Alabama Beekeepers Association’s Annual Meeting

[ October 7, 2011 to October 8, 2011. ] The Alabama Beekeepers Association is having their annual meeting Oct. 7-8 at Taylor Rd. Baptist Church, Montgomery, Ala. Speakers will include Kim Flottum, Dr. Clarence Collison of Miss. State, and Sherry Ferrell of Ohio State. For more details, go to www.alabamabeekeepers.com.

Bees Go to Washington

Photo by Ian Bens
The discovery and removal of a bee tree created a bit of excitement in July on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The dying and decaying maple tree was cut down by the D.C. Dept. of Transportation and the colony was salvaged by a group of local beekeepers. The bee tree was [...]

Fence of Beehives Deters Elephants

The comeback of Kenya’s elephant population is a huge conservation success story, as well as a huge problem for the country’s farmers. But scientists have found a new ally in the struggle to keep elephants from trampling crops: honey bees. Like many animals, elephants are afraid of bees. So scientists recruited farmers in northern Kenya [...]

Progress on the Colony Collapse Front – But Research Methods Are Challenged

From out of the West came a report from Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk and his colleagues that seemed to indicate that the cause of CCD had been discovered. Then, just as the hurrahs died out, a voice from the Fortune yelled, “Not so fast!” Then, people quickly began to choose sides. Here is the claim, the counterclaim, and the counter-counterclaim.

Bromenshenk Responds to Fortune’s Accusations

In a posting on the BEE-L listserv, Jerry Bromenshenk responded to Katherine Eban’s charges about his research:

Honey Bee Researcher Marla Spivak Awarded $500,000 MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant

Kudos to Marla Spivak

Univ. of Minn. Bee scientist Marla Spivak has been awarded a $500,000 “genius” grant by the MacArthur Foundation.

Congratulations to a hard-working, innovative beekeeping researcher. Modest, too: “I thought they might have the wrong person.” All of us who have worked with Marla know she is the “right person.”

Read more about this well-deserved honor.

Doing Her Thing

Here’s a rare photo- a queen, surrounded by her attendants, caught in the act of laying an egg. Most queens are too modest to allow such a shot. They scurry around, seeking privacy in clusters of workers, hiding on the dark side of the comb. The patient photographer is Paul Albano of Amenia, N.Y.

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