From LISTSERV@UACSC2.ALBANY.EDU Sun Oct 2 14:43:01 1994 Date: Sun, 2 Oct 1994 16:46:17 -0400 From: BITNET list server at ALBNYVM1 To: Allen Dick Subject: File: "BEE-L LOG9302" ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1993 15:41:00 GMT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: PAXTONRJ@TAFF.CARDIFF.AC.UK Subject: set aside for bees Is there an official policy in the US or Canada regarding the setting aside (taking out of production) of land from cereal/arable production and the growing on that land of plants suitable for bees - for bee- keeping (honey production) and for wild bee conservation? Directions towards the relevant literature would be much appreciated. Rob Paxton, Cardiff, UK PaxtonRJ@UK.AC.CARDIFF ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1993 10:33:00 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Kerry Clark 784-2225 Subject: Re: set aside for bees Rob: Nothing in this province of Canada, it would be a provincial responsibility and I haven't heard of such a program from other provinces. I've heard that favourable terms on an agricultural lease of state-owned land for agricultural purposes (including use of the existing vegetation (fireweed) for bees) is available in Alaska. Steven Petersen, Fairbanks,(907) 457-2440 or Fax (907) 457-2899 would know. cheers Kerry Clark, Apiculture Specialist B.C. Ministry of Agriculture 1201 103 Ave Dawson Creek B.C. V1G 4J2 CANADA Tel (604) 784-2225 fax (604) 784-2299 INTERNET KCLARK@GALAXY.GOV.BC.CA ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1993 15:16:38 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: FEDUF02@BRFUA.BITNET Please remove me in Bee-l list ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1993 12:17:00 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Malcolm (Tom) Sanford, Florida Extension Apiculturist" Subject: JANUARY ISSUE OF APIS FILENAME: JANAPIS.93 Florida Extension Beekeeping Newsletter Apis--Apicultural Information and Issues (ISSN 0889-3764) Volume 11, Number 1, January 1993 MITICUR (R) RECEIVES SECTION THREE The product known as Miticur (R) has finally received a section three or general use label. The material is a plastic strip that contains the active ingredient called amitraz. It is labelled to control both Varroa and tracheal mites in bee hives. This material is much needed as an alternative for Varroa mite control using fluvalinate [Apistan (R)] and/or controlling tracheal mites using menthol. Unfortunately, there have been reports of adverse reactions with the product in Florida and the merchant, a company called Hoechst Roussel, has sent a letter (dated January 15) to those who have purchased Miticur (R) requesting them to temporarily stop treating bees with strips packaged in bags of 300. Instead, these strips should be held until further notice or returned to the point of purchase and traded for those packaged in lots of 30. In an effort to keep communication with beekeepers on this and other issues, the company has established a toll-free number (1-800-723-6516). On January 20, the Florida Department of Agriculture sent a letter to purchasers of Miticur (R) in which it said: "Beekeepers who properly document treatment with 1, 2 or 3 Miticur (R) strips will undergo routine post-treatment survey. If less than the recommended 3 strips are used and the post-treatment check shows good control (less than 2 mites per ether roll), the colonies will be certified. If treatment is not effective, further treatment will be required. Because of problems associated with documentation of treatment, the department will not accept one strip as valid treatment. The department cannot guarantee that other states will accept less than the recommended dosage." Further questions using Miticur (R) in Florida can be directed to Mr. Laurence Cutts, Bureau of Plant and Apiary Inspection, ph 904/372-2505, ext 114 or your local bee inspector. ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS Dr. Eric Mussen in From the UC Apiaries, University of California, Davis says so-called "alternative" (unregistered and illegal) treatments make little sense to beekeepers. It all boils down to formulation of the product, he says, something companies must spend huge amounts of money developing, testing and registering. All the components of a pesticide preparation taken as a whole is called the formulation, Dr. Mussen says. Each consists of some amount of pesticide (active ingredient), a carrier and other chemicals (inert ingredients). Both Apistan (R) and Miticur (R) are formulated as 10% pesticide and 90% plastic. Fluvalinate, the active ingredient in Apistan (R), is insoluble in water (not easily absorbed by honey), as is amitraz, the pesticide in Miticur (R). Both are soluble in organic solvents, meaning they are easily absorbed by beeswax. Other formulations of both fluvalinate and amitraz [for example, Mavrik (R), Taktic (R), etc.] have emulsifiers according to Dr. Mussen. These make both pesticides soluble in water, something necessary for other agricultural applications, but also cause them to be absorbed into honey much more easily. Different formulations may also have "stickers," "spreaders," and various chemicals to help them function effectively on vegetation. None of these specialty chemicals has any tolerance level in honey (both amitraz and fluvalinate do). In addition, these added chemicals may increase the amount of pesticide absorbed by honey, so that established tolerance levels are exceeded. Dr. Mussen says it's fair to ask whether reducing the cost of formulations to beekeepers would increase sales, producing about the same amount of income over a protracted time period. This would allow the companies to recover developmental and registration costs. He also concludes it's fair to ask beekeepers to stick to registered uses. Using common sense should prevent anybody from using alternative treatments given the known drawbacks. They have been known to kill bees, cause respiratory irritation in applicators and, perhaps worst of all, fail to control target pests. THE SEARCH FOR MITE RESISTANT STOCK I talked to a beekeeper the other day who was treating his colonies with new Miticur (R) strips. I asked him why he was doing so given that the colonies had been treated with Apistan (R) for Varroa mite control last fall. The answer--to control tracheal mites. But, I asked, was there any indication that tracheal mites were problematic? No, but he was treating anyway. This mindset is troubling. It no longer is standard practice for farmers to routinely spray agricultural fields, something that beekeepers have fought against for many years in the often-in-vain attempt to protect their bees from being poisoned. Instead, many farmers are applying pesticides only when there is a problem and in some cases, only after a specific level of crop damage or pest population has been reached. Regulators and educators have been trying to discourage the practice of "spray and pray," in growers for many years and this effort appears to be working. It hasn't been easy; the real reason many don't routinely spray now is simply because it costs too much. This should be the case with beekeepers as well. When the costs are calculated, it is extremely expensive to chemically treat bee colonies for mites. This practice should always be considered a last, not a first, resort. We now have two mites that are consuming beekeepers' time and money. One is Varroa jacobsoni, an external parasite, considered to be one of the most damaging pests to honey bees worldwide. Honey bees have little resistance to parasitization by Varroa; it attacks both brood and adults, verifiably affects colonies and can kill them in a few short months. Varroa must be considered dangerous to colonies when found even in low levels. It is prudent to be conservative and treat colonies for this parasite in Florida when there is evidence the bees are infested. Two legal treatments are now available, Apistan (R) and Miticur (R). Varroa can be determined by visual diagnosis in a number of ways: scanning adult bees, uncapping brood and using chemicals (ether roll, tobacco smoke, acaricides) to dislodge mites from adult bees. For more information on detecting this mite, see VT 249 "Varroa Mite Detection," 1989, IFAS Television. To receive a copy send a blank 1/2" VHS video tape to me at the address below. Acarapis woodi, the honey bee tracheal mite also causes damage to colonies, but how much and in what way remains controversial. It is difficult to detect and control methods using the one registered chemical, menthol, have met with varying success. With the labelling of Miticur (R), there is now the possibility to treat both Varroa and tracheal mites at the same time. Again, however, it is prudent to determine that mites are first present. Because it is difficult to detect these small, internal mites, there will be more temptation to treat for them "just in case." This is the classic symptom of any agriculturalist who has stepped onto what many have called "the pesticide treadmill." And once one boards the chemical-treatment train, it becomes exceedingly difficult to get off. The dangers of pesticide dependency are legion. They include: product contamination, environmental pollution and a chemically- resistant pest population. And in a perverse way, chemical control also contributes to a long-range problem while admittedly providing a short-range solution. That's because treatment keeps susceptible bee colonies alive, and in the process, prevents detection of stock that has innate resistance to the pest. The message remains clear: Don't Chemically Treat Unless There is a Reason! Does the concept of resistant stock hold up under scrutiny? Take a look at chestnuts as reported in the December, 1992 issue of Citrus and Vegetable Magazine. Prior to 1904, the American chestnut was the most important food and timber tree in Eastern U.S. hardwood forests. But a bark fungus, accidentally introduced from the Asia (shades of Varroa also introduced from there), killed some 3.5 billion trees from Maine to Georgia west to the Mississippi River. This largest botanical disaster in history took only 40 years. According to the article, a James Carpenter discovered a large living American Chestnut in a grove of dying trees in the early 1950s. Budwood from this tree was grafted into rootstock, and in 1962, seedlings were crossed back to both American and Chinese parents. The second generation was moved to Alachua, FL where a grove of some 60 trees can be found that are now over 40 feet tall and 16 inches in diameter. These Dunstan Chestnuts are healthy, vigorous and bear every year. There has not been a single reported infection from the fungus on this variety for more than 30 years. Fortunately for the beekeeping industry, resistant honey bee stock found in Yugoslavia is now being released to selected queen breeders in the U.S. This is stock ARS-Y-C-1, somewhat resistant to Varroa and considered economically so to tracheal mites. At the present time, a U.S. Department of Agriculture/beekeeping industry stock release panel has been formed. It is seeking Breeder- Propagators with a good deal of experience who will ensure that ARS-Y-C-1 is successfully reared and distributed to beekeepers. For detailed information on becoming a Breeder-Propagator, contact Dr. Thomas E. Rinderer, Research Leader, Baton Rouge Bee Laboratory, 1157 Ben Hur Rd., Baton Rouge, LA 70820, ph 504/766- 6064. The deadline for selection is March 31, 1993. CAN BEES HEAR? An intriguing article in the local paper (Gainesville Sun, December 31, 1992) recently described experiments by Dr. William Towne at Kutzdown University in Pennsylvania. He has proven that bees can hear. Although the scientific proof may be Dr. Towne's, beekeepers always figured bees could hear based on the practice of "tanging," making a loud clanging noise which was thought to make swarms stop and cluster. This notion has now been discredited by most authorities, but the tradition no doubt continues . According to Dr. Towne, bees were considered deaf because they were only tested with loud sounds which produced high pressures. Yes, people could hear them, but honey bees don't hear like humans. Whereas we have a pressure sensitive membrane (ear drum) which is stretched over a closed cavity, the honey bee relies on particle movement. Thus, they hear things only in the near field, very close to the source. Dr. Towne and a colleague in Germany (Wolfgang Kirchner) trained bees to come to a two-sided sugar-water feeder based on tones emitted from a speaker. When the frequencies were the same (250 cycles per second) as the bee's famed waggle dance, about B below middle C on the piano, the insects consistently responded. According to Dr. Towne, bees clearly can tell the lowest sounds from the highest; they also distinguish mid-range tones from higher and lower ones. The next step is to search for the honey bee's ear. In this quest, Dr. Towne has taken to applying drops of glue to various honey bee structures. The glue does not hurt the bees. This attempt to "deafen" bees has met with variable results, and for Dr. Towne, the question has become more and more intriguing. He concludes: "I guess I'll have to train a few more bees to find out for sure..." ON BEE BASHING Bee bashing by politicians and others is on the rise. The source of all the commotion is the honey loan program, which most writers refer to as a "subsidy." First there was a prime-time television program on the issue, then an article in the Wall Street Journal. Next syndicated columnist George Will got into the act and later a colleague pinned an editorial cartoon on my door showing a fictitious bureau of U.S. Government Investments listing the savings and loan scandal, war on drugs, house post office as being sold to Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer. In the background, a man on the telephone is saying: "The beekeepers need another $100 million? Is that all?" Where all this is going is difficult to say. However, in the July- August, 1992 issue of Honey Producer Magazine, Representative C. Stenholm of Texas thanked his colleagues for not passing the Silvio Conte memorial amendment (Mr. Conte, who recently died, was one of the Congress' most virulent antagonists to the honey loan program). This would have eliminated, Mr. Stenholm indicated, the honey loan program over which many have droned on late into the night and which cost to the U.S. government has been reduced from $100 million to $6 million. This seemed to spite the Clinton campaign's idea that bees would go on making honey if the subsidy was eliminated or Mr. Will's silliness about almonds deprived of honey bee pollination: "Soon airline passengers will not get those little packages of nuts. Gosh." Sincerely, Malcolm T. Sanford Box 0620, Bldg 970 University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611-0620 Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: 904-392-0190 BITNET Address: MTS@IFASGNV INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1993 13:44:04 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Kevan BEE SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM Would some-one mind re-posting all the salient information about this syposium on a single message? Place, When, Times, Duration, Contacts, etc. It seems some of us have not received all the information, only incomplete corrections, additions, and so on. TI have had some inquiries directed here. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Feb 1993 09:50:10 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Bee Surgeon To Mahadir in Malaysia, Hi ! My message to you has been bounced back a few times ! Computer says your accountis nonexistent (no such local user: UP-Madir) -- sorry other beeliners, to broadcast instead of narrowcast this message . 220 UTMKL Columbia MAILER R2.08 PTF008 BSMTP service ready. 050 HELO VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU 250 UTMKL Hello VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU 050 MAIL FROM: 250 ... sender OK. 050 RCPT TO: 250 ... recipient OK. 050 DATA 354 Start mail input. End with . 554-Mail not delivered to some or all recipients: 554 No such local user: UP-MADIR 050 QUIT 221 UTMKL Columbia MAILER BSMTP service done. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Feb 1993 16:05:13 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Aaron Morris Subject: Austrailian bees sting tree and it dies?!?! This morning while commuting to work I heard on the radio (Larry King) reference to an incident in Austrailia where a tree was stung by numerous bees and the tree died! I have no idea what this was all about (and given the source, should probably just ignore it) but can anyone fill me in on the details, or is this just a figment of Larry King's imagination? ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 15:04:01 +0200 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Andreas Kasenides Subject: test if anyone gets this please reply to let me know! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Andreas Kasenides | Come to Europe come to Cyprus!! | kasenid@jupiter.cca.ucy.cy | Europe's most european!! | kandreas@cyearn.bitnet | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 08:15:48 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Tom Fisher Subject: Re: test In-Reply-To: <9302091310.AA03137@fieldofdreams.npirs.purdue.edu>; from "Andreas Kasenides" at Feb 9, 93 3:04 pm > > if anyone gets this please reply to let me know! I got it. Tom Fisher tfisher@ceris.purdue.edu > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > | | > Andreas Kasenides | Come to Europe come to Cyprus!! | > kasenid@jupiter.cca.ucy.cy | Europe's most european!! | > kandreas@cyearn.bitnet | > | | > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 06:56:04 PST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adrian Wenner Subject: Re: test In-Reply-To: <9302091330.AA22722@ucsbuxb.ucsb.edu>; from "Tom Fisher" at Feb 9, 9 February 1993/0-645 I received your message, too. Adrian M. Wenner wenner@lifesci.ucsb.edu > > > > > if anyone gets this please reply to let me know! > > I got it. > > Tom Fisher > tfisher@ceris.purdue.edu > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > | > > Andreas Kasenides | Come to Europe come to Cyprus!! > > kasenid@jupiter.cca.ucy.cy | Europe's most european!! > > kandreas@cyearn.bitnet | > > | > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 17:18:07 +0200 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Andreas Kasenides Subject: Starting all over I am resending the following that I probably sent to the wrong place some time ago and received no reply. ---------------------------------------------------------------- >From kasenid Thu Jan 28 13:43:07 1993 Received: by earth.cca.ucy.cy (AIX 3.2/UCB 5.64/4.03) id AA10599; Thu, 28 Jan 1993 13:41:48 +0200 Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 13:41:48 +0200 From: kasenid (Andreas Kasenides) Message-Id: <9301281141.AA10599@earth.cca.ucy.cy> To: bee-l@pucc.princeton.edu Subject: Starting all over again Cc: kasenid Status: RO Well several years back >15 my grandad used to have respectable colony of old style traditional "hives" (cylinders made from mud and hay) that produced an excellent "variety" of honey. While later we introduced the classic hives I left in 1981 for the US leaving behind the colony. I have been back from the US since May and I found the remnants of disaster in all the hives. Relatives have informed me that during my absence while they took care of the hives disease struck in a most unnatural way. Almost all colonies in the island have been wiped out. Only a few survived. The disease is supposedly imported. Some beekeepers were able to rebuild and now have strong colonies. Our equipment though stayed unused. I would like to start over again but I am faced with a dillema. All hives are in bad shape. Disease has eaten away all the wax material inside teh the hives and a lot of remnants are inside. What I noticed is that some dead flies are inside cocoons (sp) which usually are attached to wood or sometimes placed in holes made for them in the wood. All kinds of remains are inside the hives. Can I salvage these equipment and not pass the disease on to the new colony? How? Any way of disinfecting?? Any help in identifying the disease or ways to salvage equipment will be appreciated. Thanks Andreas kasenid@jupiter.cca.ucy.cy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Andreas Kasenides | Come to Europe come to Cyprus!! | kasenid@jupiter.cca.ucy.cy | Europe's most european!! | kandreas@cyearn.bitnet | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 10:28:08 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Rick Hough Subject: IBRA Does anyone know if the IBRA is accessable via e-mail?? Specifically, I'm looking for information (pricing/availability) of a book they published in 1987: Plants for Beekeeping in Canada and the Northern USA, by Jane Ramsay. Thanks in advance for your comments! Rick Hough, Hamilton, MA, USA rshough@tasc.com ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 08:02:12 PST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adrian Wenner Subject: Re: Austrailian bees sting tree and it dies?!?! In-Reply-To: <9302082200.AA18402@ucsbuxb.ucsb.edu>; from "Aaron Morris" at Feb 8 Myths are rampant in our society. People seem to want to believe impossible things (the Alice in Wonderland syndrome). Adrian M. Wenner > > This morning while commuting to work I heard on the radio (Larry King) > reference to an incident in Austrailia where a tree was stung by numerous > bees and the tree died! I have no idea what this was all about (and > given the source, should probably just ignore it) but can anyone fill > me in on the details, or is this just a figment of Larry King's > imagination? > ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 08:08:25 PST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adrian Wenner Subject: Re: IBRA In-Reply-To: <9302091530.AA24022@ucsbuxb.ucsb.edu>; from "Rick Hough" at Feb 9, 9 February 1993 IBRA is likely on e-mail. Pamela Munn, editor of BEE WORLD has the address: MunnPA@cardiff.ac.uk She should know the more general e-mail address for IBRA Adrian M. Wenner Prof. of Natural History, Emeritus Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 11:27:48 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: JBEARD@AIP.BITNET Subject: Re: test In-Reply-To: Andreas Kasenides's message of 02/09/93 I got it. Why? Jonathan ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 11:15:58 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: BOBL@LAGUNA.EPCC.EDU Subject: Re: IBRA I have heard of what you are looking for..if I find it I will let you know. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 16:40:34 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: EVBKEVAN@VM.UOGUELPH.CA Subject: Re: Austrailian bees sting tree and it dies?!?! In-Reply-To: Message of Tue, 9 Feb 1993 08:02:12 PST from I had an old friend who had a wooden leg. His leg was attacked by stinging bees. The result was that the wood swelled up to over three times its original diameter and rent his trouser-leg assunder! I told him he should have been wearing shorts. Anyway, as he tried to walk home, the swollen wood became so weak, that his leg broke. My friend was remarkably agile, and wasn't hurt by the fall. He did get up and hop to the nearest wooden leg factory, some 2,500 km distant. They fixed him up the next day. Please note that this series of events did not take place in Australia. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 17:10:27 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: stephen j clark Subject: RE: Austrailian bees sting tree and it dies?!?! In regards to the following message: >From: EVBKEVAN@VM.UOGUELPH.CA >Subject: RE: Austrailian bees sting tree and it dies?!?! >In-reply-to: Message of Tue, > 9 Feb 1993 08:02:12 PST from >Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology >To: STEPHEN CLARK >Reply-to: Discussion of Bee Biology >Message-id: <01GUIWKOYHP800LGFA@vassar.edu> >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT > >I had an old friend who had a wooden leg. His leg was attacked by >stinging bees. The result was that the wood swelled up to over >three times its original diameter and rent his trouser-leg assunder! >I told him he should have been wearing shorts. Anyway, as he tried >to walk home, the swollen wood became so weak, that his leg broke. >My friend was remarkably agile, and wasn't hurt by the fall. He >did get up and hop to the nearest wooden leg factory, some 2,500 km >distant. They fixed him up the next day. Please note that this >series of events did not take place in Australia. That's nothing! I know a couple whose baby wandered away while they were having a picnic in the woods and was raised by bees. Years later he was discovered by a woodcutter and successfully reintroduced to society. He became quite a hit on the talk show circuit but his fame was short-lived because he had a tendency to drone on. Buzzz, Steve Clark Vassar College ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1993 14:49:20 PST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: pccheng@UCDAVIS.EDU Subject: Maternal effects... Hello Bee-L'ers... Does anyone know if maternal effects have been studied in bees? I am interested in both maternally controlled (e.g. diapause in _Oncopeltus_) and uncontrolled (e.g. _bicoid_ protein gradient in _Drosophila_) maternal effects. Have a good week! Paul -- Paul C. Cheng pccheng@ucdavis.edu "The French find my music Dept. of Entomology pccheng@ucdavis.BITNET beyond their powers of per- Univ. of California, Davis pccheng!ucdavis formance." L. van Beethoven &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Droles de gens que ces gens-la! &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1993 09:43:18 TUR Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Yavuz Darendelioglu Subject: Re: test In-Reply-To: Message of Tue, 9 Feb 1993 15:04:01 +0200 from Dear BEE-Liner, I have received your message. But I don't subscribe to your point of view. Yavuz Darendelioglu Turkey ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1993 09:05:43 WET Reply-To: MunnPA@cardiff.ac.uk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Dr Pamela Munn Subject: re: IBRA Hi there! Yes IBRA is on e-mail (we link up to bitnet, internet, janet etc via a modem to the Cardiff University mainframe). The address etc is tagged on to the end of this message. You asked about Jane Ramsey's book - we did sell it, I'll check with our bookshop if it is still stocked (or where to get it if not). bye for now Pam Munn _____________________________________________________________________________ | E-mail : MunnPA@Cardiff.AC.UK | Mail: IBRA, | | Phone : +44 222 372409 | 18, North Road, | | Fax : +44 222 665522 | Cardiff, | |---------------------------------------| South Glamorgan | | Please state if the message is for | CF1 3DY | | someone else within IBRA | United Kingdom | |_______________________________________|___________________________________| ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1993 09:03:55 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: MICHAEL STRANGELOVE <441495@ACADVM1.UOTTAWA.CA> Subject: APIS Does anyone have an e-mail address for the e-serial APIS? thanks, Michael Strangelove Department of Religious Studies University of Ottawa BITNET: 441495@Uottawa Internet: 441495@Acadvm1.Uottawa.CA S-Mail: 177 Waller, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5 CANADA Voice: (613) 747-0642 FAX: (613) 564-6641 ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1993 06:59:41 PST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adrian Wenner Subject: Re: APIS In-Reply-To: <9302111405.AA13305@ucsbuxb.ucsb.edu>; from "MICHAEL STRANGELOVE" a 0650/ 11 February 1993 Michael, Try: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU Good luck Adrian M. Wenner Prof. of Natural History, Emeritus Univ. Calif., Santa Barbara > > Does anyone have an e-mail address for the e-serial APIS? > > thanks, > > Michael Strangelove > Department of Religious Studies > University of Ottawa > > BITNET: 441495@Uottawa > Internet: 441495@Acadvm1.Uottawa.CA > S-Mail: 177 Waller, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5 CANADA > Voice: (613) 747-0642 > FAX: (613) 564-6641 > ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1993 14:29:15 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: KESLER@RHODES.BITNET Subject: New Course - Biology through Bees I am developing an undergraduate non-science biology course, "Biology Through Bees". I will be using the Honeybee as the thread of continuity in the course which will cover such things as photosynthesis, metabolism, genetics, behavior, evolution, flower anatomy, etc. etc. The difficult part comes in designing labs which "work", i.e. labs which do more than deal with bee behavior (e.g. interpreting the dance, sugar selection, etc.). Do you have any suggestions for this course, particularly the lab? Thank you for your time David Kesler Rhodes College kesler@rhodes.bitnet (901) 726-3557 ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1993 17:43:58 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: KESLER@RHODES.BITNET Subject: Registration register kesler@rhodes.bitnet ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1993 15:22:00 +1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: CONSTABV@TOPAZ.UCQ.EDU.AU Subject: Re: Austrailian bees sting tree and it dies?!?! ADRIAN, JUST A NOTE A MAN IN DARWIN WAS CUTTING DOWN A TREE IN A CHERRY PICKER BASKET QUITE HIGH ABOVE THE GROUND AND HE UPSET A HIVE WITHIN THE TREE AND THEY SET ON HIM AND HE WAS SEVERLY STUNG ABOUT 1000 STINGS.HE COULD NOT ESCAPE AS HE WAS IN THE CHERRY PICKER BASKET.HE WAS IN SEVERE SHOCK WAS REVIVED SEVERAL TIMES BUT HE DIED SEVERAL DAYS LATER. ITS INTERESTING HOW THE NEWS GETS THINGS ALL MIXED UP. ANYHOW THATS THE DRIFT. REGARDS VINCE CONSTABLE,INFO.TECH.DIV. UNI CENTRAL QUEENSLAND, ROCKHAMPTON,QLD,AUSTRALIA ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1993 15:12:00 +1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: CONSTABV@TOPAZ.UCQ.EDU.AU Subject: Re: test TOM FISHER I RECEIVED YOUR TEST MESSAGE TODAY. REGARDS VINCE CONSTABLE,ELECTRONIC TECH FULL TIME BEEKEEPER PART TIME 120 HIVES. INFO.TECH.DIV. UNI CENTRAL QUEENSLAND, ROCKHAMPTON,QUEENSLAND,AUSTRALIA , CHEERS VINCE ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1993 15:05:00 +1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: CONSTABV@TOPAZ.UCQ.EDU.AU Subject: Re: Austrailian bees sting tree and it dies?!?! RE YOUR QUERY ABOUT AN AUSTRALIAN STING TREE ETC. WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED WAS A FELLOW WAS IN A CHERRY PICKER CHOPPING LIMBS OFF A TREE QUITE HIGH UP,AND HE DRASTICALLY UPSET A HIVE WITHIN THE TREE AND THEY TOOK TO HIM.HE ENDED UP WITH ABOUT 1000 STINGS AND HE WAS SOON IN SHOCK,WAS REVIVED SEVERAL TIMES BUT HE DIED SOME DAYS LATER. THIS OCCURRED IN THE NORTH OF THE COUNTRY,IN A CITY CALLED DARWIN.ALSO HE WAS IN THE CHERRY PICKER CAGE AND I SUPPOSE HE COULD NOT EASILY ESCAPE THE STING BEES. A MOST UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT. REGARDS VINCE CONSTABLE INFO.TECH.DEPT UNI CENTRAL QUEENSLAND,AUSTRALIA ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1993 09:39:29 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Kevan Subject: POLLINATION ECOLOGY: A Prctical Approach Amots Dafni's book is now available. It is full of handy recipes, protocols, and ideas for working in pollination ecology with students in courses or for the researcher. Spiral Bound (nice: it lies flat when open) and 30.00 PoundsUK Paper Covers @ 19.50 PoundsUK Jane Pennington, Oxford U Press, Walton St., Oxford OX2 6DP, UK Peter Titus, , 200 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10016, US Sorry, I don't have US prices. Probably about 2X for Pounds to US$ Quite pricey. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 11:33:56 +1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: GENSHL@LURE.LATROBE.EDU.AU Subject: remove from list Please remove me from the bee network. Thank you. Susan Lawler, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 11:38:33 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter HORROR BEE MOVIES: I have been trying to get a copy of "Killer Bees" and other horror movies (are they B movies?) as a treat for my apiculture class. It seems that the video stores no longer carry any such titles. Does anyone on BEE-L have copies of their own they would be willing to share? Thanks. Peter Kevan, U of Guelph, Ont., Canada. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 11:56:19 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: stephen j clark Subject: Re: >From: Peter >Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology >HORROR BEE MOVIES: >I have been trying to get a copy of "Killer Bees" and other >horror movies (are they B movies?) as a treat for my apiculture >class. It seems that the video stores no longer carry any such >titles. Does anyone on BEE-L have copies of their own they would >be willing to share? Thanks. Peter Kevan, U of Guelph, Ont., Canada. I thought "Killer Bees" was a Saturday Night Live skit starring John Belushi. I wasn't aware that it was ever a feature film. Steve Clark Vassar College ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 11:33:15 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "La Reine de la Cite' des Phoques (Liz Day)" Subject: horror bee movies The person to ask is May Berenbaum at U of I Champaign-Banana. She has about every B insect movie there is. Liz Day University of Illinois at Chicago day@earth.eecs.uic.edu ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 11:36:13 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "La Reine de la Cite' des Phoques (Liz Day)" Subject: ps I think the movie was called "The Swarm". There may be others. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 12:45:53 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Aaron Morris Subject: Bee horror movies... I believe Liz is correct, the title is "The Swarm", where bees learn to communicate by forming words on walls written out in masses of bees. I was surprised to see Peter request such an informative film!. For an even better "education", check out "Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees" which deals with bees who learn to communicate with their keeper telepathically via the television. (For a complete review, GOPHER to U. on Minnesota - FUN & GAMES, MOVES, 1992, FEB). Unfortunately, I can't offer help with obtaining a copy. I've been trying to get a hold of "Wax..." for weeks. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 13:02:28 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Vladimir Vidak Subject: Unsubscribe Please remove my name from the list. Thank you, Vladimir Vidak ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 13:49:00 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Oberdorfer, Mike" Subject: Attn. list owner: New Address Attn. List owner, My old e-mail server died, I can not unscribe that ID (mdo@nihnei31.bitnet), My new ID is: mdo@eps.nei.nih.gov Please re-subscribe me to your list and cancel my old ID. Thanks, Mike Oberdorfer ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 15:05:02 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Malcolm (Tom) Sanford, Florida Extension Apiculturist" Subject: Re: Re: The movies I remember are Irwin Allen's "The Swarm", also a made for tv flick, "Savage Bees." The main consultant on these movie projects has been Stormin' Norman Gary, U of CA, Davis....you might try, NGARY@ucdavis.edu ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tom Sanford Extension Apiculturist University of Florida Mailing Address: Bldg 970, Hull Rd., Gainesville, FL 32611-0620 Voice phone 904/392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX 904/392-0190 INTERNET: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU BITNET: MTS@IFASGNV +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 15:09:51 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Malcolm (Tom) Sanford, Florida Extension Apiculturist" Subject: Re: Bee horror movies... I recently saw "Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees." Full of technology, the story line gets somewhat muddled...for honey bee buffs, there is an interesting segment about the protagonists father who had his bees die in Britian from some malady (tracheal mites?) and went to Mesopotamia to get some resistant types... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tom Sanford Extension Apiculturist University of Florida Mailing Address: Bldg 970, Hull Rd., Gainesville, FL 32611-0620 Voice phone 904/392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX 904/392-0190 INTERNET: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU BITNET: MTS@IFASGNV +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 16:18:16 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Subject: Re: In-Reply-To: Message of Tue, 16 Feb 1993 11:56:19 -0400 from You ay be correct, and the filmI am thinking about, starring Norm Gary (if memory serves), may be entitled "The Swarm". The Killer Bees are a tag team of two WWF wrestlers. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 16:21:02 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Subject: Re: Bee horror movies... In-Reply-To: Message of Tue, 16 Feb 1993 12:45:53 EST from The insects which wrote the name of the infamous Dr. Parmeter on the walls were fire-farting cockroaches in the film called "Bug" or "Fire Bug" from the book, The Hephestus Plague. I can't remember the name of the author. The bees in the swarm ended up having their ardour cooled in the domed stadium somewhere in Texas. Cheers, Peter ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 16:58:44 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Bee Surgeon I remember once recorded (last October) a movie, not sure of the title, maybe Killer bees. It started with guys working in a Louisiana bee lab being stung to death and the bees diagnosed as Africanized. It started pretty accurate, but the last half was bizzare. I will see if I have not erased the tape that I had. >Received: from UIUCVMD.BITNET (NJE origin LISTSERV@UIUCVMD) by VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU > (LMail V1.1c/1.7e) with BSMTP id 0303; Tue, 16 Feb 1993 11:01:56 -060 >Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 11:38:33 EST >Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology >Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology >From: Peter >To: ZHIYONG HUANG > >HORROR BEE MOVIES: >I have been trying to get a copy of "Killer Bees" and other >horror movies (are they B movies?) as a treat for my apiculture >class. It seems that the video stores no longer carry any such >titles. Does anyone on BEE-L have copies of their own they would >be willing to share? Thanks. Peter Kevan, U of Guelph, Ont., Canada. ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 07:23:09 PST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adrian Wenner Subject: Re: Austrailian bees sting tree and it dies?!?! In-Reply-To: <9302151558.AA13308@ucsbuxb.ucsb.edu>; from "CONSTABV@topaz.ucq.edu 17 Feb. 1993 VINCE, Many thanks for the clarification about "bees stinging a tree." Let us now see how many years this tale will be with us -- the notion that warm water freezes faster than cold water dates all the way back to Francis Bacon in the early 1600s. Best wishes. Adrian M. Wenner > > ADRIAN, > JUST A NOTE A MAN IN DARWIN WAS CUTTING DOWN A TREE IN A CHERRY > PICKER BASKET QUITE HIGH ABOVE THE GROUND AND HE UPSET A HIVE > WITHIN THE TREE AND THEY SET ON HIM AND HE WAS SEVERLY STUNG > ABOUT 1000 STINGS.HE COULD NOT ESCAPE AS HE WAS IN THE CHERRY > PICKER BASKET.HE WAS IN SEVERE SHOCK WAS REVIVED SEVERAL > TIMES BUT HE DIED SEVERAL DAYS LATER. ITS INTERESTING HOW THE > NEWS GETS THINGS ALL MIXED UP. > ANYHOW THATS THE DRIFT. > REGARDS VINCE CONSTABLE,INFO.TECH.DIV. UNI CENTRAL QUEENSLAND, > ROCKHAMPTON,QLD,AUSTRALIA > ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 07:39:49 PST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adrian Wenner Subject: Re: Re: In-Reply-To: <9302162007.AA23394@ucsbuxb.ucsb.edu>; from "Malcolm" at Feb 16, 93 17 Feb. 1993 Tom, As I recall, you are correct. However, the way I interpreted it was that a Norm Gary look-alike was the young scientist hero. The romantic connection was with a Karl von Frisch look-alike and his daughter. Adrian > > The movies I remember are Irwin Allen's "The Swarm", also a made for tv > flick, "Savage Bees." The main consultant on these movie projects has > been Stormin' Norman Gary, U of CA, Davis....you might try, NGARY@ucdavis.edu > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > Tom Sanford Extension Apiculturist University of Florida > Mailing Address: Bldg 970, Hull Rd., Gainesville, FL 32611-0620 > Voice phone 904/392-1801, Ext. 143 > FAX 904/392-0190 > INTERNET: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU > BITNET: MTS@IFASGNV > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 10:00:33 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "La Reine de la Cite' des Phoques (Liz Day)" Subject: Bombus habitat preferences Is anyone aware of printed works that tell of studies (not speculationn - actual research) on whether different species of Bombus in the same geographic area have different habitat preferences? (Not just flower preferences, but preferences to nest or forage mostly in, say, swamps as opposed to prairies). Liz Day University of Illinois at Chicago day@earth.eecs.uic.edu ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 10:12:29 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Fernando Silveira Subject: Re: Bombus habitat preferences In-Reply-To: Message of Wed, 17 Feb 1993 10:00:33 -0600 from Dear Dr. Liz Day, I don't know what exactly you mean by "same geographic region", nor what would you consider as "actual research", but Dr. J.R.Cure and I have a paper in press in the 'Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment' (it may be already published) that may have some data of interest for you. The paper does not deal with swamps and prairies, however. It is a comparison between bee fauna in areas bellow 1000 meters altitude and areas above 1400 meters above sea level, in a specific region of Brazil. We have some comments on the replacement of one species of Bombus by another one in the higher areas. Best wishes, Fernando A. Silveira Snow Entomological Museum The University of Kansas e-mail BEEMAN@UKANVM.BITNET ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 08:26:00 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Kerry Clark 784-2225 Subject: Can Bees Hear? Re the article in Tom Sanford's APIS newsletter, about the search for bees' ears, by Dr. W. Towne, Kutzdown U., Penn, and W. Kirchner, Germany: For several years, I've wondered about a pair of "windows" on the anterior ventral curve (sternal area) of the mesothorax, which I noticed while examining honey bee "thoracic discs" for tracheal mites. Each window is a wedge-shaped patch where the exoskeleton wall is much thinner, and the large branched hairs (as on the surrounding body wall) are absent. The patches are about 1 mm on each side of the centre line, about 0.4 mm long and 0.1 mm wide at the upper, widest part. They are easy to see in KOH cleared thoracic discs, after muscles are removed. The structures aren't described in Snodgrass' book. It seems like a location that would be useful for detecting vibrations, especially from a comb surface. Towne and Kirchner might follow this up, does anyone know how to contact them? (or know any more about these structures) Kerry Clark, Apiculture Specialist B.C. Ministry of Agriculture 1201 103 Ave Dawson Creek B.C. V1G 4J2 CANADA Tel (604) 784-2225 fax (604) 784-2299 INTERNET KCLARK@GALAXY.GOV.BC.CA ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 19:38:26 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: RICK FISHER Subject: Re: Bombus habitat preferences Lawrence Harder did some work on nest clumping, published in Holarctic Ecology. I can't remember whether he addressed habitat preferences. Nest site preferences are addressed in papers/theses of KW Richards. Biome preferences of the (imported) New Zealand species were of long-standing interest to Lou Gurr of Massey University. While he could assign some (specifically, B. subterraneus) to particular geographic areas, their demarcations were always something of a mystery. The distribution maps among the monographs of HE Milliron indicate a decided dislike on the part of bumble bees (or their collectors) for the Amazon basin. Rick Fisher Fisher@ace.acadiau.ca ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1993 17:30:00 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: di5 Subject: Re: Bombus habitat preferences In-Reply-To: <9302171602.AA00141@umailsrv0.UMD.EDU> There is a series of papers by Hobbs and colleagues in the 1960s that discussed habitat requirements for different Bombus species. Here's one reference to get you started: Hobbs, G.A. 1968. Ecology of species of Bombus in southern Alberta. VII. Subgenus Bombus. Canadian Entomologist 100:156-164. This is back when they were investigating suitability of Bombus for management as pollinators. David W. INOUYE Dept. of Zoology, University of Maryland Email:di5@umail.umd.edu Phone:301-405-6946 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1993 15:25:11 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Sandra Perez Subject: trap-nests and carpenter bees Hey, there, Bee Fans, I'm looking for information on designs and uses of artificial nests for capturing carpenter bees in the field. Yes, it _is_ easy enough to use a net, but I'd like to learn a little something about nesting behavior in a semi-natural setting. So, advice about bore diameter, placement on openings, (that's "of" openings), length of tunnels, etc. would be much appreciated. It is said that Bob Minkley and Steve Buckman have played around with this sort of thing. Can you guys hear me? Or can anyone supply e-mail addresses? Thanks for your anticipated help. Sandra Perez University of Miami ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1993 22:00:00 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: di5 Subject: Re: Bombus habitat preferences In-Reply-To: <9302171602.AA00141@umailsrv0.UMD.EDU> Another reference: Williams, PH. 1988. habitat use by bumble bees (Bombus spp.). Ecological Entomology 13:223-237. David W. INOUYE Dept. of Zoology, University of Maryland Email:di5@umail.umd.edu Phone:301-405-6946 ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1993 12:13:08 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Kevan Subject: Re: trap-nests and carpenter bees In-Reply-To: Message of Sat, 20 Feb 1993 15:25:11 -0500 from Makhdzir Mardan, Department of Plant Protection, Fakulti Pertanian, Universiti Pertanian, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia has been playing with Xylocopa culture/encouragement and made some interesting breakthroughs with Xylocopa latipes for passion fruit pollination in Malaysia. You can find some reference to his work in Acta Horticultura of a couple of years ago (sorry, I don't have the volume) and in a book in press by Wicwas Press in Connecticut. If you wrote to him, I'm sure he would send you whatever he can. Whether or not his ideas will work in North America, I don't know. Cheers, Peter Kevan, U of Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1 P.S. Makhdzir'sE-mail link has been out of commission for the last few weeks. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1993 17:00:26 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Kevan Subject: Re: Can Bees Hear? In-Reply-To: Message of Wed, 17 Feb 1993 08:26:00 -0800 from The commonly accepted view is that bees can't hear, or can't hear well. There is a small body of what seems to be rather equivocal literature about it. The questions that arise about bees' hearing have addressed the meaning of "queen piping sounds". I am sure that bees can detect vibrations through their feet and antennae, but I don't know of any work which has addressed that in the audible range. I don't know what the window-like structures you mention are. I haven't noticed them. They may function as "ears", but may also be involved in heat dissippation (like Mississippi), or even detection. Just guesses. Cheers, Peter ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1993 21:12:53 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "La Reine de la Cite' des Phoques (Liz Day)" Subject: Re: trap-nests and carpenter bees Is Wicwas Press a bee-related press? This is the second time I've heard mention of a bee book they've put out. Liz Day University of Illinois at Chicago day@earth.eecs.uic.edu ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1993 06:18:00 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: GIVE PEAS A CHANCE Subject: Re: Can Bees Hear? I'll have to sheaf thru to find the ref. but I recall a recent article showing evidence that bees indeed do hear. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1993 10:25:43 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Subject: Re: trap-nests and carpenter bees In-Reply-To: Message of Sun, 21 Feb 1993 21:12:53 -0600 from I should let some-on more informed describe Wicwas Press. Larry Connor has set it up. Wicwas publishes Bee Science, a refereed journal in apidology, and publishes and ?reprints books. I can't find the address right now, but I know Wicwas advertises in Beekeeping magazines and I would expect your bookshop and library would have a full address in Connecticut. If I find the address, I'll post it to BEE-L. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1993 09:51:53 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Bee Surgeon Subject: Re: Can Bees Hear?& address of Wicwas I think the paper was by Kirchner et al from Germany. They show that bees do hear, but only sensing particle movement, instead of pressure changes (as we do), so that the hearing is only very short distanced. The old wisdom says bees can only feel substrate vibrations. the addres of Wicwas: Larry Conner, Ph.D./ P.O. Box 817-L / Cheshire, CT 06410-0817 USA 24 hour order line 203 250-7575 fax 203-250-7575. Hope this helps. Huang > >I'll have to sheaf thru to find the ref. but I recall a recent >article showing evidence that bees indeed do hear. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1993 08:27:27 PST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adrian Wenner Subject: Re: Can Bees Hear? In-Reply-To: <9302221123.AA04474@ucsbuxb.ucsb.edu>; from "GIVE PEAS A CHANCE" at > Can bees hear? 0815 / 22 Feb. 1993 For those interested, a paper I published back in 1962 should be of interest: Communication with queen honeybees by substate sound. SCIENCE. 138: 446-448. I believe that paper contains the first direct evidence that bees can perceive and react predictably to sounds. A 1964 review article in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN shows some of the types of sounds produced by bees (210: 116-124). However, that was during the time that I believed bees had a "language" and when I was trying to determine the involvement of sound in that process. Times have now changed, however. Best wishes. Adrian M. Wenner Prof. of Natural History, Emeritus > I'll have to sheaf thru to find the ref. but I recall a recent > article showing evidence that bees indeed do hear. > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1993 09:43:00 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: tdahms@SLEDGE-PO.WEEG.UIOWA.EDU Subject: The Buzz newsletter File item: BUZZ0193.TXT 2/22/93 9:37AM 29941 Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA) Newsletter ----------------------------------------------------------------- THE BUZZ JANUARY, 1993 ----------------------------------------------------------------- A newsletter published monthly as a cooperative effort by The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and The Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA), an affiliate member of the Iowa Horticultural Society. Copy deadline is the 20th of each month. Your ideas, comments and letters are welcomed and encouraged. EDITOR: Bob Cox, State Apiarist, Iowa Dept. of Agriculture, Wallace Building, Des Monies, IA. 50319 (515) 281-5736 IHPA MEMBERSHIP: Membership dues in the Iowa Honey Producers Assn. are $5.00/year. For a membership form contact IHPA Treasurer, Robert Shepherd, 917 N. Iowa in Washington, Iowa 52641 ph.# (319) 653-4888 OR send in the form on page 11 on THE BUZZ. ----------------------------------------------------------------- BEE LAW AMENDMENTS AND NEW APIARY RULES SLATED FOR 1993 At the December 5th Iowa Honey Producers Board of Directors meeting a motion passed to recommend proposed rules as well as some changes in the Bee Law. Senator Richard Vande Hoef from Harris is sponsoring the bill that would amend the Bee Law in the 1993 state legislative session. The amendments would modify entrance requirements for colonies, packages and supers transported into Iowa. Amendments also deal with the clean-up of diseased, parasite-infested and/or Africanized bees. Many of the specifics will be spelled out in the administrative rules instead of the law. The law gives the state apiarist the authority to regulate diseases, parasites and Africanized bees, as contrasted to the rules that specify the procedures and methods used in regulating. The rules can be changed at any time to adjust to changing conditions. New and revised rules will be filed. The rules specify the parasites to be regulated, methods of detection and appropriate treatment of the Varroa mite and American foulbrood disease. The option to use an EPA approved chemical treatment for mites is given and described, that would satisfy requirements for the sale or interstate transport of bees. An expiration date is specified for an Iowa certificate of inspection. Additionally, the rules describe undesirable races of honeybees (Africanized and others) and a plan of action for dealing with these bees. Any interested person may make written suggestions or comments on these proposed rules prior to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday February 23, 1993. Such written materials should be directed to Robert L. Cox, State Apiarist, Department of Agriculture and Land Stewarship, Henry A. Wallace Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319. DISCOUNT ON NEW EDITION OF THE HIVE AND THE HONEY BEE Dadant & Sons is offering a special discount on the new edition of The Hive and the Honey Bee. The regular rate is $36, but if an association can pool orders, they can offer the new edition at $27 on quantities of at least 8 and if 24 or more are ordered the price goes down to $25.65. Walter Clark, secretary of the state association will take your orders. Contact Walter at P.O. Box 30008, Des Moines, IA 50310 phone: (515) 253-0525. IOWA HONEY QUEEN TO COMPETE IN AMERICAN HONEY QUEEN CONTEST Heather Pomeroy, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. David Pomeroy of Wayland will be attending the American Honey Queen Contest in Kansas City January 20-23, 1993 to represent the state of Iowa. As the Iowa Honey Queen this past year, Heather travelled around the state promoting honey, honeybees and beekeeping. This promotion involved attending state and county fairs and conventions, giving cooking demonstrations, handing out honey samples, giving school presentations, and giving radio and television interviews. At the American Honey Queen Contest, Heather will compete against at least seven other state honey queens for the 1993 American Queen title. The contestants will be judged on their poise, personality, public speaking ability, and knowledge of honey, bees, and beekeeping. If Heather should win the American Honey Queen title, she will travel around the U.S. for one year, promoting the honey industry. Heather's interest in honey and beekeeping began eight years ago when her mother started keeping bees. Since then, Heather has become a beekeeper herself, and has enjoyed telling people about the products and benefits of honeybees. Heather started helping a local beekeeper promote honey at local events and eventually became the Iowa State Honey Queen in 1992. Currently, Heather is attending Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, where she is majoring in International Business. She hopes to get started in a business career where she would work with people in Spanish speaking countries. TIME TO REGISTER APIARIES Please fill out the apiary registration form on page 13 of THE BUZZ and return it to the state apiarist's office as soon as possible. Send to: Bob Cox, State Apiarist, Iowa Department of Agriculture, Wallace Building, Des Moines, IA 50319. Registration deadline is April 1, 1993. By registering your beeyard (apiary) locations, pesticide sprayers will have access to the information used in contacting you. Remember, they will only contact you if they are applying a pesticide that is toxic to bees within a two-mile radius of your apiary. The information will also assist the apiary bureau carry out inspections. Do not turn the forms in at the county ASCS or Extension office. If you keep bees in more than one county, please make photocopies of the original and fill out a separate sheet for each county. You should keep a photocopy each year to make it easier to register the next year. CHOCOLATE HONEY SAUCE - Bill Van Roekel 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup water 2 Tbsp butter or margarine 1/4 cup honey Melt chocolate with water over low heat in sauce pan. Simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in honey and butter. Beat hard. Store in airtight container and re-heat but do not boil. 1992 STATE APIARISTS ANNUAL REPORT The poor honey crop again this year has made 1992 a challenging year for the Iowa beekeeping community. A bountiful harvest greatly improves the attitude which in turn seems to make other problems seem less important. However, the poor honey crops may force us in the industry to deal with problems like: parasitic mites, poor locations, inefficient management decisions, or marketing strategies. Making adjustments in these areas may put us in a better position to take advantage of good nectar flows when they do come. Hard times force a person to change and sometimes change is necessary for future success. Iowa's apiary program has two general areas of emphases: Inspection/Regulatory and Educational/Promotion activities. Educational/Promotion acitivities ease the inspection/regulatory workload and both aim at promoting the health of the beekeeping industry in Iowa. Inspection/Regulatory The Apiary Bureau had fewer bee inspection hours with which to work this season because funds were not available to hire all four summer inspectors. Bill Eickholt of Cherokee and Mike O'Hearn of Northboro worked the northwest and southwest areas of the state, respectively. Tom Schuster of Dubuque covered northeastern Iowa and Bob Wells, assistant state apiarist, is responsible for educational programs, inspecting in southeastern Iowa and assisting in other parts of the state as needed. Bob Cox, state apiarist, is responsible for the entire apiary program, the Des Moines office, and inspecting in central and part of northcentral Iowa. Jean Van Houweling worked parttime as the secretary for the Apiary Bureau in Des Moines. State legislators and the Governor's office both proposed elimination of the Apiary Bureau in 1992, but due to Iowa beekeepers' strong positive response in support of the Bureau the Apiary program was left intact. This program exists for Iowa beekeepers and will only remain as long as beekeepers express strong support for it. Inspections were made in 1045 apiaries in 95 Iowa counties in 1992. These apiaries belonging to 354 beekeepers contained 19,262 colonies of bees. Every colony in the apiary (up to 10/apiary) was examined for brood diseases. In apiaries with 20 or more colonies the brood in only 50% of the colonies was examined. 20% of the colonies in each apiary were sampled for Varroa mites. A sample was collected to test for tracheal mite when requested. Tracheal samples are being processed and analyzed this winter. The incidence of Varroa mites has greatly increased in Iowa in the past four years. In 1989 Varroa was discovered in three townships in one county in northern Iowa and by 1992 positive Varroa tests occured in 38 Iowa counties (see figure 1). 13% of the ether roll tests performed for Varroa mite were positive this year (see Table 1). Varroa mite is now more commonly found than American foulbrood disease (see Table 2). Figure 1. Varroa mite-infested counties in Iowa from 1989 to 1992. Table 1. Varroa mite infestation in Iowa (ether roll test) % positive No. of No. of No. of Year E.R. Test apiaries beekeepers counties ___________________________________________________________ 1989 0 * 6 2 1 1990 <1 * 18 8 7 1991 5 58 18 15 1992 13 136 63 38 * In 1989 and 1990 almost all Varroa mite detections were made with Apistan strips and sticky boards. Table 2. Comparison of American foulbrood disease and Varroa mite infestation in Iowa apiaries in 1992. *percent of E.R. tests pos. Number of: Examined AFB Varroa __________________________________________________________ Colonies 9,742 305 (3.1%) --- (13%)* Apiaries 1045 78 (7.5%) 136 (13%) Beekeepers 354 48 (14%) 63 (18%) Counties 95 38 38 The Varroa mite was most prevalent in the vicinity of Dubuque and Council Bluffs (see a map of infested apiaries in Figure 2). 136 of the apiaries (13%) and 63 of the beekeepers (18%) inspected were infested with Varroa. Beekeepers were required to treat all infested apiaries with an EPA approved miticide or depopulate colonies before October 1 this year. Figure 2. Varroa mite-infested apiaries in each county in Iowa in 1992. "x" denotes counties where Varroa was found in 1991 only. Varroa-infested colonies that are properly treated will be healthy and have a reduced chance of spreading Varroa to nearby apiaries. However, these apiaries will need to be treated regularly until we have some resistant stocks of bees or some other way of combating these mites. Miticur plastic miticide strips were approved by EPA for general use in November. Having two chemicals with which to treat may reduce the chances of Varroa developing genetic resistance to these pesticides. American foulbrood disease was found in 3.1% (305) of the colonies examined in 1992. These colonies were either treated with Terramycin or diseased equipment disinfected or a combination of both. In the case of a beekeeper who did not clean up the disease, inspectors killed bees if necessary and burned diseased combs. Chalkbrood disease was found in 1101 colonies (11%) and less than 1% of the colonies were infected with European foulbrood. The beekeeper is provided information about these diseases if requested, but they are not regulated. Entry permits were issued for 13,602 colonies of bees and honey supers. 11,874 colonies came from Texas with the remainder coming from Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Certificates of inspection were issued for colonies moving south for the winter or empty equipment being sold or moved to other states. Currently 247 beekeepers have 33,719 colonies in 1859 apiaries registered for pesticide applications notification and entry permits for migratory beekeepers. We keep records for 3 years and if not re-registered the registrations are dropped off the list. In February 1992, USDA's Iowa Ag Statistics Service reported that 92,000 colonies of bees in 1991 produced 5,152,000 pounds of honey (56 lbs./colony average) and is valued at $2.8 million. This compares to 54 pounds per colony in 1990 and an average of 80 lbs/colony in the last twenty years in Iowa. Educational/Promotion The purpose of the education program is to reduce disease and mite problems and in general, assist beekeepers in operating more profitable and enjoyable apiaries. This is accomplished by producing written materials, personal consultations, and public presentations. Disseminating information about honey and beekeeping to the general public also is carried out in order to benefit beekeeping in Iowa. A series of 22 "Beekeeping Information" sheets was compiled (or written, if necessary). These are available to send any person requesting information on a particular subject. A list of these sheets is available upon request from the State Apiarist's office. The state apiarist's office also has several videotapes that one of the inspectors can show to any interested group upon request. Twelve monthly issues of Iowa's beekeeping newsletter, THE BUZZ, were edited and published. The newsletter was sent to about 1200 persons with an interest in Iowa beekeeping until September 1992. Starting in September THE BUZZ was only mailed to individuals who returned the last page from the July or August BUZZ indicating they would like to continue to recieve the newsletter. The newsletter is currently sent to about 650 people. This change will save the department of agriculture several thousand dollars per year in printing and postage costs. Beekeeping presentations were made at workshops or beekeepers meetings in Allerton, Ankeny, Clarinda, Davenport, Huxley, Iowa City, Mt. Pleasant, Newton, Portsmouth, Spencer, and Waterloo. In 1992 bee talks were given to 46 classes in public and private schools primarily in the Des Moines area. Interviews were given with several radio stations and newspapers concerning bees, honey or beekeeping in Dubuque, Ft. Dodge, Indianola and Des Moines. Four news releases were sent out to over 400 media outlets servicing Iowa concerning benefits of honey bees to agriculture, the honey queen, honey month and the honey crop. The Apiary Bureau assisted in 25 different educational or promotional exhibits or projects. These exhibits involved several seasonal events at the Des Moines Botanical Center, an FFA trade fair, Farm Bureau Women and Iowa Home Economics Conventions, Hawkeye Science Fair, Boy Scout Celebration, Renaissance Fair, State Fair, Honey Month (September) Celebration, Burger King restaurant, Old Threshers Reunion, Laplanders Honey Conference, Iowa Products Day, Alternative Christmas Market, National Young Farmers Institute, Horticulture Society Holiday Promotion and new IHPA honey bear label. CALENDAR OF EVENTS JANUARY 5-10 American Honey Producers Association Meeting in Houston, TX. Contact: Dr. Larry Connor in Cheshire, CT at (203) 250-7575 12 Southeast Iowa Beekeepers Meeting 6:30 P.M. at Sirlion Stockade in Mt. Pleasant, IA. Election of officers. Contact: Ray Tull (319) 835-5201 20-24 American Beekeeping Federation Convention in Kansas City Contact: Troy Fore in Jesup, GA at (912) 427-8447 or 4018 BEEKEEPING WORKSHOPS The Apiary Bureau in cooperation with ISU Extension Service will be presenting a series of beekeeping workshops around Iowa this Spring. All workshops will begin with registration at 6:30 p.m. and program lasting until 9:00 p.m. A small registration fee may be charged at some locations. More information may be obtained from the local extension office or the State Apiarist's Office at (515) 281-5736. The workshops will be held on the following dates and at the following locations: FEBRUARY 18 & 25 Cerro Gordo County Extension Office, 2023 S. Federal, Mason City MARCH 1 & 8 Pottawattamie County Extension Office, 2719 E. Highway 6, Council Bluffs MARCH 15 & 22 Indian Creek Nature Center, 6665 Otis Road S., Cedar Rapids APRIL 5 & 12 Putnam Museum, 1717 West 12th, Davenport AFRICANIZED BEE UPDATE A 67-year old man was the victim of a bee attack in San Benito, Texas on November 28, 1992. Health Department officials and the San Benito Fire Department responded to the call. The man received over 150 stings and was hospitalized for two days. A sample of bees from that stinging incident has not been received by USDA or Texas A&M laboratories. As of December 1, 1992 there have been 112 Africanized bee stinging incidents and 37 European bee stinging incidents reported in Texas since the Africanized bee arrived in the fall of 1990. A HONEY OF A VERSE My son, honey whets the appetite, and so does wisdom! When you enjoy becoming wise there is hope for you! A bright future lies ahead! (Proverbs 24:13 TLB) IN THE BEEYARD So much has been written about beekeeping subjects. In my search for ideas to write about in this space I found some old yellowed pamphlets given to me some time ago by a beekeeping friend. They were part of a series of 20 pamphlets on various subjects, copyrighted in 1920 by G.B. Lewis Company in Watertown, Wisconsin. Two of the topics were: How to Manage Bees in Spring and How to Locate Apiaries. Its amazing that these same topics will still bring about a lively discussion today. On a related topic, it was some 60 years ago that a working relationship between Lewis Beeware and Dadant's Foundation began. At the last Annual meeting the Iowa Honey Producers voted to support a research project in the amount of $500. Back in 1979 the IHPA helped finance an ISU graduate student's research project. The student, Judith O'Keefe, investigated the degree to which honey bees visit soybean fields. Her results were published in the American Bee Journal in 1981. She tested honey samples from 48 Iowa counties for soybean pollen and not one sample was free of soybean pollen. In fact, 100% of the pollen in the O'Brien county samples was soybean pollen. - Bob Wells, Asst. State Apiarist MAKE YOUR HONEY LABLES 'SAY' QUALITY, PURE AND NATURAL An appealing label can give your honey sales a boost. According to a label research study sponsored by the National Honey Board (NHB), however, many honey labels do not motivate a consumer to purchase. In fact, some common honey label artwork is veiwed negatively by the typical honey consumer. The study showed that the three most important attributes to be conveyed on a honey label are quality, pure and natural. "Consumers buy honey for its great taste and its downhome qualities," said Mary Humann, marketing director for the NHB. Higher purchase interest (19%) was also noted for labels which included a local address. Local honey was often considered to be of higher quality and higher purity. Interestingly, "American" was not associated with higher purchase interest. They reported "taken in combination with other findings, this suggests that it may be better to imply country of origin with local identification or an address rather than to directly state 'American' on the label." While the study participants liked the idea of a cute bee or bear on the label, many responded negatively to realistic bee and beekeeping images. Producer/packers must remember that the typical honey buyer is anxious about bees, said Humann. "When she sees a realistic bee, she thinks of being stung or insects in her home. It's just not a positive message," Humann said. One participant in the study said "I've got a thing about bees -- if I've got to grab that jar, in my mind I'm grabbing that bee." Another said "I wouldn't buy it with a bee -- I wouldn't touch it." "I just don't like bugs," said one participant. Other images which may lower a consumer's purchase interest included fruit and honey combs. Flowers and skeps yielded a neutral response. Cute bees and bears were viewed positively. The "Honey Nut Cheerios bee" was often cited as a cute bee. One participant noted that they should be "cute, friendly and happy." The majority of participants (85%) said that nutritional information on honey containers is "extremely or very important". Respondents also said calories per serving is important information. Consumers also want basic honey storage and use tips on the label. Information on how to substitute honey for sugar was also deemed important. The study was conducted by the Honey Board to coincide with FDA's new nutritional labeling requirements. HONEY BOARD OFFERS 1993 HONEY PROMOTION CALENDAR It's here! The National Honey Board (NHB) announces the availability of a 1993 calendar. The colorful calendar features favorite recipes developed by the NHB. Also, dates of key Honey Board advertising and promotion activities are highlighted so you can watch for what's new! The Honey Board's activities calendar can help you plan your own honey promotions. A special thank you to Dr. Larry Connor of the Beekeeping Education Service for furnishing many of the beautiful photographs of bees and some of their favorite nectar sources. Individuals who have paid an assessment to the NHB in 1992 can order one calendar free of charge. To order your calendar, write: National Honey Board, 421 21st Ave. #203, Longmont, CO 30501. Or, you may call Tina Tindall at (303) 776-2337. Additional copies of the calendar are available for $4.00 each. Supplies are limited, so send in your order soon! The National Honey Board wishes you a prosperous 1993. 1993 IOWA HONEY PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP DUES: Iowa Honey Producers Association $ 5.00 $_________ American Honey Producers 1-50 colonies $20.00 $_________ 51-500 colonies $75.00 $_________ American Beekeeping Federation-Minimum $20.00 $_________ First time [] Renewal [] (Check one) SUBSCRIPTIONS: American Bee Journal One Year $15.60* $11.70 $_________ Two Years $28.96* $21.72 $_________ First time [] Renewal [] (Check one) Gleanings In Bee Culture One Year $15.00* $11.25 $_________ Two Years $28.00* $21.50 $_________ First time [] Renewal [] (Check one) QTY BOOKS 1-9 10 or more ____ Large Honey Recipe Book $3.00 $ 2.50 $_________ ____ Small Honey Recipe Book $1.00 $ 0.65 $_________ ____ Honey Pamphlet $0.03 Same $_________ ================= TOTAL $_________ *PRICE YOU WOULD PAY FOR MAGAZINE IF YOU DID NOT BELONG TO IHPA CHECK PAYABLE TO: IOWA HONEY PRODUCERS ASSN. SEND CHECK TO: Robert E. Shepherd, Jr. 917 N. Iowa Washington, IA 52353 (319) 653-4888 NAME________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS:____________________________________________________________ CITY:____________________STATE_________________ZIP__________________ PHONE(____)_________________________________________________________ NO. OF COLONIES_______________ Submitted by Terry Dahms President-East Central Iowa Beekeepers ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1993 12:49:51 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Vladimir Vidak Subject: Re: The Buzz newsletter In-Reply-To: Plese unsubscribe me from BEE-L , or send me a information how to do it. Thank you. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1993 14:45:35 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Eric Smith Subject: Home test for varroa mite ? Hello, My hives died last winter. I think it was the varroa mite even though I had put in the Apstan (sp) strips last fall. Is there any way to tell other than shipping the (dead) bees off to a lab? Do you know of any good mail order bee houses that will deliver to the Washington DC area and is there a way I stimulate a new hive enough that I could get a small honey crop this year? Please reply email to the address below. Thanks in advance. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Eric Smith (eric@curly.red-cross.org) Have a nice day, unless you've American Red Cross made other plans. The opinions and spelling mistakes are my own..... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1993 12:18:45 GMT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dr. M. Giurfa" Subject: Re: Can Bees Hear? In-Reply-To: <199302212205.AA18461@mail.cs.tu-berlin.de>; from "Peter Kevan" at Feb 21, 93 5:00 pm Berlin, 23.2.93 . . As pointed out by Peter Kevan, there is a small body of equivocal literature on this theme. However, the question has been correctly analyzed by experiments performed namely by A. Michelsen (Odense, Denmark), W Kirchner (Wuerzburg, Germany) and co-workers. The behavioural contexts of the bees' dances and the "quacking and tooting" (commonly called "piping") of the new queens should be first distinguished. In the case of the recruiting dances, the experimental evidence so far obtained indicates that bees can actually "hear" the sounds of the recruiter. Their hear senses are however different from our. It was first demonstrated that dance sounds travel exclusively through the air and not through the substrate of the comb (i.e. they are transmitted as SOUNDS and not as VIBRATIONS)(Michelsen et al, Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology 18:207-212, 1986). Thereafter, it was shown that the near field of a dancer is a zone close to the sound emitter where the air particles oscillate with a much larger velocity than further away and where the sound pressure is also higher (Michelsen et al, Journal of Comparative Physiology A 161:633-643, 1987). In fact, a three-dimensional field of oscillating airflows occurs close to the abdomen of a dancing bee. As Towne & Kirchner (Science 244:686-688, 1989) were successful in conditioning bees to respond to such oscillating airflows, it was proposed that what beesactually "hear" is the perturbation of pressure gradients and airflows in the near field of the dancer, where most followers place indeed their antennae while following a dance. Moreover, it was shown, that the amplitude of the signals emitted in the dance language is 5-10 times higher than the behavioural thresholds (Kirchner et al, J Comp Physiol A 168:85-89,1992). This, however, does not exclude the possibility that the perceiving mechanism is a combination of such air flow detection and touching of the dancer. But, using their well known bee-robot, Michelsen et al determined that the critical parameters are there wagging and SOUND which convey information about distance and direction (Behav Ecol & Sociobiol 30:143-150, 1992). . In the case of the queens' piping, another work of Michelsen et al (J COMP PHYSIOL 158:605-611; 1986) showed that these "sounds" are in fact vibrations transmitted and perceived via the substrate of the comb and a quantitative analysis was therein performed. In any case, the reading of the original papers is highly recommendable. . Cheers, Dr Martin Giurfa Institut fuer Neurobiologie Freie Universitaet Berlin Konigin-Luise Str. 28-30 1000 BERLIN 33 - GERMANY GIURFA@SONNE.ZEDAT.FU-BERLIN.DE ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1993 10:28:31 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Aaron Morris Subject: Dead bees, what to do? Eric Smith quried about "Home test for varroa mites?" > My hives died last winter. I think it was the varroa mite even though > I had put in the Apstan (sp) strips last fall. Is there any way to > tell other than shipping the (dead) bees off to a lab? > > Do you know of any good mail order bee houses that will deliver to > the Washington DC area and is there a way I stimulate a new hive > enough that I could get a small honey crop this year? Even though he requested a direct reply, I thought my comments might benefit other subscribers on the list, so here it is: It's always a bummer to loose your stock. Making an educated guess can lead to trouble. I lost a hive to what I thought was varroa, and restocked the equipment. In upstate NY, a typical hive is two brood chambers, so I split the single hive in two and started two packages in the spring. What I thought was varroa turned out to be foulbrood and I had to burn the equipment and packaged bees two months later. It was a painful and expensive lesson. Perhaps there is a local beekeeping association in your area from which you could solicit an experienced opinion. Even then, it is still an opinion which could lead to trouble. Short of tests, there is no way to be absolutely sure of the cause of your bees' demise. There is the ether roll test when your bees are alive, but with dead bees I don't know of any home tests. For replacement stock I recommend ... (Plug for specific company deleted - E-Mail to me directly if you want it) ... ... Place your order early and they will be able to ship your bees when you want them (mid-April in upstate NY). I'm not sure of the date for your area, but a good rule of thumb is to request shipment to coincide with the maple tree bloom. I had the pleasure to work a hive of Buckfast bees last fall and found them to be the most gentle bees I have ever worked. They produced a nice crop of honey in their first season and are also reputed to be resistant to varroa mites. As far as getting a good crop of honey this year, you'd have even better results starting a nuc as opposed to package bees, but nucs are harder to obtain. Again, a local beekeeping association is your best source for advice in this area, and for improving your skills as a beekeeper in general. I had been keeping bees for over fifteen years before I joined the Southern Adorandack Beekeepers' Association, and I learned more tips from the old timers in a single season than I had in the previous 15 years of books, trial and error. A tip about continued feeding lead to the best crop from a new hive I ever got! My practice was to give the bees a gallon of sugar syrup in a division board feeder, and when the syrup was gone I removed the feeder and the bees were on their own. SABA members advised me to keep feeding the bees into mid-June, and I ended up with two supers of honey from a new hive! Before that, I never attempted to harvest from a new hive until the second season. So if there is a local beekeepers association in your area, join it and attend the meetings. A good place to determine if there is a local association is your local agricultural cooperative extension (Check the blue pages in your area telephone directory). I hope this letter is of assistance to you, and good luck in restocking your apiary! ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1993 09:05:20 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: EVBKEVAN@VM.UOGUELPH.CA Subject: Sprengel, C. K. 1793 (200 YEARS!) It is now the 200th anniversary since the first pollination book was published: Sprengel, Christian Konrad, 1793. Das entdeckte Geheimniss der Natur im Bau und in der Befruchtung der Blumen. Friedrich Vieweg dem aeltern, Berlin. 443 pp. mit 25 Kupfertafln and 100 years since the Facsimile-Druck by Mayer & Mu"ller, Berlin as Wissenschafliche Classiker Volume VII. At this juncture, I a happy to announce that POLPAL-L is now available for 1993 and electronic communication and information exchange in Pollination & Palynology. I invite you to participate in this notice board. To join please send an E-mail message to LISTSERV@VM.UOGUELPH.CA the text SUB POLPAL-L Your Name The list has been on line for some months, on a trial basis and is working well. Please spread the word. With all best wishes, Peter Kevan, U of Guelph, Ont. N1G 2W1 Canada EVBKEVAN@VM.UOGUELPH.CA ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1993 17:46:18 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: NEQJXY5M@UMIAMI.BITNET Subject: nectar hoarding I am working with foraging behavior in honey bees. I am interested in the mechanisms that underlie nectar hoarding in honey bees. I want to use two specific genetic strains with fast and slow nectar hoarding. Does anyone have or know where I can get or buy these specific queens? If so, would you please let me know? Thank you. Gui E-mail:NEQJXY5M@UMIAMI.IR.MIAMI.EDU Fax: 305-284-3039 Phone: 305-284 6301 Address: Guiyun Deng Department of Biology University of Miami Coral Gables, FL 33124 ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1993 16:57:00 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Malcolm (Tom) Sanford, Florida Extension Apiculturist" Subject: FEBRUARY ISSUE OF APIS FILENAME: FEBAPIS.93 Florida Extension Beekeeping Newsletter Apis--Apicultural Information and Issues (ISSN 0889-3764) Volume 11, Number 2, February 1993 IN SEARCH OF A MANAGEMENT PLAN Dr. Keith Delaplane, Georgia Extension Beekeeping Specialist, said at the recent meeting of the American Beekeeping Federation in Kansas City that 1988 was a pivotal year in U.S. beekeeping. It was the first time a pesticide had been labeled for use inside a living honey bee hive. This event has led to the realization by regulators and beekeepers alike that eradication of tracheal mites, Varroa mites and African honey bees is not possible. That leaves the beekeeping industry no alternative but to manage the populations of these organisms so they remain at low levels and cause as few problems as possible. With all of the above in mind, the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) has drafted a model pest management plan. No regulatory or management plan is perfect, according to Mr. Marion Ellis, Nebraska State Apiarist and one of the drafters of the model plan. The perfect bee law, he said, also at the Kansas City meeting, would have only two articles: 1. All diseased colonies be burned. 2. Regulations would only be enforced on competitors. Although there are problems with any bee law, Mr. Ellis concluded, he urged not to trade good for perfect by discarding all regulations. The details of the model pest management plan are still under discussion by various groups. In order to widen the dialogue, I have decided to reprint here what was written about each of the above problems and specific recommendations to deal with each. Comments or questions can be mailed to me and I will transmit them to the authors. Honey Bee Tracheal Mite (HBTM) (Acarapis woodi): Beekeepers in the U.S. have had to contend with tracheal mite and an array of differing regulations since 1984. The pest has been devastating primarily to northern beekeepers. It is no longer regulated. A significant development is the emergence of resistant bee populations (many susceptible populations appear to have been eliminated), especially the "Buckfast" bee. Two products have been labeled for control and mite populations can also be suppressed by management (making splits and requeening) and by locating bees in favorable areas for nectar secretion and overwintering. The ideal pest management strategy is to employ all of the above (genetic resistance, chemicals, and management). Specific management recommendations are: 1. Monitor the level of HBTM infestation periodically via microscopic examination. 2. Select for resistant stock by rearing queens from hives exhibiting vigor and low level HBTM infestation in apiaries which are suffering losses due to HBTM infestation. 3. If treatment is warranted, use only registered pesticides according to the label directions. 4. Treat colonies early in the spring and during the late summer/fall season prior to the production of "winter bees." Late fall treatment after brood rearing has ceased does little to minimize winter mortality. One possible explanation is that the honey bees have already had their lives shortened by parasitism and possible viral transmission via the mite's feeding behavior. 5. Assess the merit in treating weak, heavily infested colonies. Elimination of these hives may prove beneficial in the long term. Perpetuating susceptible lines is one result of relying on pesticide usage. 6. If pesticide treatment is the method of choice for managing HBTM populations, consider rotating pesticide treatments. Chemical rotation will slow the development of mite resistance. 7. Get back to beekeeping basics such as regular requeening of colonies and feeding fumagillin for nosema control. Eliminate or bolster weak hives with young bees and capped brood from strong, healthy colonies. Varroa Mite (Varroa jacobsoni): Since detection in 1987, Varroa has quickly spread throughout the U.S. Varroa mite management recommendations and various state rules are based on nuisance abatement rather than eradication. They are intended to reduce treatment frequency, cost and "invasion potential" (re-infestation) by mites after nearby colonies collapse. They establish an action threshold which recommends that beekeepers treat when mites' levels are found to exceed the threshold. Beekeepers are encouraged to monitor their colonies and treat on an annual basis (more frequently in some areas) when Varroa is present. Treatment should be done during the fall or early spring when brood rearing is minimal. An important aspect of Varroa control is for all beekeepers in an infested area to treat at the same time of year to reduce re-infestation from untreated colonies. Currently, two pesticides are registered for Varroa control. The beekeeping industry must avoid the treadmill of pesticide dependence. It should promote methods to develop pesticide use specifically and selectively and with particular concern for the damage threshold of mites attacked, so that unnecessary treatments are avoided. Varroa has been prevented from causing catastrophic damage, but mite resistance to pesticides is a real problem in other agricultural industries and will be so for beekeeping unless extreme precaution and common sense are followed. Local and regional mite activity will vary due to climate and geography. Beekeepers are encouraged to actively participate in organizations and seek out regulatory and extension officials for current information on pesticide use. Specific management recommendations are: 1. Sample apiaries during early spring and at regular intervals throughout the brood rearing period via a sampling technique such as the ether roll, alcohol shake or sticky-board detection method. 2. Sample a minimum of 10% of the colonies within the apiary. Concentrate on colonies at the end of rows or from those which appear abnormal. 3. Operations which have Varroa infestations should treat with a labeled pesticide during the fall. A treatment early in spring prior to honey production or interstate movement for pollinating purposes is also recommended. When all crop pollinating colonies are treated prior to movement, the risk of infestation by nearby untreated operations is reduced. 4. Avoid treatment at the colony level. Treatment of the apiary or operation is more effective and easier to track. 5. Keep a log to document the treatment period and pesticide used. 6. Perform a post treatment survey on a small percentage of colonies via the ether roll or alcohol shake method. Post- treatment surveys will identify any problems such as resistance or poor pest control. Avoid pest treatment surveys with the same pesticide used in treating colonies, otherwise, if there is pesticide resistance it will not be evident. 7. Rotate pesticides in order to slow the development of resistance by Varroa to a particular compound. 8. Coordinate treatment periods with beekeepers in the area. This can be accomplished via local, state and regional beekeeping associations. When determining a treatment period, consider the biology of the mite, honey bee, and beekeeping management routine in the area. If possible, avoid treatment when it contradicts biological or management constraints. 9. Varroa infestation should be controlled before large populations build within colonies. Several states have established "action thresholds" or infestation levels which require treatment. Generally speaking, when Varroa mite counts exceed ten mites per ether roll per sample of 250 honey bees, treatment is warranted. Determination of an action threshold based on scientific research should be a priority of the beekeeping industry. 10. Open feeding of sugar syrup and honey is discouraged. Open feeding has never been an efficient or cost effective method of feeding colonies. Generally speaking, it promotes robbing and defensive behavior. Often the strong hives in an area are the ones which gather the feed, while weak hives are robbed out or at best gather little syrup. Open feeding provides the opportunity for the spread of Varroa between apiaries. In addition, open feeding of syrup has caused the death of both cattle and deer when large amounts have been consumed by these animals. 11. It is likely that certain colonies will exhibit some resistance to Varroa. These colonies should be identified and brought to the attention of bee breeders and/or researchers so the industry can work toward a genetic solution to the Varroa problem. Africanized Honey Bee (AHB): The Africanized honey bee will present both management and public relations challenges to America's beekeepers. It is incumbent on beekeepers, government and the agricultural community to be proactive in projecting a positive image within the community. The Agricultural Extension Service needs to develop a national public relations campaign similar to those developed by the Mexican Department of Agriculture and Texas A&M. Beekeepers must exercise common sense and operate under a "code of ethics" which precludes nuisance situations. Even under the best scenario, it is inevitable that certain communities will restrict beekeeping in coming years as a reaction to a perceived threat from AHB, or more likely, due to inconsiderate actions on the part of a few beekeepers. Growers dependent on honey bees for pollination must also work toward projecting a positive image to the public. Growers and beekeepers should establish apiary sites with minimal potential for interaction with the public. Placement of colonies near high traffic areas must be avoided. Hedgerows should planted along roads when necessary to screen the view of colonies and divert the flight path of bees above roads, etc. Growers can also provide water sources for hives while they are in staging areas and in the field as many nuisance problems arise from the bees' need for water. On October 24-26, 1991, the USDA and NASDA sponsored a workshop in order to develop a Model Honey Bee Certification Plan (see full text in APIS, January, 1992). Representatives of the honey bee industry, user groups, regulators and researchers participated in the development of a certification plan that addressed various bee diseases and Africanized bees. At this meeting a consensus was reached with regard to AHB, recognizing the diminishing state resources available for apiary inspection and certification. A philosophy based upon self-help and management practices rather than strict regulations was deemed the only workable approach in addressing AHB. Specific management recommendations are: 1. Colony management for the purpose of stock certification should be consistent with the recommendations developed at the USDA/NASDA workshop. 2. Queens should be purchased or produced from certified stock. 3. Locate colonies of bees away from roads so the bees do not interfere with vehicular or pedestrian traffic. 4. Avoid placing colonies near or on utility (power lines, underground cables, pipelines) right of ways unless permission is granted. 5. Avoid placing colonies near schools, municipal recreation areas (especially swimming facilities), parks, picnic grounds or other locations which may encourage adverse honey bee/public interactions. Areas with water sources or a sugar source from trash cans, soft drink vendors, etc., aren't conducive to positive public reactions. 6. Open air feeding of honey and sugar syrup is not recommended as it promotes defensive behavior by the bees and the spread of diseases or pests. 7. Provide clean water sources in apiaries that do not have natural supplies of water or in areas with residential swimming pools. 8. Locate staging yards away from populated areas even if only a few houses are nearby. Staging yards tend to have defensive colonies. 9. Park trucks loaded with full supers away from areas frequented by people, especially when stopping at a store for a drink, etc. Many bees remain in the supers during honey removal. The best approach is to net honey laden supers. 10. All loads of bees should be netted or screened even when moving at night. 11. Requeen colonies that exhibit consistent defensive behavior. 12. Try to manipulate colonies during optimal weather conditions and advise landowners, especially those with livestock, when major manipulations such as honey harvest are to be performed. Conclusion: Developing a model beekeeping management plan will require input from beekeepers, growers, researchers, extension educators, and others. A successful pest management plan must be based upon a thorough understanding of the host-pest-disease complex. Apiary management routines vary according to geographic region and climate and pest management strategies must reflect these differences. Sincerely, Malcolm T. Sanford Bldg 970, Box 110620 University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611-0620 Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: 904-392-0190 BITNET Address: MTS@IFASGNV INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1993 16:39:50 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: BOB MINCKLEY Subject: Re: trap-nests and carpenter bees > Subj: trap-nests and carpenter bees > Hello, Doug Yanega told me about your inquiry. I have played around with trap nests for Xylocopa. Are you interested in making them so you can observe the in-nest behavior or do you simply want a bunch of nests? Both types are possible. I will look up some of the nest dimension information for you this weekend and get back to you. But because my work was done in Arizona you will want to modify the entrance and tunnel dimensions to the species you plan on studying. I can tell you that we had the best luck using sugar maple as the wood probably because the tunnels were very smooth, not rough as softer woods seem to create. I'll write later this weekend with more information. Bob Minckley Univ. of Kansas-- -------(please include "RM" in subj header of mail to this user)-------- Robert L. Minckley Bitnet: KUENTO@UKANVAX Snow Entomological Museum, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 "Xylocopa for the masses"