From SYSAM@UACSC2.ALBANY.EDUMon May 22 06:40:09 1995 Date: Mon, 22 May 95 08:34:15 EDT From: Aaron Morris To: dicka@cuug.ab.ca ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 11 Aug 89 10:06:22 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Aaron Morris Subject: No buzzing on this line! There hasn't been any activity on this line in a long time. Maybe due to summertime activity? I've been conversing with others but not via this list, so I thought I'd post my last correspondence in an attempt to stir things up a little. Ed, Sorry not to have responded sooner. Concerning your questions... I have ALWAYS used queen excluders. I was always concerned about having the queen move up to use the honey supers as brood chambers. Did you ever experience this? I really can't say as to whether they make a difference or not since I've never gone without. When I first started keeping bees I used the cheap plastic kind and they were a real mess! Between burr comb and propolis, and the fact that they lie in contact with the tops of the frames, I believe they were more bother than anything. I've since tried wire excluders and have found them to be far superior. Since there is a gap between frames and excluder, the bees don't seem to fill them with 'gunk'. They still build burr comb on them/in them, but a few minutes in a warm over will melt that and cleanup is relatively easy. About American Bee Journal (ABJ), I found it to be very interesting. A bit more comercial than I needed (Honey prices in Argentina?!), but also a good source of information that you won't be likely to find elsewhere. Also some good tips - I remember one article written by the guy in Guiness Book of Records for most honey from a single hive (400+ pounds!). It was particularly interesting. Couldn't tell you when it was published. Eventually though, I found I wasn't reading it very often and I let my subscription expire. Ventilation: I have ventilated some years and other years I have not. All my hives have inner and telescoping outter covers. During honey season I leave the outter cover propped up on the front of the top super instead of lieing flat. As far as between super ventilation I can't say whether it makes a difference or not. I don't recall if it made a noticable difference in temperament of the hive or effected production (although I don't keep records). This year (The year of the record Honey Flow!), I didn't provide between super ventilation. So, who knows? Finally, Maxant. I've heard of them, but I don't know anything about them now. Actually my only exposure to the company is seeing their ads in ABJ. I was on their mailing list for a while, but I never bought anything from them so they either dropped me from their list or loss of my business made them go bankrupt. I assume the former but I really don't know. I get my supplies from a local bee keeper and Dadant distributer who passes his discount for large orders on to us little guys. You can't beat that! Closing with a disclaimer. I'm a hobby bee keeper who read so much that the only thing left to do was to just do it. So I got a beginner kit from Sears and started in '72 and have been at it ever since. I have no training other than reading and shooting the breeze with other beekeepers and I only have a small apiary (currently only four hives although I like to keep a half dozen). Indeed it is nice to correspond with others in the field. §Aaron Morris Ed Sterling 8/11/89 Bee questions ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 11 Aug 89 17:21:42 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Kevan Subject: News, and lack thereof Is anyone out there in BEE-L land? It seems that all has been very quiet. Has everyone gone on holiday? I was away for a while and had a most splendid relax in Scandanavia after presenting, and before presenting data at a conference on thermal biology in Tromso, Norway. The subjects concerning bees were given by Ed Southwick on the honeybee colony as a super-organism with special reference to its ability to thermoregulate from very cold to very hot conditions, Makhdzir Mardan and I on the thermoregulatory significance of yellow-rain, alias feces dropped en masse by flying colonies of the giant Asiatic honeybee, Apis dorsata, and myself on thermoregulation in arctic flowers and insects. Please feel free to direct questions to any on us about our presentations. While in Sweden and Norway, I was able to make more observations on the movements of large bees on flowering trees, using Bumblebees, Bombus spp. and linden, Tilia sp.. The linden was in splendid bloom everywhere we went, and had a great bloom in this part of Canada too. I wonder if the linden bloom is synchronized by year around the northern temperate world. It is a tree notorious for not blooming every year and is an excellent honey source in years when it blooms well. Anyway, the bees behave in northern Europe just as they do in southern Canada, and the carpenter bees, Xylocopa, do in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Maldive Islands. Are there any BEE-Lers in anypart of the world where coconuts grow. If so please contact me as I have some questions to ask. Cheers to all and thanks, Peter Kevan, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont, N1G 2W1, Canada. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 15 Aug 89 11:52:37 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Edward E. Southwick" On October 2 (Monday) there will be a presentation of ideas on the subject: "Evaluating the impact of honey bees and other bees on pollination." This symposium will be a part of the Entomological Society of America's Eastern Brnach Meetings held at the Biltmore Hotel in Providence Rhode Island. The speakers are: Prof D.H. Morse (Brown Univ, Moderator) Prof P G Kevan (Guelph Univ, Plant breeding sys and pollination) Prof J.D. Thomson (St Univ NY, Rel effectiveness of pollinators) Prof R.C. Plowright (Univ Toronto, Competition btwn bees) Dr S W T Batra (USDA Beltsville, Solitary bees as pollinators) Dr P F Torchio (USDA Logan, OSMIA on tree fruits) Dr S Buchmann (USDA Tucson, Long-term pollen records of H Bz) Dr R Nowogrodzki (Cornell, Changing role of beekeeping in agri) Prof E E Southwick (St Univ NY, Assessing impact of bees on crops We hope you can get there! More information from: Prof H Y Forsythe Jr Programm Committee University of Maine Dept Entomology Orono, ME 04469 Tel: 207/581-2957 ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 18 Aug 89 15:32:28 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Edward E. Southwick" American Bee research Conference - Weslaco, Texas 3-4 October 1989 This conference tries to tye together both USDA researchers and university researchers. It will be preceeded by a couple of days of Trachael Mite Symposium (1-2 October). More information on Conference, contact: John Harbo, USDA Honey Bee Breeding Lab, 1157 Ben Hur Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70820 Tel 504/766-6064. More on Mites, contact: Frank Eischen, Washington Statre University, Entomology Dept, Pullman WA 99164 Tel: 509/335-2141. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 20 Aug 89 16:53:00 +0200 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: EISIK@TAUNOS Subject: Dear Prof Southwick, In-Reply-To: Message of Fri, 18 Aug 89 15:32:28 EDT Many thanks for your notice ,Althouth I'm at that time in Tucson I'll not atten d ,I'm too buisy in pollination problems, . All the best Dan . ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 Aug 89 14:08:44 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Subject: Rio Dear Dave de Jong: I got your message, thanks. It did not come through on BEE-L in the normal way, at least, but had to be picked up from my main files. I'm not sure why. I doubt that I can make it to the conference, although I would like to. I will be in the throes of teaching intro. apiculture to 160 students! Cheers, Peter. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 29 Aug 89 11:07:00 MST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: INOUYE_D@CUBLDR.COLORADO.EDU Subject: pollination techniques We are working on a "Handbook of Experimental Techniques for Pollination Biology", and are soliciting either references to techniques used for pollination studies (e.g., studies of pollinator behavior, breeding systems, seed abortion, pollen, nectar, etc.), or descriptions of unpublished tricks of the trade. If you or others on Bee-line have something to contribute, please contact us. David W. Inouye (Mountain Research Station, University of Colorado, 818 County Road 116, Nederland, CO 80466; 303-492-8842; e-mail address: Inouye_D%CUBLDR@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU), or Carol A. Kearns (Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742; 303-454-4085; e-mail address: CK5%UMAIL.UMD.EDU). ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 30 Aug 89 19:04:57 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Subject: Re: pollination techniques In-Reply-To: Message of Tue, 29 Aug 89 11:07:00 MST from Will this one reach you? Cheers, Peter ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 30 Aug 89 20:54:00 MST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: INOUYE_D@CUBLDR.COLORADO.EDU Subject: Re: pollination techniques Yes, Peter, I got the message. David. ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 31 Aug 89 12:01:09 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: CC Cheng Subject: Re: pollination techniques In-Reply-To: Message of Wed, 30 Aug 89 20:54:00 MST from Yes, An-ly and I got the message. Charles ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 31 Aug 89 00:40:02 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Ed Sterling Subject: How Long Does Honey "Last" I have more fun just keeping bees than worrying about the marketing and sales of my honey, so I have accumulated a few large food service pails of honey, some of which are 5 and 6 years old now. In my readings I have been led to believe that due to honey's density, it will not permit mold or bacteria (including botulin?) to grow in/on it. Is that true? This honey was quite thick originally and crystallized very quickly. In summary, is there any reason why honey cannot be kept for a long time in such food service buckets, and perhaps after skimming an inch of the top, be quite safe to eat? Ed Sterling Hobbyist ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 31 Aug 89 12:29:09 +0200 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: EISIK@TAUNOS Subject: Re: pollination techniques In-Reply-To: Message of Tue, 29 Aug 89 11:07:00 MST Dear Prof.Inouye, I'm going now to Tucson to carry there a joint reseach with Gloria Hoffmann and Gerry Loper, when I'll come back I'll wrote you about your e-mail.All the best, Dan Eisikowitch. ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 31 Aug 89 09:48:00 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: DENVER BRAUGHLER Subject: RE: How Long Does Honey LAST >In summary, is there any reason why honey cannot be kept for a long >time in such food service buckets, and perhaps after skimming an inch >of the top, be quite safe to eat? If it was in a sealed container, there is no reason to skim the top. The test for spoilage is to smell it. If it's sour, the moisture was too high and it fermented. Otherwise, it's fine. Honey from ancient Egypt was fine thousands of years later. The only potential danger is the absorption of chemicals/heavy metals from the storage containers. If the buckets have not been recalled and were originally intended for the purpose for which you're using them, fear not. ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 31 Aug 89 09:57:30 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Kevan Subject: Re: How Long Does Honey "Last" In-Reply-To: Message of Thu, 31 Aug 89 00:40:02 EDT from Honey willlast a very long time, but will tend to deteriorate over time as a result of various chemical processes, including oxidation and denaturing of more complex minor constituents. If you want to know more Eva Crane wrote an encyclopaedic treatise called "Honey: A Comprehensive Survey" published by Crane, Russak & Co., Inc., New York. Honey generally does not support microbial life because it is such a highly concentrated sugar solution. However, if it is dilute (e.g. more than 20% water) the fermentation can start. This is a problem in humid countries of the tropics and can affect honey in North America too. Anyway, try to get Dr. Crane's book from your library and learn more than you ever wanted to know about HONEY. Cheers, Peter Kevan, U of Guelph, Guelph, Canada. ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 31 Aug 89 15:17:38 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Barbara Fallon Subject: pollination techniques In-Reply-To: Message of 08/30/89 at 19:04:57 from EVBKEVAN@UOGUELPH yes Peter I am receiving from you. This is my big weekend of robbing. It later than I usually rob but our season got off to a slow start. Lots of rain. Beautiful weather now though in lovely WV. Barbara Fallon, Morgantown, WV.