The Buzz Newsletter

December 2007

 

 

Page 6

“4.9 mm CELL FOR BEES”
WHAT’S THE BUZZ,
BEES ARE JUST BEES
RIGHT?
PROVERBS 24: 13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good
 honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

Most people you would talk to will say yes, that will be right, but talk to a beekeeper and you will find out that there are more then or close to 20,000 species of bees.  {1} But what about honey bees, because that’s what we are talking about, right. Well, there are Italian’s “the most common in the USA” Carnolian, Caucasian, German Black, Africanized honey bee and Russian just too name a few. {2} But what is so important about honey bees, are they going to be extinct?   “TIME MAGAZINE” Nov. 6 2006 has a story about bees, and how they’re in danger. (www.time.com). In the past 50 years the bee population has been cut in half, and why is this so important? Well 1/3 of the world’s food is in one way or another touched by the “HONEY BEE”. So what’s the problem? Well, I’ve decided not to right a book so I’ll just tell you two?

 1. The Varroa Mite. A tiny killer who first was found in the USA in 1987. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/varroa_mite)  What is the mite?  The mite is a parasite that literally attaches itself to the honey bee and suck out the blood fluid (hemolymph fluid) out of the honey bee and can kill a beehive in 2 – 4 years.  The mite came to the USA from Asia in 1980”s.  From the time the mite was found in 1987 till 2003 this little mite spread throughout the USA becoming resistance to most chemical. The only places in the world the mite is not found is Hawaii (NOT ANY MORE) and Australia.  In 2003 Almond growers paid Beekeepers $45.00 per hive of honey   bees at a rate of 2 bee hives per acre to pollinate 550,000 acres of almonds, or about $24,750,000 to have there almond pollinated.  In 2004-2006, the mites were killing off bee hives by the thousands, (http://www.gmtodat.com/news/local_stories/2005/march_05/03292005_06.asp) and in 2006 the same Almond growers were willing to pay $125.00 per hive to pollinate the 580,000 acres for $72,500,000 or about $47,750,000 more then in 2003…You know what happened to the price of Almonds? They went up! {3}

2. Pesticides.  The wax in beehives is a natural sink for airborne toxins, and the relatively weak bee immune system is no match for such concentrations of man-made poisons.  There are other wild bees that could pollinate crops, but unfortunately many of these kinds of bees may also be in decline, according to new reports. Ironically, the farms that need bees the most are a big part of the problem. Giant weed-free farms that destroy habitat and use a lot of pesticides are the worst offenders, and this has helped drive some bees to the edge of extinction. Each state has different rules and regulations on registering your honey bees so that commercial pesticide applicators have to call you 48hrs. before they spray.

Now that I’ve helped you understand a little of the problems beekeepers have I can tell you about 4.9mm cells for honey bees. 4.9cell is just one part of controlling pest and diseases in your bee hives. It’s called “INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT”, (IPM) and what is this? IPM is a decision making process that makes use of the selection, integration and implementation of the best methods of pest control available. This means that one first seeks to use and encourage natural control mechanisms including predators, parasites, and diseases that might control the pest It also includes controlling or taking advantage of the environment. When necessary (not always) one may also use a chemical but then the emphasis is on selecting the safest one available. We (as beekeepers) can expect to hear more about IPM in the future as it is a common sense approach to controlling pests. In the case of beekeepers it forces one to become familiar with the diseases, pests and predators of the bees so as to make the best long-range decisions. (The American Bee Journal, December 2006 has started a series on IPM)

Until recently, we gave little thought to the issue of comb cell size. We presumed the subject was adequately researched in the past and all keepers of bees were using similar foundation. In the beekeeping literature we found that controversy has followed the issue of optimal cell size for domestic colonies for more than 100 years. Our review starts with the invention of foundation by Mehring in 1857 (the sheet of bee’s wax that bees get their design from).  By the 1880’s European beekeepers were using foundation with comparatively small cell impressions.

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