Hello Lia, Julia, Alex, and Jackson:
Beekeeping here in the
Birkshires must be amazing. The landscape is so lush and green, I see
bees foraging all day on a number of different plants. It is incredible
the numbers of feral bees (or what I am guessing are feral bees, as I’m
not seeing many domestic hives.) out very early in the morning and late
into the evening. It is so exciting to see so many bees in the
landscape, I was slightly disappointed traveling across country earlier
this summer where I saw very few bees traveling through the Midwest. It
is something we will have to think about when we recreate an
environment that is rich in different pollens and nectars for bees at
College Ave. I’m inspired by the Birkshire landscape and plan to meet
with a gardener in town to see if any of the plants I am seeing bees
forage on are compatible in our region.
As a group we need to
concentrate on the bee gardens around the queen breeding facility that
will be to insure strong, healthy, well fed bees. Take time while I am
gone to discuss cover crop options and what special plants you all
would like to include in the garden both for personally and as
something that could be used in the kitchen for lunches.
Check out the difference in the landscape:
Another reason I love the Birkshires is for the amount of used book
stores in the area. In the past few visits I have acquired a large
majority of my beekeeping books in this region. I’m not sure why, but
both the Birkshires and Las Vegas have the best used book stores. I
have only been here a couple days and have already found three books
that I think might help out both Alex and Julia. One on California
insects and another on the history of honey by Eva Crane. If time
permits Google Eva she is a pillar to the history of beekeeping.
Julia, both you and Alex have a pretty hard road to hoe as far as your
subject matter. Both the history of beekeeping and solitary bees are
very broad subjects, I might suggest narrowing your concentration. As
I thumb through these new books thinking about the direction the two
of you might take I’m a little overwhelmed with all the material. I
have not heard from Jackson so I am still unsure of his focus.
Used book accusations from this trip so far:
Honey – Isha Mellor
A Book of Honey – Eva Crane
Toward Saving the Honeybee – Gunther Hauk
Lilipoh Magizine – Cover Story “ Honeybees as wise messangers”
The Joys of Beekeeping – Richard Taylor
California Insects – Jerry Powell
Poisonous Snakes of the New World – Clifford Pope
City and Suburban Gardens – Tom Riker
Woods Trails – Phyllis Busch
An urban Dweller’s Wildlife Companion – Ron Wilson
The End of the Game – Peter Beard
Material World – Peter Menzel
Henri Cartier-Bresson – The Early Work – Peter Galassi
The World of Henri Cartier-Bresson
W. Eugene Smith – Jim Hughes
Wallpaper in the bathroom at Yellow House Books
Ms. Rogers at the Book Barn.
The Book Barn is a fabulous place to buy books at a great price. A little off the beaten path but well worth the journey.
KNOWING YOUR ENEMY
I would also like all of
you as a group to start wrapping your heads around the varroa mite. I
am attaching an article on a recent varroa discovery on the island of
Oahu. What do you feel as a group could be the ramifications of this
recent discovery? Why is it such a big deal? I believe as beekeepers
varroa mite control will be paramount in successfully raising the best
sustainable bees in our area.
Serious Bee Mite Found On Honey Bees In Hawaii
Close-up view of a varroa mite. (Credit: Photo by: Walter Nagamine, entomologist, HDOA)
ScienceDaily
(Apr. 27, 2007) — A honey bee mite has been discovered at a bee farm in
Manoa, Oahu, after abandoned hives from Makiki Heights were relocated
to the property last week. Varroa mites were detected on bees in
three of the abandoned hives on April 6 by the beekeeper and reported
to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA). Samples of the mites
have been sent to a mite specialist at a U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) laboratory on the mainland for confirmatory identification.
The
varroa mite is considered one of the most serious honey bee pests and
occurs almost worldwide. Hawaii had been one of the few places where
the mite was not known to occur. It is not known at this time how the
mites were introduced to Oahu. So far, surveys conducted on hives in
the Tantalus, UH-Manoa and Makiki area have detected varying degrees of
infestation of the mite. Surveys on commercial hives on the Big
Island, where several of the state’s queen bee raising operations are
located, have not detected the Varroa mite.
“This bee mite
poses a major threat to Hawaii’s bee industry and to feral bee
populations,” said Sandra Lee Kunimoto, Chairperson of the Hawaii Board
of Agriculture. “Teams of HDOA staff have been working rapidly to
determine the extent of the infestation and to establish containment
and control plans.”
HDOA Plant Industry staff from three
branches, including entomologists, plant quarantine inspectors, plant
pest control specialists and pesticides specialists, have mobilized
statewide and are working closely with the local bee industry and USDA
officials.
“We are enlisting the help of all beekeepers,
commercial and backyard hobbyists, to help us in assessing the extent
of this infestation,” said Lyle Wong, administrator of HDOA’s Plant
Industry Division. “HDOA officials will be visiting bee hives to
conduct surveys and the cooperation of beekeepers is very crucial in
possibly stopping the spread of the varroa mite.”
Entomologists
and pest control specialists will survey all islands for the mites as
soon as possible. The Plant Quarantine Branch is preparing a
quarantine order preventing the interisland movement of bees and
beekeeping equipment. In the meantime, beekeepers are being asked not
to move bees interisland.
The varroa mite is reddish brown in
color with an oval and flattened shape. It is about the size of a pin
head and can be detected with the unaided eye. Varroa mites have
piercing and sucking mouthparts and feed on the blood of honey bee
adults, larvae and pupae. The mites weaken adult bees and cause
emerging bees to be deformed. Varroa mites are spread from hive to
hive through bee contact.
The varroa mite’s natural host is the
Asian honey bee, a species that is not extremely affected by the mite.
The mite spread through Europe via Russia. In 1987, the varroa mite
was discovered in North American bee colonies in Wisconsin and
Florida. By 1988, the mite was detected in 12 U.S. states and has
since spread throughout the continental U.S. In 2000, the mite was
discovered in New Zealand.
From the video we saw last week is this a male or female mite?
FIND THE QUEEN:
FIND THE DRONE:
FIND THE MITES:
Please e-mail me with your project progress.
bordog@napanet.net
Leave those poor used books alone Rob.
Accusing them won't do you any good.
Miss you,
drop me a line sometime
j. watters
Posted by: Jason Watters | October 01, 2008 at 04:10 PM