Honeybee Health Facts

Beautiful bees having a feast! Notice the pollen baskets!

As spring is finally taking hold in my neck of the wood, many articles throughout the world have been written regarding the health of the honey bee population on the planet.

You may have read or heard about  the European Commission which will enact a 2 year ban on a class of pesticides, called neonicotinoids, starting December 1st. 2013. Bayer CropScience, the German company and Syngenta a Swiss biomedical company develop and produce many of the pesticides and fertilizers that are used in agriculture throughout the world today.

It is true that the total number of managed honeybee colonies has declined from 5 million in the 1940's to about 2.5 million today. (ARS) In the meantime the need for pollination services has increased tremendously. Therefore the colonies of bees have to travel (or be transported) over longer distance and probably more often to cover all the crops, adding potential  stress.

In the 1980's, the US had seen a sharp decline in the health of the honey bee due mainly to pests and pathogens. Then 10 years later, the Varroa mite made its grand entrance via Asia, exacerbating the losses in the USA.

In 2006-07 the population of bee loss was: 32%,  2007-08: 36%, 2008-09: 29%, 2009-10: 34% and 2010-11: 30% , 2011-12 : 21.9% * It was overall a warmer winter in the US, but there is absolutely no scientific evidence or research between warmer weather and CCD  (are.usda.gov). The Bee Informed Partnership (http://beeinformed.org), in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is releasing preliminary results for the seventh annual national survey of honey bee colony losses,  2012-13: 31.1%

Another potential problem, beside pests and pathogens is the increased use of systemic insecticides, which get into the pollen and nectar of plants.  When properly used, the systemics are likely a blessing for bees, but comb sampling suggests that they are sometimes problematic.  Judy Wu (2011) studied the effects of the toxic stew of miticides and systemic insecticides in commercial brood combs upon bee larval mortality and development, and adult longevity.  Not surprisingly, the brood and bees suffered.  Wu concluded, “Combined effects from honey bee exposure to pesticide residue in brood comb … may contribute to reduced honey bee colony health, as affected queens and worker bees are unable to meet the demand for brood production and resources needed to sustain large colony populations.”

In addition, both Judy Wu and other scientists have unpublished data which suggest that pesticide residues may make bees more susceptible to nosema, viruses, and Varroa.  The above findings may help  explain why colonies run in commercial pollination are so hard to keep alive!  It is also true, that  commercial beekeepers have seen their  colonies go downhill after being exposed to the plethora of pesticides used in agriculture.  A  problem that cannot be ignore is that the residues remain in the combs, affecting the next generations of bees when beekeepers restock their dead-outs.  Queen failures are also commonplace these days. (Scientific Beekeeping, R. Oliver)

Something interesting to note: In Europe regarding bee decline; data before 2008 can't be compared because each country did not used the same method of compilation. In France 2010-11 the bee loss was 17-22%, and it is also important to say that Gaucho a neonicotinoid (imidacloprid) has been ban on sunflowers since 1999.

However since 2008, the bee protection organization call COLOSS, compared surveys of honeybee losses in 2009 and 2010 in Europe with the rates of neonicotinoid application in the same areas, and in separate survey. They found no correlation. In countries experiencing bee decline, Varroa is feared even if necotinoids are absent! In France, it has been found that bee decline in mountainous areas are similar to those losses on agricultural land, although neonics are commonly used in the latter but not in the former,  explains Dr. Cythia Scott-Dupree, Professor and Associate Chair of Environmental Biology MSC, PhD at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The upland areas of Switzerland, is another example where the neonicotinoids are not used and again the bee population is under significant pressure from the mites (Varroa).
On the other hand, where Varroa mites are not present like...in Australia, the bee population is thriving even when neonicotinoids are widespread in agriculture. Seed dressing products are being used in the field in Europe  and in the US but in Australia, the seeds are usually mixed within an enclose space, perhaps decreasing the potential for bee and environment exposure, reports Raj Bhula, program manager--Australia Pesticides & Veterinary medicines Authority, CropLife Australia.

I have to mention that some pesticides are long-lived and persistent in the environment. For instance the pyrethroid pesticides are found in the wax of most hives that are place in agricultural fields. Neonicotinoids are generally found in stored pollen and nectar within the hive. A team of researchers at Pennsiylvania State University (J. Frazier, C. Mullin, M. Frazier, S. Ashcraft)  "concluded that the 98 pesticides and metabolites detected in mixtures up to 214 ppm in bee pollen alone represented a remarkably high level for toxicants in the food of brood and adults. While exposure to many of these neurotoxicants elicits acute and sublethal reductions in honey bee fitness, the effects of these materials in combinations and their direct involvement in CCD remain to be determined."

It does not however diminish the concern that beekeepers are very troubled about pesticide exposures that don't kill the bees outright, but may affect their ability to thrive. The bee industry as a whole is very worried about several classes of insecticides, some fungicides and growth regulators that may impair the bee's immune system, causing queen and/or brood failure, compromising homing ability of foragers and/or disturbing communications within the hive...all of which seem to contribute to colony loss. Therefore the American beekeepers "strongly urge the EPA to re-evaluate these compounds long term using tier testing protocols that can give us the answers we need to mitigate losses."

In October 2012 in Virginia, the National Honey Bee Health Stakeholder Conference Steering Committee met to discuss  the best way to help coordinate a federal response to address the new phenomenon called: Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD),  described by the sudden and widespread disappearances of adult honey bees from beehives in the U.S.

The report on the National Stakeholders Conference on Bee Health is now  available to the public  to download. It contains a lot of pertinent information. I recommend reading it. (http://www.usda.gov/documents/ReportHoneyBeeHealth.pdf)

The conclusion of this report is as follows:

• Honey bee health decline is due to "complex" multiple factors/sterssors: viruses, varroa mites, poor nutrition, diseases, pesticides, lack of habitat and foraging, and cultural practices by beekeepers.

• Overall losses continue to be high and pose a serious threat to meeting pollination service demands for several commercial crops.

• European Union placed restrictions on 3 specific neonicotinoids insecticides: Clothianidin, Imidacloprid and Thiametoxan, which will take effect on December 1, 2013.

• The US will let science drive the outcome of their decisions. "It is important to get the science correct. There are non trivial costs to society if we get this wrong" said Jim Jones the agency's acting assistant administrator for chemical safety and pollution prevention.

• To keep in mind: Pesticide products provide a lot of benefits to farmers, and to consumers...for one, affordable food in the United States. 

The stakeholders:

 National Honey Bee Health Stakeholder Conference Steering Committee
USDA Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP) David Epstein
Pennsylvania State University, Department of Entomology James L. Frazier
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Mary Purcell-Miramontes
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Kevin Hackett
USDA Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) Robyn Rose
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Terrell Erickson
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Thomas Moriarty
Thomas Steeger

In addition, approximately 175 individuals participated, including beekeepers, scientists from industry/academia/government, representatives of conservation groups, beekeeping supply manufacturers, commodity groups, pesticide manufacturers, and government representatives from the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Mold , Mildew and Blue Cheese!

Mold on frame  Photo: Liz Vogel

Last week when my husband and Liz were cleaning up the hives, they saw few frames that looked like this one above.  Moldy and plainly ugly! They were a bit worry at such discovery. Of course it is unsightly but there is absolutely no need for concern. Mold and mildew are not diseases, and are not contagious. The few frames that were moldy were found in a hive were honeybees had already perished. The mold did not cause the colony to die.

This phenomenon happens when the humidity level in a hive is too high. This happens when there are not enough bees to ventilate the hive, or when the hive is in decline, or dead. The usual culprit is a mold called : Penicillium waksmaii, which apparently inhibit the growth of certain bacteria!

Interestingly, the mold will not damage the wax, therefore, there is no need to discard the frames, or to clean them ourselves. The bees are champions as far as cleaning goes...they are "cleaning gurus". All we have to do is to place those frames in a strong and healthy colony and the honeybees will take care of the problem. They will clean and polish every cell in a few days. This "special cleaning" is not a real burden for the bees because they always clean old cells thoroughly before re-using them for brood, honey, or pollen.

Let's think about this for a minute....Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had cultures of the mold Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell, either from that or various specially cultivated bacteria.

I love blue cheese a lot....which is of course full of mold; I eat mold! But the bees don't, they clean it! What a world!

The Big Spring Day!

Left over snow from Monday(4/22) snow storm!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Now we may dare say that spring has arrived! Finally! It is now 77F (25C), a bit warm for spring but I think that I should not complain as it could be worst..we know.

 Friday April 26, 2013 was a big day for the bees...lots needed to be done to get them ready for the nectar flow which will eventually arrive!

This represent a hive with 2 boxes, upper and lower box. In the fall, the bees are reside in the bottom box, and the food reserve (pollen and honey) is on top. During the winter months, the bees eat their reserve. Slowly as spring approaches, the bees gather in the top box and queen starts laying her eggs at that location in empty cells. By now the bottom box is empty. Because it is in the nature of bees to go up (like in a tree trunk), we have to rotate the boxes to simulate that upward motion! This permutation gives them a lot of space and is also supposed to prevent swarming (leaving the crowded nest). So, Ben did that rotation to every hive, some boxes still full of food were very heavy. He also clean the dead bees accumulated at the bottom of the hive, and gave them a larger bottom entrance.

Since, we don't have flowers yet. He gave each colony 2 buckets (2. lb, or 7 L)) of  sugary syrup, to sustain them until the dandelions show up! Apparently the honeybees had plenty of pollen patties left, so none were added anywhere.

Sugar syrup

In this endeavor, Liz helped him in Chanhassen. Smoking the bees was a smart thing to do that day! It was warm and they were flying in and out. Ben noticed that they were coming back with a little pale yellow and orange pollen on their legs... I wonder where in the world they are finding pollen right now!

I know that they will gather the tree sap before the flower nectar is available to them...they are smart. During this spring cleaning, Ben expelled 3 mice from under one hive...probably a family. It is a very nice adobe for them during winter...warm and plenty of food!

After 4-5 hours of heavy lifting, Benoit came back home happy ; the honeybees were on their way to a new season. We wish them well!

R.I.P

April 4 2013
I visited the beehive in Chanhassen, the one that we suspected  that was very small and weak with Nosema. Since it was going to be above freezing overnight now; I was going to give the honeybees some sugar syrup to help them recover...Alas, they were all dead. We have now 5 hives. 5/7 made it so far. That's 71% survival rate...still better than the national average but very, very sad.

HAPPY SPRING!!!

Today is the first day of spring! It is 8F (-13C)... Brrrrr......that is cold.  I was listening to the radio yesterday and heard that the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil has been fired :)

Russian Hive in Chanhassen

Spring in Minnesota!

Actually these frigid March temperatures look like January...what a huge step back. I wonder how the bees are going to make it . Foraging might start very late this year... the ground is still frozen, and  has many inches of snow.

We checked our hives again on March 17, 2013. They are  still alive but now we are worried because it is still cold, and the honeybees are going to run out of fresh food. They have some reserves from last fall, like honey and  pollen but they will not go out and forage soon. It is a vulnerable time for the honeybees. Of course we are giving them pollen patties, but now the queen has been  laying eggs for few weeks and most bees are busy covering the brood to keep the next generation warm. Since this is the utmost job, it takes precedence to eating. It is true honeybees would rather starve to death than leave the brood unattended, in order to save the species. But they don't know that if they don't eat, all will perish.  I guess I have to have faith in nature. We will see.

Bees are Alive!!!

See the little bees!!!

Benoit and I went to visit our hives yesterday , March 3 2013. We were getting nervous by all the reports that I was reading coming from all over the US, plus from the beekeepers right  here in Minnesota. Everyone was reporting heavy losses... we could not wait any longer.

6/7 hives survived! We are so happy!!!! However, we still have the month of March to battle, we may have another cold snap, and that is dangerous for the bees. The queens are already laying new eggs and little ones are being born, they are vulnerable at this early stage of life. We also gave each colony a pollen patty, so they won't starve before the first bloom. 

Some honey bees were very curious, and came out to see what was the commotion all about. Benoit put 2 little bees back in the hives, because it was cold and they  had trouble going back home. He also got his first sting of the year :( It is a good thing that it does not react at all. It happened when we were closing the hive and the bee got stock between his fingers and the cardboard. 

Keep our finger crossed for a peaceful March.

Next visit in 7-10 days!

Spring is in the Air!

Willow in my herb planter, last summer!

I know spring is close when Willow, our 11 year old cat wants to go on the deck to check things out! She never goes outside after Halloween, and start asking to go out when the temperatures are on the rise. I don't know how she knows...but she is always right :)

On the bee side, I am still hopeful that they all made it through the winter. I am planning on checking on each hive in the next 10 days,or so. However, I hear and read a lot about honey bees that did not survive, and not having enough bees to pollinate the crops this season. 

It is still a little bit too cold to open the hives, and take a look. When the temperature will be around 40F (4C), I will give the bees a pollen patty if they need it ( meaning if they have eaten all their supply already). Remember , the first dandelions are in bloom around April 15. However, some trees like the willows,  maples and few others will be blooming before that time.

I gave a presentation about the honeybee through time, at the Arboretum in February to a group of wonderful ladies. I really love to talk about honeybees, beekeeping and pollinators. I am always amazed how much people know about bees and their difficulties. The questions asked are always pertinent and the desire to learn is great. I love it!

It is not to early to think about planting a pollinator garden. Native plants are the best! Those little "oasis" of good pollen and nectar sources are wonderful not only for my golden darlings but also for hummingbirds, butterflies,  bats, and bumblebees.