The Bee Martini: Alcohol Tests for Varroa Mites...

Aug 4, 2013 by

The Bee Martini: Alcohol Tests for Varroa Mites

You're probably going to watch this video and think: What the heck? That beekeeper isn't wearing a bee suit! Why isn't he getting stung? And then you're going to think: Wait a second, why is he killing all those bees? Killing bees to save bees? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE??? Allow me to explain. This is Randy Oliver, pro-beekeeper, author of many articles in the American Bee Journal and posts on his website, ScientificBeekeeping.com. Randy is a respected beekeeper and scientist who has been keeping bees since 1967. His data collection has been instrumental to other researchers trying to understand CCD and honeybees in general, and when he's working on his commercial beekeeping, he spends his time reading scientific papers and interviewing scientists to disseminate the information to everyday beekeepers. Basically, he's awesome. So...

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Pesticides Kill Oregon Bumblebees...

Jun 23, 2013 by

Pesticides Kill Oregon Bumblebees

This story both deeply saddens me and gives me hope. For those of you who haven't heard, earlier this week a blanket of dead and dying bumblebees were found on a parking lot in Oregon. The estimated loss was around 50,000 bumblebees; other insects, such as honeybees, were killed as well. Customers found the bumblebees at the base of a group of European Linden trees, which had recently been sprayed with a pesticide called Safari--a neonicotinoid pesticide produced by Valent. After the mass die-off, researchers set out to find out if the culprit was the pesticide or the tree itself; apparently linden tree nectar can be toxic in high doses. As of Saturday, the Oregon State Department of Agriculture (ODA) announced that "the bee deaths are directly related to a pesticide application on the...

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Our Supermarkets without Bees

Jun 22, 2013 by

Our Supermarkets without Bees

People often ask me what will happen if all the bees die. Whole Foods (as part of their "Share the Buzz" campaign) recently posted a great photo (below) to illustrate this visually, since it's quite hard to really comprehend the role that bees play in our agriculture. I find the photo rather haunting. When people ask about dying bees, they usually mean honeybees. But the truth is, many pollinators are responsible for the fruits in the photos, not just honeybees. And those pollinators are being affected by some of the same causes that are impacting honeybees: mites, pesticides, diseases, and lack of habitat and nutritional variety (i.e. not enough flowers). A recent devastating bumblebee die-off in Oregon (over 25,000 bumblebees were found dead in a mall parking lot) has led to research on pesticides that...

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Sacrebleu! French Honeybees Produce Mysterious Blue Honey...

Nov 30, 2012 by

Sacrebleu! French Honeybees Produce Mysterious Blue Honey

This is why I adore bees. According to a Time article in October, French beekeepers started finding blue and green honey in their bees' honeycomb and were completely baffled as to why. As amazing as this story is, I have to feel bad for those French apiarists, who have been struggling to survive Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) since 2007 and fighting the French government to ban the imidacloprid insecticide, a possible culprit. On top of that, the region suffered from a particularly harsh winter that resulted in low honey production. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, they open up their hives, pull out their frames, and this is what they find: Quelle horreur! or...better yet: Sacrebleu! Okay, sorry to make fun of the situation, because this had a serious impact on French farmers, but...you'll never guess why...

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Beekeeping in San Francisco

Feb 2, 2011 by

Beekeeping in San Francisco

Ever wonder if people keep bees in the city? Heck yeah they do! Everyone's buzzing about urban beekeeping these days, a popular new movement in cities. I found this great documentary about beekeeping in San Francisco--check it out for some inspiration and education. Beekeeping is legal in San Francisco, so make sure you check your city requirements before embarking on your own urban bee adventure. And if it's not legal, try to get involved with your local city council like Denver did (and I think Napa too) and change that! Here's a link to the San Francisco Beekeepers Association, for those who live in the city or are interested in keeping urban bees. Enjoy the...

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Stingless bees can mummify beetles in resin!...

Jan 9, 2010 by

Stingless bees can mummify beetles in resin!

Yet another reason why bees are awesome: They can mummify beetles. Of course, we're not talking about honeybees here, but I am inspired by ALL bees, no matter what kind. So, apparently this happens in Australian stingless bees, a species called Trigona carbonaria. Scientists placed a bunch of small hive beetles outside a laboratory hive of stingless bees. If the beetles made it past the guard bees, a group of bees in the hive attacked the beetles and coated them with a mixture of resin, mud, and wax. How long does the mummification take? Just about ten minutes. Beat that, Egyptians. The only time researchers saw this method fail was when temperatures rose above 40 Celsius and the resin didn't set. But other than that? Fool proof. Other bees use this method as well,...

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Green Bees

Apr 20, 2009 by

Green Bees

You must read this lovely article, "In the Key of Bee," by Erik Vance, featured in the online mag Bay Nature. In it, Vance writes about Gordon Frankie, a bee professor at UC Berkeley who specializes in native bees. I have to admit I'm a bit smitten with native bees myself lately, and am quite inspired by his work. Anyway, the article talks about several native bee varieties, such as the leaf cutting bee, who lines his hive with small, precision-cut leaf slices, and can be seen bobbing through the air with small bits of leaves. The article also talks about the work one man is doing to help preserve native bee populations, an admirable feat in and of itself. Click here for a link to the article, and for more great pics. Photo...

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I saw the White House Bees!

Apr 20, 2009 by

I saw the White House Bees!

I went on a weekend trip to Washington D.C., to visit a friend of mine. Anyway, one of the highlights of my weekend (besides the gorgeous weather) was walking past the White House and getting a glimpse of the White House Bees! I was so excited and inspired. I don't have a heck of a lot to say about it, except that it's so exciting that the Obamas are setting a precedent for organic farming and the importance of bees in our communities and urban landscapes. This picture was taken from the City Bees Blog. Click here to see more pictures of the White House...

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Bee hives at the White House!

Mar 22, 2009 by

According to Bee Culture, a beekeeping magazine, and an article in the KansasCity.com, Michelle Obama has recently announced that not only will there be an organic garden at the White House, there will also be two bee hives! Apparently the bee hives belong to a White House employee who lives nearby and will tend the hives. The crops and will be used by the White House kitchen staff for the family and for official functions, while some will be donated to Miriam's Kitchen, a soup kitchen near the White House. Some of the produce will include lettuces, fennel, rhubarb, cucumbers, sweet and hot peppers, as well as berries and some herbs.The 1,100 square foot garden will be the first of its kind since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden during World War II. Mrs....

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I heart bumblebees! Part Three: How we can help....

Mar 21, 2009 by

I heart bumblebees! Part Three: How we can help.

I watched the documentary King Corn last night and LOVED it. It's about two men who decide to farm an acre of land in Iowa and grow corn to understand just how the crop gets into so much of our food (and bodies). It's poignant, interesting and thoughtful, and I couldn't help but think how similar the issues they're looking at are to the ones that have caused bee decline. Basically, we're both exploring the downward spiral of agriculture, and its effects on our environmental and bodily health. The King Corn website also offers some great ways to address our agricultural system on the "take action" tab in their website, which gave me some good ideas for this post. So let's get on with it, shall we? How can we help out bumblebees (and...

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I heart bumblebees! Part Two: Why the bumblebee is in decline....

Mar 14, 2009 by

I heart bumblebees! Part Two: Why the bumblebee is in decline.

So, why have the bumblebees been in decline? Many of the articles I found concerned the U.K., which doesn't mean that the decline isn't happening in the U.S., it's just that the U.K. has been a hotbed of recent bee research. An article titled "Decline of Bumblebees (Bombus) in the North American Midwest" states: "The nature and extent of bumble bee decline in North America is poorly understood due mainly to a lack of baseline and long term data." Clearly, there are reports of bee decline in the U.S. as well, and I think that the two phenomenons are closely related. So let's return to David Goulson's analysis. In the last blog, I wrote about bumblebee's unique characteristics, but let's point out some of the main ones that are contributing to their decline. Bumblebees...

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I heart bumblebees! Part One: Cool facts about Bumblebees....

Mar 11, 2009 by

I heart bumblebees! Part One: Cool facts about Bumblebees.

So, I was speaking with a colleague the other day who just happens to have a family history in beekeeping. Her father (if I'm correct) is a third generation beekeeper and also an etymologist. Anyway, we were talking about her family's bee business when she mentioned that over 5 species of bumblebees had disappeared in the U.K. recently. 5 species? That surprised me, so of course--since I teach research writing and I'm into bees--I had to go and research the fact. I found two articles that talked about this phenomenon. One was titled "To Be or Not to Bee..." by Marianna H. Horn and Peter G. Kevan and another (not so subtly named) was called "The Demise of the Bumblebee in Britain," by David Goulson. Both articles had some enlightening things to say about...

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