Tag Archives: honey bee
Sharing the Million Pollinator Challenge
This week I had the opportunity to attend the First National Conference on Protecting Pollinators in Ornamental Landscapes. The meeting took place outside of scenic Asheville, NC and drew entomologists, industry personnel and extension educators from all over the country. I thought I would use this post to help me digest some of the things I learned, and pose my readers a challenge. First of all, it was nice to get the chance to interact with folks on both sides of the bee wars–that culture/science clash between the green community… Read More →
New-bee volunteers
A new resource was birthed this spring with the first graduating class of apprentice Master Beekeepers. In March the Texas Master Beekeeper program graduated its first class of 68 volunteers specializing in bee culture and protection. Like its cousins, the Master Gardener and Master Naturalist programs, the Master Beekeeper program is intended to nurture trained volunteers to assist with public service and educational programs. But the Master Beekeepers will work on projects primarily related to honey bees. With this first class Texas joins Florida, Georgia, Oregon and other Master Beekeeping… Read More →
Kids, bee careful out there
Entomologists often walk a fine line between sounding alarmist and underplaying the importance of pest problems. Africanized honey bees and children are a good example. The potential seriousness of living with these bees was underscored yesterday when a gym class of middle schoolers disturbed a bee hive in a water controller box on a campus soccer field. According to news accounts, 20 students were stung, and several were taken to the hospital. Presumably the bees in this case were Africanized. Coincidentally this month, BBC News magazine interviewed Texas A&M entomologist,… Read More →
What to do if you’re attacked by bees?
While honey bees are highly beneficial to man, they can also be dangerous. If you don’t believe this, consider two Texas incidents this summer. In June, a Waco area man was killed by honey bees while working on his tractor. This past weekend a couple was severely stung and two of their miniature horses were killed following a bee attack at their Tarrant county home. Both incidents illustrate how serious honey bee infestations can be. It’s not that bees are mean, in a human sense. But they do take exception… Read More →
Honey bees at center of controversy
What could present a more peaceful, bucolic image than the scene of beekeepers tending their bee hives? Beekeepers are traditionally seen as the gentlest of agriculturalists, not killing for food but merely reaping the labor of an industrious insect in exchange for nurture and protection. Yet there is little peaceful about the verbal and political battle swirling about beekeepers and honey bees at the moment. You may have seen the headlines in recent years proclaiming the doom of the honey bee. The domestic bee industry in the U.S…. Read More →
It must bee spring
Despite a winter that just won’t seem to let go, spring is definitely here. I know this because the honey bees are swarming, and local callers are reaching out to Extension offices for help coping with the sudden bee invasion. According to Shelly Spearman of the Rockwall County Extension office, her office is getting one to two calls a day about bees. “We’re getting a lot of calls about bees hanging out in trees,” she said. So why are bee mobs suddenly invading our trees and landscapes? And… Read More →
Honey Bee ID Lab Closed
Since 1990, Texas A&M University’s Honey Bee Identification Lab has provided identification and characterization of honey bees. As of the end of May, the Honey Bee ID lab is closed. According to Paul Jackson, with the Apiary Inspection Service, budget cuts left their department no choice but to end the program. Long-time employee Lisa Bradley was cut as a result. The laboratory provided analysis of honey bee genetics, and for many years had been the authority that documented the incidence and spread of Africanized honey bees spreading… Read More →
Junk-food honey bees
Someone forwarded a link to this New York Times story yesterday, and it got me thinking about the junk that honey bees eat. Every fall, people report problems with honey bees being attracted to trash cans, soda cans, and all variety of sweet things. I’ve always believed this phenomenon was due to the combined effect of a declining natural supply of nectar and possibly an enhanced craving for carbohydrates prior to winter (stoking the fires for a long, cold winter). While the honey bee PR groups would probably… Read More →