The Buzz Newsletter

April 2007

 

 

Page 3

Greetings from the President of the IHPA

Dear Honey Producers,

Wow, the weather can change here in Iowa. Last month’s article stated that I was writing this column in Blizzard conditions. Those “conditions” were nothing compared to the blizzard that dumped on us March 1st. The old adage better be true, if March comes in like a lion it will go out like a lamb. We couldn’t even find most of our beehives, they were completely covered with snow. It didn’t take too long for them to reappear though. The heat from the hives melted the snow covering them and there was room for the honey bees to fly out and about. It is truly quite an amazing sight to see them flying and walking around in the snow. The evidence of them flying is also quite visible! I am quite ready for another weather saying, April showers bring May flowers.

I would suggest that you register your hives with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship department. I have had reports that the website it hard to navigate and it is too much trouble. Go to your local FSA office and register your colonies with them if you would feel more comfortable doing it there. It isn’t that difficult to do on the computer, but if you have problems Maury Wills is more than willing to help you. Maury can be reached at (515) 281-5783 or maury.wills@idals.state.ia.us It is a whole lot nicer to register those hives now than wish you would have when you encounter a problem with sprayers and chemicals. If you don’t register, you can’t get any help with your losses.

Please keep track of your colony losses this year. It will help with the statistics from Iowa and the rest of the country when the research is being done on the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In an information update that we received from the American Beekeeping Federation this week, some issues have been identified and the industry needs to take a look at these to see what can be done and to aid the research being done on CCD. Some of the suggestions include:

Check Your Colonies Often. Keep in touch with what is happening inside your beehives. If you are having a problem, the sooner you recognize it, the better.

Don’t “Double Up” the Dead -Outs. Some affected beekeepers have stacked their dead-outs onto supposedly healthy colonies only to have the second hive collapse soon after. The current recommendation is to store the dead-outs away from your bees so they can’t rob them out. (see http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/index.html for a complete list of recommendations). A related, long term recommendation is to replace old dark brood combs with foundation; this practice has been recommended as good management practices on the basis of previous research.

Feed Your Bees. Beekeepers who feed more have fared better than their neighbors who had stored honey their bees were consuming. This surfaced in Florida recently. When cold weather curtailed the nectar flow, beekeepers felt their colonies suffered more than expected; the theory is that the colonies went back to consuming old stored honey. And, don’t neglect pollen feeding.

Evaluate Your Locations. While no suspect has been confirmed as a cause for CCD, we have become concerned about the widespread use of a relatively new class of systemic insecticides on an increasing number and variety of crops. These neonicotinoids, even at doses that are not deadly to individual bees, may cause sublethal effects that may lead to colony mortality or reduced productivity. This class of compounds is known to impair learning and memory and modify many honey bee behaviors and disrupt the social organization of the colony. You may want to talk to farmers or orchardists in your areas of operation and ask them to warn you about applications of products containing neonicotinoids, so that you can avoid exposure. Some beekeepers think CCD is linked to bees being located near corn, soybeans, or cotton-crops on which neonicotinoids are heavily used.

Complete the Survey: Go to www.beesurvey.com and complete the beekeeper survey-whether or not you feel that your colonies are suffering from CCS. The information collected will remain confidential- you do no necessarily have to give your name. The surveys may help identify common links for affected colonies.

Contact your Congressman. Your United States Congressman needs to hear from you about the problems facing the beekeeping industry. There is a push for a general appropriations increase in funds. The ARS Bee labs are shrinking. Each lab has at least one open position; leaving the position open frees up money for the remaining scientists to use for research and field work. There have been no significant new funds appropriated for honey bee research in decades. The CCD crisis illuminated significant gaps in what we know about our industry. Here are some unknowns; number of beekeepers; amount of pollination activity (how many bees rented, how much revenue earned); how many colonies die and are rebuilt in the course of a normal year; how many queens and packages are sold.

These same questions come up in our IHPA board meetings. Just how many beekeepers do we have in the state of Iowa? How many colonies are managed in Iowa? We could really use all the members that we can get to help bring the industry into the focus of the consumers.

I took oldest son, Shawn and his family to St. Louis to catch a plane to Germany. They are to be there for a few years. Time to plan a vacation. Enjoy spring!
Sincerely,

Donna Brahms, IHPA President