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Volume 158 No. 9 September 2018

Contents
Email
info@americanbeejournal.com
Web
www.americanbeejournal.com
Editor - Kirsten Traynor Advertising Manager - Marta Menn
Publishing Department - Dianne Behnke & Susan Nichols
Queen Bees with a Norhtern
Latitude Attitude — 1045

● International Honey Market Report

Ron Phipps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977

● Hobbyist Queens Using a Double Screen Board

Jerry Borger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 997

● Bee Inspired
Laura G. Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1005
Articles

● Liability Insurance: Can We Afford the Risk? In Praise of the Langstroth Hive — 1049
Justin Kay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1007
Bee Brief . . . . . . . . . . . 963

Departments
● The Varroa Problem - Part 17c
Randy Oliver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1013 Letters to the
Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 965
● Beekeeping Filipino Style
Peter John S. Rafosala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1023 News & Events . . . . . . 969

● The Bee Sanctuary Movement U .S . Honey Crops

Dr. Steve Payne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1035 and Markets . . . . . . . . 983

Beekeeping Basics . . . 994

● Queen Bees with a Northern Latitude Attitude
Melissa Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1045 Beekeepers: The Next
Generation . . . . . . . . 1060
● Cleaning & Rewaxing Plastic Foundation
Jonathon Hofer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1053 Classified
Advertising . . . . . . . . 1065
● Is Honeybee Democracy Really Sociocracy?
Malcom T. Sanford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1057 Advertising Index . . . 1068

The Classroom
Columns The Curious Beekeeper
Jerry Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 987 Rusty Burlew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1049
Bees & Beekeeping, Past & Present Notes from the Lab: The Latest Bee Science Distilled
Wyatt A. Mangum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1029 Scott McArt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1063
The Scientific Trenches
Alison McAfee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1041

September Cover Picture

Bernardo D. Niño, Head of Research and
Development for Ubees, working bees in the coastal American Bee Journal ISSN 0002-7626
mountains of Oregon. “We are comparing landscape AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL (ISSN 002-7626) is ing to National Archive Publishing Co., 300 N. Zeeb
published monthly at American Bee Journal, 51 S. Road, P.O. Box 998, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.
differences between pristine isolated areas and 2nd Street, Hamilton, IL 62341. Periodicals Postage ©Copyright Dadant & Sons, Inc., 2017. All rights re-
colonies in summer pollination, as well as colonies in Paid at Hamilton, IL and at additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to American
served, printed in USA. The Publishers cannot guar-
antee advertisements in this magazine, but we ask that
honey production. We are working on a cost-benefit Bee Journal, 51 S. 2nd Street, Hamilton, IL 62341. In any advertising complaints be made known to us, so we
the United States, $28.00 a year; two years, $53.00 can further check the company’s reliability. Opinions
analysis that considers transportation, revenues, and three years, $75.00. Canada $45.00 a year; two expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the
treatment and feeding costs and overall colony years $88.00. Foreign $52.00 a year; two years $99.00.
Subscriptions stop at expiration date printed on label.
publisher. American Bee Journal, 51 S. 2nd St., Hamil-
ton, IL 62341. (888) 922-1293. Fax (217) 847-3660.
health and strength.” Photo by Kate Womack Available in microfilm form at moderate prices by writ-

September 2018 959

960 American Bee Journal
 Goodness, gracious, great bevies
of beekeepers! For most of July I was
on the road, meeting up with differ-
ent beekeeping clubs. I spoke to the
Greater Cleveland Beekeepers As-
sociation in Ohio, the Windy City
Beekeepers at the Garfield Conser-
vatory in Chicago, IL, the Heartland
Apicultural Society meeting in St.
Louis, MO, the Harrison County Bee-
keepers in Scio, OH and Burgh Bees
in Pittsburgh, PA. Touring America’s
heartland was downright fun and my
sincere thanks to all the organizers
and hosts, who made these events a
reality.
Putting on an event, be it a small
club meeting to a large regional con-
ference, takes an inordinate amount
of effort and coordination. The people At HAS, Krispn Given & Dale McMahon pre- The delightful garden of my hosts in Chicago.
miered their new insemination device. It’s They grow an abundance of bee friendly
who dedicate their time and pull the
manufactured entirely in the United States. plants, letting them self seed and spread.
magical strings in the background
deserve a sincere round of applause. mind, they’re like those hard working host, and often help new beekeep-
In any beekeeping organization, it’s “elite” foragers that do substantially ers stick with it during those early
usually about 2-10% of the mem- more foraging trips for resources. years. If you enjoy your local club or
bers who do 90% of the work. In my In honey bee colonies, if you re- want to see it grow, consider donating
move those elite foragers, other bees your time. Your bees will thank you,
step up their game, increasing their as strong clubs help beekeepers keep
foraging activity almost 500%. Bee healthier hives.
clubs are not always as lucky. When - Kirsten
good officers step down, it
can be hard to find quali-
fied replacements. Clubs
with the best longevity
tend to recruit and train
the next round of officers,
so that there is overlap
and the secret sauce of the
club’s success doesn’t dis-
appear.
While it can at times
be a somewhat thankless
job sprinkled with a good
dose of politics, club of-
ficers shape the future
The Lurie Pollinator garden in Millennium generation of beekeepers. The Hyatt Regency in St. Louis has two rooftop hives on the
Park in the heart of Chicago. This is an urban flat roof between the two towers. My room happened to be
oasis absolutely flitting with bees and butter-
They are responsible for on the 7th floor and looked right out on the numerous plant-
flies. It’s an extraordinary garden well worth the speakers clubs bring ers, where they were growing peppers, tomatoes and herbs.
visiting. Cue the little cutie in the pink hat, in, the social events clubs The two hives are circled in red in the lower right, visible from
who was insect spotting with her dad the Arch.

September 2018 963

 Send your letters to the editor,
Attn: Kirsten Traynor,
Dadant, 51 S. 2nd Street,
Hamilton, IL 62341,
Fax: 1-217-847-3660,
or email: editor@americanbeejournal.com
Due to size and content, we may be unable to publish all information received.
We may also edit your letter to avoid offensive language. Thank You!

CULVERS ROOT
I took the attached photograph the
other day in our wildflower meadow
and wanted to share it with you.
I live in the mountains of western
North Carolina and the bee is on a
flowering plant that I have identified
as Culvers Root. The red plant in the
background is Red Beebalm.

Your Truly,
Mike Elliott

ENVISIONING THE FUTURE

OF BEEKEEPING

Hello Kirsten Traynor,

I wanted to share with you my re-
action to the article Envisioning the
Future of Beekeeping part 2. I felt that
its tone was offensive, criticizing
the entire realm of beekeeping. The
concept and practice of beekeeping
has many facets, many of which are
passed on through books, magazines,
verbally, classroom settings, mentor to
beginner, and yes, digitally. However,
regardless of the type of media or for-
mat, the message is similar. There is
a love for nature, our environment,
insects, animals, compassion…………
……a desire to protect and preserve
what we have, make it better, pass it
along to others.
What I felt when reading the article
was an attempt by segments of society
to have their voice heard under the
banner of Diversity, Stumbling Blocks
and to criticize national, state and
local beekeepers and organizations.
Beekeeping and pollinator protection
requires the cooperation of people
and organizations of all types. We
must work together. Share with each
other our successes and failures, listen
to each other, and use Best Practices
to protect and preserve what we have,
make it better, pass it along to others.
Let’s focus on the joy of beekeeping
and seeing others to find joy.
I am a member of the McDowell
county NC Honey Bees. We are a club
Bee on Culvers Root. Photo by Mike Elliott
supported by our local extension ser-
vice. We have an annual bee school for
beginning beekeepers, provide train-
ing to become Certified Beekeepers,
have a youth position on our board of
directors, welcome people of all gen-
ders, races and ages as members, put
on education for our local schools, put
on programs to educate non-beekeep-
ers of the importance of pollinators,
many of the things that the article
pointed out that need to be a part of
beekeeping. Counties adjacent to us
have similar clubs. Asheville was the
first Beekeeper USA city.
So, perhaps, in Part 3, maybe the
article can mention some of the good
things about beekeeping and protect-
ing the pollinators.
Sincerely,
Lonnie Bewernitz
RESPONSE FROM MICHELE
Dear Lonnie Bewernitz,
Thank you for your comments in
response to the second in our three
part series of “Envisioning the Fu-
ture of Beekeeping.” The article con-
sisted of interviews with 12 beekeep-
ers across the USA. Ms. Potter and I
simply compiled their concerns and
hopes into these brief articles. To
keep the discussion going we have a
Forum page on the Pollinator Stew-
ardship Council Facebook page for
other beekeepers to share their issues,
concerns, ideas, and solutions to im-
proving the health of our honey bees
and the beekeeping industry.
What we found in the interviews
with these 12 beekeepers was not all
of the states have active and strong
state and local beekeeping associa-
tions like those in North Carolina.
The beekeepers we interviewed be-
lieve in protecting all pollinators, and
are deeply concerned with the eco-
system of our bees and beekeepers. I
hope this comes through in the final
article of the three part series in the
August issue of American Bee Journal.
In the August issue the 12 beekeepers
discuss the opportunities available
to the bee industry, how technology
is helping us, and what role do state

September 2018 965

and local bee associations play in the
future of beekeeping? In summary,
we can learn from each other.
Thank you for sharing your
thoughts with us.
BEEKEEPING SLANG
Dear Kirsten,
As part of the Oxford English Dic-
tionary’s 90th birthday celebrations,
we have a host of exciting initiatives
taking place, including a number of
public word appeals. Our latest appeal
focuses on expanding the dictionary’s
coverage of the language of hobbies
and we would be delighted if you and
your readership could help us.
We’re specifically looking for words
associated with the following hob-
bies/pastimes:
966
• Beekeeping
• Beer/wine – brewing, preserving,
canning, pickling
• Sewing/Dressmaking/Interior
Design
• Quilting
• Knitting
• Gaming
• Cycling
• Dance, specifically ballroom
The words and phrases used by
people when talking about a shared
hobby or pastime can be little-known
to outsiders, and are often interest-
ing coinages with unique histories. So
whether you’re a beekeeper, knitter,
gamer, brewer, or a collector of any
sort, the OED would like to hear from
you. Please use the form below to tell
us about the unique vocabulary relat-
ing to your hobby or pastime. We are
particularly interested in slang words
and phrases, as opposed to technical
terms, as the former are harder to trace
in print and so are less likely to have
come already to the attention of dic-
tionary editors.
Words can be suggested via our on-
line submissions form (https://public.
oed.com/appeals/hobby-words/) or
the hashtag #hobbywords on Twitter.
If you are able to add some infor-
mation to your website or social me-
dia feeds, that would be fantastic.
Let me know if you have any ques-
tions and thanks!
Amanda
American Bee Journal
September 2018 967
968 American Bee Journal

ASIAN HORNETS: LEAD ME
TO THE NEST
Asian hornets attack honey bee colonies in much of
Europe. The United Kingdom doesn’t want this hungry
predator feasting on their hives. They’ve set up an effec-
tive eradication program, successfully destroying the un-
wanted invaders on two separate incursions.
New technology will make finding the nests of these
voracious hornets easier. Research shows that electronic
radio tags can be used to track invasive Asian hornets and
stop them colonizing the UK and killing honey bees.
Scientists from the University of Exeter attached tiny
tags to Asian hornets, then used a tracking device to follow
them to their nests; the first time this has been achieved.
They tested the technique in southern France and Jersey -
where Asian hornets are well established - and the tags led
researchers to five previously undiscovered nests.
“Our new method of tracking offers a really important
new tool to tackle the spread of this invader, providing an
efficient means of finding hornets’ nests in urban, rural
and wooded environments,” said lead researcher Dr. Peter
Kennedy, of the Environment and Sustainability Institute
on the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall.
The technique demonstrated in their study could help pro-
tect Britain’s “beleaguered pollinator populations”.
“It is vital to find the nests early in the season to prevent
the hornet spreading, as later in the year hundreds of new
queens emerge and disperse from each nest, each with
the potential to make new nests,” said Professor Juliet Os-
borne, a co-author on the study. The work was funded as
part of Defra’s efforts to prepare for future outbreaks of
the Asian hornet in the UK.
Nicola Spence, Defra Deputy Director for Plant and Bee
Health, said: “This work is key for ensuring a rapid re-
September 2018
sponse to Asian hornets when sightings are confirmed,
and in future bee inspectors will be able to use this tech-
nique to take swift action.”
“In France, the Asian hornet is unlikely to be eliminated,
so efforts are now focused more on limiting their impact,”
said Dr. Denis Thiéry from INRA Bordeaux-Aquitaine in
France, who collaborated on this work.
Mr Willie Peggie, Director of The States of Jersey Depart-
ment of the Environment, where the technique was also
tested, said: “We are pleased to be investigating efficient
methods of tracking Asian hornets to their nests, as we’re
concerned about their impact on our wild insect pollina-
tors, as well as their effect on local honey production.”
The researchers used the smallest radio tags available
- made by UK firm Biotrack Ltd - and attached them to
hornets with sewing thread. Hornets were able to carry
them as long as the tag weighed less than 80% of the in-
sect’s weight.
The British Beekeepers Association are also pleased
about the development of a reliable technique for tracking
this invasive predator, and stated: “The BBKA are greatly
concerned about the possible incursion by the Asian Hor-
net because of the devastation likely to be caused to honey
bees and other pollination insects.”
Adult Asian hornets “hawk” at beehives, meaning that
they hover outside to grab bees, before dismembering
them and taking them back to their nest to feed to larvae.
The first Asian hornet discovered in Britain was in
Gloucestershire in 2016, when a nest was found and de-
stroyed. Another nest was destroyed in Woolacombe,
Devon, last year. In April this year, a single hornet was
found in Lancashire.
Asian hornets are smaller than native European hor-
nets, have a largely dark brown or black body and yellow-
tipped legs, a distinctive orange-yellow stripe near the end
of their abdomen, and often a thin orange-yellow line just
behind the “waist.” Their face is orange, and the back of
the head is black, unlike the European hornet in which
both the face and back of the head are yellow.
Any suspected sighting of an Asian hornet should
be reported, ideally with a photo, via email to alertnon
native@ceh.ac.uk or by using the Asian Hornet Watch app.
The paper, published in the journal Communications
Biology, is entitled: “Searching for nests of the invasive
Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) using radio-telemetry.”
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-018-0092-9
HONEY BEE PHEROMONES SAFELY
REPEL ELEPHANTS
Elephants can cause havoc to farm land. Now an organic
formulation containing honey bee pheromones has been
found to safely repel elephants, offering promise for a new
strategy to prevent the world’s largest land animals from
destroying crops or causing other damage in areas where
humans conflict with elephants.
A study was conducted at Greater Kruger National Park
in South Africa between December 2017 and February
2018. The scientists placed a blend of alarm pheromones
that bees release when they perceive danger in a special-
ized slow-release matrix at locations around water holes
frequented by African bush elephants, Loxodonta africana.
The researchers observed that most of the elephants that
came near the formulation showed typical signs of in-
creased alertness, signs of uncertainty, and finally calmly
969

moved away, while those approaching control treatments
were eager to investigate the foreign object in their envi-
ronment. The pheromones were dispensed in white socks
weighed down with rocks and hung from broken tree
branches no more than a meter off the ground.
At the park’s Jejane waterhole, 25 of 29 elephants that
approached the pheromone-laden socks moved away af-
ter getting close enough to smell the formulation. In the
same timeframe, control experiments found that all el-
ephants ignored similar looking suspended socks that did
not contain the pheromone mix, or they would approach
the controls and pick them up, and even try to taste them
in some cases.
“Our results complement previous studies that have
demonstrated that active bee hives can deter elephants
from crops for example, but may be difficult to implement
on a large scale. We hope to expand this work to develop
additional tools for sustainable passive management of
elephant movements, to augment the current approaches
used,” said Mark G. Wright, the lead author of the study
and a professor of entomology at the Department of Plant
and Environmental Protection Sciences at the University
of Hawaii at Mānoa.
This study breaks new ground by showing that synthet-
ic pheromones have the potential to safely manage a large
mammal species. The need for safe elephant management
strategies has become more pressing as human popula-
tions have grown in Africa and Asia, creating larger areas
where elephants conflict with humans by trampling crops
or causing other damage. These conflicts are often tragic.
People have been trampled to death, and their crops are
destroyed. And elephants deemed to be destructive often
end up killed.
In this study, the scientists exploited the alarm phero-
mones bees release when they perceive danger and elicit
other bees to defend the hive. A swarm of bees then attack
and sting the mammal.
Elephants hate to be stung, Wright said. The soft tissues
in their eyes and inside their trunks are particularly vul-
nerable to painful bee stings. So, over the eons, it is be-
lieved, elephants learned to recognize the odor of alarm
pheromones from honey bees, backing off when they
come across them.
In fact, some farmers in Africa place commercial bee
hives along their fence lines to protect crops from el-
ephants. Yet, the use of manufactured pheromones in
a slow-release matrix could be far less costly, more flex-
ible, and easier to deploy to facilitate safer coexistences
between elephants and humans in habitat interface areas.
Though perhaps the elephants will habituate to the alarm
970
pheromone when no stings reinforce a negative associa-
tion between the odor and the elephant’s behavior.
TRASH THE BUG SPRAY IN
YOUR GARDEN
Home owners love pristine gardens. They fight aphids
and other plant pests with copious amounts of chemical
concoctions. A quick spritz here, a backpack sprayer there.
What consequences do such home owner treatments
have? Quite a lot, it turns out. Bees living in suburban
habitats are still exposed to significant levels of pesticides
despite the EU ban on the use of neonicotinoids on flower-
ing crops, new research from University of Sussex scien-
tists shows.
While the introduction of new EU restrictions on the
use of neonicotinoid chemicals five years ago has reduced
exposure of bees living in farmland, the study found that
overall more than half of all pollen and nectar samples
collected from bee nests in Sussex, Hertfordshire and
Scotland between 2013 and 2015 were contaminated. The
study is the first of its kind to highlight the risk to bees in
urban areas posed by garden use of pesticides.
The scientists at the University of Sussex urge gardeners
and home owners to ditch their bug sprays immediately.
Let natural predators such as ladybirds or lacewings han-
dle pests; or use physical methods such as hand-removal
of pests, netting or sticky traps for control.
Dr. Beth Nicholls, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Evo-
lution, Behaviour and Environment at the University of
Sussex and the study’s lead author, said: “Our findings
suggest that the EU’s recent decision to extend the neo-
nicotinoid moratorium to include all field crops is likely to
have a positive effect on bees, relieving some of the stress
on our already struggling pollinator populations. Howev-
er, given that bees in suburban gardens appear to remain
at risk post-moratorium, further work is needed to under-
stand the sources of neonicotinoid exposure in these areas
and to find ways to reduce it. Our study indicates that lim-
iting the public sale and use of neonicotinoid-based bug
sprays, which are currently unaffected by the moratorium,
is needed if we are to protect bee populations living in and
around our towns and cities.”
In 2013 the European Commission instated an EU-wide
moratorium on the use of three types of neonicotinoid
(thiamethoxam, clothianidin and imidacloprid) on bee-at-
tractive flowering crops such as oilseed rape. The ban will
be expanded to include all field crops from 2019.
The study, with colleagues at Stirling University and Ro-
thamsted Research, found that neonicotinoid exposure for
rural bumblebees declined after the ban’s implementation
American Bee Journal
in 2015, but the risk to bumblebees in suburban gardens
remained largely the same.
As well as bug sprays, contaminated ornamental plants
sold in garden centers play a key role in spreading neo-
nicotinoids through suburban areas. A previous study by
the University of Sussex revealed that 70% of bee-friendly
plants sold at a range of garden centers and plant nurser-
ies had traces of neonicotinoids.
For nectar samples collected from rural bumblebee colo-
nies, concentrations of the pesticide thiacloprid, an active
ingredient in many bug sprays sold in garden centers and
not included in the EU restriction, significantly increased
between 2013 and 2015, replacing the banned chemicals.
Researchers were also concerned to find bee food was
often contaminated with imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid
which is very rarely used against crop pests any more.
Its continued presence raises concerns about the persis-
tence of chemicals in agro-environments even after their
application has stopped. The researchers believe that the
continued contamination could also be due to pet flea
treatments, which still often contain this chemical. The
long-term treatments that keep cats and dogs tick free for
six weeks often contain neonics as the active ingredient.
The study found many bee populations are still subject
to pesticide levels that previous studies have shown could
lead to slower colony growth and the production of fewer
new queens, as well as detrimental impacts on foraging
and navigation, immunity and worker mortality.
Professor Dave Goulson, professor of biology at the
University of Sussex, said: “Who knows what Brexit will
mean for the future of this country but one thing it desper-
ately needs to include is the continuation of the EU’s ban
on neonicotinoids. Gardeners can do their bit; for there
is no need for pesticides in gardens. I grow lots of fruits,
vegetables and flowers in my garden without chemicals -
there is just no need.”
THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION
ANNOUNCES BEEKEEPER AND
JR. BEEKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Beekeeper of the Year – 2018
kerrY owen
Congratulations to
Kerry Owen, who was
named the 2018 Bee-
keeper of the Year by
the South Carolina Bee-
keepers Association at
their annual Summer
Conference.
Kerry has been an
active member and of-
ficer of the SCBA and is
currently the President-
Elect for the SCBA. He is a member of 20 local beekeeping
associations and volunteers his personal and family time
to promote beekeeping across many states.
He is one of the valued speakers at local and state asso-
ciations. He has been very generous in helping to start the
SCBA sponsorship program that has brought in the largest
September 2018
amount of sponsorship funds in the history of the SCBA.
Kerry leads by example, donating over $25,000 in con-
tributions and remaining the Hosting Sponsor since the
program began in 2012. Kerry Owen also contributes to
the Bee Cause Project. His generosity extends to donating
door prizes for many associations. Kerry Owen also vol-
unteers his time to plan and teach at the SCBA Spring and
Summer meetings.
Kerry and his wife, Donna and their two children, Brit-
ney and Stetson, began Bee Well Honey Bee Supply in
1999. The entire family’s sole income comes from the bee-
keeping business.
Kerry has passed down his skill as a professional bee-
keeper to his son Stetson, who runs and operates the 26
apiaries owned by the company. Britney operates and
manages Bee Well Honey Natural Market and is the
founder of Bees Beans Coffee.
Kerry has also provided an extracting facility dedi-
cated to the use of beekeepers, who do not have access
to extracting equipment. What began in the backyard as
a hobby has now grown to include many different facets
and businesses and nearly 20 fulltime employees. Bee Well
Honey has been featured in numerous media outlets and
has become one of South Carolina’s most popular agri-
tourism destinations.
Kerry has been a fulltime beekeeper since 2000 and has
earned several awards including:
• Swisher Sweets Sunbelt Expo SC Farmer of the Year
in 2016 - Owen was the first full-time beekeeper to
be named as the state winner of the Farmer of the
Year award. He has created cooperative farming re-
lationships with others for honey production and
pollination.
• 2016 Business of the Year - by the Greater Chamber
of Commerce of the City of Pickens in 2016.
Jr. Beekeeper of the Year – 2018
nikolas heniford
Congratulations to
Nikolas Heniford, who
was named the 2018 Jr.
Beekeeper of the Year by
the South Carolina Bee-
keepers Association.
Nick started beekeep-
ing in the spring of
2015, and he received
the highest score on his
certification test with a
score of 99. He received
his beekeeping certification in 2016. Nick is a founding
member of the local 4H Beekeeping group, serving as vice
president.
He is studying and plans to pursue his journeyman cer-
tification in the near future. This enthusiastic beekeeper is
always willing to help others with their beekeeping needs.
He supplied his neighbor with a hive of bees and men-
tored him through last year.
Nick is a senior at Loris High School and has been on the
high school robotics team for the past 3 years. They have
reached the semifinals of the Palmetto regional robotics
competition against 64 teams from around the US, Canada
and the Netherlands. This is the highest level that their
high school has ever obtained.
971
 Nick is also very active in the Local and State FFA earn-
ing the State FFA degree. He participated on the soil judg-
ing team representing his chapter at the national soil com-
petition in Oklahoma City this past May.
Nick plans to pursue a career in engineering after grad-
uation.
WORLDWIDE
SPECIAL BEEKEEPER TOUR TO CUBA
November 10 - 18, 2018 - featuring visits to apiaries,
witnessing the rearing of queen bees, visiting honey pro-
cessing plants, research centers, an agriculture center, and
packaging plants. Visit with local beekeepers. This is a
unique fully inclusive tour arranged with the cooperation
of the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture and includes: island
transportation, hotels, private homes, meals,and full tour-
ing program. The tour will include visits in and around
Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Caonao and Santa Clara.
For the complete itinerary and pricing, please contact:
blubic@transeairtravel.com or call 202 362 6100.
Due to the success of last year’s tour, the trip is being
repeated in 2018. Cuba is very successful in raising bees
as no pesticides are used. Long known for its cigars and
rum, Cuba has added organic honey to its list of key ag-
ricultural exports, creating a buzz among farmers as pes-
ticide use has been linked to declining bee populations
elsewhere. Organic honey has become Cuba’s fourth
most valuable agricultural export behind fish products,
tobacco and drinks, but ahead of the Caribbean island’s
more famous sugar and coffee. All of Cuba’s honey can
be certified as organic. After the collapse in 1991 of the
Soviet Union, Cuba’s main trading partner, the island
was unable to afford pesticides. By necessity, the govern-
ment embraced organic agriculture, and the policies have
largely stuck. Cuba has been immune to the bee die-offs
hitting other regions.
REGIONAL
SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND
BEEKEEPER’S ASSEMBLY
2018
Groton Inn, Groton, CT
November 17, 2018
Registration $55 Late Registration $75
www.sneba.com
Speakers:
Dr. Jay Evans
Jay Evans is Research Leader at the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture (USDA) Bee Research Lab in Beltsville,
MD, where he has worked for nearly 20 years. The BRL
is focused on the development of management strategies
to help honey bees thrive in the face of disease, chemical
stress, and adequate forage. Lab members are developing
and testing new nutritional and anti-disease products, and
are especially interested in how bees respond to multiple
stress factors and the efforts beekeepers might use to help
them through these challenges. Jay’s own research uses
genetic techniques and controlled challenge experiments
(often bees in cups) to reduce the impacts of parasites and
pathogens. Current projects involve honey bee immunity,
interactions among stress factors, and the development of
972
novel, safe, controls for mites and viruses. Jay received his
AB in Biology from Princeton University in 1988 and his
PhD in Biology from the University of Utah in 1995.
Dr. Rebecca Masterman
UMN Bee Squad Associate Program Director
Rebecca Masterman first worked for the UMN Bee Lab
as an undergraduate in 1992, and returned in 2012 as the
Bee Squad’s Associate Program Director and Coordinator.
Becky graduated from UMN Twin Cities with a BA (major
in history, minor in biology) and then obtained a Ph.D. in
Entomology studying the neuroethology of honey bee hy-
gienic behavior under the direction of Dr. Marla Spivak.
Dr. Lawrence Connor
Well known author, editor and speaker Larry Connor
operates Wicwas Press, the largest North American press
focused on quality beekeeping books. He conducted pol-
lination studies at Michigan State University, served as
Extension Entomologist at The Ohio State University,
and was president of Genetic Systems Inc., a venture that
mass-produced instrumentally inseminated queen bees.
He is the author or coauthor of eleven books, including
Queen Rearing Essentials, Bee-Sentials: A Field Guide, In-
crease Essentials and Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping
with Dr. Dewey Caron.
STATES
ALABAMA
alaBama Beekeepers association
annual fall conference
septemBer 21 & 22, 2018
This two day event will be held at the Clanton Confer-
ence & Performing Arts Center , 1850 Lay Dam Road,
Clanton, AL, September 21 & 22. For more information
visit www.alabamabeekeepers.com.
COLORADO
colorado state Beekeepers association
winter meeting
saturdaY, oct. 27, 2018
douglas countY fairgrounds, castle rock, colorado
Speakers Dr. Diana Cox-Foster, Beth Conrey and Tina
Sebestyen, plus a special showing of the award-winning
film, “Last of the Honey Hunters,” about gathering honey
in Nepal, without a veil, way, way up in the air.
— Big Money honey contest!
— Election of officers
— Make new beekeeper friends and learn a lot!
Details and registration at: www.coloradobeekeepers.org
COLORADO
colorado professional Beekeeping association
“celeBrating colorado’s rich &
successful Beekeeping heritage”
American Bee Journal
 2018 fall meeting – octoBer 20th
the meeting place
1470 drY creek drive, longmont, co 80503
for directions & hotel reservations:
call (303) 702-682-2894 or (303) 845-1367 (ask for
cpBa rate)
kelseY.lee@interstatehotels.com
Featured Speakers: Dr. .Jerry Bromenshenk of The Uni-
versity of Montana & Bee Alert Technologies and Mr. Jon
Entine of The Genetic Literacy Project. Please register &
prepay with credit card or PayPal before October 20st
http://coloradoprobeekeeping.org/events/2018-fall-
meeting/
For further info please contact:
Secretary Jacy Johnston-Eylar (970) 405-0709
jacy@beeyondthehive.com
Or
Communication Director Al Summers (303) 702-0085
Summers@IchibanEnterprises.org
CONNECTICUT
WHERE: Norfield Church Community Room,
64 Norfield Road, Weston, Connecticut
WHEN: Last Tuesdays of the Month at 7:30pm
The Back Yard Beekeepers Association (BYBA) has been
educating the public about honey bees and beekeeping
for 20+ years. With over 400 members, our association
has grown to become one of the Nation’s largest regional
clubs for beekeeping hobbyists. Some of our members are
just getting started as beekeepers, and some have enjoyed
this hobby for years. All share an interest in the wonder-
ful and remarkable world of the honey bee. This regional
club is dedicated to promoting beekeeping as a hobby, and
spreading the good word about the remarkable honey bee.
• September 25, 2018 Richard Cowles: The Queen of
Your Dreams
• October 30, 2018 Dewey Caron: Topic TBD
• November 27, 2018 Bill Hesbach: Over-wintering
For more information check our website for the latest
updates www.backyardbeekeepers.com.
LOUISIANA
22nd annual field daY
usda honeY Bee laB in Baton rouge
saturdaY, octoBer 27, 2018
The USDA Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiolo-
gy Laboratory and the Louisiana State Beekeepers Associ-
September 2018
ation will be held at the laboratory, located at 1157 Ben Hur
Rd, Baton Rouge LA 70820. This is near the intersection
of Nicholson Drive (Hwy 30) and Brightside Dr., which is
about two miles south of the LSU football stadium.
Gates will open at 9:00 a.m. with presentations and ac-
tivities scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Field
Day will include a series of talks in the morning from
members of the Louisiana Beekeepers Association and
the USDA-ARS staff about Louisiana beekeeping and re-
search being conducted at USDA-ARS lab. The afternoon
features break-out sessions for beekeepers of all ranges of
experience. Visit the website for details.
A nonrefundable pre-registration fee of $30.00 is re-
quired for attendees 12 years of age and above. Children
11 and under must stay with their parents at all times.
Registration includes a catered lunch. Pre-registration
opened August 15, 2018. You may pre-register (and sub-
mit payment) at labeekeepers.org with the option to pay
by credit card or PayPal. A printable pre-registration form
will be located at labeekeepers.org that may be mailed
along with a check made payable to Louisiana Beekeepers
Association to Beth Derr, 210 Meadowlark Dr, Jefferson,
TX 75657 and must be postmarked by October 12th. Pre-
registration will close October 12th. All other registration
will be collected at the door for the increased fee of $40
per person.
For additional information please visit labeekeepers.
org or contact Dr. Frank Rinkevich (225-276-3998 or frank.
rinkevich@ars.usda.gov), Sandra Hineman (225-767-9280)
or Joe Sanroma (318-346-2805). For questions regarding
online registration, Jennifer Brown (601-493-3447).
NEW YORK
novemBer 1-3, 2018
empire state honeY producers association, inc.
annual fall meeting:
“eshpa 150th anniversarY” 1868-2018
location- hilton emBassY suites- destinY usa,
sYracuse, nY 13204
Speakers include:
Dr. Jay Evans USDA Beltsville
Dr. Diana Cox-Foster USDA Logan UT
Richard Ball NYS Ag & Markets
Emma Mullen Cornell U. NY
Dr. Scott McArt Cornell U. NY
Dr. Dennis Van Engelsdorp U. of Maryland
2018 Dr. Roger Morse Honey Show
“New” 2018 Honey Bee Art Competition.
Bus Tour of “Montezuma Winery and Hidden March Dis-
tillery”
150th Anniversary Reception
For More information and to register online:
www.ESHPA.org
Or contact ESHPA Secretary:
Angel Conway
PO Box 175
Orwell, NY 13426
315-263-7501
973
 OREGON
oregon state Beekeepers association
fall conference 2018

The Oregon State Beekeepers Association will hold its

annual fall conference on October 26, 27 & 28 at the Salem
Convention Center, Salem Oregon.
Speakers include Jennifer Berry, University of Georgia,
Dr. Anna Childers, USDA ARS Beltsville Maryland, Dani-
elle Downey, Project Apis m, Dr. Michelle Flenniken, MSU,
Krispn Given, Purdue University, Glorybee, Save the Bees,
Dr. Steve Pernal, Beaver Lodge Research Canada, Dr. Ra-
mesh Sagili, Oregon State University Honey Bee lab, and
much more.
There will be a beginning beekeeping class running con-
currently with the main meeting on Saturday and a large
vendors area on Saturday and Sunday.
For more information go to www.orsba.org

WEST VIRGINIA
the wv Beekeepers association
fall conference on august 24 & 25 2018

Guest Speakers are Dr. Samuel Ramsey and Dr. Parry

Kietzman. The conference will be held in Fairmont, WV at
the High Tech Center in the Robert H. Mollohan building
(handicap accessible). Pre-registration is $35 for members
before August 10, 2018. Please visit www.wvbeekeepers.
org to pre-register and get hotel rates.
Contact Debbie Martin for additional information at:
debbeez7@yahoo.com

974 American Bee Journal


“By 2020, if not before, the American Honey Market will be very
different and much healthier.”
– Kelvin Adee, President of the American Honey Producers Association.
1. Trade Wars and Fraud
The summer of 2018 has seen the
eruption of international trade wars.
These wars involve a wide range of
nations and changing tariffs, non-
tariff trade barriers, opposition to
violations of both international law
and intellectual property rights law.
Blatant incidences of food fraud in a
growing number of categories have
been in the news, such as seafood.
Since 2001, the U.S. has had high
antidumping duties in place on
Chinese honey, and only a few con-
tainers of Chinese honey have been
imported each year since the impo-
sition of those duties. Additional
Trump administration tariffs on Chi-
nese products would not be expected
to directly affect honey imports into
the U.S.
Professor Michael Roberts, from
the Resnick Program for Food Law
and Policy at the UCLA School of
Law, has pointed out that efforts to
detect and curb food fraud cost $8
billion. Food fraud globally costs
an estimated $30-40 billion per year
(John Spink, Michigan State Uni-
versity, 2014). Within the context of
food fraud, honey is ranked third
after milk and olive oil (U.S. Phar-
macopeia). Prof. Roberts has written
“Economically Motivated Adultera-
tion is designed by nature not to be
detected.” He has recommended that
the honey industry “engage with US
Pharmacopeia (USP), a scientific non-
September 2018
by RON PHIPPS
profit organization that sets standards
for the identity, strength, quality, and
purity of medicines, food ingredi-
ents, and dietary supplements manu-
factured, distributed and consumed
worldwide” (USP.org). The USP has
announced that a meeting of a honey
expert panel will be held in 2018.
Intolerance of fraud is growing
among authorities in charge of imple-
menting laws. Equally import, con-
sumers are increasingly sympathetic
to beekeepers, whose livelihoods are
dependent on food authenticity and
ecological sustainability.
The international trade war in-
volves increased rejections, and re-
ciprocal tariff and non-tariff trade
barriers. One large Australian re-
tailer, Coles, removed honey that
has Chinese components from their
retail stores. The Chinese govern-
ment rejected recent honey imports
from Australia and Canada. Those
rejections apparently did not cite any
known regulation. In 2017 China im-
ported honey valued at $91,200,000
according to global trade statistics.
The collapse of honey prices from
world exporters, and shifts in the pat-
terns of honey exports, are directly
linked to the prevalence of adulter-
ated honey in the international honey
market. This issue was addressed in
the Apimondia Roundtable on Eco-
nomically Motivated Adulteration
held in October, 2018 and chaired by
Prof. Norberto Garcia.
The challenge of establishing a
definition of honey with the speci-
ficity required to help prevent both
circumvention and adulteration has
been an important topic in recent
months. Adulteration and circum-
vention to mask true country of ori-
gin are inextricably linked in today’s
global marketplace.
The trade wars cited are occurring
within a context of tremendous inter-
national and national debt, including
the national debt of the two big-
gest global economies (the U.S. and
China), volatility of currencies, eco-
nomic stress and a global sweep to-
wards autocracy and rising tensions.
2. u.s. Honey ImporT Trends
Over the past 5 years, U.S. import
volumes have increased on average
10,720 metric tons per year. The in-
crease comes from Asian sources, at
a rate of 11,365 metric tons per year,
while imports from the Americas
decreased by 3,495 metric tons per
year. The total volume of imports
increased from 141,000 tons in 2012
to 202,000 tons in 2017. Import prices
from all sources reached an aver-
age high in 2014-2015 of $1.59/lb.
($3,500/MT), declined in 2015-2016,
and then prices from Asian countries
continued to decline through 2017 to
an average of $0.91/lb. ($2,000/MT).
Prices for conventional honey from
the Americas rose by about 15% from
2016 to 2017. Prof. Garcia has pre-
977
pared this information and Charts 1
and 2 below.
“The honey-export explosion from
the Eastern countries has resulted in
at least three visible consequences
on the international market: (i)
downward pressure on pure honey
prices as a result of the product’s
oversupply, (ii) the disincentive to
produce and export pure honeys by
several traditional countries, which
have shown significant decreases in
their export volumes over the past
10 years, and (iii) the appearance
of new important exporters, which
may re-export those cheap imports,
Chart 1. U.S. Honey Imports 2012-2017 (prepared by N. Garcia)
Chart 2. Unit Price of U.S. Honey Imports 2013-2017
978
straight or in blends, as locally pro-
duced (Garcia, The Current Situation
on the International Honey Market, Bee
World, 2018).”
As Chart 2 illustrates, the down-
ward trend in prices abruptly changed
in 2016 and the price gap significantly
widened from 2016 to 2017. Import
markets have shifted in 2018 com-
pared to 2017 (see Chart 3).
The organic market has continued
to be strong, reaching a total volume
of 62,751,490 pounds (28,460 metric
tons) for 2017. Average prices for or-
ganic honey rose to a high of $2.00/
lb. ($4,500/MT) in March of 2017, and
have come down dramatically over
the past 15 months (see Chart 4).
3. macro economIc and currency
paTTerns are sHIFTIng
As the Federal Reserve maintains
its current policy of gradual increases
in interest rates and global central
banks shift away from monetary eas-
ing towards tighter monetary poli-
cies, there is increased potential for
higher and more frequent episodes
of financial market volatility. Amidst
a backdrop of unprecedented levels
of global debt, rising interest rates,
and significant non performing bank
loans in China, increased financial
market volatility will undoubtedly
affect commodity prices, honey in-
cluded. It has been noted in recent
months that commodity prices rela-
tive to overall financial assets are at/
near recent lows. Supply/demand
dynamics, however, may provide a
floor to agricultural prices for the re-
mainder of 2018 and into 2019. The
fluctuations in international currency
rates are illustrated below.
4. Honey around THe World
Argentina is estimated to have had
a honey crop of about 60,000 metric
tons, with a predominance of Ex-
tra Light Amber and darker colors.
Drought caused crop failures in some
areas such as the north, Entre Rios
and parts of Buenos Aires. There is
a carryover of about 10,000 tons and
exports as of mid-summer have been
about 30,000 metric tons with ad-
ditional 5-10,000 tons already sold.
Demand from Europe has been good.
Higher inflation is predicted for the
coming period, with prices in the field
going up. The political, economic and
currency instability shrouds Argen-
tina in uncertainty.
Brazil as a whole has suffered po-
litical instability and currency fluc-
tuations. The most salient feature of
Brazilian honey exports has been the
decline in prices and the narrowing
of the gap between organic and con-
ventional honey. Organic prices have
fallen approximately 50%.
Prices of organic and conventional
honey have abruptly declined, and
the gap between organic and conven-
tional honey has changed from 50%
to 21% according to a snapshot of se-
lected prices (Chart 4).
Canadian beekeepers report that
the last 3-4 years have been very diffi-
cult for commercial honey producers,
who are struggling to compete with
low priced honey from Asian sources
American Bee Journal
and Ukraine. The white colors they
produce, in the range of 10-30mm,
have typically sold at a premium.
Peter Bross, President of the Hun-
garian Beekeeping Association, has
described how the presence of adul-
terated and mislabeled honey has
negatively impacted the Hungarian
beekeepers. He cited how Hunga-
ry’s prized, pure and authentic high
quality acacia is much more expen-
sive to produce than the fake acacia
honey that has crept into Hungary’s
domestic market through imports.
Other countries suffer similar mar-
ket depressions due to food fraud in
the form of exported “pure Eastern
European acacia honey.” A similar
story can be told of New Zealand’s Currency Index for Emerging Markets
manuka honey.
In June beekeepers in Hungary
and Eastern Europe reported zero
demand, even though the price was
low, and expressed concern that in
Europe there is no traceability. This
has opened the door to mislabeling
of country of origin within Europe.
Reports from beekeepers in
Ukraine indicated that agricultural
use of chemicals is causing dramatic
bee losses up to 75%. Domestic honey
availability is expected to be very low.
At the same time, reports indicate
that Europe is suffering terrible heat
waves and Ukraine suffered drought
conditions in May and June. Ukraine
exports of honey to the world in the
first half of 2018 were 17,000 metric
tons, down 43% compared to the pre-
vious period.
Vietnam ranked 2nd in Asia in
honey exports in 2017, but volumes
fell rapidly although prices were at
the lowest level on the world market.
Costs of transportation are high and
inflation is a problem for beekeep-
ers, who report lack of profits from
honey production. Dependence upon
the U.S. market is a concern of Viet-
namese beekeepers, who would like
to dramatically improve the quality
of their honey and develop the Eu-
ropean market. The Vietnamese Bee-
keeping Association recognizes that
they must change their methods of
production if they are to open the Eu-
Chart 3. U.S. Honey Imports Jan. to April 2018 v. 2017
ropean market. Some Vietnamese ex-
porters have said that their honey is News reports indicate that New The U.S. government authorities
extracted at high moisture and is im- Zealand’s largest manuka honey pro- announced investigations in 50 states
mature. “We could wait for the honey ducer, Comvita, may soon be sold to a of Chinese acquisitions of companies
to fully ripen before extracting it, but Chinese government owned business. either direct or through surrogate ven-
then the cost of production would News of the possible sale emerged in ture capital firms related to strategic
be much higher and result in prices the middle of April when Comvita resources, intellectual property, etc.
higher than the American market is revealed that its 2018 honey produc- Beekeepers in North and South
willing to pay.” In late July quantities tion and profits will be less than pre- America, Europe and Australia, con-
available were limited. viously announced. sistently report that at the current

September 2018 979


Chart 4. Organic vs. Conventional Honey Import Price Trend
low price levels, in a market where
they must compete with adulterated
honey, they cannot maintain and in-
crease production. Remunerative
price levels would allow them to in-
crease production.
5. compleTIng THe cIrcle
In a previous International Honey
Market Report, we defined illicit
modes of production, including 1) the
extraction of immature honey, 2) the
use of resin technology, 3) the blend-
ing of extraneous sweeteners, 4) the
blending of conventional honey with
organic honey, and 5) the intrusion of
extraneous pollens. These illicit modes
of production associated with correla-
tive modes of adulteration constitute
honey fraud. Also described were
scientific technologies, including ad-
vanced technologies such as NMR,
which can detect honey adulteration
in its several modes. In addition, there
must be much more robust, vigorous
and intrusive traceability regimes than
are provided by mere documentation.
Fraudulent documents have facili-
tated adulteration and circumvention.
A vigorous regime of traceability en-
tails independent inspections which
are conducted with utmost profes-
sionalism, integrity and openness of
modes of production. There has to be
a more continuous traceability and
documentation since, as has been
shown by prior scientific inspectors,
once the inspectors are gone, adultera-
tion has resumed. Some of the modes,
such as the Chinese resin technology
are highly mobile, compounding the
problem.
A massive glut of sugar stockpiles
is growing worldwide, making sugar
the worst-performing commodity of
2018, down 25%. The cause may be
health concerns about the impact of
980
consuming products with sugar. Pro-
duction of sugar is booming, espe-
cially in India and Thailand. In July,
the price of raw sugar futures fell
to $0.11/lb. The surplus is expected
to last for some years. The presence
of abundant cheap sweeteners, like
sugar, engineered rice syrups and
beet syrup facilitate economically mo-
tivated adulteration.
Completing the circle means a
highly insightful integration of modes
of production, modes of adulteration,
advanced modes of scientific detec-
tion and more vigorous traceability
regimes.
Efforts to complete the circle have
recently been expressed during the
World Honey Congress, which in-
cluded a session on economically mo-
tivated modes of adulteration. This
session was chaired by Prof. Norberto
Garcia, and participants included
members of the European commis-
sion, the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture, Dr. Michael Roberts and other
leaders. Following that Congress, the
scientific committee has mobilized in-
ternational experts in numerous dis-
ciplines to complete the circle. Prof.
Michael Roberts in his excellent White
Paper recommended that the solution
to the problem of adulteration may
be addressed by the USP. The forma-
tion of a honey group has been an-
nounced.
The fundamental problem for the
honey industry is that the modes of
production that have been utilized
create a situation in which “there is
no ceiling to quantities, no floor to
prices, and no future for honest hard-
working beekeepers.” The collapse in
honey prices is rooted in market ma-
nipulation, the adulteration of honey,
food fraud, label fraud and customs
fraud.
6. nmr TesTIng
“NMR profiling is a very power-
ful tool to uncover adulteration of
honey…As the database continues to
grow, the power of the potential ana-
lytics improves... and helps protect
the buyer of honey from unpleasant
surprises. (Dübecke 2018).” The data-
base of primary samples has grown to
19,000 samples. The profiles of blends
are being investigated and adjust-
ments are being made to capture the
tweaks in the modes of adulteration.
Comparing Dr. White’s Carbon
SIRA test and the current NMR tech-
nology, the SIRA test had 100 authen-
tic samples, 99 of which were U.S.
honey, at the initial stage of develop-
ment and used 1 variable (C13); NMR
currently has 19,000 honey samples in
the database and provides informa-
tion about 38 variables.
The past five years have wit-
nessed the most extensive collabora-
tion and dialogue in history among
government laboratories, private
laboratories and independent aca-
demic scientists regarding modes of
detection of food fraud in general
and honey fraud in particular. Be-
cause NMR is the most sophisticated
technology with the largest global
database and measures the largest
number of variables and parameters
found in honey, NMR can detect the
key modes of adulteration. There is
a conflict between those who want
to maximize its use as a key compo-
nent in the toolbox and those who
want to deny, disparage, dismiss or
at least delay its implementation. It
is relevant to note that the Chinese
website Alibaba openly describes
Chinese manufactured resin technol-
ogy as useful to “get rid of the barri-
ers from U.S. due to the restrictions
on antibiotics.”
7. Food Fraud
In Prof. Roberts seminal work on
Food Law in the United States, he cites
in his chapter Economically Moti-
vated Adulteration, “The substitu-
tion of any substance in whole or in
part…[which] typically occurs when
a substance is replaced with some-
thing less valuable, an example of
which is where beet sugar is used
instead of honey (Roberts, 2015).” In
his presentation to Apimondia, Rob-
erts described a long history of adul-
teration of honey, stretching back
in time to the Roman Empire. The
modern forms of honey adulteration
cited earlier are more insidious and
sophisticated.
American Bee Journal
 Recent analyses are linking food
fraud with food safety. The European
Commission has detected potentially
carcinogenic resin residues in honey
and wax that have been subject to
resin technology.
If the productivity per hive in de-
veloped countries like Argentina
and the U.S. has declined as a func-
tion of environmental degradation,
how much more severe such declines
would be in India and China, both of
which have the most toxic air, water
and soil conditions in the history of
human civilization. Of course, if il-
licit modes of production and sophis-
ticated modes of adulteration, like
“honey hive factories,” extraction of
immature honey, blending of sophisti-
cated engineered extraneous sweeten-
ers and resin technology are utilized,
then productivity per hive becomes a
question of total irrelevance.
8. currenT global clImaTe and
agrIculTure
Concerns with global food security
remain tense not only because of in-
ternational trade tension and trade
wars but global environmental con-
ditions. This year we are witnessing
unprecedented floods in Japan and
growing stress upon the majestic for-
ests of Lebanon cedars, known to the
ancients, whose ranges are retreat-
ing to higher and higher elevations
and whose rates of reproduction are
declining. Forest fires have raged in
Sweden reaching the Arctic Circle.
The heat and drought are drying up
the grasses which are essential to
feeding the cattle in Sweden’s dairy
farms during Sweden’s long win-
ters. Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory has warned of
unprecedented breakup of icebergs
in Greenland, imperiling villages and
foretelling rising sea levels.
As this report is being prepared,
magnificent Yosemite Park has wild-
fires, Athens, Greece is surrounded
by wildfires, records for high tem-
peratures have been broken in Death
Valley, and the west coast is suffering
a new round of wildfires. The fre-
quency and severity of extreme rain
is breaking records.
We are currently in the middle of a
scorching hot summer with heat re-
cords being set around the world. On
July 5, it reached 124 degrees Fahr-
enheit in Algeria: an all-time record
both for the country and the entire
African continent. The following day,
Los Angeles set an all-time record at
111 degrees. This past Sunday, Japan
September 2018
logged its hottest temperature ever
amid a heat wave that’s killed 77 so
far (Slate).
In the U.S. southwest, where a “heat
dome” has dropped over several
states, the National Weather service
also recorded a new maximum tem-
perature yesterday when the mercury
touched 52.7 C in Death Valley, CA,
shattering a record that had stood for
102 years. (CBS)
The current heat wave builds upon
a trend in recent years that continues
to impact global agriculture in myriad
ways, in some cases boosting yields
in the short-term but in the long-term
the increased volatility and severity
of weather events has undermined
both productivity and introduced a
crippling level of instability into an
already historically volatile indus-
try. The acceleration of this trend has
pushed global agriculture to a tipping
point in 2018.
All of these events are obviously rel-
evant to ecological sustainability but
they are also relevant to global food
security and the ability of beekeepers
to have adequate financial incentives
to produce honey. If productivity per
hive declines, agricultural conditions
continue to experience increased se-
verity, frequency and volatility of
weather disasters, then the low prices
for authentic honey will render the
production of natural pure honey eco-
nomically inviolable.
9. Honey and pollInaTIon
Richard Adee, Professor Emeritus of
American beekeeping.
After the January, 2018, conven-
tion, several speakers were invited to
visit the Adee Honey Farms to see the
wintering of the bees in the Central
Valley. As the world’s biggest bee-
keepers, their operation is crucial and
complex. The discussions included the
contradiction, which Prof. Garcia and
I have pointed out, that world exports
of honey increased dramatically, but
colony numbers have remained stable,
and productivity per hive of authentic
pure honey has dramatically declined.
Bret Adee described how the indus-
trial practices of agribusinesses, with
synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and
herbicides, have harmed the rich com-
munities of organisms in the soil. In
addition, the long journeys involved
in modern migratory beekeeping, the
reduction of wild foraging areas for
wildlife, and the resulting monodiets,
have greatly increased the stress on
bee populations. The losses of bee col-
onies and increased expenses of keep-
ing bees have made the low prices for
honey a factor that diminishes the in-
centive to produce honey. If the honey
prices were attractive, then the need
for migratory beekeeping practices
would be reduced.
This would help to revitalize the
domestic beekeeping industry, where
low returns have caused beekeepers
to abandon the industry. The collapse
of honey prices has caused beekeepers
in developing countries like Vietnam
to leave beekeeping, as they struggle
to repay their debts, often compelled
to sell their hives.
conclusIon
As Dr. Stan Daberkow, Economist
Emeritus of the USDA, has shown,
the price of honey on the retail level
has grown slightly while the cost of
raw material inputs has plunged.
This means the current market is one
in which there is economic incentive
for the few. According to a market-
ing index, consumers’ perception of
value decreases when prices are low,
but increases when prices are higher.
The wise path is to create perception
of value through a positive market-
ing program. Apimondia has created
a committee to promote the creative
marketing of honey on a global basis.
The members include Jodie Gold-
sworthy, Chris Hiatt, Norberto Garcia,
Etienne Bruneau, myself and others.
We want to develop and promote the
health halo of honey. Adulterated or
fake honey is inconsistent with devel-
oping that positive agenda.
981
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982 American Bee Journal


I
United States
n many parts of the United States,
unusual weather events have im-
pacted honey production. The
West Central and Southeast regions
are enjoying a boom, while most of
the rest of the country reports below
average harvests.
Northeast—Maine reports that
prospects are fair, as “we need rain;
very dry at this point.” The black lo-
cust flow was good with good move-
ment in the retail market.
From New Hampshire we hear
honey crops are down about 10%,
due in part to the hot weather with
90+F temperatures and no rain. So
far clover has been the best flow,
while locust didn’t produce. This
year’s crop is thus darker. “If you do
not have rain, you get no nectar.”
Retail honey is moving slowly, but
at higher prices.
Mideast—One reporter from Ken-
tucky notes that his crop is up to
6,500 lbs from 2,500 lbs last year with
colonies on average producing 40 lb,
up from 25 last year. The best flow
came off blackberry, while clover
was disappointing.
Mixed flows were reported in Ken-
tucky from tulip poplar with some
stating average and others total rain
out. Average blackberry and locust.
Sourwood started and then dried up,
due to extended periods of dry, ex-
treme heat. In Tennessee both Dutch
and sweet clover produced well.
The number of managed colonies
has decreased. “Too much rain at the
wrong times.”
Southeast—Honey crops from
Florida are up 20%, with colony av-
erages at 50+ lbs compared to 40 lbs
last year. Tupelo had the best flow,
while tallow disappointed.
Colony numbers are stable.
Honey prices in the wholesale mar-
ket are low due to “import pressure.”
Southwest—This region reports
good flows from Russian olive in
April and May, Russian Knapweed
and Coyote Willow in June and July.
September 2018
The tallow flow in Louisiana was
good where the bees were good.
“Splitting them hurt the crop, but
those that weren’t split did good.” We
hear that demand for local honey is
high, especially for local comb honey.
Chunk honey is fetching $17.75 per
pint and $10.50 per 1/2 pint at retail
prices.
East Central—From this region we
hear that beekeepers were able to re-
cover and make up winter losses. The
season started 2 to 3 weeks late, with
a good flow off black locust and the
clover bloom just starting at the time
this report was completed. He reports
that he’s “hopeful.”
From Illinois we hear that this
year’s season is similar to last, and
both are down 20% compared to nor-
mal. Best flows were from locust and
sweet clover, while dandelion and
soy didn’t produce much. Average
harvests were 30-40 lbs.
Another Illinois reporter notes
“poor weather, poor buildup, lots
of queen issues.” Due to the bad
weather, locust, linden, and spring
harvests were poor and fruit crops
were average. “Erratic weather has
shortened or rained out most flows.
Our normal dearth starts mid-July.
The bees are starting to act as if there
is one.”
Colony numbers have increased
slightly. “The summer has improved
and I am using it to prep the bees for
fall as our fall flows are not reliable
anymore. Goldenrod used to be a
given.”
Intermountain
Northeast
West West Central East Central
Mideast
Southeast
Southwest
The wholesale market has slowed.
There is lots of competition for honey
sales. Usually picks up in winter.
West Central—In Iowa the season
looks good with “great weather and
rainfall for the nectar flow.” Clover is
producing well. “Really good flows
from locust and spring wildflower.
We’ve been getting some good rains.
Just need some good hot weather.”
Prospects look good for a soy and
cotton flow, both of which bloom late.
From South Dakota “Crop would be
better if weather had been better.
Our crop would have been better if
it weren’t for so much wind. We had
lots of clover, but it was hard for the
bees to work. Clover year.” Honey
crops are up 10-25% in the Dakotas,
with reporters noting 85 lb aver-
ages. Canola, alfalfa and sweet clo-
ver all produced well. Prospects for
a late flow look good, as the region
has enjoyed “good moisture and late
blooming alfalfa.”
Reports note that the hobby market
remains strong with more backyard
beekeepers popping up and supply
stores selling equipment increasing.
One reporter noted that “many
queens have quit laying due to high
heat and no nectar.”
In marketing a bit of a war has
emerged. “We’re seeing a conflict
with producers over glass vs. plas-
tic.” Wholesale demand has picked
up as there is less supply. “Due to
drought small beekeepers/packers
are searching for local honey.”
“It appears that more beekeepers
(hobby) are using farmers markets
to sell their honey, causing a glut of
many honey booths in farmers mar-
kets. So far it does not appear to drive
the price down.”
Intermountain—This region is suf-
fering from a drought in many areas.
All areas in Utah have some level of
drought conditions, ranging from ex-
treme to moderate.
Most areas have now harvested
that first crop of alfalfa. One issue
that many beekeepers face is that
farmers are harvesting their alfalfa
before it has had a chance to reach
full bloom. This reduces the nectar
potential for bees.
Health-wise, beekeepers have in-
dicated that their bee colonies are
looking good at this time. There have
been some varroa mites reported, but
most beekeepers are doing what is
necessary to keep mite populations
to a minimum at this time.
Beekeepers as of late June were fin-
ished with the task of placing supers
on their colonies in preparation for
the expanding colonies. Beekeepers
are hopeful for a good honey crop.
983
 U.S. HONEY PRICES FROM OUR REPORTERS
North- Mid- South- South- East West- Inter- HONEY MARKET FOR THE
east east east west Central Central Mountain West MONTH OF JUNE 2018
Wholesale In volumes of 10,000 pounds or greater
unless otherwise stated
White lb. Blk.$2.00-$3.00 $2.00-$4.25 $1.60-$3.00 $1.95-$2.30 $2.05-$4.00 $2.00-$3.30 $1.60-$2.60 $1.75-$2.50
(Courtesy June 2018
Amber lb. Blk $1.80-$2.65 $1.95-$4.25 $1.25-$2.50 $1.90-$2.25 $1.90-$4.00 $1.75-$3.00 $1.50-$2.50 $1.60-$2.35 USDA National Honey Report)
1 lb. CS 24 $ 60.00- $ 55.00- $ 60.00- $ 80.00- $ 78.00- $ 84.00- $ 60.00- $ 58.00- Prices paid to beekeepers for extracted, unprocessed
$119.76 $102.00 $126.00 $120.00 $168.00 $110.00 $180.00 $276.00 honey in major producing states by packers, han-
2 lb. CS 12 $ 60.00- $ 60.00- $ 60.00- $ 90.00- $ 60.00- $ 60.00- $ 57.00- $ 60.00- dlers & other large users, cents per pound, f.o.b. or
$ 112.20 $ 90.00 $ 114.00 $ 120.00 $114.00 $ 96.00 $ 110.00 $ 84.00 delivered nearby, containers exchanged or returned,
prompt delivery & payment unless otherwise stated.
5 lb. CS 6 $ 72.00- $ 60.00- $ 60.00- $ 58.00- $ 87.00- $ 84.00 $ 60.00- $ 60.00-
$128.10 $127.50 $ 150.00 $ 98.00 $115.00 $134.00 $103.00 $104.00 -Report includes both new and old crop honey-
Retail
(# Some in Small Lot — +Some delayed pay-
Jars 8 oz. $ 1.45- $ 2.40- $ 2.50- $ 2.50- $ 2.50- $ 2.25- $ 2.00- $ 2.25- ments or previous commitment)
$ 4.00 $6.00 $ 4.00 $ 4.50 $ 6.00 $ 4.00 $ 6.00 $ 12.00
Squeeze $ 3.10- $ 3.00- $ 3.69- $ 2.80- $ 3.00- $ 4.00- $ 3.50- $ 3.19- Arkansas
Bear 12 oz.$ 6.00 $ 7.00 $ 5.95 $ 4.75 $10.00 $ 6.00 $ 4.85 $ 6.00 Soybean Light Amber $1.68
Jars 1 lb. $ 4.58- $ 5.55- $ 5.69- $ 6.00- $ 4.00- $ 4.00- $ 3.75- $ 4.19- California
$ 12.00 $ 8.25 $10.00 $ 12.00 $ 8.75 $ 10.00 $ 10.00 $ 18.00 Orange Blossom White $2.50 - $2.75
Jars 11/2lb.$ 5.50- $ 5.25- $ 5.69- $ 5.45- $ 6.00- $ 5.50- $ 4.75- $ 4.75- Orange Blossom Extra Light Amber $2.75
(Pint) $ 13.00 $ 11.00 $ 10.70 $ 10.00 $ 12.00 $ 15.00 $ 10.00 $ 10.25 Orange Blossom Light Amber $2.40
Jars 2 lb. $ 7.58- $ 6.95- $ 12.99- $ 7.00- $ 6.50- $ 7.25- $ 6.25- $ 6.50- Clover White $2.08
$ 15.00 $ 15.00 $ 18.00 $ 18.00 $ 16.00 $ 12.00 $ 11.25 $ 20.00 Dakotas
Jars 3 lb. $ 9.50- $ 13.00- $ 8.79- $ 8.25- $ 11.00- $ 10.00- $ 8.10- $ 8.00- Clover White $1.98 - $2.08
(Quart) $ 25.00 $ 22.00 $ 18.00 $ 21.00 $ 29.00 $ 30.00 $ 23.00 $ 30.00 Clover Extra Light Amber $$2.08 - $2.10
Jars 4 lb. $ 10.00- $ 10.00- $ 11.00- $ 18.00- $ 13.50- $ 14.00- $ 11.00- $ 10.00- Florida
$ 35.00 $ 30.00 $ 29.75 $ 30.00 $ 30.00 $ 16.25 $ 28.50 $ 32.00 Gallberry Extra Light Amber $2.40 - $2.45
Jars 5 lb. $ 22.00- $ 15.00- $ 15.50- $ 16.25- $ 14.00- $ 17.00- $ 16.00- $ 10.99- Mixed Flower Extra Light Amber $1.80
$ 40.00 $ 39.50 $ 35.50 $ 32.00 $ 40.00 $ 27.00 $ 33.25 $ 40.00 Mixed Flower Light Amber $1.70
Palmetto Extra Light Amber $2.40 - $2.45
Creamed $ 5.50- $ 5.50- $ 5.49- $ 5.25- $ 2.60- $ 3.95- $ 4.75- $ 5.25- Kansas
12 oz. $ 7.50 $ 8.00 $ 6.95 $ 6.99 $ 9.00 $12.00 $ 7.00 $ 7.25 Canola White $2.08
Comb $ 6.00- $ 5.50- $ 5.25- $ 5.50- $ 8.00- $ 8.00- $ 5.50- $ 5.75- Mississippi
12 oz. $14.00 $13.00 $13.25 $13.50 $15.00 $12.00 $13.75 $13.50 Gallberry Light Amber $1.80
Montana
Round $ 5.00- $ 4.50- $ 4.50- $ 4.00- $ 5.00- $ 4.00- $ 4.25- $ 4.50- Clover White $2.08
Plas. Comb$ 8.50 $13.00 $ 7.50 $ 8.25 $ 10.00 $ 12.00 $ 7.00 $ 12.49 Clover Extra Light Amber $2.05
1 Gallon $ 76.00- $ 49.95- $ 45.00- $ 36.00- $ 36.00- $ 33.95- $ 24.00- $ 25.00- Spurge Light Amber $1.65
$116.00 $ 70.00 $ 58.00 $ 100.00 $ 96.00 $ 55.00 $ 50.00 $ 50.00
Prices paid to Canadian Beekeepers for unpro-
60 lb. $180.00- $188.00- $150.00- $140.00- $160.00- $144.00- $140.00- $115.99 cessed, bulk honey by packers and importers in
$225.00 $260.00 $250.00 $200.00 $420.00 $220.00 $225.00 $230.00
U. S. currency, f.o.b. shipping point, containers in-
The above prices are not meant to provide a realistic picture of prices in all states of the cluded unless otherwise stated. Duty and crossing
particular area. They are intended merely to show what a few beekeepers are receiving charges extra. Cents per pound.
for their honey and we realize prices may vary tremendously, even within individual Clover White $1.40 - $1.41
states. The bulk prices for honey are stated per pound, delivered buyer’s warehouse, Mixed Flower White $1.40
containers exchanged or furnished by buyer, unless otherwise noted. Where prices are
not shown, insufficient data were available.

Demand for honey continues to
exceed the supply. There is contin-
ued concern from beekeepers on
pricing going forward.
West—This region is reporting
mixed honey crops with some stating
50-60% less production compared to
last year and others stating crops are
up 15% over last. It’s been hot, dry,
then cold and dry. Water wars have
commenced. Similar complaints in
California, where lack of rain resulted
in poor flows from sage and wild-
flower. Eucalyptus and poison oak
have average flows.
Clover failed to produce in Oregon,
though one reporter notes average
yields at 75 lbs, an increase of 10 lbs
per colony compared to last year, with
extracted crops lighter than usual.
Washington state reports a very short
spring, with blackberry providing a
much needed boost to colonies.
In coastal California, queens have
been hard to mate due to incoming fog.
The honey market is hot with
“more demand than I can supply.”

984 American Bee Journal

March 2018 985

Q WHO INVENTED OUR
MODERN BEEHIVE?
Dear Jerry,
I enjoy your column and always
learn from your replies, as well as a
chuckle or two.
This is a bit off topic, but I was
having a discussion with another
beekeeper about Lorenzo Langstroth
and the invention of bee space and
hanging frames. Was he the first to
create the “modern movable frame”
beehive?
Thank you for your information
and eagerness to share!
History Buff,
Columbus Ohio
September 2018
A
Hello History Buff,
Most everything is a continuum
meaning that nobody really ever in-
vents the perfect something. Those
smart, innovative, entrepreneurial
folks that follow the initial invention
always improve on it, make it better,
help it bring value to those that use it
or get value from its use.
In 1815 a Ukrainian beekeeper
named Peter Prokopovich invented
the movable frame beehive. He did
include a space of 8-9mm between the
end bar and the wall of the beehive,
but missed this pretty close bee space
between the frames. Prokopovich
had several hundred colonies, which
in the early 1800’s was unusual. His
large number of colonies was possible
because of his unique movable frame
hive.
It took our own Lorenzo Lang-
stroth, who was born in 1810 when
Prokopovich was using his movable
frame hives in Ukraine, to figure out
that the 3/8 inch bee space could be
used as a universal distance between
frame hardware, the frames next to
each other, and the hive body itself.
This allowed for much easier frame
movement and management. Lang-
stroth received a patent for this in
1852. There is no reason to believe
that Langstroth could read Ukrainian
or anybody cared about Ukrainian
beekeepers back in the 1800’s.
This bee space distance is the uni-
versal engineering metric that allows
anyone designing a beehive to allow
the beekeeper to open up and inspect
a honey bee colony, so they can man-
age it and keep it healthy. In the age of
varroa, sampling and appropriate var-
roa treatment requires access to all in-
terior locations of a honey bee colony.
Anything less is an additional nega-
tive check mark hampering colony
survival if a beekeeper is passionately
responsible.
History is cool. Thanks for the
question.
Q
Hello,
STORING HONEY
So I have had a good year of honey
harvest. Now, I have a dilemma that I
haven’t faced before: how to store 200
lbs of honey until I can sell it without
it crystallizing.
My options are:
1. Store at room temp in my house
(76 degrees) in buckets
2. Store in a bottling tank at any temp
from 70 to 110
I know that crystallization is nor-
mal, but I would like to decrease it for
as long as I can. What do you suggest?
Mark
A
Hello Mark,
I am glad you had a good crop.
Exciting. Honey is a supersaturated
sugar solution based on the flower
nectar collected. Honey that granu-
lates/crystallizes is following a
natural process as the honey tries to
balance the sugar ratios in it. Some
honey will never granulate and some
like canola will granulate so quickly,
sometimes while still in the comb,
forcing beekeepers to extract it equal-
ly quickly. Most honeys have sugar
ratios that fall in the middle and will
granulate slowly. The ratios of indi-
vidual sugars are important to de-
termine if the honey will granulate
slowly or quickly. I know most of
us and our customers are imprinted
on liquid honey. But most of the rest
of the world prefers what we call
‘Creamed Honey’ which is finely
crystallized honey. It is smooth,
creamy, has a wonderful mouth feel
and it doesn’t drip or run all over the
place. Google up Creamed Honey or
the original ‘Dyce Process’ because
there is a potential market for this
wonderful product.
987
 I am getting off my creamed honey
sales podium now :)! Honey does
this crystallization balancing act best
at temperatures in the lower 50’s
°F. The challenge in keeping honey
at room temperatures or above is
that over time, months really, honey
will darken as it ages because of
an aging byproduct called HMF
(hydroxymethylfurfural) and lose fla-
vor as the volatile chemicals that give
honey flavor can be released.
To keep the ‘fresh’ honey desirable
I would line up your customers early
and store for the least amount of time,
preferably around the 80° F mark.
And remember, if it starts crystalliz-
ing spontaneously simply because
that is what it wants to do, try to use
I have found the best mite treat-
ment is to let the colony swarm but
that cuts the annual honey yield to
about half.
Ken
the new frames. Place whatever comb
that you want to eventually replace
in the second box above the excluder,
where any brood will mature, emerge
and then the frames will be empty.
Yes, when a colony swarms the
colony population is reduced as the
swarm leaves. But, remember the
swarm is taking varroa mites with it
and so you are spreading varroa into
the surrounding area. They can infest
or re-infest other honey bee colonies.
I think the prudent thing to do is
sample for varroa, treat for varroa
when the mite count gets to 3 mites
per 100 bees or above with a near-
ly-natural product like ApiGuard.
This is a thymol (thyme) gel and
has a good profile for varroa control

A
the least amount of heat needed to re- and less negative impact on colony
liquefy it. health.
All the best and have fun.

Q OLD COMB
ROTATION
Hey Ken,
Thank you for The Classroom com-
pliment. I appreciate it for all of us
beekeepers.
Q
Hi Jerry,
BEE STINGS

Jerry, The simple answer is to simply buy I am a second-year beekeeper who

Your column is a must read as soon
as the “Journal” arrives. Many thanks.
The combs in the single brood box
are now three years old and I am
thinking of replacing with new foun-
dation. The winters in the Central
Valley are very mild and bees for-
age all year long which means that
brood is always present. So how can
I install new foundation without los-
ing brood? Can I add a second brood
box above the old box and hope the
queen and comb builders move up
and eventually abandon the lower
brood chamber?
or borrow a piece of equipment called
a queen excluder. It fits between box-
es and has wires welded into place
at a spacing that allows workers to
go through into the next box, but
not the queen. Her thorax is bigger,
so she can’t fit through the narrow
spacing and is confined to whatever
box she is already in. If she is in one
box then brood rearing is restricted to
that box/area. If you get a ‘queen ex-
cluder’ and place the queen below the
excluder in the original brood box,
but with the replacement frames and
foundation, she will be confined to
enjoys learning from your monthly
Classroom column. I wonder if you can
help me understand, or suggest where
to get more information, on avoiding
a bee sting sensitivity. I have read sev-
eral books and websites that tell me
I should try to get stung regularly to
help prevent developing a sensitivity.
However, I have also read people’s
comments on various Facebook bee-
keeping boards that talk about how
they have been keeping bees for years,
gotten multiple stings during that
time, and suddenly develop severe
reactions - swelling, even anaphylax-

Jerry Hayes, Classroom Columnist

Longtime Classroom writer Jerry Hayes retired from Monsanto on July 6th, 2018. He had joined the agrochemical
company 6 years ago, shortly after the company acquired Beeologics, an Israeli company that was pioneering RNAi
technology to immunize honey bees against specific viruses. While at Monsanto, Jerry strove to inform beekeepers
about the dangers of varroa, emphasizing the impacts this destructive parasite has on colony health.
The move from chief apiary inspector of Florida to Monsanto was viewed with trepidation by some beekeepers,
and created a “Swarm of Controversy” described in exquisite detail by Wired magazine in a longform article that
should be required reading for any lover of The Classroom column. It contends that “before he was a villain, Jerry
Hayes was a hero. He considered himself one of the good guys. Many people did. They sought his advice. …
Since the early 1980s Hayes has written The Classroom, an advice column for the American Bee Journal, America’s
oldest bee magazine. He is Dear Abby for beekeepers, counseling readers on everything from capturing swarms to
making shoe polish from beeswax.” Hayes joined Monsanto, because he saw that they had pockets deep enough to
really help honey bee health. While there, he learned the RNAi technology of Beeologics was much further behind
than he expected. The field trials were failing, as it’s much easier to kill varroa in a Petri dish than in a colony.
Instead of pouring all their research dollars into stopping a single virus—Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus—he helped
the agrochemical company focus its efforts on addressing the vector of the viruses—varroa. He was a frequent
speaker at conferences, helping beekeepers understand how difficult it is to kill “a fist sized bug on another bug.”
Jerry will continue to write his much loved column for ABJ and we wish him much success in this next stage
of his life. We will be interviewing Jerry in an upcoming issue, so stayed tuned as he reflects on what lies ahead.

988 American Bee Journal

is. I wonder if I should be subjecting
myself to more stings. So far, I’ve only
had about 20 stings over the 1 year, 4
months that I have been working with
bees, and I don’t have any bad reac-
tions. I always wear a veil and jacket
when I work my hives to prevent mul-
tiple stings at once, which is more like-
ly to cause a bad reaction. My bees are
pretty gentle, and I try not to rile them
too much when I go into the hive.
Maybe as I get more confident with
my hives, I will just get more stings
over time! What do you suggest?
Michele Raffaele
A
Hello Michele,
Honey bees sting for only two rea-
sons, species defense and colony de-
fense. What is species defense? When
you walk across your yard in your
bare feet and you step on a honey bee
and she stings you, in the future, you
will look out for honey bees in your
yard before putting down your feet...
protecting the species. Colony defense
is when members of the honey bee
colony sacrifice themselves by sting-
ing an entity considered a predator to
protect the colony in general.
One of the significant ways honey
bees communicate within the colony
is with ‘odors’ called pheromones.
The major management tool for bee-
keepers to facilitate ease of opening
up a hive to inspect and sample a col-
ony is the smoker. When smoke is in-
troduced into a hive, the smoke masks
the chemical odor communication of
individual bees to their nest mates
and stops or dilutes alarm pheromone
odors. Bees use alarm pheromones to
organize colony defense to attack and
sting the intruder...you the beekeeper.
I did not see in your question that you
were using a smoker. I hope you are
as it lowers the colony’s defensive re-
actions initially and long-term as the
‘alarm’ pheromones are not activated.
When a honey bee stings, the in-
jected venom contains proteins that
cause pain and destroy various cells
in the area of the sting causing more
pain. Which of course is what the bees
want to do to discourage you from in-
terfering through hive management.
Certainly, if you have or are having
sting reactions that concern you, you
should visit a doctor that specializes
in allergies. Per the question regard-
ing some long-time beekeepers, who
suddenly develop severe reactions.
September 2018
Generally, these are old beekeepers,
like me :). When one gets old, the im-
mune system becomes weaker like
the rest of you. The body’s immune
system may wane in its ability to deal
with foreign proteins and allergic re-
actions can occur.
I am not a doctor, nor have I ever
played one on TV. Ultimately a dis-
cussion with your real doctor is the
prudent thing to do. Your main goal
as a good beekeeper is to keep the
colony calm, so you can manage them
for good health. This means a judicial
and efficient use of your smoker ac-
companied with protective gear, in-
cluding gloves if needed. This will
give you a solid feeling of control and
confidence so you can do your job to
keep them healthy.
You’ll do great,
Jerry
Q
FREEZING FRAMES
OF HONEY
What are your thoughts on freez-
ing or refrigerating full honey
frames in storage until the honey
harvest is over? Then I can process
them all at once. Temperatures in
NW Colorado can reach 100 de-
grees before the summer is over.
Also keeping out little critters.
Really enjoy The Classroom
Thanks for all your help,
Terry
A
Freezing is better than refrigerat-
ing. Honey is a supersaturated sugar
solution with many different sug-
ars in it from many different nectar
sources. If these sugar ratios are off
balance or skewed the honey will try
to balance itself and will ‘granulate’,
i.e. sugar crystals will form. This re-
balancing happens best at refrigerator
temperatures. I would freeze them to
retain the liquid honey that can then
be extracted later.
Q
Starting a Nuc
Now
Hello there. I’m about the pull the
trigger on getting a hive etc. and
clearing some space in my yard. I
have a friend, who might sell me a
nuc to start a hive. Is that something
you think is a good idea now? If so,
when could I get one?
Chris Ferguson
A
Chris,
Historically most beekeepers start
a colony of honey bees in April or so.
The reason is that the colony has to
grow in population, perhaps build
comb out from the foundation the
beekeeper has given it, store honey as
a food surplus and all of this long be-
fore the next winter appears. The col-
ony has to grow and stabilize biologi-
cally with enough resources to make
it through the winter. For a new bee-
keeper to do this successfully while
experiencing all the new situations
that becoming a beekeeping imposes
is tough, even when you have plenty
of time. In a perfect world, it could
be done. But even for an experienced
beekeeper, it’s tough to have a colony
build out strong enough from scratch
this late in the year.
My suggestion is to take time and
join your local beekeeper’s associa-
tion. They hopefully have a mentor
program. Subscribe to American Bee
Journal, google up ‘Tools for Varroa
Management’ from the Honey Bee
Health Coalition and memorize it. By
next spring you will be ready to be
successful and keep the bees alive.
Sorry if I sucked the immediate fun
out of this, but honey bees—primar-
ily because of varroa mites—need
consistent management to keep them
healthy and productive. All new bee-
keepers who I have seen jump into
beekeeping without preparation fail,
989
which means they killed the bees.
You wouldn’t do that with a puppy
or kitten or backyard chickens. I don’t
want you to do that with this animal,
the honey bee.
ing. According to https://ballotpedia.
org/CREDO_Action they sell credit
cards and operate a mobile network
to raise money. I expect signing the
petition will also lead to a stream of
marketing materials related to those
lowed them to control temperature
and humidity much better than in
our standard equipment with its bot-
tom entrances. Comb orientation was
not a ventilation issue. The hives we
use now have a nice bottom entrance

Q
businesses. (front door) and nice landing area
Be careful. (porch). Both are designed for us, not
SIGNING A Take care, the bees.
PETITION Jerry But honey bees are survivors most
Jerry, I got an email from a lady of the time. Especially now, with your

Q BEES BUILDING
this morning who wants me to help, they can live and do well in a
sign a petition. I clicked on this variety of cavities.
link — https://act.credoaction.com/ COMB IN DIFFERENT
DIRECTION

sign/epa_bees_2018_2?sp_ref
=418506522.4.185399.e.595981
.2&referring_akid=.9228635.
RTznu1&source=mailto_sp — and
read the blurb with it. Knowing that
you are knowledgeable about all the
chemical turmoil that goes on in the
country and globally, I wanted to ask
you to review this and advise. I have a
club of beeks that number about and
this lady is asking me to invoke these
members to sign as well; I, however,
loathe to simply present something
without checking out the facts.
Thanks, if you’ll respond to what
might be legit, but more than likely
Q
Hello Jerry
This swarm season I have been try- How Many Varroa?
ing my hand at swarm trapping. Out
of 5 swarm traps I have so far gotten
I did a mite wash and found 1 mite.
a swarm in three of them. One thing
So, I was wondering what mite treat-
I noticed in each of these three is that
ment you would recommend.I am in
the bees build the comb perpendicu-
Arizona.
lar to the entrance rather than parallel
as in the Lang hive. Is this how bees
Jerry D.
usually do comb in the wild? Are we
making ventilation, etc. difficult for
them by having the entrance as we do
on the Lang?
Thanks,
Jefferey D.

A
might be something that is one-sided
and lacks a factual, research basis.
Thanks for your always-informa-
tive column, which I always read first
Good morning Jeffrey,

A
when the magazine comes.
Free bees. Good time to treat for
varroa when you first get them before
Ron brood rearing starts.
Back in the early days of hive de-
sign when we were first starting to
The recommendation currently is if
understand bee space, there were
you have 3-5 mites per 100 bees in an
entrances on bottom boards offered
alcohol wash, then you should select
with two options.
and start your varroa treatment.
For a simple visual, picture the
Keep your sampling up because
frames in your hive body the way
that 1 per 100 could change quickly
they are now. One bottom entrance
as brood that has been parasitized
was called the ‘cold way’. And it was
emerges and female foundress mites
the entrance on the short side of the
emerge.
box as we have now. It was called
I would start with ApiGuard a thy-
the ‘cold way’ because air could en-

A
My biggest concern would be turn-
ing over my contact information to
them. None of their petitions are ca-
pable of causing any federal agency
to do anything. EPA, for example,
mol (herb oil) gel. It provides good
ter and blow easily between frames
control of varroa and very little col-
as the frames were oriented with bee
lateral damage to the bees.
space facing the entrance opening.
Follow the label directions.
The other entrance was called the
Don’t pat yourself on the back just
‘warm way’. This entrance was on
yet. Especially in Arizona, where in
the long side of the box. Because the
most places you don’t have winter, so
frames were parallel to the entrance
the bees rear brood year round.
opening the thought was that air did
not have as easy a path into the hive

opens public comment periods when
it makes decisions regarding pesti-
cides and that is when EPA will con-
sider petitions and other information.
Looking at the range of topics, my
guess is that ‘credoaction’ is collect-
ing lists of people that they can sell to
others for politically-related market-
and so allowed the colony to regu-
late temperature and humidity more
efficiently.
Back in the old days before varroa
wiped out 90% of wild/feral colo-
nies, honey bees would select a cavity
with an entrance above the location
of the brood nest, if possible. That al-
Q
‘OTHER BEES’
I am located in the Netherlands and
was wondering what your experience
over the years has been with bees oth-
er than the honey bee:

990 American Bee Journal

 Megachile relativa: apparently 16
different ones exist in the Netherlands,
so perhaps adjusted to lower temps?
Megachile rotundata: Alfalfa Leaf-
cutter Bee. Extensively used in alfalfa.
Incubation requires > 21 C, and it is
considered a summer pollinator.
Osmia lignaria: Blue Orchard
Mason Bee. Supposedly a typical
cool weather / (early) spring polli-
nator, starting to come out at 10° C.
Appreciate your insights.
Best regards,
Jan
only active for a short time each sea-
son and dormant the rest of the year.
They do not have large colonies. Each
female is her own queen and worker
and she raises maybe 6-12 young for
next year. You can’t move their nest-
ing tubes during nesting season, so
their pollinating efficiency is restrict-
ed by numbers, lack of ability to relo-
cate, and season.
Managed honey bees have the ad-
vantage that they raise large colonies
of 30K – 50K. Lots of foragers look-
ing for pollen and nectar. They are
active anytime the temp is above
colonies around and they readjust
to location and environment. That is
why they are the go-to pollinator for
ag production.
If the Osmia and Megachile pollina-
tors could be raised and managed
to bring value to large pollinator-
dependent agricultural production,
they would be used extensively al-
ready. If they could make money
for the ‘beekeeper’ that would be
enough of an economic driver to
commercialize this industry on a
wide scale. As of yet, nobody has
figured out how to do it on a large

A These ‘other bees’ can be great pol-

57°F, and you can move these large economic scale.

linators in the right circumstances.

Their biology means that they are

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since 1946
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ARBUCKLE, CALIFORNIA 95912
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September 2018 991

992 American Bee Journal
 Are You reAdY for Winter?

L
ong before temperatures plummet, the bees are
preparing for winter. As soon as the days start get-
ting shorter, it helps to start planning for winter,
preparing your colony to survive the long dearth.
For colonies to survive the winter, you need healthy
winter bees. Winter bees differ greatly from summer bees
in their physiology. They have more fat body, special tis-
sues that line the inside of their abdomen and produce a
very important protein called vitellogenin (VG). This VG
is an egg-yolk precursor normally used by insects in egg
production, but repurposed in honey bees as an immune
booster, energy reserve and predictor of longevity.
Colonies raise their winter bees predominantly in
August and September, just as varroa mite levels peak
nationwide. When mites rise above 3 mites per 100 bees,
beekeepers need to do something to reduce the pressure
of this parasite. Unfortunately samples from the National
Honey Bee Disease Survey show that mite levels on aver-
age rise above this threshold from July-November.
Quality Queen
A colony typically needs a large, healthy population
to winter well. The queen must have a good brood pat-
tern, laying a large number of eggs in late summer. These
develop and emerge as healthy adult bees in August and
September, becoming the winter bees of your cluster.
Big clusters winter much better than small clusters, as
they can better thermoregulate colony temperatures. The
larger size also allows the cluster to stay in contact with
food stores more readily; they occupy more space and so
can easily move up into additional stores. A small cluster
may consume all the food in their vicinity during a cold
snap, then starve with ample stores just out of reach.
If you have a poor quality queen in late summer, it is
better to “pinch” (eliminate) her. If the remaining bees are
healthy, combine them with another colony. It is much
easier to winter one strong colony, than three weak ones.
The strong one will come roaring through the winter and
can then usually be split back out into three colonies the
next spring.

Varroa mite infestations throughout the year. The orange

line represents the 3 mites per 100 bees threshold, when bee-
keepers should intervene to reduce parasite pressure from the
colony. In late summer, the national average rises above the
treatment threshold. This means that varroa peaks right when
colonies are rearing long lived winter bees. There are many dif-
ferent options to reduce varroa, depending on what manage-
ment strategy a beekeeper wishes to employ. These range from
eliminating the colony or all capped brood to using a synthetic
varroa control product. Figure reproduced from Traynor et al.
2016.
Queen Laying Eggs. Here a queen is laying a nice pattern of
Four Keys to surViVal eggs with every empty cell filled. Sometimes bees will cannibal-
For a colony to successfully survive the winter, four ize the brood after it hatches into a larva. A good quality queen
things need to be met in late summer. will have an excellent brood pattern without lots of misses.

1. A high quality queen low Varroa Pressure

2. Low varroa pressure Varroa mites are a parasite that feed on both developing
3. Plenty of incoming pollen larvae and adult bees. We used to think they fed on bee
4. A nectar flow blood, but new research by Dr. Samuel Ramsey has shown

September 2018 994

that these hungry tick-like parasites actually feed on honey
bee fat body. Remember varroa naturally peaks in colonies
right when colonies are rearing their winter bees and this
pesky parasite is feeding on the fat body that produces VG.
Bees add VG to brood food, a protein rich food that allows
the larvae to grow rapidly. VG also allows bees to live lon-
ger and is abundant in winter bees. Bees parasitized by
varroa are shorter lived. So if you want your bees to be
healthy enough to make it through the winter, you need
low varroa pressure in July, August and September.
pollen in late summer, you might want to supplement with
a pollen substitute.
Going into the fall I make sure each of my colonies has
a full medium honey super for winter stores and I place
one frame of honey with bee bread in the center, see fig-
ure below. When the bees move up into those stores in the
middle of winter and kick their brood rearing into high
gear, they have access to this protein resource even if noth-
ing is blooming outside.

Monitor your varroa levels: It’s best to monitor your

varroa levels and have a management strategy in mind if
levels exceed 3 mites per 100 bees. The best way to monitor
for mites is with an alcohol wash. Sugar shakes are popu-
lar, but can be unreliable. When I have done a sugar shake
demonstration, followed by a subsequent alcohol wash on
the same bees, I always double or triple my mite count.
The NJ Department of Agriculture has a great quick tip
sheet: https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/pdf/
varroamitealcoholwash.pdf
Plenty of Pollen: Bees need protein rich pollen to rear healthy
offspring. Make sure your colonies are bringing in fresh pollen in
late summer when they’re rearing their winter bees.
a nectar Flow
A queen will significantly reduce her egg laying during
a nectar dearth. Some regions of the United States have
very little nectar resources in late summer and early fall. If
you live in an area where colonies don’t have nectar com-
ing in, you may want to feed to stimulate the queen to ex-
pand her brood nest starting in early August.
Where I live in Maryland, I start preparing my colonies
for winter in July, eliminating any poor quality queens and
monitoring for varroa. I typically start feeding my colo-
nies a 1-to-1 sugar syrup in August, as this mimics a nectar
flow. I run all mediums and I want my bees to have two
full medium boxes of brood and one full medium super of
honey by the time temperatures start to cool off. My bees
enter the fall with the configuration shown below, where
Alcohol Wash. Here you can see lots of mites in the bottom of blue = brood, yellow = nectar/honey, and orange = pollen.
the container. With a 1/2 cup sample, which is approximately
300 bees, you will want to intervene to reduce mite pressure if Good Queen + Low Mites + Protein + Nectar
you have 10 or more mites, as that exceeds the 3 mites per 100 = HealtHy Colonies
bee threshold. Photo from NJ Dept of Ag
Every beekeeper wants to winter their colonies suc-
Mites higher than 3: There are several treatment op- cessfully. Ensure the right conditions, so you can bring the
tions available, depending on your mite management plan same number into the spring that you prepped for winter.
and local temperature conditions. Very effective synthetic
options include Apivar, an amitraz based product and
Apistan, a fluvalinate based product to which mites had
previously evolved resistance. Beekeepers avoided using
it for several years, so it’s apparently very effective again.
If you want to manage your bees organically Apiguard,
a thymol based product and two formic acid products
Formic Pro and Mite Away Quick Strips work well, but
have temperature restrictions. If you want to be completely
treatment-free, then you must eliminate the colony when
mite levels reach 10 mites per 100 bees, so that it does not
collapse and infect other colonies in the area.

Plenty oF Pollen
Bees require protein rich pollen to rear the next genera-
tion. Ideally you want to provide your colony with at least
one to three frames of stored pollen, what beekeepers call
bee bread. Not all areas have late summer and early fall
pollen sources available. If your colony has no incoming

995 American Bee Journal

M
y wife and I moved to a rural
area of southwest Virginia in
2004, where we live on the
side of a mountain. It’s pretty much
all woodlands for at least a half mile
in every direction. Having planted a
dozen young fruit trees on the prop-
erty a couple years before we moved
there, I wondered in late 2005 if there
would be any bees around to polli-
nate the fruit blossoms the trees even-
tually produced. “Hmm,” I thought,
“maybe I should get a couple hives of
honey bees.”
And thus began my sojourn into
beekeeping. Knowing absolutely
nothing about honey bees, I attended
my first beekeepers’ association meet-
ing in February 2006. A video on “re-
queening” was shown. Who knew
“queen” could be a verb?! I seem to
remember nine different commercial
beekeepers in the video, each one
absolutely certain their method of
re-queening was the only right one.
A couple of them even agreed with
each other. I left the meeting skepti-
cal and confused, but impressed with
the notion that it’s very important to
maintain hives with young, healthy
queens.
At a meeting a few months later
a guest speaker, Bill Whitlow, gave
a presentation on how some of his
practices differed from mainstream
beekeeping. One that caught my eye
was how he used a double screen
board (see graphic) to, among other
things, produce queens without graft-
ing. Understanding little of what he
September 2018
was saying, I furiously took a page
and a half of notes before my eyes
rolled back in my head and I gave up.
A year or so later I had the oppor-
tunity to hear Bill describe the tech-
nique again. This time I was able to
follow what he said and took more
complete notes. Based on my expe-
riences since then, which includes
teaching our association’s Beginning
Beekeeper’s Course for the past eight
years, I would not recommend first
year beekeepers try this. It’s not that
it’s difficult or overly complicated,
but a first year beekeeper is already
“drinking from a fire hose,” attempt-
ing to absorb a huge amount of bee-
keeping information. So, beginners,
read this, make a mental note to re-
visit it next year, and concentrate on
learning to care for your bees this
year. The rest of you are about to grab
a new fire hose!
What tempted me most to try this
procedure is the threefold purpose: to
minimize the swarming urge by put-
ting the bulk of the nurse bees “up-
stairs,” away from the queen during a
prime part of swarm season; to maxi-
mize honey reserves by not having
to use as much nectar/honey to feed
brood and nurse bees; and to encour-
age the upstairs bees to start queen
cells to keep the line of a good queen
going, all without taking a hive out
of production. This sounded mighty
good to me!
While it borrows aspects from other
methods that have been around for
quite a while, I haven’t read or heard
about this particular means for hob-
byists to raise up to a dozen or so
queens without grafting, and wanted
to share it with readers. It’s a bit on
the labor-intensive side, but it’s rela-
tively cheap and quite effective.
I have distilled the essence of the
technique to one written page and
two diagrams (see sidebar). It ex-
plains how hobbyist beekeepers can
harness the emergency queen rear-
ing process to produce a handful of
queens without grafting. Okay, may-
be it’s not crystal clear—it’ll probably
take a couple of read-throughs—but
all the details are there. Best of all
it works. I’ve used this method for
many years with excellent results.
why Does this worK?
In the spring, when honey bee
populations grow rapidly, nurse bees
are apt to prepare for swarming by
producing queen cells. While not all
aspects of swarming are completely
understood, I remember reading, al-
though I can’t give proper attribution,
Prevent swarming by harvesting that
energy of the bees. .
997
that one of the triggers for swarm cell
production is the queen’s pheromone
is too faint. When a colony becomes
overcrowded, her pheromone, which
is spread bee-to-bee from the queen’s
attendant retinue to other hive bees,
no longer appears strong, as it’s
spread too thinly among the over-
flowing population.
We can harvest this swarm drive, if
we start with a strong, well-fed hive
during a spring nectar flow. Now to
keep them from swarming, we isolate
most of the nurse bees away from the
queen. Far removed from the queen,
these young bees feel queenless and
pour their resources into raising
large queen cells from young worker
brood, providing them with lots of
royal jelly.
If you do this procedure using the
open brood of a colony with desirable
traits, her daughter queens are likely
to have some similar traits, though
the local drone population naturally
influences the new colony’s disposi-
tion. Remember these are emergency
queens, so you need a really popu-
lous colony to make sure they are of
decent quality.
what Do you neeD?
In applying this technique, it helps
greatly to have a spare hive body and
a couple towels or other hive covers
on hand. Throughout your frame
examinations, look closely for the
queen; she must be positively identi-
fied and carefully placed in the lower
hive body. The description below as-
sumes a configuration of two hive
bodies with optional honey super(s)
above. It can easily be modified for
other configurations, though all of
your brood frames need to be the
same size.
You will need:
1 extra hive body of the same depth
as your brood frames
2-3 extra hive covers or towels to
minimize robbing
A double screen
A couple of nuc boxes or a queen
castle
The ability to find the queen
colony set-uP
Begin by removing any honey su-
pers from your chosen hive and set
them aside. Cover them with a towel
or other cover to help keep the bees
calm. Next, remove the upper hive
body and set it beside your spare hive
body on a top cover or other flat sur-
face on the ground.
998
Several emergency cells can be seen in this photo. Notice how the bees draw them
out from a worker cell, rerouting the development into a queen trajectory.
Examine the frames that are in the
upper hive body, retaining any with
significant amounts of eggs, larvae,
or pollen, and putting those with lots
of honey/nectar, capped brood, or
empty cells in the spare hive body.
(Hint: Frames are often a mix of dif-
ferent aged brood and resources. Put
those that clearly do not belong in the
upper hive body on one side of the
spare hive body, and the question-
able ones with mixed resources on
the other side. You can decide later
when you’re finishing out the frames
in each hive body where you want
those questionable ones to end up.) If
the bees get a bit agitated, cover the
spare and upper hive bodies with a
towel or other hive cover as you con-
tinue working.
Next, evaluate frames that are in the
lower hive body, retaining any with
lots of honey/nectar, capped brood,
or empty cells, and putting those with
significant amounts of eggs, larvae, or
pollen in the upper hive body. Ques-
tionable frames can go in the spare
hive body.
Finally, transfer appropriate frames
from the spare hive body to the upper
and lower hive bodies as they best fit.
It’s very unlikely, particularly at this
first session, which I call “week 0,”
for the frames to be perfectly divid-
ed so that exactly 50% of the frames
have all the eggs, larvae and pollen,
and the other 50% have all the capped
brood, empty cells, and honey/nec-
tar. That’s OK, lots of frames will
contain multiple materials; just give it
your best shot based on the predomi-
nant contents of each frame. Don’t
worry about shaking any bees into
one hive body or the other; you’ll see
why shortly.
If you didn’t see the queen, I rec-
ommend you go back and look for
her; she must be positively identified
and carefully placed in the lower hive
body, or you’ll set your efforts back
by a week at minimum. Don’t for-
get to look in any honey supers you
might have removed.
Now, for hive configuration. Place
your lower hive body (the one with
frames of predominantly honey/nec-
tar, capped brood, and empty cells)
on top of a bottom board. If you have
one or more honey supers the bees
have been working, put them on next;
a queen excluder below the honey
supers is optional, but highly recom-
mended as otherwise the queen will
often move up into the honey supers.
Next put the double screen board
on top of the honey supers, if any
are present. If not, place the double
screen directly above the lower hive
body.
Open one of the upper doors in the
double screen board, let’s arbitrarily
say the one on the left. Place the up-
per hive body (the one with frames of
predominantly eggs, larvae and pol-
len) above the double screen board.
Add a hive top feeder, fill with syrup,
and replace the top cover. The con-
figuration is complete.
now what?
Let’s step back and evaluate the re-
sults of what you’ve done. The queen
will continue to lay eggs in empty
cells in the lower hive body. All the
American Bee Journal
 Hobbyist Queens using a Double Screen
Description:
For use on a strong hive with
two hive bodies in the spring
or during a nectar flow period.
Intent is threefold: to minimize
the swarming urge by putting
the bulk of the nurse bees “up-
stairs” away from the queen
during a prime part of the
swarming season; to maximize
honey reserves by not having
to use as much nectar/honey
to feed brood and nurse bees;
and to encourage the upstairs
bees to start queen cells to
keep the line of a good queen
going, all without taking a hive
out of production!
Procedure:
Separate the upper and lower deeps with a double screen (see figure). Below the double screen and on top of
a screened bottom board put the lower hive body . Insert the queen, frames of nectar/honey, empty cells, and
capped brood . It’s okay to have one or more honey supers above the hive body and below the double screen .
I recommend putting a queen excluder below any supers to make it easier to locate the queen on subsequent
inspections . Above the double screen put the upper hive body . Insert frames containing all the pollen, larvae,
eggs, and nurse bees you can find (it’s okay if there is some capped brood on these frames, and it’s okay if field
bees wind up “upstairs”). Open the left door on the upper half of the double screen for use as an entrance/exit
by bees in the upper deep . Close all other double screen doors . You’ll need to feed the upper hive body since
the population there will shortly have few, if any, forager bees to bring in food .

On a weekly basis, rotate frames of capped brood and empty cells (from where brood has emerged) without
bees from the upper to lower hive body, and eggs/larvae plus nurse bees from the lower to upper hive body
(making sure you don’t include the queen). Close the open door on the left upper half of the double screen
and open the door immedi-
ately below, so that nurse
bees who have “graduat-
ed” to being forager bees
will be re-directed down-
stairs. Open a new door
around the corner on the
upper half of the double
screen for the next crop
of “graduating” nurse bees
to exit/enter by . Transfer
individual frames contain-
ing capped queen cells
plus adhering bees to a
nuc or queen castle . Re-
place with frames (and
bees if desired) containing
honey, pollen, and older
brood from other hives . If
you backfill with frames
of capped brood or drawn
but empty comb, put those
frames “downstairs” and
re-balance frames, as nec-
essary . Repeat next week
and continue for as long as
you want to produce addi-
tional queen cells .

September 2018 999

forager bees, even the ones that were
relocated “upstairs” will go out for-
aging and return to the main hive
entrance below the lower hive body,
because that’s the only entrance they
know. With little to no brood to feed,
nearly all the nectar the forager bees
bring in will be turned into honey
reserves in the lower hive body or in
the honey supers, if present. The bulk
of the nurse bees were on the frames
of uncapped brood, which are now in
the upper hive body away from the
queen. Lots of nurse bees, lots of food
resources, lots of uncapped brood
in all stages of development, and
a dearth of queen pheromone will
shortly lead to multiple large, well-
fed emergency queen cells.
Initially after reconfiguration
you’re unlikely to see any bees return-
ing to the open door on the double
screen board. However, after several
days some of the older nurse bees in
the upper hive body will “graduate”
to forager bee status and begin forays
for nectar, pollen, water, and propo-
lis. These bees return to the only en-
trance they know, which is the door
you opened on the upper side of the
double screened board.
rePeat Please
A week after the reconfiguration,
“week 1,” you’re going to repeat most
of what you did initially. Remove the
upper hive body and set it beside
your spare hive body on a top cover
or other flat surface on the ground.
Separate the frames that are in the up-
per hive body, as you did before, re-
taining any with significant amounts
of uncapped brood and transferring
those with predominantly capped
brood and/or empty cells, without
bees, into the spare hive body.
Look carefully for queen cells.
If you find any frames with capped
queen cells, transfer these individ-
ual frames plus adhering bees to an
empty nucleus hive or queen castle.
Supplement the queen cell frame in
the nuc or queen castle with frames
(and attached bees) containing honey,
pollen, and brood from other hives.
If a frame has only uncapped queen
cells, leave it in the upper hive body
another week.
Next, like before, separate frames
that are in the lower hive body, re-
taining any with lots of honey/nec-
tar, capped brood, and empty cells,
and putting those with significant
amounts of pollen and uncapped
brood plus bees into the upper hive
body. Finally, transfer the frames from
1000
If you don’t know how to graft, but want daughter queens from your good stock, this
method will allow you to make higher quality queens than a walk-away split.
the spare hive body to the lower or up-
per hive body, balancing them out to
get the best combination of the proper
number of frames in each hive body.
If you removed frames with queen
cells, then as you balance out frames
in the upper and lower hive bodies,
put the full complement of frames
upstairs and insert additional frames
with drawn comb or bare founda-
tion (or even frames with capped
brood from another hive) downstairs.
Again, you must positively identify
the queen and ensure she stays in the
lower hive body.
As you put your hive boxes back
together, close the upper door on the
double screen board that had been
open, and open the door immediately
below it. Next open the upper door
around the corner; in our example
this would be the upper center door
of the double screen board.
why DiD we Do that?
Once again, let’s evaluate the results
of what you’ve done. No change for
the queen—she’ll continue to lay eggs
in empty cells in the lower hive body.
All the upstairs nurse bees that had
graduated to being forager bees will
go out foraging and return to the only
entrance they know, which was on the
left side of the double screen board.
However the upper door which led
to the upper hive body is now closed.
These new forager bees will instead
enter the lower double screen board
door you just opened less than an
inch from their accustomed entrance,
which directs them downstairs with
the other forager bees.
Meanwhile, upstairs we have the
same situation as before: lots of nurse
bees, lots of food resources, lots of
uncapped brood in all stages of de-
velopment, and a dearth of queen
pheromone which will shortly lead
to more large, well-fed queen cells
drawn from eggs that initially started
out as workers. These are emergency
queens, but extremely well fed ones,
as we’ve concentrated the nurse bees
upstairs.
weeKly ManiPulations
Repeat for week 2, week 3, etc. until
you have harvested all the queen cells
you want. When you reach that point,
look very carefully for additional un-
wanted queen cells and destroy them,
then put everything back in its origi-
nal, traditional configuration. I strong-
ly recommend closely examining the
upper hive body for queen cells again
one week later, and then you can re-
vert to your normal inspection sched-
ule. The bees sometimes sneak in a
few hard to spot emergency cells.
GraFt Free Queens
While there are no guarantees, if
done correctly you’ll likely benefit
from quality queens and potentially
enhanced honey reserves. An ad-
ditional benefit is dampening the
swarm drive. By separating the nurse
bees and allowing them to produce
queen cells, and constantly provid-
ing the queen below empty space to
continue to lay eggs, the bees never
felt crowded. The nurse bees can then
be reunited with their still strong and
productive queen.
American Bee Journal
 That’s it! Assuming you already
have a hive top feeder, spare hive
body, and nuc boxes, the cost is your
time and an investment in a double
screen board (I found one online from
a major bee supplier for about $23).
If you wanted to raise queens, you
would have had to make or buy a box
or container for each queen anyway, so
I won’t include that cost as exclusive to
this technique. I received a Christmas
gift of a deep queen castle (also called
a queen rearing hotel and available for
about $45, plus telescoping top cover
for about $24) several years ago. It’s
basically a hive box with four 2-frame
compartments each with an entrance
in one of the four faces of the box. A
medium version is also available.
I had an absolute ball using the
queen castle to raise queens! So much
so, that I got a second one the next
Christmas and now use both for rais-
ing queens in “two-frame mini-nucs”
for myself. I also make a few of these
available to members of my bee asso-
ciation.
Good luck and I hope this method
brings you as much pleasure, and as
much bee knowledge, as it has me!
Jerry Borger is a
Pennsylvanian by
birth, spent 28 years
in the Air Force, and
retired to Virginia
in 2004. He began
beekeeping in 2006,
currently has 11 full-
size hives and 10
double-deep nucs,
and is a past president of the New River Val-
ley Beekeepers’ Association. In addition to
raising a few nucs, he also takes honey bees
out of buildings, and makes a few beeswax
products. Jerry’s a big fan of trying new
things with his bees, and particularly enjoys
“playing” with queen castles.

September 2018 1001

1002 American Bee Journal
March 2018 1003
1004 American Bee Journal
 your own mentors. Form a club, talk
to each other, and have fun.’ Well,
it stuck. We formed an association,
set up regular meetings, and try to
help each other. Without Mr. Hol-
bert, most of us would not have bees,
without each other, we would some-
times be lost.”
I asked Mr. Holbert how he learned
all that he knows. His simple answer:
“watching the bees.” Bees are the best
teachers. He says he likes to learn,
which I personally believe is the first
and most essential character trait of a
good beekeeper.
When I asked what he loves most
about beekeeping, I got another sim-
ple but straightforward answer: “I
love the bees. They’re the smartest
thing on the planet.”

N
What does a new beekeeper need to
early every bee club has one- off I-26 in the small town of Saluda, know to be successful? He responded
that magnanimous person NC. It has been in business for nearly with yet another simple but profound
around whom a club quietly 25 years. answer: “You’ve got to love the bee
revolves. When he or she speaks, the During that time Mr. Holbert has first.” He went on to say that your pri-
room quiets, ears tuned attentively. helped countless beekeepers, young ority must be keeping the bees alive
A person from whom everyone has and old, new and veteran, get start- and healthy, and anything else must
received help throughout the years. ed and keep their colonies alive and come after that most important task.
Someone, who seems to be an endless strong. He has run as many as 90 of Holbert’s Bee Supply will close
fount of knowledge. Knowledge born his own colonies, sold nucs, packages, on the Saturday of Labor Day week-
most certainly from years of experi- honey and bee supplies. He spreads end this year. It is the end of an era
ence, but also an innate understand- his knowledge to those who visit the for this rural area of Western NC,
ing of how bees behave and what store, and often speaks to local bee where a small, unassuming bee store
bees intuitively do. For my club, that clubs, conducts 4H presentations, area and a wise, equally unassuming bee
individual is Mr. Phil Holbert. Each farm tours and so on. Dave Smith of store owner provided so much to the
time I hear him talk about honey bees, Polk County Bee Club recalls: people and bees of the neighborhood.
I am struck by the depth of his under- “Several of us took the same bee Lewis Cauble, Apiary Inspector for
standing. His passion for the bees is class from Mr. Holbert. During the the Western NC Region, sums up Mr.
infectious, and he has a deep appre- class, it became apparent that bee- Holberts contribution best:
ciation for their lifecycle in tandem keeping could be overwhelming, “When I first started my new job
with the natural world. once we left the class. We asked Mr. as Apiary Inspector, I moved from
Mr. Holbert and his wife, Jan, both Holbert if he would be our mentor Orange County, NC to Saluda and
grew up on apple farms in the foot- afterwards. He smiled his cheshire was introduced to Phil by the previ-
hills of Western North Carolina. Mr. cat smile and said, ‘you need to keep ous Apiary Inspector. When I lived in
Holbert tells of his father keeping in touch with each other. You are Saluda, I would enjoy stopping in at
4-6 hives of German black bees for
pollination purposes. Back then, he
says, very little was required of the
beekeeper. Several times a year they
would visit the hives to add or re-
move honey supers and that was all,
no mite treatments or feeding. He has
been keeping his own bees for about
40 years, his first hives collected as
swarms from his father-in-law’s hive
and brought home.
A few years prior to retirement
from his first career, Mr. Holbert was
approached by a retiring bee store
owner in the area. Would he take on
the store? Mr. Holbert agreed, but
was still working full time elsewhere.
His father kindly handled the store
on days he couldn’t be there. Hol-
bert’s Bee Supply is a Dadant & Sons
dealership located in a building just

September 2018 1005

 The small, hand stenciled sign announcing the bee supply store.
Phil’s shop to catch up and get a feel
for what was going on in the bee com-
munity around Polk, Henderson, and
Rutherford Counties. There is no bet-
ter place to gather that information
than at Phil’s shop, either firsthand
through the folks that are stopping by
to purchase supplies, or from Phil.
“I would usually find a person or
two just hanging around and soaking
up bits and pieces of wisdom from
Phil. I have met more than one good
beekeeper who learned their craft by
simply absorbing it from hanging
out in the shop. They never actually
worked shoulder to shoulder in the
bee yard with Phil, but rather listened
intently to his advice and applied it to
their own hives.
“Phil is one of the finest fellows in
my 21 county area. His fingerprints
are all over beekeeping in Henderson,
Polk, Rutherford, and beyond. He is
Mr. Holbert sitting comfortably in his bee
supply store.
1006
not in the bee supply business for the
money, but rather to share his passion
and wisdom with those around him,
which is rare these days.”
These days, Mr. Holbert wishes to
have a little more time with his own
colonies. He wants to join his wife of
nearly 24 years and do some of the
things she’s been yearning to do. He
is grateful to his wife Jan for her un-
derstanding and support throughout
so many years of beekeeping.
Perhaps you are your bee club’s
version of Mr. Holbert, or someday
you may become your bee club’s Mr.
Holbert, but I think we can safely say,
a small nugget of Mr. Holbert is in
all of us beekeepers: possession of a
boundless curiosity about bees and South Georgia Apiaries
their environments, and a spirit of
generosity with our time and talent.
Quality Italian Queens
As a final question, I asked if he Queen cells
liked all bees or just honey bees: “just
honey bees, the others are just a nui- for pick-up only at:
sance.” And there you have it folks. 300 Wisteria Ln.
Many thanks to Mr. Holbert, and Baxley, GA 31513
all of you out there serving your
beekeeping communities in so many Tel (912) 366-9022
ways. Without you, traditional meth- Fax (912) 367-0012
ods would be lost, and new ones
would never be discovered.
Sanders Honey
Queens
For Sale
Josh Sanders
7288 Perdie Lee Rd
Nicholls GA 31554
The unassuming building that has been
serving beekeepers for years.
912-399-8480
American Bee Journal
B
“ ees? . . . as in Farm Bees?” the
insurance agent said.
“Um, yeah, I guess. Honey
bees actually. I keep a few hives in my
back yard, is that a problem?” I asked,
a little confused. While beekeeping
isn’t exactly a normal hobby, I figured
State Farm would have run into bees
as a part of a homeowner’s insurance
policy before.
“Gee, I’m not sure if we allow that.
I’ll have to look into it and get back to
you,” she said. But more on that later.
America is a litigious society. Open
a newspaper and you’ll read a ridic-
ulous story about someone getting
sued for some nonsense. In society to-
day, beekeeping, honey, or your bees
could easily be that next “nonsense”
that exposes you to a legal nightmare.
What could you be sued for? May-
be someone buys some of your honey
and gets sick, or slips on your prop-
erty while trying to buy honey, or the
neighbor gets stung by one of “your
bees,” or the neighbor’s dog gets
stung and dies. It’s an almost endless
list of potential issues that someone
may claim you, or your bees, caused
and hold you responsible. Or maybe
you sell honey at a farmer’s market
or craft fair, and someone gets hurt at
your booth. All of these examples are
real situations that expose legal risk
to you, the beekeeper. So how do you
protect yourself?
General concePt oF insurance: when
shoulD it aPPly
In life you try to mitigate your risks.
If you are doing something risky that
could be costly (either causing you
physical/property damage, or some-
one else’s), you try to reduce that risk.
Which is why you drive slower on the
highway when poor weather condi-
tions prevail. But in some situations,
September 2018
even after reducing your risk, you
can’t entirely eliminate it, like the risk
of someone else driving recklessly on
the highway. For those situations, you
look at the odds that liability or loss
will fall on you, and if so how much
will it cost you.
If the odds compared to the cost
are low enough that you can absorb
the potential loss, you chalk it up to
life and move on, realizing that you
may encounter a loss in the future.
However, if the odds compared to
the amount are high enough that you
can’t absorb the potential loss, you
deflect that risk onto someone else.
Enter the insurance realm. Insurance
companies absorb the potential loss
in exchange for a premium that’s
paid. That premium is based on the
same odds of loss compared to the
estimated amount of the loss, plus a
profit.
The main difference between the
insurance company and you is size.
The company has significantly larger
assets than you. As any statistician or
poker player will tell you, statistical
odds over the long term will eventu-
ally be true, but over the short term
may not be.
If you flip a coin, you have a 50%
chance it lands on heads. Does that
mean that if you flip a coin twice
you’ll get heads once and tails once?
Maybe, maybe not. But over the long
term, the average prevails, and one
half of all coin tosses end up being
heads.
The same holds true for legal li-
ability and loss. If the average per-
son is sued once every 40 years and
has liability in the amount of $4,000
(completely made up statistics, by
the way), that doesn’t mean that you
won’t be sued twice this year with li-
ability in the amount of $50,000. But
statistically, it means several other
people aren’t being exposed to liabil-
ity (if the statistics were accurate).
The insurance company’s larger
assets mean they can play the bigger
game, and ride out the tough times
in exchange for profit in the good
times. You, however, can’t afford the
tough times, as a $50,000 loss may
1007

bankrupt you. So you choose to lose
a little each year (insurance premi-
ums) for the right not to lose big later.
If, after weighing the odds of li-
ability times the risk of loss, you can
absorb the prospective loss, insurance
may not be a great idea for you. If you
can’t absorb the prospective loss, or
you can’t calculate the prospective loss
(too speculative) insurance may be a
great idea. That holds true for automo-
bile collision insurance, health insur-
ance, and general liability insurance.
For us beekeepers, the odds of be-
ing responsible for someone else’s
loss is small, but not zero. It would
be very difficult for someone to sue
you because they were stung a quar-
ter mile away from your property line
from “your bees,” but not impossible.
If you are responsible for someone
else’s loss, it is very difficult to esti-
mate what the potential loss to you
would be. Maybe a few hundred
dollars’ worth of medical expenses.
Maybe a few hundred thousand dol-
lars in medical expenses and personal
injury. Who really knows? Since you
can’t quantify the potential loss, and
the odds are so speculative, it is al-
most impossible to decide if you
can absorb the potential loss or not.
Which makes liability insurance for
beekeepers, on the whole, potentially
a very wise idea.
But not all insurance products fit
all beekeepers equally. Depending on
your operations (and your budget)
you may find someone else’s insur-
ance needs are very different from
yours. Finding the right fit is very
important, both in making sure your
1008
risks are adequately shifted, and mak-
ing sure you aren’t paying too much.
liability insurance For coMMercial
beeKeePers
Oddly enough, large commercial
operators have it the easiest (but not
the cheapest) when it comes to insur-
ance needs. They usually work with
an insurance broker to make sure
their risks are covered, typically in-
corporating a general liability, auto-
motive, worker’s comp, premises li-
ability, products liability, and possible
umbrella insurance policy into one.
Bundling all of the insurance options
together gets the best competitive
rate. Or, instead of bundling, the in-
surance company may be able to offer
a “Farm Policy,” which is something
like bundling. The cost is usually tax
deductible, and a part of operating
any business.
hoMeowner’s insurance
While not quite as easy, but sig-
nificantly cheaper, is the insurance
policy for the hobby beekeeper who
has a single hive in their back yard.
Not selling any honey (or any other
products), because they just received
a package of bees a few months ago,
their insurance needs are very basic.
There is no need to bundle any insur-
ance options (auto, health, worker’s
comp, are all covered in different
policies), and the beekeeper is really
only concerned with bee stings, slip
and falls, or other oddities. Typically,
this beekeeper’s needs are already
included in their homeowner’s insur-
ance policy. If someone gets injured
as a result of your hives, it falls under
premises liability. As the homeowner
isn’t selling honey, there are no wor-
ries about a potential customer slip-
ping and falling while buying honey,
or getting sick from a jar of honey, or
getting hurt at a farmer’s market.
Looking back on that State Farm
agent I spoke about earlier, when
reviewing my own homeowner’s
insurance policy my agent told me
bees aren’t specifically excluded from
coverage, but aren’t on the approved
list of covered items. Meaning it was
a grey area for them. So she put a
note in the file, and issued the poli-
cy. I requested an increase in medi-
cal expenses though (from $100,000
to $300,000), for which I paid an in-
creased premium (a few extra dol-
lars a year). The increase in medical
expense coverage made sense to me,
as realistically speaking the true legal
exposure I have with bees is some-
one else becoming physically injured
(whether it’s my fault or not).
In theory, a homeowner’s insurance
policy will not only cover liability, but
risk of loss. Meaning if your hives
are hit by lightning the insurance
company will cover the loss. Practi-
cally speaking, it probably won’t work
like that. Your hive might cost you
$800 new (boxes, foundation, bottom
board, fancy garden outer cover, new
nuc with great genetics), but the in-
surance company will only cover the
present value of it. Meaning you have
to decrease the value for wear and tear.
That $800 new colony probably holds
a present value of $450. Then you have
to look at your deductible. If you have
a $500 deductible, you’re responsible
for the first $500 of loss. If you have
significant losses above that, the insur-
ance company will pick up the tab. But
the claim may mean you receive an in-
creased premium next year.
But back to our State Farm agent
who “put a note in the file,” what
does that mean? Reading between
the lines, if that State Farm agent told
the underwriters about the activity, it
would either increase my premium,
or they would deny coverage. I prob-
ably would have been viewed as “too
risky” to insure. Instead, the agent
wrote something down internally to
her file. That way it didn’t impact un-
derwriters, the policy, or my premi-
um. In the event a loss occurred, she
(or I) can point to the file and make
it clear that I disclosed the activity in
advance, and I should be covered. Of
course, in reality it’s a “one shot deal.”
If a claim arises, I point to the “note”
American Bee Journal
in the file, and the claim gets covered,
the insurance company will just deny
my policy, or jack up the rates, once it
comes time to renew, as I’m now “too
risky.” But that could happen at any
point in time anyway.
Not feeling too warm and fuzzy
about the uncertainty, I shopped
around for a few other homeowner’s
insurance policies. I called 3 other
companies. To each one of them,
when they found out I had bees on my
property (more than a few colonies)
and I was selling honey, they weren’t
interested in giving me a quote. One
insurance agent tried, over a 10 min-
ute phone call, to get me to admit that
I wasn’t doing business and I just
had bees on my property. The poor
agent was doing his best to try and
sell me insurance, but I wasn’t about
to lie to get it. Not feeling warm and
fuzzy I guess is better than not having
homeowner’s insurance coverage, so
I’ll stick with my “one shot deal” for
now. Oh well.
liability insurance For the rest oF us
So if commercial beekeepers and
hobby beekeepers that don’t sell any-
thing are easy, what about the guy in
the middle? The beekeeper that sells
some excess honey, maybe a few hun-
dred or few thousand dollars’ worth
a year, but isn’t generating enough
money to afford a large bundled pol-
icy? Homeowner’s insurance won’t
cover “business” losses. Meaning if
someone comes onto your property
to buy honey, slips and falls, that isn’t
always covered under your home-
owner’s insurance policy, leaving you
at risk.
What constitutes as “business” var-
ies from insurance company to insur-
ance company. To some, if you have
the intent to make a profit, it’s a busi-
ness. Others consider it a business
once you sell a single jar of honey.
On the other end of the spectrum,
some companies require a minimum
threshold of sales to constitute the
activity as a “business.” Either way,
once you’re involved in sales, you
run the risk of having a claim denied
because you were involved in a “busi-
ness” (which essentially is a “no shot
deal” rather than the “one shot deal”
mentioned above).
Homeowner’s insurance will also
only cover bees, and activities, that oc-
cur at your home. If you keep bees at
an outyard location, or if you hang out
at farmer’s markets (regardless of the
“business” discussion above), home-
owner’s insurance won’t cover you.
September 2018
To cover that gap, some companies
will offer a general liability coverage
package, that isn’t tied to your home
and isn’t bundled with other insur-
ance products (although it is possible
to add a GL rider to your homeown-
er’s insurance). These packages usu-
ally vary based on the size of your
company (typically the annual sales
of the company). This package only
covers general liability, and leaves
out all other aspects. Beekeeping is
an odd industry, one that many insur-
ance providers consider too “risky”
to provide a general liability cover-
age package alone (without getting
the profit of a large bundle). In my
research, for example, Farm Bureau
was not interested in discussing my
insurance options on general liabil-
ity at all (your individual agent may
vary, of course). But at least two com-
panies exist that deal with beekeepers
directly, even the small guys (their
identities won’t be mentioned in this
article though).
To figure out what options they
give (and at what price), I contacted
both of them to get a quote. My quote
was based on ~$6,000 in annual sales
from honey, some lip balm and can-
dles, some pollen, and covered liabil-
ity from the “business” at both my
home and my 3 outyard locations. I
don’t attend farmer’s markets, so I
didn’t include those as added loca-
tions. Both quotes were substantial-
ly similar. One offered a $3M/$1M
policy for $500 a year. That means a
general liability coverage in the ag-
gregate amount of $3,000,000, with a
$1,000,000 cap per incident. Another
offered a $2M/$1M policy for the
same price (although the quote was for
$500, this one included a $150 admin
charge and a $25 “surplus lines tax”
for a total quote of $675. I was never
given more information on either of
those added charges). Both had a $0
deductible.
For both companies, a $500 annual
premium was the floor. They don’t
issue policies for less. One company
broke down the actual cost at $262 a
year (plus $1.00 a year for terrorism
coverage), with a $237 annual “ex-
pense” to meet the minimum. The
other didn’t break it out, but said the
quote was subject to adjustment at
$2.50 per $1,000 of gross sales (which
means you would stay at $500 until
you hit $200k in gross sales). Getting
a $3M policy for $500 doesn’t sound
too bad . . . but as with any insurance
quote you have to make sure you
read the fine print. The big number at
the top looks flashy and impressive,
but its all the smaller numbers below
that really matter. The quotes list cer-
tain things that are covered, and cer-
tain things that aren’t covered. Make
sure you understand what is and
isn’t covered.
As I mentioned above, the only
reason I’d ever need a general li-
ability insurance policy is for medi-
cal expenses. If someone gets stung
and rushed to the hospital, it can get
expensive quick. Or if someone has
an allergic reaction, or an infant is
rushed to the ER from eating honey,
all those can involve substantial med-
ical bills. Which is what I’m looking
to insure against. These are the risks
that I can’t quantify, can’t reduce, and
can’t absorb. Hence insurance makes
sense.
I’m not interested or worried about
property damage (my bees really can’t
destroy the neighbor’s building or
car), contract damage claims, or “lost
wages.” And I’m not in the pollina-
tion business, so there are no worries
about that. The bee hives themselves
1009

(all 42 of them) are worth very little
too. I built all the equipment myself
(except for the frames) and I know the
insured value is only a few thousand
dollars most likely. Without the need
to insure for property loss (either my
own or someone else’s) I’m really fo-
cusing on insuring against medical
bills and personal injury claims.
But the $2M/$1M policy had a cap
of $5,000 for medical expenses, and
the $3M/$1M policy had a cap of
$15,000 for medical expenses. As one
insurance company put it, these caps
are referred to as “no fault” medical
coverage. They are essentially tools
used to try and eliminate a lawsuit.
If someone gets hurt, either you or
someone else, and there are medical
expenses, the insurance may kick in
to cover the loss, up to the limit. If
there are additional medical expenses
and a lawsuit arose, the general li-
ability may kick in to cover the rest.
But when I asked follow-up questions
with hypothetical numbers to clarify
the extent of coverage, the insurance
agent became evasive and wasn’t
comfortable answering my ques-
tions. When I can’t get the insurance
agent to clarify what I’m covered for,
it doesn’t instill confidence on the in-
surance coverage.
Because the liability that exists to
beekeepers almost entirely revolves
around those small medical expense
claims, and because we all want to try
and avoid a lawsuit, that $5K or $15K
number is exceedingly more impor-
tant to beekeepers than the big num-
ber at the top.
Based on my experience, it’s high-
ly unlikely you’ll ever encounter a
claim. I have yet to meet a gentleman,
1010
who has faced one of these claims at
my beekeeper’s meeting, some with
50+ years of beekeeping experience.
But the risk is not zero.
Let’s say I can expect to see a law-
suit once every 40 years. If I insured
against this loss all 40 years, at $500
each year (not counting increases in
premiums), I’d spend $20,000 in pre-
miums. If a claim arose, I’d get be-
tween $5-15,000 of medical expense
coverage. In order to have anything
beyond that covered, I’d have to say
“sue me.” Not the best thing to say to
your neighbor, and not the best way
to create a reputation in the neigh-
borhood as the “friendly beekeeper.”
If you don’t say “sue me”, the insur-
ance company may deny coverage as
a “claim” wasn’t initiated (although a
lawsuit isn’t required to have a claim,
a demand letter may be required).
Coverage aside, there is one big ben-
efit that both of these (or really any)
insurance products offer, and that’s
legal defense coverage. An insurance
company has a duty to defend you
in court. If you get sued, they have to
pay for an attorney to defend you. The
cost of the attorney (in the US at least)
is not included in your coverage lim-
its. Which means if it costs $20,000 to
defend you in court (and your actual
legal expenses may well exceed that),
the insurance company has to pay it
regardless of win or loss. The catch is
they have a duty to defend you up to
your coverage limit (which shouldn’t
be a problem with your $1M of cover-
age, but may be under your $30K of
auto insurance). Plus, the insurance
company gets to choose the lawyer
they use. While they do represent your
interests, they are being paid by the in-
surance company, which is something
to keep in mind. But still, the obliga-
tion to defend you in court is a very
valuable tool to the insurance arsenal.
Regardless of coverage limits or
cost, sometimes you just straight
need general liability coverage. Most
farmer’s markets require a GL policy
in order for you to sit at a booth. If
you’re doing cut-outs or trap out
colony removals, some homeowners
will require it as well. I’ve even heard
of some outyard parcel owners that
require a GL policy. If you have to
have one, shop for the best rates you
can get.
But if you aren’t a commercial oper-
ator, if your homeowner’s insurance
doesn’t cover your activities, and you
aren’t required to have a GL policy,
ultimately it comes down to a weigh-
ing of the odds of a loss times the
estimated loss amount. For me, after
reviewing the policies offered, $500 a
year is not expensive for a GL policy,
but I’m not sure the coverage makes
much sense for me when compared to
the odds of loss. I think I’m better off
“self-insuring.” But that may change
in the future.
With that knowledge, make sure
you stay away from my outyards. I
can’t afford for you to slip and fall on
a bee stinger while getting sick from
simultaneously eating some of my
honey.
Justin Kay is an at-
torney in the Pied-
mont region of North
Carolina, where he
has been keeping
anywhere between 5
and 55 colonies since
2004. When not “el-
bows deep” in a beehive or negotiating
a contract, he enjoys spending time with
his 2 year old daughter, Zoey.
erN Cal ifo r
r th
o Ni a
N PaCkage
aCkage Bees
ees
QuAlity itAliAn And
CArniolAn Queens
All bees fed Fumagilin Fall & Spring
Powell APiAries
4140 Co. Rd. KK
Orland, CA 95963
Phone: 530-865-3346
Fax: 530-865-3043
Package Delivery Available
Member:
California Bee Breeders Assoc.
American Honey Producers Assoc.
American Bee Journal
 A question from an earnest beginning beekeeper recently hit home—“If I treat
for mites, isn’t that a bad thing, since it slows down the evolution of the bee?”
It pains me to see such well-intentioned beekeepers being racked with guilt, due
to simple lack of understanding of the biological details involved in both creating
and solving The Varroa Problem.

I
use the term “scientific beekeep- Practical application: keep in mind and facilitated by the mite. Once the
ing” because I find it disturbing that it is not varroa that kills a colo- infestation rate of varroa exceeds
as to how much “information” ny—it is typically a virulent strain about 15% (~50 mites in an alcohol
given to beekeepers consists of a of Deformed Wing Virus, vectored wash of ½ cup of bees), DWV tends
muddle of misinterpreted anecdotes,
indiscriminate repetition of so-called
“facts,” and the promotion of theories
and practices lacking any supportive
evidence. I can’t fault beekeepers for
buying into the reasoning of internet
beekeeping gurus who push ideal-
istic arguments for why you need to
keep bees this way or that, but I sug-
gest that you instead ground your
management practices in bee biology,
rather than upon catchy names.
Beekeepers can rationalize any-
thing they do, but as an industry,
we truly need to address The Var-
roa Problem, and our part in creat-
ing the varroa/DWV Monster. One
of my most common suggestions to
those touting an idea, is to “think it
all the way through”—to follow the
logical outcome to the end. My hope
is that by providing some graphics
that detail the genetic consequences
of our actions, we can then visualize Fig. 1 Brood exhibiting signs of Parasitic Mite Syndrome. This is an indicator that the
the long-term genetic pros and cons colony doesn’t have much longer to live, unless varroa is immediately controlled. An
of various management strategies on important thing to keep in mind is that there may be no external indication that the
the evolution of The Monster. colony is suffering, and one may not even notice any adult bees with deformed wings.

September 2018 1013

 selection would favor the evolution
of varroa-resistant bees and avirulent
virus strains. “Standard” beekeep-
ing, involving varroa monitoring
and treatment, is relatively neutral—
it doesn’t make things worse, but
certainly isn’t a part of The Solution,
since it propagates non-resistant bee
stocks, and depends upon repeated
treatments. On the other hand, the
lack of varroa control practiced by
some “alternative” beekeepers may
inadvertently favor The Monster,
and be part of The Problem.

There are plenty of vociferous “al-

ternative beekeeping” proponents
who have somehow divined how we
“should” keep bees. Keep in mind
that it’s very difficult to reason a per-
son out of a position that they didn’t
legitimately reason their way into,2 so
I don’t expect them to change their
tune; I’ll leave it up to my readers to
Fig. 2 Too late—this colony has already collapsed—dispersing bees, mites, and what- decide for themselves whether they
ever strain of virus that killed the colony to other hives within flight range. It is this dis- are being part of The Problem or
persal that rewards The Monster for causing the death of a colony late in the season. part of The Solution, by “thinking it
through to the end.”
to go “epidemic” in the hive, killing We beg people with a cold or the Let me make clear that I’m in favor
the developing brood (Fig. 1). flu to cover their mouths when they of experimentation to improve our
sneeze in order to prevent the trans- beekeeping practices—I spend my
Once the brood starts to go, pretty mission to others of the virus strain life doing exactly that!3 But don’t pull
soon the adult bees start to disap- that has infected them. Think of ev- the wool over your eyes just because
pear (Fig. 2), indications being that ery collapsing hive as being a giant something sounds good, or allows you
some may drift to other hives,1 carry- sneeze of virus-transmitting bees to dispense with mite monitoring—
ing virus-vectoring mites with them. and mites. instead, study the following graphics
And when the colony can no longer I’ve created, and pay attention to the
defend itself, robbing foragers from A Recap: in the previous install- genetic consequences of various bee-
other hives then unwittingly carry ment, I illustrated how in nature, keeping practices.
mites back to their own colonies. without human intervention, natural
DeFininG our objectiVes
With regard to solving The Varroa
Problem, our objectives are straight-
forward:

(1) To shift the genetics of the man-

aged honey bee breeding popula-
tions towards mite resistance, and
(2) To eliminate the fitness benefit to
the varroa/DWV complex result-
ing from causing the death of their
host colony.

So let’s see how various methods

stack up in the graphics below—
again, red indicates problematic non-
resistant bees and virulent DWV;
blue indicates mite-resistant bee ge-
netics and less virulent DWV. Follow
the genetic consequences from left to
right.

liVe anD let Die “bonD MethoD

Fig. 3 “Live and Let Die” survival selection. One brutal way to eliminate mite-suscepti- One way to solve The Varroa Prob-
ble bee bloodlines is by the “Bond Method.” A good deal of luck may be required and lem is to step aside and allow natural
most of your hives may die, plus you may overwhelm your neighbors’ hives with mites. selection to do so (Fig. 3).

1014 American Bee Journal

 No need to squint: I realize that
these graphics may be difficult to
read on the pages of ABJ, so I’ve post-
ed them all in a larger format at http://
scientificbeekeeping.com/scibeeim-
ages/The-Monster.pdf.
Given several years, if we all prac-
ticed the Bond method, the only bees
left alive would likely exhibit some
form of mite resistance or tolerance.
But nearly all professional beekeepers
north of the 30th latitude would prob-
ably be out of business. The reality is
that those of us who make our living
by pollinating crops and producing
honey simply cannot accept those
kinds of losses, so IMHO, Bond is
dead in the water, other than for re-
searchers or affluent hobbyists.

Practical application: the Bond

Method can work, but keep in mind
that it is not necessary to punish the
colonies in this manner—you can
Fig. 4 Similar to putting out a birdhouse, truly “natural” beekeeping would involve
apply equally strong selective pres-
solely offering a cavity for a natural swarm to move into—if you were to stock the hive
sure by just pinching the queens that
with bees from somewhere else, you’d then be introducing foreign genetics, as well as
don’t make the grade. Then give the unnaturally increasing the density of colonies in the landscape, which would reward
colony a second chance with a new The Monster. If you’re lucky, you could be a minor part of The Solution.
queen.
to that miticide. Thus, we must con- scale or small, whose poor manage-
“natural” beeKeePinG sider chemical control of varroa to be a ment unintentionally allows col-
Truly “natural” beekeeping would stopgap measure. lapsing hives to disperse the most
be akin to putting out man-made nest But that stopgap measure is still virulent combinations of varroa and
cavities for wild bluebirds to move working for the time being. As I DWV to their neighbor’s apiaries in
into (Fig. 4). showed in Fig. 5 of my last install- late summer—this is irresponsible
But most beekeepers are going to ment, those professional beekeepers and indefensible. But the distressing
want to keep more than a single hive who follow best management prac- thing is that there is another group
in an apiary; this is where we become tices, while not being part of The So- of beekeepers who, while thinking
part of The Problem. lution, are not necessarily part of The that they are doing good, are actually
Problem, so can be let off the hook for just as much a part of The Problem.
the Mutualistic syMbiosis between the time being.
the bee anD huMans And this brings us to the subject of
Humans were first predators of the Practical application: the beekeep- the evolution of the fourth player in
honey bee, but then learned to enter ers who are seriously part of The this game—the population of human
into a mutualistic symbiotic relation- Problem are those, whether large- bee-keepers.
ship (not that the bees would ever
notice). By providing the bees with
protected nest cavities, and perhaps
mechanical migration and/or supple-
mental feeding and parasite control,
both species can benefit. But such
benefits may come at a cost to the
bee when the unnaturally maintained
density of colonies in the landscape
allows for the enhanced transmission
of parasites (Fig. 5).
Today’s better professional bee-
keepers don’t lose many colonies to
varroa, mainly by virtue of the appli-
cation of miticides (whether synthetic
or “natural”). Such effective mite man-
agement minimizes the reproduction
and dispersal of mites and virulent Fig. 5 The Varroa Problem is a result of us consistently restocking unnaturally high
DWV. Unfortunately, it also confers a numbers of honey bee colonies per square mile. Since we will undoubtedly continue
fitness advantage to any mite that car- to do so, it then confers upon us the responsibility to minimize the transmission of
ries an allele that provides resistance parasites among those hives.

September 2018 1015

recreational beeKeePinG
When I was younger, the main rea-
son that people were interested in bee-
keeping was for honey or pollination,
or simply to enjoy the quirky hobby
of keeping stinging insects. The local
bee club would be populated by aging
suburban males. But that population
started to change once bees made the
papers in the mid 2000’s due to CCD.
Recreational beekeeping exploded,
and the demographics of the current
beekeeper population has now shifted
to include a much larger proportion of
younger males, females, and urban-
ites, often motivated by idealism, or
the commendable desire to get more in
touch with nature. But many of these
individuals simply want to “have”
bees, rather than commit to the effort
involved in being a good bee-keeper.
Such neglectful husbandry, or “bee
having,” used to work just fine—be-
fore varroa entered the picture. But
now it has evolutionary consequenc-
es upon the genetics of the honey bee,
varroa, and DWV, as well as apprecia-
ble biological impacts upon neighbor-
ing beekeepers and native pollinators.
Unfortunately, many idealistic and
well-intentioned beginning beekeep-
ers think that some sort of magic is
going to transform the coddled pack-
age bees that they just purchased into
tough varroa-resistant survivors sim-
ply because they call themselves…
“treatMent Free” beeKeePers
Contrary to the old-school beekeep-
ers, who managed their bees as live-
Fig. 6 Treatment-free beekeeping. Although done with the best of intentions, the end
genetic result of going “treatment free” with commercial bee stock is exactly the oppo-
site—it actually confers a fitness benefit to the most virulent mites and DWV. However,
by taking steps to prevent those untreated colonies from collapsing, the beekeeper
could instead perhaps be part of The Solution.
1016
stock, many recreational beekeepers
today instead practice some combina-
tion of uninformed wishful thinking,
hard-core internet dogma, or simple,
neglectful husbandry.
I live in a rural area, and anyone
who does not care properly for the
animals that they keep soon makes
the local paper with a charge of ani-
mal abuse or neglect—unfortunately,
this is not the case with beekeepers.
Practical application: I hate hav-
ing to treat my hives to manage
varroa, but have not yet been able
to breed bees that can consistently
handle the job themselves. So we
treat when necessary. I can under-
stand wanting to be “chemical free”
and do avoid the comb-contaminat-
ing synthetic miticides, so I reach a
happy compromise by using organ-
ic acids and thymol to control var-
roa. Most important to us is to take
good care of our bees—very few of
our colonies ever die from varroa/
DWV.
We produce thousands of nucs
each season, headed by vigorous and
lovely hand-reared young queens. It
breaks our hearts to know that some
of our buyers will not manage var-
roa, and that our beautiful young
colony is thus doomed to die an un-
timely and grisly death due to lack of
proper care. The saddest part is that
those beekeepers truly believe that
they are somehow “helping the bees”
(Fig. 6).
Ways to improve: start with resis-
tant stock (support your local breed-
ers), monitor varroa, treat or eutha-
nize mite-infested colonies before
they collapse and spread mites and
DWV strains to surrounding colo-
nies. Explain the flaws of this dogma
to others—there is no reason to think
that commercial stock maintained with
miticides will suddenly transform into re-
sistant bees because you wear the “Treat-
ment Free” hat.
Practical application: if you are a
recreational beekeeper, and stock
your hives with local swarms or cut-
outs, there is a possibility that you
might get lucky and chance upon
some bees with a degree of mite
resistance. But it would have been
natural selection of the wild-type
breeding population that favored
those genetics, not your beekeep-
ing. To the contrary, you can set that
evolutionary progress back when
you artificially increase the density
of the host (bee) population by add-
ing to the number of colonies per
square mile. If your colonies then
collapse from the varroa/DWV Mon-
ster, you’d be contributing to The
Problem in the local wild-type bee
population.
I’ve got nothing against the goal
of treatment-free beekeeping—we’d
all love for that to be a reality. There
are a number of relatively-isolated
“treatment-free” beekeepers who
claim acceptable colony loss rates
(treatment-free success is much eas-
ier if you’re in an area where there
are long brood breaks, and few other
beekeepers around). But if you’re
not isolated, flooding the environ-
ment with mites and DWV from
collapsing colonies has indefensible
ramifications upon surrounding bee-
keepers, the wild-type bee popula-
tion, and perhaps native pollinators.
Repeating the same mistake year af-
ter year by restocking with package
bees and hoping that some miracle
not involving varroa treatment will
happen is a fool’s errand, and favors
The Monster.
The unfortunate fact is, that many
of today’s recreational beekeepers are
simply too uncomfortable handling
bees to perform realistic varroa as-
sessments. So they create an excuse
for not doing so by adopting the al-
luring “treatment free” moniker. My
plea is for all beekeepers to question
dogma, and instead make the effort to
understand the genetic consequences
American Bee Journal
of your beekeeping decisions. The
most important thing to do is to stop
rewarding The Monster by:
eliMinatinG the Fitness beneFit to
the Varroa/DwV coMPlex GaineD
by KillinG its host hiVe
You may not be able to control how
many hives there are within a 2-mile
radius of your apiary, but it is within
every beekeeper’s ability to prevent
uncontrolled mite buildup and the
resulting collapse. Noted bee behav-
iorist Dr. Tom Seeley makes this point
clear in his article on Darwinian bee-
keeping.4
To help natural selection favor Varroa-
resistant bees, you will need to monitor
closely the mite levels in all your colonies
and kill those whose mite populations are
skyrocketing long before these colonies
can collapse. By preemptively killing
your Varroa-susceptible colonies, you
will accomplish two important things:
1) you will eliminate your colonies that
lack Varroa resistance and 2) you will
prevent the “mite bomb” phenomenon of
mites spreading en masse to your other
colonies. If you don’t perform these pre-
emptive killings, then even your most
resistant colonies could become overrun
with mites and die, which means that
there will be no natural selection for mite
resistance in your apiary. Failure to per-
form preemptive killings can also spread
virulent mites to your neighbors’ colonies
and even to the wild colonies in your area
that are slowly evolving resistance on
their own. If you are not willing to kill
your mite-susceptible colonies, then you
will need to treat them and requeen them
with a queen of mite-resistant stock.
Practical application: It’s Seeley’s
last sentence that is most important;
unfortunately, many of the well-
intentioned “treatment free” bee-
keepers overlook the critical need to
thwart the dispersal of The Monster.
Darwinian beeKeePinG
Below I’ve illustrated a small Dar-
winian apiary, in which the beekeep-
er performs a preemptive killing of
a mite-infested hive (Fig. 7). Keep in
mind that Seeley is clear that the pre-
emptive killing of the entire colony is
not necessary—you also have the op-
tion of treating the hive and replacing
the queen (not shown).
As Seeley points out, our large hives
and non-resistant bee stock are very
favorable to varroa reproduction, so
mimicking how colonies survive in
the wild is an option for beekeep-
September 2018
Fig. 7 By restricting the cavity size, you minimize the amount of brood and encourage
repeated swarming—such colonies may thus be able to tolerate varroa and survive.
Given enough time, Darwinian beekeeping may also select for resistance.
ers. I do question, however, whether
most Darwinian beekeepers will ac-
tually monitor varroa buildup and
preemptively kill their colonies prior
to collapse. And others have asked,
what’s the point of keeping these tiny
colonies if you can’t harvest honey or
keep enough hives in an orchard for
effective pollination?
the DreaM oF a “Gentler” Mite
The varroa mite exists in a well-
established host-parasite relationship
with its native host Apis cerana, in
which there is little if any fitness ben-
efit derived from killing its host colo-
ny. When we inadvertently introduce
varroa to Apis mellifera,5 some strains
of mites may adapt to a new niche—
one with a vast new food resource—
closely-located hives full of worker
brood.6 Varroa continues to adapt to
utilizing worker brood as food,7 so it
will be up to A. mellifera in turn to
adapt to its new parasite (which it is
able to do if humans don’t intervene).
The thought of varroa evolving into
a “gentler” mite is a pipe dream—
keep in mind that at one time there
were two strains of varroa in the
Americas—the Korea haplotype and
the more benign Japan haplotype.
The more “virulent” Korea strain
quickly outcompeted and displaced
the more benign one.
Due to our movement of queens,
packages, and hives, we beekeep-
ers homogenize and disperse varroa
bloodlines throughout the country
(along with the DWV strains that
they carry). I don’t see this situation
changing, so it’s likely safe to assume
that we beekeepers will inevitably
confer a fitness advantage to those
strains of mites that are most success-
ful at reproducing in our hives.
Practical application: our estab-
lished beekeeping practices will al-
ways favor the mite bloodlines that
are most successful at reproduction
and most resistant to miticides, and
we will spread those mites every-
where. Just accept this as a given.
Therefore, it’s a no-brainer that we
need to step up our efforts to breed
for varroa resistant bees.8 Natural se-
lection would do the job for us if we
just got out of the way, but our com-
mercial industry would have a hard
time taking the hit during the transi-
tion. So until truly resistant bee stocks
become readily available, we need to
focus on management practices that
don’t reward The Monster.
iMPact uPon other beeKeePers, wilD-
tyPe bees, anD other Pollinators
And as elucidated by Graystock,9
the pathogens infecting honey bees
easily transmit to and from other pol-
linator species via visited flowers. And
collapsing hives very effectively dis-
perse both varroa and virulent strains
of DWV to all surrounding colonies—
whether managed or wild type. This
has major evolutionary implications.
Practical application: as pointed
out by Dr. Samuel Ramsey, you
are your brother’s beekeeper even
1017
though there may be a thousand
beekeepers in an area, the bee popu-
lation as a whole is like one big api-
ary due to the proximity of the hives
to one another.
Because many recreational bee-
keepers these days typically have
high rates of colony loss due to var-
roa/DWV and then repeatedly re-
stock with domestic package bees,
we are inadvertently perpetuating a
strong fitness advantage for the var-
roa/DWV Monster.
how to be a Part oF the solution
Allow me to reiterate our two ob-
jectives:
(1) To shift the genetics of the man-
aged honey bee breeding popu-
lations towards mite resistance,
and
(2) To eliminate the fitness benefit to
the varroa/DWV complex from
causing the death of their host
colony.
(1) Shifting Bee Genetics to Mite
Resistance
It’s time for some straight talk about
shifting the genetics of the honey bee
population, as this is where many
recreational beekeepers delude them-
selves. It does no good whatsoever to
simply allow non-resistant package
bee colonies to die from varroa/DWV
(Fig. 6). Neither does it have any ap-
preciable impact upon the honey bee
breeding population even if you are
lucky enough to identify the rare
colony that exhibits mite resistance,
unless you then manage to rear hun-
dreds or thousands of daughters from
that queen.
Practical application: I hate to
pop that balloon, but no matter how
well-intentioned you are, the small-
scale beekeeper has virtually zero
chance of changing the genetics of
any breeding population unless he/
she collaborates with a large queen
producer.
Such collaboration could consist of
letting a queen producer know that
you’ve identified a colony that has
kept varroa under control for at least
a full season. But for most beekeep-
ers, you can exert the most influence
by voting with your dollars.
Practical application: with regard
to shifting the genetics, this can only
happen by changing the market
1018
Fig. 8 Thanks to Dr. John Kefuss for promoting his “Modified Bond” method, of which
this is a variation. No colonies need to be sacrificed—all can be productive. The only
costs are minimal mite monitoring, application, if necessary, of a non-contaminating
strong formic acid “blast,” and perhaps the cost of replacement queens. Pros: no loss
of colonies, honey production, no comb contamination, live colonies for nucs next
season. Everyone benefits! Cons: Minor expenses of monitoring, treatment, and queen
replacement.
demand for queen bees. So long as able to obtain truly mite-resistant bee
beekeepers are willing to pay queen stock, then you can still be part of The
producers for whatever kind of non- Solution by:
mite-resistant queens are available,
there is no reason to expect the pro- (2) Eliminating the Fitness Benefit
ducers to make the effort to realisti- to the Varroa/DWV Complex from
cally select for mite resistance. Sup- Causing the Death of Their Host
port any breeder who is engaged in a Colony.
serious program to select, propagate, Without the resulting late-season
and sell tested stock that exhibits re- dispersal/transmission of virulent
sistance to varroa. Keep in mind that mites and virus strains, there would
it is always the consumer that drives be no fitness benefit conferred upon
any market—when queen buyers fi- the varroa/DWV Monster from kill-
nally start to demand mite-resistant ing its host colony. You can avoid
stock before they part with their being part of The Problem by not re-
dollars, the queen producers will re- warding the varroa/DWV Monster
spond in a heartbeat. for doing so. Allow me to repeat my-
self:
The USDA is currently collaborat- Think of every collapsing hive as
ing with a large-scale queen producer being a giant sneeze of virus-trans-
to bring tested mite-resistant VSH mitting bees and mites.
queens to the market. There are oth- Along with being part of the bee-
ers who claim to have mite resistant keeping community comes the re-
stock, but until we come up with a sponsibility to do everything you can
testing organization, you’ll need to to prevent the transmission of viru-
monitor varroa levels in your hives, lent mite and virus strains to others.
and let others know if someone is I’ll end this article with an illustra-
producing stock that exhibits resis- tion of how any beekeeper can help to
tance to varroa in your region. both shift the genetics of our bees to
The bottom line is that there is little resist varroa, and at the same time re-
that the small-scale beekeeper can re- move the reward to the varroa/DWV
alistically hope to do with regard to Monster from causing colony death
shifting the genetics of any bee popu- (Fig. 8).
lation. That is not to say that a local In the above illustration, the bee-
population may not exhibit some de- keeper proactively steps in to pre-
gree of mite resistance. If you’re un- vent any colonies from collapsing
American Bee Journal
and dispersing mites and DWV, and
requeens (with potentially resistant
queens) any colonies that don’t pass
the test. The beekeeper can be ev-
ery bit as ruthless as nature is in the
Bond Method, but no colonies need to
die—it is only the genes of nonresis-
tant queens that need to be eliminat-
ed. No combs are contaminated with
miticides, since formic acid leaves no
residues.
Practical application: in our own
operation, we’ve found that the cost
of checking every hive for its varroa
level prior to supering up for honey
more than pays for itself in savings
in mite treatments, the maintenance
of nonproductive hives, and by
eliminating most all colony losses
(other than from queenlessness).
Other than the minimal-mite po-
tential breeders, we treat all the
other hives (with thymol and/or ox-
alic acid) to keep varroa under con-
trol, and use a formic blast (Fig. 9) to
eliminate the mites (and generally
the queen) from any high-mite out-
liers.
A suggestion: instead of wearing
an anti-treatment hat, swap it for a
pro-genetic improvement hat.
Practical application: a very effec-
tive way to eliminate varroa from
an infested hive is to break it into
Fig. 9 Here, after removing any honey for
extraction, we’ve broken down the high-
mite hives into singles. We then apply a
formic blast (in hot weather) to kill nearly
every mite in the hive (we’re using left-
over MiteAway II pads in this photo). We
can use a strong dose, since we are not
trying to save the queens, and have al-
ready pulled the honey.
September 2018
singles, and apply 300 mL of time-
release 65% formic acid to each box
(home-made pads in Ziploc bags
with punched holes, or 3 MAQS).
This treatment, even in hot weather,
kills only a few workers and young
larvae (and generally the demoted
queen), but eliminates virtually all
the mites within a week. The formic
acid then quickly evaporates, leav-
ing no residues, and the hive can
then be given a new queen.10
wraP uP
I appreciate the enthusiasm of
today’s new beekeepers, and their
desire to help our bees to deal with
varroa. And I can’t think of any com-
mercial beekeeper or bee breeder who
wouldn’t love to be able to dispense
with varroa treatments. I hope that
this lengthy article helps us all to
make biologically-informed decisions
as to how each of us can realistically
be part of The Solution, or at least not
contribute further to The Problem.
To that end, I’ve offered examples of
how to evaluate the evolutionary con-
sequences of various varroa/virus
management and bee-breeding strat-
egies—please evaluate your own!
My dream is that before I die, I can
again enjoy being a successful “treat-
ment free” beekeeper. But it’s not
gonna happen as a result of wishful
thinking or simple luck—it’s gonna
take work, and a realistic commit-
ment to shifting the genetics of entire
breeding populations. I encourage
all beekeepers to be part of The Solu-
tion—first, by monitoring varroa and
preventing the collapse of their hives
due to DWV, and second by putting
the pressure on queen producers to
start offering bee bloodlines confirmed
by testing to exhibit resistance to var-
roa. Every beekeeper should be on the
lookout for the rare colony that can
handle mites on its own, and should
they identify one, make sure that some-
one produces hundreds of daughters from
that queen.
And please give your support to
the dedicated and hard-working bee
breeders worldwide who are en-
gaged in serious programs involving
selection for regionally-adapted mite-
resistant bees.
notes anD citations
1 We clearly need more research in this ar-
ea—I’ve set up a field experiment to col-
lect supportive data this fall.
2 I lifted this observation from the excellent
book Bad Science, by Ben Goldacre (2008)
Faber and Faber. I recommend that every
beekeeper read this book before they buy
Disclaimer: Although titled Scientific
Beekeeping, this article by Randy
Oliver does not undergo scientific peer
review and the opinions expressed are
his own. The editorial staff does not
always agree with his views. Randy
does strive to support everything
he writes with scientific or practical
evidence, and appreciates feedback or
critiques from other scientists, which
he will happily attach to the articles at
ScientificBeekeeping.com.
any of the “hive health” products offered
for sale without high-quality field data in
support of their claims.
3 My beloved wife Stephanie strongly con-
firms this point.
4 Seeley, T (2017) Darwinian beekeeping:
an evolutionary approach to apiculture.
ABJ 157(3): 277-282. https://www.natu-
ralbeekeepingtrust.org/darwinian-bee-
keeping
5 The Korea haplotype of Varroa destructor
is currently the most problematic varroa
strain worldwide. But other strains of
both V. destructor and V. jacobsoni appear
to be adapting to parasitize Apis mellifera
in different Asian countries. Any of those
strains has the potential to become as
problematic as the Korea strain.
6 A resource not available for exploitation
in A. cerana due to the intolerance by the
A. cerana larva to varroa (apparent self-
sacrifice in response to a varroa salivary
protein).
7 I find two recent papers of interest, as re-
searchers study the genetic adaptation of
V. jacobsoni to A. mellifera. I’d be very curi-
ous to see similar analyses for V. destruc-
tor.
Roberts, JMK, et al (2015) Multiple host
shifts by the emerging honeybee parasite,
Varroa jacobsoni J. Molecular Ecology doi:
10.1111/mec.13185.
Andino, GK, et al (2016) Differential
gene expression in Varroa jacobsoni mites
following a host shift to European hon-
ey bees (Apis mellifera). BMC Genom-
ics17:926.
8 “Traditionally, the terms “queen rearing”
(the propagation of queens) and “bee
breeding” (the evaluation and selection
of breeding stock) have been used inter-
changeably in the beekeeping commu-
nity. These are very different aspects and
require different skills, knowledge, and
practices….Scientific bee-breeding pro-
grams have largely been dependent upon
institutional and government support.
Frequently subject to short-term fund-
ing programs that have been turned over
to the industry have historically lacked
oversight and soon become unrecogniz-
able. Without a long-term commitment
and supporting resources, selection ef-
forts are relaxed and gains are quickly
lost.”—Cobey, SW, WS Sheppard, and
DR Tarpy (2012) Status of breeding prac-
tices and genetic diversity in domestic
U.S. honey bees. In Honey Bee Colony
Health, CRC Press.
1019
9 Graystock,P, et al (2015) Parasites in
bloom: flowers aid dispersal and trans-
mission of pollinator parasites within
and between bee species. http://rspb.
royalsocietypublishing.org/con-
tent/282/1813/20151371
Graystock,P, et al (2016) Do managed
bees drive parasite spread and emergence
in wild bees? International Journal for
Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 5(1):
64-75. Open access.
10 In our operation, we already have singles
with new queens ready, just waiting for
the blasted and queenless second brood
chambers to be added to them.

Randy sees beekeep-

ing through the eyes
of a biologist. He’s
kept bees for over
50 years, and with
his sons runs around
1500 hives in the Cali-
fornia foothills. He
closely follows bee
research, engages
in some himself, and
enjoys sharing what
he’s learned with others.

1020 American Bee Journal

September 2018 1021
1022 American Bee Journal
T
o me beekeeping is more than
a job. It is a passion! I am from
Tagum City, Davao del Norte,
Philippines and I am a Filipino bee-
keeper, currently working for a com-
mercial operation in Wisconsin. Ac-
tive on Facebook beekeeping groups,
I met and corresponded with the edi-
tor of American Bee Journal. She asked
me to write about my journey as a
beekeeper in the Philippines and in
the United States.
I started to delve into the world
of beekeeping back in 2014. I was
amazed and fascinated by the beauti-
ful and fascinating social life of bees
and how they work hard for mother
nature. At first, I was terrified of be-
ing stung, because I saw how other
people reacted to bee venom, swell-
ing up. When I was stung for the first
time, I said to myself “This is it!”
The author with his queen cells.
September 2018
And it wasn’t so bad. I have gotten
used to bee stings and while they hurt
momentarily, I keep working bees. In
the Philippines, I was able to witness
many different kinds of honey mak-
ing bees. In my country, we have Apis
mellifera (European bees), Trigona/
Tetragunula (stingless bees), Apis cera-
na (eastern honey bee) and Apis brevil-
igula (Giant honey bee of the Philip-
pines). They are all mesmerizing and
have different behaviors. I am lucky
to come from a country with such bee
diversity.
I developed most of my beekeeping
management and queen rearing skills
working with my brother Peter Paul
Rafosala and his wife Claire Jean Ra-
fosala. The two run an apiary named
Honey House: Bees & Beeks in our
hometown in Tagum City, Philip-
pines. Their apiary focuses on manag-
ing A. mellifera and stingless bees. Our
region is rich with coconut trees, an
excellent and abundant nectar source
for honey bees. We have a lot of wild
flowers as well. I was trained to love
the bees and I put my soul into bee-
keeping, doing my best to practice
excellent hive management. When
my brother and his wife moved to
Hotsprings, South Dakota to work for
a commercial beekeeping company,
they left their apiary in my care.
In their absence, I was given a
chance to run their apiary on my own,
using the techniques they had taught
me and their remote guidance. Be-
fore they left, they taught me how to
graft and showed me how to use the
Cloake Board method of queen rear-
ing, which is easy and convenient,
though it does require grafting larvae.
In 2016, my brother and his wife re-
turned home to focus on their apiary,
and grow it into a sustainable busi-
ness. We started to conduct seminars
and workshops for people interested
in beekeeping. Typically, we host a
monthly seminar.
Last year, I received a chance to
make my own beekeeping journey
to the United States. Searching for a
beekeeping job online wasn’t easy for
me. Many companies denied my ap-
plication, because they didn’t want
to deal with visa requirements. But it
was a matter of persistence and per-
severance. I kept searching and ap-
plying until I found Sweet Mountain
Farm, LLC (SMF) on Washington Is-
land, Wisconsin.
Luckily, SMF needed a skilled bee-
keeper and they considered hiring an
H2A worker, which grants a visa for
a temporary or seasonal agricultural
worker. SMF is a bee farm that breeds
pure Russian honey bees. They run a
chemical-free apiary and its remote
location is an ideal place to maintain
pure genetics, because of its isolation.
The farm is located approximately 6
miles away from the mainland, and
is isolated from the incursion of other
genetics.
In the beginning, my life as an as-
sistant beekeeper at SMF was not
easy. I had to learn and adapt to their
ways of hive management. The move
required me to sacrifice some things,
so that I could fulfill my plan to be
a happy beekeeper in the US. I had
to be far from my family and loved
ones. The new job required me to be
adaptable and accepting of different
cultures and beliefs. After the initial
culture shock, I have enjoyed my job
in the apiary tremendously.
We make detailed hive assessments
every 10 days, and I am in the colo-
nies regularly. Raising Russian stock
is ideal for northern beekeepers, be-
cause the Russian bees are very win-
ter hardy. They also exhibit strong
1023

Beekeeping seminar and workshop in the Philippines.
mite resistance and have high levels
of hygienic behavior, keeping the col-
ony healthy.
Russian honey bees require very
different hive management. I myself
had to learn to adapt to their ways,
as in the Philippines our European
honey bees are a mixed breed. De-
spite what people think, the Russian
bees are no more aggressive. How-
ever, they are very prolific in mak-
ing queen cells during summer and
sometimes this continues into the fall.
So you have to pay close attention to
each colony to avoid swarming.
Compared to other races of bees,
the Russian lines enter the winter
with smaller clusters. It’s not uncom-
Field Day at Sweet Mountain Farm on Washington Island in Wisconsin.
1024
mon for the winter cluster to be only
as big as a softball. During the honey
flow, the apiary keeps us busy mak-
ing splits, selling nucs, harvesting
honey and rearing Russian queens
from our best stock.
Queen rearing is by far my favor-
ite part of my job. It’s very satisfying
for me to see the larvae I grafted turn
into big, healthy queen cells and then
emerge and become mated queens.
I use the Cloake Board method for
my queen rearing. I’ve tried differ-
ent methods before, but the Cloake
Board has provided the best results
for me so far. (There is an excellent
summary of the method on Honey
Bee Suite: https://honeybeesuite.com
/using-the-cloake-board-method
-to-raise-queens) I know every bee-
keeper has his or her own way of
rearing queens. Just do what you
think works best for you.
Every Wednesday and Saturday we
participate in a farmer’s market on
the island, where we sell our own lo-
cal honey, maple syrup, pure beeswax
candles, soaps, deodorants and lip
balm to tourists and locals. Working
our table at the farmer’s market has
let me get to know the other people
on the island, making my time in the
US much more enjoyable.
This year, SMF hosted two field
days, one in June and the other one
in July. During the field day, Sue
Dompke (my employer) speaks about
the benefits of Russian honey bees
and their different characteristics, ex-
plaining how Russian bees need to be
managed differently than any other
breed. After her lecture comes the
most awaited part for all attending
beekeepers, the hands-on part where
each participant is given an inspec-
tion sheet and evaluates a colony.
During the field days, I was given
a chance to show participants how I
graft. This whole season at SMF has
been full of new knowledge and fun.
My experience as an overseas Fili-
pino worker in the US on a tempo-
rary visa is not always easy and fun.
There are times when I became home-
sick, longing for the presence of my
loved ones, but I have been able and
continue to cope with the different
challenges I’ve faced in my journey
abroad. Life is full of surprises! We
cannot predict what lies ahead. All
we can do is find the courage to face
the challenges in life, and in facing
them we are forced to grow.
Working in the US is a great privi-
lege and opportunity for me. I have
met and made friends with other
American beekeepers, friendships
that bring me so much joy. Before I
ever arrived in the US, I had under-
gone many difficulties. I am a H2A
visa holder, who works seasonally.
Just to come here I had to undergo
an interview in the US embassy and
also undergo screening from my own
Philippine government to receive an
exit clearance as a legal worker. This
required a small mountain of paper-
work and I had to meet many require-
ments, but it’s all worth it when you
see the fruits of your labor.
As of now, I feel as if my journey
has just started. Although this is al-
ready my 2nd season here in Wiscon-
sin, I keep meeting more people and
American Bee Journal

Working bees in the beeyard. We make a lot of nucs and rear queens.
gaining more knowledge. All this
amounts to a rich experience, so that
I feel as if I am always embarking on
a new journey. Throughout, I always
remember and live what the bees
have been teaching me in life: work
hard to reach your goals in life.
Right now, my brother Peter Paul
decided to once again work for a
commercial beekeeping company,
this time a different operation in Men-
don, Utah. It’s a good opportunity for
him, but this time his wife will stay
home in the Philippines to continue
operating their apiary and finish her
bachelor’s degree at the same time. In
Utah, Paul is joined by Ronald Erik
Lao, who is one of our good beekeep-
ers back home at the Honey House:
Bees & Beeks.
And me, I always love hearing from
other beekeepers and learning more
about this fascinating industry. If you
want to chat or talk with me about
bees, feel free to contact me via email
or search for my name on Facebook. I
always look forward to learning from
other beekeepers.
Special thanks to Dr. Kirsten
Traynor, who encouraged me to share
my beekeeping experiences, high-
lighting what it’s like to come to the
US on a work visa. May the bees con-
tinue to inspire us and bring as real
happiness in our life. Always smile,
fellow beekeepers!

Peter John S. Rafosala

is from the Philippines
and has been keeping
bees since 2014. He’s
currently working in the
US for a commercial
beekeeper in Wiscon-
Selling wares at the Washington Island Farmer’s Market. sin, helping to manage
their operation of Rus-
sian stock. You can friend him on Facebook
or send him an email at pjrafosala0721@
yahoo.com.

I love what I do, which makes me a happy beekeeper! A brood frame from a Russian hive.

September 2018 1025

1026 American Bee Journal
 SAVE EXPENSE HARDEMAN APIARIES 2018
PICK-UP WITH 906 South Railroad Ext.
A FRIEND!!!! P.O. Box 214
Mt. Vernon, GA 30445
SPRING
Phone (912) 583-2710
Fax (912) 583-4920
PRICES
“ITALIAN QUEENS AND PACKAGES”
QUEENS PKGS. 1-9 10-24 25-99 100-UP
1-9 $20.50 #3 $81.00 $79.00 $77.00 $75.00
10-24 $19.00 #4 $96.50 $94.50 $92.50 $90.50
25-UP $18.75 NO NUCS THIS SEASON

QUEENS “RUSSIAN HYBRID QUEENS & PACKAGES”

1-9 $23.00 PKGS. 1-9 10-24 25-99 100-UP Marking
10-24 $21.25 #3 $84.00 $82.00 $80.00 $78.00 $2.25
25-UP $21.00 #4 $99.50 $97.50 $95.50 $93.50 Clipping
NO NUCS THIS SEASON $2.25
WE WILL START TAKING ORDERS IN DECEMBER
PICK-UPS ARE WELCOME. YEARLY INSPECTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
PACKAGE AND QUEEN PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE POSTAGE. ALL SHIPMENTS MUST BE PAID IN
FULL BEFORE WE SHIP. NO PAYMENT MAY CAUSE DELAYS IN YOUR SHIPPING.
ALL POSTAL CLAIMS ARE TO BE MADE BY CUSTOMER. HARDEMAN APIARIES
ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE. WE ACCEPT ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS.
WE WILL NOT SHIP PACKAGES TO ZONE 5 AND UP, NO EXCEPTIONS. POSTAL SERVICE WILL NOT
INSURE PACKAGES PAST ZONE 4. ZONE 5 AND UP PACKAGE CUSTOMERS SHOULD TRY YOUR
LOCAL BEE CLUBS TO SEE IF THEY MAY BE PICKING UP PACKAGES. QUEENS CAN BE SHIPPED
AND ARE INSURED TO MOST UNITED STATES CUSTOMERS.

September 2018 1027

1028 American Bee Journal
W
hen I learned beekeeping
history as a kid, the subject
was really only a summary
mentioning just three hives: a skep, a
log hive, and a box hive (see Figure
1). The skep, a tightly woven basket,
was used in various forms in the Old
World. It fell out of favor in America,
perhaps partly because of the super
abundance of wood in the east.
The log hive is often made from
black gum trees because it frequently
forms a hollow as the tree ages. By
sectioning the dead tree, thinning its
sides, the volume of the hive becomes
larger and its weight lighter. In re-
gional slang, even the hive’s name got
shaved down to just “gum.” Many
times, I have heard old frame-hive
beekeepers, their early days rooted
to a rural life, call their beehives bee
gums or just gums.
And finally there is the box hive,
also known as a plank hive. It was
merely a wooden box, usually taller
than wide, sometimes built square,
and always open at the bottom (like
the other hives). The box hive in Fig-
ure 1 has a set of upper entrances with
an alighting board, both rarities. Usu-
ally a box hive has about a half dozen
notches cut into its lower edge for
entrances (the same for the gum). The
old entrances were tiny compared to
the standard modern size. But the old
entrances kept the mice out.
The honey harvest with these hives
was deadly. The instructions were as
ancient as the skeps themselves. In the
fall, select the heaviest skeps, which
have the most honey, and the lightest
skeps, colonies destined to starve. So
take their honey now. Over a small pit
of burning brimstone (sulfur), place
the skep. With the opening of the pit a
close match to the bottom of the skep,
put loose dirt around the bottom edge
September 2018
of the hive to seal off the connection
even better. All the bees suffer a hor-
rible death in mere minutes. The hon-
eycombs are cut out, and the empty
skeps will be needed for the next
swarm season. With skeps, not only
are swarms desired to rebuild low
hive numbers, but early swarming is a
premium because they have a greater
chance of winter survival.
During the 1800’s in Europe and
the United States of America, hive de-
velopment began incorporating ways
to avoid killing bees when removing
honey. These hives began appearing
well before Reverend Langstroth’s
hive with movable frames based on
the bee space. In America the his-
tory of these hives is not well known,
and certainly not known from pri-
mary (original) sources and from ac-
tual hives. In this article we begin to
glimpse some of that history, includ-
ing the crucial gaps in the record.
Figures 2 and 3 show a rare secre-
tarial copy of the patent agreement
concerning the first beehive patent
granted in the United States from
1810. (I cannot find any beehive pat-
Fig. 1 The skep, log hive also known as a bee gum, and box hive.
ents that are older.) A secretarial copy
is a copy of an original document.
During this time in history, copies
had to be written out in longhand. So
ironically, this document is an origi-
nal copy, a very old and rare one.
Rather than specifying the technical
details of the beehive improvement(s),
which would be in the patent itself,
this patent agreement states that John
Sweet, the patentee, has fulfilled the
obligations to secure his beehive pat-
ent. For example, the document certi-
fies that he paid the fee ($30), and that
his claimed beehive improvement(s)
were new. Next came some legal ar-
rangements.
In a most revealing manner, the
document concludes with not only
the patent date, but another date, a
reminder of the blood, death, and sac-
rifice that gave birth to our Country
(see Figure 4), and which I cite here:
“… Given under my hand at
the City of Washington this elev-
enth day of April in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight
hundred & ten and of the In-
1029
 dependance [sic] of the United
States of America the Thirty
fourth [.]”
Does the signature look familiar?
“James Madison,” fourth President
of the United States (1809-17). He was
Fig. 2 A secretarial copy of the patent arrangement document showing that John
Sweet was granted a beehive patent in 1810, which was the first beehive patent grant-
ed in the United States of America.
Fig. 3 A close up of the header and beginning of the text. “John Sweet” and “beehives”
can be seen even in the script, where some words are difficult to read.
1030
one of the Founding Fathers of our
Country. Of course that is not his actu-
al signature, rather a secretarial copy
of his signature. Nevertheless – from
a collection of apicultural documents,
who would expect to find even an
old copy of a presidential signature?
From a Founding Father no less. Now
for my long-enduring mystery.
I study the design of old beehives,
including their subtle nuances that
speak of the original intent of their in-
ventors. In my paper hardcopy files,
are almost 1,000 beehives that I have
never seen – the very first one grant-
ed to John Sweet in 1810. Before the
internet, I hunted through microfilm
for Sweet’s patent. I knew the patent
would be written out in longhand on
hard-to-read microfilm that gave me
terrible headaches. (Microfilm and
migraines were the way I began my
collection of beehive patents.) I knew
the patent would not have a patent
number, typical of very early beehive
patents (patent numbers came later).
But Sweet’s patent was not there. I
could not believe it. His patent was
on an old list of beehive patents for
the years 1790 – 1873, which was pub-
lished by the Patent Office. So official-
ly, they knew he was granted the pat-
ent. Otherwise my document might
have been the only record.
Also during those years before the
internet, I contacted the Patent Of-
fice about John Sweet’s patent. They
could not find his patent either. One
person suggested it might have been
lost in a fire. A range of hive designs
was potentially available for Sweet to
improve upon. Or of course, he could
have invented a completely new
hive. His hive need not have been
anything like a skep, log hive, or box
hive mentioned above. Those hives,
especially the log hive and box hive,
which persisted in America, tell only
a small part of hive development in
this country.
Consider an early beehive design
from 1834 surviving as a rare patent
license agreement (see Figures 5 and
6). In the close-up Figure 6, the bee-
hive resembles a cabinet. The beehive
has a door in front and dainty legs
(marked 1 in the diagram), construc-
tion features more befitting a piece
of furniture for a house. The beehive
has three entrances arranged in a tri-
angle (marked 2 in the diagram). The
little box above the hive is one of the
hive’s honey boxes, sometime called
a drawer (marked 3 in the diagram).
Instead of killing the bees to take
their honey, the beekeeper installed
the honey boxes in the hive (above the
brood nest). The bees stored surplus
honey in them. In a time when the
bee space was unknown, along with
the movable frames based on the bee
space, the beekeeper had some lim-
ited “movement” of the honey boxes.
American Bee Journal
The brood chamber remained full of
fixed combs like bees built them in a
tree (but beekeepers would eventu-
ally divide that up into chambers).
In this document the patent holder,
Levi H. Parish from the town of Brigh-
ton, Monroe County in New York
state, was selling the rights for $1.00
to use his invented beehive design to
another. Selling patent rights to hives
seems to have been a common prac-
tice in a time when no standard hive
prevailed, and beekeepers made their
hives. Some beekeepers despised pat-
ent hives since often an easy-to-trick
buyer knew little about bees and the Fig. 4 The date and signature on the patent arrangement. Notice Washington, D.C. was
hive did not work as claimed. The “the City of Washington.” Hey! Did the President of the United States really sign this?!
main body of the document described
in detail how to build the hive, and
even how to manage the bees in the
hive. Parish gave much more informa-
tion than an official patent from the
government where one only claimed
an improvement to a hive (probably
because here the person was buying
the rights to use his hive).
Here is the really intriguing dilem-
ma. We are dealing with antebellum
period beehives that look like – furni-
ture – and I hunt them. When search-
ing for these incredible rare hives, it
is so easy to walk right by them and
never know it (see Figure 7). And if
nobody has the technical savvy to
identify that a cabinet is actually a
beehive, then it is very unlikely to
find these hives on the internet. (In
general, some apicultural artifacts are
so exotic and strange, virtually no one
can identify them.)
And be careful, there is a huge dif-
ference between what I am describ-
ing, a truly old cabinet beehive and
not just a cabinet where once a swarm
lived in it by chance, leaving some
old comb marks (maybe because the
cabinet was stored under a shed, and
a swarm found it). Once for a couple
of years, I hunted down a beautiful
blue cabinet hive. The search began in
North Carolina and ended in Florida.
It turned out to be only a blue cabinet
that once held a wayward swarm, a
crushing defeat. After I explained all
that to the owner, he still called it a
beehive, and he was still going to sell it
as a beehive, figuring it would bring a
better price.
Figure 8 shows the hive with both
doors wide open. (Internally, this hive
was not like the Parish hive.) Two sets
of partitions, vertical and horizontal,
divide up the interior of the hive.
Since only one colony resided in the
hive, the bees had to circulate around Fig. 5 A patent license agreement. This document has the size and feel of a broadside,
in the hive, which meant “through” but made from more durable (flexible) paper. After buying the patent rights to use the
hive, this document tells the buyer how to build and use the hive.

September 2018 1031

Fig. 6 A close up of the Parish hive. The hive resembles a small well-made cabinet.

Fig. 7 A nice-looking well-made free-

standing antique cabinet. In thousands
of antique stores, there are zillions of
these old cabinets: in various sizes, made
from different wood, stained in different
wood colors, in all kinds of styles. We
drive thousands of miles hunting the rare
ones that are really beehives. From each
hive, I learn a little more historical bee-
keeping, which I share in the following
photographs.

the partitions. Figure 9 shows the par-

titions have rows of holes in them. In
addition, the vertical partitions have
gaps where they meet the horizon-
tal partition. At the upper end of the
vertical partitions, a gap remains be-
tween them and the top of the hive.
Likewise a gap remains at the bottom
of the partitions and the floor of the
Fig. 8 The cabinet hive opened up. When trying to figure out how a hive originally hive. The horizontal partition has the
functioned from over a century ago, missing parts confuse the situation. I usually as- same kind of gaps where it ends at the
sume everything in the hive is there by design (not by accident or mistake). sides of the hive and in the back of the
hive (the entrance side of the hive).
Together the system of holes and gaps
provides passageways for the bees to
move around in the hive.
After seeing several of these hives
over the years, I do not think this hive
had honey boxes installed in its upper
compartments (like the one pictured
by Parish). Rather, the beekeeper
probably just cut the honeycombs
from the upper part of the hive. The
evidence for that claim is very subtle.
If there were no honey boxes for the
upper compartments or ones for the
lower compartments, then window-
panes had to cover each compart-
ment. Otherwise the bees would build
comb onto the doors until they could
not be opened, a doubtful occurrence
given the hive’s elegant construction.
Fig. 9 A system of holes and gaps in the partitions to allow bees to move through From the side of each “window”
the hive. were four small-wooden “pins.” All

1032 American Bee Journal

the pins except one had been broken
off decades ago. The pins, a pair on
each side, and evenly spaced, pro-
truded out a tiny bit. The pins were
one inch from the back edge of the
partition. They were right on a mark
suggesting wooden frames held the
glass panes. The pins kept the glass
and its wooden frame from falling
into the hive. (The pins are sometimes
called stops.) Therefore originally six-
window panes covered the back of
the hive. (See Figure 10.)
A beehive built like a cabinet meant
this hive should stay inside the house.
(Parish recommended, 184 years
ago, his hive be placed in the upper
room of a house with entrance tubes
through the wall.) With both its doors
wide open, a strong colony filling
the hive, crowds of bees under all
the windows, curious kids could sit
around the hive, bee watching in the
safety of the house until after dark. I
wonder, is this America’s first enter-
tainment system sans the remote? Fig. 10 The location of the wooden pins in a compartment opening (shown by the ar-
In the next article, I will show rows). The inset is a pin. The glass in the frames would be difficult to remove because
more old hives, even more elaborate, the bees would propolize them to the partitions.
still before 1853 when the beekeep-
ing world had not yet heard of a bee
space.

Acknowledgments
The author thanks Suzanne Sumner
for her comments on the manuscript.
Visit TBHSbyWAM.com

Dr. Wyatt Mangum,

author of Top-Bar Hive
Beekeeping: Wisdom
and Pleasure Com-
bined, is an internation-
ally known top-bar hive
beekeeper, who started
keeping bees at age 10.
He switched all his colonies to top-bar hives
back in 1986, long before it became popular.
He is also an apicultural historian, who blends
his knowledge of beekeeping history with his
study of honey bee behavior. email: wmangum
@umw.edu. www.TBHSbyWAM.com

September 2018 1033

1034 American Bee Journal
R
ecently I interviewed Aaron
Jennings, co-owner with his
wife Lauren of Jennings Api-
aries in Ruston, Louisiana. We dis-
cussed their plans for opening the
Louisiana Bee Sanctuary. Jennings
has been planning some form of bee
sanctuary since 2015, and putting
aside five percent of his apiary prof-
its for this specific purpose. Securing
donors in the last year for creating a
non-profit organization and for initial
equipment and supply expenses, the
Louisiana Bee Sanctuary was well on
its way to becoming a reality.
Dialogue and negotiations with the
city of Ruston and Louisiana Tech
University have continued related
to an actual location for this sanc-
tuary and pollinator garden on the
university’s south campus. Initially
Lauren Jennings (Louisiana Bee Sanc-
tuary) demonstrating a handheld tool
called a broadfork that can be used to
gently break up soil in a pollinator gar-
den of a bee sanctuary
September 2018
there will be Langstroth, top-bar, and
Warré honey bee hive designs there
to show the diversity of approaches
that beekeeping can take. Jenning’s
wife and business partner, Lauren, is
getting her masters in horticultural
therapy from Kansas State Universi-
ty, and she will be help design plant-
ings of native, pollinator-friendly
plants at the site. Although the focus
in the initial stage of this sanctuary is
honey bees, there have been discus-
sions for adding shelters for different
types of native bees and bumble bees
at the site.
Jennings described how the 2011
documentary The Queen of the Sun:
What Are the Bees Telling Us? strong-
ly influenced his certified naturally
grown (CNG) beekeeping operation
and his objective of creating a bee
sanctuary. Directed and co-produced
by Taggart Siegel, this documentary
features many organic, biodynamic,
and natural beekeepers, who call for
the creation of more bee sanctuar-
ies and pollinator gardens. Perhaps
most notably profiled in the docu-
mentary was Gunther Hauk, a bio-
dynamic beekeeper and founder of
the Spikenard Biodynamic Farm in
Floyd, Virginia. The Spikenard Bee
Sanctuary was created in 2006 in a
setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains
as a place for healing, beauty, reflec-
tion, learning and inspiration. The
farm and sanctuary offer beekeeping
related workshops, special events,
and open days when the public can
visit or volunteer to assist with their
continuing construction and projects.
Their beekeeping trainings serve in-
terested beekeepers from the USA
and abroad. In July 2018, Spikenard
Farm officially inaugurated a new
“bee barn” with an indoor teaching
facility, and they invited donors who
helped the farm and bee sanctuary in
their capital campaign to attend the
ceremony.
Gunther Hauk commented in the
2011 Siegel documentary on the criti-
cal importance of bees that “honey
bee sanctuaries are springing up like
mushrooms in this country.” There
certainly have been many bee sanc-
tuaries established in this and other
countries, one apparently starting
before 2006 and the founding of the
Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary.
Some younger, small-scale and
commercial beekeepers seem influ-
enced, like Aaron Jennings, by docu-
mentaries, books and widespread
publicity concerning the plight of our
pollinators. These beekeepers adhere
to principles and practices that in-
volve even deeper commitment than
their predecessors to sustainability,
diverse beekeeping practices, pollina-
tor protection, and the creation of bee
sanctuaries. With this growing trend
of establishing more bee sanctuaries,
it’s valuable to review some of the
more common, and also some of the
unusual, characteristics of extant bee
sanctuaries.
ecoloGical anD other coMMitMents
oF beeKeePers
Some bee sanctuaries were estab-
lished by an individual, couple or
family strongly committed to biody-
namic, organic, or “naturally grown”
principles and practices for beekeep-
ing. Biodynamic agricultural ap-
proaches were established as early as
1924. This was a time when conven-
tional, large-scale agricultural meth-
ods were already being questioned
by some farmers who were noticing
a decline in the fertility of their fields
and animals due to the use of mineral
fertilizers and pesticides. There are
1035

Intern and college student, Lindsay Dew,
with Alice Hinman (Apiopolis ) inspect-
ing a colony in a pollinator garden on the
mini-prairie behind Big Boss Brewing
Company in Raleigh, NC.
millions of acres in the most diverse
global climatic and soil conditions
that are devoted to biodynamic farm-
ing methods. Among the countries
best known for biodynamic farming
are Egypt and India, where growing
conditions are often extreme and soils
are more damaged. Biodynamic farm-
ing is more common domestically in
our grape growing and wine produc-
ing industry, in operations where the
production focus is more on quality
than quantity.
Influenced by biodynamic farm-
ing principles and the philosophy of
Rudolph Steiner, founder of the Wal-
dorf Schools and early proponent for
biodynamic farming, certain found-
ers and managers of bee sanctuaries
Three year-old triplets visiting the Bello
Uccello Honey Bee Sanctuary
1036
make explicit their strong spiritual,
ethical and ecological intentions. The
Spikenard Honey Bee Sanctuary
(Floyd, Virginia), the Bello Uccello
Honey Bee Biodynamic Sanctuary
(Nova Scotia), the Cowberry Cross-
ing Farm (Clavernack, New York), the
Artemis Smiles Honey Bee Sanctuary
(Big Island in Hawaii), and the Danc-
ing Sophia Honey Bee Sanctuary
(Cleveland, New Mexico) all typify
this approach for bee sanctuaries.
These farmers and beekeepers
represent a counter culture to many
larger and commercial beekeeping
operations that focus more on mass
production methods. Practices such
as lack of chemicals in raising bees,
no involvement in commercial pol-
lination, smaller colony sizes, use
of local queens, lack of sugar water
feeding, less concern about swarm
control, special honey processing
procedures, and respect for the nat-
ural biological rhythms of bees are
commonly adopted.
Some of these sanctuaries are part
of biodynamic or natural farms, and
the owners and operators often argue
passionately for change and new bee-
keeping visions. For example, Klaus
and Shirley Langpohl at the Bello
Uccello Honey Bee Sanctuary run a
Demeter-certified biodynamic sanc-
tuary and state on their website that
commodification and enslavement of
the honey bee has created a “death
culture” through hive exposure to
neonics, herbicides, insecticides, fun-
gicides and monoculture crops leav-
ing bees with compromised immune
systems and depleted of the nutrients
that they require. While this is an ex-
treme view of the current state of the
bee industry, their goal is to drive
change.
Biodynamic farms like Cowberry
Crossing emphasize soil improve-
ment for crops and bee forage. This
involves proper humus manage-
ment or the “application of organic
manure and compost in the best
possible state of fermentation” as
well as proper crop rotation and
preparation, good cover crops, green
manures, and crop diversity rather
than monocultures. Farm manure
from cows, sheep, chicken, horses
and pigs, and also farm compost, are
used. Biodynamic preparations of
manure and compost are made from
medicinal herbs that have under-
gone a long process of fermentation
in order to enrich their growth-stim-
ulating properties and transform
these into an optimal fertilizer.
The honey bees at Artemis Smiles
Sanctuary, established in 2001, origi-
nate from feral colonies removed
from homes or yards. These rescued
colonies and their descendants are
viewed as having important genetic
traits and adaptations to their spe-
cific environment of Hawaii that are
not present in bees produced by com-
mercial breeders. By allowing these
bees to swarm and reproduce natu-
rally, and by not re-queening, Arte-
mis Smiles Sanctuary believes that
they are “cultivating a seed bank of
genetically diverse bees that are able
to survive without constant interven-
tions and treatments.”
Both Artemis Smiles and the Danc-
ing Sophia Honey Bee Sanctuaries
focus much attention on their web-
sites to strong spiritual connections
between mankind and honey bees.
Among the goals communicated by
the Dancing Sophia Sanctuary, begun
in 2010, are education and research
involving regenerative practices for
hive technologies, altruistic guard-
ianship of bee communities, genetic
diversity for both wild and domesti-
cated hives, movement toward world-
wide networks for bee ecology, and
appreciation of the sacred geometry of
bee life. Tested by drought and some
bee losses this year, the Dancing So-
phia Sanctuary remains committed to
regenerative living and beekeeping.
Concern about the plight of polli-
nators extends beyond this category
of beekeepers to at least a few celeb-
rities as well. Michelle Obama’s ef-
forts to have honey bee hives on the
White House grounds were certainly
covered by the press. Celebrities who
have been reported as beekeepers in-
clude Scarlett Johansson and Morgan
Freeman. Freeman has often been
cited for turning his 124-acre Mis-
sissippi ranch into a bee sanctuary.
He apparently started beekeeping in
2014 with 26 hives and has continued
to plant pollinator-friendly forage on
his property. Few details have been
given, though, regarding Freeman’s
long-term goals and approaches for
his bee sanctuary.
uniVersity anD urban leaDershiP
Some bee sanctuaries are associated
with a university or municipal spon-
sorship, usually in urban locations.
The Urban Beekeeping Laboratory
and Bee Sanctuary, Inc. is a Boston-
based, nonprofit organization that
has as its mission the improvement of
bee health. This public-private part-
nership links corporate-sponsored
American Bee Journal
honey bee hives, communities in
need of access to ample pollinators,
and university research. Their current
campaign’s target is to raise $750,000
total by the end of 2018 for science
research to improve bee health. Their
wide-ranging research involves the
collaborative efforts of staff beekeep-
ers, multiple Ph.Ds., and student re-
search interns. One recent project, in
collaboration with Professor Neri Ox-
man at MIT, tries to understand bet-
ter how bees are influenced by hive
design. These investigations involve
advanced technologies including 3D
printing with a variety of materials
as well as the use of data sensors.
Another study, with Professor Re-
beca Rosengaus and her laboratory at
Northeastern University, is trying to
determine the heritability of immune
strength in bees.
The Urban Bee Lab on the West
Coast at UC Berkeley and UC Davis
has been conducting an inventory of
native bees and their preferred flow-
ers in urban California areas for years.
The lab also assists with the creation
and operation of bee habitat gardens
at Bay Area schools, and it offers en-
vironmental education to schools and
groups throughout California. Their
webpage, listed at the conclusion of
this article, offers many recommen-
dations concerning better bee plants
for pollinator gardens in California
based on their ongoing research.
Apiopolis is a nonprofit, urban bee
sanctuary in Raleigh, North Caro-
lina. Its mission is also to improve the
health and habitat of honey bees and
native pollinators, as well as to form
collaborations for community ben-
efit in a holistic, inclusive, and joyful
manner. To achieve this mission, Api-
opolis chose six primary concerns:
honey bee and pollinator health; na-
tive plantings and pollinator habitat;
sustainable local food systems; eco-
nomic development and green jobs;
education and awareness; and collab-
orative partnerships. Its focus is on
installing large-scale pollinator habi-
tat, educating about appropriate land
management practices and establish-
ing sustainable apiaries.
In Leesburg, Virginia a non-profit
organization called The Sweet Virgin-
ia Foundation has been established to
protect and preserve the local honey
bee population and to send a strong
message through the education of
children concerning their environ-
mental responsibilities. Dan Price,
founder and CEO of the Sweet Vir-
ginia Foundation, created its Honey
September 2018
Bee Sanctuary on a private farm that
has a massive pollinator garden. Ce-
dar Rapids, Iowa is still another city
planning for a 1,000-acre sanctu-
ary for bees and other pollinators to
thrive there. The effort started with
the planting of 188-acres of grasses
and wildflowers.
The state and city of New York
are well represented and leaders in
creating bee sanctuaries. The New
York Bee Sanctuary, approximately
two hours from New York City, near
Catskill Park, is following permacul-
ture principles in developing polycul-
ture gardens to provide forage to bees
and other pollinators. Different types
of hives, including Langstroth and
top-bar ones are managed naturally.
Native bees and other pollinators will
have access to a range of housing and
habitat designed to facilitate their re-
production and protection.
Poster from the New York Bee Sanctuary
The Honey Bee Conservancy spon-
sors education, outreach, and re- have been decorated to look like the
search; they also have several bee historic buildings of New York by the
sanctuaries in the metropolitan New beekeepers under the guidance of art-
York area. Their sanctuaries include ist and beekeeper, Jan Mun. The Bat-
honey bee hives and solitary bee tery Bee Sanctuary’s gardeners tend
nesting sites. They place hives in lo- abundant bee gardens at the site.
cal gardens, urban farms, and green Urban beekeeping and sanctuaries
spaces and even sponsor hives in are certainly present in other large
Port-au-Prince, Haiti to support and American cities. San Francisco is
train beekeepers, an attempt to alle- known for the number of luxury ho-
viate slum poverty there. One of the tels that have honey bee hives located
Honey Bee Conservancy sanctuar- on their roofs. The Fairmont Hotel,
ies is located close to where millions with beekeeper Spencer Marshall’s
of visitors gather to see the 305-foot assistance in 2010, was the first hotel
tall Statue of Liberty. The hives there there to install a bee sanctuary. Many
Some of the hives and garden area at the Spikenard Sanctuary
1037

Beekeeping class held at the “Bee Barn” in the Spikenard Sanctuary
other hotels in the city followed the
Fairmont’s example. The Fairmont’s
Bee Sustainable Program has more
than 20 participating hotels around
the world, and it uses its honey for ev-
erything from food to spa treatments.
Detroit has urban renewal leaders ad-
vocating and raising money to turn
vacant lots there into pollinator gar-
dens and bee yards. Goals related to
Detroit youth education include the
creation of a bee museum, as well as
having these vacant-lot apiaries.
eFForts abroaD
In many regards, Europe is ahead
of the USA in its environmental con-
cerns and specific legal and regula-
tory actions to protect pollinators.
Activities are well underway in Oslo,
Norway, for example, to build the
world’s first “bee highway system”.
Their innovative program could be
a model for cities worldwide to re-
vive their local bee colonies. To create
this bee highway, Norwegian citizens
are encouraged to develop and link
parks, school gardens, roofs, etc. in
and near Oslo, creating an interlinked
resource for pollinators. Individuals
can list and map their plantings on a
particular website. The aim is to en-
courage more residents to follow suit,
each one describing their diverse gar-
den and allowing the public to track
and participate in expanding these
highways for bees.
A somewhat similar approach for
community involvement and track-
ing of participants is being used in
Bellingen Shire in Australia. The
Bellingen Bee Sanctuary promotes
dialogue and local actions in the area
in order to reduce pesticide, herbi-
1038
cide and fungicide use and convert
to non-harmful alternatives. Its web-
site asks residents to take a role in the
survival of native bees by declaring
their own properties as bee sanctuar-
ies and growing beneficial plants in
their pollinator gardens. Abroad and
even in the USA, there have also been
related initiatives to develop diverse
and more favorable roadside forage
specifically targeted to bees and other
pollinators.
Bee sanctuaries are being intro-
duced in over 100 holiday parks
across the United Kingdom. The am-
bitious project is led by the David Bel-
lamy Conservation Program and the
British Beekeepers Association. These
holiday parks include a wide variety
of forage crops. Through strategic
planning and park cooperation, these
parks provide bees with ample suste-
nance throughout much of the year,
and also create habitat or shelters for
bees to nest. The goals include build-
ing interpretive walks in these parks,
developing educational materials for
park visitors, and providing for al-
most every county in the British Isles
to have at least one bee-friendly park.
Through their examples and the en-
gagement of visitors concerning the
plight of pollinators, these efforts are
intended to influence the wider pub-
lic, potentially creating ripple effects
with many more pollinator gardens
created by UK home owners.
Direct corporate involvement in es-
tablishing bee sanctuaries has also oc-
curred. Solar parks constructed by al-
ternative energy corporations are one
example. The green-energy company
Ecotricity in the UK has already built
a combined solar and wind power
plant which features bee-friendly
wildflower plantings. Solarcentury,
another British clean-energy develop-
er, is partnering with the Bumblebee
Conservation Trust to both make its
own solar parks a haven for bees and
other pollinators and also encourage
bee-friendly gardening and farming
in the communities surrounding its
installations.
A Swiss-based management con-
sulting firm (IKU) has decided to in-
vest in the creation of the Apicentre
Charitable Association that is work-
ing to create bee sanctuaries in Italy
and elsewhere in Europe. Apicentre
is an initiative to repurpose unused
or neglected land into pesticide-free
wildflower meadows and to create
natural and protected sanctuaries
for bees. Apicentre seeks to identify
suitable land for pollinators and then
tries to secure necessary arrange-
ments with local owners to build
nesting sites and bee hives there that
are specially designed to promote the
needs of native bees. Apicentre plan-
ners express their intention to interact
closely with impacted local beekeep-
ers in order to ensure that the newly
established bees will not pose mite or
other threats to these beekeepers and
to local ecosystems when these hives
swarm. Apicentre is seeking funding
and European partners for its sanc-
tuary programs and viewing sites in
the UK as just one likely location for
sanctuaries.
Similar plans and initiatives for bee
sanctuaries exist that involve conver-
sion or co-use of land that had been
previously used solely for business
or other public purposes. Research-
ers at the University of Maine have
been working with a full landfill in
the city of Hampden and repurpos-
ing portions of this site into pollina-
tor friendly habitat. Professor Frank
Drummond and his associates have
planted pollinator gardens at the Pine
Tree Landfill, based on identification
of plants that are most beneficial to
bees in that part of Maine. Pine Tree
Landfill, one of more than 400 land-
fills in Northeastern states managed
by Casella Waste Services, is the first
site for testing and demonstration.
Company officials hope to expand
this public-private cooperation and
this approach to their other landfills,
learning from successes and failures
in initial trials.
aDVocacy anD eDucation
The bee sanctuary movement is
fueled in part by more public inter-
American Bee Journal
est and support for organizations
advocating pollinator protection. The
Xerces Society, the Pollinator Partner-
ship, and the Pollinator Stewardship
Council are among these organiza-
tions. Some state beekeeping associa-
tions and local clubs are also involved
in campaigns with broader pollinator
protection goals.
More private and public schools are
establishing pollinator gardens and
bee sanctuaries. Grants are available
from organizations that provide funds
to schools and teachers to purchase
hives and beekeeping equipment.
Local and state beekeeping organi-
zations sometimes join as partners
in these initiatives and provide valu-
able advice and resources. Veteran
beekeepers with practical experience
become involved in mentoring stu-
dents and helping teachers get such
programs started. Student involve-
ment can include garden or landscap-
ing design at the school, planting of
pollinator forage on school grounds,
artwork and craft/shop projects for
different types of honey bee hives and
native bee hotels, as well as the study
of the biology of bees and better bee-
keeping practices.
conclusions
The bee sanctuary movement
seems part of a developing public
concern for the sustainability of ag-
riculture, improved environmental
research and education, and more di-
rect personal involvement with forces
of nature. Recognizing pollinator
habitat challenges, more individuals
and organizations are searching for
creative options to develop and im-
prove habitat.
While some are very vocal about
our need to reduce pesticide use,
others work with conventional farm-
ers and land managers to increase
pollinator forage. There is a wide
spectrum of organizations, all with
slightly different missions, goals and
strategies. Strategic alliances, based
on dialogues with committed stake-
holders, are forming worldwide, and
hopefully will increase.
Positive synergies occur as cattle
ranchers, dairy farmers, energy de-
velopers, hotel/lodging providers,
and other types of land managers
support or actually start beekeeping
and honey producing activities. One
of the best aspects of these organiza-
tions is that they interact with non-
beekeepers, raising awareness of the
importance of feeding our pollinators
through increased plantings.
September 2018
To best support future goals and Ecotricity and Solarcentury Solar
plans, it always helps to understand Park Bee Havens https://www.tree-
fully previous failures and successes. hugger.com/renewable-energy/how-
Review of actual activities of existing solar-parks-could-help-save-bum-
bee sanctuaries, and how they ap- blebee.html
proach pollinator habitat protection, UK Holiday Park Bee Sanctuar-
should offer insights and some best ies http://www.caravantimes.co.uk/
management practices for future un- news/people/human-interest/bee
dertakings that can have even greater sanctuaries-to-be-introduced-to-
impact. The websites listed below of- over-100-holiday-parks-across-
fer readers an opportunity to learn british-isles-$21385428.htm
more about the particular bee sanctu- Apicentre Bee Sanctuaries http://
aries described in this article. iku-consulting.com/apicentre/
Artemis Smiles Honeybee Sanctu- **Appreciation is expressed for
ary http://www.artemissmiles.com/ the personal comments and the im-
Bello Uccello Honey Bee Sanctuary ages that were shared by Gunther
https://bellouccello.wordpress.com/ Hauk (Spikenard), Alice Hinman
about/ (Apiopolis), Ami Spangler (Dancing
Cowberry Crossing Farm and Bee Sophia), Klaus and Shirley Lang-
Sanctuary https://www.cowberry pohl Klaus Langpohl (Bello Uccel-
crossingfarm.com/ lo), Guillaume Gauthereau
Dancing Sophia Honeybee Sanctuary
http://www.dancingsophiabees.com/ Dr. Steve Payne is
Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary a retired university
https://spikenardfarm.org/ management profes-
sor, a beekeeper, and
Urban Beekeeping Laboratory and a current executive
Bee Sanctuary https://beesanctuary. board member of the
org/ Louisiana Beekeep-
UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab http:// ers Association. He
www.helpabee.org/best-bee-plants- occasionally provides strategy consulting
for-california.html and coaching through his beekeeping side-
line business (www.strategicbeekeeping-
New York Bee Sanctuary http:// services.com). His website also offers his
www.newyorkbeesanctuary.org/ e-book, Strategic Thinking and Management
conservation/ for Beekeepers (2016).
Battery Bee Sanctuary https://the
h o n e y b e e c o n s e r v a n c y. o r g / b e e
village/ High Quality Beekeeping
Apiopolis Urban Bee Sanctuary Equipment & Bottling
https://www.apiopolis.org/
Sweet Virginia Honey Bee Sanctu- Machines at swienty.com
ary http://americanbeejournal.com/
virginia-honey-bee-sanctuary/
Cedar Rapids Pollinator Initiative ... for better honey
https://themindunleashed.com/
2017/02/iowa-town-dedicates-
1000-acres-dying-bees-others-want-
robotic-bees.html
San Francisco Rooftop Bee Sanctu-
aries http://naturalsociety.com/bees-
life-san-francisco-luxury-hotels-
roofs-6473/
Detroit Vacant Lot Bee Sanctuar-
ies http://www.truth-out.org/opin-
ion/item/43814-bee-sanctuaries-in-
detroit-conserving-honeybees-on-
the-city-s-vacant-lots
Oslo (Norway) Bee Highway https://
www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/
future-of-food-tech-helping-bees-
comeback/
Bellingen Bee Sanctuary (Australia)
http://www.bellingenbees.org.au/
Pine Tree Landfill Bee Sanctu-
ary https://umaine.edu/news/blog/
2015/06/19/whats-buzzin/
1039
1040 American Bee Journal
The only registered treatment for Nosema disease is no longer commercially available.
T
he harpoon shoots out from its
egg-shaped case like a micro-
scopic military-grade weapon. It
hits its target – a honey bee midgut cell
– dead on, piercing the cell membrane
and latching on. But the harpoon
was not built to kill (at least not right
away). Instead, still attached to its case
via a tubular tether, it begins inject-
ing infectious material into the host
cell, seizing the cell’s resources to do
its bidding in as little as two seconds.
The poor cell has no choice but to com-
ply, facilitating the mass production of
more tiny, egg-shaped spores until it
ruptures, releasing new spores into
the gut to begin the cycle anew. More
spores find more cells to infect, and
the nosema infection spreads.
Nosema spores might look non-
descript, but their modus operandi is
anything but. The microscopic spore
particles drift in the honey bee’s mid-
gut lumen, waiting to come across the
unsuspecting epithelial cells lining
the gut wall, and then they strike (Fig-
ure 1). Nosema disease, or nosemosis,
is now the most globally prevalent
honey bee disease, and in some re-
gions (mainly in the Mediterranean),
it can be devastating.1 Although once
thought to only affect adult bees, it
can actually proliferate in larvae too.2
The only approved treatment against
nosemosis is the antibiotic fumagillin,
but now, it’s no longer for sale.
On April 12, 2018, Medivet Pharma-
ceuticals Ltd. – a company based out
of High River, Alberta – announced
that they were closing their doors.
And shutting down Medivet means
shutting down production of the
September 2018
world’s supply of fumagillin, in the that won’t last forever. “There are no
form of their quick-dissolving prod- other chemical medications approved
uct, Fumagilin-B. “The production for treatment of nosema anywhere in
and sale of Fumagilin-B has been the the world,” Ursula says. “There are
bread and butter of Medivet Pharma- some labs around that are trying to
ceuticals for many years,” Ursula Da test other compounds to treat nosema,
Rugna, president of Medivet, wrote in but I don’t know of any that are close
a public letter announcing their clo- to registration and approval for sale.”
sure. “Once all our inventories have This sounds like a disaster, but
been sold we will dismantle our facili- could it actually be good for the in-
ties; it is expected we will be closed by dustry in the long term? If there is no
June 2018.” longer an effective treatment for the
Medivet’s ghostly website still
warns of a scam, where an unknown,
ineffective substance was being sold
cheaply under the label of Fumagilin-
B. But this fraud, which was confined
mainly to Middle-Eastern countries, is
not what forced them to close.
Medivet relied on another company,
CEVA Sante Animale in Libourne,
France, to supply the active ingredi-
ent in Fumagilin-B: fumagilline DCH
(which stands for dicyclohexylamine).
But for reasons that aren’t clear, CEVA
Sante Animale’s outsourced manu-
facturer is no longer allowed to pro-
duce it, and it’s unlikely that another
company will step in soon to fill their
shoes. “I don’t know of another com-
pany that can do it,” Ursula says.
“Without fumagilline DCH, no more
Fumagilin-B can be produced.” Fig. 1 A. The honey bee gut system. Mod-
Now, as we tip-toe into fall – when ified (with permission) from Kwong et al.
most beekeepers would begin treat- 2016.10 B. A Nosema spp. spore invades
ing for nosema – many are wondering a honey bee midgut cell. The polar tube
where to turn. After their announce- (also called the polar filament) shoots out
ment last spring, Medivet’s Fumagil- from the spore and pierces a midgut epi-
lin-B inventory quickly sold out to thelial cell. The spore contents transfer
their distributors and customers. No into the midgut cell and begin replicat-
doubt some beekeepers have a stock- ing. Eventually, the cell bursts and new
pile of the antibiotic at home, but even spores spill back into the gut lumen.
1041

A. Nosema spores marked with arrows to help identify them. B. Can you spot the
spores in this image?
disease, there will be stronger selec-
tive pressure for innately resistant
colonies over time (although this may
not be a practical solution). Under-
standably, most beekeepers in heavily
affected regions probably wouldn’t be
willing to risk the losses to natural se-
lection. But fumagillin treatment may
not be as beneficial as we think, at
least, with the way it is currently ad-
ministered in practice. Some evidence
suggests it may actually be exacerbat-
ing infections, rather than annihilat-
ing them.
Nosema disease can be caused by
two different microsporidia (single-
celled, parasitic fungi), Nosema apis
and N. ceranae. Fumagilin-B kills
both types of nosema at the recom-
mended dose, but while N. apis infec-
tions remain suppressed long after
treatment, N. ceranae infections may
bounce back, becoming worse than
ever before. Wei-Fone Huang and
other researchers at the University of
Illinois began investigating this issue
by comparing spore counts of N. apis
and N. ceranae in bees treated with de-
creasing concentrations of fumagillin,
mimicking how it degrades over time
after an initial dose. In their results,
published in PLoS Pathogens in 2013,3
they showed that the bees receiving
dilute fumagillin treatments actually
had significantly higher N. ceranae
spore counts than bees receiving no
treatment at all.
“Our laboratory bioassays corrobo-
rated field observations that fuma-
gillin suppresses both N. ceranae and
N. apis at the manufacturer’s recom-
mended concentration,” the authors
write, “but the two microsporidian
species responded differently to de-
creasing fumagillin levels.” Huang et
al. propose that this difference might
have something to do with interac-
tions between fumagillin and the
bees, rather than evolution of antibi-
otic resistance. The authors explain
that fumagillin “is probably useful for
1042
protecting weak colonies, but the an-
tibiotic may have unintended effects
on the honey bee host.” This makes
sense, because we know from other
experiments that fumagillin treat-
ment alone can increase honey bee
mortality,4 mainly due to toxicity of
other components of the Fumagilin-B
formulation.5
All of these experiments were per-
formed in cage trials, so just how
indicative they are of colony-level
treatments remains uncertain. But if
Huang et al. are right about fumagil-
lin having unintended effects on the
host, that could be particularly worri-
some because fumagillin is commonly
applied as a prophylactic treatment.
That is, colonies get a dose of fuma-
gillin in the fall and early spring,
whether they need it or not.
This treatment strategy is not rec-
ommended, but the motivation is
understandable. Nosema is difficult
to diagnose – with the exception of
messy dysentery that comes with a
severe N. apis infection (but not N.
ceranae), the symptoms are hard to
recognize. Pathogen presence can
only be confirmed by looking at mi-
croscope slides of gut contents, and
the two species can only be reliably
distinguished by molecular lab diag-
nostics. Many beekeepers choose the
“better safe than sorry” approach to
treatment, but it’s possible that they
might be sorry anyway. What’s more,
unintended consequences for honey
bees are not the only reasons why fu-
magillin is a less-than-ideal drug.
The US Food and Drug Adminis-
tration does not allow fumagillin use
during the honey bee foraging season
because residues can contaminate
hive products consumed by humans.
It turns out, although our biology is
very different from that of a microspo-
ridium, fumagillin is harmful for us.
Fumagillin targets MetAP-2, a gene
which codes for an enzyme that is re-
sponsible for modifying many other
proteins, orchestrating a variety of
essential cell functions. Other genes
might be targeted too, but this is the
only one that’s well-known. Fuma-
gillin binds to this enzyme, which is
found in all organisms, causing it to
be unable to do its job.
Thankfully, most species (includ-
ing humans) have another similar
gene, MetAP-1, which is sufficient
(to some degree) if MetAP-2 is out of
commission. Think of it like having
one of your kidneys fail: it’s certainly
not ideal, but you can live. Microspo-
ridia, though, do not have a second
enzyme, so they are more sensitive to
fumagillin. But even in species with
both enzymes, high doses of fumagil-
lin are still toxic, causing DNA dam-
age and sometimes tumor formation.6
Because of the ban on summer
treatments, the amount of fumagillin
in the hive gradually decreases after
the regular dose in early spring. N.
apis continues to be controlled, but
soon, fumagillin levels drop to where
it stops being effective against N. cera-
nae (possibly even exacerbating these
infections, as Huang et al. demon-
strated). Unfortunately, N. apis is not
the one to worry about in the summer
– the warmer summer temperatures
tend to suppress N. apis infections
anyway, but not N. ceranae. Due to
the restraints of seasonal treatments
and N. ceranae’s high temperature
tolerance, the traditional fumagillin
applications are not very effective at
controlling summer disease incidence.
Well before Medivet’s closure, sci-
entists began looking for alternative
methods of nosema control to stay
one step ahead of impending antibi-
otic resistance. Johan van den Heever,
Steve Pernal, and other researchers
from Beaverlodge, Alberta, tested
several candidate medications for ef-
ficacy against N. ceranae in cage trials.
In their 2016 publication in Apidologie,7
they report finding seven compounds
that decreased nosema spore counts
after treatment. Notably, they write,
“None of these compounds were,
however, as effective as Fumagilin-B.”
One of the compounds tested in
this experiment is actually one that is
already approved for use against Var-
roa destructor in both Canada and the
US: Thymol. Of the compounds they
tested, the authors name Thymol as
being the most promising candidate
medication, not only because it is al-
ready approved for a different pur-
pose, but because it decreased spore
counts by as much as 50% and ex-
tended the average lifespan of treated
American Bee Journal
bees by three days. As with any lab
experiment, the results need to be con-
firmed in the field – we don’t actually
know if a 50% reduction is sufficient
to save an ailing colony. Fumagilin-
B, while reducing spore counts by
a landslide (it was about 100 times
more effective than Thymol), actually
shortened the average lifespan of the
bees, which is consistent with previ-
ous experiments.4,5
Van den Heever’s experiment also
included Nosevit, which is marketed
as an “an all natural whole plant poly-
phenol honey bee food supplement.”
It was not effective against N. ceranae.
To the manufacturer’s credit, they do
not actually claim their formulation
is active against either Nosema spe-
cies (although their product’s name
implies otherwise) and a 2009 article
in the American Bee Journal archives8
claims it is an effective treatment.
These contradictions mean more rig-
orous tests will be necessary before
reaching a definitive conclusion about
this product.
Medivet’s closure will have a last-
ing impact on the beekeeping indus-
try, but precisely what that impact is
remains to be seen. The high demand
for Fumagilin-B – despite its toxicity
for humans, side effects for honey
bees, and reduced efficacy against A.
ceranae – will likely be satisfied an-
other way. That could mean finding
a new source of fumagilline DCH. It
could mean continuing to screen for
more candidate medications, as initi-
ated by van den Heever. Or it could
mean biting the bullet and finding a
way to survive without an effective
treatment for nosema. In Denmark,
where fumagillin treatment is not per-
mitted, breeders started selecting for
nosema resistance in the early 1990s
and significantly reduced their levels
of incidence from approximately 70-
80% to 10-20% by 2005.9 Without fu-
September 2018
magillin the short term losses might Alison McAfee began
sting, but your bees might just be bet- researching honey
ter off without it. bees in 2013 as a
biochemistry under-
graduate student at
reFerences: the University of Brit-
1. Higes M, Raquel M-H, Encarna G-B, ish Columbia, where
Amelia G-P, Pilar G-P, Aranzazu M, Ma- she is currently pur-
ria DNJ, Mayo R, and Jose BL. (2009). suing a PhD. She be-
Honeybee colony collapse due to Nosema came enchanted with the little ladies and is
ceranae in professional apiaries. 1(2): 110-3.
pursuing a degree in genome sciences and
2. Eiri DM, Suwannapong G, Endler M, technology, specializing in hygienic behav-
and Nieh JC. (2015). Nosema ceranae can ior and its underlying mechanisms. In 2017,
infect honey bee larvae and reduces sub- she received the Canadian Association of
sequent adult longevity. PLoS One. 10(5): Professional Apiculturists Student Merit
e0126330. Award – a recognition that honors outstand-
3. Huang W-F, Solter LF, Yau PM, and ing achievements in honey bee research
Imai BS. (2013). Nosema ceranae escapes and extension. Email her: alison.mcafee@
fumagillin control. PLoS pathogens. 9(3):
alumni.ubc.ca and check out her blog: www.
e1003185. alisonmcafeeblogs.wordpress.com
4. Rada V, Machova M, Huk J, Marounek
M, and Duskova D. (1997). Microflora
in the honeybee digestive tract: counts,
characteristics and sensitivity to veteri-
nary drugs. Apidologie. 28: 357-65.
5. van den Heever JP, Thompson TS, Otto
SJG, Curtis JM, Ibrahim A, and Pernal
SF. (2016). The effect of dicyclohexyl-
amine and fumagillin on Nosema ceranae-
infected honey bee (Apis mellifera) mortal-
ity in cage trial assays. Apidologie. 47(5):
663-70.
6. van den Heever JP, Thompson TS, Cur-
tis JM, Ibrahim A, Pernal SF. (2014).
Fumagillin: An overview of recent scien-
tific advances and their significance for
apiculture. Journal of agriculture and food
chemistry. 62(13): 2728-37.
7. van den Heever JP, Thompson TS, Otto
SJG, Curtis JM, Ibrahim A, and Pernal
SF. (2016). Evaluation of Fumagilin-B and
other potential alternative chemothera-
pies against Nosema ceranae-infected hon-
eybees (Apis mellifera) in cage trial assays.
Apidologie. 47:617–30
8. Gajger IT, Cugrek O, Pinter L, and Pet-
rinec Z. (2009). Nozevit patties: Treat-
ment of honey bees (Apis mellifera) for the
control of Nosema ceranae disease. Ameri-
can Bee Journal. 149(11): 1053-56.
9. Traynor, K. (2008). Bee breeding around
the world. American Bee Journal. 148(2):
135-139.
10. Kwong, WK and Moran, NA. (2016). Gut
microbial communities of social bees. Na-
ture reviews microbiology. 14(6): 374-84.
1043
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1044 American Bee Journal

E
xperience is a master teacher. influence of the Russians. “They win- tion he sees the bees display hygienic
With fourteen years under his ter well. They’re hardworking and traits. “When I examine the frames,
belt, Troy Hall of Plainfield, NH industrious. They take care of their I see the bees uncapping the brood,
has learned, “There’s no magic bul- own,” he concludes. “The darker and pulling out larvae,” he says. This
let in beekeeping. It’s forage, genet- strains of bees have what it takes.” 2018 summer season, he has more
ics, and management. There are a lot His standards for selecting queens three year old queens to work with
of moving parts to balance to enjoy to propagate include a checklist of es- and they are still going strong.
success in beekeeping.” He has been sential qualities. He begins by evalu- Troy records his mating data on
keeping bees since 2004 and earning ating his two year old queens in hives his inner covers. All families are as-
a full time living with bees since 2010. that are performing at optimal stan- signed a unique number and tracked
One focus of his operation is queen dards. “By the dandelion flow, I like as they progress through the mating
rearing. Both the hobbyist and com- to see 8-9 frames of brood,” he says. yards. When doing hive inspections,
mercial beekeeper benefit from his Honey production, a good cluster, and Troy suits up with a veil and smoker
targeted queen matings. Over the vigorous colonies ready to explode in only. If the queen needs to be caged
years, he has steadily expanded his the spring are equally important hive or moved to another frame, he just
operation to the point that he is now attributes. While he doesn’t test for plucks her off the frame barehanded
raising 750 queens. Half this number hygienic behavior, through observa- and gently moves her.
will ship out to local customers and
the rest beyond state borders with
some going as far away as Alaska
and Washington State. The northern
queens from Hall’s apiaries arrive
marked and mated and ready to go
to work.
While genetics is not the only indi-
cator for success, tough winter losses
have compelled northern beekeepers
to sharpen their efforts on all fronts
of beekeeping management. These
high winter losses have driven a keen
interest in northern queens. Mated
queens from breeding programs
like Troy Hall’s are in demand, since
these queens are adapted to his lo-
cal environment and typically have
better survival rates in the northern
latitudes.
“I have rigid quality standards. The
queen has to be one I would use,”
Troy explained. He describes his race
of bees as Carniolan and Russian
hybrids. He gives high marks to the Inspecting a cell bar to make sure the queen cells are well developed.

September 2018 1045


Working a colony.
He adds, “Use as little smoke as
possible, and the queen will keep on
working. Your chances of seeing her
will increase. You should never as-
sume you know where she is.”
When catching queens to ship off,
Troy use 3 hole cages and ships them
out with 6 - 7 attendants. The cages
leave his shop in specialized shipping
boxes offered by bee supply compa-
nies. Up to 16 cages can fit in one box.
“When you’re paying $35 for a queen,
you want to know she is well venti-
lated and will arrive safely,” he says.
Queens from Hall Apiaries are
open mated. At his location in NH’s
Upper Connecticut River Valley, he
is isolated from a lot of densely man-
aged honey bee colonies. He counts
this rural location as a benefit to his
program of targeted matings. Troy
manages close to 100 colonies in and
A bear fence protects his queen yard.
1046
around a 2 mile radius from his two
mating yards. These colonies are pro-
duction colonies that he uses to rear
and saturate the area with quality
drones.
The four strands of electric fence
protecting his cell building yard is an
indicator of how valuable his queen
rearing is to his operation. The elec-
tric fencing keeps out bears and other
potential predators. At his location,
the window for queen rearing is late
May to mid-July. This schedule en-
sures warm enough weather for the
queens to fly and follows the natural
availability of nectar and pollen. He
syncs his queen rearing with the bees’
natural tendency to swarm, so that
they are eager to draw queen cells.
And how exactly does he set up to
rear queens? In a nutshell, he uses the
same cell building methods as devel-
oped by Kirk Webster and Michael
Palmer in Vermont. Ten days before
the first graft, he first finds a strong
colony that is in two deeps. It must
have at least 8-9 frames of brood. He
then confines the queen below a queen
excluder, checking to make sure the
colony hasn’t started any queen cells
or has cups with eggs, as he doesn’t
want the colony to swarm. In the top
box above the excluder, the capped
brood develops and emerges. These
young adult bees mature during this
10 day window and will be ready to
do their part in raising queens.
Once 10 days have elapsed, he
breaks the colony down in the fol-
lowing way. He removes the queen-
right brood box off the stand. Onto
the stand goes a partially filled honey
super, then he places the queenless
brood box that had been above the
queen excluder on top of the partially
filled super. This will become his cell
builder. He shakes 5-6 frames of nurse
bees from the queenright brood box
into the cell builder, making sure not
to accidentally shake in the queen.
The queenright brood box is tempo-
rally relocated to another spot in the
yard, where the queen will continue
to lay. By shaking nurse bees into the
cell builder, congestion and swarm
pressure is reduced in the queenright
colony and Troy gains the extra nurse
bees in the cell builder.
At the cell builder, he removes two
frames, creating an empty space that
will hold the cell bar of grafted larvae
and a pollen frame. As he’s setting up
the cell builder, he checks each frame
to make sure no emergency queen
cells were started. Any that he spots,
he culls.
This newly established cell builder
is given a few hours to “get in the
mood” to raise cells. Troy uses a Chi-
nese grafting tool and a 48 cup cell
bar frame with 16 cups on each of
the three bars. After grafting young
larvae, he places the frame with the
grafts into the empty space he made
earlier. A nice frame of bee bread goes
right next to the cell bar, so the nurse
bees have easy access to plenty of pro-
tein rich pollen.
Five days after grafting, Troy re-
unites his queenright deep with the
cell builder, keeping it under a queen
excluder on the bottom at the original
spot. This turns his cell builder into a
queenright finishing colony with the
cells up top.
Five days later, 10 days after graft-
ing, the cells are removed from the
cell builder and distributed out into
the mating nucs. He installs each
queen cell into an individual mating
nuc, and then the entire queen rearing
process repeats.
Unfavorable weather can throw a
monkey wrench into the schedule,
but Troy is not deterred. In a rainy
year, a pop-up tent is as valuable as a
veil and smoker. “Things have to get
done regardless of the weather,” Troy
says. “Queens are harvested 16 days
after ripe queen cells are given.”
In addition to the hives managed
for queen rearing, Troy maintains an-
other 200 colonies for honey produc-
tion. In a good year, he harvests up to
14,000 lbs. of honey for both retail and
wholesale customers. He sells raw
honey that is gravity filtered and un-
heated. On top of all this he makes up
250 nucleus colonies that are used for
replacements and any excess sold off.
Troy Hall ready to work bees.
American Bee Journal

The young nurse bees eagerly draw out Troy Hall’s queen cells. Photo by Troy Hall
His apiary is an area rich in forage. A
dairy farm and large horticultural op-
eration provide forage material. Oth-
er nectar and pollen sources include
basswood (Linden) trees, locust trees,
white clover, Dutch clover, sumac,
honeysuckle, goldenrod, Japanese
knotweed, and asters.
Troy explained it was economics
that initially drove him to the queen
rearing business. “I was trying to cut
costs,” he says. “In the early years,
a good portion of my profits we’re
spent on buying in queens. I figured I
could raise a queen that was as good
or better, so I dove in.” He enjoys
positive feedback from his customers.
Specifically, his customers rave over
the queens’ ample size. Troy adds,
“The interest people have shown in
purchasing northern queens is the
incentive that’s pushed me to expand
September 2018
my breeding program to the scale it
is today. There is great interest in get-
ting northern genetics established.”
His work week follows a strict
schedule. He says, “I feel like I’m a
juggler. At the beginning of the sea-
son, I’ll have just one or two balls in
the air. Later at the peak of the season,
with queen rearing at full bore, and
honey production, plus making nucs,
it feels like I’m juggling ten or more
balls in the air. There’s a lot to keep in
mind, and many different schedules
to maintain. Every season presents its
own list of management issues.”
While he works long days and fol-
lows strict schedules, he insists that
the bees do as much work on their
own as possible. “My method is to
not have as many inputs,” Troy ex-
plains. “When it comes to figuring
out problems, instead of reaching
for the quick fix, I’ll find the ways
and means and other approaches to
solving problems. I work very hard
at learning what is going on in my
apiary and monitoring the hives.” He
credits his years of experience for his
ability to manage a sustainable api-
ary. He has not used treatments for
varroa mites since 2010. “What I’m
doing is not haphazard,” he says.
“I’ve been at this a long time.” But
he added this caution for beginning
beekeepers, “If you’re brand new to
the hobby, don’t expect that the bees
have it all figured out and can do it all
themselves. You’ll need to minimize
beekeeper error. The success rate is
stacked against you if you are trying
to go completely treatment free.” If
an inspection indicates a treatment is
needed, an organic solution would be
Troy’s preference.
When asked about any future di-
rections he might take, Troy says, “I
keep my nose to the wind and stay
on the lookout for something interest-
ing in queens that maybe I ought to
consider bringing into my operation.
But she would have to come through
some sort of a winter for me to even
look at her.”
For more information contact: Troy
Hall, Hall Apiaries, 374 Route 12A,
Plainfield, NH 03781, 603-298-7209.
Melissa Moore has
been a beekeeper for
four years. She is a
member of her local
bee club. As a free-
lance writer, she has
submitted articles to
agricultural and hor-
ticultural publications that circulate in the
Northeast. Her hands-on experience from
her involvement with her family’s diversified
210 acre farm. Through her writing, Melissa
likes to share great stories relating to the en-
vironment and excellent land stewardship.
1047
1048 American Bee Journal
W
hen I was only knee-high to admission, Langstroth borrowed tinues to be the hive of choice for
a goat, my grandfather took freely from the work of his predeces- large commercial operations and be-
me for long rides each eve- sors, including François Huber’s leaf ginners alike.
ning at dusk. He loaded me into in his hive. Although disagreement contin-
Chevy just as the deer began to ven- ues about who first defined bee space Variations on a theMe
ture from the woods into the orchards and who first cottoned onto move- Langstroth’s vision of modular
for dinner. He loved to watch them, able-frame hives, the fact remains boxes containing moveable frames
excitedly calling, “Look there! One, that Langstroth incorporated these that honored bee space on all sides
two, three…” concepts into a hive design that was allowed beekeepers to inspect, har-
I loved those outings through the affordable, easy to use, and highly vest, and split colonies without de-
farmland, especially as mist settled customizable. stroying the bees or their living quar-
into the lowlands between the hills, Few inventions have stood the ters. Although we may not realize it,
shrouding the fields in mystery. But test of time as well as the Langstroth many other modern hive designs—
as he counted deer, I hunted for some- hive, and today—166 years later— including the National, Warré, and
thing else entirely. Bee hives. With variations of it are still used around Flow—are simply variations on the
my window rolled down, I would the globe. In North America, it con- Langstroth.
climb halfway out, balancing on my
belly and inhaling the aroma of fresh-
cut hay and warm manure, intently
searching for hives as the countryside
slid by.
Although I didn’t know it at the
time, the objects of my fascination
were Langstroths. Every last one of
them. They stood at cockeyed angles,
tilting one way and another, coated
with heavy layers of lead paint that
flaked off in chalky curls. Every farm
had a few, usually perched on the edge
of a field, curiously white through the
descending mist. Although some were
tall and others short, all bee hives had
the same basic shape.

the test oF tiMe

The Reverend Lorenzo Lorraine
Langstroth registered the patent for The Langstroth hive is a popular style throughout much of the globe, anywhere
his hive in October 1852. By his own beekeepers and suppliers have access to affordable wood.

September 2018 1049


Part of the beauty of Langstroth equipment is its interchangeability.
The National, primarily used in the
UK, has smaller boxes that are square,
along with many minor tweaks. The
Warré hive is sometimes called a
vertical top-bar hive, but the idea of
modular boxes that sit one atop an-
other and respect bee space, comes
straight from the Langstroth play-
book. And the Flow Hive is a contem-
porary Langstroth hive topped with a
self-extracting honey super.
the beGinninG oF an inDustry
Just as the invention of the semi-
conductor precipitated a flood of in-
novation, so did the introduction of
the Langstroth hive. Once the value
of the hive became apparent, it was
followed by the radial extractor, the
queen excluder, and the hand-held
smoker—all of which are still used
today. Other related inventions in-
cluded self-spacing frames, the foun-
dation press, and the screened bottom
board for controlling wax moth infes-
tations. The synergistic development
Paint choices vary, but interior hive dimensions are standard throughout regions,
allowing frames from multiple suppliers to be used interchangeably.
1050
of tools to be used with the Langstroth
cemented its place in beekeeping his-
tory. No other hive design offered
anything close for practicality and
ease of use. In fact, it is the Langstroth
hive that led to the development of
large-scale commercial beekeeping.
For the migratory beekeeper,
Langstroth hives are perfect. They
are stackable, palletable, and can be
moved with a forklift. They can be
transferred to any location and re-
trieved when the job is done. In addi-
tion, boxes can be exchanged between
hives and frames between boxes. Like
Gutenberg’s moveable-type printing
press, the Langstroth hive allows end-
less combinations. There is no limit to
the number of changes and tweaks
that a beekeeper can make.
My aDVentures with a toP-bar hiVe
My admiration for the Langstroth
hive increased after managing a top-
bar hive. My experience with a top-
bar hive began ten years ago with a
prototype design that we were plan-
ning to use at a state prison. I want-
ed to practice with it before leveling
my inexperience on the inmates, so I
pulled some plans off the internet and
asked my husband to build the thing.
The brand new hive was sitting
empty at the edge of my driveway,
tucked into the shade under some ce-
dar trees. On July 3, 2008 as we pre-
pared for holiday guests, a swarm
moved into the empty structure. I
remember hearing an urgent call,
“Come quick! You’ve got to see this!”
Today, an entire ten years later, the
colony is still there. Only now the
shade is denser, the trees bigger, and
the hive is rotting from all the mois-
ture. In year seven, the bees sealed
up the entrance and built a new one
higher up, right where the sidewall
meets the roof. Last year, they dug
through the roof itself and added a
skylight, so now it’s open to the Pa-
cific Northwest rain. How they over-
winter is anyone’s guess.
a PerPlexinG DesiGn
In spite of what seems like a re-
sounding success, I find the top-bar
design irritating. Although I’m in awe
of the bees’ ability to survive, I feel
like the colony manages me instead of
the other way around. I never found a
way to keep the queen away from the
honey stores, so forget comb honey.
In fact, in the ten years this colony has
entertained me, it has not given up a
single teaspoon of honey.
Most years the entire thing is filled
with bees—all 23 frames—at the
height of the season. As the population
begins to dwindle toward fall, they
fill the space with honey. By spring
of every year, everything is quiet and
I’m sure they’re gone. If it weren’t for
the bright red spot on my IR camera, I
would give them up for dead.
Instead of harvesting honey I use
the hive like a general store. When-
ever I need a queen cell, a few eggs,
a split, or a shake of workers, I head
straight for the top-bar hive. Since the
bars won’t fit in a Langstroth, I do a
lot of cutting and tying, but we have a
working truce: I don’t touch the hon-
ey, and they restock everything else
the moment I leave. So we’re good.
the beauty oF oPtions
I concede that all beekeepers are
different and all beekeeping is af-
fected by local conditions. As such,
there are times when a top-bar hive
or a long hive might be the perfect
answer. But for anyone just starting
American Bee Journal
A honey super set above a two queen
system. © Rusty Burlew
out, or for anyone who loves to learn
through experiment, I think there’s
nothing like a Langstroth hive.
Because the design of the Lang-
stroth is so extendable, an enormous
number of optional extras exist for
just about any contingency you can
think of. Most of these equipment
choices are not necessary, a fact that is
obvious when you look at most com-
mercial operations. For them, bee-
keeping is a business where the bot-
tom line needs to be black. As such,
they streamline their operations to
minimize expense.
the leGos oF beeKeePinG
Open any contemporary beekeep-
ing catalog and you will see a stun-
ning array of beekeeping equipment
designed to be used with a Langstroth
hive. It’s often been said that you can
sell anything to a beekeeper, and I
suppose there is much truth in that.
But still, I always sift through the new
catalogs to see what’s new and clever.
If you are a hobbyist or a tinkerer, I
encourage you to experiment when-
ever you get the chance. I look at each
The Legos of the bee world, Langstroth hive bodies and frames can be reversed
and swapped between colonies. © Rusty Burlew
September 2018
Because the entire design observes bee space, Langstroth hives are easy to in-
spect and manage.
new piece of Langstroth equipment as
an opportunity. What does this thing
do? How does it work? When would
I use it? Why would I use it? What as-
pect of bee biology or behavior makes
it possible? If I learn something about
honey bees in the process, it’s a win
regardless of the outcome.
If you learn why a Cloake board
works or how to use a Snelgrove
board, you’ve learned more about the
biology and behavior of honey bees.
And each time you deepen your un-
derstanding of the bees themselves
you become a better beekeeper. Lang-
stroths are the Legos of beekeeping.
Each new piece invites experimenta-
tion and creativity.
taKe it or leaVe it
Most times, I try something once
and move on. But at other times, I’m
in. If the equipment answered a ques-
tion or solved a problem for me, I
outfit the rest of my apiary with the
new thing. For example, in my damp
and rainy climate I like slatted racks,
moisture quilts, and candy boards.
They work for me and have allowed
me to overwinter successfully year af-
ter year. But are they completely nec-
essary? No. Are they for everyone?
No. That’s the beauty of the Lang-
stroth system. Every beekeeper can
find the configuration that works in
his climate with his beekeeping style.
As a producer of comb honey, I
love the wide variety of Langstroth
comb honey supers that I can choose
from. I’ve tried them all—from Kel-
ley squares, to Ross Rounds, to Eco
Bee Box mini frames. When I found
problems with each, I had a super
designed and built by a friend. Pretty
good. But still unsatisfied, I’ve drawn
plans for yet another. The basic de-
sign of the Langstroth hive makes ex-
perimentation easy and fluid.
the Pros anD the cons
If I were asked to list the good and
bad of the Langstroth system, here is
what I would say.
The Good:
• The price is reasonable
• There is standardization among
manufacturers
• The parts are interchangeable
between hives and between api-
aries
• It’s easy to increase or decrease
space in a hive, depending on
colony strength
• You can set up a colony to pol-
linate or to collect honey, pollen,
1051
A top bar hive can be highly successful, but the design complicates management if
you are used to working a Langstroth colony.
or propolis, tweaking the config-
uration as the season progresses
• The hive is familiar to many,
making it easy to find answers
to common questions
The Not-So-Good:
• The boxes can be heavy and hard
to handle, even mediums
• Inspection can be cumbersome
because it requires removal of
the upper boxes
• The Langstroth can be difficult
to manage in extreme tempera-
tures
• Without a stand, the entrances
are close to the ground
• Beekeepers do not have the op-
tion of warm way setups with-
Alternative hive designs, such as this urban top bar hive have become popular.
1052
out customization
• A rectangular stack of boxes
lacks eye appeal
Some of the negative aspects have
been addressed by alterations to the
system. For example, the eight-frame
Langstroth was a response to the
weight problem, even though the
smaller box has less mass and a lower
heat capacity. In cold climates, bee-
keepers have devised wraps as well
as internal insulation methods. In
hot climates, beekeepers can increase
ventilation with screens and optional
entrances. Those wanting warm-way
frames can put the entrance on the
side. As you can see, the Langstroth
hive is a tinkerer’s delight.
A more decorative lid can add charac-
ter to a hive. © Rusty Burlew
I often wonder if the original Lang-
stroths weren’t more cold resistant
than the modern ones. Back in Lang-
stroth’s day, the size of dimensional
lumber was actually as stated. But
today, for example, a 1-by-4 board is
actually ¾-inch thick and 3½-inches
wide. It seems that such a large dif-
ference in thickness would affect the
insulation value of the wood. On the
other hand, most of the changes that
occurred since the original design
were for the best and kept the design
relevant through the decades.
try it anD learn
I’m nothing if not curious, so I’m
always up for a new invention or an
ingenious way to tweak an old one.
I’m happy to have experience with
top-bar hives, and this year, thanks
to the generosity of other beekeepers,
I’m experimenting with a long hive
and a poly hive as well. The more I
try, the more I learn.
The variety, the adaptability, and
the ingenuity of beekeeping equip-
ment is one of my favorite aspects of
this strange hobby. And because bee-
keeping is wonderfully influenced by
local conditions and individual con-
victions, the Langstroth hive with its
enduring but ever-evolving nature,
makes an excellent starting point.
Rusty Burlew has
studied agriculture,
honey bees, and envi-
ronmental science for
over 30 years. She is a
passionate advocate of
native bee conserva-
tion and founded the
Native Bee Conser-
vancy in Washington State. You can visit her
website at https://honeybeesuite.com or
email her at rusty@honeybeesuite.com.
American Bee Journal
I
didn’t know anything about
keeping bees, nor did I have any
knowledge about the equipment
needed in beekeeping, when I pur-
chased my first full size colony. I’m
from western Canada and live in a
Hutterite colony in southwest Sas-
katchewan. Founded by Jakob Hutter
in 1528, the Hutterites are an Anabap-
tist ethnoreligious group with some
similarity to Amish and Mennonite
communities. Many emigrated to
North America from eastern Europe
between 1874 and 1879, seeking reli-
gious freedom.
Where I live, it is fairly flat with
a few rolling hills here and there.
We plant our crops using a rotation
system; we switch from barley and
wheat, to canola, peas, mustard and
then lentils. We have also seeded
back quite a few acres to brome grass
and alfalfa, to help contain the alkali
patches of soil that keep getting big-
ger if nothing is done about it. Wild-
Spring Lake Hutterite Colony in southwest Saskatchewan with a resident population
of 99.
September 2018
flowers and sweet clover grow in the
ditches and on waste land, but not in
abundance.
Back in 2001, my brother, who is the
gardener in our colony decided we
needed some honey bees to pollinate
all the trees and vegetables that we
grow. We have a big garden and raise
pretty near all the vegetables we need
for the year. Pollination is important,
so we bought one hive from another
beekeeper.
The hive we purchased had two
brood chambers, a bottom board, a
queen excluder and four honey su-
pers with frames and fully drawn
combs built out of wax foundation. At
that time, we paid $300.00 for the one
complete hive. Although my brother
suggested getting the bees, he had
no interest in looking after them. Not
sure why, but he didn’t want to take
on their care. He asked me if I would
be interested. I said, I would be hap-
py to give it a try, which is how my
beekeeping career began. Our colony
uses about 1,000 lbs of honey annu-
ally, so honey production in addition
to pollination is important for us.
When my father and mother-in-law
heard that I was interested in bee-
keeping, right away he helped me
out. He had been a beekeeper for 23
years. He gave me some literature,
a smoker, an uncapping knife, and a
bee suit. He tried to teach me a lot of
things about beekeeping, but if you
recall when you started out, it’s pretty
hard trying to understand anything,
let alone everything, when you’ve
never looked in a hive nor worked
with honey bees before.
Here in Saskatchewan, the first
flowers that bloom in the spring are
the crocus. They grow wild on the na-
tive land and are an excellent source
of pollen and nectar. Native willow
trees bloom next and the bees come
home packed with pollen. Then the
Saskatoon berries bloom, also known
Our storage bins with a canola crop
blooming in the foreground.
1053
Harvesting our large fields of canola with an array of combines. The colony is fairly Old comb ready to be scraped down to
self-sufficient and grows most of what it needs. the plastic foundation.

A frame of crystallized honey, ready to be placed into the top super of the colony. The feeding hole in my top board.

Combs that have been scraped down to

the foundation, ready for cleaning

Bees working to remove the crystallized honey in the top box and store it down below.

Left: An old frame from which the bees Foundation in a jig, ready to be pressure
cleared out the crystallized honey. washed at the car wash.

1054 American Bee Journal

as Pacific serviceberry (Amelanchier
alnifolia) and the chokecherry trees
spring out in full bloom. The bees
are everywhere! Next come the fruit
bearing trees, which start to bloom in
the garden we have. Then caragana
and lilac trees come into bloom. What
a beautiful sight.
That first summer we bought a two
frame honey extractor from a neigh-
bor for $20 and extracted 80 pounds
of honey. It was so exciting seeing that
first honey coming out of that extrac-
tor. I fed and wrapped the bees in the
fall. I guess I thought I knew every-
thing about beekeeping. Come spring
there wasn’t one honey bee alive. So
this happened to Mr. Know-it-all, his
first bees, kaput.
The next spring, we bought two
four lb. packages with four queens
from a big producer, who said that
the bees came from Australia. He also
told me they were mite free. Mite-
free, because they came from a coun-
try with no varroa, but definitely not
mite resistant.
I placed the frames into the brood
chambers with honey towards the
outside and empty comb ringed by
honey and pollen towards the center
of the brood chambers. My goal was
to give the queen plenty of space to
lay. I also put a nice, newly built out
frame in the center, then dumped in
about 2 lbs. of bees. Finally, I added
the caged queen into each hive, al-
lowing the bees to chew through the
sugar candy for a slow release.
I used the frames from the hive that
died out and went by the book, after
reading everything that I could get a
hold of. I fed them two to one sugar
water to give them a head start and
help them grow strong. That worked
out really well.
The drawn combs that came with
the original hive did not look all that
great. They were black and looked
very old. It seemed like there were
more drone cells than worker cells. I
tore out all the old comb, cleaned up
the frames and bought some plastic
foundation.
After a couple of years, the founda-
tion would turn black and the thick
layers of pupal cocoons made every-
thing look black, dirty and uneven.
This is where all kinds of diseases start
to flare up like chalkbrood, American
foulbrood, and a lot of cells get torn
down and replaced with drone cells
by the bees. The workers also start to
tear down and replace some of the
worker cells with new wax, which is
a lot of extra work for them.
September 2018
The author is pressure washing the foun-
dation with hot water.
I keep putting clean built out combs
in the center (at least two frames a
year), then pull out the older frames
that are on the sides of the brood
chambers and recycle them. Most of
the time the bees have crystallized
honey in the edge. I take these frames
out and put them aside until a honey
flow starts or until it’s time to feed the
bees. Then I’ll uncap the crystallized
honey using a knife or uncapping
forks. Both work, so use whatever
you prefer.
reMoVinG crystallizeD honey FroM
olD coMbs
I will open a hole in the center of
the top board (similar to the hole
in an inner cover) and place a four
frame nuc box or super on top of the
hive. Into this box I place a couple
of uncapped, crystallized frames of
honey. The number depends on how
strong the hive is. I then replace the
top cover.
In twenty hours or overnight the
colony reprocesses the crystallized
honey, turning it back into a liquid
state. The bees move those stores
down into the empty frames below.
So once those old combs are empty, I
will scrape off all the excess wax and
clean up the frames as nice as I can.
cleaninG olD FraMes
Next, I take out all the plastic foun-
dation and soak it in water over-
night. The following day I use a spray
nozzle on a hose and with hot water
under pressure clean the foundation.
I also sometimes use a car wash pres-
sure pump. I made a contraption to
hold the frames while washing them,
Nice, clean foundation after the hot pres-
sure washing.
otherwise they go flying all over the
place. If you plan on washing them at
the local car wash, be sure to ask the
management if it’s OK to do so. It can
be messy and some don’t like the po-
tential risk of wax debris clogging up
their car wash.
I also have an old washing machine
set up that I will sometimes pack full
of frames. Using hot water and home-
made soap, I’ll give ‘em a good wash.
They come out nice and clean that
way. After washing and cleaning the
foundation, I let it dry and get pre-
pared to wax it.
reaPPlyinG wax
Before setting up to rewax frames,
note that it’s best to use the cleanest
wax you can obtain. Wax acts like a
sponge and holds on to chemical resi-
dues. The beeswax that I use comes
only from the cappings I cut off dur-
ing extraction. When extracting, I will
keep these wax cappings separate
and render them later. I also strain my
wax and keep it from overheating, so
it stays nice and yellow. I will store it
in one pound containers, making it
handy to melt a block whenever I de-
cide to use some.
I use a small frying pan to heat the
wax, setting the temperature so the
wax is about to start sizzling. It has to
be fairly hot, otherwise it will go on
the foundation too thick, and you will
need a lot of wax. I use a sponge paint
roller (you can buy them at the dol-
lar store) about four inches wide. This
lets me do each side with two passes.
I usually do four sides (pressing very
lightly at first) before dipping the roll-
er back into the wax again.
1055
Getting everything ready to rewax the
foundation, so the bees draw it out
quickly.

The author working hives at one of the apiary locations. The Hutterite colony uses
approximately 1,000 lbs of honey annually, mainly for baking and canning.

Don’t worry about the foundation Jonathan Hofer

warping. It will warp a little when
you do the one side, but when you
flip it over and do the other side, it
will straighten out immediately. After
your waxing job is done, keep rolling
the roller on the sheets that you’ve
Melting the wax.
done already until the roller sponge
is nice and soft. Don’t throw it away;
you can use it again. Beautiful, eh?!
Now pop your foundation into the
frames and go stick them in a hive
full of bees. The next morning, take
a peek. Surprise, your recycled foun-
dation is built-out already! And that,
plus a good honey crops, makes me a
very happy beekeeper.
started keeping
bees in 2001. He
lives in a Hut-
terite colony in
Saskatchewan,
Canada, where
he manages the
50 hives for their large communal garden.
Growing up in the colony, he had the chance
to do numerous jobs as a youngster, includ-
ing carpentry, mechanical repair, welding,
and plumbing jobs, as well as side jobs like
taking care of livestock. Beekeeping is a lot
of work, but he finds it very enjoyable.

Rolling the melted wax onto the cleaned

foundation with a sponge roller.

The newly built out foundation. The bees

quickly draw out comb from these heav-
ily waxed frames of foundation.

1056 American Bee Journal

 Is Honeybee Democracy
Really Sociocracy?
O
ver the last few years, I have
been involved in a developing
cohousing community. The
concept of cohousing first started in
Denmark, but has now made its away
across the pond, first popping up in
the western U.S., and is now a fledg-
ling movement found in most of the
country. The idea is primarily one of
designing for something called “in-
tentional community.” At first glance
it appears to be something old (“it
takes a village”), but in the modern
world, it’s really something fairly
new. It is also not a commune nor
condominium, but has certain charac-
teristics of both.
To ensure the entity we design is
the community we want and that it
will prosper in the future, our com-
munity has recently gone deep into
the “weeds of governance” to see
what possibilities there are. The first
idea that comes to mind is to em-
ploy democratic governance to guide
the way. Who could argue with that
given U.S. history? Plenty of folks it
seems. First there are two kinds of
democracy, direct and representative.
The U.S. in fact is not a direct democ-
racy, nor is it what many might call a
“republic.” Many of the founding fa-
thers seemed to favor “representative
democracy.” No matter how you cut
it, however, human democracies cur-
rently have issues.
There’s an exciting book out, pub-
lished in 2010, that every beekeeper
should read. It’s called Honeybee De-
mocracy, written by Cornell Univer-
sity’s Thomas Seeley. In the prologue,
he writes: “We will examine the way
that several hundred of a swarm’s
oldest bees spring into action as nest-
site scouts and begin exploring the
countryside for dark crevices. We will
see how these house hunters evalu-
September 2018
by Malcolm T. Sanford
https://beekeep.info
ate the potential dwelling places they
find, advertise their discoveries to
their fellow scouts with lively dances;
debate vigorously to choose the best
nest site, then rouse the entire swarm
to take off; and finally pilot the cloud
of airborne bees to its home.”
The experimental details devel-
oped by Dr. Seeley along with some
of his collaborators are extremely cre-
ative. The results from a host of stud-
ies make a great case for understand-
ing how honeybees generally make
the wisest decisions. This is all the
more remarkable given the size of in-
dividual bees, which would seem to
set certain limits on their brain power
via a reduced number of potential
neurons.
In Chapter 10, Dr. Seeley discusses
“swarm smarts.” He states that al-
though honeybees should not neces-
sarily be followed as “gurus,” several
principles of their deliberations might
“raise the reliability of decision mak-
ing by human groups.” He looks at
these within the context of New Eng-
land town meetings, and comes up
with the following “lessons.”
1. Compose the Decision-Making
Group of Individuals with Shared
Interests and Mutual Respect
Humans rarely share a singularity
of purpose like the bees in a swarm,
so they are less inclined to be highly
cooperative when tackling a problem
together. One thing humans can do
is remind members at the outset of
a meeting that they in fact all have a
stake in the group’s welfare.
2. Minimize the Leader’s Influence on
the Group’s Thinking
One of the most striking features
of the swarm bees’ decision-making
is that it is perfectly democratic, one
where the power is evenly diffused
among all the scout bees in a swarm.
Thus, the swarm bees choose their
home without a leader integrating
information from different sources
or telling others what to do. Mimick-
ing the bees, a human group leader
should act as impartially as possible,
minimizing his or her influence on
the process.
3. Seek Diverse Solutions to the
Problem
The house-hunting process of a
honeybee swarm is open to the wid-
est possible array of choices, giving
the bees the best start in selecting liv-
ing quarters. Humans could also do
the following just like the bees do:
1) Ensure the group is sufficiently
large for the challenge and consists of
people with diverse backgrounds and
perspectives; 2) Foster independent
exploratory work and create a social
environment in which the group’s
members feel comfortable about pro-
posing solutions.
4. Aggregate the Group’s Knowledge
Through Debate
Most impressive about the bees’
social choices is the ability to distin-
guish good options from bad. This
arises from an ingenious balance be-
tween interdependence and indepen-
dence. In humans this can be fostered
by open and fair debate to integrate
information, encouraging good com-
munication among the group, and
ensuring that group members listen
critically, yet form their own opinions
and register views independently.
As a trained scientist, Dr. Seeley
continually looks for gaps and incon-
sistencies in his data. He also reflects
that honeybees are not humans, and
so in his epilogue, is not ready to de-
1057
clare that both species can be fully
compared:
“Unfortunately, it is difficult to
apply the honeybees’ lessons about
good democratic decision making to
groups composed of individuals with
strongly conflicting interests. In such
adversarial groups, individuals will
not behave like scout bees: totally
honest and reliably hardworking.
They are instead expected to issue lies
and act lazily when doing so provides
them with benefits even if doing so
degrades the group’s success. Nev-
ertheless, because many small demo-
cratic organizations are composed of
people with strongly overlapping in-
terests, I feel the lessons learned from
the house hunting bees have consid-
erable relevance to human affairs.”
Looking at cohousing groups in any
detail, one thing usually pops out.
There’s a lot of energy and thought
being put into a system of gover-
nance called “sociocracy.” Many hu-
man groups have indeed adopted it
wholesale with remarkable success.
As one wag put it, why do we need
another “...ocracy”? The answer is be-
cause sociocracy differs in ways lack-
ing in classical democracy that pro-
vide more opportunity for humans to
operate as suggested by Dr. Seeley in
his four lessons listed above.
The pioneers looking into another
“...ocracy” were heavily influenced
by the way Quakers made deci-
sions. Those societies were success-
ful because they were the product of
groups that worked closely together
for long periods, making decisions
based on consensus of the group.
What is required in many modern
governance situations, however, is
a method that can be implemented
“among strangers.” There are a great
many movements in human history
where the concept of “full consensus”
simply did not work as the organiz-
ers envisioned. The “Occupy Wall
Street” movement is a good example.
In conclusion, a new way for humans
to make decisions was needed.
Vintage engraving of a Quaker meeting
from the 18C.
1058
The key to developing this comes
from the field of cybernetics, the sci-
ence of effective organization, or
“how self-sustaining natural and me-
chanical systems govern themselves.”
And where does much of the wisdom
come from in cybernetics? From na-
ture, biology and of course that su-
perorganism, the honeybee colony. A
simpler way to describe this might be possible. All we can do, therefore, is
that honeybees have a much longer thank Dr. Seeley for his observations,
history on planet earth than humans. and the honeybees themselves for
Tens, perhaps hundreds of millions providing us a potentially better way
of years of evolution living together to make decisions.
(honeybees) will trump only a few The author drew heavily here
millions of years (humans) in terms of from We the People: Consenting to
developing effective self-governance. a Deeper Democracy, by John Buck
Study in cybernetics, therefore, has and Sharon Villines, 2017, Sociocracy.
provided more tools to use as part of info, 6827 Fourth St. Washington, DC
practicing sociocracy than are cur- 20012.
rently available in traditional human Post Script: As noted elsewhere,
democracy. These include feedback one of the powerful techniques in so-
loops, purpose, and especially aims. ciocracy is the concept that consent is
The latter are considered paramount “not consensus,” but “no objections.”
with the word “aim” being specifical- This provides important flexibility. In
ly something that is measurable and essence one can disagree vehemently,
can be exchanged or given to others. yet still have no objections and con-
Without these to organize a system, it sent can go forward.
will respond randomly, perhaps not An example here is the use of the
at all, and may simply cease to exist. word honeybee in Dr. Seeley’s work.
The three principles underlying so- Few entomologists would agree with
ciocracy are: this spelling, preferring instead the
use of two words. Some folks won’t
1. a different form of consensus; give an inch on this and have put it in
consent, defined as “no objec- writing. I too disagree, but it doesn’t
tions”; affect me to the point that I refuse to
2. deliberations in autonomous read the book or this causes me to
circles, rather than the usual doubt the validity of Dr. Seeley’s re-
top-down structure; search. Thus, I consent to his spelling
3. employment of double feed- honeybee in one word, laying aside
back loops or links among the my objections, and even decided
circles as ways to continually to use it throughout this article to
evaluate and refine the process. maintain continuity. Luckily the edi-
tor of ABJ agreed to the choice, even
All of the above brings into focus a though the magazine’s policy is to
final theme that sociocracy exploits, write it as two words as Apis mellifera
constant change. So-called “dynamic are true bees.
governance,” another term used for
sociocracy, provides much needed
flexibility as found in all biological
organisms, particularly the honeybee.
Extensive use of feedback loops pro-
vides the ability to shift quickly and
smoothly, even while continuing nec-
essary operations.
That brings us back to the central
question, is honeybee democracy re-
ally sociocracy? Indeed, the structure
appears to be much closer to the hon-
eybee version of democracy than that
practiced by humans. Let’s not forget
the eight-hundred-pound gorilla in
the room. The fact that this is written
by a human cannot be ignored. We
have no way to consult with our hon-
eybees. And the reverse is also not
American Bee Journal
 E. Suhre Bees
Package Bees available April and May

Queens available April through October

For information, pricing or ordering

call Eric (530) 228-3197

September 2018 1059

Beekeepers
the Generation
next
Goldenrod: A Source of Rubber
Thomas Edison & Henry Ford Attempt to Grow their own Tires
I
n the 1920s, two great American icons—Thomas
Edison and Henry Ford—grew concerned that
their supply of foreign rubber might disappear.
Without rubber, the Ford assembly line would screech
to a halt. The cars needed tires. So they joined up with
Harvey Firestone, who created the famous brand of
tires still available to this day to see what they could
dream up.
F
amous for his many inventions, Edison was at
heart a tinkerer and a botanist. Down in Fort
Myers, Florida, where both Ford & Edison had
estates, they started investigating domestic plants.
Many plants produce latex, which can be refined into
natural rubber. Over four years, Edison studied more
than 17,000 plants, growing a large selection at his es-
tate. He finally settled on humble goldenrod. Through
careful breeding and hybridization, Edison increased
1060
goldenrod’s natural latex produc-
tion from 5% to 12%. The black
and white photo shows Edison
on the left with the goldenrod he
developed. This goldenrod was
later named after him, Solidago
edisoniana.
A
lthough Edison filed and
was granted a patent
for his rubber extrac-
tion process from plants in 1927,
tires made from goldenrod never
rolled on our streets. Edison died A jar of latex in
on October 18th, 1931 and re- Edison’s lab
search into goldenrod rubber continued for another five
years after his death. During World War II, scientists de-
veloped a synthetic process for rubber and so domestic
rubber production from natural resources ground to a
halt. Nevertheless, the collaboration of Edison, Ford and
Firestone represents a major advance in modern research
on producing materials from renewable resources.
W
hile we associate these three men with great
inventions, they loved to camp together, call-
ing themselves vagabonds. When camping in
Maryland near a waterfall, they were disappointed to see
that a group of boys had the premium spot. So they of-
fered them $10 if the boys would set up camp elsewhere.
Why would they leave behind the luxury of their homes
for the wilderness? They wanted to embrace nature, to
“cheerfully endure wet, cold, smoke, mosquitoes, black
flies, and sleepless nights, just to touch naked reality
once more.”
To learn more about their outdoor adventures, visit the
Department of Natural Resources:
http://dnr.maryland.gov/Pages/md-conservation-
history/TravelersPart5.aspx
American Bee Journal
 Goldenrod Tea
Young goldenrod leaves are edible and make a good
substitute for French tarragon. Native to the Americas,
goldenrod has been used for centuries as a natural remedy.
Native Americans chewed the leaves to help relieve sore
throats and toothaches. An herbal tea can be made from
the flowers.

TO DRY THE FLOWERS:

Collect the flower heads. Spread the flower heads out

on a clean cloth or paper towels. Break up any large
clumps with your fingers, so they form a single layer.
Depending on the humidity in your area, drying may
take a few days to a week. Once completely dry, store
in an airtight mason jar.

TO MAKE THE TEA:

Use 1 tablespoon of dried flowers or 2 tablespoons FOR MORE GOLDENROD RECIPES:

of fresh flowers per cup of hot water. Steep for 15-20
minutes, then strain out the flowers and sip. Best Visit The Nerdy Farm Wife:
enjoyed sweetened with honey. https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/foraging-using-goldenrod/

The Farm Animals Need Attention

Help Each Child Find the Way

September 2018 1061

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1062 American Bee Journal

 Notes
The Latest Bee Science Distilled
M
ost beekeepers probably
think they know where
their honey comes from. For
example, when goldenrod blooms
around the Dyce Lab in upstate New
York in September, I’m pretty sure
that’s what my bees are visiting and
turning into “goldenrod honey.” Dur-
ing apple bloom in May, it’s “apple
blossom honey.” In November and
December in New Zealand, it’s “ma-
nuka honey.”
But what do we really know?
How much goldenrod nectar is ac-
tually in “goldenrod honey?” How
much manuka nectar is in “manuka
honey?” And are we naïve to think
Valerio Joe Utzeri, lead author, sampling a honey for DNA metabarcoding analysis.
September 2018
from the Lab:
that bees are only collecting plant
nectar to make honey? What about
other sources of sugar, such as hon-
eydew from insects? These are the
topics for our tenth “Notes from the
Lab,” where we highlight “Entomo-
logical signatures in honey: an en-
vironmental DNA metabarcoding
approach can disclose information
on plant-sucking insects in agricul-
tural and forest landscapes,” written
by Valerio Utzeri and colleagues and
published in the journal Scientific Re-
ports [8:9996 (2018)].
The question of where honey
comes from is not new. In fact, there’s
a longstanding field of study on the
by Scott McArt
topic called melissopalynology (from
the Greek words meli and mellisa,
meaning “honey” and “bee,” and pal-
ynology, the “study of pollen”). Me-
lissopalynologists spend lots of time
at the microscope looking for pollen
grains in honey. Those pollen grains,
which are picked up by accident as
the bee forages for nectar, provide
clues to the honey’s origin, since pol-
lens from different plants can look
very different.
But mellisopalynology is not an ex-
act science. Sometimes pollens from
different plant species look similar
under the microscope. Also, because
bees accidentally pick up different
amounts of pollen at different plant
species, it’s difficult to estimate exact-
ly how much nectar a particular plant
species contributes to the honey. And
to be honest, it is a little odd to focus
on pollen while trying to figure out
where the nectar comes from. Why
not just look at the honey directly?
Recently, major improvements in
DNA sequencing allow us to look di-
rectly at honey to infer its origins. In
fact, the whole field of palynology is
going through a bit of an upheaval as
DNA metabarcoding stands to replace
traditional palynology approaches.
But what new insights can these me-
tabarcoding methods provide? This
is the question Utzeri and colleagues
were interested in pursuing.
For their study, Utzeri and col-
leagues purchased 13 different hon-
eys from Italy, France and Eastern Eu-
rope. They extracted DNA from the
honeys, amplified the DNA by a pro-
cess called PCR, then sequenced the
1063

One of the jars of honey the scientists analyzed.
PCR products (essentially lots of cop-
ies of the original DNA) with a new
DNA sequencing technology. Then
the real work began. Because the new
sequencing technology yields lots
and lots of data, the authors spent
lots and lots of time putting the DNA
puzzle together. They assembled the
DNA sequences from the honey and
checked them against known DNA
sequences from plants and animals.
So what did they find? Is honey
coming from where beekeepers
think it’s coming from? To a large
degree, yes. For example, “chestnut
blossom honey” had 66% of its DNA
sequences match with the plant ge-
nus that includes chestnut. “Acacia
honey” (produced from the Robinia
pseudoacacia tree, known in the US
as black locust) had 41% of its DNA
sequences match with acacia. “Apple
blossom honey” had 35% of its DNA
sequences match with the plant fam-
ily that includes apple. And “honey-
dew honey” – honey that bees sup-
posedly collect from the sugary frass
(i.e., poop) of insects such as aphids
– did indeed have DNA sequences
match with aphids and other sap-
feeding insects.
But there was also an interesting
surprise. It wasn’t just the “honey-
dew honey” that had sap-feeding
insect DNA. In fact, all of the honeys
had sap-feeding insect DNA, includ-
ing the 5 “honeydew honeys” and 8
“blossom honeys.”
Wait, does that mean lots of hon-
ey is actually comprised of insect
poop, not plant nectar? That’s prob-
1064
ably correct. While it’s not possible
to say exactly how much insect frass
was in the honeys, the quantity of
sap-feeding insect DNA was often
very high, sometimes even higher
in “blossom honeys” compared to
“honeydew honeys.” In addition,
many of the honeys had DNA from a
large diversity of sap-feeding insects.
For example, “apple blossom honey”
contained DNA from 14 sap-feeding
insects. The French “wildflower hon-
ey” contained DNA from no fewer
than 17 sap-feeding insects! These re-
sults are really fascinating since they
suggest honey bees are not just forag-
ing at flowers when they look for sug-
ar. Indeed, every single honey tested
by the authors probably contained
sugary sap-feeding insect frass.
What about quantity? We still
can’t tell exactly how much nectar
is coming from particular plants
(or animals) with the metabarcod-
ing approach? Unfortunately, that’s
correct. Just like traditional melisso-
palynology, metabarcoding still isn’t
quantitative. And this is a very inter-
esting topic for both fundamental and
applied reasons.
For example, I’m sure you’re curi-
ous to know how much insect poop
is in your honey. But on a more prac-
tical level, sometimes it’s important
to know how much nectar is com-
ing from a particular origin, for ex-
ample in the case of manuka honey.
Beekeepers in New Zealand can sell
their honey for a much higher price
when it’s comprised of more nectar
from the manuka plant. And this is
major money we’re talking about!
Last time I was in New Zealand, it
was common to see small 500 g jars
of “high percentage” manuka honey
being sold for over $200. So how do
we know that the honey contains a
“high percentage” of manuka? There
are some markers used to define ma-
nuka honey based on purity, allowing
packers to export it as mono or mul-
tifloral manuka honey. Unfortunately,
there’s still a fair amount of uncer-
tainty due to the limitations with me-
tabarcoding, melissopalynology and
other chemical methods.
With the rapid improvements in
DNA sequencing technology nowa-
days, this is a topic to keep tabs on
if it interests you. There are several
labs working to improve metabarcod-
ing methods, and in the process, the
quality of information for beekeepers
and regulatory agencies. For my part,
I’m pretty curious to know whether
a large portion of the honey I eat is
from insect poop.
Until next time, bee well and do
good work,
Scott McArt
reFerence:
Utzeri, V. J., G. Schiavo, A. Ribani, S. Tin-
arelli, F. Bertolini, S. Bovo and L. Fon-
tanesi. 2018. Entomological signatures in
honey: an environmental DNA metabar-
coding approach can disclose information
on plant-sucking insects in agricultural
and forest landscapes. Scientific Reports
8: 9996. http://www.nature.com/articles/
s41598-018-27933-w
Scott McArt, an As-
sistant Professor of
Pollinator Health,
helps run the Dyce
Lab for Honey Bee
Studies at Cornell
University in Ithaca,
New York. He is par-
ticularly interested in
scientific research that can inform manage-
ment decisions by beekeepers, growers and
the public.
Email: shm33@cornell.edu
Lab website: blogs.cornell.edu/mcartlab
Pollinator Network: pollinator.cals.cornell.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/dycelab
American Bee Journal

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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING-Net price $1.00 per word per insertion. Initials, letters as in street address, counted as individual words. No advertisement accepted for less than 10
words. Payable cash in advance. Blind Classified 10% additional. (A blind ad is one in which responses are addressed to the ABJ and then forwarded to the advertiser.) Extreme care
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September 2018
American Bee Journal
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black locust-limited supply), white honey, melter
honey, filtered, new drums, excellent honey -
f.o.b. several loads available. Produced by Bald-
win Apiaries, Darlington, WI (608) 776-3700.
1065
Very nice looking & good tasting Nebraska
bottling honey. (402) 319-5125.
CLOVER – Buckwheat, Orange, Tupelo, and
Wildflower – pails or drums. PURE SWEET
HONEY FARM, 514 Commerce Parkway,
Verona, Wisconsin 53593. (608) 845-9601.
Clover, Basswood, Wildflower honey available in
drums in WI. Great tasting! Light beeswax avail-
able. Call (262) 689-1000.
Honey and beeswax for sale. Clover, Orange
Blossom, Wildflower. Many varietals available.
Smitty Bee Honey (712) 748-4292.
PREMIUM HONEYS – Summer: Michigan
Blueberry, Thistle (Knapweed) – excellent for
creamed honeys, plus FL premium fall pepper
and FL spring orange blossom honeys. Call Ed
(231) 408-7485. Email: edeisele@gmail.com
QUALITY HONEY, barrels, your buckets.
Hollenbeck, Kirksville, Missouri. (660) 665-2542
evenings.
Viet Nam, Indian and Brazilian
honey for sale in bulk. Beeswax and
bee pollen in bulk. Please call 908-
967-1484. Email: info@Sarahimpex.
com
Premium Michigan Honey from blueberries,
wildflowers and thistle. Selling by truck load.
Call Cory at 269.217.4404.
HONEY AND
BEESWAX WANTED
HONEY WANTED—Extracted or comb.
LEIGHTON’S HONEY, INC., 1203 Commerce
Ave. Haines City, Florida 33844. (863) 422-1773.
FAX (863) 421-2299
HONEY WANTED– all grades. Also, honey
barrels for sale. Contact Pure Sweet Honey Farm
Inc., 514 Commerce Parkway, Verona, WI. (608)
845-9601.
Round comb, Fresh, good tasting
Pollen, Varietal Honeys. 800-678-1226.
tasty@zspecialtyfood.com
HONEY PRICE UPDATES. Call Honey
Hot Line. (763) 658-4193.
ROYAL JELLY
BEST 100% PURE FRESH ROYAL JELLY.
$65.00 per kilo + shipping. HIGHEST PO-
TENCY. LOWEST PRICES guaranteed on
large orders. TOP QUALITY. Stakich, Inc.
248-642-7023 X 301
POLLEN
QUALITY, CLEAN, LOW MOISTURE POL-
LEN $5.50/lb. Min. 10 lbs. + shipping. LOW-
EST PRICES guaranteed for large orders.
Stakich, Inc. Phone 248-642-7023 X 301
Fresh 2018 Northern California raw bulk pollen
available. Available raw uncleaned and semi-dried
and cleaned. Call for pricing at (916) 224-2211.
Fresh California pollen. Spring blend of wildflow-
ers. Selling in bulk and shipping available to 50
states. Cleaned, dried and frozen or raw. Call for
pricing (916) 956-8869.
POLLINATION
Bees wanted for the Almonds. Art Harris, 6301
Victor St. #63, Bakersfield, CA 93308 (661) 444-
1470.
1066
Almond Pollination 2019 - We are looking for
over 4,000 additional hives for the 2019 season.
Wintering yards with full service maintenance,
feeding and medication. We have trucks, fork-
lifts and crew to place hives in orchard. You are
paid 50% on February 25th and 50% April 20th.
Visit:www.almondbeepollination.com for more
details. California Almond Pollination Service,
Inc. (209) 202-8915. E Mail: steve@almondbee.
buzz
Outstanding Beekeepers wanted for long term
California almond pollination contracts. The Pol-
lination Connection. Contact us at 877-970-2337
(BEES) or info@pollinationconnection.com
BEES AND QUEENS
JERRY FOSTER QUEENS quality Carniolan and
hybrid Italian queens at competitive prices. Nucs
and packages also. Jerry Foster Apiaries, 937 9th
St., Colusa, CA 95932. Phone (530) 458-4234.
Pacific Northwest mated queens. Orders of 50 or
more. Treasure Valley Idaho. Call for Pricing, Jon
@ (208) 412-1092. www.goldenbeeinc.com
QUALITY QUEENS from HAWAII, available
year round. Call KARRUS QUEENS (808)
854-5308.
3 lb Packages Bees for sale, for pick up in
Wisconsin. Contact: Mark Gilberts Apiaries 608-
482-1988.
Let us put bees into your equipment with enough
time to feed them up for the almonds. May be
willing to do the feeding. Also, willing to fill your
equipment in the spring. Call Rick Riggs (661)
204-2631.
Doubles, singles, brood for sale
year round. FOB Jan-April, Oak-
dale, CA. April-Dec., Milton Freewa-
ter, OR. Queens less than 6 months,
great equipment. Ryan@sweetbee
honeyco.com (360) 907-0842. $5k min.
purchase.
Early-bird pricing for 2018. Italian & Russian
Hybrid package bees, queens and nucs. Pick
up in KY, ship to 5 zones. Web: www.school
housebees.com Pails of honey for sale year-
around. School House Bees (859) 356-1350.
NUCS & QUEENS – shipping available.
NorthFloridaBees@mail.com 850-661-8077
Cisneros & Sons Honey Bees is now taking or-
ders for 2018, Italians and Carniolan queen bees.
Available April to September. Call or email
David Cisneros (530) 592-7762. alex-cisneros@
live.com
Northern California Queens – Good Quality
Bred Italians. Call Jake: (530) 517-0359.
Marked Queens - 25 minimum order, tested
on full size deep frames - Breeders selected
from our most productive hives-$28 per queen
+ UPS overnight. outwestapiary@gmail.com
(530) 908 1311.
WILD SURVIVOR BREEDER QUEENS
NW Feral Stock - Hardy - Hygienic
Mite Tolerant - Disease Resistant.
– OLYMPIC WILDERNESS APIARY
Isolated Yards – (360) 928-3125. www.
wildernessbees.com
Singles or doubles for sale mostly new equipment
with Kona Queens, 661-204-2632.
WANTED
Honey and Beeswax wanted. All colors and
varietals. Send samples or call Smitty Bee Honey
(712) 748-4292.
HELP WANTED
Full time position available in Oregon. Bee-
keeping experience and CDL required. Contact
Ryan@sweetbeehoneyco.com PO Box 558,
Milton Freewater, OR 97862 (360)907-0842.
Seasonal and full-time help needed at our migratory
bee operation. We are located in FL and WI. We
do pollination, queen rearing and honey production.
Some experience preferred, team environment,
wages dependent on experience, good opportunity
or advancement. Prior work history and references
required. Contact Gary at (262) 689-1000.
Olivarez Honey Bees/Big Island Queens is seek-
ing motivated beekeepers to join our Hawaii
team! Experience preferred. Self-motivator and
ability to work in a team environment a plus. Po-
sitions are full time, salary based on experience.
Great Benefits Package. Prior work history and
references required. Advancement opportunities
available. Submit resume to info@ohbees.com
or Olivarez Honey Bees Inc/Big Island Queens,
P O Box 847 Orland Ca 95963, Fax: 530-865-
5570, Phone 530-865-0298
MISCELLANEOUS
The AMERICAN BEEKEEPING FEDERA-
TION has many benefits to offer its members.
Send for a membership packet of information
today! We also offer a free Beginning Beekeeping
Packet. Contact the AMERICAN BEEKEEPING
FEDERATION, 3525 Piedmont Rd. NE, Bld. 5.
Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30305-1509, Phone (404)
760-2875, Fax 404-240-0998, or email info@
abfnet.org.
HONEY BEE INSEMINATION SERVICE
Susan Cobey - Instrumental Insemination Spe-
cialized Equipment, Consulting, Training,
Custom Service honeybeeinsemination.com
scobey@mac.com Tel. 360-969-9441.
LOCATIONS
California, overwinter coastal locations for rent.
Good areas. Call for availability. (805) 314-7750.
PERIODICALS
L’ABEILLE DE FRANCE—The most important
of the monthly publications in France - for all
beekeepers, from the amateurs to the professional.
Each month: an article for beginners, reports from
specialists, a review of the latest information all
over the world. Ask for a sample Annual subscrip-
tion: 40$ US. ABEILLE DE FRANCE- 5, rue du
Copenhague-F 75008 PARIS.
THE AUSTRALASIAN BEEKEEPER—
Senior Beekeeping Journal of the Southern
Hemisphere. Complete coverage of all bee-
keeping topics in one of the world’s largest
beekeeping countries. Published by Pender
Beekeeping Supplies Pty. Ltd., “Bilga” 79 Nay-
lor Road, Urila, N.S.W. 2620, Australia. Annual
subscription paid in advance $160 AUD.
THE AUSTRALIAN BEE JOURNAL—
Caters to both amateur and commercial
apiarists. Subscription $120.00 Australian
currently for all overseas subscribers per annum.
Published monthly. Victorian Apiarists’ Asso-
ciation, Inc., P.O. Box 40, California Gully,Vic.
Australia 3556 Ph: 03 5446 1543, Email:
vaa@vicbeekeepers.com.au.
BEECRAFT The UK’s leading monthly beekeep-
ing magazine. View a digital copy and subscribe on
line at www.bee-craft.com.
DIE BIENE – ALLGEMEINE DEUTSCHE IM-
KERZEITUNG (ADIZ) – IMKERFREUND The
Bee magazines with special publications in bee
science and management for the hobbyist as well
as for the sideliner and professional beekeeper.
Three regional titles but same content today for
Germany except partly Imkerfreund for Bavaria.
Monthly publications with 64 pages. Subscription
Euro 44.50 per year – Deutscher Landwirtschafts-
verlag GmbH, Postfach 870324, 13162 Berlin, Tel.
+49(0)30/293974-87, Fax +49(0) 30/293974-59,
www.diebiene.de
American Bee Journal
HIVELIGHTS, National magazine of the Cana-
dian Honey Council. Published quarterly. Free
sample on request, write to Canadian Honey
Council, Suite 236, 234-5149 Country Hills
Blvd. NW, Calgary AB T3A 5K8, CANADA.
Subscription information available at www.
honeycouncil.ca.
HONEYBEE NEWS, The Journal of the New
South Wales Apiarists’ Association, Inc., Inter-
national Subscription AUS$50.00 (Airmail) Bank
Draft, Visa or MasterCard payable to NSW AA.
Published bi-monthly—For more information
contact: The Editor, PO Box 352, Leichhardt
NSW 2040 Australia. E-mail: honeybee@
accsoft.com.au
IBRA (the International Bee Research Associa-
tion) is a unique organization established in 1949
for the advancement of bee science and beekeep-
ing. It publishes two magazines: JAR – the Jour-
nal of Apiculture Research, for scientists, and BW
- Bee World, for beekeepers who want broaden
their horizons by learning about other beekeeping
traditions, other bees, other ideas. Members chose
which magazine(s) to include in their membership.
IBRA is a vital bridge between the local (hive)
and global concerns. IBRA is registered under UK
charity law (Office: 91 Brinsea Road, Congresbury,
Bristol, BS49 5JJ, UK) www.ibrabee.org.uk
IRISH BEEKEEPING—Read An Beachaire
(The Irish Beekeeper). Published monthly. Sub-
scription $50.00 per annum post free. Dermot
O’Flaherty, Journal Manager, Rosbeg, Westport,
Co. Mayo, Ireland
ATTENTION LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS—
Ranch Magazine is your monthly information
guide for Angora, Cashmere and meat goats, as
well as sheep and cattle. Comprehensive Breeder
Directory. 1-Yr $27, 2-Yrs $54. Foreign & South Florida
Canada add $36 per yr. postage. Subscribe today!
Box 2678-ABJ, San Angelo, TX 76902. Call for
Bees-N-Honey
free sample. (325) 655-4434 18299 Clearbrook Circle
THE SCOTTISH BEEKEEPER—Monthly Maga- Boca Raton, FL 33498
zine of the Scottish Beekeeper’s Association. Inter- Queens and Nucs
national in appeal, Scottish in character. View back
numbers and Subscription rates at: http://scottish available for sale
beekeepers.org.uk For information and pricing
SOUTH AFRICAN BEE JOURNAL—The offi- please call, text or fax.
cial organ of the S.A. Federation of Bee Farmers’
Associations. Published Bimonthly in English and Credit cards accepted.
Afrikaans, primarily devoted to the African and Phone: (561) 715-5715
Cape Bee races. Subscriptions incl. postage (six
copies). All subscribers outside of South Africa Fax: (561) 423-0304
R100-00 surface mail, payment to be made in
S.A. Rands. NB. Sample copies only available
on receipt of a donation. P.O. Box 41 Modder-
fontein, 1645, South Africa.
ULADAG BEE JOURNAL - Publication of
Uludag Beekeeping Association, published quar-
terly in Turkish (with English titles and summa-
ries of all articles) and English in all aspects of
beekeeping; beekeeping news, practical beekeep-
ing, and research articles, and considered a link
between Turkish beekeeping and the world. Gazci-
lar Cad. No. 9/2 16220 Bursa-TURKEY Fax:+90
224 224 3964 http://www.uludagaricilik.org.tr

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September 2018 1067


A.N. Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 984
A & G Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059
A & O Forklift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 960
Acorn Beekeeping Equip. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1003
American Bee Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028
American Honey Producers . . . . . . . . . . . . 974
Bastin Honey Bee Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1056
Bee Box Wraps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1033
BeeCulture.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1070
Bee Excellent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069
Bee Hive Thermal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 992
BeeInformed.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 984
Beekeepingins.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1071
Beeline Apiaries & Woodenware . . . . . . 1040
Beelite Wax Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1044
Bee Smart Designs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006
BetaTec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1044
Betterbee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 996
BL Plastic Containers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059
Blue Ridge Honey Company . . . . . . . . . . . 982
Blue Sky Bee Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 964
Brand New Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . 1001
Brown Honey Co. Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1048
Browning Cut Stock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1044
Brumley Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 991
Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. . . . . . . . . . . 1021
Bucko Gloves, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1020
Buzz’s Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1026
CC Pollen Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
Complete Bee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028
Contract Pros Mfg.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
Cook & Beals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1044
Cowen Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
Dadant & Sons, Inc.961, 1001, 1044, 1047, 1059
1067, 1069, 1074 & Back Cover
Dakota Gunness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966
Draper’s Super Bee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069
EasyOnHiveCovers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1034
Ernst Seeds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1022
1068
Advertising Index
Globalpatties.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 985
GloryBee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 968
Hardeman Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1027
HarrisHoneyBees.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966
Hawaiian Queen Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 991
Heilyser Technology Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982
Heitkams Honey Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1022
Hilbert’s Honey Bees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1043
Hogg Halfcomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1048
Honey B Healthy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069
Horace Bell Honey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028
JJ’s Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982
KingBee Apiaries & Pollination . . . . . . . . 991
Koehnen, C.F. & Sons, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . 1040
Kona Queen Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986
Lohman Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 991
M & N Apiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1064
Mann Lake Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 968, 1068
Maxant Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059
Meyers, A.H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1004
Miller Bee Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967
Misco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967
Mother Lode Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1027
Nod Apiary Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993
Old Sol Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1058
Olivarez Honey Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1012
OxaVap.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1034
Park-Burris Queens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982
Pendell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067
Pierco.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1002
Plastic Packaging Concept. . . . . . . . . . . . . 981
Powell Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1010
Princeton University Press. . . . . . . . . . . . 1022
Queen Right Colonies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1001
QSI Honey and Food Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . 1022
R.M. Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1043
Resilience Apiary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 991
Roberts Bee Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1004
Ross Rounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021
Rossman Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1026
Sanders Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006
Selby Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966
Shastina Millwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 962
Sherriff, B.J. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1039
Simpson’s Bee Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067
South East Bee Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1011
South Florida Bees-N-Honey. . . . . . . . . . 1067
South Georgia Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006
Spell Bee Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
Stan’s Pure Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028
Stayer’s Quality Queens . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1034
Strachan Apiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967
Strong Microbials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1048
Suhre, Adam Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 992
Suhre, E. Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059
Superior Bee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1048
Swienty Beekeeping Equipment . . . . . . . 1039
Taber’s Honey Bee Genetics . . . . . . . . . . 1044
Texas Insurance & Financial . . . . . . . . . . 1069
Tree’s for Bees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067
T.R.S. Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1048
VetoPharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975
Vidalia Apicultural Services . . . . . . . . . . 1034
VP Queen Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1048
Weaver, R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069
Western Bee Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 958
Wicwas Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1020
Wilbanks Apiaries Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 974
Wintersun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982
Wooten’s Queens and Bees, Inc. . . . . . . . 1069
Wraith Scarlett & Randolph, Insurance . . . 976
Z Specialty Food, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982
Z’s Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067
American Bee Journal
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Global inquiries welcome.

September 2018 1069

1070 American Bee Journal
March 2018 1071