ZomBEEs...

Vermont beekeepers face threat of 'zombie' bees; 1st time parasite found in Eastern US

Published January 29, 2014

Associated Press

ESSEX JUNCTION, VT. –  Vermont beekeepers face mite infestations, extreme temperature swings and the possibility of colony collapse. Last fall, a new threat emerged: zombie bees.

Beekeeper Anthony Cantrell of Burlington discovered zombie bees in his hive in October, the first time they'd been found in the eastern United States.

John Hafernik, a professor from San Francisco State University, discovered the first zombie bees in 2008. A fly called Apocephalus borealis attaches itself to the bee and injects its eggs, which grow inside the bee, Hafernik said. Scientists believe it causes neurological damage resulting in erratic, jerky movement and night activity, "like a zombie," Hafernik said by phone Tuesday.

These aren't undead bees doomed to roam for eternity. They often die only a few hours after showing symptoms, Hafernik said.

'It is seemingly kind of Biblical here. We're getting every conceivable kind of plague.'

- May Berenbaum, a top bee expert

Hafernik and his team of colleagues and students have been tracking the zombie bee spread across the United States. California, Washington, Oregon and South Dakota all have confirmed zombie bees while this is the first time the bee has been found this far east, said Hafernik. The fly previously attached to bumblebees as hosts, not honeybees, according to Hafernik.

"Right now, we don't know if it's an isolated thing," Stephen Parise, Vermont agricultural production specialist, said Tuesday at the state's annual farm show.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture hopes to use trapping to investigate the threat. Parise also told the Vermont Beekeeper Association that he expected more bee deaths this year due to wild temperature swings.

Chas Mraz, of Champlain Valley Apiaries, said mites, viruses and pesticides are bigger health issues for honeybees. A lack of nectar and pollen in a changing agricultural ecosystem focused more on corn and soybeans could affect bee immune systems, he said.

"There's tremendous pressure on bees," Mraz said. The apiary has been operating since 1931 and houses about 1,200 bee colonies. At peak population in good weather, that means over 60 million bees.

University of Illinois entomologist May Berenbaum, a top bee expert, agreed.

"It is seemingly kind of Biblical here," she said. "We're getting every conceivable kind of plague."

Given the way bee populations have become so homogenized and how they are shipped cross country to aid in pollenating, the first Eastern infection of the zombie fly makes sense, Berenbaum said.

"It's not surprising; it's certainly not good news," Berenbaum said. "There are so many pathogens and parasites that we're aware of that are afflicting bees."

New research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture released this month showed that a plant virus -- tobacco ringspot virus -- is now infecting commercial honeybees, Berenbaum said.

Leif Richardson, a doctoral student at Dartmouth College studies the interactions between plants, pollinators and parasites. Richardson said the fly involved in zombie bees could, besides using honeybees as hosts, potentially transmit viruses and pathogens.

Beekeepers "should definitely be concerned about it," Richardson said.

Hafernik said it would be a "game changer" if these flies could hatch from dead bees and complete their life cycle inside the hive, something that most worries Cantrell.

"I think it would be another nail in the coffin for honeybees in the northern hemisphere," Cantrell said.

Original Content from FOX NEWS

Yellow Jackets...

A lot of times when you tell people that you are a beekeeper, or when you are working at the Big E with the observation hives, you'll hear this response "I hate bees!"  I often reply, "You probably hate wasps.", and then try to explain the difference between the yellow jacket wasp and the honey bee.  Most people easily confuse the two.

Club prez, Jeff Rys, just sent me an email link to the video below (Thanks, Prez!) and I think you'll agree with me when I say, "Thank goodness we don't keep yellow jackets!"

Angry Yellow Jacket Nest - V E R Y Angry 

A 2 minute, 9 second video filmed "thousands" of yellow jackets attacking a camera.
Nest measured at 3 feet tall x 2 feet wide (which are the approx dimensions of an American made, electric dishwasher).
Popping sounds are the insects striking the camera.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............

ORIGINAL SOURCE: LIVE LEAK

Honeycomb Dessert Pan...

Nordic Ware Honeycomb Pull-Apart Dessert Pan

 The Nordic Ware Honeycomb Pull-Apart Dessert Pan is perfect for creating a stylish dessert. Unique honeycomb pattern creates a fun design, complete with bees and divides into perfectly portioned cakelets Perfect for bread, molded desserts as well as cake. Made of heavy duty cast aluminum for fine details and superior baking performance, the premium nonstick interior allows for quick release and easy cleanup. A heat-reflective exterior ensures uniform baking and browning. Made in the USA.

Premium nonstick interior for easy release and quick cleanup

• Makes a honeycomb shaped cake with pull-apart sections for easy sharing
• Durable heat-responsive cast aluminum promotes even rising and golden finish
• 12 1/4-Inch by 2 1/4-Inch by 11 2/3-Inch
• Made in the united states

HOW CUTE IS THIS PAN!?!?!?!  

Available for purchase from AMAZON.

Bee School 2014 Session 2...

Hampden County Beekeepers Bee School 2014

 Thursday, January 23rd

Willimanset Heights Improvement League (WHIL)

118 Mount Vernon Rd.

Chicopee, MA 01013

All Bee School sessions start at 7pm

Topic: Protective Clothing & Hive Assembly

Speaker: Lee Duquette

All members are welcome to attend.  We will have our usual break between the first and second hour of each bee school meeting and anyone who would like to bring food/snacks to share with the group is encouraged to do so.  See you at bee school!  

Some Recommended Reading...

For some really great beekeeping titles check out www.wicwas.com

First Wicwas Book for 2014              

Price:

$23.00

Authors or Editors: 

Stephen J. Repasky with Lawrence J. Connor

Ideal For: 

All Beekeepers, Naturalists and Adventurers

Publisher: 

Wicwas Press, LLC

Binding: 

Perfect (Paper)

Dimensions: 

6" x 9" x 3/8"

ISBN: 

978-1-878075-32-1

Description: 

Swarming is one of the most powerful instincts that most successful beekeepers encounter. Swarm Essentials outlines the ramifications of swarming behavior (highlighting the often overlooked benefits), proven prevention and management techniques, and how to recover and even prosper from a successful swarm attempt. Second generation beekeeper Stephen J. Repasky's inaugural publication marks the latest addition to the Essentials series and is an excellent read for any beekeeper who hopes to make it past their first year.

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2013 Revised Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping                  Drs. Dewey M. Caron and Lawrence John Connor

• Hard Cover

• 368 pages of vibrant color photos, diagrams & updated materials

• Questions and exercises for self-study & classroom teaching

• $60, includes priority mail

This book is perfect for:

• Bee schools and classes

• Master beekeeper study and review

• Life-long learners

For multiple copies for classroom, bee school or resale, contact LJConnor@aol.com for a quote including shipping costs. You will receive a discount for multiple copy orders.

For single copies, order from the Wicwas Press website, www.wicwas.com, and use the PayPal bookstore.

—Chapter titles—

• Introduction Beekeeping art or science, humans and bees, bees as weapons, bee gums, superorganism, learning beekeeping

• What’s in a name? The classification system, bumble bees, other bee species, races and hybrid bees

• Sociality Insect societies, wasps, ants, stinging in Hymenoptera

• What is a honey bee? Hive bees, field bees, fifferentiation

• Honey bee anatomy Digestive and excretory systems, reproduction and other systems, how the bee’s body works

• Bee nest Beeswax comb, nest organization, the modern beehive

• Dance language communication The wagtail dance, dance language controversy

• Pheromone communication Queens, pheromone functions, food transmission, colony odor, trail pheromones

• Queens, queens, queens Replacement, swarming, queenless

• Foraging and bee botany Forager types, water and propolis, fruit bloom, clovers, major U.S. nectar and pollen plants

• Getting started When and how, personal equipment, setting up hives, drifting

• Basics of management Key concepts, avoiding stings, robbing

• Fall and winter in the beehive Requeening, feedinig why colonies die

• Spring management Spring buildup, weak colonies, swarm control

• The honey harvest Nectar flow, supering, harvesting honey

• Honey & other bee products What can go wrong? Pollen, beeswax, royal jelly, pollen, bee brood, venom, mead

• Queen mating and rearing Raising queen bees, mating control, nucleus colony basics

• Pollination Managing bee colonies for pollination, improving pollination results

• Bee mites Varroa mites, integrated pest management, treatment options for mite control

• Diseases and pests Adult and brood diseases, pesticides, 
conditons that mimic disease

---

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Undertanding Bee Anatomy: a full colour guide

Ian Stell, MD, London

COLOR THROUGHOUT!

Approx. 6.75 inches wide and 9.75 tall, softcover, 203 pages, Catford Press.

$60 priority mail postpaid in the United States

Wicwas Press is authorized to sell this book for Dr. Stell in the United States and Canada

This book aims to do two things.

Firstly,  to explain the structure of this fascinating insect and secondly, through stunning images, to reveal the insect’s intricate detail.

Dr Stell has applied his knowledge of the human body in describing the honeybee, system by system. 

The book starts with a chapter on the developmental stages, showing the internal changes taking place from the egg to the larva, and then the pupa.

It includes chapters on all body parts, wings and flight structures, the circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems and finishes with chapters on the queen and the drone.

The anatomy is explained in clear colour diagrams and illustrated with over six hundred high-quality photographs. These include electron micrographs, close-up images, high-power stained sections (histology) and other techniques.

This concise but readable book is perfect for the British exams in bee biology and training for master beekeeper programs in the United States. It is also a valuable resource for any beekeeper wanting to understand his insects better, or any student or scientist working in this area.

Dr. Ian Stell, has been a beekeeper in an urban area in South-East London since 1998, keeping about fifteen colonies. His day job is as a doctor in Emergency Medicine. Keeping bees has involved facing many disease challenges, much as Emergency Medicine does. This has led Ian into an interest in the microscopic examination of bees, and he has applied his knowledge of the human body in describing the honeybee, system by system. Ian became a Master Beekeeper in 2010, and was awarded the prestigious Wax Chandlers award, from one of the ancient City Livery companies with an historical link to beekeeping.

________________________

www.wicwas.com

__________________________________________________

History of American Beekeeping, Reprint of Frank Pellett's Classic 1938 Work.

It took me years to find a copy of this book I could afford, and then only due to the kindness of a friend. After the popularity of the Doolittle books, I knew that beekeepers liked classic reprints. And what a reprint this is. I was able get this reprinted by a printer who is a master of detail, Jeff Shaw, a Burgh Bees' member in Pittsburgh. The reprint looks just like the original, only fresher and a lot less expensive! There is gold foil and an embossing on the cloth hardcover. The book is Smythe sewn, so it will last longer than most first owners. Inside the book is exactly the same as the original but printed on earth-friendly paper and plant-based inks.

The price is $35 including priority mail postage inside the United States, and $45 elsewhere. If  you cannot use the following website's PayPal account, send a U.S. Dollar check drawn on a U.S. Bank to Wicwas Press, 1620 Miller Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49001, USA.

www.wicwas.com

__________________________________________________

Consider Bee-sentials: A Field Guide as your bee school textbook

A number of bee clubs and bee school instructors have switched to Bee-sentials: A Field Guide, for their bee school textbook. The book was published last year, has 208 pages, and is in full color.

There are 15 chapters that may be used for lectures in a semester-long class, or covered survey-style in a one-day bee school.

It contains a thorough overview of getting-started basics, an equipment section, and how-to set up hives.

It recommends new beekeepers start with two hives their first season so they help each other during the summer, and helps them get at one least colony through the winter. AND it discusses the establishment of a nucleus colony for spare queen backup.

It reviews the beekeeper's management year, has 25 pages of bee plants in full color, covers the major hive products, and explains swarm management and control. 

There is a good treatment of bee mites and diseases, all with close-up color photos.

Worker, drone and queen production and activities review what is normal and how to problem solve.

Hive nutrition, other bee species, bee club mentorship are included. So are an extensive glossary, reading list and index.

If you go the the www.wicwas.com website, you may purchase copies for $29.95 postpaid. But if you email LJConnor@aol.com, you can find out how to purchase quantities of this book at discount. As an instructor, ask for a free copy for your use while teaching the class.

We have lots of copies in inventory, and will ship them out as soon get your order.

Bee-sentials gives the new beekeeper a book with meat on it's bones, a book they can carry in their briefcase, purse or backpack, or keep in the car or truck as they go to the bee yard. It has the basics, and a whole lot more. Many advanced beekeepers learn from this book as well. There are dozens of questions other beekeepers have asked, that have have been answered.

Send that email today to LJConnor@aol.com and get details about using this book for your next class.

www.wicwas.com

__________________________________________________

Include this book in your beekeeping courses for new and experienced beekeepers. More than building your own beehive. This book shows you how to make and USE simple tools in the apiary.

This large format, softcover book folds open in the shop for ease of use.

Large font size.

Full color throughout.

Drawings of most items, and how-to-use photos.

Ed Simon is a retired IBM trainer, and now dumpster diver, who enjoys building things and is a master of building jigs that hold equipment together during assembly.

He writes for Bee Culture magazine.

Price mailed—$20.00 inside the USA.

There is something in this book for you whether you are a new beekeeper or an 'Old Smoke.'

www.wicwas.com

Please visit www.wicwas.com for a look at the complete bee book list. Remember, when you order two or more books at one time, I ship (to USA locations) by Priority Mail when your order fits the flat rate envelope or box. For example, if you get two or more of the Essentials booksthe order ships Priority Mail. The History and Anatomy books automatically ship by priority mail and no additional fee is required.

Thanks for your support and book-buying passion. I hope to see you soon!

Larry Connor, Ph.D.
Wicwas Press