hesitate adding any sugar source earlier than late December. Any form of cane sugar is harder for the bees to digest and if they decide to tap into the additional hard sugar source in the Fall, it can possibly result in a form of dysentery. Dysentery is often the result of bees not being able to leave the hive for cleansing flights and finding it necessary to relieve themselves in the hive. The February and March time frames are when most hives are lost over Winter due to a lack of food resources.

Winter sugar over parchment paper is nearly used up, the remains of a partial pollen patty at lower left of sugar.

Another Winter task is that every other month or so I will also use a bent ½ inch metal bar to clean out any dead bees from the bottom board. Once temperatures only occasionally drop below freezing at night, I will also remove my insulation sleeves that cover all but the bottom and top entrances to the hives. Some of my fellow beekeepers use blanket insulation and also remove them when temps begin to only erratically fall below freezing at night.

My next clue is the budding of maple trees in my yard. In some years, I have seen white pollen brought into hives in very early February; possibly from pussy willow shrubs, but not of sufficient quantity to support the needs of potential new larva. If one does see pollen being brought into the hive, this is a clue that the hive is most likely healthy and the queen has started to lay eggs, although in very small quantities this early in the year. In late March or early April there is one of a dozen maples in my yard that is always first to have the buds pop open. On a warm, sunny day, standing under the tree, it sounds like you are standing in a beehive. I use this as my signal to check the cane sugar supply once again and add a partial pollen patty to each hive.

The next pollen/nectar flow will not occur until a month later, in late April or early May. If they gather enough pollen from maples and other sources they will not use much of the pollen patty. But if rainy, cold weather precludes much pollen collection they may use most, or all, of the supplied patty and it may even need to be replaced before the dandelion bloom.

Heavy dandelion bloom is the next signal I use to know that Spring flowers and the dandelions are providing the first nectar flow. This is also my signal to do my first deep hive inspection and commence with any splits I may wish to do. Moving frames around, even if exactly replaced before dandelion bloom, can disrupt the hive in such a way that the cluster does not reform to provide the needed warmth for new eggs and larva resulting in the loss of the hive.

Bent metal bar used to clean out bottom board in Winter.

Opening a hive has a different meaning than inspecting a hive. Up to this point, I have only opened the top of hives to add sugar or pollen patties, while inspecting means to quickly examine each frame as it is removed and replaced or substituted if doing a split. The methodology of splits was covered in the April issue so I will not repeat my split techniques here. This is also the time where I will clean off the bottom board and remove excess old or pollen saturated frames.

Once May arrives, the beekeeping season gets into full swing here in SE Michigan. It is a good time to do the first mite check and initiate treatment, if called for. It is suggested that for the first few months of beekeeping the new beekeeper check hives once a week to every ten days. This is also a good recommendation for any new hives or nucs that have been started in order to monitor their progress. These do not have to be deep hive inspections looking at every frame. Often starting an inspection by pulling a frame or two from one side until eggs/larva are spotted is enough to see the hive is functioning well with an adequate queen without ever seeing the queen or looking at every single frame. As your comfort level and knowledge increases, hives may not need to be inspected for a month or more if things look normal with bees coming and going. Bees that are bringing in some pollen is a good sign there is a laying queen and larva to be fed.

Weather Affects Flying Time
Since beginning beekeeping, I find I keep a much closer watch of weather forecasts to determine the best times to work with my hives dependent on weather. As the Summer flowers start blossoming and nectar flows get into full swing, weather is the key factor in how much time bees can be flying and making collections of nectar, water, pollen or propolis. Any new splits or weaker hives can benefit from a feeding of one to one sugar syrup and an initial mite treatment if needed. I like to use a single Hopguard strip in five frame starter nucs just as a precaution. From this point on through the Summer, it is a matter of periodically checking hives to be sure the queen is laying, mite loads do not become excessive and no inherent diseases occur. When all but one or two frames in the top most super are drawn with comb and filled with brood or nectar and honey it is time to add another super. I prefer to keep my bee’s brood chamber in two ten-frame deeps with a queen excluder under any honey supers that are continually added through the Summer. I know of area beekeepers that work with eight frame medium supers and use three supers as their brood chamber with equal success. If I were to start over again, I would most likely choose the eight frame triple supers due to the weight factor of a ten frame deep super when full.

Taking weather into consideration, there are factors that come into play when the bees will be less agitated when doing an inspection. It is generally recommended that inspections be done on days when the outside temperature is above 55°F (13°C). On a warm, sunny day, most of the foragers will be out of the hive. If there is a front moving in or it is rainy out, the bees seem to be able to sense this and will be more agitated. Likewise, cloudy or windy days are not optimal times for inspections. The time of day that works the best seems to be between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., although on nice Summer days that are longer, inspections can stretch into the late afternoon or early evenings.

When opening a hive, listen to the noise of the bees. If it goes from a peaceful hum to a louder roar it may not be the best time for a deep inspection of all frames. I recall helping a new beekeeper several years ago who had a work schedule that allowed for inspections to only occur on weekends. Several months of rainy or windy weather made it quite difficult to inspect during optimal weather which made for a more difficult beekeeping Summer. The hobby beekeeper with other employment challenges may find it difficult to find optimal overlaps between good weather and their free time to inspect hives.

Most of my reading and research indicates that mite checks are recommended about every month to month and half with the most critical time being August through September. This is when the mite population is exploding just as the bee population begins to decrease in preparation for Winter. Mite population control is without question the current most important part of beekeeping to insure hive survival over the coming Winter. When doing splits, I insert drone frames which forces me to get into new hives in less than 24 days for their removal. This assumes drone comb has been drawn, capped and drone brood is present. Mites prefer drone brood due to the slightly longer 24 day period it takes for drones to emerge. Removing drone frames prior to 24 days precludes a mite explosion as drones emerge from cells. When mite counts warrant treatment, I follow with a formic treatment in late June or early July followed by another treatment in late August or early September and finally one or two oxalic acid dribbles in October and late November if needed.

Harvesting Honey
Fully capped frames of honey can be taken any time of the beekeeping Summer/Fall season. I have taken honey from remaining Spring hives where the bees did not survive the Winter. If doing this, it is easiest if the honey frames are warmed and checked for any crystallization. Extracting frames that are partially crystallized can quickly plug up the filtration screens and make it very hard to strain the resultant honey. I have found it much easier to feed any unused overwintered frames back to the bees or use them in new hives or nuc splits. Bees from active hives will soon find frames that are set out some distance away from the apiary and will remove the surplus honey to existing honey supers. I have also had some luck with a partial super of near full frames placed over an inner cover that is on top of the upper most honey super allowing bees to clean out the excess frames of honey. During my first few years of beekeeping I only collected honey once in the Fall. This sometimes resulted in very tall hives as supers were added to give the bees more space.

Three deeps and four full honey supers with a fifth added before Fall honey harvest reached over six feet and resulted in future harvests occurring twice a season.

I have since decided it is easier to make a harvest in late July followed by another in September. Any Fall flow is left for the bees to backfill the brood chamber for their Winter honey supply. If new nucs or hives are made from splits, those new starts may not produce any excess honey for the beekeeper in their first Summer. Taking too much honey from the bees in their first season is also a reason for Winter loss as this may result in Winter starvation.

The amount of nectar the bees collect that can be turned into honey is directly related to weather conditions. Continual rain and thunderstorms during a peak nectar flow can significantly cut down on flying time and wash away available flower nectar. Dearth periods where there is no rain for weeks also effects nectar availability, as the plants are using available ground moisture to sustain leaves and growth rather than producing pollen and nectar for flowers and seeds. Weather that is hotter than normal or nights that are colder than normal also impact the amount of nectar that plants produce. As the beekeeper learns to keep a close eye on weather and forecasts, they can better determine optimal times for inspections and if there will be a larger or smaller honey harvest.

Another aspect to consider is when to start nucs for overwintering. I have found that nucleus hives of four or five frames are best started in May or June but no later than the beginning of July. Four frame nucs started in those months may need a second or even a third story four-frame super added to make space for the increasing number of bees. The earlier the start, the more frames that may need to be added. In the following Spring, five frame nucs can be sold and excess frames used to begin new hives or nucs or simply used to increase ones hive count.

Fall Weather Clues
As Fall weather temperatures get cooler and daylight time gets shorter, the bees will be out foraging less and Fall nectar flows are sometimes questionable. Hives that have had their last honey harvest may benefit from Fall feeding of 2:1 sugar syrup. Any extracted honey supers can be placed over the inner cover and under the outer cover such that only the bees in the hive can clean out the honey supers for storage and reuse the following year. There is less chance of bees storing additional nectar/honey in the extracted honey super if it is placed on a different hive than that from which it was taken.

As the temperatures start to drop below 40°F (4.5°C) at night, it is time to combine hives or restrict hives to smaller spaces. This will also be when the Fall flowers such as golden rod and wild purple asters have passed their peak. If there are several weak hives they can be combined using the newspaper method between supers and pinching the weaker queen. Although, I have had very heavily populated hives come through the Winter in three deeps, I like to confine bees to only one or two ten-frame deeps as Winter approaches. New hives or swarms caught earlier in the Summer are usually best if confined to one ten-frame deep while established hives with a large population of bees may be better if allowed to have two deeps.

As stated earlier, August and September are critical months to keep mite counts under control. A day or two after doing a mite treatment, another test for mites is highly recommended to see if that treatment had an effect. If mite counts are still higher than recommended (3 per 100 in Fall) another treatment may be needed. High mite counts during these months are a strong indicator that the hive may not survive the Winter. As temperatures start to dip below freezing at night, it’s time to winterize the hives. I use a combination of a coroplast sleeve over the sides of the hive as well as Vivaldi style spacers for ventilation over the inner cover.

Coroplast plastic sleeves over hives.

There are other numerous ways to insulate a hive, such as using tarpaper or hive blankets if Winter temperatures can get very cold or are somewhat variable in your area. And this brings us full circle to the beginning of the next year.

As you become more experienced as a beekeeper, noting the changes in nature can lead to more efficient beekeeping dependent on your environments weather conditions rather than on calendar dates. I have found that keeping good notes has helped me improve from year to year. If you are not in a note taking mood, I have included a checkoff page (Download PDF) that can be copied and used as you inspect your hives. This is a slightly modified checklist obtained from a local beekeeper and used with permission from Jim Ford, who works with a Boy Scout troop to obtain various merit badges including beekeeping. Using clues from how weather patterns effect nature in your local environment can lead to a better beekeeping experience.

Lots of colony losses once again in 2023. There are three words I want you to remember: Varroa, Varroa, Varroa. And disappointingly, the majority of the beekeeping industry is still not using the Honey Bee Health Coalition vetted, accurate and usable Tools for Varroa Management Guide.

Varroa mites and the Varroa Virus legacy will KILL your honey bees.

In order to be a good manager of your honey bee colonies and reduce/stop losses from Varroa/Virus you, the beekeeper, need to be on your ‘game’ and be a Beekeeper not a Bee-haver.

The Honey Bee Health Coalition (HBHC) has the developed the key educational outreach tool for Varroa control titled, Tools for Varroa Management, A Guide to Effective Varroa Sampling & Control. The latest edition can be found at https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/HBHC-Guide_Varroa-Mgmt_8thEd-081622.pdf. It is based on Federal and State registered, legally approved products which require beekeepers to ALWAYS following label directions. This is all you really need to successfully manage for Varroa control in your colonies. To get you started, we will share some overview of what you need to think about and actually do.

In the Tools Guide each product will have the following individual points in a table: Name, Active Ingredient, Formulation, Route of Exposure, Treatment Time/Use Frequency, Time of Year, Registrant-reported Effectiveness, Conditions for Use, Restrictions , Advantages, Disadvantages, Considerations and a link to a Use Video.

Here we are only going to share Name, Active Ingredient and Conditions for Use, to get you started.

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) is a set of proactive, control methods that offer beekeepers the best “whole systems approach” to controlling varroa. See Tools Guide, pages 6-12.

ESSENTIAL OILS
Tools Guide pages 19-20

Name – Apiguard and Thymovar
Active Ingredient – Thymol
Conditions of Use – Temperature range restrictions: Apiguard – above 59°F and below 105°F (15°C to 40°C), Thymovar: above 59°F and below 85°F (15°C to 30°C).

Name – ApiLife Var
Active Ingredients – Thymol (74.09%), Oil of Eucalyptus (16%), Menthol (3.73%) = camphor ( essential oil)
Conditions of Use – Divide wafer into four pieces and place each piece in a corner of the hive on the top bars. Use between 65°F and 95°F (18°C to 35°C). Ineffective below 45°F (8°C).

NON-CHEMICAL / CULTURAL CONTROLS
Tools Guide pages 26-30

Name – Screen Bottom Board
Conditions for Use – Replace hive bottom; leave space below for trash (‘garbage pit’).

Name – Sanitation (bee biosecurity) comb management
Conditions for Use – Possible negative effect on bee population if five or more combs are moved at one time.

Name – Drone Brood Removal (Drone Trapping Varroa)
Conditions of Use – Only applicable during population increase and peak population when colonies are actively rearing drones.

Name – Brood Interruption
Conditions of Use – Need a queen or queen cell for each split or division created.

Name – Requeening (Ideally with varroa resistant stock)
Conditions of Use – Works best with proper queen introduction methods.

SYNTHETIC CHEMICALS
Tools Guide pages 16-18

Name – Apivar
Active Ingredient – Amitraz (formadine acaricide/insecticide)
Conditions for Use – Place one Apivar strip per five frames of bees. Place strips near cluster or if brood is present, in the center of the brood nest. Only use Apivar in brood boxes where honey for human consumption is NOT being produced.

Name – Apistan
Active Ingredient – Tau-fluvalinate (pyrethroid ester acaracide/insecticide)
Conditions for Use – Temperatures must be above 50°F (10°C). Do not use during nectar flow.

Name – Checkmite
Active Ingredient – Coumaphos (organothiophosphate acaracide/insecticide)
Conditions for Use – Wait two weeks after use before supering.

ACIDS
Tools Guide pages 21-25

Name – Mite-Away Quick Strips
Active Ingredient – Formic Acid (organic acid)
Conditions of Use – Full dose (two strips for seven days) or single strip (seven-day interval then single new strip for an additional seven days) per single or double brood chamber of standard Langstroth equipment.

Name – Formic Pro
Active Ingredient – Formic acid (organic acid)
Conditions of Use – Both treatment options can be applied per single or double brood chamber of standard Langstroth equipment or equivalent hive or equivalent hive with a cluster covering a minimum of six frames. There should be a strip touching each top bar containing brood. Use when outside day temperature is 50°F to 85°F (10°C to 29.5°C)

Name – 65% formic acid
Active Ingredient – Formic acid 65%
Conditions of Use – Use when outside temperatures are between 50°F to 86°F (10°C to 30°C) and leave hive entrances fully open

Name – Oxalic Acid / Api-Bioxal
Active Ingredient – Oxalic acid dihydrate (organic acid)
Conditions of Use – Mix 35 grams (approximately 2.3 tablespoons) of oxalic acid into one liter of 1:1 sugar syrup. With a syringe trickle five milliliters of this solution directly onto the bee in each occupied bee space in each brood box; Maximum 50ml per colony of oxalic acid in sugar syrup; fumigation of two grams per hive in Canada and one gram per hive box in the U.S.; follow label and vaporizer directions.

Name – HopGuard 3
Active Ingredient – Potassium salt (16%) of hops beta acids (organic acid)
Conditions of Use – Corrosive—use appropriate clothing and eye protection. Might stain clothing and gloves.

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Found in Translation

Teaching Bees New Tricks

By: Jay Evans, USDA Beltsville Bee Lab

Bees have innate (think ‘robo-bee’) and learned (‘show me, sister’) behaviors. Recent work with bees has explored the boundaries of these two forms. While it is dangerous to put our own biases on animal behaviors, the complex behaviors measured seem to include ‘play’, ‘puzzling’ and ‘dancing’. Oh yeah, and they can count as well, even showing an awareness of ‘zero’ things, but that was yesteryear’s news from Scarlett Howard and colleagues (Numerical ordering of zero in honey bees, 2018, Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.aar4975).

What is fascinating about work coming out just this year is that not only do bees show complex behaviors, but they seem to get better at those behaviors by watching their nestmates. Bee dances will be familiar to most beekeepers and students of animal behavior. Successful foragers often tell their sisters where the good stuff is after finishing their foraging flights. Specifically, foragers signal both direction and distance to flower sources using the waggle dance. True to its name, and shown graphically to the right, this dance involves a bee streaking across the comb and shaking its abdomen for the edification of sister foragers. The angle of this dance on a vertical patch of comb signals the direction of a good food source relative to the current position of the sun relative to the hive. The length of each dance streak provides an estimate of the distance to flower patches (or to sugar baits planted by curious naturalists). By repeatedly dancing, they drum up interest and lead future foragers to a better understanding of how far they might have to fly to get these rewards. The discovery of this dance language is decades old, and justified a share of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973 for Austrian bee researcher Karl von Frisch. The recent work ups the game by showing that much of this behavior is learned by watching older, more precise, dancers.

Shihao Dong and colleagues set out to study Social signal learning of the waggle dance in honey bees (2023, Science, DOI:10.1126/science.ade1702). Specifically, they judged the dancing skills of self-starters relative to those of bees that were mentored by older, experienced, dancers. To produce a swarm of naïve dancers, they established colonies comprised solely of like-aged bees, so that all bees reached foraging age together and were therefore less likely to benefit from matching the skills of a senior dancer. Bees from these ‘Animal Farm’ colonies were compared to marked bees of the same age which had grown up gazing at the dances of experienced dancers in colonies with a typical age profile. Naïve bees consistently over-stated the distance they had flown to flowers, in effect telling nestmates to fly right past suitable food sources. They also showed more ‘Dance Disorder’ than both older bees and bees that had been exposed to older dancers. Dance accuracy for all dancers improved over time, it just improved much more quickly when bees had older mentors to watch. So what is the lesson here for beekeepers? No, you can’t force your teenager to watch you dance and expect them to get it, but you CAN see how bees in colonies with an abnormal age structure, thanks to rapid premature death of foragers, might continue to slide by spending unnecessary time looking for food. Long-lived bees are those free of chemical stress, raised with adequate protein nutrition, and arguably bees that have avoided mites and other disease. When you protect your bees from these stresses, just think of how their dance lives will improve.

In a study that, for me, deserved two SMH’s, bees were trained to take on puzzle behaviors, or behaviors that simply don’t present themselves to bees when scientists aren’t around. Working with bumble bees, Alice Bridges and colleagues first taught their bees to open small food boxes by pushing on colored (red or blue) tabs. This a behavior I am not sure I could teach my dog, but she is a bit slow. They then checked to see if bees could follow the lead of a nestmate who had already figured out the box trick. While self-learners emerged in the control colonies sometimes got the knack for opening boxes, bees who observed a nestmate open a box were more likely to successfully mimic that behavior. Over time, bees with a teacher opened more boxes, faster, and were rewarded with more sugar treats. Honey bees and some other bee species are known to spontaneously ‘rob’ flowers by chewing directly into nectar pools when those pools are too deep in the flower for their tongues to reach. It would be neat to see if such nectar robbing is also a learned trait, passed on by adventurous foragers who had to learn the trait the hard way. If so, can such teachers target their lessons to their nestmate sisters?

All of these studies push the known boundaries for bee awareness and behavior, showing all the more how lucky we are to have formed bonds with honey bees and other insects. Clever behavioral scientists will no doubt continue to discover profound, and maybe a bit unsettling, awareness by insects. This awareness is likely to be most evident in the highly social honey bees and bumble bees. What’s next, spelling bees? Stay tuned. In the meantime, get out, find a friend and improve your dancing.

Successful beekeepers track numbers throughout their colonies and apiaries over time. Knowing varroa mite loads might help explain colony death. Honey production yields can reflect habitat quality around your apiaries. Photo credit: Rebecca Masterman

Managing bees is kind of a numbers game. Not in the illegal gambling sense, but instead in the measuring bee health and business sense. New beekeepers are warned about the importance of counting varroa mite numbers in their colonies and hear stories about high percentages of colony loss. Long time beekeepers and many commercial operations remember stories of high honey yields and market prices that are impacted by imports. Whether you are new to beekeeping or a long-time participant, keeping track of key numbers could be good for you, the bees and beekeeping.

It has been said often that beekeeping is local, so your beekeeping numbers should be too. Honey yields per colony vary greatly from state to state (and apiary to apiary within a state and hive to hive within an apiary) as do the pounds of honey that bees need to get through Winter or dearth periods. Tracking key numbers within your state each year can serve as a bee health conversation starter. Let’s hope that the conversations continue each year and are about lower colony losses and higher honey yields.

Here are some numbers that we think are important.

Varroa Mite Loads
Let’s get the mite talk out of the way and address it right away. Varroa mites and the viruses they vector are still one of the greatest threats to the health of your honey bee colonies. Successful beekeepers keep on top of the latest management recommendations and know the threshold where intervention is key to maintaining healthy bees. This threshold might be different than what you think and the threshold changes depending on the time of year. Monitoring mite loads is important. Keeping up on the latest research-based recommendations is also critical to successful beekeeping as your management will change over the years as the threats to your bees change (anyone remember tracheal mites?). This excellent update from the Bee Informed Partnership will bring you up to date on mites as well as provide a link to the latest free edition of Tools for Varroa Management from the Honey Bee Health Coalition. While you are there, we suggest signing up for updates from the Bee Informed Partnership (https://beeinformed.org/2023/03/01/the-importance-of-spring-mite-loads).

Colony Loss Data
Let’s also get the colony loss data out of the way. Following significant colony losses across the U.S. in 2006, the Bee Informed Partnership has been tracking colony losses across the U.S. You can contribute to the survey each year in April by reporting your losses. Reported loss data by states is available all the way back to 2008 (https://research.beeinformed.org/loss-map/).

Honey Market Numbers
The National Honey Board compiles honey data from multiple sources on their website and you can easily spend some time looking at the numbers (https://honey.com/honey-industry/market-overview). For a monthly regional report, Bee Culture’s detailed guide will provide everything you need to know (https://www.beeculture.com/monthly-regional-honey-price-report/).

Honey Yields
If you want to explore your state honey data, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service has a searchable database for all things honey and bees, including reported honey yield per colony. You can search national as well as state data across more than 30 years (https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/).

Measuring available habitat for your bees is difficult but doing so might inspire others to increase floral resources for pollinators. These bees are enjoying the blooming mountain mint planted in the apiary. Photo credit: Rebecca Masterman

Because honey bees are managed pollinators, it is easier to track the numbers described before. One other number that is more difficult to track, yet very important, when talking about honey bee health is Acres of Pollinator Habitat.

How much pollinator habitat is available for bees in your state? It is a difficult number to track as counting the flowers on trees, shrubs, prairies, conservation land, cover crops and more (bee lawns, gardens, roadside habitat, etc.) is not easy, but we love those who are trying to do just that. Please visit Homegrown National Park’s website and spend some time appreciating their efforts to support grassroots conservation with a way for all of us to map our native plantings (https://map.homegrownnationalpark.org/Dashboard/Country).

Becky Masterman led the UMN Bee Squad from 2013-2019. Bridget Mendel joined the Bee Squad in 2013 and has led the program since 2020. Photos of Becky (left) and Bridget (right) looking for their respective hives. If you would like to contact the authors with your number stories or thoughts, please send an email to mindingyourbeesandcues@gmail.com.

Knowing the status of food for your bees is important. Beekeepers usually work backwards, as they place their bees and measure the honey. If honey production is low (compare yours to the average honey yield), then it is possible that there are not adequate resources for your bees. If honey production is high, then you are in luck. If you planted flowers specifically for your bees to make honey on, then it isn’t luck, but good planning.

Should we be measuring some of the pollinator habitat in our states? We think it is a great idea and good to know if the numbers are going up or down. Some numbers, like acres planted in CP42 Pollinator Mix in the Conservation Reserve Program are being measured. Is it possible for state or federal agencies to keep track of the habitat they have installed without too much of a record-keeping burden? We don’t know but think we should ask.

Acknowledgments and suggestions:
The authors would like to thank Dr. Marla Spivak for helpful edits and suggestions.

As late Spring moves into Summer and the bee numbers in the hive begin to increase, it is not unusual to have a hive release a swarm. I have seen swarms in our area of SE Michigan begin in mid-May and continue as late as late August. The most frequent occurrence of swarms seems to occur from early June to late July. During my first few years of beekeeping, I would have insisted that these swarms were not coming from my hives. As I have become more aware of the causes for swarming I now believe that in those early years that at least some of the swarms I was catching did indeed come from my hives. But what would cause this natural tendency to swarm and how can it be minimized? The most probable cause for a hive to swarm is overcrowding. Although I knew some of my earlier year hives were strong and felt they had not swarmed, I have now changed my opinion on this point. Just because there still seem to be a lot of bees in the hive after a swarm is not a good indication that the hive did not swarm. An overcrowded hive after a swarm may look, to the new beekeeper, very similar to the pre-swarmed hive even though ⅓ to ½ of the hive may have departed. If a hive is not examined the day before and the day after a swarm it will be very hard to tell if the hive has swarmed. As the hive begins its late Spring and early Summer build-up it experiences a large population increase. By late June or early July, this huge increase may be the precursor to a swarm. If something is not done to preclude this there could be a loss of a significant honey crop later in the season. This is because it has been found that up to 75% of the hive foragers may leave with the swarm. This large decrease in the bees that have reached the forager stage leaves most of the new bees to still go through the nurse bee and internal hive job stages before becoming foragers. This makes sense, since the swarm needs foragers to supply the nectar needs and comb building of a new hive while the bees remaining in the original hive serve as nurse and house bees to support the care of newly emerging bees before becoming foragers. I once had the privilege/misfortune to watch a swarm emanate from a hive and it is an exhilarating and exciting sight to see and at the same time very disappointing. I was about to inspect my hives around 11:30 in the morning. As I was inspecting my most western hive, there seemed to be a lot of activity at the hive entrance of the next hive over. I initially chalked this up to orientation flights as these also exhibit a lot of activity in front of the hive for a short time. But suddenly there was a massive exodus of bees from that next hive as wave after wave of bees marched out the reduced hive entrance and circled around the calm air in a thirty to forty foot circle in front of my hives. After about ten to fifteen minutes the bees coalesced into about a five to six foot diameter circle and departed to the south about ten to twelve feet off the ground never to be seen again. I checked the hive and there were still many bees present. Had I not seen the swarm depart with my own eyes, I would have been none the wiser that this hive had swarmed. It was then I realized some of my earlier year swarms may have been from my own hives. The propensity to swarm is not to be viewed as a bad thing as it indicates the hive was strong to begin with. Hopefully, it will regain its strength as it rebuilds, although this can be a time consuming process. Before I get into some steps that can mitigate a swarm, there are a few other conditions that may be reasons for swarming.

A captured swarm from a backyard pine tree began my beekeeping adventure with no previous knowledge or equipment.

Reasons for Swarming
In addition to the crowding previously mentioned, swarming may also occur due to a heavy mite infestation. As the bee population increases, the potential for mite increase is also present due to the availability of many more capped brood cells in which to reproduce. If the mite population gets out of hand, the bees could decide to swarm to find a better location only taking the phoretic mites with them. Phoretic mites are those riding around on the bee’s backs or thoraxes. Mites in un-emerged cells will be left behind in the hive. Not initiating some type of mite mitigating protocol on one’s hives is the greatest reason for hive losses. Likewise, some method of mite treatment management should take place with a captured swarm to assist the success of that swam in becoming a productive hive.

As mentioned before, not enough space can be a reason for swarming. This is not only true for the crowded double deep hive, but can also happen in as small as a three frame nuc. Small three to five frame nucs need to be watched much more carefully and given added space sooner to preclude the possibility of all frames being filled with nectar and brood almost requiring the nuc to swarm if there is not enough room for more eggs and brood or honey storage space. Over time, brood frames become old and minimally smaller with the pupae cocoons of repeatedly raised new brood in those cells. Additionally, those continually reused cells may retain slight bits of the agrochemicals used in pesticides, which leads to near universal contamination of beeswax in the bee colony. Wax contaminated with these pesticides negatively affects the reproductive quality of queens, drones and the overall quality of worker bees. When the bee’s tolerance of the contaminants in the reused wax brood cells exceeds an unknown threshold the bees may decide to swarm. Therefore, it is a good idea to replace old brood foundation with new frames on a regular basis. I have read that every four to five years is a good time allowance for replacing brood frames but have also seen some respected beekeeper researchers let this reach to an eight to ten year replacement cycle.

Another reason for swarming is the internal hive climate. If the temperature is continually getting too hot or the bees do not have the capability to provide proper ventilation, this may also induce swarming. The bees spend a great deal of effort keeping the internal humidity and temperature at the ideal state around the queen, brood and nectar stores. If drainage or ventilation needs become too severe the bees could decide to swarm.

Yet another reason for the hive to swarm is that there is a problem with the current queen. She may simply have exhausted her ability to lay or fertilize eggs and the hive senses it is time to move on with a new queen.

One final reason for swarming is that it is a natural tendency for all living things to have a propensity for procreation. The simple desire to continue ones genetic stock in future generations can best be accomplished by Apis mellifera with swarming. This inherent drive is almost impossible to identify in order to preclude a swarm by even more experienced beekeepers.

A swarm in flight getting ready to depart the hive area.

Swarming Symptoms
There are a few things the beekeeper can look for in hive inspections that may indicate a precursor to a hive’s potential for swarming. That first, late Spring hive inspection becomes very important in determining a hive’s swarm probability. We all hope for a strong cluster to survive the Winter and become a thriving hive as the first nectar flow begins. If within a month of that first strong hive inspection and there are more than five to seven frames of brood in a double deep Langstroth hive, then it is most likely time to do something to manage that hive. I have found that adding another brood deep or honey super when all but the last frame or two are filled results in a less likely potential for swarming with first time overwintered hives.

The presence of open, unused queen cups along the bottom of frames is normally nothing to be concerned about. These are usually only present for an emergency response if needed. But if those cells become fully developed queen cells, or start to contain larva, the hive may already have decided to swarm.

Significantly reduced activity can be a sign of potential swarming as bees are not bringing much into the hive. This can be hard to ascertain by the new beekeeper and may be caused by lack of space for more nectar or pollen brought into the hive. I find I often need to remove a frame or two of older pollen filled frames as there is such a wealth of pollen sources here in SE Michigan. Often, more frames than needed become nearly saturated with pollen using up valuable space for more brood or nectar stores.

Another indication that a hive is getting ready to swarm is that the hive has had no weight gain in a week or so period. I have to admit that I do not monitor my hive’s weights until the early Winter weight check, if at all. But research has shown that if a hive does not gain much weight during a nectar flow week, it is almost a sure sign of swarm preparation to come. As I became more experienced as a beekeeper, I found that more careful monitoring of my hives could give a good indication of swarming potential. From there I have found that splitting a strong hive early on is the best way to avoid the swarming instinct. In a previous article, I went into the elements of how to split a hive so I will not repeat those steps here.

Mitigating a Swarm
There is a lot written about removing queen cups to preclude the swarming instinct. The thing to remember is that by removing queen cups you are not changing the bee’s instinct to swarm if it already exists. The bees can build new queen cups in a matter of days so removal must be a continual process every two to three days, not an objective most beekeepers prefer to try. The destruction of queen cells has never proven to be a successful method of swarm control. I have seen eggs laid in cells for worker bees that appear to be only ⅓ of their final size. The bees continue to build the cells even as the egg and larva begin to grow. The bees may use this same technique for new queen cells and if an unfound queen cell that was missed emerges the hive may swarm earlier in the normal development of the replacement queen. Destroying queen cells on a second try runs the risk of early swarming and no new queen left for the remaining hive to develop. This could also result in the initial swarm being even larger than if you had not interfered with the removal of queen cells.

The best way to curtail the possibility of swarms is to do a split as soon as a hive is perceived to have swarm characteristics or seems strong enough for a split. A split is actually akin to creating an artificial swarm and the best known way to minimize the possibility of swarming. If developed queen cells or queen cups containing larva are found, these are perfect frames to move to starter nucleus (nuc) hives. A year ago, I split all six of my hives that came through Winter in a strong state with plenty of bees in each. That is the first time that I did not see or catch any swarms during that following Summer. Even if the hobby beekeeper does not desire to increase their hive count with splits, there is plenty of interest among new beekeepers to purchase nuc hives. Or the beekeeper could marry the queenless part of a split to another weaker hive in the apiary.

The swarm gathers around the queen in or on a bucket.

Capturing a Swarm
The capture of a swarm may be as simple as shaking them into a hive from a hanging branch or have the complexity of extracting them from an enclosed building cavity. When a queen leaves a hive with a swarm she usually will land within 100 feet or so of the originating hive. Most of my early swarm catches have been within several 100 feet of my own hives. This might be an indication that they were coming from my hives. Although six large swarms within about two weeks coming from the only two hives I had one Summer seems a bit implausible.

Bees surround the queen to keep her warm, dry and safe until scouts find a new location for their new home. This could be any sort of building or tree hollow that the scouts agree upon. Although a swarm can be intimidating in appearance, they have engorged themselves on honey before leaving the hive and have no eggs, brood or stores to protect. As a result the swarm is relatively unlikely to sting and can be quite docile. The one reason bees tend to sting is if some are getting squeezed or feel threatened. The swarm may move off in a matter of hours or stay in the initial swarm location for several days depending on weather and how soon the scouts find a new home. So it is wise to capture a swarm as soon as possible to avoid their eminent departure.

The steps to capture a swarm are relatively easy. It is advisable to wear a bee suit and veil as the disturbance of the swarm may be enough to make them feel threatened. You will need some sort of container for transport, if it is not convenient to drop them directly into a new hive. A five gallon bucket will work well, particularly if it has a ventilation screen on the top or a cardboard box with ventilation screened holes in a few spots works equally as well. Once the container is under the bee swarm, a quick shake will drop nearly all into the container. I have seen a five gallon bucket fastened on the bottom of a ten foot pole that was used to reach a swarm a bit higher in a tree. Shaking the branch caused most bees to drop into the bucket. If they are on a non-shakable surface a bee brush may be necessary to gently sweep them into the container. Some beekeepers like to spread a bedsheet or tarp under the spot where the bees will drop to better contain those falling outside the container. If the queen fell into the container, most of the remaining bees will join her. If she has not gotten into the container, the bees will return to her and reform a new cluster around her location following her queen pheromones. You will need to give them a little time to resettle down after which the process can be attempted again. If able, leave the container sit until nightfall or dusk to give the remaining bees time to congregate in and around the container. After dark, the bees will have settled down and the ventilated container can be closed and taken to the new hive location. Within a day, they should be moved into their new hive. If you are not interested in capturing a swarm there are eager beekeepers that can likely be contacted through local clubs, government Ag or environmental agencies who will come to get the bees. Feral swarms are most desirable because they are genetically suited to the local area and tend to be less disease prone than those raised in the hundreds by commercial apiaries which are shipped as packages to beekeepers.

A ten frame deep on a barn mounted platform used as a swarm trap just prior to strap down.

A 40 liter swarm trap mounted on a barn stand just prior to strap down.

Swarm Traps
I have made it a practice to set out a swarm trap or two early in each season of beekeeping. I have attached two hive stands to the rear of a hip roof barn at about eight feet off the ground. A bit higher would be nice but that is the height of an inner beam that made a good attachment point. Nearly every Summer, I have had a swarm move into one of these traps. On occasion, I have simply set a single ten frame deep hive on a stand and occasionally a swarm moves into it. I think the empty drawn comb frames inside are a good draw for the swarm. My homemade swarm traps hold five deep frames with another five or six inch open space below the frames. Research has shown that 40 liters of space seems to be the ideal to draw in a swarm. The open space below, along with the five frames, works out to almost exactly 40 liters. In addition to the five drawn comb frames, I will add a plastic perforated baggy at the bottom with an inner paper towel that had some lemongrass essential oil drops added to it.

The plastic baggy is perforated in a dozen spots by poking a sewing needle through the baggy. Only a few drops are necessary and this seems to attract bees that are in a swarm state. My most unusual swarm catch occurred one Summer when I failed to remove an empty hive to storage. Sitting in the middle of my row of hives I had left it there for the other bees to clean out, a small bit of the remaining honey still inside. Every so often I checked it to see that no hive beetles or wax moths had moved in, but always failed to move it to storage. One day, I noticed bees carrying pollen into the hive which I thought a bit unusual for an empty hive. Come to find out, the bees coming and going, which I thought were just gathering the remaining honey, were actually a swarm that had moved in with a new queen that was laying a nice pattern of eggs and already had larva in surrounding comb. Nothing seemed to be missing from any of my other hives. That hive is now coming into its third year and still seems strong.

So, by managing your strong overwintered hives with splits and observance, you may be able to avoid losing much of your bee population to swarms. Use an increase in hive space and/or splits as a swarm management tool to increase your hive count and/or nuc resources for personal use or sell-able nucs. Your swarm experience could vary based on your conditions, environment or state of your overwintered hives.

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Found in Translation

Bees have an increasing say in soybeans

By: Jay Evans, USDA Beltsville Bee Lab

Farmers and scientists debate the extent to which one of our country’s favored crops, the soybean, benefits from honey bee visits. Nor are they sure that having bees visit soybean crops is a net positive for the bees. Despite research documenting strong benefits to soybeans from honey bee visits (dating since the youth of former Bee Culture editor Kim Flottum, https://www.beeculture.com/found-in-translation-19/), a perusal of thousands of studies related to soybean farming shows little emphasis on how and when bees should be deployed. As one metric, a March 2023, Google Scholar search of papers mentioning “soybean yield” and “honey bee” provided 276 references. The same search excluding the term “honey bee” provided 62,200 references. This overall trend has not improved in recent years; papers mentioning soybean yields that do not mention honey bees number 5,110 since 2022, while only 32 papers mention honey bees. Fortunately, those 32 papers provide some really important advances. The upshot is that bees can greatly improve soy production, while potentially gathering a resource for themselves and their keepers. What remains to work out:

1. How can beekeepers practice safe soy?
2. How can growers choose varieties and management practices that harness bee visits to boost production of a vital row crop?
3. How can the two sides meet up to work out deals that benefit both industries and the environment?

On the soy side, honey bee pollination impacts were described this month in a freely available paper from Decio Gazzoni and João Paz Barateiro (Gazzoni, D.L. & João Vitor Ganem Rillo Paz Barateiro. 2023. Soybean yield is increased through complementary pollination by honey bees, Journal of Apicultural Research, DOI:
10.1080/00218839.2022.2161219). These authors showed that, with the right conditions and soybean varieties, honey bees increased soybean yields in controlled environments by 8.5-18.2% in four trials across three years. This increase is not as dramatic as other studies from different cultivars, but still reflects a lot of beans. Hannah Levenson and colleagues at North Carolina State University also showed recently that supporting bees merely by expanding local non-crop habitat led to a significant difference in soybean seed (bean) weights. In an exhaustive survey of 7,000 bees in the field, they found that 30+ bee species had collected soybean pollen but honey bees tended to be more faithful than others for soy versus alternatives (Levenson, H. K., A. E. Sharp, and D. R. Tarpy. 2022. Evaluating the impact of increased pollinator habitat on bee visitation and yield metrics in soybean crops. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 331:107901, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167880922000500).

If bees are generally good for soybeans, are these visits doing bees any good? Chia-Hua Lin and colleagues at The Ohio State University have been on that story for some time and recently published a complex study asking whether bees 1) make it to abundant local soybean fields and 2) bring home resources for their colonies (Lin, C.-H., Suresh, S., Matcham, E., Monagan, P., Curtis, H., Richardson, R. T., & Johnson, R. M. 2022. Soybean is a Common Nectar Source for Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a Midwestern Agricultural Landscape. Journal of Economic Entomology, 115(6), 1846-1851. doi:10.1093/jee/toac140). In a citizen-science twist, the scientists asked members of the Ohio State Beekeepers Association to bring honey collected by bee colonies from across the state to their Fall meeting. This honey was screened for the presence of different pollen types under microscopy. As indicated by the title, soybean pollen was commonly found in Ohio honeys. More than half of the screened honeys held soybean pollen, and this increased for honey derived from foraging in July and August, when soybean flowers were most common. Finally, the authors used the waggle dance, the signal bees use within their colonies to direct nestmates to good foods, to show that returning bees are eager to tell their nestmates about soybean rewards. For medium-distance flights, returning bees were more likely to ‘dance’ that they had visited soybean fields than other fields, complementing the pollen collection data and saying that bees preferentially target soybean fields over the alternatives. Dr. Lin has backed up this work with some truly remarkable studies covering the attractiveness of dozens of soybean cultivars to bees in common gardens (e.g., https://ohiocroptest.cfaes.osu.edu/soy2022/2022_OSPT_pollinator_report.pdf) and is working relentlessly to improve cross-pollination between beekeepers and soybean growers.

Team B & B (Bees and Beans) collecting flowers in soybean plots last Summer. The white stakes are Karlan Forrester’s audio recorders. Photo provided by Chia-Hua Lin from the Rothenbuhler Honey Bee Lab at The Ohio State University

In ongoing work, graduate student Karlan Forrester (working with Chia-Hua Lin and Reed Johnson at Ohio State), has worked out innovative methods for tracking bees as they zero in on soybean flowers, while also confirming that certain soybean varieties are more rewarding, and hence attractive, to discerning bees (Forrester, K. C., Lin, C.-H., & Johnson, R. M. 2022. Measuring factors affecting honey bee attraction to soybeans using bioacoustics monitoring. BioRxiv, 2022.2011.2004.512777. doi:10.1101/2022.11.04.512777).

In looking for soy-bee stories that describe ways to enhance this partnership, I came across a series of fascinating works from the other side of the world. Dr. Dolapo Bola Adelabu, a researcher from the Free State of South Africa, and his colleague Angelinus Franke, found remarkable increases in soybean yields that can be attributed to visits by bees and other pollinators (Adelabu, D.B., Franke, A.C. 2023. Beneficial Role of Pollination and Soil Fertility for Soybean Production in Mountainous Farming Conditions. In: Membretti, A., Taylor, S.J., Delves, J.L. (eds) Sustainable Futures in Southern Africa’s Mountains. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15773-8_5). These yields were greater than 50% when combined with optimal fertilizer supplementation of crops (Nitrogen and Phosphorous), with less striking increases under poor soils. Farming in this region of southern Africa, in a rugged corner of the Free State, is distinguished by “smallholder” farms, where farms are interspersed with homes and natural areas. This farming scheme allows for both wild bee habitat (honey bees are not routinely kept in hives here) and presumably a range of alternate food sources for bees when soybeans are not in flower. In conversing with Dr. Adelabu, the studies did not distinguish Apis mellifera from other bee species, but it seems likely that honey bees were a major member of the pollinating community. Thanks to this research, the services bees provide in terms of local soybean yields, among other crops, justifies the work needed to keep healthy bee habitat. The two scientists in this work are also more broadly interested in schemes to provide healthy nutrition to a fairly dense human population, while maintaining a sustainable environment, ( e.g., https://www.ufs.ac.za/aru/aru-team/aru-team/prof-angelinus-franke). Hannah Levenson phrases it well in her article, “As such, pollinator habitat should be designed to provide resources across the entire active season to help these important pollinator populations, especially since many crops have short bloom durations.”

One hope from all this research for the U.S. will be improved dialogue between beekeepers and soybean farmers, ideally driven by profits on both sides. This dialogue will help bees collect soy flower resources while minimizing collateral damage from agricultural practices, including the need to treat for crop diseases and insect pests. In the meantime, what are the best practices for beekeepers around soybean farms? The Honey Bee Health Coalition has focused on this issue, leading to a draft of guidelines led by Adam Dolezal at the University of Illinois showing how management practices, from pesticide applications to habitat, can be more bee-friendly (https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/resources/soybean-best-management-practices/). Making more food on fewer acres is good for the planet and the economy, and it is great that scientists and farmers on both sides are tackling the soy-bee system in a rigorous way.

Mrs. Helen Goodsell Acklin

Ethel Acklin Calvert, circa 1929

Breezing through my 1900s Gleanings in Bee Culture Magazines, I found a beekeeping woman and her daughter who caught my interest: Mrs. Helen Goodsell Acklin and her daughter Miss Ethel Acklin from St. Paul, Minnesota. Ethel would marry Howard Root Calvert, son of Maude Root Calvert, who was the daughter of A. I. Root.

Helen Goodsell was born in New York on May 3, 1857. Her parents, Jessie and Laura Goodsell, were both born in New York. Helen was the youngest of five children. Her parents moved to Wisconsin when she was very young. She attended a country school and then a village school, preparing her for a career in teaching. Her passion for honey bees started at a young age. In her teens, she told herself that she would have bees someday, but it would be a while before this happened.

Helen’s Divorce Paper, Dec. 8, 1885

At fifteen, Helen married her first husband, Phillip P. Jewell on November 11, 1872. He was ten years older than Helen. I couldn’t find much information about Phillip other than he was in the Civil War and that Helen served him divorce papers. In 1885 you needed proof and a reason for getting divorced. The grounds for divorce were adultery, desertion and abuse. The ink had faded on her divorce papers and was hard to make out. I’m sure she had her reasons- the Civil War was brutal and many men suffered long term mental and physical illnesses from serving in it.

Phillip P. Jewell didn’t show up for court. Helen was granted her divorce on December 8, 1885 at the State of Wisconsin Circuit Court for Polk County. While living in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1884, she met her second husband. James C. Acklin, who was working as a contractor. He had been married before and had a daughter, Annie. The two married on December 8, 1885. The same day Helen was granted her divorce. She was 28 years old. What a courageous young woman! Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

James C. Acklin was born in Pennsylvania in 1857. He was a contractor and builder, and was a prosperous man. A. I. Root described him as dignified, gentlemanly, quiet and significantly large in stature. The time for bees finally came for Helen shortly after they were married. Fortunately, some bees were on the lot where they were building a home and thus began their beekeeping journey. For a present to his wife, Mr. Acklin, made her seventeen colonies of American hives. The bees were not the most friendly, so they replaced them with a gentler stock. The frames were all glued together and made a mess out of the hives. It took some doing to pull them apart.

J.C Acklin
July 1, 1906 The Western Edition

Helen G. Acklin
Gleanings Eastern edition February 15,1906

Nevertheless, Mr. Acklin meant well, and Mrs. Acklin transferred them to Langstroth hives with the assistance of her husband. In 1890, they went west to California, but in the Fall of 1891, they returned to St. Paul, where they planned on building a life together. Their daughter Ethel was born in the Winter of 1892. And the following Spring, 1893, they began handling beekeeping supplies. Very little building was going on during the hard times, and Mr. Acklin secured a position as a lumber inspector with the Great Northern Railway. He worked for several years. Both of them tried their best to prevail. Mrs. Acklin kept a watchful eye on their daughter and ran the bee supply business. Like any good business, with a vision and hard work, it will grow over time, and this is what happened. The work became overwhelming! Her husband effectively resigned from his position with the railroad to help his wife out full-time with the bee supply business. He devoted his time to his family and the business of bees. Mr. and Mrs. Acklin both were active in the Minnesota Beekeepers Association. They both were closely associated with helping each other and working side by side until Mr. Acklin’s sudden death in 1906.

After the death of her husband, Mrs. Acklin continued with beekeeping, having her ups and downs working her bees. She had over 100 hives and several out-apiaries. Even then, disaster sometimes comes knocking on one’s door. One morning she realized water overflowed the cellar apiary, and sand was running into the entrances and drowning the bees. I’m sure if you kept bees long enough, you would have had issues with your bees. But can you imagine the cellar filling up with water? The colonies floated around like fishing bobbers until rescued by men with rubber boots and a long pole!

Ethel Helen Acklin, 13
1913

A woman with less love for the honey bee and less perseverance would have surrendered in despair, and to add to it, she felt alone. But Mrs. Acklin kept on, learning something by hard knocks, and from experience and her bee books, she followed Doolittle’s method of raising queens. It would be discouraging and make one choose another occupation, but with her guiding principles, she prevailed. With her small beginnings, Mrs. Acklin was one of the most successful beekeepers in St. Paul, Minnesota. And she was well known in Wisconsin too. Running a sizeable queen-rearing apiary at her home, she was a prominent dealer in beekeeping supplies for over fifteen years, alongside being an attentive mother.

“MISS ETHEL ACKLIN AND HER BEE-KEEPING SONGS AT THE CHICAGO CONVENTION.”

Her daughter Ethel knew more about bees than most young women and men. She accompanied her mother and father to the bee conventions. Ethel remembers in 1900 when she was nine, singing solo and chorus songs, the music by Dr. C.C Miller, during the National Convention in Chicago. How she enjoyed the time with her parents. The death of her father was not easy on both mother and daughter.

Mrs. Acklin continued her business for a few more years, but her failing health made her make a change of her occupation and climate. So she moved back to California in 1908, eighteen years since she had last been there. She didn’t entirely give up on bees. At fifty-one, Mrs. Acklin, with her daughter, bought a home in Glendora, California, and purchased an orange grove twenty-five miles outside of Los Angeles. She became a rancher and an orange grocer keeping a few hives.

She also attended the bee conventions. She edited the Beekeeping in Southern California department in Gleanings. Mrs. Acklin was against beekeepers that sold adulterated honey and worked aggressively to put them out of business! She wrote in Gleanings in Bee Culture: “I wonder how many beekeepers know that honey adulteration is happening right in our midst; if beekeepers work together, these swindlers can be put out of business. Whether it be the small grocer who puts just a little glucose in the honey to keep it liquid or the wholesale man who mixes tons, the effect is the same. People soon take a dislike to glucose honey. They stop eating honey altogether. So beekeepers lose money on two counts, less honey being consumed while the output increases. How can this adulteration be stopped? All beekeeper’s associations in our State, whether county clubs, district unions or State organizations, should unite under one banner in fighting this evil, and send a large and enthusiastic delegation, composed of delegates from each society, to the legislature this Winter to represent the beekeeping industry of our State.” Gleanings, 1910 (pg. 749).

When A. I. Root Co. established a branch office in San Francisco, Mrs. Acklin was given charge of it and continued to work until her death on May 30, 1915. A. I. Root enjoyed visiting Mrs. Acklin’s home in Oakland when he was on business in California. And found her to be commendable, a good businesswoman and a loving mother.

Howard Root Calvert
1923

A. I. Root’s grandson Howard Root Calvert took care of the A. I. Root Company’s exhibit booths at the San Francisco expositions. And it was during one of these visits Howard would meet Miss Ethel Acklin. They announced their engagement to be married. Ethel’s mother passed away a few months before the wedding. The two were married on Tuesday, July 6, 1915, at the home of the groom’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Calvert, in Medina, Ohio. Ethel was grieving her mother, her last surviving relative, and is said to have held up bravely. The death of the bride’s mother made it necessary for Ethel to be married in Medina, Ohio.

Mr. and Mrs. Howard Root Calvert

Immediately following the ceremony, the couple drove to Elyria, Ohio where they started their long trip back to California. Mr. and Mrs. Calvert were both in charge of the San Francisco office, taking hold where Ethel’s mother left off. Mr. and Mrs. Calvert dealt with life’s realities and an active bee business. Ethel was said to have been “the bee man” of the establishment. In 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Calvert returned to live in Medina, Ohio, where they would start their family. Howard continued working for his family’s business, the A. I. Root Company.

The family had ultimate happiness and then ultimate loss. Mrs. Calvert’s husband died suddenly as a young father at thirty-two in a tragic plane crash while giving lessons on June 27, 1924, in Akron, Ohio. He was not flying the plane but the student, Mrs. Whichershelm, was. What a tragedy! Now widowed at a young age, Ethel had three young daughters to think about. Rebecca, seven; Roberta, five; and Ruth, four. Her daughters were all she had left, falling back on her husband Howard’s strength, her mother’s tenacity, and her own will and faith, Ethel would return to California and overcome by providing for her girls, owning her own home and bee supplies company just like her mother had done.

Alfred Francis Nippell yearbook picture

It would be thirty-six years before Ethel would remarry. But I always say, “there’s a lid for every pot.” In 1960, she married Mr. Alfred Francis Nippell. He was fifty years old, his occupation was a bookkeeper, and he had never been married; Ethel was sixty-seven. They were married for twenty-eight years. Ethel slowed down regarding the bees, just keeping some bees in the country. Ethel was ninety-five when she passed away with her family by her side on January 8, 1988.

She shared the love of the honey bee. Endured the loss of her parents and her husband at a young age. She raised three daughters who were related to the Root family. She had four grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren, which gave her much joy. Her second husband Alfred provided her with love, companionship and security. He passed away at the age of ninety in 2000 in San Diego, California. Mother and daughter both having parallel lives. “I admired their tenacity, entrepreneurship and strength; the busy bee has no time for sorrow.” —William Blake

Nina Bagley
Ohio Queen Bee
Columbus, Ohio

Photo 1. Amy Vu portrait. Photo Credit: Randy Fernandez, UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology

From the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory – Part 4
By: Amy Vu

Hi everyone, my name is Amy Vu and I work at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory (UF/IFAS HBREL). Many of you may be familiar with my voice in a podcast called “Two Bees in a Podcast” (if not, now is the time to get your smart phones out and search for it!). This is the first time I have written for Bee Culture and I am excited for the opportunity. I have been with the University of Florida since 2016, beginning my career as a county Extension agent in Orange County (Orlando and the surrounding area). Since then, I transitioned to the HBREL in 2019 and the rest is history. My current title at UF/IFAS is “State Specialized Program Extension Agent, Apiculture”, and I somehow still fumble over the words in my title anytime I introduce myself. To sum up what I do: my work involves working with beekeepers and their stakeholders, identifying needs, conducting activities and evaluating programs. I will elaborate more throughout this article. If you have been following the past few months of this series, you have learned that there are three key components to a Land Grant Institution (LGU) (Instruction, Research and Extension). Jamie discussed the overview of LGUs and research. Cameron discussed formal instruction program. In this article, I have the honor of writing about the third leg of the stool (and my personal favorite) to bring it all together, Extension! As Jamie mentioned, all universities engage in teaching degree-seeking student and research, but not all universities provide one of the LGUs critical missions, Extension. One thing you will notice throughout the article is that Extension cannot happen without connections and collaborations with our stakeholders and that feedback is extremely important. I am here to share the good, the bad and the ugly. Next month, our program coordinator, Louis, will be sharing with you about the Extension workshops we conduct at our lab.

Before I continue further, I would like to share a bit about myself. I was born and raised in Overland Park, Kansas (Go Chiefs!), a city kid with no agriculture exposure. It was not until a study abroad program in Ecuador in 2009 that my attention turned to agriculture and where our food originates. I immediately fell in love with understanding our world’s food systems and completed my bachelor’s degree at Kansas State University in Agronomy with an emphasis on Soils and Environmental Science. From there, I moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, where I worked on a Master’s degree in Agricultural Leadership and Community Education at Virginia Tech. In 2014, a group of colleagues in graduate school and I decided that we wanted to try a new endeavor: beekeeping, because… why not? It seemed like a fun new challenge. Little did I know, that experience would change the course of my entire career. After graduation, I decided to move to Florida, since I am a scuba cave diver and wanted to be closer to the freshwater springs (did you know that Florida has one of the largest concentrations of freshwater springs in the world?). The springs brought me to Florida, but the bees have kept me here. During my time working in Orange County, I attended the local Orange Blossom Beekeepers Association (OBBA) monthly meetings. After a few meetings, I started to realize that the association was spending ¾ of the meeting time answering basic honey bee terminology and having to take a step back each month to teach newbies equipment terminology. They were losing more advanced beekeepers, and I wanted to help, and knew that I could with my Extension programs. The association and I started working together, which resulted in a beginner beekeeping series. The association helped me promote it and we timed it perfectly, so my programs would be held the Tuesday following monthly meetings. This helped reduce the beginner beekeeping time at the monthly meetings and allowed the association to focus on more advanced topics.

Photo 2. Amy cave diving in Madison Blue Spring State Park. Photo credit: Lauren Wilson

What is Extension and an Extension Agent anyway?
Something I hear often is “So… is your job to run the UF honey bee lab’s social media page?” This is something I have heard before, and the answer is “yes, kind of, but also… no, I do so much more than that.” Social media is only one method of communication for how we connect with stakeholders and market our programs. Just to recap and quote Jamie’s first article: “Faculty at LGUs engage in formal education (teaching students) and informal education (teaching everyone else). The latter is called Extension.” Let’s start with the basics. We define an “agent” as a person who acts on behalf of another person or group. In Extension, my job is to bridge the gap between industry, researchers, government agencies and more by providing non-formal education and learning activities to all types of individuals. In short, we are a resource for our stakeholders. Extension originated to help mostly with rural areas but has evolved to work with both rural and urban areas. We are messengers and disseminate science to our stakeholders.

It is always extremely difficult for me to explain to people what my job is and how it relates to UF/IFAS, but in a nutshell, my job is to share research and do my best to stay up to date with new and emerging topics. In Extension, there are many programmatic areas. The most common programs and topics that are well known are Horticulture, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), 4-H, Family and Consumer Services (FCS) agents.

The History of Extension
The Smith Lever Act formalized Extension in 1914. At the time, Extension services were provided exclusively to rural agricultural issues. Over 50% of the U.S. lived in rural areas, and 30% of the workforce was engaged in farming. Because of Extension, farmers increased their productivity, allowing farmers to make better management decisions. This resulted in a higher production of food. Basically, there was research being conducted at the university, but the practical research was not being shared with farmers. Extension agents were hired to bridge the gap, hold workshops to help growers, and act on behalf of growers to let researchers know what practical research could be conducted to help the industry. Extension has changed immensely in the last century. Today, less than 2% of Americans farm for a living, and only 17% live in rural areas. That said, Extension specialists must be creative with their programs, increasing their audience size by diversifying their workshops, activities and communication. Programs in urban areas have increased and the specialties have expanded beyond farming and canning classes. In the United States, Extension/Ag offices are located in over 3,000 counties.

Photo 3. Picking up our first packages in 2014. Pictured here: Amy Vu, Rachel Kennedy, Sarah Halvorson-Fried and Becca Ligrani

What is an Extension Program and How are They Conducted?
Extension is a federal, state and county partnership. The purpose of Extension is to bring the most recent and cutting-edge research from laboratories to those who can use the information to learn and implement skills into practice. This is done through Extension programs. There is a theory to what we do as Extension agents and how we develop programs. Developing a program requires planning, implementing, evaluating and doing that over and over (and over) again. Agents will identify an overarching theme (for example, collaborating with beekeepers to increase honey bee colony health), and then plan workshops or create materials that fall in line with the overarching theme (for example, holding a hands-on honey bee workshop focusing on honey bee stressors, like Varroa management). These themes are called “Programs” (with a big P!), which is contrary to what people may think a “program” is. Most individuals hear of the word “program” and think of a workshop or one hour talk on honey bees. In Extension, when we hear the word “Program”, we think about the big picture theme of what we are trying to accomplish. To develop, implement and evaluate our programs, we use something called a Logic Model (and I know that as soon as I mentioned the words “logic model”, I hear every Extension Agent’s eye roll and grunt from here). All joking and sarcasm aside, a Logic Model is an extremely helpful tool that agents use to plan an Extension program. It is a blueprint and vision for our programs to help us focus on the bigger picture.

Using a Logic Model
It always starts with a needs assessment and identifying the situation
Conducting a needs assessment is the foundation of a good Extension program. Understanding the needs of a community is crucial to know how to move forward and how to disseminate information. Understanding your audience helps with being successful. This can be done by simply asking questions and listening. Extension is all about the relationships we build with our stakeholders. Without the collaboration, a successful program cannot exist. As apiary educators, we are constantly on the search to hear what is happening in the field. Are we hearing about high colony losses? Why do beekeepers believe they are losing colonies? What time of year is it? Has this happened before? Are we concerned about a new invasive pest or disease?

Let’s look at a situational example specific to Florida. This example can be scaled up to be used all over the world: There are over 5,000 registered beekeepers managing approximately 700,000 colonies in Florida. Of these 5,000 beekeepers, hobby (zero to 40 colonies) and sideline (41-99 colonies) beekeepers make up ~92% of all beekeepers, while the rest (~8%) are commercial beekeepers (100+ colonies) (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Division of Plant Industry (FDACS DPI), personal communication). Beekeepers report an annual loss of 40% colony decline. The reasons identified for the losses are Varroa, nutrition, queen quality and pesticides. Thus, Extension programming focused on how to monitor, manage and control honey bee stressors is necessary to minimize colony losses.
In this scenario, here are the Programs (overarching themes):

1. Honey bee health: best management practices are needed related to Varroa, nutrition, queen quality, minimizing pesticide exposures, etc.
2. Training the trainers: The need is to work with UF/IFAS Extension Agents, apiary inspectors and other Extension educators to extend this content.

How do we acknowledge the situation?
Target Audience
First, we must consider who the program is targeting. Who will show up and in what ways will they show up? Is an e-mail listserv better than an in-person workshop? What good is a program if you hold a workshop and no one attends? Typically, our target audiences are beekeepers: backyard, sideline and commercial. But it is important to recognize that not all beekeeper’s needs are the same. Other audiences’ agents work with and include non-beekeepers to teach them about the importance of honey bees to our agriculture.

After identifying needs and our audience, we must analyze the needs and turn them into objectives. It is typical for us to have two to three objectives per Program. We use SMART objectives to hold ourselves accountable. So what does SMART as an acronym mean?

Specific: Who is the audience and what is the goal? Are we addressing a specific action or is it too complex or broad?

Measurable: The results should be quantifiable—the goal will have a target timeline or benchmarks designed to measure progress. How will we know when the objective has been accomplished?

Attainable: Is it realistic? Are there clear steps to adopt any recommendations?

Relevant: Does the objective align with the mission and vision of the organization?

Time-bound: It must have a beginning and pre-determined end. Also, there should be timed milestones at which progress can be evaluated along the way. Developing a timeline helps one evaluate performance and efforts on a regular basis.

So here is a SMART objective that I will continue to refer to throughout the article:

“At least 75% of individuals who participate in the UF/IFAS HBREL’s events will begin monitoring for Varroa using an alcohol wash or sugar shake within six months of attending a program. This will be measured by post program evaluations and follow-up surveys.”

Okay, so now that we have an objective, let’s talk about the fun part – the activities!

Photo 4. A group of UF/IFAS Extension Agents in an in-service training learning about Varroa monitoring using the alcohol wash method.

Educational Methods and Activities
Inputs – what we invest
Extension’s job is to translate science-based research into digestible bits—whether that be written, verbal, in person or virtual. What money, facilities, technology, people and other resources are needed? What is the time commitment? What materials do we need to conduct a workshop? Can we conduct a Varroa monitoring class without the proper equipment? Do we have the appropriate classroom space or apiary space to conduct the program? What personnel (staff, volunteers, etc.) are needed to implement the workshops? Do we need supplementary materials to support our activities (like PowerPoint presentation, fact sheets, a brochure, etc.)? What about technology? When COVID began, we had to be creative and start using Zoom. Our inputs changed and we needed access to Zoom and other programs to implement our trainings. Knowing what inputs are necessary are important to think about to ensure the success of the program.

Outputs
Activities – what we do
The most common activities for apiculture educators are in-person workshops in a classroom or out in the apiary. Sometimes we are invited speakers at beekeeping association meetings. Sometimes we plan and hold workshops in person or a talk on Zoom. This is the piece of Extension that is the most visible. The activities we conduct are completely dependent on our target audience. For example, sometimes it is easier for hobbyist beekeepers to attend an evening or weekend event, so we will hold larger classes on hobbyist topics during that time. Other times, commercial beekeepers may be working and unavailable, so it may be easiest to conduct a single site visit to their operation. Another activity that is extremely common is answering beekeeping related questions from our stakeholders, whether that be over the phone, e-mail or a message on social media. It is important that we are available as a resource.

Photo 5. Two Bees in a Podcast logo

Here at the University of Florida, we have key activities with which you may be familiar. Our Extension Coordinator, Louis will elaborate on these activities in next month’s article: the UF/IFAS Master Beekeeper Program, BeeLearning Short Courses, UF/IFAS Bee Colleges, Two Bees in a Podcast and the UF/IFAS Honey Judge Program. Additionally, the UF/IFAS honey bee team regularly provides lectures and workshops at various training events.

Outcomes
What do we want to see accomplished in the short, medium and long term from our programs? How do we identify these outcomes? Let’s revisit our example objective mentioned earlier: At least 75% of individuals who participate in the UF/IFAS HBREL’s events will begin monitoring for Varroa using an alcohol wash or sugar shake within six months of attending a program. This will be measured by post program evaluations and follow-up surveys.

Short term outcomes focus on gaining knowledge, raising awareness, creating a positive attitude, developing a skill/opinion or increasing motivation. From our example, a short-term outcome could be that participants increase their knowledge about Varroa monitoring and learn how to collect a sample using an alcohol wash. Developing this skill has increased their motivation and attitude to conduct samples more frequently.

Medium term outcomes focus on seeing a behavior or practice in motion. From our example, a medium-term outcome could be that six months after the training, beekeepers have started monitoring for Varroa monthly using an alcohol wash and make informed decisions on whether to treat for Varroa or not, based on thresholds.

Long term outcomes are the ultimate impact. These are usually social, economic or environmental. When making informed decisions related to Varroa management, long term outcomes involve minimizing overall colony losses, which can increase production, and in turn increase profitability.

How do we know our programs are effective?
I will not bore you with the 30-page report we have to submit annually, but I will describe some ways we report our programs. After conducting a needs assessment, coming up with objectives and holding an activity/workshop, we must show that our programs have made a difference. For formal Instruction, students take exams, write papers and end the semester with a grade. Researchers are evaluated by the number of grants they bring in and how many peer-reviewed publications are accepted each year. For Extension, we must show that we are changing lives for the better… CHANGING LIVES! Easy to measure, right? Our big question is: “so you’ve put all this work into a program… SO WHAT?” That’s probably a bit harsher than reality, but you get the gist. If you have taken part in an Extension activity, you have likely taken a pre- and post-test, filled out a survey immediately after a program and have been asked to fill out a follow-up end of year survey. We also use general feedback, verbal and written, in consideration for our evaluation. Evaluation is the most critical component of Extension. It determines whether we move our programs forward (or not). I cannot stress the importance of evaluation enough. In short, we must show that our Extension efforts are making a positive difference, and if they are not, maybe it is time to rethink how we conduct our programs.

International Extension Activity Highlight
Our Extension efforts extend well beyond our county, state and country. I would like to highlight one international activity in which I participated and maybe you can identify some of the pieces of the logic model I mentioned earlier. I was fortunate to be involved in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s, Partners of the Americas, Farmer-to-Farmer program in February 2023. As a volunteer in the Dominican Republic, I was joined by a Florida commercial beekeeper, Chris, and his wife Melissa Vasquez, with Heritage Bee Farm, LLC. We had the most wonderful field officers, Maria Montas and Francisco Mendez, who helped translate technical honey bee content in Spanish. We worked with ASAJA (their beekeeper association) in the beautiful Jarabacoa mountains for 15 days. The beekeepers were all in their first five years of beekeeping. Many of them were beginner beekeepers, while a few members of the association were not. Those few aspired to become full time beekeepers and wanted to learn more about general management and queen production. It was a huge breath of fresh air (I did not know what to expect) to see that the honey bees were strong and had all the pollen and nectar available to them (the beekeepers do not need to feed there, since there is so much pollen and nectar flow). The beekeepers also do not have small hive beetles present on the island (lucky them!). During our initial meeting, Chris and I learned that the beekeepers were interested in learning more about pest and disease management, equipment management and queen production. We saw Varroa on the bees, thus prompting me to ask the beekeepers what they used (and how often) for treatment. They use thymol and oxalic acid-based products. Prior to our visit, beekeepers were only monitoring and treating once a year. In our program, we spent every day conducting a needs assessment and evaluating colonies, implementing short hands-on workshops and providing recommendations on when to graft larvae for queen production. We also piloted the use of coconut water as a media for queen production and discussed how often to monitor for Varroa, when to treat and the importance of rotating active ingredients. At the end of the two weeks, we provided resources for the beekeepers to help continue with their education. On the last day, Chris and I delivered a presentation about what we learned, what we observed, and provided recommendations (using SMART objectives) to the association on how they could be successful as a team in the long term. I evaluated the program by interviewing 10 program participants, asking about potential challenges, what they learned and what other resources or training they still need to be successful as a beekeeper. I hope to spend the next few months evaluating the data. I am fully convinced that our short time in the Dominican Republic will have long term outcomes for the beekeepers and it was an extremely rewarding Extension experience.

Photo 6. Amy speaking to media to discuss the importance of honey bees and commercial beekeepers to agriculture after Hurricane Ian left devastating losses to Florida beekeepers in 2022. Photo Credit: Bori Bennett

What else do Extension agents do?
Okay, so back to Apiary Extension! We discussed needs assessments, developing programs, conducting site visits, speaking engagements to beekeeper associations, responding to phone calls and e-mails, creating content to support our programs and program evaluations. What else do agents do? You will find us at group meetings, speaking at professional conferences, writing and receiving grants, and being involved in other committees at our university and state associations. It may seem like we are everywhere, and that is because we are! Having the ability to be everywhere can be great, but it is all about balance.

Challenges of being in Extension
Not everything in Extension is a rainbow or unicorn. Being in Extension is the most rewarding career (in my humble opinion), but there are some struggles that many agents face. First, it is a blessing and a curse to have the ability of being creative with a program, which usually results in wanting to help and say “yes” to everything. There are so many potential projects, and simply not enough time to do them all. Focusing on long term projects when smaller “fires” arise and having to prioritize projects is crucial. When you speak to an Extension agent who has been successful in their career, the first thing they will tell you is to “focus on the big picture and learn how to say no.” Taking on every single project often results in major burnout and it can be very detrimental to our programs. Agents will feel like they are doing so much daily, but at the same time, not doing anything at all. This is something that is often seen, and the reason agents will leave their positions and transition to something else.

Photo 7. ASAJA Beekeepers Association in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. The participants were part of the USAID, Partners of the
Americas, Farmer-to-Farmer Program.

Second, agents are required to wear many hats. We are the event planner, marketing specialist, evaluation guru and content specialist. We must stay up to date with the times (whether that is jumping onto a new social media platform, creating content that is user friendly, etc.). We need to know how to design and use multi-media, be an expert in video, photo, or podcast production. We have administrative paperwork, we are expected to submit publications, speak at conferences and respond to thousands of e-mails and phone calls, and media requests at any moment.

Lastly, working with many types of personalities and people can be great, but also challenging. Anyone working with people has likely encountered a conflict before and knowing when and how to handle a conflict is crucial. It is important to remember that needs and priorities can differ from person to person. Facilitating conversations and relationships is important to get everyone on the same page to identify one common goal.

“The Good”
Despite some of the challenges an agent can face, I personally feel like I have the best job in the world. I will end this article with the positives of being in Extension. Extension agents have the privilege of working with people who become our family and friends. Many times, it becomes more than just a job, and it becomes the genuine connections we make with our stakeholders. I get to know personalities on an individual level. I meet their families, friends, pets, learn about their other hobbies, and so much more. I have watched beekeepers’ children grow up before my eyes. I have seen beekeepers progress from 50 colonies, to 100, and then to thousands of colonies. I consider beekeeper successes my successes.

Photo 8. Yancarlos Castillo grafting larvae to learn about honey bee queen production in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic as part of a USAID, Partners of the Americas, Farmer-to-Farmer Program.

Second, I have seen groups of beekeepers work together to make a huge difference for the industry. Just one example is the building of our UF/IFAS HBREL facility. The $4.5 million facility came from the collaborative efforts of the Florida State Beekeepers Association, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida beekeepers and other stakeholders. To watch a simple idea turn into a reality is incredible to see. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead.

Lastly, as Extension agents, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to be flexible with our programs and try new ideas. Extension agents will never have the same day at work. Some days are in the office, some days are in the field and others are presenting to local, state and national associations. We travel around the world to conferences or workshops meeting beekeepers and other individuals in the beekeeping industry, from regulatory/government personnel, non-profit organizations, researchers and other apiculture Extension specialists around the world. We are fortunate to network and work with the various stakeholders who play a piece in this large puzzle. The beekeeping community is so small and knowing what part everyone plays makes a huge difference.

In conclusion, being in Extension is not just a job, but a lifestyle. I love working in Extension and with beekeepers around the world. I enjoy connecting with beekeepers, hearing what is going on in their apiaries and being involved with the industry. I feel like I am making an immediate difference in the lives of beekeepers of all operations and hope to continue to serve beekeepers well into the future. Next month, our extension coordinator, Louis Dennin, will highlight specific activities we do at our lab. Thank you beekeepers, for all the great work you do, and allowing me to be part of the beekeeping community.

TREATING WITH ANTIBIOTICS AND VFD

QUESTION
I am a backyard beekeeper. My state inspector came out and looked at my colonies and said I needed to treat with terramycin. I told her I did not have a veterinarian that knew about honey bees so I could get an antibiotic legally through the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). She said go ahead and ignore the VFD as terramycin was going to be discontinued anyway. I looked up the FDA Veterinary Feed Directive online and I don’t think ignoring the VFD is a good idea.
Anonymous

ANSWER
Short answer is I am not a veteriarian nor have I ever played one on TV. The VFD was put in place to stop the cavalier use of antibiotics in animals, honey bees included, and stop or at least slow down the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria, keep our food supply safe and bring in animal medical expertise to our industry. So, do not access or use a product illegally in your honey bee colonies.

On the flip side, I can count the number of veterinarians who know anything about honey bees, pests, parasites and diseases on one hand. There is a great organization that is trying to improve this, the Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium (HBVC). I Googled them up at https://www.hbvc.org/. On the site there is a link to Find a Vet. And in Bee Culture we have Dr. Tracy Farone and her column Bee Vet.

All this to say, you should set the standard in your state with beekeepers and the state inspector to the best of your ability regardless of how awkward it may seem at first as this veterinarian/beekeeper partnership evolves.

NOW WHAT DO I DO?

QUESTION
Spring has finally come to us in the North. It took all Winter though. Ugh. This is my second year. I had two colonies in October and on a warm day last week, I saw bees flying from one of them. What should I do now?
Marceline Roush

ANSWER
Well, you only had a 50% loss which is unfortunately semi-normal. But it can be better.
Here is my list:

• I hope you are a member of your local beekeeper club. If not join, then ask for mentoring help. The mentor needs to have five plus years of SUCCESSFUL beekeeping. It takes a minimum of five years to be a humble enough beekeeper to help others.
• On the next warm, sunny, 60°F day you and your experienced mentor open the colony for a thorough inspection.
• How many frames of bees are there? Do they have enough stored honey or do they need feeding? Are there eggs, larvae, capped brood? Is the brood healthy? Are there enough bees to support brood rearing? If not, is there a queen? If no queen, has the colony progressed to laying workers? What does comb look like light, dark? Drone cells? And many more things your mentor can point out.
• Go to the Honey Bee Health Coalition website, https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/ There is all the info you need for successful Varroa control and brood diseases in the Tools for Varroa Management Guide. I suggest memorizing it.
• There are other questions as you learn that managing honey bees is a visual sport. Learning what to look for and then the comparison and contrast of what you are seeing is critical.
• Remember with Varroa and the Varroa virus legacy, you have to be the responsible manager of these animals. If not, don’t be a beekeeper.

TROPILAELAPS MITE

QUESTION
What is the Tropilaelaps mite exactly? I heard about it as another honey bee mite problem.
Clevon Morgan

ANSWER
Let’s step back for a moment. First, how did we get Varroa mites? Varroa was found in Florida in 1987. How it got there is still unclear. Was it in a swarm of Varroa infested bees on a ship or plane or did somebody sneak a queen in with Varroa? I mention this because with our global economy, anything can show up on our doorstep from anywhere in the world. A recent example is COVID.

What is Tropilaelaps is a great question. Google is an amazing resource… https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/BEES/Tropilaelaps.htm. This link is from the UF/IFAS website and ‘Featured Creatures’. See some highlights I picked out below for Distribution and Life Cycle:

Distribution
Tropilaelaps is a native pest in tropical and subtropical Asia. However, Tropilaelaps’ distribution has been expanding over the past 50 years. Tropilaelaps can been found in Apis mellifera colonies well beyond the mite’s native range. Invasive Tropilaelaps populations are most successful in warm environments where honey bees produce brood (developing larvae or pupae) throughout the year. For instance, Tropilaelaps have been reported in Kenya and Papua New Guinea.

Life Cycle
Tropilaelaps have small mouth parts that are unable to pierce the integument (skin) of adult honey bees. Therefore, both nymph and adult Tropilaelaps must feed on the hemolymph of the honey bee brood. After emerging from the honey bee brood cell, adult Tropilaelaps must re-enter another brood cell to feed on a developing bee or the mite will die within two days. Tropilaelaps have a short reproductive cycle and possess the potential for rapid population growth. Furthermore, their rapid reproduction enables Tropilaelaps to out compete Varroa in honey bee colonies infected by both mites.

Because of global trade, Tropilaelaps will continue to spread and take reproductive advantage in managed honey bee colonies around the world. One of the concerns I have heard is that one of our neighboring country’s is/has been bringing in packages from Australia. The tip of Australia is approx. 93 miles from Papua New Guinea. And as you know, Australia now has Varroa which was found at a port location. All that to say, get ready.

STOP SWARMING

QUESTION
How can I stop some of my colonies from swarming?
S. Archibald

ANSWER
Why do honey bees swarm is the real question? Our honey bees figured out long ago that in order to simply survive they had to divide and conquer by spreading their genetics around. One colony staying in one location was genetic survival disaster. Most of our honey bees have genetics from where they survived a long, cold, hard northern Europe Winter. Our honey bees are always preparing for Winter. Many places in the U.S. have Spring upon us now. Honey bees now have a few months to build up, reproduce by dividing up the colony, have that ‘other’ group of honey bees (a swarm) find another cavity in a tree or wall of a house or collected by a beekeeper and put in a box to establish a colony, build comb, collect nectar, beebread, build up a population that can maintain a temperature to make to through an Ohio, Alabama, Kansas, North Dakota, etc. Winter. Stopping, preventing, slowing this swarming survival genetically imprinted goal is almost impossible. This is like trying to stop _____ (fill in the blank). All that to say if researchers developed a genetically modified honey bee that didn’t swarm and left long term consistent management up to us beekeepers, they would disappear like the dinosaurs did. They are survivors because of genetic diversity and they are in fact, managing us beekeepers to keep them alive and healthy so they can swarm, not the other way around.

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Read along below!

Found in Translation

Social Nature and the Hive Life

By: Jay Evans, USDA Beltsville Bee Lab

Picturing the Spring that will be upon the northern hemisphere when this essay is published, I feel a deep longing to see our bees in full growth, bringing back diverse pollen baskets and crops full of abundant nectar. Spring is my favorite season and it is almost painful to think of it as I write this in February (to many of us, the longest month). As a passionate beekeeping ally, I firmly believe that on the whole and in most settings honey bees are not only a tremendous asset to humans but intrinsically worthy in their own right. As messy as it might seem, this is true in both their introduced and native ranges (Eurasia and Africa for the ‘western’ honey bee).

Except for one 14 million-year old flattened specimen that fossil-hunters feel is in the genus Apis (all species of which have comb-forming, stinging, honey-storing social habits), there is no firm evidence that honey bees lived in North America before European colonists arrived a few centuries ago. Once here, however, honey bees flourished, swarming from their woven homes and making themselves an important part of both agricultural and natural habitats. In the midst of Winter, I feel the need to celebrate this flourishing.

That said, this is not another economic essay on the value of honey bee pollination or colony products, although $20-25 billion added to the U.S. economy in diverse, nutritious foods is not trivial. Nor is it another diatribe that bee-mediated pollination nourishes people throughout the world, nor that honey bees provide a cash crop for millions of families, with little startup costs, in communities that are stressed for both cash and nutritious foods.

And this is not a tribute to all the hardworking beekeepers, with from one to 80,000 colonies, who battle a variety of stresses to stay in the game (though I am not above pandering to that crowd).

It’s not even a worshipful look at how pollinators have shaped our world over 100+ million years, not simply by supporting billions of humans but in making every landscape just a bit more colorful and dynamic. This collaboration between bees and flowering plants, which started early and ended well for both, is wonderfully described by Sophie Cardinal and Bryan Danforth in their 2013 paper Bees diversified in the age of eudicots, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.2686. I will tackle the larger economic and environmental benefits of honey bees and other pollinators in the future, this essay is more personal.

I would argue that we socially aware humans just need honey bees beyond their great services. To me, this need comes from two drivers. First, honey bees mirror our own inescapably social natures and teach valuable lessons therein. Second, if you try even half-heartedly to place yourself in the mindset of honey bees and other pollinators you can’t escape thinking about, and striving to improve, the plant resources and the overall environment they fly over and visit on their foraging flights.

First, the social connection. It is easy to revere a species in which selfless workers provide for relatives they most likely will never meet. There are so many facets of honey bee communication, biology and nature that are mirrors for our own, leading to profoundly interesting behaviors that resonate with the good and bad of our communities. My gateway to social insects and ultimately a life studying honey bees opened with a single lecture by an ant biologist, after which I went to my dorm and decided it was inconceivable to fritter my life away without studying these special creatures who build empires largely because they choose, 90% of the time, to drop their conflicts and work for a common goal. Ignoring their preferred diets, ants and honey bees are quite similar. Most importantly, both have succeeded in no small part because they divide tasks efficiently in colonies and can thereby both out-compete their solitary neighbors and regulate their home environments. Thomas Seeley’s book The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild (2019) is a great entry into the wonder of bee inner worlds, while German professor Suzanne Foitzik shares similar life stories for ants in her 2021 book Empire of Ants: The Hidden Worlds and Extraordinary Lives of Earth’s Tiny Conquerors. In my case, the itch to learn about social insects became a full-on rash after opening a small student beehive for the first time while devouring the many stories of how honey bees and humans have been partners for thousands of years. From “busy as a bee” to “dance language” and “guard bees”, how we think of bee societies is hard to decouple from how we view our own. Not surprisingly then, neither bee nor human societies are perfect. Both show conflict within, vulnerabilities to parasites of all sorts and an occasional tendency to trample other beings, but both are marvels to behold, and exhilarating to compare and contrast.

A second preeminent reason to value honey bees is that they truly provide a gateway to understanding nature. When beekeepers see their bees exit the hive, circle-wave their home and sail off, they marvel at what that tiny bee will see on a journey across the landscape, wishing the bee luck and the memory cells to return after a successful foraging trip. This care for one’s bees inevitably leads to a greater appreciation for the flowering world, leading beekeepers to seek ways to improve and diversify the green world their bees encounter. Beekeepers fret over, and are noisy about, any ill winds that arise from degraded environments within two miles of the colonies they host. Habitat loss, climate, land practices and disease all impact the health of honey bee colonies, and beekeeping forces us to learn about each of those topics. Every beekeeper also has a keen sense of weather and the seasons. Okay, the same is true for gardeners, birders and hunters… and by some stretch of the imagination even golfers, although better if they let their ‘greens’ revert to wildflowers. Similarly, beekeepers are among the most knowledgeable humans with respect to how diseases spread, how to slow infections, and when it’s time to seek a doc, even if we neglect that knowledge sometimes with our own health and that of our colonies.

It’s not an easy path, and beekeepers often stumble. But, bees and beekeeping give back incredible riches to those who listen to the buzz and hitch a ride with their bee teachers. Hope springs eternal and here’s hoping your Spring is bountiful.

Tropilaelaps 

A potential future threat of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) in North America are the parasitic mites in the genus Tropilaelaps which are currently confined to Asia and bordering areas. These mites are native brood parasites of the non-domesticated giant Asian honey bees, Apis dorsata, A. breviligula and A. laboriosa. They have spread onto the managed European honey bee (A. mellifera) sometime after humans introduced that bee into Asia. Nowadays, A. mellifera is kept for beekeeping throughout Asia and Tropilaelaps mites are one of its most damaging pests (Anderson and Roberts, 2013).

Mites of the genus Tropilaelaps (Acari: Laelapidae) are ectoparasites of honey bees native to Asia (Delfinado and Baker, 1961; Laigo and Morse, 1968). The primary host of one of the better known species Tropilaelaps clareae is Apis dorsata (Laigo and Morse, 1968) but Tropilaelaps mites were able to switch to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera (Delfinado and Baker, 1961; Anderson and Morgan, 2007). Tropilaelaps clareae was first discovered on A. mellifera in the Philippines (Delfinado and Baker, 1961). Tropilaelaps species seem to be prevalent in Asia and are able to infect a wide spectrum of honey bee species ranging from Apis mellifera, A. cerana, A. dorsata, A. florae and A. laboriosa (Bailey and Ball, 1991). However, these mites appear to be particularly pathogenic in A. mellifera (Burgett et al., 1983; De Jong et al., 1982; Laigo and Morse, 1969). Similar to Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroaidae), Tropilaelaps mites are infecting brood and suck hemolymph/fat from the body. Up to four female mites can invade the same brood cell (Burgett and Akratanakul, 1985; De Jong et al., 1982; Dainat et al., 2009).

Varroa and Tropilaelaps mites have coexisted in Apis mellifera (western honey bee) colonies in Asia for >50 years (Delfinado, 1963). However, Tropilaelaps mites are considered to be the more dominating and reproductively successful parasites of A. mellifera than Varroa mites (Burgett et al., 1983; Buawangpong et al., 2015). In 2007, a molecular examination of Tropilaelaps mites collected from different honey bee hosts from several Asian countries revealed two new Tropilaelaps species (Tropilaelaps mercedesae and Tropilaelaps thaii) distinctly separate from Tropilaelaps clareae and Tropilaelaps koenigerum (Anderson and Morgan, 2007). Among these four species, T. mercedesae and T. clareae are the most serious Tropilaelaps mites of A. mellifera. However, T. mercedesae exhibits a wider distribution than T. clareae. The life history of Tropilaelaps mites and food requirements are similar to that of Varroa mites. As a result, both mite genera can inflict severe damages on A. mellifera colonies (De Guzman et al., 2017).

An infestation by Tropilaelaps can be recognized either visually on bees and brood or by examining hive debris. Feeding on bee larvae and pupae causes brood malformation, death of bees and subsequent colony decline or absconding. Development requires about one week, and the mites are dispersed on bees. Irregular brood pattern, dead or malformed immatures, bees with malformed wings that crawl at the hive’s entrance and especially the presence of fast-running, large, red-brown, elongated mites on the combs, are diagnostic for the presence of T. clareae. An early diagnosis can be made by opening brood cells and finding immature and adult mites therein (Sammataro, 2004).

Varroa (left) & Tropilaelaps (right)

Combs of sealed honey bee worker brood (Apis mellifera ligustica hybrid) were taken from colonies infested by Tropilaelaps clareae and the numbers of mites in different developmental stages recorded. The duration of successive stages was estimated from the times at which the first and last individuals in each stage appeared and also from the relative frequency of occurrence of the different stages in the mite population of infested cells. Altogether 22 eggs, 42 larvae, 187 protonymphs, 251 deutonymphs and 659 young or old imagos (final and fully developed adult stage) were detected. The first individuals of successive stages in the development of the mite were found on honey bee brood of the following stages: mite eggs and larvae on spinning larvae, protonymphs on prepupae, deutonymphs on day-old pupae and young imagos on pupae four days old. The most advanced age of a developing bee (calculated from the time of egg-laying) with which each stage of mite was associated was: egg, 14 days; larvae, 15 days; protonymphs, 16 days and deutonymphs, 19 days. The calculated lengths of successive T. clareae stages were: eggs, 0.3–0.4 days; larvae, 0.3–0.6 days; protonymphs, 1.7–2.0 days and deutonymphs, 3.0-3.8 days. Length of the total developmental period was six days. All mites completed their development before the honey bees emerged, a factor that probably contributes to the faster population build-up of T. clareae than of Varroa jacobsoni (Woyke, 1987).

Tropilaelaps mercedesae parasitism can cause Apis mellifera colony mortality in Asia. Phokasem et al. (2019) reported that Tropilaelaps mites feed on both pre- and post-capped stages of honey bees. Feeding on pre-capped brood may extend their survival outside capped brood cells, especially in areas where brood production is year-round. They examined the types of injury inflicted by Tropilaelaps mites on different stages of honey bees, the survival of adult honey bees and level of honey bee viruses in fourth instar larvae and prepupae. The injuries inflicted on different developing honey bee stages were visualized by staining with trypan blue. Among pre-capped stages, fourth instar larvae sustained the highest number of wounds (4.6±0.5/larva) while second and third larval instars had at least two wounds. Consequently, wounds were evident on un-infested capped brood (fifth and sixth instar larvae=3.91±0.64 wounds; prepupae=5.25±0.73 wounds). Tropilaelaps mite infestations resulted in 3.4- and six-fold increases in the number of wounds in fifth and sixth instar larvae and prepupae as compared to un-infested capped brood, respectively. When wound inflicted prepupae metamorphosed to white-eyed pupae, all wound scars disappeared with the exuviae. This healing of wounds contributed to the reduction of the number of wounds (≤10) observed on the different pupal stages. Transmission of mite-borne virus such as Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) was also enhanced by mites feeding on early larval stages. DWV and Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV) were detected in all fourth instar larvae and prepupae analyzed. However, viral levels were more pronounced in scarred fourth instar larvae and infested prepupae. The remarkably high numbers of wounds and viral load on scarred or infested developing honey bees may have caused significant weight loss and extensive injuries observed on the abdomen, wings, legs, proboscis and antennae of adult honey bees. Together, the survival of infested honey bees was significantly compromised. This study demonstrates the ability of Tropilaelaps mites to inflict profound damage on A. mellifera hosts (Phokasem et al., 2019).

In a serious attack of the mite Tropilaelaps clareae on Apis mellifera colonies at Ludhiana, India, up to 50% of the brood was killed in the late larval and pupal stages, and colony populations dwindled rapidly. Honey bee larvae are killed by the nymphs feeding on them, or (if attacked later) they develop into deformed adults which are evicted from the hive. A badly infested colony is left with practically no brood and it may abscond ultimately, the bees carrying the adult mites with them. After the mites have transformed into adults, they remain just under the cell cappings and are exposed when these are removed (Atwal and Goyal, 1971).

The survival of adult female Tropilaelaps clareae of unknown age on caged adult workers of Apis mellifera was investigated in ambient conditions during the rainy season in northern Thailand and in an incubator maintained at 35°C (95°F) and 60% RH. Under both conditions, a small percentage of T. clareae survived for three days. A similar experiment using adult T. clareae on caged adult workers of Apis dorsata produced similar results: a small percentage of mites survived for three days. The observed survival of T. clareae, whether on A. mellifera or A. dorsata, is about one day longer than previously reported. It is now clear that the highly pestiferous T. clareae could easily survive even the longest of international airline flights (Rinderer et al., 1994).

The prevalence of Tropilaelaps mercedesae and Varroa destructor in concurrently infested A. mellifera colonies in Thailand was monitored. They also assessed the fecundity of T. mercedesae and V. destructor in naturally infested brood and in brood cells deliberately infested with both mite genera. Results showed that the natural co-infestation of an individual brood cell by both mite genera was rare (<0.1%). Overall, T. mercedesae was the more dominant brood parasite of A. mellifera than V. destructor. In naturally infested brood, the proportion of nonreproductive Tropilaelaps (29.8±3.9%) was lower than that of Varroa (49.6±5.9%). Both mites produced similar numbers of progeny (T. mercedesae=1.48±0.05; V. destructor=1.69±0.14). The two mite genera also reproduced normally when they were deliberately introduced into the same brood cells. In two separate assessments, the average worker brood infestations of T. mercedesae (19.9%) were significantly higher than that of V. destructor (0.7%). Their results on the higher prevalence and reproductive ability of T. mercedesae in concurrently infested colonies reaffirm Tropilaelaps’ competitive advantage over V. destructor and their reported negative impact to A. mellifera colonies (Buawongpong et al., 2015).

Female Tropilaelaps clareae mites were released into small petri dishes without food, or on small pieces of brood comb containing several Apis mellifera larvae one to four days old. On each day of the experiment the piece of brood comb was exchanged for a new one containing larvae of the age being tested. In dishes with no food only 5.5% of mites survived for two days. Survival of gravid female mites was significantly higher than that of thin females. On bee larvae one, three and 3.5 days old, 0%, 9% and 47% of T. clareae females survived until the second day. None survived until the fourth day. However, on bee larvae four days old, 89%, 68%, 32%, 7% and 4% of females were alive on the second, fifth, 10th, 19th and 28th day, respectively. Thus, T. clareae females can survive for up to four weeks on bee larvae four days old. The amount of brood pheromones on larvae four to five days old is greater than that on younger larvae, probably stimulating feeding and thereby supporting mite survival. Fertilized female mites quickly become gravid, and they must enter cells containing bee larvae to lay eggs. T. clareae females do not need to feed on prepupae or pupae to lay eggs and to survive for longer periods. Queen honey bees need not be caged after brood removal from the colony in order to control the parasitic mite T. clareae, as by the time any eggs laid have developed into four-day-old larvae the mites will have died (Woyke, 1994).

Few data regarding the lethal and sub-lethal effects of Tropilaelaps mercedesae on A. mellifera exist, despite its similarity to the devastating mite Varroa destructor. Here they artificially infested worker brood of A. mellifera with T. mercedesae to investigate lethal (longevity) and sub-lethal (emergence weight, Deformed wing virus (DWV) levels and clinical symptoms of DWV) effects of the mite on its new host. The data show that T. mercedesae infestation significantly reduced host longevity and emergence weight and promoted both DWV levels and associated clinical symptoms. The results suggest that T. mercedesae is a potentially important parasite to the economically important A. mellifera honey bee (Khongphinitbunjong et al., 2016).

The ectoparasitic mites Varroa destructor and Tropilaelaps mercedesae share life history traits and both infect honey bee colonies, Apis mellifera. Since V. destructor is a biological vector of several honey bee viruses, it was tested whether T. mercedesae can also be infected and enable virus replication. In Kunming (China), workers and T. mercedesae mites were sampled from three A. mellifera colonies, where workers were exhibiting clinical symptoms of Deformed wing virus (DWV). They analysed a pooled bee sample (15 workers) and 29 mites for the presence of Deformed wing virus (DWV), Black queen cell virus (BQCV), Sacbrood virus (SBV), Kashmir bee virus (KBV), Acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) and Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV). Virus positive samples were analyzed with a qPCR. Only DWV +RNA was found but with a high titre of up to 108 equivalent virus copies per mite and 106 per bee. Moreover, in all DWV positive mites (N=12) and in the bee sample virus – RNA was also detected using RT-PCR and tagged RT-PCR, strongly suggesting virus replication. The data shows for the first time that T. mercedesae may be a biological vector of DWV, which would open a novel route of virus spread in A. mellifera (Dainat et al., 2009).

Honey bees are infected by many different viruses, some of them associated with and vectored by V. destructor. In recent years, deformed wing virus (DWV) has become the most prevalent virus infection in honey bees associated with V. destructor. DWV is distributed world-wide, and found wherever the Varroa mite is found, although low levels of the virus can also be found in Varroa free colonies. The Varroa mite transmits viral particles when feeding on pupae or adult bees. In this study, quantitative real-time RT-PCR was used to show the presence of DWV in infested brood and Tropilaelaps mercedesae mites collected in China, and to demonstrate a close quantitative association between mite-infested pupae of A. mellifera and DWV infections (Forsgren et al., 2009).

References
Anderson, D.L. and M.J. Morgan 2007. Genetic and morphological variation of bee-parasitic Tropilaelaps mites (Acari: Laelapidae) new and re-defined species. Exp. Appl. Acarol. 43:1-24.
Anderson, D.L. and J.M.K. Roberts 2013. Standard methods for Tropilaelaps mites research. J. Apic. Res. 52: 1-16.
Atwal, A.S. and N.P. Goyal 1971. Infestation of honey bee colonies with Tropilaelaps, and its control. J. Apic. Res. 10:137-142.
Bailey, L. and B.V. Ball 1991. Honey Bee Pathology. Academic Press, London. 193 pp.
Buawangpong, N., L.I. de Guzman, K. Khongphinitbunjong, A.M. Frake, M. Burgett and P. Chantawannakul 2015. Prevalence and reproduction of Tropilaelaps mercedesae and Varroa destructor in concurrently infested Apis mellifera colonies. Apidologie 46:779-786.
Burgett M. and P. Akratanakul 1985. Tropilaelaps clareae, a little known honey bee brood mite. Am. Bee J. 125: 112 – 114.
Burgett, M., P. Akratanakul and R.A. Morse 1983. Tropilaelaps clareae: A parasite of honey bees in South-East Asia. Bee Wld. 64:25-28.
Dainat, B., T. Ken, H. Berthoud and P. Neumann 2009. The ectoparasitic mite Tropilaelaps mercedesae (Acari: Laelapidae) as a vector of honey bee viruses. Insect Soc. 56:40-43.
De Guzman, L.I., G.R. Williams, K. Khongphinitbunjong and P. Chantawannakul 2017. Ecology, life history and management of Tropilaelaps mites. J, Econ. Entomol. 110:319-332.
De Jong D., R.A. Morse and G.C. Eickwort 1982. Mite pests of honey bees. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 27:229 – 252.
Delfinado, M. 1963. Mites of the honey bee in Southeast Asia. J. Apic. Res. 2:113-114.
Delfinado, M. and E.W. Baker 1961. Tropilaelaps, a new genus of mites from the Philippines (Laelapidae s. lat.), Acarina. Fieldana: Zool. 44:53-56.
Forsgren, E., J.R. de Miranda, M. Jsaksson, S. Wei and I. Fries 2009. Deformed wing virus associated with Tropilaelaps mercedesae infesting European honey bees (Apis mellifera). Exp. Appl. Acarol. 47:87-97.
Khongphinitbunjong K., P. Neumann, P. Chantawannakul, and G.R. Williams 2016. The ectoparasitic mite Tropilaelaps mercedesae reduces western honey bee, Apis mellifera, longevity and emergence weight, and promotes deformed wing virus infections. J. Invertebr. Pathol. 137:38-42.
Laigo, F.M. and R.A. Morse 1968. The mite Tropilaelaps clareae in Apis dorsata colonies in the Philippines. Bee Wld. 49:116-118.
Laigo, F.M. and R.A. Morse 1969. Control of the bee mites Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans and Tropilaelaps clareae Delfinado and Baker with chlorbenzilate. Philippine Entomol. 1:144-148.
Phokasem, P., L.I. de Guzman, K. Khongphinitbunjong, A.M. Frake, and P. Chantawannakul 2019. Feeding by Tropilaelaps mercedesae on pre- and post-capped brood increases damage to Apis mellifera colonies. Sci. Rep. 9:13044.
Rinderer, T.E., B.P. Oldroyd, C. Lekprayoon, S. Wongsiri, C. Boonthai and R. Thapa 1994. Extended survival of the parasitic honey bee mite Tropilaelaps clareae on adult workers of Apis mellifera and Apis dorsata, J. Apic. Res. 33: 171-174.
Sammataro, D. 2004. Tropilaelaps infestation of honey bees (Tropilaelaps clareae, T. koenigerum). In OIE Manuel of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals. 5th ed. 2:992-995.
Woyke, J. 1987. Length of successive stages in the development of the mite Tropilaelaps clareae in relation to honey bee brood age. J. Apic. Res. 26:110-114.
Woyke, J. 1994. Tropilaelaps clareae females can survive for four weeks when given open bee brood of Apis mellifera. J. Apic. Res. 33:21-25.

Clarence Collison is an Emeritus Professor of Entomology and Department Head Emeritus of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS.

A check in with farmer Keith Johnson is always informative. Keith’s passion for farming and pollinators makes for an interesting perspective on bee advocacy issues. Photo credit: Rebecca Masterman

A check in with our favorite farmer and pollinator promoter, Keith Johnson, reminds us that we have some work to do. Today we’re sharing a few ideas that Farmer Keith thinks might help beekeepers promote bee health. From connecting to local government to reaching out about federal legislation, the more beekeepers promote bees and other pollinators, the better.

Let them know you are a beekeeper
Last year’s midterm election winners are now in office and it is a good time to introduce (or reintroduce) yourself. Politiwatch, a non-partisan tech non-profit, has an excellent search engine that will connect you to your local, state and federal representatives. From this site, you can navigate to websites where you can find the phone numbers, emails and letter addresses for those representatives: (https://whoaremyrepresentatives.org/).

Once you reach out, what should you say? It doesn’t have to be long (just sincere) to be impactful! Share who you are, and why you are concerned about the health of pollinators. In particular, underline that increasing habitat is a number one issue that you would like addressed!

2023 Farm Bill
Don’t let the name of this bill confuse you. If you eat, you are impacted by some part of the farm bill. Farm bill legislation is voted on every five years and the 2018 bill even has its own Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_United_States_farm_bill). This comprehensive legislation guides many programs overseeing many issues like nutrition (including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP), crop insurance, trade, horticulture and forestry programs. One area of the bill that has enormous potential to support bees and wildlife is the conservation programs. This year the Farm Bill is up for renewal and its conservation programs need your support.

If you bring up conservation programs with Farmer Keith (he usually gets there first though, he will tell you that enrollment in these programs is down. These programs incentivize farmers and private landowners to keep land out of production and instead adopt practices that support wildlife. Signed into law by President Ronald Regan in 1985, peak enrollment was at 36 million acres in 2007 (https://www.agweb.com/opinion/history-conservation-reserve-program). Unfortunately, enrollment has been under 25 million acres since 2014 (https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/Conservation/PDF/35_YEARS_CRP_B.pdf). Eleven million acres of potential conservation reserve program (CRP) habitat have been lost in under 20 years.

If you want to impress Farmer Keith, follow farm bill news and connect with your senators and representatives to let them know that you want them to promote and increase conservation programs in the 2023 farm bill.

Time to send a letter (or email)? Reaching out to your representatives is a great and easy way to support your bees. Photo credit: Rebecca Masterman

Connect with your state and local agencies
We live in a state where each state-level agency and many cities have pro-pollinator directives. Although Minnesota has done an excellent job with promoting pollinator health with regard to habitat and pesticide use, there is always room for improvement. Farmer Keith’s advice when reaching out to your local and state agencies is to ask them how you and your beekeeper friends can help support their work supporting pollinators. You might be surprised about programs that already exist and are available to help efforts to increase pollinator habitat. We were (https://bwsr.state.mn.us/practices/pollinator/index.html)!

Join the Farm Bureau and/or Farmers Union
Both the Farmers Union and the Farm Bureau are organizations that advocate for farmers. Because they lobby for their members’ interests, membership could be in the best interest of beekeepers. Per the Minnesota Farmers Union website, one of the legislative priorities for 2022 was supporting pollinator habitat and research to promote crop pollination. Check out your state Farmers Union to see if pollinators have made the list of their legislative priorities (https://nfu.org/join/). While the Farm Bureau recognizes the importance of honey bees for crop pollination, when it comes to neonicotinoids their policy opposes a ban and encourages cooperation among regulators and stakeholders. Whether you agree or disagree, consider joining the bureau and let your voice be heard. As Farmer Keith says, the Farm Bureau and Farmers Union advocate for their members. Join and they will advocate for you (https://www.fb.org/about/join).

Becky Masterman led the UMN Bee Squad from 2013-2019. Bridget Mendel joined the Bee Squad in 2013 and has led the program since 2020. Photos of Becky (left) and Bridget (right) looking for their respective hives. If you would like to contact the authors with your bee advocacy success stories or thoughts, please send an email to mindingyourbeesandcues@gmail.com.

Research and Extension
Honey bees also need your help in the form of supporting research. We suggest checking in with your local university bee research and extension programs for an update on their work. Your support does not necessarily need to be financial. Staying connected with these groups might result in the opportunity to have your bees help answer research questions or simply give you the opportunity to share communications with other beekeepers.

Effort
Advocating for all the bees (honey and native) is a lot of work. After writing this to-do list of how we can work harder for our bees, it reminds us of how it is easy to feel behind in management tasks throughout the beekeeping season. So, our solution is to share the burden with other beekeepers and join a beekeeping club. Beekeeping clubs are a way to streamline bee advocacy and stay informed about emerging issues, whether political or biological. Remember, the club advocates for its members, so become a member!

Acknowledgments and Suggestions
The authors would like to thank Dr. Marla Spivak for helpful edits and suggestions.
If you thought Varroa was bad, we suggest reading John Miller’s article titled It’s Worse Than You Think (https://www.beeculture.com/its-worse-than-you-think/). We all need to be aware and ready for threats to bee health.

Vendor area example

The 2023 Hive Life Conference was held in Sevierville, Tennessee at the Sevierville Conference Center on January 5-7, 2023.

Please allow me to share some observations and critical thoughts on the second annual Hive Life conference.

Honey show

I have attended both Hive Life conferences, last year’s and this year’s.

My intent, is to not repeat the excellent reviews and discussions on the event, but to inject thoughts on WHY is the Hive Life Conference so successful? Please feel free to expand your thoughts on your next Bee Conference.

Lecture Hall

Just like real estate, it’s location, location, location. Tennessee is in the middle of the Eastern part of the United States of America. It’s a one day drive on average, while some drove for two days to be at the conference. Yes, it does have a major airport nearby in Knoxville, TN, but most beekeepers prefer to avoid the airports like the plague (How many of my small pocket knifes has TSA stolen from me? I have lost count.).

Group Talk

Please let me share a few of my observations with you. Individually, each of these observations may seem trivial and of no significance, but all rolled into one big conference, they are the magic that makes the Hive Life Conference in Sevierville, Tennessee special.

• An abundance of clean, moderately priced hotels in the Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg area.
• Lots of things to do in the area, before the conference, during the conference and after the conference.
• Parking at the Hive Life Conference was more than enough and it was free!
• “Free” fresh great tasting coffee all day long, with a ton of snacks all day as well.
• 

  Vendor area example

  The catered lunch meals were fantastic, more than enough and they tasted home cooked, at a great low price. And they fed almost two thousand people in less than two hours each day. WOW.

• The Conference Center in Sevierville, Tennessee is one of the largest and cleanest facilities I have ever enjoyed. The Conference Center staff was friendly and abundant.
• The restroom facilities were more than great, they were clean and open. Service was always there.
• Lots of pre-orders and business to business traffic. I wish you could have seen the massive loading dock area. It was buzzing with activity before, during and after the conference.
• Millions and millions of dollars of bee equipment and inventory was at hand. Many sold out of equipment.
• Almost one hundred (100) vendors and exhibitors!
• Loading dock area was not managed by any logistics firm. This reduced the cost to use the facility by magnitudes. Vendors had free will to move and transport equipment as needed.
• During three (3) long intense days at the conference, I detected NO unhappy beekeepers; they were all excited to be at the Hive Life Conference
• Fantastic honey show and competition, the largest in North American in over fifty (50) years with over five hundred (500) entries with world class judges. Better, in my humble opinion, than Apimondia 2019.
• The event schedule gave break time between speakers and everything was in the same building.
• 

  Pins marking where the attendees are from

  Name badges had your meal ticket printed on it and it was double sided (smart?). I could read the names.

• Total cost to sponsor and pay vendor fees was about half what other conferences charge.
• No drama detected, most were happy to be there.
• Speakers were and are great beekeepers with years of experience. They shared their wisdom each time they spoke. Lots of useful information was shared by all.
• Lots of Master Beekeepers and enthusiastic sideliners in attendance.
• This event was a low cost educational opportunity.

Speakers Bob Binnie and Ian Steppler.

Everyone said that they will be back next year. They were not disappointed. Hive Life Conference: under promise and over deliver. That’s the way they roll.

Please consider these Critical Thoughts the next time you attend a Bee Conference.

Respectfully, EAS Master Beekeeper – EARL HOFFMAN

Dr. Tracy Farone

State Apiarists and Veterinarians
By: Dr. Tracy Farone

Over the holidays, I had the opportunity to reach out to several State Apiarists to discuss ways they believe veterinarians could help to serve honey bees and the beekeeping industry. Joan Mahoney, the State Apiculturist for the New York’s Department of Agriculture; Barbara Bloetscher, State Apiarist for the Ohio Department of Agriculture; and Kim Skyrm, Chief Apiary Inspector for the State of Massachusetts’s Department of Agricultural Resources (with contribution help from the entire MA Bee team: Paul Tessier, Shay Willette and Jessica Glover) all graciously agreed to share their thoughts on the matter. I asked a few basic questions, but we also touched on a few more sensitive subjects. I was excited to listen to what they had to say, give my two ears and (mostly) keep my mouth shut for a month.

Q1. Are there any existing collaborations between state apiculturists and veterinarians in your State in the care and treatment of honey bees?
Joan – Yes, when beekeepers request antibiotics to treat non-symptomatic colonies exposed to American Foulbrood (AFB), the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets refers them to veterinarians who are able to provide the necessary prescription.

Barb and Hailey (vet student) inspecting. Photo credit: Barb Bloetscher

Barb – The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine has invited me and The Ohio State University State Apiculturist to give talks to the veterinary students who are interested in the apiary program. Both undergraduate and veterinary students have invited us to speak to their clubs and participate in the OSU Food Animal Medicine Student Symposium Hands-On Workshop- Wet lab they have in early Spring. I have also spoken at the Midwest Veterinary Conference on honey bee diseases. OSU offers an externship for graduating veterinary students to experience areas of interest. Thanks to one persistent student, the OSU Apiculturist and I have “shared” one or two students each season three different years. The intern works with the Apiculturist on different studies and spends a day or two with me in the field, inspecting colonies. They have all commented on how much they appreciated the opportunity.

Kim – Yes! Apiarists or Apiary Inspectors visit beekeepers to perform health inspections of honey bee colonies and used equipment. If during an inspection, the inspector discovers visual symptoms of European Foulbrood (EFB), then a sample is taken from the colony and sent to the lab for analysis. Inspectors provide a report of the findings from the inspection and the lab provides results for the sample directly to the beekeeper. If lab analysis confirms the presence of EFB, then inspectors recommend treatment using an antibiotic. To obtain the antibiotic, inspectors instruct the beekeeper to contact a local veterinarian and provide the documentation received from the inspection including the report and lab analysis. The veterinarian then meets with the beekeeper and establishes a veterinary-client-patient relationship (VCPR) and issues a prescription for the antibiotic to the beekeeper. The inspector and the veterinarian follow up with the beekeeper to ensure the medication was successful and EFB controlled. As part of their role, Apiary Inspectors must ensure compliance for the treatment and management of contagious or infectious diseases and EFB is typically listed as a regulated disease.

One area we feel has expedited this process is that we supply beekeepers with free sample kits that provide the materials and instructions they need to take samples for EFB/AFB, Varroa mites/Nosema from their colonies and send directly to labs for analysis. This has really sped up disease detection and diagnostic services in our state. We started this component of our program services in 2018 and it has been so well received and popular in our state that we have given out over 3,000 of these to date for beekeeper use. In addition to supporting our program in finding incidences of health issues, it has also allowed veterinarians to get quick lab analysis for samples to enable them to respond faster when needed.

Q2. What services from veterinarians could be of the most assistance to State Apiculturists? To beekeepers/the beekeeping industry? Could you use some help BEYOND providing VFDs and prescriptions for three antibiotics?

Veterinarian beekeeper talk at Betterbee in NY. Photo credit: Joan Mahoney

Joan – With the development of vaccines for AFB and RNAi treatments for varroa mites on the horizon, greater veterinary involvement will be beneficial to beekeepers.

Barb – It would be very helpful for beekeeping organizations such as ABF, AHPA, HBHC and all State and local beekeeping associations to have a vet on their board and as a speaker every year. We would like veterinarians to explain their role in prescribing VFD’s for bees and the reasons that the FDA is taking this role more seriously. The Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium provides names of veterinarians who work with beekeepers, but I don’t think it is widely known. In addition, every vet school should invite bee knowledgeable veterinarians to share ideas and solutions.

I have witnessed beekeepers spend several hours teaching a veterinarian basic beekeeping knowledge only to have the veterinarian charge him for the vet’s time. Seems like it should be the other way around! I think beekeepers and the veterinarians need to understand each other’s perspectives so that we can work together better.

Kim – Our biggest challenge is finding veterinarians who can assist beekeepers in accessing the antibiotics necessary for the treatment of EFB. There are only a few veterinarians who are aware of the existence of apiary programs and the prescription needs for beekeepers. My suggestion is that if you are an interested veterinarian, please advertise your willingness to be of service to the beekeeping community by contacting local bee groups and sharing your information with them as well as on the “Find a Bee Vet” listing on the Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium website. We have been lucky in Massachusetts to have a few veterinarians who have been willing to take on this role and “bee” diligent about responding quickly to beekeeper needs and providing support, but we have a lot of beekeepers, and these wonderful veterinarians could use additional support too!

AFB/EFB kits Kim Skyrm provides to beekeepers to take samples. Photo courtesy of Kim Skyrm.

Q3. Beyond possible antibiotic treatment for AFB and EFB, do you think it is important for veterinarians to have a solid understanding of honey bee management, biology, nutrition and pathology to serve these animals and beekeepers?
Joan – Yes, in New York, we recognize that veterinarians should understand honey bee health and have been working to educate and train veterinarians. Dr. Scott McArt, PhD, from Cornell University and Dr. Christopher Cripps, DMV from Betterbee have been working together, along with Drs. Robin and Rolfe Radcliffe, DMV and Dr. David Peck, PhD, to hold workshops aimed at giving our veterinarians a solid understanding of honey bee management and diseases. Additionally, Cornell has added curriculum in their College of Veterinary Medicine to ensure that honey bees are part of veterinary training.

Barb – Yes, I see the need for veterinarians to show beekeepers why prophylactic use of antibiotics hurts the honey bee industry by weakening the bees and spreading disease to other apiaries. Some State Apiary Inspection Programs do not receive the support needed to stop the spread of AFB and EFB. If the veterinarians can also guide beekeepers toward proper use of antibiotics and to burn, when necessary, it would help support the state programs.

Kim – We do not recommend antibiotic treatment for AFB – this pathogen is too virulent and pathogenic to be treated – infected colonies should be destroyed. Honey bees are no different from any other managed animal in that they require care; therefore, veterinarians are uniquely suited to partner with beekeepers to provide support. It is imperative that veterinarians have a working knowledge of honey bee management, biology, nutrition and pathology to best assist these amazing organisms and the beekeepers who manage them for pleasure and profit. I have always found both beekeepers and veterinarians to bee as (com)passionate and fascinated with the art and science of beekeeping as well as intent to ensure bee health and sustainability of the population.

Q4. In some States, honey bees and State Apiculturists are housed in the Plant Division or Bureau of the Department of Agriculture. Do you think there could be any benefit for honey bees to be classified as animals (by State governments)? Could this realignment bring more attention, recognized status and possible funding to honey bees as an agricultural animal or would that cause too many bureaucratic issues?
Joan – In New York we have explored this. After the recent retirement of our director of the Division of Animal Industry and a new incoming director, we discussed the move but thought it best to continue to house honey bee work in the Division of Plant Industry. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is a small agency, so communication between divisions is continuous.

Barb – Oh boy, I don’t think I know enough of the politics to answer this, but honey bees are livestock, and are maintained as livestock. Maintaining healthy colonies is crucial for agriculture so perhaps the beekeeping industry would be taken more seriously and receive funding from multiple sources. Through time, these programs evolve and move around. No doubt when the apiary programs were first developed, the plant industry was mostly agricultural and the bees are the means to achieve a yield, so being in the plant division made sense.

Kim Skyrm inspecting nucs. Photo courtesy of Kim Skyrm

Kim – You may have heard the recent California ruling that bees are now classified as “animals” (i.e., fish). In short, yes, for some states/territories there are many benefits to classifying bees and insects under the umbrella of “animal”. The need for this depends on the language in each state/territory legislature. Ultimately, the root of this question is about support. Honey bees, beekeepers who manage them and veterinarians who provide support would all benefit if Apiary Programs across the country were more adequately funded with a sustainable budget and full-time staff. This would not only allow for better services to beekeepers but also a team of folks working together (including veterinarians) who are focused on honey bee health full time, year-round. Getting the word out about the vital role of Apiary Programs and the services they provide is hard given that budgets are never static, and bees should always be considered a top priority. Honey bees and beekeepers deserve attention now and, in the future!

Q5. Do you think there is a way to correct, modernize and update honey bee diseases’ focuses to realize the current and actual threat level of all diseases in honey bees to create more support in staff and funding? (i.e., CCD and AFB playing a lesser overall role with Varroa, viruses, nutrition, Nosema, etc. gaining larger and additional attention).
Joan – Yes. This year in New York State, we saw a decrease in AFB; however, varroa mite losses, coupled with viruses and drought conditions, are expected to lead to many more colony losses than AFB. We need to focus on beekeeper education and continued development of queens with resistant, hygienic traits. Such traits have been shown to reduce varroa levels and virus levels, as well as AFB infections.

Barb – Education is the key. We need to teach and emphasize the best strategy to solve beekeeping problems and lead people to the best resources so that they are less tempted to “go fishing” online. Beekeepers don’t consider varroa mites to be the serious vector that it is. We may consider AFB to be serious, but since “everyone” has varroa, it is just a problem that constantly hinders our success. As long as 40% of our colonies are dying every year, it is obvious that varroa needs to be monitored all season and treated with labeled products as needed. Varroa control should be a priority in colony management.

Kim Skyrm taking samples of deadout. Photo courtesy of Kim Skyrm

Kim – Knowledge and exposure is key. No other entity inspects more honey bee colonies, visits more beekeepers, submits more lab samples or communicates with the beekeeping community than Apiary Inspectors. Keep in mind that many of the major honey bee health issues were also initially discovered by Apiary Inspectors or collaborators working closely with these entities. Given this, I always say if you want to know about honey bee health in your area, talk with an Apiary Inspector. “My” responses were a whole hive effort from the entire MA Bee team: Paul Tessier, Shay Willette and Jessica Glover!

Q6. How would you like to see apiculturists and veterinarians work together to serve beekeepers in the future. What do you think is ideal… possible… and practical?
Joan – Apiculturists and veterinarians should keep lines of communication open and provide each other with regular updates. Apiary inspectors should continue conducting inspections with veterinarians serving as a resource and providing guidance and medical services as needed.

Barb – I think the first step is to communicate more. I would like to have veterinarians attend beekeeping meetings and speak, or at least have a booth to answer questions.

The perception is that veterinarians have not been taught the importance of managed honey bees. Mammal livestock and poultry have been considered the important “animal” livestock and where the money is. Honey bees were seen as a production agriculture input and not as a vitally important industry. Beekeepers do not promote themselves well as livestock managers but if you think about it, beekeepers make up for losses by making splits. You can’t do that with animals. If growers lost 40% of their herd, we would all be in serious trouble, yet statistics show that beekeepers continue to lose 40% of their colonies every year. This is not a sustainable practice. We don’t get ahead, we just stay “even”.

The comments I have heard from hobby, sideliner and big commercial beekeepers is that beekeepers have been their own “veterinarians” since the beginning of beekeeping. They have “done everything a veterinarian would do” (with the help of USDA, Universities and dumb luck). “Why do ‘we’ need a real veterinarian when we know more than they do?” We need to communicate this issue so that both parties understand how we can work together to improve beekeeping biosecurity. Honey bees have the potential to be flying pest/pathogen carriers as colonies are moved around the state and the country. We all have the same goal – to maintain healthy colonies. Beekeepers need to be able to recognize serious bee diseases, as do veterinarians. We need to know when to use antibiotics and when to burn.

The beekeeping industry needs to be universally recognized as being critical to pollinating our food supply. With veterinarians assisting with maintaining strong colonies and stressing the importance of using them to produce optimal crop yield, I think organizations and growers will realize how much we depend on the beekeeping industry.

Shay Willette and David Saleh inspecting nucs. Photo courtesy of Kim Skyrm.

Kim – Ideally, every state/territory would have a fully funded and staffed Apiary Program. Apiary Inspectors would provide inspection services and lab analysis for beekeepers and collaborate with veterinarians to ensure honey bee health is maintained regarding the use of antibiotics. Every state/territory would have a list of several eager veterinarians who have advertised their availability and willingness to provide services to the beekeeping community. Veterinarians would work collaboratively with apiarists to monitor honey bee health, support beekeepers real time and follow up to ensure that recommendations and treatments were successful.

Possibly and practically, apiarists would inspect beekeepers and provide recommendations and veterinarians would assist with prescription and treatment plans. It’s fairly simple in the need and execution of these roles but could be complex in the ability of states/territories to direct funding and visibility to ensure these groups are able to collaborate and provide service.

I appreciate these knowledgeable folks sharing their input and experiences! Thanks Kim, Joan and Barb! For me, they are largely preaching to the choir, and I can happily say that in the last five years, I have personally witnessed positive strides in many of the concerns they bring up. However, we still have some things to figure out, improvements to be made and some time to pass to appreciate current investments. I believe this is a conversation that will continue to develop into the future. Like most things, it’s all about developing positive relationships and accomplishing common goals.

A Couple of Resources:
List of State Apiarists: https://www.blueskybeesupply.com/state-apiarists/ Accessed 12/28/22.
Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) https://apiaryinspectors.org/