From LISTSERV@UACSC2.ALBANY.EDUWed Nov 2 16:52:03 1994 Date: Wed, 2 Nov 1994 10:07:40 -0500 From: BITNET list server at ALBNYVM1 To: Allen Dick Subject: File: "BEE-L LOG9410" ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 1 Oct 1994 00:27:47 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jean-Pierre Chapleau <73642.244@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: My selection program On September 28th, Allen Dick wrote: Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter" Subject: buying extractors Respond to: Pollinator@aol.com At the risk of beating this subject to death, I'll stand by my statement that it is not worth owning an extractor until you get quite a few hives, unless you get great enjoyment out of using it. (I don't). Small extractors are messy and slow; you have to have some way of settling or straining the honey. If you do it outdoors, you're apt to have robbing bees; if you do it in the kitchen, you're begging for divorce. When I first started, I rented a crank-type extractor for my first experience. Bursitis cured me of that. Then I've gone through the various stages with small motorized ones, turning over frames, and breaking comb, etc. Today, I've got a 50 frame radial, with a nice chain uncapper, tanks, pumps, filters, etc, and I can crank out a barrel of honey in just a little while. Several other beekeepers use the system as well. I bought the whole system pretty cheap from a bankrupt beekeeper (plenty of them around), and still wonder if it is cost effective. If there were a good commercial setup within a couple hours, I think I'd still be money ahead to load my supers on the truck, and let someone else do it for 10 cents a pound. The bigger outfits can run a pickup load of supers in a couple hours, and there isn't a lot of mess. Now I have to look hard at the costs, because I don't have an outside job to support my beekeeping. I suspect those who countered my position do. Whatever floats your boat.... If a beginer still wants one, and doesn't want to spend close to a grand for the extractor and accessories, there are a lot of small extractors floating around at good prices. Our state ag department publishes a market bulletin, and advertises three or four a year, along with uncapping knives, etc. Check the bearings when you buy used. One of mine had a bad bearing at the base, and when I found one that fit, it cost half as much as the extractor did. For a buck apiece you can get nice pails at the local donut shop. Your local soft drink bottler usually has a variety of plastic barrels that can be used as tanks. Pantyhose makes a good cheap strainer. I don't want to waste a lot of time telling everyone what they already know, but, when I was a beginner, I wish someone had told me some of this. Also, check your local health regulations, if you are going to sell any of your product. Good luck! Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter, PO Box 1215, Hemingway, SC 29554 ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 29 Sep 1994 14:10:38 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Hugo Veerkamp Subject: Subject: Lighting up a smoker Steven Andrews wrote: > I'm not sure how many different methods there is in lighting up a smoker, > ( maybe we can make it into a discussion), but the way my dad has always > done it is as follows: > He would get a hessian sack, (the type you used to buy potatoes in), cut it > into a 6 x 3 inch strip, put it in the smoker and light it. It would > catch on very quickly. (depending if the sack was dry or not). After it was > producing white smoke, he would add either, a eucalypt branch or a > cypress branch which would cool the smoke and made it last longer, maybe > due to the sap and oils from the branches. He would use it all day without > touching it again. Up here in the northern parts of Europe, Eucalypt trees are a bit difficult to find, so we commonly utilise a small piece of 'softboard'( the kind of building material that will absorb fluid rapidly, due to its fibre-rich consistency. This is cut into small rectangles of 10 X 10 cm, and soaked overnight in a [1 + 5 ] solution of either potassium-nitrate KNO3 or natrium-nitrate NaNO3. Thre chemical merely assures a smooth glow of the board, I a, mot sure if any laughing gas will emrege from the burning xNO3 as from burning Ammonium nitrate After thoroughly drying the pieces of softboard are stored in a closed container in a dry place, and usage is as follows: 1. break off a small piece of the board, light it and blow on it till it glows. 2. put into smoker and add tobacco 3. add air until tobacco catches fire ( doesnt take longer than a few seconds) Works like a charm every time! I never witnessed any ill effects on bees or beekeepers after years of using this material. sincerely, Hugo Veerkamp #################################################################### | BEENET INTERNATIONAL | | E-mail : | mail : the Bee bbs | | Hugo.Veerkamp@f28.n2801.z2.fidonet.org| P.O. BOX 51008 | | ( or press reply button) | 1007EA AMSTERDAM | | | The Netherlands | | Beenet : 240:31/0 | modem: +31 20 6764105 | | Fidonet: 2:2801/28 | voice: +31 20 6715663 | #################################################################### ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 1 Oct 1994 14:35:29 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Mark Jensen Subject: Smoker Fuel I have never tried cow pies (the polite term is chips), but burlap potato sacks work great. I get all I need free from one of the markets where I sell my honey. Roll one up and it just fits in the large Dadant smoker. Not much room for any leaves, though. Light them with a match and they burn for a very long time. This is probably what the UK beekeepers call heshian. Mark Jensen markjensen@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 2 Oct 1994 10:08:56 AEST+1000 Reply-To: roadent@halls1.cc.monash.edu.au Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: Re: buying extractors > At the risk of beating this subject to death, I'll stand by my statement Hey, I'll help you beat, but in the other direction. I can see and understand your side of the argument, and I think it is very much a personal thing. Also, I would guess that prices vary wildy across the world. I am willing to take this to private mail if you like: if you don't want to, address your reply to the list...at the moment, follow ups are set to me. > that it is not worth owning an extractor until you get quite a few hives, > honey. If you do it outdoors, you're apt to have robbing bees; if you do it We use a netting style tent. It keeps the bees out, but lets us stay cooler than being shut up in a honey house would. In fact, we did get our stuff extracted by a "larger" beekeeper: he had 300 hives, back when my father had 30. He ALWAYS extracted with the honey house open because it was ext4remely uncomfortable inside. Also, he is the largest beekeeper who is ecconomicaly close enough to extract for us....but I would rather not use his equipment, as his beekeeping practices have been implicated in wildfire spreading of AFB. O.K., so it isn't much fun sitting there cranking for hours, but the way prices are down here, it is cheaper. We hired an extractor last year for Aus$25 (plus a $50 deposit). We only extracted on yard (of eight hives....and we only extracted half because my brother panics every time he gets stung...) and we got about 80 lb (I think....I can't convert kg to lb easily...). O.K., so this would have only cost us $8:00 if we were to get it done at 10cents a pound, but then there is also the traveling cost of about $20 (or more if we want to avoid the guy mentioned above). Now.....if we had our own extractor, we could have extracted both yards (making a grand total of.....15!!!! yay!!!) because we wouldn't have had the time constraint of a hired extractor. Over the past four years, we have hired the extractor every year, adding up to almost $100 (it wasn't always $25 a time...) We can get a new extractor for about $230, and a 2nd hand one probably much cheaper, so it would pay for itself in about eight years. > Today, I've got a 50 frame radial, with a nice chain uncapper, tanks, > pumps, filters, etc, and I can crank out a barrel of honey in just a little > while. Several other beekeepers use the system as well. That is the system I intend to have in maybe 10 yrs, at which time, I will be able to get some money back on any extractor I buy over the next two or so years....money I wouldn't get back if I had hired an extractor. > I bought the whole system pretty cheap from a bankrupt beekeeper (plenty > of them around), and still wonder if it is cost effective. If there were a I would have done that, but when the oportunity presented itself six years ago, I didn't have the money. > good commercial setup within a couple hours, I think I'd still be money ahead > to load my supers on the truck, and let someone else do it for 10 cents a > pound. The bigger outfits can run a pickup load of supers in a couple hours, > and there isn't a lot of mess. > Now I have to look hard at the costs, because I don't have an outside job > to support my beekeeping. I suspect those who countered my position do. My income for the first half of 1994 was about $3000. My income so far this half of the year has been about $1000, and that includes getting desperate enough to cash in an insurance policy for $600. My outgoings have been about twice that. AND...I have spent over $1000 on getting my bees ready to double in size, NOT including the queens I want to buy. > Whatever floats your boat.... > If a beginer still wants one, and doesn't want to spend close to a grand > for the extractor and accessories, there are a lot of small extractors Oh....accessories. We have a steam uncapping knife, valued at $45. And a barrel at about $180. All brought new, and STILL not $1000. I would have thought that with the aussie dollar being worth about .76 cents US, our stuff would be more expensive.... I have checked our health regulations, and I believe it is illegal to use pantyhose as a strainer (although my father always did) and in most cases it is illegal to re-use a barrel not originaly intended for honey. Our state Apiarist association publishes something similar, and I would guess the count is about the same. The prices are good in some cases, but it is usualy hard to tell, as it is often total outfits, including honey house and hives, sometimes even trucks, and it is difficult to work out prices for the individual components. Adrian. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 2 Oct 1994 10:14:51 AEST+1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: Re: Floral origin of honeys > Gas chromatography, or even spectrophotometry, seem like they would be [snip] > more about the color than actual origin. To Average Consumer, honey comes > in Clover, Orange Blossom, and Everything Else. People who like "varietal > honey" are a very small group, I fear. They are (or would seem to be) a growing group here in australia. Ten years ago, supermarkets carried "Pure Australian Honey" and specialty shops had small quantities of "varietal" honey. Now it is possible to get "river red gum," "yellow box," "strawberry clover," "orange blossom," "ironbark,"(yuk) and maybe two others, al from supermarkets. "Rarer" honeys are still only available from specialty shops. Adrian. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 2 Oct 1994 10:25:01 AEST+1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: Re: Fluvalinate - Apistan > A last word : pay attention ... if a few hives are infected, then ... > all your hives are infected ! Um, I don't have varroa, and I hope I never will, after all, they havn't reached this continent yet, but I thought that it was not a good idea to treat for mites unless their presence was confirmed. I may be wrong, but that is the impression I got from reading sci.agriculture.beekeeping. A problem I do have however, is European brood disease. This was found in ONE hive of ours , and has not been found in any others of ours yet. I know that the spread of bacterial and viral problems is controlable through good management...can mites be contained the same way??? Just curious. Adrian. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 1 Oct 1994 23:50:58 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter" Subject: buying extractors et al Respond to: Pollinator@aol.com Okay. Uncle...UNCLE... You're right. I have gotten back all I've spent on the various extractors I've had. They are very saleable. Of course time is another thing... The first time I discovered custom extracting, it took a big load off me. I don't regret what I spent, because I had better uses for the time I would have lost tinkering around. That's my own perspective and preference. I'll say no more about it. We still use pantyhose. Our health inspector has seen our pantyhose filtration system, and never has said a word about it. A set of official filters costs about $60. They're washable two or three times. I just changed the pantyhose yesterday for $6. The only drawback is deciding whether or not to explain to the clerk why I am buying four pairs of pantyhose. There's nothing wrong, or illegal, with used barrels, but of course for safety, one should only use those that have had food products. I would never use barrels that had cleaners or pesticides -- some chemicals are almost impossible to wash off. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 1 Oct 1994 21:17:43 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jim Osborn Subject: Re: buying extractors Owning your own extractor, even if you have only one hive, lets you rob, extract, and give back the next day. It lets you take advantage of a lucky break in the weather, or in your schedule. I use an old two-frame reversible-cage model, and my wife loves the mess in the kitchen. Being able to give the boxes right back means we don't need as many boxes, and extracting two frames at a time means we can separate the different flavors of honey in an interesting year. jimo ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 2 Oct 1994 08:02:16 -0700 Reply-To: Sid Schaudies Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Sid Schaudies Subject: Absconding This is to solicit comments about an absconding event. I started a new hive in mid-August in my back yard in this suburb of Seattle. A beekeeper friend had removed a feral colony from a barn and hived the bees, with their queen, in a deep on frames which had been recently extracted. I supplied them with sugar syrup fed from a jar through a hole in the inner cover. A pollen/sugar paste was spread on several of the top bars. Two Apistan strips were inserted. After about a week and a half I requeened with a Yugoslavian Carniolan queen. After two days in a Thurber Long cage, I released her and she seemed to be well accepted as she entered the space between the frames. Since the date was late and the colony only about a couple of pounds in size, I did not reinspect the hive to avoid disturbing the new queen. A friend was going to supply enough honey in another super to provide for overwintering food, but I maintained a supply of syrup in addition. The syrup was taken continuously but slowly. There were some crawlers in front of the hive the first couple of days after relocating the hive to my yard but none thereafter. The entrance space was restricted to about 1 inch in length. About the third week of September I lifted the syrup jar to refill it and saw no bees. The hive was empty. Perhaps a couple of dozen dead workers were on the bottom board, but no live bees and no queen. Why would the entire hive abscond? There is plenty of pollen coming into the hives - there always is in this area - but almost no nectar. Spring is the time bees swarm in this area, not in the fall. And this was no swarm, besides. Sid and Dan sids@cks.ssd.k12.wa.us ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 2 Oct 1994 10:17:33 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: Subject: Lighting up a smoker In-Reply-To: <9410020621.AA15715@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> > He would get a hessian sack, (the type you used to buy potatoes in), cut it > into a 6 x 3 inch strip, put it in the smoker and light it. It would > catch on very quickly. (depending if the sack was dry or not). After it was This is the preferred method we have settled on after many years. My wife developed it because of my habit of arriving at a yard, jumping out of the truck, lifting a few lids, and exclaiming 'where is the smoker? We carry the fuel precut in a 5 gallon tin can with a tight lid or else an old ammo box. In the can we keep newspaper and many books of paper matches and a bic lighter. To ensure lighting of the burlap if there is any dampness, we use a square of paper 6" X 6" crumpled up dropped lit to the bottom of the smoker. It is essential to empty the previous contents (with due care that they may still be burning) before starting. The burlap (I assume another name for hessian) scrap is held in over the flame in the barrel of the smoker while puffing gently. Once it is caught - only seconds have elapsed -, the scrap of sack is dropped to the bottom loosely and hive smoking can begin. As soon as the smoke gets good and dense, more fuel is added, a scrap at a time and packed down a bit. > producing white smoke, he would add either, a eucalypt branch or a > cypress branch which would cool the smoke and made it last longer, maybe > due to the sap and oils from the branches. He would use it all day without As the day goes on, we add more sacking as required and pack down the charge to slow burning. In hot dry weather, we dampen some sack slightly and pack it on top. This slows the burning and increases the smoke density as well as keeping it cool. We use only the large (4X10) stainless steel smokers - Dadant usually. I sure wish they would improve the construction of their bellows - we use up two bellows for every one one smoker assembly by the time we throw them away. > ind, so we commonly utilise a small piece of 'softboard'( the kind of > building material that will absorb fluid rapidly, due to its fibre-rich > consistency. This is cut into small rectangles of 10 X 10 cm, and > soaked overnight in a [1 + 5 > ] solution of either potassium-nitrate KNO3 > or natrium-nitrate NaNO3. > Thre chemical merely assures a smooth glow of the board, I a, mot sure > if any laughing gas will emrege from the burning xNO3 as from burning > Ammonium nitrate I worry, perhaps unecessarily, about the things I put into my smoker. I want to *know* that there are *zero* toxic substances used as either preservatives or occuring as byproducts of the burning. Of course, I realise that creosote occurs from sack burning, when I think about it. The reason for worry is that everything that is in the smoke is in inimate contact with brood, bees and honey. We once had a fellow try to sell us some honey. We thought it tasted a little odd. After some rumination, we decided that he had used one of the 'smoke' spray cans. We asked him. Sure enough! Have you tasted honey that seemed a little smokey? Most of us get used to smells and regard them as natural, Years ago, we all thought honey smelled like carbolic. It was used so much it was part of the beekeeping environment. I bought some supers the other year that had been in storage. At extracting time the honey house smelled of phenol - even though we hadn't used it for years! I won't even mention butyl anhydride - Yukkk Anything in the smoke can and will get into your honey and someone will eat it. Think about it. Be sure you want it in your food. Be sure the FDA will not reject your product if they stumble across it. Even burlap from the wrong source can be contaminated. I believe furniture burlap is treated. I have reasonable confidence in potato sacks. I don't imagine that there is anything wrong with dried cow pies, other than the image. Unless parasites might ride on particles emitted, which is my next concern. . . Every time I get a new helper, I have to explain that the idea is to confuse and tranquillize the bees, not to burn their wings off and bombard the inside of the hive with ash and burning cinders - not to mention burning up the neighborhood from sparks in dry grass. As a producer of comb honey, we carefully scrutinize the surface of each comb for dirt, etc. You would be surprised how much gunk comes out of a smoker that is not set just right. It goes right into any open cells, and its there for keeps! > put into smoker and add tobacco I guess you must grow your own. With taxes and all in this country (Canada), a can of tobacco costs over twenty dollars (it might be thirty now. I've given up the habit for the most part). I grew some once and it grows well and yields well. The nicotine content was *very* high. So were we when we tried to smoke it. Maybe I'll grow some again for bee use. We'd need about two drums a year full, if burlap is a good indicator though. . . . for what it's worth W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@ PS To all my friends who have tried to reach me in the last week. My access is thhrough the Calgary Unix Users Group. This is volunteer organisation of computer nuts - people who work all day on computers then go home to work on computers. If they get a long weekend it's a perfect chance to work on computers. There is an shoestring budget and an experimental aspect to it and sometimes there are glitches. Don't give up. I'm here. Keep (re)sending those messages and flames. Allen Dick ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 06:38:22 AEST+1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: Re: Warding off Robber Bees > To stop robber bees empty and DRY comb can be put close to the hive > entrance of the attacked colony. The entrance itself should be a bit > reduced stil allowing desired ventilation. The comb MUST NOT contain any > drop of honey. A large portion of robber bees, especially those not well [...] This certainly sounds to me as though it would work. I am just worried about one thing: (same thing I am always worried about) AFB spores can remain viable on combs for up to thirty five (or is it more?) years. I realise that with no honey in the combs, the bees are not going to ingest any of these spores, but they may pick them up on their bodies (or alternatively, drop them off their bodies) and hence spread the disease around. I am always wary of leaving any used hive material available for general access. Adrian. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 2 Oct 1994 20:35:13 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: Floral origin of honeys In-Reply-To: <9410022324.AA19903@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> > more about the color than actual origin. To Average Consumer, honey comes > in Clover, Orange Blossom, and Everything Else. People who like "varietal > honey" are a very small group, I fear. > They are (or would seem to be) a growing group here in australia. We have found that special honies are a useful marketing tool, no matter whether they are really great tasting, or just 'interesting'. Many people say honey is honey and get jaded. A taste of buckwheat honey starts them thinking again. Most specialty honey goes in small quantities, but we have many people who buy it by the 60 pound pail. Here's an update on the - so far unidentified - brown honey(dew) that got us going down this line of thought, along with some Japanese bamboo? honey that someone had obtained - I never did hear for sure. Actually at closer inspection it is red - we now have 25 drums and still the extractor spins. It's so good I hate to ship it for blending, but I suspect there is too much of it for our specialty loving customers to eat in the next year or so. I'm waiting for the pollen analysis to come back. I hope it is believable. Otherwise it's time for a gas chromatograph test? W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 2 Oct 1994 20:46:03 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: American Foulbrood In-Reply-To: <9410030147.AA12881@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> > I realise that with no honey in the combs, the bees > are not going to ingest any of these spores, but they may pick them > up on their bodies (or alternatively, drop them off their bodies) and > hence spread the disease around. I wonder, is tetracycline used in Auz? Seems to me that NZ frowns on it. In the absence of medications, AFB is indeed a great concern and no amount of it can be tolerated. Immediate and complete destruction or sterilization of all exposed items is essential. However, one AFB spore cannot cause the disease, I understand. It takes a considerable number to cause a breakdown. I cannot imagine how bees in contact with a comb that shows no scale, located outside their hive could cause sufficient innoculation to start a breakdown. In the case where periodic medication occurs during dearth periods, I am sure there is zero risk. Comments? W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 13:12:34 AEST+1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: Re: American Foulbrood > > hence spread the disease around. > I wonder, is tetracycline used in Auz? Seems to me that NZ frowns on it. "The only method of treatment permitted in nearly all states of Australia is destruction by fire of infected bees and combs under the supervision of an apiary inspector. Hive components and empty combs may be saved and sterilised using cobalt 60 gamma irradiation....." source as below > However, one AFB spore cannot cause the disease, I understand. It takes Why not?? Surely, if a single spore is fed to a single larva, and multiplies inside the larva as bacteria is wont to do ("Within about 24 hours, the spore germinates in the gut of the larva, giving rise to rod shaped `vegetative' organisms. These invade the haemolymph and body tissues, where they grow and multiply, RAPIDLY reaching very large numbers just before the larva begins pupation. The infected larva usually dies at the propupal stage, and EACH vegetative rod forms a minute oval spore." Quoted from "Beekeeping: Diseases of bees" By Russel Goodman) SO if I understand that paragraph right, one spore is all it takes to spread the disease > In the case where periodic medication occurs during dearth periods, I am > sure there is zero risk. You could be right, but as mentioned above, there are no permissable treatments available in australia......although, one (complete moron) beekeeper I know, (are there any Aussie Apiary inspectors reading this??) claims to have "controlled" AFB using terramyacin. > Comments? Just one more, from the same sourse as the other two...."The incidence of AFB in most states of Australia, where destruction is the only permitted treatment, is much lower than in countries where drug treatment is generally used. For example, 5% incidence of the disease is considered acceptable in many parts of the Uited States, compared with a normal incidence of less than 1% in victoria" (quoted earlier as 0.75%) It may be that the figures shown here are inacurate, but I would suspect that they are reasonable well researched. Maybe the information above will help people understand why I am so worried about AFB....that and the fact that my father lost his 30 hives to it 8 years ago. Adrian. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 10:30:03 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Vladimir Ptacek Subject: Wintering reserve queens Dear experienced queen and honey producers, Following your discussion about the quality of queens I was instigated to ask you for an oppinion in the in the following matter: I find how to overwinter small colony with about 3 - 4 thous. bees and a queen. For this purposse special hive is used and the common shallow frame equippment. Thanks to the special ararangment of frames the colonies are able to withstand even wery low temperatures. In our country they survived -25 to -30 deg. C. (I know that this is not much in Canada.) Colonis are then able to develop in spring. In the main season they can be used as mating nucs, source for making divides or other nucs, as testing colonies for queen's progeny (quick change of bees in small units), or as storers for breeder queens which remain longer alive in them. They can serve as small packages for making two queen colonies, too. I am convinced that the special arrangment could be applied also using the normal Langstroth measure. This would allow succesful wintering about two pound packages on only 6 frames. But there is a need of special hive. Since I am only a small scale beekeeper and am not familiar with the factors influencing the market I can hardly imagine if this principle could find any broader use in e.g. comercial beekeeping. Could you spend a few of your time and let me know if the possibility of keeping small units through winter (and all active season as well) could have any sense for large scale beekeepers? With the best wishes Vladimir Ptacek (ptacek@sci.muni.cz) Smetanova 41, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 22:36:58 AEST+1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: Re: Wintering reserve queens > I find how to overwinter small colony with about 3 - 4 thous. bees and > a queen. For this purposse special hive is used and the common shallow > frame equippment. Thanks to the special ararangment of frames the colonies O.K....maybe I am just easily confused.....this has probably been discussed here before....but what depth is "the common shallow frame equipment"? The boxes I use are all about 240mm (9.5" approx) in depth. There are also three smaller depth boxes I am aware of...WSP which is (I think) exclusively australian, so I don't think that is what is meant (it's depth is 181mm....7 1/8"). Is the "common" depth mentioned "Ideal" at 146mm....5 3/4" or the "half depth" at 121mm...4 3/4" It dosen't add anything of importance to the questions asked, it is just my curiosity. Adrian. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 08:29:35 -0600 Reply-To: Allen Dick 546-2588 Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: American Foulbrood In-Reply-To: <9410031008.AA18798@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> > "The only method of treatment permitted in nearly all states of > Australia is destruction by fire of infected bees and combs under the > supervision of an apiary inspector. Hive components and empty combs Fascinating- I'm glad I asked. This is a debate that has raged since the '30s or so. Ohio, I believe had (has?) a similar policy with similar stats on control, as I recollect. (Some of my 'recent' memories are 25 years old). Actually in North America, drugs aren't permitted (or is it encouraged) for cure, but rather prevention - altho' Phillips recommended sulfa for clearing up badly diseased equipment, saying something to the effect that it is so easy. . . etc. I should quote if I'm going to quote and I'm too lazy to get the book right now. Quotes on request. > may be saved and sterilised using cobalt 60 gamma irradiation....." This doesn't sound like a solution that is available at your local bee supply store. > > However, one AFB spore cannot cause the disease, I understand. It takes > Why not?? Surely, if a single spore is fed to a single larva, and Well, I don't know that under some conditions it might be possible, but I have sat thru' long talks by emminent authorities over the years that say that it is a horse race. There is a limited window of opportunity for the disease - a short time while the larva is vulnerable to the process you describe. After that time I really don't know what happens to the ones that don't get a full blown growth. I presume they pupate and emerge. Maybe thats one reason why infected colonies go downhill more than the attrition in the brood would seem to indicate. Perhaps the adults are a bit defective. Help me someone - I'm over my depth and I'm sure there are some experts in disease lurking in the background. I've got my Bailey's here and will give you some quotes later, if you like. It won't hurt me to brush up on this either. > You could be right, but as mentioned above, there are no permissable > treatments available in australia......although, one (complete moron) > beekeeper I know, (are there any Aussie Apiary inspectors reading > this??) claims to have "controlled" AFB using terramyacin. Trust me, we do it all the time. > Just one more, from the same sourse as the other two...."The > incidence of AFB in most states of Australia, where destruction is > the only permitted treatment, is much lower than in countries where > drug treatment is generally used. For example, 5% incidence of the > disease is considered acceptable in many parts of the Uited States, > compared with a normal incidence of less than 1% in victoria" (quoted > earlier as 0.75%) Now what does this mean? Where the disease is not stigmatized, people are more likely to call their inspector. Where it is a death sentence, people hide it and treat it secretly - as you mention. So, perhaps the stats cannot be compared? I don't know. The loss caused by 1% infestation (the whole hive, bees included and maybe the crop) is far greater than at 5% where you lose a few frames at most, albeit from more hives. Of course, either way, AFB has its hand in your pocket the whole time too. Control/prevention costs money too, whether you sprinkle on the magic dust every few weeks in spring, or do detailed inspections constantly to ensure you don't suddenly lose your whole outfit. I can tell you, having done both which I like better, given the availability of skilled labour today. The other thing that stats don't tell you, but you did tell me is that the losers lose big when no medication is allowed, and people live in terror of the incurable disease. Your father lost everything, and you are worried about a disease that is of little concern here. > information above will help people understand why I am so worried > about AFB....that and the fact that my father lost his 30 hives to it > 8 years ago. QED W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 10:54:25 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter" Subject: Color of Apistan Respond to: Pollinator@aol.com I've been thinking to contact the manufacturer of Apistan, to see if the strips could be made of a color that would contrast more with the natural colors of bees, wood and wax. When removing strips, especially with untrained help, it is easy to miss them. This year, when we took off supers, we found a few hives that still had the strips. I think we are going to have to do more double checking each other, but I also wonder if a brighter color wouldn't help. Any others feel this way? Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter, PO Box 1215, Hemingway, SC 29554 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 10:55:15 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter" Subject: Wintering nucs Respond to: Pollinator@aol.com >Vladimir Ptacek asks about wintering small units to keep young queens overwinter. I don't know if this would work in weather as severe as you have, or if you have other bees. Most years I winter over a bunch of late nucs (to save the young queens) on a double screen over strong hives. I always face the nuc entrance in the opposite direction as the hive, but I do think there tends to be a little drifting upward, which helps the nuc. I lose a few, but those that survive come on like gangbusters in the spring. One thing I am sure would help, even in the most severe winter is to have a feeder of dry sugar on them throughout the entire winter. The sugar must be above the cluster and in continuous contact with them. In very cold weather, they seem to get enough moisture from condensation. I used to keep a shallow super of honey for winter feed, but these would have to be removed for Apistan treatments, and I have little storage space. So I have gone to giving all the winter feed in the form of sugar, and the bees are wintering much better. I think keeping them busy is a boon to health. One other point - not for you, because you are talking about good nucs with good queens, but for others on the list. I have learned the hard way that poor bees, when nursed along by lots of feeding, still are poor bees, and often die late in the winter anyway. So wintering with continuous feed is not a way to make good bees out of junk. If they look poor (some symptoms: small cluster, greasy looking bees, dark greasy looking brood cappings, chalkbrood mummies in cells, sour smell, spotty brood pattern, etc.), cull them, and put the resources into the good hives. It pays. Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter, PO Box 1215, Hemingway, SC 29554 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 13:19:00 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Chris Conroy Subject: We've extracted! Now what? Hi all... Okay, we extracted honey for the first time - this is our first hive ever! This hive was started this spring from a 3 lb package... We had a shallow super on the hive, and found 4 frames of capped honey (it passed the shake test).. We extracted the liquid gold (it is goooood) and are confused about what to do now.. There are a few frames with some uncapped honey, some with just foundation... We'll put the extracted frames back in to get "cleaned up", but do we leave the super on for the winter? Chris ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 10:19:08 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Teri Rhan {FMO} Subject: Honey color question from newbie In-Reply-To: <9410021504.AA07372@mx2.cac.washington.edu> I'm in the heart of Seattle in the Wallingford district where my 2 hives are currently placed. My neighbor (one block away) also has 2 hives and he and I both harvested our honey this weekend. Both of us has honey so dark, it's almost black. It tastes fine and the fellow who did the extracting (local Beekeeppers Assoc member with extracting services) commented that it smelled like clover honey. My question is can clover really make the honey this dark? And if not what are the other possibilities? Thanks Teri ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 18:52:56 +0200 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jean-Marie Van Dyck Subject: Re: Honey color question from newbie hello teri ! clover honey is very pale and its taste very sweet ! seems your honey and this of your neighbour are mainly honeydew : generally a aphid tree production. Honeydew is characterized by low pH (acidity) and high electric conductivity (more charged components). Hope this help ! Jean-Marie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 19:12:12 +0200 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jean-Marie Van Dyck Subject: To treat against Varroa Mite Hi all ! On 19-Sep-1994 I wrote ... >> A last word : pay attention ... if a few hives are infected, then ... >> all your hives are infected ! and on 3-Oct Adrian commented ... > Um, I don't have varroa, and I hope I never will, after all, they > havn't reached this continent yet, but I thought that it was not a > good idea to treat for mites unless their presence was confirmed. ...[short cut] > .... I know that the spread of bacterial and viral problems is > controlable through good management...can mites be contained the same > way??? Just curious. > Adrian. Adrian, you are right ! Don't matter about varroa unless this mite is confirmed in your country. Moreover, don't _treat_ against varroa unless it is find in your country close to your hives location(s) (30-50 km). In this case (2-3 years, then treat each year) you must try to _detect_ varroa infection : i.e. 1/ use a varroa grid under the brood to detect natural dead varroas and/or 2/ use apistan strips in one tenth of the hives during only one week (a real treatment requires 6-8 weeks) immediately after the last summer crop. A varroa grid helps the detection ! When Varroa is detected : treat the whole apiary. Hope this help ! Jean-Marie Local blooming informations ... Long. : 4deg 56' E - Lat. : 50deg 30' N - Alt. : 200 m - North sea : 200 km The last summer crop is terminated for end of July ... Honey in the jars ... Some bees come back with pollen ... that's all ... ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 14:29:05 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Malcolm (Tom) Sanford, Florida Extension Apiculturist" Subject: October issue of APIS Distributed to: USR:[MTS]INTERNET.DIS;33, mts FILENAME: OCTAPIS.94 Florida Extension Beekeeping Newsletter Apis--Apicultural Information and Issues (ISSN 0889-3764) Volume 12, Number 10, October 1994 APIS AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB Back in the mid 1980s, I first reported that this newsletter was available through BITNET, an academic computing network. It was a real advance for me at the time. Later, the Internet came into being and the newsletter was put up on that network as well as a remote bulletin board system (RBBS). Then, in January 1994, and almost in shock, I wrote that APIS was available on the Internet through File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Gopher, something I found serendipitously while searching what is known as "gopherspace." In May 1994, I reported that the last two years of this newsletter were placed on The Ohio State University's Gopher and made key-word searchable. Well, the accelerator on the information superhighway has been pressed again! The University of Florida campus information system has become a reality and so has Alachua County Freenet, giving any local citizen free access to the Internet. The IFAS Online information facility, which used to only be accessible to those with accounts on our college of agriculture minicomputer, has also been "gopherized," and is now available to the electronic world. It contains the last four year's issues of APIS. Meanwhile, a program capable of searching or browsing the Internet using all the present electronic tools (FTP, GOPHER), plus its own interface which includes graphics and sound, has taken the Internet by storm. It's called Mosaic, and uses a language that helps link documents together. Because of the linking feature, Mosaic gives us a new way of looking at information via what is called the World-Wide Web (WWW). Fortunately, besides Mosaic, a free program for those who know how to get it, several alternatives are available that support graphics (i.e. Cello) or just text (i.e. Lynx). Either way, WWW is fast becoming the preferred way to get on the information superhighway. This is accomplished through uniform resource locators or URLs. And APIS now has its own URL: http://gnv.ifas.ufl.edu:7999/~entweb/apis/apis.htm I look forward to comments from those using this resource. You can contact me electronically at mts@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu or use the traditional address or telephone number at the end of this and all issues of APIS. SECOND ANNUAL SEMINAR A SUCCESS By any measure, the second annual beekeeping seminar in Florida's Panhandle at Blackwater State Forest Training Center in Santa Rosa County exceeded expectations. Some fifty-five eager beekeepers attended the event, expanded from last year to include Friday evening. As always, the open-hive demonstrations were the highlight. This seminar also boasted the attendance of Dr. Jim Tew, Extension Apiculturist at The Ohio State University, and Dr. Evan Sugden who is affiliated with Kentucky State University. The organizers, especially one of Florida's newest bee inspectors, Joe Robinson, should be congratulated for putting together a well-run, informative event. Others interested in developing local beekeeping training events of this nature would do well to contact the organizers for their ideas. AHB IN PUERTO RICO Although there may be some good news for Florida beekeepers reported in the July 1994 APIS about the African honey bee (AHB) stalling in Texas, there was some disquieting news from Puerto Rico. Because of a number of recent finds often near ports, the island may soon be declared infested by the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The message is clear. AHB can be introduced via ships, and Florida beekeepers and regulators should not let their guard down in trying to detect introductions of this successful biological pioneer. NEW NUTRITION LABEL: WHO IS EXEMPT? Who has not seen the new nutrition label that was implemented earlier this year? The idea is to make nutritional information as simple as possible while ensuring that most foods have both a label and list of ingredients. Time will tell whether this goal will be met. Meanwhile, the immediate question arose as to whether small- scale honey marketers fall under this food-labeling legislation. The good news is that outfits doing less than $500,000 per year gross sales are automatically exempt from nutritional labeling requirements. And those exceeding this gross sales figure, but doing less than $50,000 in food sales, are also exempt. The exemptions are automatic and require no notification of either the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. There is one big caveat, however. Any nutritional claims about a product void these exemptions. Thus, advice that something is "healthy," "packed with energy," or "low in fat" automatically requires full nutritional labeling. To be safe, the best bet is to only say the product is "pure honey." Although a good sales tool, this phrase is redundant because by definition any product labeled as honey must be "pure"--that is, not adulterated in any way. Any labels that are even a little questionable should be faxed to Ms. Betsy Woodward, Chief, Food and Residue Laboratories, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, ph 904/488-0670, FAX 904/487-6573, for her opinion. A label change for Florida that many may not yet know about is that a dual English/metric declaration is now required on honey products [i.e. 1lb (454g)]. Ms. Woodward will be providing up-to- date labeling information at the Florida State Beekeepers Association meeting in Ft. Myers in late October. Questions about labeling for the FDA should go to the Office of Food Labeling at the FDA's Center for Foods, ph 202/205-5229. FLORIDA BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION MEETS IN FT. MYERS The Florida State Beekeepers Association will be meeting October 27-29, at the Lani Kai Island Resort, 1400 Estero Blvd, Ft. Myers Beach, FL 33931, ph 813/463-3111. The traditional barbecue is set for Thursday evening. A baking contest will also take place; entries should be delivered to the registration desk by 4:00 p.m. Thursday, October 27. Friday will consist of the program, a luncheon (bring a "BEE" related gift) and the annual banquet. Finally, the business meeting will conclude the event on Saturday, October 29. The cutoff time for early registration is October 15 at $20 (after that it costs $25). Send checks to E. Cutts, 2237 N.W. 16th Ave., Gainesville, FL 32605, ph 904/378-7719. The special hotel rates are $49.95 single or double (king or double beds) or the efficiency room, including a small kitchen, for $59.95. These rates are for the Florida State Beekeepers Association meeting only (regular prices are almost double). Rooms are limited and reservations should be made as soon as possible. THE VARROA SWITCH Dr. Roger Hoopingarner in his September B-Plus Newsletter from Michigan State University discusses a concept he calls the "Varroa mite switch." In the late summer and fall, as honey bee colonies stop rearing drones, Varroa mites find their preferred hosts in short supply. Mite predation, therefore, generally "switches" from drone to worker brood. As Dr. Hoopingarner says, "This switch occurs the last part of August and September...If the same life shortening effect (it is thought Varroa predation reduces worker life expectancy by as much as one-third!) occurs in these 'winter bees' that affects bees during the summer then the colony will lose many bees early in the winter cycle." Although writing for his part of the country, the "Varroa switch" probably plays the same role throughout the United States. Even sunny Florida is not immune. Winter bees are just as important in the South, even more so in areas where little forage is available. Although workers have more flying time, they may be using valuable capital (energy and longevity) that their northern sisters are happily conserving in their winter cluster. Dr. Hoopingarner says the only way to increase individual and, thus, colonial longevity, is to treat for mites when winter bees are being produced. This means August and September in Michigan. Beekeepers waiting longer until a colony is broodless risk their bees being heavily damaged by mite predation, leading to less overwintering success. Dr. Hoopingarner also suggests leaving the strips in for the maximum period at this time to kill as many exposed mites as possible. The bottom line in Michigan, he concludes, is protecting winter bees. Then beekeepers only have to worry about nosema and adequate food. In Florida, broodless times are all too rare, even in November and December, and the same advice applies. Short circuiting the Varroa switch gives the bees the best opportunity to come through winter ready for spring buildup. VEGETABLE OIL AND TRACHEAL MITES In the September 1994 issue of APIS, I discussed Terramycin (R) use in extender patties. Vegetable oil is used mainly for controlling American foulbrood by "carrying" the antibiotic, oxytetracycline, into the bee colony. However, there is evidence that patties in and of themselves will also help control tracheal mite infestation. This led to an investigation by Diana Sammataro and colleagues at The Ohio State University reported in the Journal of Economic Entomology, Vol. 87, No. 4, August 1994, pp. 910-916. Two experiments were conducted: 1) summer application of oil patties in 1991 to see if mite levels in the subsequent fall were affected and 2) continuous exposure of colonies throughout the 1992-1993 season. In the first study, a two-time (6 June and 23 July) application of oil patties did not affect mite populations. Mite levels were the same in treated colonies as in controls (not treated). The authors concluded that "well populated, established colonies already infested with mites gained no protection from oil patties when fed twice at peak bee populations." The second test was undertaken at two sites to see if continuous application would fare any better. Here significantly lower levels of mites were found in treated colonies than in controls. Mite populations in untreated colonies peaked between November and February, sometimes exceeding 30 percent. In treated colonies, the mite level rarely exceeded 10 percent. Some general observations during the second experiment merit reflection. There were differences seen between the two sites. Site one had greater loss of untreated colonies (four out of six). One colony died of starvation and three with heavy fecal soiling appeared to have had high levels of nosema as well as mites. The nectar flows were also poorer at this location. At the second site, two untreated colonies had low mite levels throughout the year. This may have been because they were manipulated (split and requeened) later than other colonies. Two more survived the winter despite high (51 percent-92 percent) mite levels, and only one died. Of the queens dissected at Site 2, some had blackened tracheae, considered caused by mite feeding, whereas others had light to no infestation. Two queens were also found to be heavily infested with amoebae (Malpighamoeba mellificae Prell). An overriding observation in this study was that in colonies that survived winter infestation, mite levels appeared to decline as the bee population rose in spring. This suggests an analogy to the situation discussed above for Varroa mites. The graphical representations also show that most differences in tracheal mite levels between treated and untreated groups were from August through February, critical times for colonies to successfully winter. The authors conclude: "Our study shows that oil treatment interferes with one or more aspects of the mite's life cycle. The continuous presence of an oil patty with or without Terramycin helped lower tracheal mite populations and increased colony survivorship." 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: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 11:38:05 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Teri Rhan {FMO} Subject: Re: Honey color question from newbie In-Reply-To: <9410031821.AA01362@mx2.cac.washington.edu> Is there another name for this type of tree? I'm not familiar with this name here in the Pacific Northwest (although it wouldn't be the first time something slipped by me) Teri On Mon, 3 Oct 1994, Jean-Marie Van Dyck wrote: > hello teri ! > > clover honey is very pale and its taste very sweet ! seems your honey > and this of your neighbour are mainly honeydew : generally a aphid tree > production. > Honeydew is characterized by low pH (acidity) and high electric conductivity > (more charged components). > > Hope this help ! > > Jean-Marie > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 16:26:23 EST5EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Cameron Skinner Organization: McGill University - Chemistry Subject: Bee Pasture Does anyone out there know if it is profitable to actively cultivate land expressly for bees? I currently have four hives and have access to about 10 acres of land directly in front of the hives. I'm wondering if it is practical and profitable to plant this land in a rotation of buckwheat so that the bees have a continuous source of buckwheat from about mid-June through to about mid-September? Also there seems to be a little debate around the supper table as to which type of buckwheat to plant, the variety with large or small seeds. My bet is on the variety known as Tokyo, though I don't know the size of the seed or a local source for it. If anyone has any thoughts, comments or ideas along these lines they would be most welcome. Cameron Skinner Skinner@omc.lan.mcgill.ca ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 16:01:00 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Paul van Westendorp 576-5600 Fax: 576-5652" Subject: Re: Honey color question from newbie Teri, An aphid tree is not a specific species of tree but one that is 'infested' with aphids. The aphids feed on the plant juices and produce a sugary exudate. (Park your car underneath one of those trees and you know what we are talking about!). The exudate is collected by bees (and other insects, including wasps) and utilized as 'nectar' source. The resulting product is called honeydew. In Europe, honeydew has been a priced product for centuries. Some regions are reknown for their honeydew. regards, Paul van Westendorp PVANWESTEN@galaxy.gov.bc.ca Provincial Apiculturist BC Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 11:13:50 +1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Robert Rice Subject: Margosan-O Can anyone give me details about a product available through garden supply shops called Margosan-O. I would like to know what the composition of this material is. I believe that it is suppose to control nosema and chalk brood and is a natural extract from a tree. Robert Rice CSIRO Division of Entomology Canberra, Australia. E-mail robertr@ento.csiro.au ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 16:08:58 EST5EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Cameron Skinner Organization: McGill University - Chemistry Subject: Re: Wintering nucs Dave Green wrote > I don't know if this would work in weather as severe as you have, or if > you have other bees. Most years I winter over a bunch of late nucs (to save > the young queens) on a double screen over strong hives. I always face the nuc > entrance in the opposite direction as the hive, but I do think there tends to > be a little drifting upward, which helps the nuc. I lose a few, but those > that survive come on like gangbusters in the spring. I'll display my ignorance and ask what you mean by placing the nuc on a double screen over a strong hive? What is the separation of the two queens and how is the hive set up? My understanding is that if a queen can sense another queen she will try her best to get at the other to kill her. I have read that a nuc can be placed over a strong hive if there is one (or two?) deep super(s) separating the two queens. Thanks Cameron Skinner Skinner@omc.lan.mcgill.ca ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 20:37:27 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Phil Soderman Subject: Re: Margosan-O In-Reply-To: <9410040113.AA17201@coyote.rain.org> >From the book NEEM A tree for solving global problems, published by National Academy Press. Page 100, Margosan-O is an ethanolic neem extract concentrate having 3,000 ppm azadirachtin (+-10 percent) and is baed on the original process developed by the U.S. Deptartment of Agriculture(USDA) in Beltsville, Maryland. While I did not find any reference IN THIS BOOK to control of the listed Bee diseases, there are numerous references to Neem extracts (not necessarily azadirachtin) controlling bacteria and fungal species. Page 103 under Test 13-Bee Adult Toxicity Test. With the assistance of the University of California's Apiry at Riverside, California, Vikwood, Ltd. Ordered a "Bee Adult Toxicity Test" on honeybee worker adults. Margosan-O was administered as a direct contact chemical using field dosages up to 4,478 ppm A.I./ha. It was found to be benign to honeybees at well above the recommended dosage of 20 ppm (diluted, as a foliar spray) for a common pest, the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.). My comment is that this material works on the younger instars of various insects and may not have had any effect on Adult Bees but what about brood if you treated a hive for disease or mites. Page 14 Three new neem based products-Azatin, Turplex, and Align- have entered the U.S. insecticide market. The U.S. EPA has approved Align for use on food and feed crops. Margosan-O is now registered in all 50 states and the EPA has approved it for use on food crops. I found no other Bee related sections in this book. There are many references c ited so further research is necessary. Phil Soderman sgrower1@rain.org On Tue, 4 Oct 1994, Robert Rice wrote: > Can anyone give me details about a product available through > garden supply shops called Margosan-O. I would like to know what > the composition of this material is. I believe that it is > suppose to control nosema and chalk brood and is a natural > extract from a tree. > > Robert Rice > CSIRO Division of Entomology > Canberra, Australia. > > E-mail robertr@ento.csiro.au > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 23:36:55 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter" Subject: Re: Bee Pasture Respond to: Pollinator@aol.com Source of buckwheat seed: Burkett Mills in Penn Yan, NY. They will ship UPS. They contract with growers in the Finger Lakes, and manufacture stone ground buckwheat pancake mix, etc. (They may be the last one.) Older beekeepers report that the old varieties yielded a lot better than the newer Japanes varieties, but I don't know if these are still available. Others can probably give you more on economics of planting for bees. I doubt that it pays, unless you think of other values, like wildlife feed. If I did it I'd go for sweet clover and sunflowers, as well as buckwheat. These would bring in a lot of birds as well. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 03:10:37 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter" Subject: wintering nucs respond to: pollinator@aol.com >Cameron Skinner asks about wintering nucs over double screen. Also mentions placing a nuc over a hive with one or two deep supers separating the two. Placing a nuc above another hive with supers between would be done in the spring, as a way of increasing population for greater honey production - a 2 queen setup. In this the bees are separated by excluders and workers intermingle freely. A screen system is for overwintering, and we do not want bees to have to heat empty space, therefore no supers. The principle, is that the nuc, which is too small to make a cluster sufficient for protection from the cold, gains heat from the strong hive below, therefore does not need as large a cluster. The double screen does not allow the workers to intermingle, and the separation prevents the queens from hurting each other. The easiest way to make a suitable double screen is to take a piece of 16 x 20 inch plywood, or flakeboard, (any thickness over 1/4 inch - I've used a lot of scrap materials for these), cut a 6 or 8 inch hole in the center, and staple a piece of flyscreen or 1/8 hardware cloth over each side. If only one side is screened, the queens might be able to hurt each other. It needs a space between screens. Then nail a rim of wood strips on the top edge, more or less 3/4 by 1/2. Leave about a 2 inch gap on one end for a small entrance for the nuc. Place the screen board over the strong hive, so that the rim and entrance are on top. Add a brood box, put the nuc in the center, adding frames to fill it out. Frames with honey would be much better than empties. Then put a dry sugar feeder on top, and keep it filled all winter. Or give them plenty of syrup while it is still warm enough for them to feed, and again as soon as it warms back up. If the nuc entrance is above the bottom entrance, too many bees may drift up to the nuc, weakening the hive that you want to be strong. Place the nuc entrance on the opposite side as the bottom hive. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 03:11:18 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter" Subject: wintering bees Respond to: Pollinator@aol.com >Chris Conroy asks about putting empty supers back on bees for overwintering The operative principle is that you do not want bees to have to heat empty space during cold weather, therefore we do not want any empty space above the bees. You might want to put the super back on briefly, while it is still warm enough for them to finish up the unripe honey, probably they will carry it down. But be sure to take it off before real cold sets in. A super full of honey would be no problem, as bees will cluster on it and the honey helps hold the heat. Be sure to remove the excluder, if you do this, because the queen needs to move up with the cluster to keep from freezing. If you have only one brood box, or if the bees are mostly in the upper of two brood boxes, you should start feeding right away. Heft the back of the hive to check weight. Bees will need 50 or 60 pounds of honey or syrup to get through the worst of the winter. The best hives may need still more in the spring when they rev up their brood rearing. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 10:55:32 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Vladimir Ptacek Subject: Re: Wintering reserve queens, minicolonies On Mon, 3 Oct 1994 22:36:58 AEST+1000, Rodent wrote: >O.K....maybe I am just easily confused.....this has probably been >discussed here before....but what depth is "the common shallow frame >equipment"? >Adrian. Thanks for the question, Adrian. Since we in Czech Rep. have not Lanstroth dimensions, my hives for minicolonies have 4 frames 420 x 170 mm each. This means that similar dimension would work as well. The wax space should not decrease much bellow 150 mm. Dave Green wrote: > I don't know if this would work in weather as severe as you have, or if >you have other bees. Most years I winter over a bunch of late nucs (to save >the young queens) on a double screen over strong hives. >a feeder of dry sugar on them throughout the entire winter. The sugar must be >above the cluster and in continuous contact with them. Minicol. are quit independent on any other "normal" size colony. They stand separately in a small apiary, or can easily be moved anywhere they are needed in any time of the year. They are ideal pollination units in enclosure (when honey bees can be used). In our conditions they go in winter with 5 kg stores and later on they may need 1 kg more candy or sugar if there is no regular spring nectar flow. Here the weather is instable - some winters are warm others cold and the same goes for other periods of the year. Spring cleaning flights come in the second half of March. Recently I have carniolan bees, but I had crosses with italians earlier, too. Both of them went well through winter. In our conditions minicolonies allowed to develop are full of brood and bees between May 1 and 10. They must be used than to make minidivides or to other purposs otherwise they would swarm. The successful life of small colonies is thanks to a bit new approache in hive construction, and I would like to know, if the possibility of wintering selfstanding units as large as (or even less than) a pound of bees for the cost of 5 - 6 kg sugar stores would be desired in spite of the fact that they would have to be keept in special hives. This disadvantage could be partially compensated by the use of the apiary shallow frame equipment. If the principle would be applied with standard Langstroth frames (445 x 232 mm), it would allow to winter and develop colonies on 6 frames (what would be equal to 2 pound packages). The need in stors would be covered with 10 kg of sugar or honey. Colonies could be easily moved and treated against varoa mites. When full of brood and bees they could be transfered into common hives for further development and honey production. During the season empty hives could be used for making new colonies, divides,... Would this all compensate the disadvantage of special hive? Best regards, Vladimir Ptacek (ptacek@sci.muni.cz) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 07:40:32 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: Honey color question from newbie In-Reply-To: <9410041324.AA20710@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> Say Paul Have you ever heard of honeydew around central Alberta? We have some 85 mm honey - 20 drums or more - with very nice flavour, I'm having the pollen analysis done, but suspect that it will not tell the truth. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA On Mon, 3 Oct 1994, Paul van Westendorp 576-5600 Fax: 576-5652 wrote: > Teri, > > An aphid tree is not a specific species of tree but one that is 'infested' > with aphids. The aphids feed on the plant juices and produce a sugary > exudate. (Park your car underneath one of those trees and you know what w e > are talking about!). > > The exudate is collected by bees (and other insects, including wasps) and > utilized as 'nectar' source. The resulting product is called honeydew. > > In Europe, honeydew has been a priced product for centuries. Some regions > are reknown for their honeydew. > > regards, > > Paul van Westendorp PVANWESTEN@galaxy.gov.bc.ca > Provincial Apiculturist > BC Ministry of Agriculture, > Fisheries & Food > ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 08:31:06 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jerry J Bromenshenk Subject: Re: Wintering reserve queens, minicolonies In-Reply-To: from "Vladimir Ptacek" at Oct 4, 94 10:55:32 am Vladimer and List Members: Last winter we took a bunch of mini-colonies (about 1 - 2 #s of bees) on five half frames (a standard Dadant deep cut in half). Actually, we took a standard Dadant hive body and divided it into 4 units, each with an entrance facing out from one of the four faces of the box. Most of these units started as 2 stories (10 half frames). We put come 2" styrofoam around them. They survived brief drops to -25 degree F. Tried some indoors in a cool room, the ones outside did as well or better. We need the units for conducting year round testing. Pulling bees from full size colonies sitting in snow banks in Montana in the winter is no fun and more or less impractical. Vladimer talks about a "special" hive. How is it special? Insulated, heated, etc.? Please provide more specifics, it is threatening to snow in Montana and we could use any ideas that would improve on what we did last year. Success last year not bad, but we could do better. Thanks Jerry Bromenshenk The University of Montana Missoula, MT 59812-1002 jjbmail@selway.umt.edu ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 08:08:54 PDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adrian Wenner Subject: Re: Wintering nucs > > I'll display my ignorance and ask what you mean by placing the >nuc on a double screen over a strong hive? What is the separation of >the two queens and how is the hive set up? My understanding is that >if a queen can sense another queen she will try her best to get at >the other to kill her. I have read that a nuc can be placed over a >strong hive if there is one (or two?) deep super(s) separating the two >queens. In some queen rearing operations in California, queenright colonies are regularly used in queen production. Once cells have been grafted into and started, the workers continue the process. The laying queen, however, must not have access to that super. Adrian *************************************************************** * Adrian Wenner E-Mail wenner@lifesci.lscf.ucsb.edu * * Department of Biology Office Phone (805) 893-2838 * * University of California Lab Phone (805) 893-2838 * * Santa Barbara, CA 93106 FAX (805) 893-4724 * *************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 18:37:17 GMT Reply-To: Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Gordon Scott Subject: Re: Subject: Lighting up a smoker I normally use hessian sacking as a smoker fuel. When I started beekeeping I was advised that when I finished for the day I should stuff the smoker orifices with grass to stifle the airflow and leave the the smoker on its side until extinguished. This has the effect that the part-burnt hessian (or other fuel for that matter) remains as a fine carbon rather than burning away to ash. This then lights easily the next time I use it. Relighting is usually a very undramatic affair with little flame, I just get a bit smouldering and puff away 'til I get the smoke volume I want. The variety of materials used for smoker fuel is pretty wide. Various mixes of woodland waste seem popular: pine needles; pine cones; bark, some mushrooms when dried; grass; leaves (including tobacco and marijuana); corrugated cardboard. I guess if its around, burns, smokes and doesn't kill the bees people use it. -- Gordon Scott Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk 100332,3310 on CompuServe Newsletter Beekeeper@apis.demon.co.uk ditto Beekeeper, Kendo Sandan, sometime sailor. Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 5HP, UK Pain lasts but a moment, it is the fear of pain that deadens the heart. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 23:47:35 PDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Sharon Collman Organization: WSU CAHE USER Subject: Re: Margosan-O In-Reply-To: Message of Tue, 4 Oct 1994 11:13:50 +1000 from Margosan-O is a product of the Neem tree. It is a pesticide and should be used as instructed on the label. It is still being tested here for outdoor pests. I don't know if it is labeled for use in bee colonies. I will try to get better info, unless someone answers before I find out. SHARON J. COLLMAN W.S.U. COOPERATIVE EXTENSION URBAN IPM RESOURCE CENTER @ CENTER FOR URBAN HORTICULTURE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON GF-15 SEATTLE, WA 98195 PHONE: 206-543-8616 E-MAIL COLLMANS@WSUVM1.CSC.WSU.EDU ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 11:25:00 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: Wintering reserve queens, minicolonies In-Reply-To: <9410041558.AA14446@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> > I don't know if this would work in weather as severe as you have, or if >you have other bees. Most years I winter over a bunch of late nucs (to save >the young queens) on a double screen over strong hives. >The successful life of small colonies is thanks to a bit new approache in >hive construction, and I would like to know, if the possibility of >wintering selfstanding units as large as (or even less than) a pound of >bees for the cost of 5 - 6 kg sugar stores would be desired in spite of >the fact that they would have to be keept in special hives. Here in Western Canada (minus 40C occasionally), it won't even nearly work oudoors. Some extensive experiments have been done, but I don't know the results indoors. The research exists, I don't know where to find it off the top of my head. Alberta, BC, and Manitoba have all worked on it, but it has not become a widespread practice. An approach that has been sucessful is to make fall splits into single and winter the two halves indoors. Extensive information on ideal indoor wintering buildings for up to thousands of hives are available and indoor wintering is widely practiced in the west. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 14:39:20 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: GARY _ FREITAG unsubscribe (Gary Freitag) Aggf.tundra.alaska.edu ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 16:31:04 PDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jane Beckman Subject: Re: wintering bees Hmm, regarding empty supers and heat, here's one I've been known to do on the opposite end. I had a hive that was getting a lot of bees hanging out on the front of the hive during very hot weather (enough that my first thought when I saw them was "oh no, a swarm!") and realized it had a lot to do with hive temperature, as they would only do this when it was VERY HOT and still weather. So I put an empty shallow super on the top of the hive (no frames) as a heat trap. Voila! No more clustering on the front of the hive. Yes, I took it off at the onset of cooler weather. Jane B. [jane@swdc.stratus.com] ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 15:07:00 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Paul van Westendorp 576-5600 Fax: 576-5652" Subject: Re: Honey color question from newbie Allan Dick, When I was in Alberta, occasionally people claimed to have honeydew but I have always questioned it. I do not think that the conditions in central Alberta would ever be conducive to a significant honeydew 'flow'. You should consider the fact that most often, the honeydew flow is a secondary alternative to the bees and they would only be attracted to it during a dearth period (of floral sources). Generally, you do not experience those conditions in Alberta and certainly not this year. Also, only some honeydews are of notable quality, while many if not most turn out dark with peculiar flavors. I think much of the popularity of honeydew stems from its "exotic" origin rather than the quality of the product. If your 20 drums of 85 mm honey is of high quality, it is more likely that your bees accessed a floral source. Paul van Westendorp PVANWESTEN@galaxy.gov.bc.ca Provincial Apiculturist British Columbia ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 23:45:33 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jean-Pierre Chapleau <73642.244@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Wintering reserve queens < I find how to overwinter small colony with about 3 - 4 thous. bees and Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jean-Marie Van Dyck Subject: High Quality Honey ? On Tue 4 Oct 1994, Paul van Westendorp wrote ---[cut] > honeydew stems from its "exotic" origin rather than the quality of the > product. If your 20 drums of 85 mm honey is of high quality, it is more > likely that your bees accessed a floral source. Hi Paul ! What do you mean with "honey of high quality" ? Do you mean objective (some analysis? water contents, sugars, HMF etc.) or subjective (huum ... it's good - and I like(love) it !) quality criterions ? Jean-Marie ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 08:10:38 PDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adrian Wenner Subject: Re: Honeydew >On Tue 4 Oct 1994, Paul van Westendorp wrote > >---[cut] >> honeydew stems from its "exotic" origin rather than the quality of the >> product. If your 20 drums of 85 mm honey is of high quality, it is more >> likely that your bees accessed a floral source. > In Northern California we regularly tried to get honeydew in the fall. As I recall, the sweetness in aphid secretions, etc. are nearly due to glucose, a substance honey bees show little interest in. (In an ancient copy of ABC and XYZ of Beekeeping I once read, "Do not try to feed glucose to bees; glucose is death to bees!" If one has bees visiting a feeding dish containing sucrose solution and then suddenly switches to a glucose solution, foraging may cease.) At times it was frustrating to find the leaves on trees and vegetation on the ground glassy smooth with a coating of honeydew from the insects in the trees above and find honey bees from nearby colonies ignoring this abundant sugar source. To counter that problem, we tried to move colonies into an area BEFORE the honeydew became abundant (a bit risky, in case the honeydew never materialized), because hives would then gradually switch over to honeydew as other sources dried up. Honeydew honey can be recognized fairly readily by its "stringiness" (cohesiveness) compared to regular honey -- extracting can then be fairly tedious. Adrian *************************************************************** * Adrian Wenner E-Mail wenner@lifesci.lscf.ucsb.edu * * Department of Biology Office Phone (805) 893-2838 * * University of California Lab Phone (805) 893-2838 * * Santa Barbara, CA 93106 FAX (805) 893-4724 * *************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 11:32:58 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jean-Pierre Chapleau <73642.244@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Queen rearing schedule On Sept. 28 Allen Dick wrote: Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jane Power Subject: Re: wintering bees Jane two here: I have done this exact thing. The bees hang out on the front of the hive (it is quite dramatic and I too thought the little darlings were about to leave) on days when it was hot and humid. The empty super does the trick. I have also staggered the boxes a bit and this also seems to help. Jane Power thepowerthatbees ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 09:40:00 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Paul van Westendorp 576-5600 Fax: 576-5652" Subject: Re: High Quality Honey ? Jean Marie van Dyck, My response to Allan Dick's speculation on the origin of his 20 drums or so, was strictly subjective as it pertained to quality. An 85 mm reading suggests a pretty dark material (amber, i think) but that would not have any bearing on the quality. Most floral sources in the Canadian prairies produce light colored honeys. However, during my years in Alberta I can not recall ever having seen honeydew as a distinct honey. Floral forage is generally in such great abundance during the short summer that honeydew trees (if any would be around) would not be sufficiently attractive to the bees. Alberta produces between 20 and 25 million pounds of honey annually, approximately 1/3 of Canada's total. The northern parts in particular (including the Peace River region extending into northeastern British Columbia) are considered among the best honey producing areas in the world. This year many of these producers are reporting an average yield of 300 lbs and higher per colony! In any event, I merely speculated that Allan Dick's 20 drums are not honeydew, but I can be proven wrong. It would be most interesting to learn what it is! regards, Paul van Westendorp PVANWESTEN@galaxy.gov.bc.ca Provincial Apiculturist British Columbia ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 18:54:02 GMT Reply-To: Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Gordon Scott Subject: Re: observation hives The other day when I mailed on this I said about marking thousands of bees to trace their return (and suggested black & yellow strains of bees). I have just seen a photograph of a good proportion of the 4000 bees that are (were, I guess) being used to study swarming behaviour at Cornell University. All 4000 individually paint marked and numbered. Very pretty they all looked too. I gather they stuck the whole lot in the refrigerator to numb them and the set about with pots of coloured paint and numbered queen labels. I gather that as the bees warm up they get a bit tetchy. -- Gordon Scott Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk 100332,3310 on CompuServe Newsletter Beekeeper@apis.demon.co.uk ditto Beekeeper, Kendo Sandan, sometime sailor. Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 5HP, UK Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. (So do wasps -- and they like fruit flies too!). ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 09:15:44 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Hugo Veerkamp Subject: My selection program On September 28th, Allen Dick wrote: Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Sharon Collman Organization: WSU CAHE USER Subject: Re: Honey color question from newbie In-Reply-To: Message of Mon, 3 Oct 1994 11:38:05 -0700 from Honeydew is produced by aphids, and other sucking insects such as whitefly, leafhopper, scales and psylla. They can infest any tree or shrub, or plant. It is merely the excess sugars that the insect has extracted other nutrients that it needs from and expelled the rest. The black color may be due to contamination by sooty mold, since honeydew itself is clear (unless it changes in the bee). Sooty mold is a fungus that uses the sugars for it's own development. I don't think it is in any way toxic, but then I don't know if the question ever came up before. How does the honey taste? You can call it Dark Aphid Honey Although I suppose with label requirements you would need to confirm that aphids were indeed the source. Easier would be to call it Homoptera Honey. That covers all the little suckers. Or Honey Homopterous. Most people wouldn't know what a homoptera is. Those that do might enjoy the experience. And it certainly could be featured next year if we repeat the Insects as Food section of the People and Insects seminar we just completed. For these special markets a few aphids might make it even more appealing - like the worm in tequila. You better check with FDA though. I am partly talking tongue in cheek and partly serious. After all we just ate cricket bridge mix, mealworms in Pesolo, and maggot muffins. Quite good though weird I am sure, if you didn't get the whole lecture on insects as a protein source first. And I know that I've seen canned honeybee larvae. A but i have digressed. Happy honey harvest. SHARON J. COLLMAN W.S.U. COOPERATIVE EXTENSION URBAN IPM RESOURCE CENTER @ CENTER FOR URBAN HORTICULTURE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON GF-15 SEATTLE, WA 98195 PHONE: 206-543-8616 E-MAIL COLLMANS@WSUVM1.CSC.WSU.EDU ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 16:49:26 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Mick Youther Subject: mites and african bees? Do the tracheal and varolla mites affect the invading african bees in the same way they affect our domesticated and feral honey bees? Mick Youther ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 16:33:07 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: Queen rearing schedule In-Reply-To: <9410061454.AA42339@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA On Wed, 5 Oct 1994, Jean-Pierre Chapleau wrote: > On Sept. 28 Allen Dick wrote: > > <92F. I measure 95.5F +/- 0.5F. I've heard rumors that some breeders > > Hatching of the cells could be retarded by controlling the temperature of the > incubator. I have retarded cells for as long as 4 days and still most of them > hatch. Nevertheless this is not a recommandable practice. The longer the cel ls > are retarded, the lower the acceptance in the colonies you introduce them to. > Even celll introduced on the 12th day after grafting give significantly worst > results than cell introduced on the 11th. The schedule I prefer is the > following: graft on day 0 from 12 h larvae, pull the cells from the cell > builders on day 10 ans keep them in an incubator overnight at 85-87 degrees Why 85-87 degrees rather than hive temperature, 92-95? To slow them down? > Fahrenheit, introduce them in the colonies on day 11. You can pull them and > introduce them on day 10 also but the cells are a little more fragile then and > more suceptible to be affected by the cold or heat and by shocks. I'm curious at what stages the temperature is most critical. I've talked to the local chicken hatchery (I bought an incubator from them that we use to hold cells once capped). They say for chickens a half degree will have a big effect on hatch time and viability. We have had problems toting cells to out yards, even with an incubator. Heat has been a problem as often as chilling. I've decided that a nuc is the only reliable answer. What do you use? We often only use a cell or two in a yard, and have other work to do there, so wind up carrying queen cells around all day. Just looking at emerging virgins, it appears to me that those which have been held at the lower end of the acceptable temperature range do not have as much obvious vigour - initially anyhow. By the way, we put the cells into protectors (JayZee BeeZee as soon as capped if we are handling them, and often hold them in an incubator all week til insertion time. The protectors provide for errant queens in the holding hive or incubator and also later help us to rudely stick a cell into hives that have not been prepared to accept them. Another beekeeper has settled on '3 day cells' for his splits. He says they travel well at that stage. I am reluctant to have hives queenless as long as that implies, though. I don't know if you've addressed any more responses to me lately, but our Interent connection is really flaky lately, and could be for a little longer. I should get the latest log from the listserv and see if I've missed much. If you are on Compu$erve, you might find my post under 'Logs on disk' useful. Cheers Allen ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 16:52:34 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Logs on disk Those on services that charge for data at high prices might appreciate knowing that I pulled in all the monthly logs for this list from the listserv and zipped them. They comprise the entire contents (in monthly files) of this list since Jan 1993. They are in a plain text file that can be searched by keyword on (almost) any text editor. (Imagine that) They amount to 1.3 megs and fit nicely on one 3.5 inch disk. Unzipped they take about 3 disks. I have some FAQs and HINTs on disk too for those who find them out of reach. If anyone is interested in obtaining this on disk or downloading all or part with a fast modem over the phone lines, email me to make arrangements. Of course I wouldn't charge, although repayment for medai and postage would be appreciated. As far as I know this is in the public domain and can be freely copied and disseminated. If not I would appreciate being so advised. I hope I'm not out of line here. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 17:00:01 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Testing for mites Being the basically lazy person that I am, it hit me the other day that maybe instead of driving all over the country to sample bees from hives, that the answer is right in front of me! The bees on the windows of my hot room are a random sample from all over my outfit. Can anyone think of a good reason that they should not be used? If there is any acarine anywhere, it should show up there, I think, but what about varroa - which is getting closer and closer, I hear. And (part B) how many should I have sampled by slicing, and by rolling? (They will have come from 1500 hives more or less.) Comments and advice will be much appreciated. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 19:01:05 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Blake Bolt S UBSCRIB Bee-l Blake Bolt ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 7 Oct 1994 00:28:35 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter" Subject: Varroa on window bees >W. Allen Dick writes of possibility of checking bees on honey house window for mites. If your eyesight is good, and you have good light, you can see varroas on adult bees. You can train your eye, just as in finding queens. The smooth shiny brown color stands out against the fuzzyness of the bees Varroa prefers brood, but there are always a few on adults too. When I find a wild hive, if I can get to the entrance, I like to check the adults. I've seen workers return to the hive with a varroa piggybacking, apparently having ridden the whole distance. -Works best in sunshine. Pollinator@aol.com Dave Green ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 7 Oct 1994 00:53:01 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: High Quality Honey ? In-Reply-To: <9410070108.AA46960@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> Well it seems they are honey all right. We ahd wondered if they were from aphids on alfalfa, but that is pretty well ruled out, now. The preliminary results are in and it seems that canola type and clover are predominating, with a couple of unknowns coming in around 10%. The honey is good - in blind tests, it was confused with a white honey used for comparison! The honey was produced between September 8th and 20th, at a rate of about 50 pounds per hive! *We* didn't get 300 pounds per hive, but we are smiling anyhow. More on this when I hear. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA On Wed, 5 Oct 1994, Paul van Westendorp 576-5600 Fax: 576-5652 wrote: > Jean Marie van Dyck, > > My response to Allan Dick's speculation on the origin of his 20 drums or s o, > was strictly subjective as it pertained to quality. An 85 mm reading > suggests a pretty dark material (amber, i think) but that would not have a ny > bearing on the quality. > This year many of these producers are reporting an average yield of 300 lb s > and higher per colony! ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 7 Oct 1994 07:24:55 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Diana Sammataro Subject: Re: Testing for mites In-Reply-To: <199410062312.TAA15744@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu> from "Allen Dick 546-2588" at Oct 6, 94 05:00:01 pm W. Allen Dick writes: > The bees on the windows of my hot room are a random sample from all over my > outfit. > > Can anyone think of a good reason that they should not be used? BASICALLY, THIS IS A GOOD IDEA FOR SEVERAL REASONS, FORAGERS LATE IN THE YEAR IF THEY HAVE TRACHEAL MITES WILL BE AT THEIR HIGHEST INFESTATION WHEN YOU PULL OFF HONEY. THE ONLY BAD REASON IS YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO TELL WHICH YARD THEY WERE FROM > And (part B) how many should I have sampled by slicing, and by rolling? > (They will have come from 1500 hives more or less.) DON'T SLICE FOR HEAVENS SAKE. PUT THEM ALL IN THE FREEZER IN A GLASS JAR, THEN IF YOU MUST, YOU CAN DO THE ROLL IN A DAY SINCE VARROA WILL STICK TO THE WET SIDES OF THE GLASS. YOU CAN PULL OFF THE HEAD AND FIRST PAIR OF LEGS IN ONE PULL AND WITH A REASONABLE MICROSCOPE OR EVEN A GOOD LENS, LOOK DOWN THE THORACIC TRUNK AND SEE THE TWO MAIN TRACHEAL TUBES. IF WHITE AND PEARLY, NO TMITES, IF CLOUDY AND/OR DARK, YOU HAVE MITES. I wrote this up in an article in Bee Culture magazine, which you can request by emailing bculture@aol.com. ALos, my research is on Tmites and oil patties which just came out in J. of Economic Entomology. If you would like a reprint, please let me know and I can send one out. DIana Sammataro Ohio State Univeristy ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 7 Oct 1994 09:43:32 -0400 Reply-To: adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adam Finkelstein Subject: sci.agriculture.beekeeping newsgroup (intro) Hello, for anyone receiving mail from bee-l there is also a USENET beekeeping newsgroup: sci.agriculture.beekeeping To read this group, you must have newsreading software and a USENET connection on your system. Adam -- =========================================================================== Adam Finkelstein adamf@hopper.itc.virginia.edu adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu =============================================== |Bees To Please| ======= ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 7 Oct 1994 09:45:52 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: PRETE@CC.DENISON.EDU Dear Colleague: I am currently editing what will be a seminal text on the biology and behavior of the praying mantids (co-editors, Harrington Wells, Dept. of Biology at The University of Tulsa and Pat Wells, Dept. of Biology at Occidental College). Chapters are being written by an international group of experts. At the end of the book there will be a series of technical essays (5-8 pages each) dealing with topics from rearing to histology. I am interested in having one such essay written by a high school or junior college biology teacher who has used these animals in the class room. Ideally the essay would discuss class projects, lab assignments, experiments, etc. for which the insect has been successfully used. Any help that you can give me in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Frederick Prete, Dept. Psychology, Denison University, Granville OH 43023;614 587-6675; e-mail: Prete@cc.Denison.edu. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 8 Oct 1994 07:13:07 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: Logs on disk (fwd) W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 8 Oct 1994 07:09:23 -0600 (MDT) From: Allen Dick 546-2588 To: ANDY NACHBAUR Subject: Re: Logs on disk I just tried your BBeeS and couldn't get on at any better than 7200. Your system reported 9600. It was dropping out on me too, so I had to leave. Will try again later - maybe I'll grt a better line. You are right - I tried an attachment for another fellow and it was refused by his provider - their limit is 600,000 bytes. Will break it down into four chunks or so. You realise anyone can get the logs from the listserv - It's just a little slow, because it has a limit on how much it will send you in any 7 hour period of time. It also answers when it feels like it. The log shows up with your regular mail any time from a few minutes to hours later. I just send an ordinary mail message to the listserv (not the list) saying only: GET BEE-L LOG9410 The listserve address is LISTSERV@uacsc2.albany.edu The above example is for the current one (94=year, 10=Oct). It has the latest posts. I missed some mail due to system crashes at my provider and this is the only way, for example, that I found out that Jean-Pierre had answered my previous post about queen rearing. Actually I should post some of this to the list, because I think many don't realise how easy it is. It's in the FAQ, but it's hard to read and understand. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA On Sat, 8 Oct 1994, ANDY NACHBAUR wrote: > Subject: Re: Logs on disk > > > > Andy, I can attach the file to email, if your provider will accept > messages of 1.35 megabytes in size and not charge you too much. > > I have it on my UNIX host now. I will be away for two days (probably). > > > > Hi Allen, > > I think it would be better if you could break it down into > two or three files, but if you want to try it I am ready. I do get > file attachments all the time and most do ok, but not all. > > ttul Andy- > ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 8 Oct 1994 07:34:33 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Logs on disk Having gone this far, I'd better explain a few more things about getting the logs of previous months from the LISTSERV (it seems to be widely misunderstood): Leave your signature off messages to the LISTSERV it doesn't understand them and complains - even though it does what you ask, anyhow. You can ask for more than one log at a time, but limit yourself to 5 or so, or else it will. Available range is 9301 - 9312 and 9410 - 9410 (9410 is incomplete -in progress) Log sizes range from about 150,000 to almost 400,000 bytes. If it matters to you (say you have to pay Compu$erve by the byte), email me and I'll look it up for you - or send you a disk wityh the complete set, or send by modem as originally mentioned. I can also send them to you as an attachment to email, but it occurs to me that unless you need them zipped for economy sake, the LISTSERV is always sitting there waiting to serve you. Any questions? Email me (not the list) at dicka@cuug.ab.ca W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 9 Oct 1994 13:02:00 +1300 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: NICKW@WAIKATO.AC.NZ Subject: American foulbrood... I'll add a New Zealand perspective to the discussions re: use of drugs to control/treat AFB. >> Just one more, from the same sourse as the other two...."The >> incidence of AFB in most states of Australia, where destruction is >> the only permitted treatment, is much lower than in countries where >> drug treatment is generally used. For example, 5% incidence of the >> disease is considered acceptable in many parts of the Uited States, >> compared with a normal incidence of less than 1% in victoria" (quoted >> earlier as 0.75%) >Now what does this mean? Where the disease is not stigmatized, people are >more likely to call their inspector. Where it is a death sentence, >people hide it and treat it secretly - as you mention. I don't think it would be correct to call our attitude to disease control 'stigmatizing' either the disease or the beekeeper who discovers it. Beekeepers who do not take appropriate steps to deal with a problem receive peer pressure (!) and regulatory pressure. I presume that would be the case in a country that feeds drugs for control as well. The 'hiding it and treating it secretly' would probably have come about because what the beekeeper was doing was illegal. In NZ beekeepers will speak reasonably openly about how many cases of disease have been found in their outfits. They will do so especially to share in the information pool to identify areas where someone is not doing the right thing, or where there might be a feral source of infection. While there is certainly ease in not having to inspect and destroy AFB as we handle it, as a nation of beekeepers we are fairly united in our approach. We feel that in the long term it offers us a better solution and a competitive advantage. We are not rabid about it, recognising that if ever the situation was different, we could still make the change to feed drugs. The converse is not true - once you've chosen to feed drugs I don't think it would be feasible stop. We are currently working through the process of deciding how we might actually eliminate AFB entirely. Should we manage to do that (a big 'if') we would have an operational and economic advantage. So long as we have that as a reasonable possibility, we will continue to control AFB without drugs. --------------------------------------------------- Nick Wallingford President, National Beekeepers Assn of New Zealand Internet nickw@waikato.ac.nz --------------------------------------------------- ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 9 Oct 1994 15:52:59 +1200 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Stephen Ogden Subject: Apiculture Specialist Required Hi I will soon be leaving my position as an "apiculture specialist" with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in New Zealand, and we are trying to find a replacement as soon as possible. Anyone interested in living in New Zealand and working with the beekeeping industry in a Government position, please read on... APICULTURE SERVICES MANAGER MAF QUALITY MANAGEMENT LINCOLN, NEW ZEALAND Our apiculture team in the South Island of New Zealand requires a highly motivated person to contribute to and provide leadership in the delivery of services for the beekeeping industry. This person will have advanced skills in apiculture: particularly disease and pest management and apiary management. Skills in consultancy, project management and team leadership are also required. Experience in international consultancy is desirable. MAF Quality Management is a division of the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), and leads in providing pest management and consultancy services to the beekeeping industry on contract to government and industry clients. The position is based at Lincoln, near Christchurch. Position Description and Person Specification are available on request from Adele King, Administration Officer, MAF Quality Management, P O Box 24, Lincoln, New Zealand. Phone (64) 3325-3900, fax (64) 33253919. INTERNET: KINGA@LINCOLN.MAFQUAL.GOVT.NZ (if replying on internet, please remember to send direct to Adele, not to BEE-L) I hope my posting this to BEE-L does not upset anyone, but this is only way that I can get this message to the relevant audience within a reasonable period of time. The number of "apiculture specialists" around the world is fairly small, but their diverse locations makes contact difficult by conventional means. My apologies in advance to anyone who considers this an inappropriate use of the board. Regards Stephen Ogden ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 08:34:05 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Vladimir Ptacek Subject: Re: Varroa on window bees We in Czech republic have varroa mites for more than ten years. And according to the general experience if mites can be seen on adult bees than the degree of infestation in the colony is very high. The disease might be in its thirth year allready and the colony near its death. The sooner a beekeeper knows that mites have arrived the better possibilities to controle them. Relatively simple methods have been developed here to check an apiary for the presence of mites. Special paper stripes for fumigation the colonies or plates for evaporation of formic acid have been used. Several preparations are available here which allow to treat colonies using the lowest possible amount of chemicals thus ensuring the high quality of honey, and excluding possibilities of resistence development. Vladimir Ptacek (ptacek@sci.muni.cz) Fac.Sci., Masaryk Univ., 611 37 Brno, Czech Rep. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 10:03:35 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Vladimir Ptacek Subject: Re: Varroa on window bees Since I was a bit in a time stress I fergot to explain in my last message that when checking colonies for presence of mites using fumigants dead mites can be collected a half day later (in the morning) on a sheat inserted under the cluster through the hive bottom entrance. From the view point of manipulation the larger space between the bottom and the frame bars is an advantage. Thanking for appology, Vladimir Ptacek ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 11:57:53 +0100 Reply-To: IBRA@cardiff.ac.uk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Dr Pamela Munn Subject: no subject (file transmission) B.MAIL Welcome to B.mail, the monthly newsletter on issues and events in the bee world. It's provided by IBRA, the world information service for bee science and beekeeping. B.mail will announce meetings and new publications that are of interest to scientists and beekeepers, as well as reporting current events and discussing topics that are relevant at the moment. Send your news to us; we can't guarantee to use it, but it will help to keep this spot topical. (Our contacts are at the end of this newsletter). What B.mail is not is another bulletin board, for people to chat and air their views. It is simply a reference point, with sources of further information identified for those who want to know more. This edition looks at the issue of bee conservation, especially in temperate areas where the agriculture is intensive. CONSERVING BEES Conservation of bee diversity is a topic being increasingly discussed by biologists. The many thousands of bee species have an important role in conserving native flora, and a number are currently or potentially important as crop pollinators. In Europe this debate has special importance, because of the intensification of agriculture and the competing demands for conservation of wildlife and habitats. Unfortunately the European Commission hasn't yet recognised the importance of bee in protecting wildlife and habitats, though the thousands of bee species - we're not talking only of honey bees - are an important part of Europe's insect fauna, and through pollination of wild plants are vital in conserving floral communities. To focus discussion on this issue IBRA and the Linnean Society of London are holding a joint scientific symposium called 'Conserving Europe's bees'. This two-day scientific meeting will concentrate on bee conservation in Europe, and the Mediterranean basin, but will also consider the Americas and other areas - especially where the honey bee is an introduced species. 'Conserving Europe's bees' will comprise four sessions of invited papers, plus contributed posters, with opportunities for discussions and displays of equipment. It will be held in London on 6-7 April 1995. A good line-up of speakers is planned, and fees will be modest. All are welcome to attend. Habitats for bees Convenor: Dr Paul Westrich, Institut f|r Wildbienenkunde, T|bingen, Germany. * Changing land use and the habitat requirements of our native bees. * The risk that potential crop pollinators will be lost before we have had a chance to exploit their potential. * The effects of habitat fragmentation on the pollination dynamics of native floras and their pollinators * The development of integrated conservation policies catering for the habitat requirements of bees. Grappling with bee diversity Convenor: Christopher O'Toole, Hope Entomological Collections, University Museum, Oxford, UK. * Co-evolution of native bee faunas and floras as key factors in the functional ecology of regional biotas. * The importance of appreciating the diversity of native bees, their nesting biologies and floral relations, for understanding the conservation needs of threatened habitats. * Shortfalls in the taxonomic knowledge of bees in Europe and the Mediterranean basin Do plants need bees? Convenor: Professor Ingrid Williams, Institute of Arable Crops Research, Rothamsted Experimental Station, UK. * Why bees are essential to sustainable agricultural production, nature conservation and environmental protection. * Which food, fodder and pharmaceutical crops grown in the field or glasshouse need bees, and the importance of bees in plant breeding, variety development, hybrid and ornamental seed production. * Whether optimum pollination is dependent on maintaining bee diversity. Competition in bee-plant and bee-bee interactions Convenor: Dr Stephen Buchmann, USDA - Agricultural Research Service, Tucson, Arizona. * The effects of introduced bee species on the native flora and bee fauna of several continents. * Honey bees as competitors with nectarivorous birds, and the worth of excluding honey bees from conservation zones. * How competition amongst bees can be demonstrated, and the nature of competition among and within flowering species for bees as pollen vectors. For further information contact: Conserving Europe's bees, The Linnean Society of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London WIV 0LQ, United Kingdom Fax: (+44) 171-287-9364; e.mail: john@linnean.demon.co.uk MORE ON BEE CONSERVATION For a long time agricultural land has been growing increasingly hostile to bees. Farming has become more intensive, with fewer 'weeds' and other varied food sources available to bees. Farmers 'tidying up' land have destroyed nesting places for many species of bees that live in the wild: these bees are important for maintaining wild flora, but many are becoming useful for pollinating valuable crops. But current changes in agricultural practice are not all bad. There now is a valuable opportunity to reverse this trend available to beekeepers and others interested in bee conservation. Huge areas of land are being taken out of agricultural production, as many countries, especially in Europe and North America, tackle their overproduction of food. What is going to happen to that land? How can it be used in a way that will benefit bees - both to conserve wild bee populations and assist beekeeping? 'Forage for bees in an agricultural landscape' provides practical answers to these questions. This volume presents a succession of themes relating to bee conservation, firstly looking at the present state of British and European agricultural policy, especially programmes to take land out of production. It then looks at how changes in land use over the past 45-50 years have affected the nectar and pollen sources available to bees in Britain, and at the results of a current survey of nectar sources used by honey bees. A very important part of the debate on managing land with bees in mind involves the conservation of 'wild' or solitary (non-Apis) bees. The threatened status of many wild bee species discussed in this volume is a concern for the conservation of biodiversity. But it is also an issue for commercial agriculture: Some of these bees are important pollinators of crop plants. Bumble bees are another group of non-Apis bees of considerable interest for managed pollination, and the work of a team of UK researchers is reported in this volume. IBRA has acted to stimulate discussion on these vital issues. It is important that beekeepers and bee scientists are aware of the need to work for bee conservation, and of the opportunities that have been created by current agricultural policies. Agriculture industry professionals must also consider, and adopt, land management strategies that will promote the availability of habitats and food sources for bees. Forage for bees in an agricultural landscape, edited by Andrew Matheson and available from the publishers, IBRA (address at the end of this B.mail). NEW ADDRESSES The UK is undergoing a major change in telephone numbers. From 1 August 1994 IBRA's telephone and fax numbers changed because the dialling code (area code) for Cardiff is now 1222 instead of 222. So to keep in touch you will need to dial the international access code for your country (for example 00), then: 44-1222-665522 (fax), and 44-1222- 372409 (telephone). Note also that IBRA's e.mail address is now: ibra@cardiff.ac.uk. NEXT ISSUE Watch out for the next B.mail on E.mail, at the beginning of November. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 8 Oct 1994 21:46:49 GMT Reply-To: Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Gordon Scott Subject: Re: mites and african bees? In message <9410062318.aa11126@gate.demon.co.uk> BEE-L%ALBNYVM1.BITNET@ubvm.cc. buffalo.edu writes: > Do the tracheal and varolla mites affect the invading african bees > in the same way they affect our domesticated and feral honey bees? > Mick Youther My limited knowledge here suggests that all the Apis Mellifera subspecies will be affected much the same because their body structures, life cycles and so on are all pretty much the same. As far as I am aware there are only a very few Apis Mellifera colonies in the world that are showing any resistance at all to Varroa and I haven't heard of any particular advantage (or disadvantage) that the Africanised varieties might have. I believe that the main resistance factor for tracheal mites is essentially mechanical because the mites can only infest a bee during the first few days of its life when its tracheal hairs are still pliable. I am led to understand that bees whose tracheal hairs are stiffer at emergence, or stiffen up more quickly after emergence, are more resistant simply because the mites can't get in. Anyone have any further info? -- Gordon Scott Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk 100332,3310 on CompuServe Newsletter Beekeeper@apis.demon.co.uk ditto Beekeeper, Kendo Sandan, sometime sailor. Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 5HP, UK He is truly wise who gains wisdom from another's mishap. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 8 Oct 1994 22:03:32 GMT Reply-To: Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Gordon Scott Subject: Re: Absconding In message <9410021604.aa22938@post.demon.co.uk> sids@cks.ssd.k12.wa.us writes: Hi, Just a thought I had when re-reading your 'Bees Absconding' posting. I made up some nucs this year to bring on new queens ready for next year. I used to introduce using cages but decided to be extra cautious this year and unite queen-right nucs. I've had my worst new queen losses ever because wasps robbed the nucs bare -- one nuc contained just the queen and a single worker when I opened it. I guess if your problem was the same you would probably have noticed, but then again... Just a thought, regards, -- Gordon Scott Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk 100332,3310 on CompuServe Newsletter Beekeeper@apis.demon.co.uk ditto Beekeeper, Kendo Sandan, sometime sailor. Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 5HP, UK He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 11:18:38 CST6CDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: BLANE WHITE Organization: Minnesota Dept of Agriculture Subject: inspector jobs I just got a fax of this and was asked to get the word out via internet if I could. I don't know if they have an email address as none was given in the copy I was sent. The orginal add was sent to the American Bee Journal but would not be published until the November issue. Hope this does not offend anyone. blane Central Science Laboratory Regional Bee Inspectors in the U.K. We currently have 6 home based vacancies arising for Regional Bee Inspectors who will be managed and supported from the National Bee Unit at Luddington, Warwickshire, U.K.. The principle role of the Regional Bee Inspector will be the planning, organization and supervision of a statutory bee health inspection program in a defined region, including the recruitment, training, and assessment of seasonal Bee Officers as required. Initially, these posts will be offered as fixed term contracts for three years. Applicants will demonstrate a strong background in practical beekeeping, be good communicators and be qualified to degree level in a relevant scientific subject. For further details of an application form, please contact Lynn Bucknell at Central Science Laboratory, london Road, Slough, Berks, SL3 7HJ, United Kingdom or telephone direct at 011-44-534626 extension 302. Completed applications should be retruned by 18 November 1994. ****************************************** Blane White State Apiary Inspector Minnesota Department of Agriculture Division of Plant Protection 90 W Plato Blvd St Paul, MN 55107 ph 612-296-0591 fax 612-296-7386 bwhite@mda-is.mda.state.mn.us ******************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 09:28:00 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Kerry Clark 784-2225 fax (604) 784 2299" Subject: Re: mites and african bees? I don't have any experience with African honey bees and mites, but in the absence of a response from someone who does: Varroa has a lower rate of reproduction in races (such as the African types) which have a shorter capped brood period (number of days between when the bee larval cell is capped, and when the adult emerges). In South America, there have also been reports of higher than typical non-reproducing varroa (non-viable eggs) which might be related to the climate or to the host bee. My impression (perhaps one of the contributors from S America could comment) is that varroa in S America is widespread but does not result in colony collapse, as it does in temperate areas. Some of that "resistance" may change in the North American environment. Based on their shorter lives, African honey bee might also tend to have resistance to tracheal mites (although I don't remember any research to confirm this), resulting in a lower mite reproduction similar to what occurs with European races in a strong honeyflow (short-lived bees don't provide an environment for tracheal mites to reproduce very well). As Africanized bees reach their temperate limit, however, they may get longer lives (more time in the hive waiting for the weather to improve) and this effect would decrease. Regarding the resistence mechanisms of bees to tracheal mites, the spiracle-fringe hair hypothesis was not supported by experiments many years ago. There is more recent evidence of a host age perception (by mites) based on chemical differences of newly-emerged bees, a likely resistence mechanism. There may be others, but whatever, it looks like the potential for tracheal mite resistance is not too deeply buried even in North American bees. 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, 12 Oct 1994 10:19:21 +0100 Reply-To: fmonaci@mailserver.idg.fi.cnr.it Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Fabio Monaci SUBSCRIBE Fabio Monaci ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 12 Oct 1994 12:56:17 GMT+2 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Robin Crewe Organization: University of the Witwatersrand Subject: (Fwd) Undelivered mail I am looking for a method of marking queen honeybees in their cells, so that they can be identified once they have emerged. The use of genetic markers such as cordovan is not possible and molecular techniques are too expensive and impractical in our experimental situation. We would like to find some simple chemical/dust that could be applied in the sealed cell and allow for identification on emergence. Does anyone have any suggestions?? Best wishes, --------------------------------------------------------------- Robin M Crewe Dean: Faculty of Science Dept of Zoology Phone 27-11-716-3167(W) Univ of the Witwatersrand 27-11-442-5469(H) Johannesburg FAX 27-11-339-3959 2050 South Africa e-mail robin@gecko.biol.wits.ac.za ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 12 Oct 1994 18:33:48 +0200 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jean-Marie Van Dyck Subject: marking queens before emergence? Hi Robin, 1/ I don't see the problem to mark queen after emergence, but to see the results of the queens war 2/ There is no problem to dissect gently a queen cell along the height (2 cuts from the top to the bottom, keep a piece of silk at the bottom for closing) mark gently on the body and close the cell. Tight with a small piece of parafilm while the bottom is free for emergence. Jean-Marie ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 12 Oct 1994 14:57:54 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: CHITTKA%SBBIOVM.bitnet@UACSC2.ALBANY.EDU Subject: Re: marking queens before emergence? In-Reply-To: Message of Wed, 12 Oct 1994 18:33:48 +0200 from Hi, i would like to indicate a change of my Email address. it is now CHITTKA@LIFE.BIO.SUNYSB.EDU best wishes, lars chittka ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 12 Oct 1994 15:33:00 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: JOHN HARBO Subject: Re: (Fwd) Undelivered mail Dear Robin, I have marked queens in their cells, but I have only marked queens that have shed their pupal skin (wings extended). Queens shed their pupal skins about 9 hours before emergence. It is easiest to get into the cell if you use wax queen cups. With a sharp knife, I nearly circumscribe the cell near the base. This is done at the base where the wax is thick and there is no coccon silk to cut through. A small section of was is left to serve as a hinge. The cell can thus be opened and if the wings are extended, the queen can be gently shaken from the cell, marked, and returned to the cell. and the cell can be reclosed. I usually use the plastic, numbered disks, but I suspect paint could also be used. Sincerely, John Harbo ARS-USDA Baton Rouge, LA JHARBO@ASRR.ARSUSDA.GOV ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 12 Oct 1994 17:41:00 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Casey Burns Organization: TSCNET Inc. d(206)692-2388 v(206)613-0708 Subject: Mystery - disappearing bees Got a mystery here.... After extracting I have pretty much ignored my bees - which were all doing very well until recently. Looked at my hives today - 2 of them were totally empty of bees - not even dead ones. Both colonies were formerly very strong, and have (still) ample stores - 80 or more pounds of honey and pollen in the brood nest, and they all produced well this summer (96 lbs/hive which is real good in western WA). The decline has occurred in 2 - 4 weeks! The wasps have been particularly bad and they try to get into the other 2 hives - at any one time there will be 4 or 5 wasps trying to get in. One of these hives still has a good population (in spite of being my weakest hive all season!) but the other has less - but still an ok population, I hope. I haven't opened them up yet to examine brood - that's my next step. Any one recognize these symptoms? Could the wasps be to blame? I find that unlikely since the stores were still intact. Yet the wasps have been thickest in memory. Another irony is that I hung wasp traps (Rescue) in front of the 2 hives that were lost. Any likely the bees were offended and left, or that more wasps were attracted to the hives? Do the bees up and leave for any reason? There haven't been any signs of Varroa in my apiary this summer, including examining the bees microscopically. There are no dead bees, except a few above the inner cover. None out front either. I didn't find any emergency queen cells - in fact, both hives were requeened during the honey flow with good queens that had excellent brood patterns. Cold this be a skunk problem? I have placed chicken wire in front of the enterences (6 - 8") of the 2 remaining hives in case that is the problem. However, skunks aren't all that common here and I see no evidence of scratch marks on the hive hodies. Any one have any ideas? Thanks! Casey Burns ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 13 Oct 1994 11:58:01 AEST+1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: Re: Mystery - disappearing bees > Any one recognize these symptoms? Could the wasps be to blame? I find > that unlikely since the stores were still intact. Yet the wasps have > been thickest in memory. Another irony is that I hung wasp traps > (Rescue) in front of the 2 hives that were lost. Any likely the bees > were offended and left, or that more wasps were attracted to the hives? Just guessing here, but if there is any insecticide associated wit hthe wasp traps, that may have scared the bees away. I once had a similar experience, where the entire swarm left, after a single comb that had come into contact with another that had had either kero or insecticide on it. Before this, it was a good strong healthy hive. I tried to put them back into the same box twice. It workd the third time, after I took out the offending comb. (I actualy saw them leave...) Could be right, could be way off. Adrian. ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 13 Oct 1994 08:25:33 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: (Fwd) Undelivered mail In-Reply-To: <9410131322.AA23127@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> > about 9 hours before emergence. It is easiest to get into the cell if > you use wax queen cups. With a sharp knife, I nearly circumscribe the cell JayZee BeeZee plastic cells are easy to open, even without a knife. A slight twist will separate them where the wax meets the plastic cup. A slight twisting pressure will also re-assemble them afterwards. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 13 Oct 1994 08:45:00 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Kerry Clark 784-2225 fax (604) 784 2299" Subject: Re: Mystery - disappearing bees I sounds like what happens with varroa. The confirmation would be to examine the remaining capped brood cells. If varroa was responsible for the problem, the mites will be present in the sealed cells. good luck 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: Thu, 13 Oct 1994 12:14:00 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Paul van Westendorp 576-5600 Fax: 576-5652" Subject: Re: Mystery - disappearing bees The disappearance is most often not a mystery, especially with what you described. You noted that the hive that was the weakest all season is now the strongest, while the others are gone. It sounds to me there is a healthy, thriving Varroa mite population (perhaps in addition to tracheal mites). Here in the sw BC we have been hearing beekeepers telling the same story. When there is relentless pressure of parasitism on the beebrood during the summer season, the rate of bee population replacement slows down, and the adults seem to be induced to seek other colonies. This exodus seems exponential over time and within a few the bee population collapses. The brood left behind has deteriorated rapidly and with some spotty appearance, one may be tempted to think of a bacterial disease. But, try to remove some of cappings and you may have the mites 'jumping' at you. A dissecting microscope is most helpful but a good magnifying glass will do the same. It appears that during the population collapse, adult bees use cues in selecting certain colonies, while others do not nearly receive equivalent numbers of bees. What these cues are, is not known. The sudden increase in population size most often causes the beekeeper to become complacent by thinking his/her colony is doing wonderful. Of course, a substantial number of the adults are infested with mites and the bee brood is being increasingly parasitized. Ultimately, these populated colonies will collapse also. We advise beekeepers not to use simple visual inspection of the bees as the only method to determine mite population. Frequent monitoring is key to effective control. These controls ought to be applied only after the level of mite infestation has been determined. We recommend an Apistan strip(s) for 24 hours and a sticky board as the most accurate detection method. I suggest you do the same and I suspect you may be startled at the number of mites present in you apparently healthy colony. Also, when you do find mites, you may wish to leave the strips in for the recommended 40+ days to bring the population down. In your part of Washington, where winter conditions are so mild that bees retain brood well into November and start up as early as mid/late January, the mites will proliferate along with the brood. So, make sure to bring the population down before winter. Good luck, Paul van Westendorp PVANWESTEN@galaxy.gov.bc.ca Provincial Apiculturist British Columbia ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 13 Oct 1994 20:24:40 ES Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jeffrey Young Subject: Honey Prices Hi All: I am a backyard beekeeper and pulled my first super of honey off this fall (I usually let the bees keep the honey). I have bottled up the honey in 12oz plastic bears and now am faced with the difficulty of knowing what the market price of honey (in 12oz bears). My honey has a very distinctive taste to it this year. Has a herby character. May be a result of the herb garden I put in this spring. All I know is the honey bees were working the flowers like made all summer. I'm now faced with more demand with supply. Coworkers and relatives are all over me wanted me to get them a honey bear. Guess it is time to consider a third hive next year. Any feedback or suggestions on what I should be asking for the 12oz bears of honey would be welcomed. Thanks, jeff Jeffrey_Young.lotus@crd.lotus.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 08:30:16 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: William G Lord Subject: bee venom -- William G Lord E-Mail : wglord@franklin Internet: wglord@franklin.ces.ncsu.edu Phone : 919-496-3344 Fax : 919-496-0222 ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 07:27:20 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Bee Sting Allergy - Not I'm not sure where the disagreement is, unless you are suggesting that a prolonged swelling is a sign of allergy. In that case, I beg to differ. The question of what constitutes an allergic reaction is subject to some misunderstanding. Even doctors (GP's) are somewhat unknowledgeable about it. We have a local GP who considers everyone (as far as I can tell) to be allergic to bees because they react by swelling. Swelling is a normal reaction to a venom injection, not an allergic reaction. I'm really concerned about the disinformation going the rounds. If everyone believes that a swelling is an allergy, we're not going to be able to hire any help. I personally am truly allergic to bees, as are many beekeepers. However I am, however, to a great extent immune to the stings. We will be digging up some old research that was sponsored by the Alberta Beekeepers and The Canadian Honey Council shortly and trying to get it out to the doctors and the public again. Very few doctors (including allergists) apparently know how simple it usually is to cure allergy to bee stings. There is too much to know these days! W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA On Fri, 14 Oct 1994, Mark Alexander wrote: > Sorry to disagree, I mostly get stung on the hands and/or wrist, > mostly bees getting into my gloves. Sometimes there is no reaction, > except for a mark where the skin was punctured, no allergic reaction. > Othertimes one sting on the hand can cause swelling that continues > for many hours. The last time this happened my arm was swollen upto > the elbow after 6 hours when I went to the doctor and had a steriod > (not an asteriod as I stated previously) shot. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 09:46:13 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adam Finkelstein Subject: Re: Bee Sting Allergy - Not In-Reply-To: <199410141330.JAA96477@ipe.cc.vt.edu> from "Allen Dick 546-2588" at Oct 14, 94 07:27:20 am Would someone or a few people collaborate and get bee sting allergy information into a neat FAQ so that these Frequently Asked Questions about bee stings, reactions, allergies etc, will be answered? sci.agriculture.beekeeping had a thread on this a few months back- maybe those people would whip up the allergy/venom FAQ? Colonies are slowing down here in Virginia, queens are laying their last flush of eggs, or have stopped on the tail end of a nice Aster flow. Adam -- =========================================================================== Adam Finkelstein adamf@hopper.itc.virginia.edu adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu =============================================== |Bees To Please| ======= ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 07:47:46 PDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adrian Wenner Subject: Re: Bee Sting Allergy - Not > Would someone or a few people collaborate and get bee sting allergy >information into a neat FAQ so that these Frequently Asked Questions >about bee stings, reactions, allergies etc, will be answered? > sci.agriculture.beekeeping had a thread on this a few months back- >maybe those people would whip up the allergy/venom FAQ? A remarkably complete account, "Allergy to Venomous Insects," written by Justin Schmidt, can be found as Chapter 27 in THE 1992 edition of THE HIVE AND THE HONEY BEE (Dadant & Sons). I do not believe Justin is on e-mail yet -- the USDA lab there seems to be sort of slow on this matter. Adrian *************************************************************** * Adrian Wenner E-Mail wenner@lifesci.lscf.ucsb.edu * * Department of Biology Office Phone (805) 893-2838 * * University of California Lab Phone (805) 893-2838 * * Santa Barbara, CA 93106 FAX (805) 893-4724 * *************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 09:47:54 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: Allergies associated with beekeeping In-Reply-To: <2E9E9D39@AKI.KU.DK> This is a reply to a message from a gentleman in Copenhagen, received by private email. I am posting because I believe it to be of general interest because of the higher than average incidence of bee associated allergies in the families of beekeepers: * * * * * * * * It will be a while before we get our act together. I'll be presenting a motion at the ABA meeting that the CHC act on it. The CHC will do so, the material will be dredged up and when I get it, I'll post it or mention its availability. I assume it shouldn't take more than a couple of months. * * * * * * * * I think this should also be of interest to those who work with bees often: There is a researcher working in Northern Alberta on the health effects of scraping frames with dead bees and the molds associated with dead bees in overwintering facilities. He just circulated a questionnaire to some of us larger commercial beekeepers. For the record, he is Dr. Henry Gauvreau at Box 197 Fairview, Alta., T0H 1L0 The researcher who did the allergy research on bees stings, I believe was a Dr. Day. I believe he was/is? from Winnipeg, if my memory serves me right. More on this as I get the info. . . W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA > I have the same expiriances. In about 7-10 minuttes I get running eyes > and nose, itching in my hands and a small amount of liquid in my lungs. > If I take an antihistamine-tablet before I go to the bees og just after i get > a sting, it is all over in an hour (mostly). ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 10:27:02 PDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jane Beckman Subject: Re: Bee Sting Allergy - Not A friend of mine was recently relieved to be told by her doctor (a new doctor) that she was NOT "allergic" to bees, that it was simply a topical reaction to the venom. She had been wanting to keep bees for twenty years, but had been stopped by her doctor telling her she had an "allergic" reaction to stings. Finally having ranchland for a bee yard, she asked her doctor if carrying a bee-sting kit would allow her to keep bees. After some questions on the original diagnosis of "allergic" (which dated back to her family doctor when she was a teenager), he told her she wasn't allergic at all. She just about jumped for joy! I recall reading somewhere, once, that bee venom is very close to rattlesnake venom, in its components. Anyone else encounter this? Does it have any basis? (Ever hear anyone say they're allergic to rattlesnakes? ;-) ) Jane B. [jane@swdc.stratus.com] ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 20:43:01 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Paul C. Cheng" Organization: Northwestern University Medical School Subject: Re: Bee Sting Allergy - Not In-Reply-To: <199410141335.AA134771757@merle.acns.nwu.edu> from "Allen Dick 546-2588" at Oct 14, 94 07:27:20 am > We will be digging up some old research that was sponsored by the Alberta > Beekeepers and The Canadian Honey Council shortly and trying to get it out > to the doctors and the public again. Very few doctors (including > allergists) apparently know how simple it usually is to cure allergy > to bee stings. There is too much to know these days! Hi, I would be interested to know any simple cures for beesting allergies. >From my still limited knowledge and experience, desensitization is an effective way of getting IgG levels up (instead of IgE's), but doesn't it take quite a while? Correct me if I am wrong, but allergies are due to an IgE antibody response to antigens in the venom such as phospholipases, melittin, and hyaluronidases. Hypersensitivity may result in anaphylaxis (urticaria, bronchospasma, hypotension, death). Treatment is an IM injection of epinephrine (adrenaline for Brits), and antihistamine administration. Since I myself are sensitive to beestings, I would really like to know quick and simple cures. Regards, Paul -- Paul C. Cheng (pccheng@merle.acns.nwu.edu), Second-Year MD/PhD Student Northwestern University Medical School | Ward Box 213, 303 E. Chicago Ave. Medical Scientist Training Program | Chicago, IL 60611 "Rubor, Tumor, Calor, Dolor" -Celsus (describing my rxn to beestings) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 10:25:02 AEST+1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: Re: Bee Sting Allergy - Not > I recall reading somewhere, once, that bee venom is very close to rattlesnake > venom, in its components. Anyone else encounter this? Does it have any > basis? (Ever hear anyone say they're allergic to rattlesnakes? ;-) ) I actually recall hearing once that it was identical to cobra venom, the only difference being, one bight from a cobra is equivalent to about 100 (squeezed dry) beestings. I guess it could be the same as rat.snakes.... Adrian (Dent) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 09:16:43 +0100 Reply-To: fmonaci@mailserver.idg.fi.cnr.it Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Fabio Monaci Subject: Re: Mystery - disappearing bees In message Thu, 13 Oct 1994 08:45:00 -0700, "Kerry Clark 784-2225 fax 604 784 2299" writes: > I sounds like what happens with varroa. > > The confirmation would be to examine the remaining capped brood cells. > If varroa was responsible for the problem, the mites will be present in > the sealed cells. > > > good luck > I agree with this diagnosis, symptons look like those i saw in Italy twelve years ago. Fabio Monaci > 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 > Fabio Monaci C.N.R. Centro studio Genesi Classificazione Cartografia del Suolo P.zle delle Cascine 15 I-50144 Firenze Tel. ++ 39 (0)55 360517 Telefax ++ 39 (0)55 321148 E-MAIL fmonaci@csgccs.fi.cnr.it ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 07:16:00 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Diana Sammataro Subject: Last Call for Tmites Dear Bee Listers I put out a call in August for samples of tracheal mites for DNA analysis. I am getting ready for a large run and would like to get your samples by the end of October. I would like mite and/or bees infested, placed in a vial of alcohol (70% EtOH) and need about 50 bees or 25 trachea filled with mites. I especially like bees from colonies that died and had a lot of mites, and from colonies that did not die but still have mites; esp. if that colony is still alive. Thanks for your interst and help. Should answer some questions and might even find the origin of where TM came from. Diana Sammataro Dept. Entomology Ohio State University 1735 Neil Ave Columbus, OH 43210 1220 Phone: 614 292 9089 Fax: 614 292 2180 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 09:12:00 PDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Hawkes, Robert" Subject: Disappearing Bees and Yellow Jackets There seems to be an epidemic of "disappearing bees" here in southeast Pennsylvania. Within the last couple of weeks at least seven beekeeping friends have contacted me and told me the same sad story: strong colonies--some had produced surpluses of 100lb or more--had suddenly disappeared after the harvest. Some reported strong colonies had vanished within two days! Some of these beekeepers also reported observing large numbers of yellow jackets "robbing" the deserted hives. Some additional observations which may be relevant are: (1) Varroa mites were found on surviving larva in colonies that were checked. (2)Yellow jacket colonies were noticeably late becoming established following a harsh winter. But at least one exterminator noticed that these late-established colonies were unusually large. (3) In one case "hundreds" of yellow jackets were reported to be killing bees and robbing. The others reported that the missing bees were not piled dead in front of the hive entrance as would be expected if the colony demise was due to pesticide poisoning or robbing. They are just gone! It was suggested via BEE-L last week that the bees pressured by the presence of varroa mites abscond to another hive. But no one here has found colonies in their beeyards with suddenly increased population. Others have suggested that the mites are a vector for a bacterial disease of the adult bees as well as of one for the brood. But how does this account for the sudden disappearance of the adult bees (within two days!)? So for me it remains a mystery--a fascinating one, but a tragic one; some of my friends have had their colonies wiped out overnight. My wife and I found varroa in our thirteen colonies this year. They produced well--over 1200lb. We treated using Apsitan strips after harvesting the crop in late August. It was mild yesterday afternoon after a killing frost last week. Our colonies all had lots of healthy entrance activity, even some pollen carriers--unusual here for late October. No yellow jackets in sight. No deserted hives--yet. Robert Hawkes West Chester, Pennsylvania rhawkes@wcupa.edu ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 10:36:54 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adam Finkelstein Subject: Varroa Crash? In-Reply-To: <199410171313.JAA58782@ipe.cc.vt.edu> from "Hawkes, Robert" at Oct 17, 94 09:12:00 am Similar situations in apiaries have been observed in VA. The symptoms point to pesticide kill, but no pesticide is being used in the areas where the colonies are (as far as we can tell :) ) Is this the classic "Varroa Crash?" Yellow-Jackets are opportunistic, not a part of the problem, at least here in VA. Adam ( I was finding workers with 3-4 mites on them, in front of the colonies) -- =========================================================================== Adam Finkelstein adamf@hopper.itc.virginia.edu adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu =============================================== |Bees To Please| ======= ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 12:41:21 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Keith S. Delaplane" Subject: request for pollination pubs I am coauthoring a book on pollination and bee conservation for North America. We are placing a premium on "post-McGregor" (1976) crop pollination research and extension service literature and want to include recommendations for non-Apis bees. Please send me any or all relevent reprints or extension service bulletins for your state or region. I suspect much of this is nested in horticulture literature and I especially welcome those publications since I am less familiar with horticulture journals. Keith S. Delaplane, Cooperative Extension Service, Univ. Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, phone (706) 542-1765, fax (706) 542-3872, ksd@uga.cc.uga.edu ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 10:38:07 PDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jane Beckman Subject: Re: Bee Sting Allergy - Not Re: bee venom vs. snake venom There would be a big difference between venoms, depending on whether it was rattlesnake or cobra. One (viper) is a cardiac poison that causes lots of localized swelling. Cobra venom is a neurotoxin that has a much more widespread effect---and is much nastier. Anyone know which families of toxins are in bee venom? Jane B. ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 21:46:25 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Stan G. Kain" Subject: Information Access I am trying to assist someone in connecting to sci.agriculture.beekeeping to the FAQ. This person has access via FETCH, EUDORA, WWW and Turbogopher. He needs to know how to connect to the above via his access resources. Can anyone assist me in an answer? Thanks, Stan G. Kain P.O. Box 1599 Atascadero, CA 93423-1599 Voice/Fax: (805)462-1636 Email: stankain@delphi.com CompuServe: 74134,2617 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 22:18:59 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jean-Pierre Chapleau <73642.244@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Bee sting allergy A few years ago my son had a severe allergic reaction after being stung. His body became quicly covered with red spots, he had an intense fever and he almost fell unconscious. By the time we got to the hospital (about 30 minutes) he was recovering. The reaction was so bad that I felt that I had to something about it in a very urgent manner or quit beekeeping. A doctor proposed us to have him follow a desensitizing program. This was involving many trips to a remote hospital. The whole treatment was supposed to last for many month and we first had to go trough a long waiting list. I read about bee venom allergy quite a bit. I read in some IBRA publication that in the two weeks following an allergic reaction, a person would not have another allergic reaction. My wife and I decided to capture some bees and bring our son near an hospital where we would voluntarily sting him. That's what we did. Our son had no reaction at all. Then we kept stinging him at every two weeks, every month and so on. We now sting him only 3-4 times a year. He now seems to be desensitized. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ' JEAN-PIERRE CHAPLEAU eleveur de reines/bee breeder ' ' Chapleau & Courtemanche enr. ' ' 1282, rang 8, St-Adrien, Quebec, Canada, J0A 1C0 ' ' 73642.244@compuserve.com tel./phone (819) 828-3396 ' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 12:14:02 +0000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Rick Hough Subject: RE>Information Access Stan G. Kain writes: >I am trying to assist someone in connecting to sci.agriculture.beekeeping >to the FAQ. We are still working on formating the FAQ so that the folks at news.answers will allow the FAQ to be posted there. The advantage of posting the FAQ to news.answers is that it automatically gets archived at rtfm.mit.edu. Unfortunately, we aren't quite there yet. In the meantime, the following methods of obtaining a copy of the FAQ are available: 1) The FAQ is periodically posted to BEE-L, as well as sci.agriculture. beekeeping. We've been trying to post once a month, but we're a bit late this month. The last post occurred September 12th, so it can be obtained from the BEE-L listserve computer. Send a message to LISTSERV@UACSC2.ALBANY.EDU with one line in the body of the message: GET BEE-L LOG9409. The listserve computer will then send you a big file (just over 300KB) with all of the BEE-L traffic for September, 1994. Burried in that file will be the FAQ post. 2) Send e-mail to rshough@tasc.com, and I will forward my latest copy of the FAQ to anyone requesting it. 3) A copy of the FAQ can be accessed via WWW - there is a beekeeping homepage at http://alfred1.u.washington.edu:8080/~jlks/bee.html. 4) The BEE-L FAQ, along with a lot of other good info is available via e-mail from Andy Nachbaur's "FAQs by E-mail" system - send e-mail to HINT.IND@beenet.com. In the subject line, place the words THIS INDEX. Andy's system will send you an index to the FAQs he has available. Note that it will take 12 to 24 hours to get a response from Andy's system, as his Internet access is via dial-up, and his system dials in only twice a day. 5) Monitor BEE-L and/or sci.agriculture.beekeeping for the next posting. It should happen shortly (Adam, are you listening??) Cheers! Rick Hough rshough@tasc.com ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 10:09:11 PDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jane Beckman Subject: Re: Bee sting allergy There seem to be two variations on allergies. One can be desensitized, the other quite the opposite. The variation where one breaks out in red splotches sounds like my old citrus allergy, which I desensitized to over the years of consuming citrus products. The child responded to bee stings by developing a resistance. The other allergic reaction gets worse over time. I am allergic to scallops. They send me into anephylactic shock, including breathing difficulties, convulsions, vomiting, etc. Some people respond to bee stings in this manner. In this case, the reaction gets worse, the more one is exposed. One has to be careful not to confuse one with the other. Attempts at desensitization, if it follows the model of my scallop allergy, could be fatal. Many beekeepers develop a resistance to stings, after a while. Jane B. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 16 Oct 1994 09:10:36 PST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Hugo Veerkamp Subject: queen marking dear Robin, > I am looking for a method of marking queen honeybees > in their cells, > so that they can be identified once they have emerged. > We would like to find some simple chemical/ > dust that could > be applied in the sealed cell and allow for > identification on > emergence. Does anyone have any suggestions?? > Robin M Crewe > Dean: Faculty of Science > Dept of Zoology Phone 27-11-716-3167(W) > Univ of the Witwatersrand 27-11-442-5469(H) > Johannesburg FAX 27-11-339-3959 I am not sure if the following is of any use to you: During my training as enzymologist I used a blue dye to color protein bands in electrophoresis columns. The name of the dye was 'Coomassi brilliant blue' This color used to stick to not only the protein in the elfo tubes, but also to our hands, the table etc. . It is very possible that there is a protein dye that will not harm the growing qeen in her cell. If it exists, a solution of the dye could be injected into the closed qeen cell and the qeen would then be easily recognised upon emergence( if different colors are usable, one could mark qeens individually in one colony; a red queen, a blue one, etc.). A good starting point might be a coloring agent used in the food industry, as they are deemed 'non-toxic' mostly( examples in the yellow-orange range are: riboflavin,chlorophyll,carotenoids) Finding out which of the many protein dyes are usable and in what concentration, and the chemical/physical influence of the color upon the growing and the adult queen is a matter of experimental investigation, for which I am sure you have ample opportunities. Please let us know here in BEE-L the outcome of these experiments. sincerely, Hugo Veerkamp #################################################################### | BEENET INTERNATIONAL | | E-mail : | mail : the Bee bbs | | Hugo.Veerkamp@f28.n2801.z2.fidonet.org| P.O. BOX 51008 | | ( or press reply button) | 1007EA AMSTERDAM | | | The Netherlands | | Beenet : 240:31/0 | modem: +31 20 6764105 | | Fidonet: 2:2801/28 | voice: +31 20 6715663 | #################################################################### -- uucp: uunet!rain!puddle!2!2801!28!Hugo.Veerkamp Internet: Hugo.Veerkamp@f28.n2801.z2.fidonet.org ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 07:14:39 PST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Hugo Veerkamp Subject: Bee Sting Allergy - Not Hi, at the risk of stinging this subject to death, here's a extensive review article of bee venom and its consequences; Dotimas,E.M.;Hider,R.C. 'Honeybee venom' BEE WORLD (1987) vol2: 51-70 >From the archives of the Beenet, here are some more references on the subject, that might come in handy for those who plan to write a FAQ on the subject: REFERENCES Iannuzi,J. (1993) Charles Mraz: Bee Venom King of America. American Bee Journal. october, 710-12. Linden,P.W.G. van der,Hack,C.E., Struyvenberg,A., Zwan,J.C. van der. (1993) Anafylactische reacties na insectesteken: kliniek, beloop en behandeling (voor de paktijk). Ned. Tijdschr. Geneeskd. 137(43), 2194-98. Linden,P.W.G.van der, Hack,C.E.,Struyvenberg,A.,Zwan,J.C. van der. (1993) Pathogenese van anafylactische verschijnselen na een insectesteek. Ned. Tijdschr.Geneeskd. 137(43), 2188-94. ( these two reviews above appeared in a dutch medical publication;I dont know if they make abstracts in english) Mraz, C. (1993) Bee venom Therapy for MS. American Bee Journal. june '93 (A.B.J. carried a whole string of articles on bee venom therapy over the years; if anyone needs a reference list, I'll gladly provide it - right now its a bit off topic) more on bee venom in the international medical press: Alder GM; Arnold WM; Bashford CL; Drake AF; Pasternak CA; Zimmermann U. (1991) Divalent cation-sensitive pores formed by natural and synthetic melittin andby Triton X-100. Biochim-Biophys-Acta. 1061(1), 111-20. Bkaily G; Jacques D; Sculptoreanu A; Yamamoto T; Carrier D; Vigneault D;Sperelakis N. (1991) Apamin, a highly potent blocker of the TTX- and Mn2(+)-insensitive fasttransient Na+ current in young embryonic heart. J-Mol-Cell-Cardiol. 23(1), 25-39. Boxer MB; Grammer LC; Shaughnessy MA; Gewurz A; Finkle SM; Patterson R. (1989) Soluble copolymers of yellow jacket, yellow hornet and white faced hornet with human albumin for venom immunotherapy. Allergy-Proc. 10(2), 127-31. Chettibi S; Lyall F; Lawrence AJ. (1990) Rapid activation of the non-toxic basic isoform of phospholipase A2 fromNaja mossambica mossambica (spitting cobra) by long-chain fatty acylation. Toxicon. 28(8), 953-61. Churchill PC; Rossi NF; Churchill MC; Ellis VR. (1990) Effect of melittin on renin and prostaglandin E2 release from rat renalcortical slices. J-Physiol-(Lond). 428, 233-41. Cuppoletti J; Abbott AJ. (1990) Interaction of melittin with the (Na+ + K+)ATPase: evidence for amelittin-induced conformational change. Arch-Biochem-Biophys. 283(2)249-, The (Na+ + K. Dempsey CE; Bazzo R; Harvey TS; Syperek I; Boheim G; Campbell ID. (1991) Contribution of proline-14 to the structure and actions of melittin. FEBS-Lett. 281(1-2), 240-4. Diaz-Sanchez D; Kemeny DM. (1991) Generation of a long-lived IgE response in high and low responder strains ofrat by co-administration of ricin and antigen. Immunology. 72(2), 297-303. Ernst-Fonberg ML; Williams SG; Worsham LM. (1990) Acyl carrier protein interacts with melittin. Biochim-Biophys-Acta. 1046(2), 111-9. Fehlner PF; Berg RH; Tam JP; King TP. (1991 Murine T cell responses to melittin and its analogs. J-Immunol. 146(3), 799-806. Fletcher JE; Jiang M-S; Gong Q-H; Smith LA. (1991) Snake venom cardiotoxins and bee venom melittin activate phospholipase C activity in primary cultures of skeletal muscle. Biochem-Cell-Biol. 69(4), 274-81. Hermann K; Ring J. (1990) Hymenoptera venom anaphylaxis: may decreased levels of angiotensin peptides play a role?. Clin-Exp-Allergy. 20(5), 569-70. Kaszuba M; Hunt GR. (1990) Protection against membrane damage: a 1H-NMR investigation of the effect ofZn2+ and Ca2+ on the permeability of phospholipid vesicles. J-Inorg-Biochem. 40(3), 217-25. Kaszycki P; Wasylewski Z. (1990) Fluorescence-quenching-resolved spectra of melittin in lipid bilayers. Biochim-Biophys-Acta. 1040(3), 337-45. King TP. (1990) Insect venom allergens. Monogr-Allergy. 28, 84-100. Kondo T; Ikenaka K; Kato H; Ito K; Aimoto S; Hojo H; Mikoshiba K. (1990) Long-term enhancement of synaptic transmission by synthetic mast celldegranulating peptide and its localization of binding sites in hippocampus. Neurosci-Res. 8(3), 147-57. Kumar A; Gudi SR; Gokhale SM; Bhakuni V; Gupta CM. (1990) Heat-induced alterations in monkey erythrocyte membrane phospholipidorganization and skeletal protein structure and interactions. Biochim-Biophys-Acta. 1030(2), 269-78. Labbe-Jullie C; Granier C; Albericio F; Defendini ML; Ceard B; Rochat H; VanRietschoten J. (1991) Binding and toxicity of apamin. Characterization of the active site. Eur-J-Biochem. 196(3), 639-45. Loveless MH; Fackler WR. (1989) Wasp venom allergy and immunity. 1956 [classical article]. Allergy-Proc. 10(2), 157-60. Massicotte G; Baudry M. (1990) Modulation of DL-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate(AMPA)/quisqualate receptors by phospholipase A2 treatment. Neurosci-Lett. 118(2), 245-8. Muller U. (1990) [Modification of immunotherapy with insect venom]. Allerg-Immunol-(Leipz). 36(3), 179-82. Oei HD; Stroes ES; Beukema WP; van der Zwan JC. (1991) [When can desensitization with bee and wasp venom be stopped?]Wanneer kan desensibilisatie met bije- en wespegif beeindigd worden?. Ned-Tijdschr-Geneeskd. 135(16), 719-20. Oswald H. (1990) Bee venom immunotherapy. Inforum. 11, 10-1. Owen MD; Pfaff LA; Reisman RE; Wypych J. (1990) Phospholipase A2 in venom extracts from honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) ofdifferent ages. Toxicon. 28(7), 813-20. Pence HL; White AF; Cost K; Homburger H; Covell CV Jr; Moyer R. (1991) Evaluation of severe reactions to sweat bee stings. Ann-Allergy. 66(5), 399-404. Permyakov EA; Grishchenko VM; Kalinichenko LP; Orlov NY; Kuwajima K; Sugai S. (1991) Calcium-regulated interactions of human Alpha-lactalbumin with bee venommelittin. Biophys-Chem. 39(2), 111-7. Pesce AJ; Freisheim JM; Litwin A; Michael JG. (1990) Modulation of the immune response to allergens: phospholipase A degradationproducts suppress IgG and IgE response in mice. Int-Arch-Allergy-Appl-Immunol. 92(1), 88-93. Profet M; Division of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of California,Berkely 94720. (1991) The function of allergy: immunological defense against toxins. Q-Rev-Biol. 66(1), 23-62. Raynor RL; Zheng B; Kuo JF. (1991) Membrane interactions of amphiphilic polypeptides mastoparan, melittin,polymyxin B, and cardiotoxin. Differential inhibition of protein kinase C,Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and synaptosomal membraneNa,K-ATPase, and Na+ pump. J-Biol-Chem. 266(5), 2753-8. Rekka E; Kourounakis L; Kourounakis P. (1990) Antioxidant activity of and interleukin production affected by honey beevenom. Arzneimittelforschung. 40(8), 1912-3. Rogers MV; Henkle KJ; Herrmann V; McLaren DJ; Mitchell GF. (1991) Evidence that a 16-kilodalton integral membrane protein antigen fromSchistosoma japonicum adult worms is a type A2 phospholipase. Infect-Immun. 59(4), 1442-7. Schweitz H; Bidard JN; Lazdunski M. (1990) Purification and pharmacological characterization of peptide toxins from theblack mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) venom. Toxicon. 28(7), 847-56. Scott DL; White SP; Otwinowski Z; Yuan W; Gelb MH; Sigler PB. (1990) Interfacial catalysis: the mechanism of phospholipase A2. Science. 250(4987), 1541-6. Sekharam KM; Bradrick TD; Georghiou S. (1991) Kinetics of melittin binding to phospholipid small unilamellar vesicles. Biochim-Biophys-Acta. 1063(1), 171-4. Tumwine JK; Nkrumah FK. (1990) Acute renal failure and dermal necrosis due to bee stings: report of a casein a child. Cent-Afr-J-Med. 36(8), 202-4. Valentine MD; Schuberth KC; Kagey-Sobotka A; Graft DF; Kwiterovich KA; SzkloM; Lichtenstein LM. The value of immunotherapy with venom in children with allergy to insectstings [see comments]. N-Engl-J-Med; 1990 Dec 6; 323(23); P 1601-3PY: (1990): Washburn WN; Dennis EA. (1991) Suicide-inhibitory bifunctionally linked substrates (SIBLINKS) asphospholipase A2 inhibitors. Mechanistic implications. J-Biol-Chem. 266(8), 5042-8. Watala C; Kowalczyk JK. (1990) Hemolytic potency and phospholipase activity of some bee and wasp venoms. Comp-Biochem-Physiol-[C]. 97(1), 187-94. White SP; Scott DL; Otwinowski Z; Gelb MH; Sigler PB. (1990) Crystal structure of cobra-venom phospholipase A2 in a complex with atransition-state analogue. Science. 250(4987), 1560-3. Wiener H; Turnheim K. (1990) Calcium-activated potassium channels in basolateral membranes of colonepithelial cells; reconstitution and functional properties. Wien-Klin-Wochenschr. 102(20), 622-8. Wysoke JM; Bland van-den Berg P; Marshall C. (1990) Bee sting-induced haemolysis, spherocytosis and neural dysfunction in threedogs. J-S-Afr-Vet-Assoc. 61(1), 29-32. Ziai MR; Russek S; Wang HC; Beer B; Blume AJ. (1990) Mast cell degranulating peptide: a multi-functional neurotoxin. J-Pharm-Pharmacol. 42(7), 457-61. -- uucp: uunet!rain!puddle!2!2801!28!Hugo.Veerkamp Internet: Hugo.Veerkamp@f28.n2801.z2.fidonet.org ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 21:40:54 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jim Osborn Subject: Re: Honey Prices Jeffrey Young writes: > I'm now faced with more demand with supply. Coworkers and >relatives are all over me wanted me to get them a honey bear. Guess >it is time to consider a third hive next year. My advice is to save it for giving and barter. I have three hives, and the local feed store will take all I can give them for $3 a quart. It's worth more to me to experience the gratitude of friends and family when I present them with a unique gift. Our vet once took a quart in exchange for the bill, so maybe I should say the market price is somewhere between $1 and $20 a pound. ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 06:12:10 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adam Finkelstein Subject: archives In-Reply-To: <199410181608.MAA96098@ipe.cc.vt.edu> from "Rick Hough" at Oct 18, 94 12:14:02 pm sunsite.unc.edu also archives the sci.agbeekeeping/bee-l FAQ this is an amazing place to browse for information as well. telnet: sunsite.unc.edu gopher: sunsite.unc.edu ftp: sunsite.unc.edu stty: TXGETLD: Not a typewriter [?7h [?1l (B = [?25h [m (B [H [2J 7 [1;24r 8 [23B [;7m (BRead 341 bytes of data. [m (B [;7m (BData [Ctransfer c [Cmple [Ce [K [m (B [;7m (BLooking up Hopper.itc.Virginia.EDU. [m (B [;7m (BMaking HTTP connection to Hopper.itc.Virginia.EDU. [m (B [;7m (BSending H [CTP request. [K [m (B [;7m (BHTTP request [Cs [Cnt; waiting for response. [m (B [;7m (BRead [C381 by [Ce [C of data. [K [m (B [;7m (BData [Ctransfer c [Cmple [Ce [K [m (B [1;52HAdam Finkelstein's home page [C [CADAM FINKELSTEIN, GRADUATE STUDENT AND LOVER OF WEIRDNESS [5;32H [;1m (BLYNX BOOKMARKS [18B [m (B [;7m (Bht [Cp://Hopp [C [C.itc.Virginia.EDU/~adamf/lynx_bookmarks.html [m (B [5 ;32H [;7m (BLYNX BOOKMARKS [24;80H [m (B [;7m (BLynx cannot currently (E)dit remote WWW files [K [m (B [?7h [?1l (B = [?25h [m (B [H [2J 7 [1;24r 8 [23B [;7m (BGetting http://Hopper.itc.Virginia.EDU:80/~adamf/ [m (B [;7m (BLook up Hopper.itc [CVirginia.EDU [C [K [m (B [;7m (BMaking HTTP connection to Hopper.itc.Virginia.EDU. [m (B [;7m (BSending H [CTP request. [K [m (B [;7m (BHTTP request [Cs [Cnt; waiting for response. [m (B [;7m (BRead [C381 by [Ce [C of data. [K [m (B [;7m (BData [Ctransfer c [Cmple [Ce [K [m (B [1;52HAdam Finkelstein's home page [C [CADAM FINKELSTEIN, GRADUATE STUDENT AND LOVER OF WEIRDNESS [5;32H [;1m (BLYNX BOOKMARKS [18B [m (B -- =========================================================================== Adam Finkelstein adamf@hopper.itc.virginia.edu adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu =============================================== |Bees To Please| ======= ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 06:19:26 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adam Finkelstein Subject: Please Ignore Last message from me... In-Reply-To: <199410181608.MAA96098@ipe.cc.vt.edu> from "Rick Hough" at Oct 18, 94 12:14:02 pm Humm...I hope you all enjoyed my last message... sci.agriculture.beekeeping/bee-l faq is also archived at sunsite.unc.edu here there is a wealth of great information here other than bees. The bee directory is in sustainable agriculture. telnet sunsite.unc.edu gopher sunsite.unc.edu www gopher://sunsite.unc.edu ftp sunsite.unc.eu -- =========================================================================== Adam Finkelstein adamf@hopper.itc.virginia.edu adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu =============================================== |Bees To Please| ======= ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 07:51:40 EDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Fernando Barbosa Noll unsubscribe Fernando Barbosa Noll ************************************************************************ Fernando Barbosa Noll Faculdade de Filosofia Ciencias e Letras de Ribeirao Preto - USP Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900 cep 14040-901 Ribeirao Preto - SP Brazil e-mail: fernnoll@fox.cce.usp.br ************************************************************************ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 07:31:57 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: your mail In-Reply-To: <9410191057.AA45425@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> Hi this went to the list. You will want to send it to the LISTSERV@ALBNYVM1.BITNET instead. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA On Wed, 19 Oct 1994, Fernando Barbosa Noll wrote: > unsubscribe Fernando Barbosa Noll > ************************************************************************ > Fernando Barbosa Noll > Faculdade de Filosofia Ciencias e Letras de Ribeirao Preto - USP > Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900 > cep 14040-901 > Ribeirao Preto - SP > Brazil > e-mail: fernnoll@fox.cce.usp.br > ************************************************************************ > ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 12:13:30 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Liz Day Subject: AHB in newspaper In todays's Indianapolis Star, in the light news sectioin, is a photo of a beekeeper in Arizona apparently keeping killer bees. In the photo, 2 men are wearing protective suits, bee veils, and leather gloves. One is opening up the top of a hive, and a moderate number of bees are crawling and flying around. The caption reads, "Beekeeper Reed Booth of Bisbee, Ariz., opens a hive of Africanized "killer" bees at his Old Bisbee apiary. He and partner Josh Krebs sell the killer bees' honey and alos provide bee-removal service. Up to 85 percent of southeastern Arizona's bees may be the Africanized variety, consdiere much fiercer than normal honeybees." I didn't realize it was allowed to keep AHB. Can this be true? Liz Day Indianapolis, Indiana, USA lday@gluon.phys.ufl.edu "It takes all kinds to make a world, but did you ever think the percentages were wrong?" ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 15:29:20 -500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Dan Buchsbaum Subject: Re: AHB in newspaper In-Reply-To: <9410201453.aa05354@blkbox.COM> I hardly think it's a crime to keep african bees! They are still honeybees and may have better disease resistance than the european variety. I live in Brazoria County, TX and we are quarrantined for AHB. Mostly you just can't export any out of the quarrantined area, but no one can keep you from raising them. My european bees are pretty testy when the weather gets too hot so I have to work them differently during the summer. I suspect the african variety is like this all the time and with more careful handling could actually be a better bee for raising. At least we might as well learn to live with them, 'cause they're here to stay! ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 15:45:44 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Winifred Doane Subject: Re: AHB in newspaper In-Reply-To: Message of Thu, 20 Oct 1994 12:13:30 -0400 from Regarding beekeepers in Arizona...They have defended their right to take care of the AHB problem as they see fit, so no state regulations are yet on the books in regard to "killer bees". I think the 85% figure for Africanization is rather high. Winifred Doane Ariz. State Univ. ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 19:34:46 -0400 Reply-To: adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adam Finkelstein Subject: sunSITE archives Hello, I have a file of all the archives at sunsite.unc.edu, and how to access them if anyone is interested. Drop me email and I'll fir it off to you. Contemplating African bees... -- =========================================================================== Adam Finkelstein adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu =============================================== |Bees To Please| ======= ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 20:16:08 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Bee Sting Therapy - MS? Does anyone have any experience with bee stings as a treatment for MS? Will summarize. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 00:59:48 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Liz Day Subject: ahb in newsp cont. No, my question was, is anyone actually keeping AHB? Not should they I thought ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 07:51:25 GMT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: ANDY NACHBAUR Organization: Wild Bee's BBS 209-826-8107 Subject: CSBA Program Subject: CSBA Program TENTATIVE PROGRAM Monday, November 14, 1994 3:00 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting ************************************************************************ Tuesday, November 15, 1994 8:00 a.m. Registration and Commercial Exhibits Open 9:00 a.m. Opening Ceremonies and Committee Reports 11:00 a.m. California African Bee Steering Committee - Gene Brandi 11:30 a.m. "African Honey Bees in Arizona" - Wilse Morgan 12:00 p.m. Lunch 1:00 p.m. "Beekeeping in Wisconsin" - Lee Heine 1:45 p.m. "Varroa Control" - Oscar Coindreau 2:30 p.m. "Future of the Almond Industry" - California Almond Boa 3:15 p.m. Break 3:30 p.m. "Non Conventional Almond Production" - Ray Eck 4:15 p.m. "Beekeeping in Russia" - Randy Johnson ************************************************************************ Wednesday, November 16, 1994 8:00 a.m. "Effects of Grease on Mites" - Marla Spivak 8:45 a.m. "African Honey Bees in Texas" - Henry Graham 9:30 a.m. Break 10:00 a.m. Panel - "Ten Years of Change" - Moderator: Bob Brand Panel: John Jone Shannon W John Mill Wayne Har Eli Mende 12:00 p.m. Research Luncheon - Marla Spivak, University of Minneso "Genetic Research for Breeding Mite Resistant Bees" 12:00 p.m. Ladies Auxiliary Luncheon 2:00 p.m. Sioux Honey Association Meeting ************************************************************************ Thursday, November 17, 1994 8:30 a.m. National Honey Board - Sherry Jennings and John Miller 9:30 a.m. Break 10:00 a.m. TBA 10:30 a.m. "Honey Quality Assurance" - Buddy Ashurst 11:00 a.m. Anti Dumping Suit vs. China - Troy Fore and Dwight Stol 12:00 p.m. Lunch 1:00 p.m. African Honey Bee Workshop - Eric Mussen 2:30 p.m. Annual Business Meeting 4:30 p.m. Auction 7:00 p.m. Annual Banquet and Dance ************************************************************************ Friday, November 18, 1994 8:00 a.m C.S.B.A. Board of Directors *INTERNET CONTACT kathi.brandi@beenet.com for registration package via US mail. ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 07:52:00 GMT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: ANDY NACHBAUR Organization: Wild Bee's BBS 209-826-8107 Subject: AHB in newspaper In todays's Indianapolis Star, in the light news sectioin, is a photo of a beekeeper in Arizona apparently keeping killer bees. In the photo, 2 men are wearing protective suits, bee veils, and leather gloves. One is opening up the top of a hive, and a moderate number of bees are crawling and flying around. The caption reads, "Beekeeper Reed Booth of Bisbee, Ariz., opens a hive of Africanized "killer" bees at his Old Bisbee apiary. He and partner Josh Krebs sell the killer bees' honey and alos provide bee-removal service. Up to 85 percent of southeastern Arizona's bees may be the Africanized variety, consdiere much fiercer than normal honeybees." I didn't realize it was allowed to keep AHB. Can this be true? Hi Liz, Afro Bee's, sometimes called "killer bee's" have been around in the wilds' of the west for many years, even before found in Brazil. None of them have killed anyone or caused a problem, maybe because there were so few, and they were not ID'ed to the public as being Afro. I kept bee's for five seasons on the high Sonoran desert, the bees were bad tempered. They fit all the gory descriptions of the dreaded "killer" bees. The 2nd season I brought in 500 queens from a California breeder I knew had gentle stock. By the end of that season they were no different from the local bees, maybe yellower in color. The next year I brought in a semi load, (500+) hives right out of the almonds that I had worked that season and the year before without a veil. Within days they fit the mold of "killer" bees." The apiaries had been in place for 40 years and always had been very productive, well kept, and aggressive. A local use queen rearing operation was in place and used breeders from the best in the west as well as their own. A close neighbor set up a commercial breeding station within a mile or two and shipped thousands of queens out of the area for several years without complaint. Since the time I left the boarder lands of Arizona, the swarms within a mile or two of the apiaries I am talking about were determined to be Afro bees. The beekeepers were told it would cost them as much as $35.00 per hive to test the rest to see if they were Afro. They did what any reasonable person who could would do... went to the legislature and had "all" the bee laws repealed. There are no bee inspectors in Arizona as far as I know, and any bee problems are in the state entomologists realm and can only be dealt with by a licence pest control person. California has no laws outlawing "Afro" bees, we did just have a law passed allowing for the training of persons who would be licensed to control them. This early on training is open to beekeepers and is given to them for "attending classes" at beekeeping meeting. Thats the same way it works for pesticide permits, its pure bureaucratic bull pucka, (in my humble experience), just another way of spending taxes and collecting ever growing fees. There is one big reason why "Afro" or "killer" bees are causing legislators to consider getting out "post haste" of the bee inspection business. If a hive or yard, or bees that you inspected and represent by your personal deceleration as a representative of any agency, injures of heaven forbid kills someone within x number of days, who is responsible if you said they were not African "killer" bees? If you don't know the answer to this question it is only because it has not been litigated yet, but I will give you a hint based on case law here in California... it will be the one with the deep pockets that will have the resources to avoid or delay paying, and that is not me, but my insurance company will pay the first time, along with the agency who performed any inspection. This idea of "we did not know the gun was loaded" will not save anyone just because he is doing what he was told to. Agency's of the government have hyped the "killer" bees for so long and continues to this day, that any defence by them in court, less then we "nuc'ed them and they still stung the deceased", would fall on the deaf ears of justice. Another reason for no laws on Afro Bees, that has a lot to do with the above. They are feral or wild, and much law gives responsibility to the state for all feral things, including much case law. Even honeybees confined to your hive can become feral once they leave your hive and much case law states that if you don't demonstrate ownership by followin them they become the property of anyone who hives them. Arizona has considered laws that would allow only licence pest control people to hive any swarm. Don't know if they got very far with this one, but expect that if the Tex-Mex (Afro) bees start on a serial murder spree we will see some new laws. It is interesting to note that the only feral hive of bees found in California and maybe the only one in all the America's that passed every known test as being 100% African has lived in a tree on a golf course adjacent to a ridings path for many years without a problem or regards for any regulation. This and all other feral Afro type hives found in California have not demonstrated any aggressive abnormal behaviour to this date as far as I know or can find out. As far a beekeepers working "killer" bees in Arizona, I can testify that if all you knew about killer bees is the descriptions reported in the literature then all the bees I have seen in the boarder lands of Arizona qualify, and I have been told years ago this zone of aggressive bees extends into New Mexico by Jaycox whom I trust. As for these yahoos' having Tex-Mex bees, I don't know, my guess they are capitalizing on the hype. I do know that ever since the Mexican bees' united with the Texas bees', that thousands of hives from some of the same areas' in Texas have been moved to California for spring almond pollination and have not been a problem, to date. ttul Andy- ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 06:21:42 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Paul Cronshaw, D.C." Subject: Re: Information Access >I am trying to assist someone in connecting to sci.agriculture.beekeeping >to the FAQ. > >This person has access via FETCH, EUDORA, WWW and Turbogopher. He needs to >know how to connect to the above via his access resources. Can anyone >assist me in an answer? >Thanks, >Stan G. Kain >P.O. Box 1599 >Atascadero, CA 93423-1599 >Voice/Fax: (805)462-1636 >Email: stankain@delphi.com >CompuServe: 74134,2617 Stan, Has he tried using NEWSWATCHER or NUNTIUS? These are UseNET readers which I find very helpful on a MAC. PS. How is beekeeping in Atascadero these days? And nice article in the July issue of Bee Culture magazine. Look forward to your next one. ==================================================================== Paul M. Cronshaw, D.C. e-mail: cronshaw@rain.org, Cyberspace Chiropractor drpablo@aol.com 816 N. Milpas St. Voice: (805) 965-9801 Santa Barbara, CA 93103 -3031 Fax: (805) 564-6773 ==================================================================== ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 08:55:40 -0600 Reply-To: Jerry J Bromenshenk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jerry J Bromenshenk Subject: MT Beekeepers - Introduction cHi: I am requesting a favor from the Bee-L. The Montana Beekeepers Association Annual Meeting is ongoing in Missoula, MT. On Saturday, many of them are coming over to the campus for short courses on mite detection and computers. Five years ago, two used computers. Now over half do. Eight have signed up for a course on Computer Basics for people who have never touched a computer! Most signed up for some lessons and a discussion of software available for beekeepers. Another group wants to explore the INTERNET! Tomorrow morning (Saturday) between 10 a.m. to noon, they will be on the net. As a demonstration of the power of the Net, I'd like to have some messages sent to them from around the world. A quick howdy would suffice. If you'd like to strike up a conversation (sort of an electronic pen pal, that would be nice). These people are all commercial beekeepers running from 2000 to 10000 colonies. Almost all migrate between Montana and northern California. So as to not bother the rest of the Bee-L members, please send your messages to my personal address: jjbmail@selway.umt.edu Thanks Jerry Bromenshenk Research Professor The University of Montana P.S. Software we found to demonstrate includes: Bee Aware, PC-REDAPOL, PC-TMITE, PC-BEEPOP, BEE ECONOMICS (not available for distribution, but we have the draft manuals). If you know of any others, please respond with a brief description - who, what, where, costs, platform, etc. Thanks Again ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 11:47:41 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Liz Day Subject: more ahb Sorry the garbled message. My screen died and I had to reboot.... IS anyone actually keeping Africanized bees in Ariz? Liz Day Indianapolis, Indiana, USA lday@gluon.phys.ufl.edu "It takes all kinds to make a world, but did you ever think the percentages were wrong?" ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 16:58:00 GMT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: ANDY NACHBAUR Organization: Wild Bee's BBS 209-826-8107 Subject: California Bee Convention TO: MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF C.S.B.A., INC. SUBJECT: 105TH ANNUAL CONVENTION WHERE: EMBASSY SUITES RESORT 4130 Lake Tahoe Blvd. South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 (916)-544-5400 WHEN: NOVEMBER 15-17, 1994 On behalf of the California State Beekeepers Association, I extend a cordial invitation to you and your family to join us at the C.S.B.A.'s 105th annual convention in South Lake Tahoe. Our hotel has an elegant setting and is located on the California side of the border directly adjacent to Harrah's Casino. We think a good convention agenda has been planned and you will see many of your old friends, make new ones, and have the opportunity to hear good speakers. Bob Brandi, program chairman, has put together what I feel is an outstanding program including a good mixture of scientific and beekeeper discussion groups. It will be an excellent opportunity to get the latest information on the African honey bee, mites, honey prices and the anti-dumping action. You won't want to miss it. Enclosed you will find information and instruction sheets for details. Betty and I look forward to seeing all of you in beautiful Lake Tahoe. Sincerely, Lee Little President CSBA * INTERNET contact kathi.brandi@beenet.com for registration package via snail mail. Pre-Registration has to be in by November 5, 1994. Program will follow in another message. *Andy- ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 22 Oct 1994 13:33:55 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Stan G. Kain" Subject: Beekeeping Email List Good Morning, Bee-L Readers, Some of you may have read articles I have written in Bee Culture regarding computer access for beekeepers. Thus far, I have received positive response from readers. As such, I have other articles pending and an email article being published next month. Many of the readers have contacted me with questions and suggestions. Some of the responses have even come from Europe. I am trying to accomodate reader's needs and would like some assistance from Bee-L folks. I am trying to compile an email list which I can provide to those who request it. I also plan to have the list published in Bee Culture at a future date. If you would care to assist me, I would appreciate your sending me personal email with your name, email address and interest, area of expertise or title. I shall compile the list for interested beekeepers and pass it along. Thank you for your help. Cheers, Stan Kain P.O. Box 1599 Atascadero, CA 93423-1599 Voice/Fax (805)462-1636 Email: stankain@delphi.com CompuServe I.D.: 74134,2617 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 22 Oct 1994 12:14:05 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jerry J Bromenshenk Subject: Re: Bee Sting Therapy - MS? In-Reply-To: from "Allen Dick 546-2588" at Oct 20, 94 08:16:08 pm > > Does anyone have any experience with bee stings as a treatment for MS? Yes, I do.> > > Will summarize. > We have done some therapy with three people in the south billings, Mt. area. Two have been on various numbers of stings for app. 2 years. All noticed a definite improvement. > W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK > Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 > Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA > > ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 22 Oct 1994 12:12:23 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Paul Cronshaw, D.C." Subject: Re: Bee Sting Therapy - MS? >> >> Does anyone have any experience with bee stings as a treatment for MS? > >Yes, I do.> >> >> Will summarize. >> >We have done some therapy with three people in the south billings, Mt. area. >Two have been on various numbers of stings for app. 2 years. All noticed >a definite improvement. > >> W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK >> Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 >> Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA >> >> IS there anyone on this mailing list associated with the AMerican Apitherapy Society? Paul Cronshaw DC Hobbiest Beekeeper cronshaw@rain.org ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 22 Oct 1994 15:45:01 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jerry J Bromenshenk Subject: Announcement Hi again: I found the message that one of our Montana beekeepers tried to post in my mail box. Considering that we had multiple connections into the same mailbox and everyone new to the Net, not bad. Anyway, here is the message sent by one of our beekeepers: Position Announcement Experienced beekeeper for south central Montana operation. Some migratory beekeeping work involved. Contact: Jim Decker 1707 Ave D. Billings, MT 59102 How about it folks, anyone on the Bee-L ready to move to Montana and help us out? Thanks Jerry Bromenshenk The University of MT jjbmail@selway.umt.edu ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 22 Oct 1994 15:54:23 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jerry J Bromenshenk Subject: Thanks Your messages were most appreciated. New Zealand holds the record for farthest, Italy and Belgium also represented. Montana beekeepers seemed to enjoy the day. Hope you don't get too many cryptic messages. I explained that one does not sell on the Internet. Several interested in asking if a position could be announced. Since Entomo-L, and others do so at times, I didn't think the list would mind. Jim's attempt went to my mailbox, so I re-packaged it and sent it out. In the same room we had beekeepers from toddler through retirement age, all reading your messages and having a good time. I particularly liked seeing a family from Wolf Point, dad tried to answer New Zealand and was impressed by the size of the Organization, mom tried to answer a question about M.S. and apitherapy, and the son tried to respond to Adrian Wenner since he is looking for colleges to attend. Thanks for all the help. Jerry Bromenshenk and the Montana Beekeepers Association ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 23 Oct 1994 10:43:22 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dave D. Cawley, a De Leon Socialist" Subject: Re: Information Access > >I am trying to assist someone in connecting to sci.agriculture.beekeeping > >to the FAQ. > > > >This person has access via FETCH, EUDORA, WWW and Turbogopher. He needs to > >know how to connect to the above via his access resources. Can anyone > >assist me in an answer? Eudora is a mail software and that can get them onthe BEE-L mailing list where the FAQ comes up regularly. What about the bee web page too? Give them the URL (i don't have it handy). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dave D. Cawley | The information on the Internet is only University Of Scranton | interesting to people who are interested Scranton, Pennsylvania | in it. dave@scranton.com | -Scranton Tomorrow Spokeswoman ddc1@jaguar.uofs.edu | refusing invitation to Internet Cafe's opening ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 08:46:39 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Vladimir Ptacek Subject: Re: Beekeeping Email List On Sat, 22 Oct 1994 13:33:55 -0400, Stan G. Kain wrote: >Good Morning, Bee-L Readers, .......... > >If you would care to assist me, I would appreciate your sending > >me personal email with your name, email address and interest, > >area of expertise or title. I shall compile the list for interested > >beekeepers and pass it along. > > > >Thank you for your help. > > > >Cheers, > >Stan Kain Dear Stanb, Thanks for your useful work! I am interrested in both, the receiving of your list when ready, and to be put on it as well. My address and interest: Dr. Vladimir Ptacek Fac. Sci., Masaryk Univ., Kotlarska 2, 637 11 Brno, Czech Republic E.mail: ptacek@sci.muni.cz Bee biology, honey bees, solitary bees, bumble bees, their biology and managment, pollination, seed production. ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 15:33:00 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: William G Lord Subject: Varroa death? Bee Liners I placed fluvalenate strips in about fifty colonies on Monday to treat for Varroa. I first detected Varroa last fall but was able to delay treatment until this fall. One of the colonies I treated Monday had a pollen trap on it and I decided to leave it on to see what would fall into the collection tray. I stopped by the bee yard on Wednesday and opened the collection drawer on the trap and saw a significant sprinkling of mites. However, upon closer examination I noticed that almost all were alive and moving, albeit slowly. I have used sticky boards in the past to check for mites and assumed the mites were dead when they hit the board. However, the glue would finish off any live mites. I am wondering what the prognosis is on the moribund mites I saw in the pollen trap. Were they stunned, and ready to crawl back up and reinfest. Intuitively I think not, since detectible mite levels go down following treatment, but it was still disturbing to see the mites crawling in the pollen trap. Bill Lord Louisburg, NC -- William G Lord E-Mail : wglord@franklin Internet: wglord@franklin.ces.ncsu.edu Phone : 919-496-3344 Fax : 919-496-0222 ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 22 Oct 1994 02:54:41 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Hugo Veerkamp Subject: Fluvalinate cons Not too long ago Apistan(R) has been legally admitted in Holland as a legal means to cure Varroatosis in Honeybees. This is raising questions about honey contamination by the active ingredient, Fluvalinate. These questions and their answers are probably old news for those who live in countries, where Apistan(R) has been common practise for many years now . I am looking for a somewhat thorough text on the subject of honey contamination by fluvalinate( in which possible dangers for mankind of Fluvalinate when ingested orally in minimal dosages are described in full detail). In APIS newsletter of april 1992, an article in Bee Science (Slabezki et.al.; 1991, vol.1, nr.4) is quoted, and in short term treatment no residues were found in honey. After prolonged treatments of over 6 months, however, the residue level in honey reached 0.06 ppm ( " above the level established in the US by the EPA " ). Still, some questions remain: 1. why is the Apistan(R) instruction for use so outspoken about not treating during honey production and/or harvesting? How justified is the A.- producers' fear for honey contamination , and how realistic is the supposition that, once the strips are removed, the fluvalinate is also absent from the colony ( given the lipofilic character of Fl., and the fact that it concentrates in beeswax) ? 2. what exactly is the limit of detecting minute amounts of Fl. in honey in the present day laboratory ( I'm told that the detection limit may well be in the same range as the residue levels in honey after prolonged treatment with A.: around 0.03-0.05 ppm . I'd very much like to read a scientific text on this, before thinking further about A. This might shed new light on the often encountered statement: " no detectable levels of F. found in honey when application is according to instructions" 2. Is anything known about the actual hazards from pyrethroids generally, and Fluvalinate specifically for humans ? Here in Holand and in neighbouring country Germany, discussions on these topics are far from closed. Please answer to the list or to my adress below sincerely, Hugo Hugo Veerkamp #################################################################### | BEENET INTERNATIONAL | | E-mail : | mail : the Bee bbs | | Hugo.Veerkamp@f28.n2801.z2.fidonet.org| P.O. BOX 51008 | | ( or press reply button) | 1007EA AMSTERDAM | | | The Netherlands | | Beenet : 240:31/0 | modem: +31 20 6764105 | | Fidonet: 2:2801/28 | voice: +31 20 6715663 | #################################################################### ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 08:08:16 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Alberta Beekeepers Convention Here is the schedule for the upcoming *Alberta Beekeepers Association Convention* to be held Monday November 7 and Tuesday November 8, 1994 at the Mayfield Inn, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Everyone is welcome. Please call the ABA office at 1 403 489 6949 for more details, The Mayfield for reservations at 1 -800-661-9804, or email me. The Mayfair Inn is a high quality Hotel with a Dinner Theatre attached. It is located a short distance from the famous West Edmonton Mall. Room rates for Convention are $69.00 CAD ($0.73 US/CAD) Transfer is readily available from the Edmonton International Airport. Procedings are in English. Exhibit space is still available. * * * * * * * *Convention Programme* Monday November 7 8:00 - 9:00 Registration and Coffee 9:00 - 10:30 Introduction, Committeee Reports 10:30 - 11:00 Nobi Choudhari: Breaking even in Honey Production 11:00 - 12:00 James Bach: Honeybee Mite, Virus and African Update 12:00 - 1:00 Lunch on your own 1:00 - 1:40 Frank Windsor: Hedging the Sugar Market 1:40 - 2:30 B.J Sherriff: Beekeeping in Europe (slide presentation) 2:30 - 3:00 Coffee in the exhibits room 3:00 - 4:15 James Bach : Evaluating colonies for Breeding Purposes 4:15 - 5:00 Mary Lye, CHC Promotion Co-ordinator Dinner on your own 7:00 -10:00 Wine and cheese Fun Night With the Exhibitors Antiques, Gadgets and Gismos Review and Draw Tuesday November 8, 1994 9:00 - 9:45 Lloyd Androchow: NTSP Update Kenn Tuckey: Provincial Apiarists Report 9:45 -10:30 James Bach: The philosophy of regulation 10:30 - 11:00 Coffee in the Exhiobits Area 11:00 - 11:30 Dr. Henry Gauvreau: Air Quality in Overwintering Facilities and Warehouse Work Areas 11:00 - 11:30 ABA Luncheon 1:00 - 2:45 Bear Pit Session 2:456 - 3:15 Final Coffee In the Exhibits Area Exhibits closes 3:15 - 5:30 Business meeting Continues Convention ends W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 11:01:38 +0000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Rick Hough Subject: 1094 FAQ [long] * * * * * * BEE-L FAQ * * * * * * Installment #5 - Many thanks to Adam Finkelstein for his continued dedication to maintenance of this FAQ!! The BEE-L FAQ is the same as the sci.agriculture. beekeeping FAQ, with just a bit of extra detail about BEE-L added to the front. Your contributions to the FAQ are actively solicited, so please send any suggestions, comments or additions to Adam Finkelstein(adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu) or Rick Hough (rshough@tasc.com) What is BEE-L? Charter: BEE-L is for the discussion of research and information concerning the biology of bees. This includes honey bees and other bees (and maybe even wasps). We communicate about sociobiology, behavior, ecology, adaptation/evolution, genetics, taxonomy, physiology, pollination, and flower nectar and pollen production of bees. On the technical side: BEE-L is a computerized e-mail list. All e-mail sent to the BEE-L address is duplicated and mailed to all the current subscribers on the list. The listserver (the computer that runs the list) maintains a log (archive) of all messages, and list members may request a copy of the log. The archive has a separate file for each month, and these files are currently saved for about a year. To access the listserve computer itself (i.e. to subscribe to or unsubscribe from BEE-L, to request a log file, etc.), send e-mail to the listserver address. Don't send control messages to the BEE-L address, because the message will just be sent to everyone on the list, and the computer will not do what you wanted it to do. Note that most control messages contain the list name (BEE-L) somewhere in the command, as the listserve computer generally runs many lists at any given time. How do I post a message to BEE-L? If you are on the Internet, send an e-mail message to bee-l@uacsc2.albany.edu If you are on BitNet, address your e-mail to bee-l@ALBNYVM1.BITNET Any message received at these addresses will be duplicated and mailed to everyone currently subscribed to the BEE-L list. How do I subscribe to, or unsubscribe from BEE-L? Send mail to the listserve computer (from the Internet the address is listserv@uacsc2.albany.edu from BitNet, the address is listserv@ALBNYVM1.BITNET To SUBSCRIBE, the body of your message must contain the line: SUBSCRIBE BEE-L You may abbreviate SUBSCRIBE with SUB. Be sure to substitute your real name for the placeholder. You do not need quotes or any other delimiters surrounding your name. The listserve computer will determine your address from the "From:" header in your message. To UNSUBSCRIBE, the body of your message must contain the line: SIGNOFF BEE-L You may substitute either UNSUBSCRIBE or UNSUB for the SIGNOFF in this command to remove your subscription to the list If your address has changed since you subscribed, this command will fail - write to YOUR local POSTMAST/POSTMASTER/POSTMSTR id for assistance. If that fails, then write to OWNER-BEE-L @ for assistance. If that fails, then write one of the following (these are typical addresses that should be forwarded to a person who can answer your question): POSTMASTER@ POSTMAST@ POSTMSTR@ Note: = ALBNYVM1.BITNET if you are on BitNet. = uacsc2.albany.edu if you are on Internet). To avoid this problem, UNSUBSCRIBE from BEE-L before you move to a new e-mail address, and then resubscribe from your new address. How do I get help using the listserver? Send a message to the listserver, with the one word HELP in the body of the message. Address the message to listserv@albnyvm1.bitnet if you are on BitNet, or address it to listserv@uacsc2.albany.edu if you are on the Internet. The listserver will mail a help document back to you. Sending the message INFO ? will cause the listserver to mail you a list of additional help documents that are available. These additional documents are requested by sending the message INFO (be sure to substitute the desired document name for ) ****sci.agriculture.beekeeping FAQ***** 10/20/94 This is FAQ #5 for sci.agriculture.beekeeping. **Note** Excellent information may be obtained on grease patty use and manufacture in the September _Apis_ magazine, available at many of the following archive sites and at the new WWW server for _Apis_ magazine. The URL is: http://gnv.ifas.ufl.edu:7999/~entweb/apis/apis.htm ****** POINTERS TO APICULTURAL INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET ****** USENET news * sci.agriculture.beekeeping Beekeeping, bee-culture and hive products. Listserv: * BEE-L BEE-L is for the discussion of research and information concerning the biology of bees. This includes honey bees and other bees (and maybe even wasps). We communicate about sociobiology, behavior, ecology, adaptation/evolution, genetics, taxonomy, physiology, pollination, and flower nectar and pollen production of bees. To subscribe to BEE-L, send e-mail to listserv@uacsc2.albany.edu with one line in the body of your message: SUBSCRIBE BEE-L To get help on how to run the listserver, send e-mail to listserv@uacsc2.albany.edu with one line in the body of your message: HELP To send a message to all current BEE-L subscribers, mail it to BEE-L@uacsc2.albany.edu. * Beekeeping Home Page (WWW) http://alfred1.u.washington.edu:8080/~jlks/bee.html * _Apis_ Magazine archive (WWW) http://gnv.ifas.ufl.edu:7999/~entweb/apis/apis.html * Entomology World Wide-Web Server at Colorado State University http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/ent.html * Entomology World Wide-Web Server at Iowa State University http://www.public.iastate.edu/~entomology/ * sun1.oardc.ohio-state.edu Anonymous ftp * sun1.oardc.ohio-state.edu Gopher (comments on the above to postmaster@sun1.oardc.ohio-state.edu) * crl.com Anonymous ftp password /users/ro/robbee/BEE> * sunsite.unc.edu Anonymous ftp, gopher, telnet /pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/beekeeping /pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/beekeeping/newsletters/apis Z (an updated list of sunsite's resources is available. Email adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu for the list) * ftp.ucdavis.edu Anonymous ftp /pub/extension/4h-youth/bee-keeping Questions about accessing these sources may be answered locally or by reading news.answers, news.announce.newusers or by writing me, and I'll try to point you in the best direction.(adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu) Please don't be afraid to ask! * Beekeeping FAQ's (frequently asked questions) How to USE: Internet E-Mail a message addressed to: HINT.103@beenet.com on subject line put the name of FAQ : HONEY ADULTERATION Thats all, you are welcome to add a message. Mail runs are 6am & 6pm. Problems, post to sysop@beenet.com .. FAQ Last update 9-28-94 name * NEW or UPDATED _________ HINT.IND THIS INDEX * WB-FILE.ZIP Beekeeping Files Wild Bee's BBS 9k 9/28 yellow.jacket How to get rid of them! Adrian Wenner 8/94 argentin.ant Argentine Ant Control Adrian Wenner 8/94 ambee.fed Info-Joining American Beekeeping Federation apimon95.txt Info- APIMONDIA 1995 Meeting mead.lst How to join the Mead list mail bee-l.faq How to find Bee Info on Internet, Bee-L FAQ's++ 9/10 import.relief Letter to Congress, William J. Clinton (1994) usda-bee.lab Address & Info on Sending Dead bee samples (1992) formic.txt Warning on use of Formic Acid by beekeepers (1992) propolis Jerry Bronenshenk on PROPOLIS (1993) 4-H.txt 4-H joins the Internet (1993) FSHEET11 INFORMATION US BEEKEEPING HINT.101 SOURCES OF BEEKEEPING INFORMATION HINT.102 HONEY AND ITS USES HINT.103 HONEY ADULTERATION HINT.104 FLORIDA BEE INSPECTION HINT.105 FLORIDA BEARS AND BEEKEEPING HINT.106 HONEY HOUSE SANITATION HINT.107 FLORIDA HONEY LABELING REGULATIONS HINT.108 PRODUCING SECTION (COMB) HONEY HINT.109 EXHIBITING HONEY HINT.110 SAMPLE POLLINATION AGREEMENT HINT.111 SOLAR BEESWAX RENDERING AND HINTS FOR EXHIBITING WAX BLOCKS HINT.112 EXTENSION APICULTURAL VISUAL AIDS HINT.113 USING HONEY IN LARGE-QUANTITY RECIPES HINT.115 GOOD NEIGHBOR GUIDELINES AND ORDINANCES HINT.116 CHALKBROOD RECOMMENDATIONS HINT.117 HONEY MARKETING SURVEY HINT.118 PRODUCING POLLEN HINT.119 FINANCIAL MANGEMENT FOR BEEKEEPERS HINT.120 UPWARD VENTILATION HINT.121 WAX MOTH CONTROL HINT.122 BEE STINGS AND REACTIONS HINT.123 EXTENSION APICULTURE IN FLORIDA HINT.124 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND RATIOS FOR BEEKEEPING OPERATIONS HINT.125 PRESERVING WOODENWARE IN BEEKEEPING OPERATIONS HINT.126 THE VALUE OF POLLINATION BY HONEY BEES HINT.127 THE VARROA BEE MITE HINT.128 INFANT BOTULISM AND HONEY HINT.129 HONEY JUDGING AND STANDARDS HINT.130 USING THE HONEY REFRACTOMETER HINT.131 OBSERVATION BEE HIVES All HINT's courtesy of Malcolm T. Sanford, Cooperative Extension Service University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl e:mail mts@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu *beenet.com is a Information Service for Beekeepers & Friends, operated by Andy Nachbaur from the Wild Bee's BBS, 209-826-8107, Los Banos, CA ****Thanks to Andy Nachbaur for putting this together.**** Andy would like your talents in expanding this service. Interested? Write him. Email Andy.Nachbaur@beeneet.com * Honey Hotline NHB Food Technology Program 1 -800-356-5941 P.O. Box 281525 415-340-3568 (FAX) San Franscisco, CA 94128-1525 USA * National Honey Board 421 21 st, suite 203, Longmont, CO 80501 USA 303-776-2337 * The American Apitherapy Society, Inc. P.O. Box 124, Woodsville, NH 03785 603-747-2507 (V,F) *International Bee Research Association 18 North Rd Cardiff CF1 3DY, UK F: (+44)222 665522 V: (+44)222 372409 (24 hrs) * Mead lovers list: mead-lovers-request@eklektix.com mead mailing list (subscribe, unsubscribe, Z etc) mead-lovers@eklektix.com (to send message to all current mead-lover subscribers) * The Mead Association P.O. Box 4666 Grand Junction, CO 81502 1-800-693-MEAD outside US 303-442-9111 * Mead book list: for a good list of books on mead mail: jkl2@Ra.MsState.edu ask for book list. ***** Printed Beekeeping Reference Sources ****** * For an extensive list of Australian beekeeping references e:mail adent@deakin.edu.au * For British beekeeping references and general British bee information, e: mail roe@crosfield.co.uk * Sheila A. Lafferty, librarian/archivist at uconn. handles the _ Hewitt Apicultural Collection_ containing both books and periodicals. Write her for a bibliography, e:mail: wbladmo3@uconnvm.uconn.edu ***** Specialists ***** * John Mcghee, VA Dept of Agriculture Apiary Inspector wishes questions from, and has a list of resources for *beginning beekeepers*. He will focus on practical management and the first years for beekeepers. e:mail mcghee@hopper.itc.virginia.edu * Dr. Rick Fell, Apiculture/Entomology professor and researcher at VA Tech is available for questions, comments and queries. e:mail rfell@vt.edu * Dr. Adrian Wenner, Biology professor and researcher at UCAL SB has available information on Yellow Jacket Control. e:mail wenner@lifesci.lscf.ucsb.edu * Jim Dixon has information on Yellow Jacket Control. email jdixon@ogopogo.educ.sfu.ca * Sharon J. Collman, W.S.U. Cooperative Extension, also has Yellow Jacket control information. email collmans@wsuvm.csc.wsu.edu * For historical bee lore questions (bees knees), and bee lore info write Warner Granade, Librarian at UVa. e:mail jwg2y@poe.acc.virginia.edu * Pollen Information, including pollen production and pollen usage is available from Rob Bidleman. e:mail robbee@crl.com or Anonymous FTP crl.com (see previous section on FTP sites) * Paul Cheng will be coordinating the Bee sting/venom/allergy FAQ. email him with your information/input. email pccheng@merle.acns.nwu.edu * BOMBUS A mailing list dedicated to Bumblebees!! To subscribe, send a message to bombus-request@csi.uottawa.ca. To send a message to everyone on the list, mail it to bombus@csi.uottawa.ca. The Bombus list is maintained by Chris Plowright (plowright@csi.uottawa.ca) FAQ List The following list of frequently asked questions was compiled by Rick Hough (rshough@tasc.com) Folks? Please answer some of these questions if you can find time. (you'll get your name in the FAQ!) Why did my beehive die? What is the difference between Honey Bees and other stinging insects? How do I recognize a honey bee? Why do Bees Sting? What Should I do if there are bees flying all around me? What is the best treatment for a bee sting? Is it true that all bees/honeybees will more likely attack things that are tall/dark/furry-hairy/smelly (what kind of smells?) ? What is an African Bee, and how do I recognize it? Why are African Bees called "Killer Bees?" Are African Bees really dangerous? Do I have to worry about African Bees? (will African Bees be moving into my neighborhood?) How far north will the "killer Bees" get, and when? Bibliography of children's books on bees. Bibliography of beekeeping texts. Bibliography of biology (habitat, parasites, etc.) Protective gear. Finding Queens. Regulatory and research people and their addresses. AHB Progress and news. What is the National Honey Board? How do I find a local beekeeper? What is a swarm -are they dangerous Are their different races of honeybees? What are they and how do they differ? Supering. Honey Production. Queen Rearing. Social Order. Lore. Bee Deterrent? Swarm removal. Thanks, Rick rshough@tasc.com Adam adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu -- _________________________________________________________________________ Adam Finkelstein adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu | adamf@hopper.itc.virginia.edu ___________________________________________|_____________________________ ====================================================================== ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 10:17:00 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Kerry Clark 784-2225 fax (604) 784 2299" Subject: Re: Varroa death? We have also seen lots of live varroa below screens in hives treated with Apistan. If the mites are gathered up and put in a jar, they will live for a few days.. It would be interesting to compare their life expectancy, with that of mites which hadn't been treated. The Apistan company rep says that is a normal part of the action of Apistan: some of the mites are dislodged and fall to the bottom board, but survive. If no screen is present, they climb aboard the next passing bee and are carried back to the cluster where they are hit with another exposure to fluvalinate. So it goes until they don't get up. This seems reasonable enough. Some mites may escape if they bee leaves the hive and moves to an untreated hive, but an immediate death is not necessary for an effective treatment. 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: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 10:28:00 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Kerry Clark 784-2225 fax (604) 784 2299" Subject: Re: Fluvalinate cons Hello Hugo I hope a better answer to your questions arrives, but I could send a few bits. I remember the range of 8,000 to 10,000: that is the ratio of fluvalinate pick up in hive wax, compared to what is picked up in "honey". I have a paper here if you want a reference. Much of the fluvalinate in "honey" may be from the minute pieces of wax which remain in the honey. I don't remember whether the above figures assume wax fragments, or whether the honey was carefully removed from cells without the possibility of wax fragments. The insistent instructions for use of Apistan may well result from the type of samples used to secure regulatory approval. If the honey samples found to be acceptable were taken from hives treated only before honey supers were present, regulators would insist that that practice be included in the instructions. I have heard that the company is considering an application for approval for Apistan use during the honey flow. Indeed I have seen advertising literature,( from Europe I assumed) that said Apistan was approved for use any time of year. Not the case in Canada. 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: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 18:56:53 +0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Richard Spear How do I change my mail address with you ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 08:13:43 +0200 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Hans-Ulrich THOMAS Subject: Re: Beekeeping Email List >On Sat, 22 Oct 1994 13:33:55 -0400, Stan G. Kain wrote: > >>Good Morning, Bee-L Readers, >.......... > >>If you would care to assist me, I would appreciate your sending >>me personal email with your name, email address and interest, >>area of expertise or title. I shall compile the list for interested >>beekeepers and pass it along. >> >>Thank you for your help. >>Cheers, >>Stan Kain > Stan, May be I can be of help sometimes. I do not have an area of expertise per se in beekeeping but I have easy access to two large university libraries. It is easy for me to scan articles and send them on to the Bee-L network. I did that already with an article in Bee World about varroa tolerance in honeybee races some weeks ago. Interested? If so you can reach me via e-mail - hthomas@solid.phys.ethz.ch Hans ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 13:30:40 +0000 Reply-To: IBRA@cardiff.ac.uk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Dr Pamela Munn Subject: email list IBRA (International Bee Research Association) Email: IBRA@Cardiff.ac.uk Descriptor: The world information service for bee science and beekeeping. Resources: extensive library and mail-order book service Journals: Bee World, Journal of Apicultural Research and Apicultural Abstracts. ************************************************************** * Dr Pamela Munn * * Editor of Bee World, Associate Editor of J. Apic. Res. * *============================================================* * E.mail : IBRA@Cardiff.AC.UK | Mail : IBRA * * Phone : (+44) 1222 372 409 | 18 North Road * * Fax : (+44) 1222 665 522 | Cardiff CF1 3DY * * | UK * *============================================================* * If your mail is for someone else in IBRA I will pass it on * ************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 11:25:18 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Justin Wood Subject: Mailing List I am a biology teacher and would appreciate being added to your mailing list.We keep a colony of bumblebees in the classroom, and have recently written a grant to build a honey bee observation colony in the classroom. Thank You. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 09:27:15 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Richard Spear In-Reply-To: <01HIGG0QTTIKB7PWSB@HAMLET.CALTECH.EDU> Sorry to use the list this way ... could someone please send me the listserv address so that I can unsub and resub? I have changed mail addresses. regards, richard rspear@sookit.jpl.nasa.gov ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 16:10:40 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Jane Power Subject: Another queen in the yard Well hi. I am delighted to report that for next spring I will be needing a much bigger beesuit. I was just wondering about unpasterized honey. I know that children under 2 are not supposed to eat it, but how about my little one on the way? Will he or she or both :o aaah! aaaah! be affected if I eat the honey. Any help will be appreciated. Many thanks. Jane Power thepowerthatbees ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 20:08:29 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adam Finkelstein Subject: USDA: Honey Bees Used As A Biological Control Date: 25 Oct 94 16:33:00 EDT From: "LISA SPURLOCK" USDA Agricultural Research Service Sean Adams Information Staff, Greenbelt, Md. (301) 344-2723 BUSY BEES COULD TAKE ON NEW PEST-CONTROL ROLE WASHINGTON, Oct. 24--A typical worker honeybee flies 500 miles and can search thousands of flowers for pollen and nectar that it carries back to the beehive. Now U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists are using these female bees to drop something off during their travels--an environmentally friendly virus that kills crop pests. Scientists with USDA's Agricultural Research Service have patented a device that dusts honeybees with a virus-talc powder mixture when they leave the beehive. As the bees buzz from flower to flower, the virus and powder rub off their feet and legs and onto the blossoms. The virus is harmless to honeybees, but knocks down populations of corn earworms that cause millions of dollars in damage to crops, said John Hamm of the agency's Insect Biology and Population Management Research Laboratory in Tifton, Ga. The virus-dusting device was developed by the late agency entomologist Harry Gross, agency technician Raydene Johnson and beekeeper J.C. Walters. The patent, number 5,348,511, was issued on Sept. 20. "Field studies show that the bees do a great job of carrying the virus from one crimson clover flower to another," Hamm said. "They're really ideal carriers because they work hard and visit so many plants." A bee has a foraging life among flowers of 15 to 20 days--until the wings fray and wear out. Hamm, who worked with Gross and cooperators on the biocontrol field studies, said the virus killed from 74 to 87 percent of corn earworm larvae in crimson clover fields where the bees carried the virus, called a nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV). That's compared to only 11 to 14 percent mortality in fields where bees were not used. "The studies were done only with NPV and corn earworms, but the beehive device can be used with any biocontrol agent that doesn't harm the bees," he said. That's the case with NPV, which attacks only corn earworms and tobacco budworms and does not hurt bees or other beneficial insects. ARS scientists at Beltsville, Md., have tested NPV in mice and rats and have found no evidence of toxicity, Hamm said. The dusting device fits on the bottom of a standard beehive. It allows the bees to enter unobstructed. But when they leave the hive, they are forced to walk over a pan as they exit. Scientists put a mixture of NPV and talc powder in the pan, so the bees' legs and feet are covered with the mixture. Eric H. Erickson, who heads the ARS Honey Bee Research Lab in Tucson, Ariz., said the new device is timely and "definitely should be pursued. It should be especially appealing to beekeepers who rent their bees for pollinating crops." # NOTE TO EDITORS: Contact John Hamm, entomologist, Insect Biology and Population Management Research Lab, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Tifton, Ga. 31793. Telephone: (912) 387-2323. END -- _________________________________________________________________________ Adam Finkelstein adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu | adamf@hopper.itc.virginia.edu ___________________________________________|_____________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 20:28:16 -0800 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Hugo Veerkamp Subject: Bee Sting Therapy - MS? hi Allen: Its a good idea to bring this subject up in BEE-L! ever since the series of articles in '93 in ABJ on this subject, I've been gathering info about it and got myself a 'bee-sting kit', consisting of an EPIPEN injector for anaphylactic emergencies( containing a solution of epinephrine). Also I corresponded with people from the American Apitherapy society AAS to get some more info about dosages and materials and methods( if need be, I could relay some of that info here). Thus armed, I set out to treat two women friends with MS. First I gave them each a few stings to determine sensitivity. As all went well, I gave them a few more stings. The results were sonewhat ambiguous: one patient claimed to feel a bit better afterwards (this was the patient who is still able to walk around, if slowly), whereas the other patient wanted to stop further treatment because the stings only gave her itchings and no observable improvement( this was the patient who uses a wheelchair during the day and needs help for most daily activities) So I am very much interested to hear from others about their results and M.O.; especially I'd like to exchange email with European practicioners of B.V.T.( bee venom therapy), so we might together form a counterpart of the AAS in Europe.. best regards, Hugo Hugo Veerkamp #################################################################### | BEENET INTERNATIONAL | | E-mail : | mail : the Bee bbs | | Hugo.Veerkamp@f28.n2801.z2.fidonet.org| P.O. BOX 51008 | | ( or press reply button) | 1007EA AMSTERDAM | | | The Netherlands | | Beenet : 240:31/0 | modem: +31 20 6764105 | | Fidonet: 2:2801/28 | voice: +31 20 6715663 | #################################################################### > Does anyone have any experience with bee stings as a > treatment for MS? > Will summarize. > W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper ARS VE6CFK > Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 > Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 20:57:39 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Daniel L. Rich" Subject: Re: USDA: Honey Bees Used As A Biological Control >... > "The studies were done only with NPV and corn earworms, >but the beehive device can be used with any biocontrol agent >that doesn't harm the bees," he said. That's the case with >NPV, which attacks only corn earworms and tobacco budworms and >does not hurt bees or other beneficial insects. ARS >scientists at Beltsville, Md., have tested NPV in mice and >rats and have found no evidence of toxicity, Hamm said. >... > Eric H. Erickson, who heads the ARS Honey Bee Research Lab >in Tucson, Ariz., said the new device is timely and >"definitely should be pursued. It should be especially >appealing to beekeepers who rent their bees for pollinating >crops." >... One of the major selling points of honey is its purity, lack of preservatives etc. At what concentrations was the testing done, at what concentration is it passed to the honey, etc.? Is this method intended to be used exclusively for pollinating and the honey produced used for something other than human consumption? Dan rich.dan@imvi.bls.com ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 16:50:00 GMT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: ANDY NACHBAUR Organization: Wild Bee's BBS 209-826-8107 Subject: Tex-Mex feral swarms Subject: Tex-Mex feral swarms To: BEE-L@UACSC2.ALBANY.EDU Subject: Tex-Mex feral swarms A question was asked in an recent post about beekeepers keeping "killer" bees, and I just got a letter from a beekeeper in one of the areas outside of Texas that has been reported to have the dreaded Tex-Mex bee I thought others may be interested in reading. This is from a full time 3rd generation beekeeper and his wife who also is a good beekeeper. ttul Andy- Oct. 22, 1994 "I have some bees that you might like to look at. They seem to have about five pounds of pollen every time I pull the tray? They walked eight or ten inches down and around the pollen trap and did battle with the ants. The ants gave up. This was a tiny, feral swarm that I gave a frame of brood and a little bit of food this spring. I supered them in June and didn't look again until mid-August, at which time the bees were literally boiling out of three lead-heavy bodies; almost unbelievably populous. I put the trap on and gave them another super." They are not extremely well-mannered, but I LOVE them." Not at all like the conditions I find when I go to my apiaries. ttul Andy- ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 26 Oct 1994 13:39:25 CST6CDT Reply-To: bwhite@mda-is.mda.state.mn.us Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: BLANE WHITE Organization: Minnesota Dept of Agriculture Subject: honey export Hi, I need some help. We have a beekeeper who is trying to sell some honey to a company in Germany. The buyer has tested the honey and wants it but they say that they need a "sanitary certificate" to get the honey through customs. Now the problem. Honey is on a list of products that Federal Export Certificates of any kind cannot be issued for. I know that honey is shipped from the US to Germany but what documentation is needed and how do you get it? Thanks for the help. blane ****************************************** Blane White State Apiary Inspector Minnesota Department of Agriculture Division of Plant Protection 90 W Plato Blvd St Paul, MN 55107 ph 612-296-0591 fax 612-296-7386 bwhite@mda-is.mda.state.mn.us ******************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 00:26:23 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Stan G. Kain" Subject: Lost Email Address Could someone assist me with an email address for Vagner Toledo? He is at the University of Maringa in Brazil. He wrote to me and I copied his email address incorrectly. Thanks, Stan Kain Email: stankain@delphi.com ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 00:27:35 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Stan G. Kain" Subject: Beekeeping Related Software I am interested in any computer software written for beekeeping use. I would like to know the name of the program and whom I might contact regarding information about it. I have been requested to write articles about products of this nature. Any assistance would be appreciated. Cheers, Stan Kain Email:stankain@delphi.com ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 26 Oct 1994 23:07:46 -0700 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Geary Wong Subject: "Beekeeper's Yellow Pages" Hello BEE-L subscribers, We would like to request your assistance in helping us compile a "beekeeper's yellow pages or reference list". Hopefully, this would be a useful reference tool for the research & beekeeping communities. We anticipate having this list published in a major trade journal. If you would like to be listed, please send the following via e-mail: Name(first,middle,last) internet/e-mail address(s) snail mail address phone & FAX# If Professor or researcher, please state teaching & research interests. If commercial or hobby beekeeper, please state floral sources & types of honey that you produce. Do you sell direct or through other channels. Do you provide pollination services, etc. If organization such as bee publishing house, beekeeping magazine, professional & beekeeping organizations,etc. please provide info. about your services. If packer or distributor, please provide info. about your services. Please e-mail above information to either: Stan Kain e-mail: stankain@delphi.com Geary Wong e-mail: gewong@netcom.com Thanks for your help. ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 09:30:54 CDT Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Ray Nabors Subject: "Beekeeper's Yellow Pages" Hello BEE-L subscribers, We would like to request your assistance in helping us compile a "beekeeper's yellow pages or reference list". Hopefully, this would be a useful reference tool for the research & beekeeping communities. We anticipate having this list published in a major trade journal. If you would like to be listed, please send the following via e-mail: Name(first,middle,last) internet/e-mail address(s) snail mail address phone & FAX# If Professor or researcher, please state teaching & research interests. If commercial or hobby beekeeper, please state floral sources & types of honey that you produce. Do you sell direct or through other channels. Do you provide pollination services, etc. If organization such as bee publishing house, beekeeping magazine, professional & beekeeping organizations,etc. please provide info. about your services. If packer or distributor, please provide info. about your services. Please e-mail above information to either: Stan Kain e-mail: stankain@delphi.com Geary Wong e-mail: gewong@netcom.com Thanks for your help. I thank the yellow pages is a good idea! Here is my info: Ray Nabors (Teaching and Research Interests) P.O. Box 1001 Caruthersville, MO 63830 Phone: 314-333-0258; FAX# 314-333-0259 ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 21:23:50 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Joseph Cooper Subject: Re: "Beekeeper's Yellow Pages" In-Reply-To: On Thu, 27 Oct 1994, Ray Nabors wrote: > Hello BEE-L subscribers, > > We would like to request your assistance in helping us > compile a "beekeeper's yellow pages or reference list". > > Hopefully, this would be a useful reference tool for the > research & beekeeping communities. We anticipate having > this list published in a major trade journal. > Do you think it might be possible to publish this useful resource on B-L, or on Adam F's newsgroup or on some other instantly available, non-commerical Internet location? ************************* * Joseph Cooper * * jcooper@infinet.com * ************************* ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 20:37:39 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Vaughn M Jr Bryant Subject: Re: "Beekeeper's Yellow Pages" In-Reply-To: <199410270611.BAA12465@tam2000.tamu.edu> Yes, please list me in the directory. The information you requested is listed below. Vaughn M. Bryant, Jr. (vbryant@tamu.edu) Professor and Director Palynology Laboratory Texas A&M University College Station, Texas 77843-3452 phone 409-845-5242 FAX 409-845-4070 I am a professor and conduct research in the area of melissopalynology. I have just completed a pollen atlas of southeastern U.S. pollen flora (most of which reflects bee foraging use) and am working on my next book which will define the floral and chemical contents of U.S. domestic honey products produced in all 50 states. ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 21:40:31 +22300129 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Adam Finkelstein Subject: Re: "Beekeeper's Yellow Pages" In-Reply-To: <199410280124.VAA23246@ipe.cc.vt.edu> from "Joseph Cooper" at Oct 27, 94 09:23:50 pm In E-Mail recently Joseph Cooper wrote, > > Hopefully, this would be a useful reference tool for the > > research & beekeeping communities. We anticipate having > > this list published in a major trade journal. > > > Do you think it might be possible to publish this useful resource on B-L, > or on Adam F's newsgroup or on some other instantly available, > non-commerical Internet location? The sci.agriculture.beekeeping /Bee-l FAQ would point to this list: where it would be archived, and how to get to it. By the way, sci.agriculture.beekeeping is the world's newsgroup, although I like it too... :) Adam -- _________________________________________________________________________ Adam Finkelstein adamf@vtaix.cc.vt.edu | adamf@hopper.itc.virginia.edu ___________________________________________|_____________________________ ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 18:02:49 BDB Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Vagner de Alencar Arnaut de Toledo Organization: FUEM/Fundacao Universidade Estadual de Maringa - Parana - Brasil. Subject: Re: Lost Email Address In-Reply-To: Message of Thu, 27 Oct 1994 00:26:23 -0400 from hi Stan, My Address is: My area of interest: beeswax and others, of course. Prof. University of Maringa DZO Colombo Av., 5790 phone: (044) 2262727 -r.319 fax: (044) 2222754 87020-900 Maringa - PR - Brazil bye ======================================================================= VAGNER TOLEDO +++ +++ UNIV. EST. MARINGA - DZO ___---___ BIENE 00) (00 ODER COLOMBO AV. 3690 00) (00 BIENE? 87020-900 MARINGA - PR - BRAZIL (-=======-) TEL. (044) 2262727 R.319 ,% %%& &. (!!!!!!!!!) .% %&% % FAX. 00-55-044-2222754 ,% *(!!!!!!!)* %, * ( ) * * ( ! ) * BITNET: VGTOLEDO AT BRFUEM * " * ======================================================================= ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 19:31:07 AEST+1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: Re: another queen in the yard. Sorry to pst this to the list, I tried to post it to "The Power That Bees" herself, but my message got told it was undeliverable. Anyway....congratulations!!!!!!! And here is a little something for the little one when he/she/they arrive(s). 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In-Reply-To: from "Adrian Graham DENT" at Oct 28, 94 07:31:07 pm Jane, Please accept my congratulations too! Regarding your question about the risk of botulism, I think you needn't worry. My understanding is that the possible problem with young children arises because of differences in the infant gut which may allow the bacterium to multiply there. With adults this doesn't happen because of the acidic environment. The recommendation at present seems to be not to feed honey (which may contain the bacterial spores) to infants under one year old. However, at present Baby Power is not feeding directly but via his/her mother so the problem won't arise. It's just oral ingestion in the first year after birth that should be avoided. Malcolm. -- Malcolm Roe Phone : +44 1442 345104 Crosfield Electronics Ltd Fax : +44 1442 232301 Hemel Hempstead, Herts. HP2 7RH, UK E-mail : roe@crosfield.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 09:28:40 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Joseph Cooper Subject: Re: "Beekeeper's Yellow Pages" In-Reply-To: Thanks again for your prompt response to my earlier msg. I would be pleased to be listed in you directory as follow: Joseph (NMN) Cooper jcooper@infinet.com 519 Pincherry Lane Worthington, Ohio 43085 614-885-1586 I am a hobbyist beekeeper. ************************* * Joseph Cooper * * jcooper@infinet.com * ************************* ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 10:09:28 +0000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Rick Hough Subject: RE>"Beekeeper's Yellow Pages" Geary Wong recently posted to BEE-L: >Hello BEE-L subscribers, > >We would like to request your assistance in helping us >compile a "beekeeper's yellow pages or reference list". Stan/Geary - Thanks for doing this list! I think it is a great idea! I would like to make a suggestion to those folks who would like to be included in this list - please e-mail your request and information *directly* to the creators of this list: Stan Kain e-mail: stankain@delphi.com Geary Wong e-mail: gewong@netcom.com If we all send our requests via BEE-L - everyone's e-mail will soon be overflowing!!! Please remember that each message you send to BEE-L gets duplicated and mailed to more than 350 BEE-L subscribers. Thank you for being considerate of everyone on the list. Rick Hough, a hobby beekeeper from Hamilton, MA, USA (near Boston) rshough@tasc.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 09:27:55 -0600 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Allen Dick 546-2588 Subject: Re: another queen in the yard (etc.) In-Reply-To: <9410280949.AA19043@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca> Congratulations! Re: Infant Botulism Hint 128 covers this, I understand. I haven't read it, but a list of such fascinating topics are listed in the FAQ. The ones I have read are very well done! * * * * * * * * * * I don't know if people are having trouble understanding the FAQ and how to get the hints (it's a little daunting), but I know some have had a little trouble and given up. If this is the case for anyone, email me and I'll coach you by email or even retrieve one for you and email it to you - if you can't master the method. It only takes me a minute or two. * * * * * * * * * * And to those who have requested the logs on disk, my apologies. They ARE coming. I've just been very busy wrapping my bees and waiting for the last few to come - I have some from 1991 and 1992 too now! I'll get around to it soon. W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: dicka@CUUG.AB.CA ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 13:37:12 CST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "James E. Tew" Subject: ARS Technical Summaries The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) USDA documents its new research discoveries by publishing technical manuscripts. Technical Abstracts of such manuscripts from ARS's information retrieval system pertaining to bees, pollination, and beekeeping are posted to a full-text search data base that has been loaded onto the gopher Sun1.oardc.ohio-state.edu at The Ohio State University. The Sun1 data base, which is updated every three months, is useful for reviewing on-going research within ARS and is not intended to replace typical bibliographical reviews. To access the resource, point your gopher to Sun1.oardc.ohio- state.edu at The Ohio State University. At the root level, click on "Biological and Agricultural Resources". Then select "Bees and Beekeeping". The data base is listed as the USDA/ARS Current Bee & Pollination Research (Full-text search). Presentation of the ARS bee listings are a combined effort by the Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Extension System, USDA, and The Ohio State University James E. Tew * Phone (216)263-3684 Dept of Entomology * FAX (216)262-2720 OARDC * EM TEW.1@OSU.EDU The Ohio State University * Wooster, OH 44691 * ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Oct 1994 12:25:25 AEST+1000 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: sci.ag.bees and bee-l faq I don't know if anybody has been trying to contact me about australian bee references, but my address is listed in the faq as Adent@deakin.edu.au While I do get mail via this address, I only check it occasionaly. I will write to the faq holders and tell them my other adress, but for everybody elses information, just in case... my adress is roadent@halls1.cc.monash.edu.au. Adrian. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Oct 1994 13:01:07 AEST+1000 Reply-To: roadnet@halls1.cc.monash.edu.au Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Adrian Graham DENT (Rodent)" Organization: Monash University, Clayton Subject: recipes Dear bee-lers, I am currently attempting to write a series of small recipie leaflets to distribute with my honey when I sell it. I would like anybody who can to please send me their favorite honey- inclusive recipies. Thanks Adrian. (replies to roadent@halls1.cc.monash.edu.au) if other people are interested, I will compile the recipies into a list and send it to each person on request....but give me time to get some in before asking for them....thanks. Adrian. ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 23:08:37 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Liz Day Subject: do dermestids eat clothing? I recently removed my winter clothes from storage, where they had been in large cardboard boxes. I opened the largest box and right on top of a flannel sheet was (I'm pretty sure) a fat full-fledged dermestid larva. It looked just like the ones I sometimes see in other people's insect collections, but my collection was never stored in the same building as the clothes. I squeezed it a bit and it was alive, so I shrieked and dropped it. I didn't find any others, but I'm rather worried now. Do dermestids eat clothes? Nearly all my clothes are cotton or synthetic, although there might be some wool blends in there somewhere. (All the pure wool was bagged with mothballs, so the larva couldn't have come from there.) Bleah... Thanks, Liz Day Indianapolis, Indiana, USA lday@gluon.phys.ufl.edu "It takes all kinds to make a world, but did you ever think the percentages were wrong?" ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Oct 1994 11:24:11 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter" Subject: S Carolina Varroa Report I have been through about 150 hives this past week, and have some observations to make about the progress of varroa. First a little background: We found the first varroa mites about four years ago. Since then it has spread slowly, and has been readily controlled, and not a serioius problem. Last year was the first year the entire outfit was treated, all during the winter, mostly during late winter. When we were pulling strips in the spring we found three hives without strips :< ( ...Must have been my help - couldn't have been me! :< ). These three hives were in the last stages of crashing, with few adults. Sealed brood was hatching, which were undersized, often with very tiny or almost absent abdomens, and some with no wings. Many of these emerged, crawled around a few minutes and died. I have some video of this event. Early this fall, checks showed some varroa mites in some colonies, but my impression was that they were at a low level. But this past week, we saw some that were crashing. I also assisted another beekeeper in a fall check of his 40 hives. He had kept strips on his bees all summer (He is a grower, not interested in honey.) Most had Apistan, but there were 6 with the amitraz strips, which he did not know had been recalled. We also found one with no strips. These seven were all in bad shape, with heavy mite infestations. The idea has been tossed around that the seasonal end of drone rearing is a time when hives are very vulnerable, as the mites then switch to worker brood. This is borne out by my observations this past week. I have rarely seen any mites on worker larvae or pupae throughout the summer. The colonies that were crashing, had mites much of the worker brood, and I saw a few with five or six per each. When mites first arrived, we were told that one treatment per year would be sufficient. At this point, I think this is questionable, at least in the south. The first buildup was very slow, but the rebound after treatment was much faster, either because the treatment missed quite a few, or because they had a source of reinfestation. (I suspect the latter is more the case.) I also had caught three swarms this spring that I held separate because they came from areas where no bees have been kept for several years, and I hoped to find resistance to varroa. I fed them, but did not treat for mites. Two died of mite infestations during the summer. The third is now dying of mites. So these had no resistance; they just had not yet been infested. I'll keep trying on this score, and I think all of us should do this, if we can. Some management conclusions: 1. The hives with varroa problems could not be distinguished by a weight test. Most of them had adequate stores. The difference could only be seen inside the hive, and by close inspection of brood. 2. Amitraz, even with all its other problems, apparently is just not very effective for varroa. 3. Beekeepers need to be especially alert at the end of the season, when bees stop raising drones. Scratch open some worker brood and see if there are any mites present on workers. They also can be readily spotted on adults, if you hold the frame in sunlight and train your eye to spot the shiny brown dots. 4. We are in a very vulnerable situation, with only one material to treat for these mites. If resistance to fluvalinate develops, what then? We need an alternate, so we can switch back and forth, to reduce the chances of development of resistance. PS#1 We did find a few feather-light hives. In each case I found a few cells of chalkbrood - a disease that I think is underrated. We eliminated these hives; I do not want to nurse them through winter only to have them provide drones for next years breeding. Had we found them earlier, we would have requeened. PS#2 With all the attention on mites, we must not lapse on foulbrood control. I found four in the forty kept by the farmer-beekeeper. PS#3 I might not be around much for the next couple weeks. We'd better get to treating the rest of the outfit - fast. I don't think we can afford to wait until late winter like last year. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Oct 1994 19:58:08 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Jim G. Shoemaker" Subject: Raising Wax Worms Fellow Bee People: For the past twenty years I have been trying to avoid wax worms/moths. Now I want to raise them under some type of controlled system. My reason for this proposed activity is for fish bait. Anyone out there have any information/ideas/suggestions as to how this is best done. Any information will be appreciated. Jim Shoemaker 5160 S. Western Brookline, MO 65619 (417) 887 0225 jshoemak@ozarks.sgcl.lib.mo.us ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 29 Oct 1994 22:46:38 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Liz Day Subject: help, ibra address I think IBRA still is selling "The Humble-Bee", by Sladen. Can somebody please tell me their address? THankk you..... Liz Day Indianapolis, Indiana, USA lday@gluon.phys.ufl.edu "I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no class." ;-) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Oct 1994 08:47:47 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Liz Day Subject: thanks for address I got it (IBRA's address). Thank you! Liz Day ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Oct 1994 18:11:17 GMT Reply-To: Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Gordon Scott Subject: Re: help, ibra address & 'The Humble Bee' In message <9410300247.ab29159@post.demon.co.uk> BEE-L%ALBNYVM1.BITNET@ubvm.cc. buffalo.edu writes: > I think IBRA still is selling "The Humble-Bee", by Sladen. > Can somebody please tell me their address? > THankk you..... > > Liz Day > Hi Liz, ibra@cardiff.ac.uk F.W.L. Sladen's 'The Humble Bee' (ISBN 095102423X) was reprinted in 1989 by Logaston Press, Little Logaston, Woonton, Hertfordshire, HR3 6QH, UK. You can *probably* order it through any good bookseller. I have a copy and it's an excellent book; this reprinted version also includes a reproduction of his 'original' original work of 1892 when he was sixteen years old. regards, -- Gordon Scott Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk 100332,3310 on CompuServe Newsletter Beekeeper@apis.demon.co.uk ditto Beekeeper, Kendo Sandan, sometime sailor. Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 5HP, UK Modem - a baudy house, a baudello. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Oct 1994 18:26:31 GMT Reply-To: Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Gordon Scott Subject: Re: recipes In message <9410290304.aa25732@post.demon.co.uk> roadnet@halls1.cc.monash.edu.au writes: > Dear bee-lers, I am currently attempting to write a series of small > recipie leaflets to distribute with my honey when I sell it. I would > like anybody who can to please send me their favorite honey- inclusive > recipies. > > Thanks, Adrian. > > (replies to roadent@halls1.cc.monash.edu.au) > > if other people are interested, I will compile the recipies into a list > and send it to each person on request....but give me time to get some in > before asking for them....thanks. Adrian. We do the same sort of thing (our Association sells some small booklets to help with our funding). There must be both lots of recipes and lots of people who would like them. Could these go on an ftp or mailer or something? Or do they already? I will gladly contribute some! I'll watch the mail for a day or few before I start posting though. Regards, -- Gordon Scott Gordon@apis.demon.co.uk 100332,3310 on CompuServe Newsletter Beekeeper@apis.demon.co.uk ditto Beekeeper, Kendo Sandan, sometime sailor. Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 5HP, UK He is truly wise who gains wisdom from another's mishap. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Oct 1994 19:11:39 +0100 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Hans-Ulrich THOMAS Subject: Re: help, ibra address >I think IBRA still is selling "The Humble-Bee", by Sladen. >Can somebody please tell me their address? >THankk you..... > >Liz Day > Liz, No problem. I have right here on my desk. - IBRA, 18 North Road, Cardiff, CF1 3DY, England - Tel: +44 1222 372 409 - Fax: +44 1222 665 522 - e-mail: ibra@cardiff.ac.uk - e-mail: munnpa@cardiff.ac.uk Hope this helps you Hans ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Oct 1994 20:45:07 -0500 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Liz Day Subject: Sladens book question Does the reprint via IBRA look any different than that from Wicwas Press, or are they the same thing? Thank you all so far - Liz Day Liz Day Indianapolis, Indiana, USA lday@gluon.phys.ufl.edu "I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no class." ;-) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 30 Oct 1994 23:49:31 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Joyce Deming Subject: Re: Raising Wax Worms Jim-- Too bad I didn't read my Email earlier. We just spent the better part of the weekend scraping wax worms out some old boxes of frames. I could have sent you some to start your wax worm farm! :-) Are the wax worms that are the beekeepers' nemesis and those you buy in the bait shops the same? The ones we were squishing this weekend seemed a lot less "tough" than the bait variety. Anyway, seems like you could just set out some old brood frames in a hive body and the wax moths will take up residence. It would It would at least get you started. As far as breeding them under controlled conditions, I don'treally have any suggestions. Like you, we've tried not to encourage them. Good Luck-- ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 12:25:43 +0000 Reply-To: IBRA@cardiff.ac.uk Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Dr Pamela Munn Subject: Re: help, ibra address In-Reply-To: from "Liz Day" at Oct 29, 94 10:46:38 pm > I think IBRA still is selling "The Humble-Bee", by Sladen. > Can somebody please tell me their address? > THankk you..... > Dear Liz Yes, we do sell Sladen's book - contact address etc listed below: ************************************************************** * Dr Pamela Munn * * Editor of Bee World, Associate Editor of J. Apic. Res. * *============================================================* * E.mail : IBRA@Cardiff.AC.UK | Mail : IBRA * * Phone : (+44) 1222 372 409 | 18 North Road * * Fax : (+44) 1222 665 522 | Cardiff CF1 3DY * * | UK * *============================================================* * If your mail is for someone else in IBRA I will pass it on * ************************************************************** ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 09:29:25 EST Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: "Kenneth A. Foster" Organization: Agricultural Economics Subject: Bumble Bees My family has been in the pollination business with honey bees for years. However, Indiana is not the best place to overwinter bees and with mites it is even worse. We are not interested in migrating and I have been wondering about switching (at least in part) to bumble bees. I know that they are good pollinators, but I am wondering if anyone has experience with how difficult it is to keep them. Also, how does one get started? I understand that purchasing them is rather expensive. Is it possible to trap feral hives of bumble bees? What sort of container does one keep them in? Are there any books or other sources of information about keeping bumble bees? Thanks to all who find time to answer. |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| | ! Ken Foster ! | | \|/ Dept of Ag. Econ. \|/ | | ! | 1145 Krannert Bldg. ! | | | \|/ |/\ Purdue University \|/ |/\| | ! | /\| West Lafayette, IN ! | /\| | | \|/ |/\ | 47907-1145 \|/ |/\ | | | | /\| ~^~ | /\| ~^~ | | |/\ | |/\ | | |/\| ~^~ Greetings from /\| ~^~ | | | the corn fields of Indiana! | | | ~^~ ~^~ | | | | Phone: (317) 494-1116 | | FAX: (317) 494-9176 | | e-mail: foster@agecon.purdue.edu | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 16:16:22 +0100 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Christiane Courant Subject: Re: help, ibra address 18 North Road, Cardiff CF1 3DY (UK) Fax: 44-1222.665522 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 20:39:26 -0400 Reply-To: Discussion of Bee Biology Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology From: Peter Kevan Subject: Re: request for pollination pubs There are several recent publications which review the area of pollinator conservation. A series of papers in Bee World by Sally Corbet and colleagues relates to Europe. There is a recent editorial in Bee World by Phil Torchio which is well worth a read. There are some concerns in Acta Horticulturae, the issue from the International Pollinataion Conference held in Tilburg, Netherlands, an few years ago. Kevan et al. have a review in American Journal of Alternative Agriulture in the last few years. They cite much of the available literature from the ecological stand-point. There is an NRCC publication on Pesticides and Pollinators available from the National Research Council of Canada. There is a publication of Fenitrothion and its environmental impact published by Environment Canada. A paper in that concerns pollinators and is by Kevan and Plowright. A short listing of my own works on the subject follows: those with an asterisk, no reprints left. Kevan, 1975. Biological Conservation 7:301-309* Kevan, 1975. Environmental Conservation 2:222-227* Kevan, 1977. Canadian J. Agricultural Economics 25:61-64* Kevan & E. B. Oppermann, 1980. Canadian J, Agricultural Economics 28:81-84* Kevan & H. G. Baker, 1983. Annual Review of Entomology 28:407-453* Kevan, 1987. Proceedings of the Entomological Soc. Ontario 118:109-110* Kevan, E. A. Clark, & V. Thomas, 1990. American J. Alternative Agr. 5:13-22* Kevan, E.A. Clark, & V. G. Thomas, 1990. Proc. ent. Soc. Ontario 121:43-48* Kevan, 1991. Acta Horticulturae 288:103-110 Kevan, and W.E. LaBerge, 1979. Proc. IV Int. Symp. Pollination, 489-508. Kevan et al. National Research Council of Canada Publ. 18471 (1981) Kevan, 1986. In: Biological Control in the Tropics, pp. 439-452. Kevan, and R. C. Plowright, 1989. Env. Effects of Fenitrothion, Environment Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. pp. 13-42* Kevan, E.A.Clark, and V.G.Thomas, 1991. Proc. I Conf. Agroforestry in N. Amer. pp. 242-248. Kevan, 1993. In: Asian Apiculture (Conner et al. eds) Wicwas Press. pp. 281-288. Kevan and R.C.Plowright, 1995. In: Aerial Control of Forest Insects in Canada. Information Canada, Ottawa, in press.* Kevan 1987- Canadian Beekeeping 13(9):208, 14(4):79-80, 14(10):228-229, 15(1):12-16, 15:176-177, Canadian Fruitgrower 45:4-5,38, 46(3):2-4,18.