WVBA Member

It has become obvious that we cannot reduce the stress that varroa mites cause to our honey bee colonies by starting our mite control in the fall. Although it is the dispersal (phoretic) mites feeding on colony adults or reproducing mites in capped pupae cells that we control, the real issue is that mites enable the spread of the deformed wing and paralysis viruses that lead to colony death. Most of you have had a chance to look at bees this spring. We MUST flatten the mite growth curve NOW...

The basis of honey bee winter survival lies in their ability to fo rm a winter cluster. The winter cluster is a precisely organized, dynamic structure that functions like a biological heating system. It is worker bees instinctively gathering together, centered around the queen and remaining brood. Ideally the winter cluster will form between boxes (in 2-3 box hive configurations). It moves upward as the season progresses to maintain contact with honey stores. This initial positioning...

Most of us will use harvested honey as a dietary carbohydrate. I trust you were satisfied with the honey you were able to harvest this season?  Your honey might be directly consumed or used to sweeten beverages, desserts, salads, cooked into main dishes, be dribbled on toast and used to help keep baked goods fresher for a longer period of time. Honey is a natural sweeter, perhaps preceding all other concentrated sugar sources to benefit human  nutrition. There is another important side to...