New tools for bee mite identification, here’s the bee informed partnership post:

• https://beeinformed.org/2016/11/07/new-web-based-tool-for-fast-identification-of-bee-mites/

Example image from USDA’s Identification Technology Program (ITP)

And a direct link:

• http://idtools.org/id/mites/beemites/index.php

Happy Mite Identification!

Wasatch Beekeepers Association Top Bar Hive Plans

For the originals go to:

http://www.wasatchbeekeepers.com

and search for ‘top bar plans’ or see images copied below.

These plans from the Wasatch Beekeepers Association in Utah, by David Bench are extremely well drawn with clear dimensions and steps outlined right on the diagram.  They also take into account using standard sized lumber, and bars that match the length of Langstroth hives–a consideration that can prove very useful in a mixed hive-style apiary or when sharing bees with friends using different equipment.

Though our design has been slightly modified from these, they were a great starting point. We don’t use their legs, feeder, or top bar designs, preferring rather to simply cut a hole in the back of the hive for a standard boardman feeder to slide into (though we no longer feed our bees…see research on www.wncqbc.com regarding feeding issues).  We’ve also modified the window design to create more of a light trap to prevent sunlight from coming into the cracks around the window opening by using glass the full length of the side, also eliminating the need to cut a hole out of one solid piece of wood.  This is easier and allows for smaller lumber to be used just cut two full length boards with grooves to hold the window in place.

For the top bar, we’ve found simply cutting an 1/8″ shallow groove down the center of the top bars is adequate eliminating several passes on the table saw for each bar.

A big thanks to David Bench and the Wasatch Beekeepers Association for publishing these hive plans!

While it would be easy to draw that conclusion from these inaccurate assumptions:

• people aren’t going to eat it
• it doesn’t even have flowers, bees won’t get hurt right?
• it’s not like we’re spraying anything

Here’s the problem:

• If those deer get shot and eaten, humans will likely receive low-dose pesticide exposure, and research is now turning up that shows neonicotinoid insecticides causing problems for human health: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jennifer-sass/neonicotinoid-pesticides-bad-bees-and-may-be-bad-people-too
• In spite of not ‘flowering’ Honey Bees and other wild pollinators consume corn pollen.  Just walk into a field while the tassels are out and you’ll see.
• Neonicotinoid pre-treated corn seed is coated with a pesticide that is absorbed into the plant as it grows, and winds up in every part of the plant, the pollen, the fruit, the leaves, so although there’s no chance of ‘over spray’ and less of a chance of acute poisoning due to direct exposure to the pesticide (except by inhalation when seeding) any insect that comes into contact with part of the plant will be exposed to the insecticide, and it’s now been shown that very low ‘sub-lethal’ concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides are harmful to honey bees:
  • http://www.nature.com/articles/srep32108
  • http://phys.org/news/2015-02-neonicotinoid-insecticides-impair-bee-brains.html
  • http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-011-0881-1

What the bigger picture?  Honey bees alone are given credit for pollinating one third of all food consumed by humans.  These insecticides are directly impacting pollinator’s ability to survive.  Without pollination, the global food system is at risk–our ability to feed humanity is at risk.

New York Times:Decline of Pollinators Poses Threat to World Food Supply, Report Says

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/science/decline-of-species-that-pollinate-poses-a-threat-to-global-food-supply-report-warns.html

Another article worth reading from Randy Oliver’s scientificbeekeeping.com:

http://scientificbeekeeping.com/does-the-crushing-of-bees-affect-colony-health/

He poses the question, found in the URL above, “Since I couldn’t find a single controlled study in which the effects of the crushing of bees in the hive was clearly determined, I decided to use some of your donations to run a trial…”  and the short answer to his bit of direct research is ‘yes, in winter’.

Control colonies with no crushed bees were stronger after the study ended than colonies where bees were crushed.  Colony strength only diverged in the winter however…