Articles

We typically think of honey bee foraging as gathering pollen and nectar from flowers. However, they also forge for propolis and water. As the bee nutrition studies at OSU by Ramesh Sagili and postdoc Priya Charkrabarti demonstrate, the nutritional requirements of honey bees are quite complex. It turns out that maybe nectar and pollen doesn’t supply everything bees need - water might also be important. See Flickr photo. PhD studies by Dr. Rachael Bonoan, at Tufts University

Spring is the busiest time of the year for the beekeeper. Bee populations develop rapidly and changes happen very quickly in the beehive.  It is a challenge for the beekeeper to stay ahead — to anticipate, not merely re-act.  We often have to make decisions based on relatively little information. It is probably  the toughest management season during the year. Timing is everything. This is the opening for my March 2022 Beekeeping Basics column for the American Bee Journal (pa

The PNW honey bee survey is now open, extending to end of April. Survey can be completed in only 5-10 minutes. Go to: https://pnwhoneybeesurvey.com/survey  To examine past survey results look for WVBA survey report on same site under survey results. I ASK WVBA members to complete a survey again this year. Last year, the 22 WVBA survey respondents (168 fall colonies) reported a  29% loss, second best survival of all the bee clubs; statewide average loss was 35%.  The level i

Dr Marla Spivek in October American Bee Journal discussed  some examples of “double-edged swords” beekeepers are facing. One was the conundrum of individuals starting beekeeping to save the bees  but then they don’t properly  care for their bees. New beekeepers don’t initially know how to care for their bees but also some individuals who start a bee hive have the mistaken belief by not treating or feeding colonies their bees will be more hardy by building resistance to mites/

The more I study beekeeping, the less I know, until, finally, I arrived – I know pretty much nothing. But, even though I know nothing, I still have plenty to unlearn. Okay, as one or two of my beekeeping friends might remember (and facebook  reminded you), I share a December 25 th birthday with L.L. Langstroth (1810). So, for a chuckle, I decided to answer to, and identify myself as, “Lorenzo” to spam callers, Jersey Mike’s calls- about the only place I eat out – love their