Ever wonder what Best Bees beekeepers do in the winter time?

Bees Without Borders is a 501(c)(3) charity that has worked all over the world, from Brooklyn to Baghdad, teaching beekeeping as a means of poverty alleviation.

Meet Andrew Cote, co-founder of Bees without Borders: http://vimeo.com/43912133

Meet Noah Wilson-Rich, founder of Best Bees Company: http://vimeo.com/43912377

Beepeekers from Best Bees are joining the next Beekeepers without Borders trip – a return to Kenya! – from December 2012 to January 2013!

Azeez, F. A., Akankuku, A. I., & Ojo, O. B. (2012). ASSESSMENT OF HONEY PRODUCTION AS A MEANS OF SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD IN IBADAN METROPOLIS. Continental Journal Of Agricultural Economics, 6(1), 46-51. doi:10.5707/cjae.2012.6.1.46.51

This study aimed to look at the possible benefits of honey production in remote rural areas.

Honey bees use the honey that they produce as a food source in cold weather or when food resources are scarce.  It is because of the chemical properties and unique composition that honey is able to last for extended periods of him (as long as humidity is kept at a minimum).  Honey is often used in cooking, baking, to sweeten beverages and other foods, as well as used to make some alcoholic beverages.  Honey also has many religious connections including being mention in the Christian New Testament and the Quran.  In addition honey has many valuable vitamins and nutrients as well as medicinal qualities.  This study surveyed residents on their involvement in honey production, education and the profitability of honey production.  This study showed that those who had more experience with honey and increased education about honey production had increased profitability when it came to selling their honey.   This study suggests that by educating those about honey production, those in rural areas can become successful in honey production.  Honey plays a vital role lives as it has nutritional, medicinal and economical value.  In addition it does not perish quickly further increasing its value.  With the right education and experience honey production is successful means of income.

Salkin, P. E. (2012). HONEY, IT’S ALL THE BUZZ: REGULATING NEIGHBORHOOD BEEHIVES. Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, 39(1), 55-71.

Over the past couple of years there has been a huge increase in the popularity of beekeeping.  Many urban areas have hives, and recently many urban cities have made beekeeping legal.   Retailers are beginning to sell delicious honeys and beeswax products all produced from local hives.   Despite this new positive energy surrounding beekeeping there has actually been push back from neighbors of backyard beekeepers.  This article provides information about important aspects of beekeeping that must be considered.

• Honey must be sold in accordance with FDA labeling including nutrition and ingredients labeling
• Some individual states have laws regarding transportation of bees in and out of state, rules regarding infected hives, and restrictions regarding needs for inspection
• Many states also require permits
• In many states, such as California the production, packaging, transportation, labeling and sale of honey is highly regulated.
• Hives are considered to be a nuisance, under law, when there are injuries, or they interfere with a neighbors enjoyment of their property
• In addition to federal and state regulation, there are also local government regulations.  All guidelines and rules must be followed

• Classification of bees may be specified: aggressive vs. nonaggressive spcies many cities will ask you to specify
• Lot size and colony density: how many bees will be on a single lot?
• Setbacks that you may come across: minimum lot size, distance from schools, parks or playgrounds
• Flyaway barriers may be required: structures to raise the flight path of bees when they live their hives, a way to limit interactions with residents
• Access to water: important for bee health
• Identification signs: to post beekeepers information that is associated with that hive
• Fire and safety regulations may be put in place: when smoking the hive, many cities may have restrictions due to fire hazards, is an important factor to be aware of

Review of: Qiu-Hong Qin, Xu-Jiang He, Liu-Qing Tian, Shao-Wu Zhang and Zhi-Jiang Zeng. Comparison of learning and memory of Apis cerana and Apis mellifera. Comparative Physiology A Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiolog. 2011;198(10):777-786

Honeybees are known for several advantages as an excellent model organism for research on learning and memory among invertebrates. Many studies focus solely on the Western honeybee, Apis mellifera. In contrast, the authors in this article did a study on learning and memory in the Eastern honeybee, Apis cerana. This study was carried out to compare behavior and memory for A. cerana and A. mellifera in China, by using a Y-maze apparatus that was set up in the laboratory.

The study showed that A. cerana is significantly better at recognizing color and grating (framework of bars) patterns than A. mellifera. This ability is important for honeybees to track food. It is necessary for both species in remembering not only the color and shape of flowers, but also how to get to them because honeybees have to fly several kilometers in forest region to collect pollen and nectar.

While reading this article, I found two interesting facts that the authors mentioned:

• According to a recent study, two species can understand each other “dance language” in a mixed colonies. A. cerana can decode the “dance language” more accurately and quickly. It showed that A. cerana may have a stronger learning and memory capability compared to A. mellifera.
• Also, A. cerana can distinguish and remove dummy larvae made of paraffin mixed with brood pheromone in the worker cells, while A. mellifera will seal the cells of dummy larvae. This shows that A. cerana’s ability to distinguish dummy larvae is better than A. mellifera due to their stronger visual and olfactory sensations. With this ability, it helps A.cerana survive in the tropical environment in Asia.

Review of: Hawthorne, D. J., & Dively, G. P. (2011). Killing Them with Kindness? In-Hive Medications May Inhibit Xenobiotic Efflux Transporters and Endanger Honey Bees. Plos ONE, 6(11), 1-6. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026796

Many hives receive regular treatment of oxytertracyline (antibiotic) for prevention/treatment of diseases and acaricides (pesticide) for prevention/treatment of parasites.  In addition to these treatments, honey bees are also exposed to an array of pesticides and other toxins through their interaction with their environment (specifically crops treated with pesticides).  As a result, honey bees are exposed to a wide range of combinations of pesticides as well as antibiotics, little research has been done on the possible harmful effects of combining these pesticides.  In this study researchers looked at possible combinations and the possible effects on honey bee health and mortality.  This study found that bees that were pre-fed oxytertracyline were sensitized to the acaricides, coumaphos and τ-fluvalinate.  These findings suggest that the antibiotic may interfere with the normal excretion or metabolism of these pesticides, which ends up making the pesticide ineffective towards the prevention/treatment of mites.  Further, applying both oxytertracyline and acaricides together could increase adverse effects of acaricides and possibly other pesticides.   More research must be done looking at the effects of the combinations of both antibiotics and pesticides on the health of honey bee colonies.

Best Bees says: Practically speaking, smart use of in-hive chemicals will involve knowing which ones interact with which pesticides. Use chemicals as sparingly as possible so as to avoid an artificial living environment for the bees.

Best Bees Beehive Adoption Certificate

Looking for the perfect gift? Adopt a honey bee hive in the name of a special someone! Perhaps this is a person who understands the importance of pollinators and the environment, or just appreciates a well-intended donation to a great cause. We mail a jar of honey from the adopted hive (or from the same apiary) along with this customized certificate.

Review of: Ollerton J, et al. 2012. Overplaying the role of honey bees as pollinators: a comment on Aebi and Neumann (2011). Trends Ecol Evol 27:141-2.

This article makes the hard-to-swallow claim that honey bees are not the important pollinators that headlines are leading the public to believe; they may even be harmful.

One fact used to support such claims is in regards to agriculture. Sense 2006, when Colony Collapse Disorder first began to take effect, crop yields have increased despite a drop in the honey bee population. The authors also claim that honeybees are even less important as pollinators to wild plant communities. Instead research points to native bees, such as bumblebees and hoverflies as the most important pollinators in both wild and agricultural plant communities.

This article goes even further in discrediting the honey bee, claiming that managed hives result in unfair competition with native bees and pollinators. Supposedly, one area in California demonstrates how a high honeybee population results in lower native bee populations. This was used to support the author’s final jab at honey bees; they lower biodiversity in areas where they are not native.

Despite wanting to disregard all of these claims, they are only one side of an argument, which I happen to support the other side of. With that said, here are a few facts not to forget when reading an article such as this:

• Honeybees are extremely good and efficient pollinators because of their sheer numbers – tens of thousands per hive instead of one (solitary bees) or a few dozen (most other bee species)
• Although there are other pollinators out there, honeybees account for the majority of the pollination performed today, adding at least $15 billion to the US economy annually for their role as pollinators
• Last but not least…only honeybees can make copious amounts of delicious honey!

P. Parvanov & D. Dinkov. 2012. More Insight Into Organic Bee Honey Processing, Storage And Shelf Life (2012). Bulgarian Journal of Veterinary Medicine 15:206-210.

The health of honeybees is very important, and so is the quality of the honey they produce. In the article “More Insight Into Organic Bee Honey Processing, Storage And Shelf Life”, authors explore the regulations placed on organic honey marketed today. Regulations includes what practices must be avoided when managing beehives, such as over smoking, or giving sugar feed (one month prior to honey harvest).

The authors wrap up the article with some suggestions for regulating organic honey, arguing that storage temperatures should be less than 20^o C to avoid losing any of the honey’s health properties. They also suggest a shelf life of no more than 1-2 years depending on the heating processes that have been carried prior to packaging.

While reading this article I was surprised at the amount of regulation that was placed on categorizing honey as ‘organic’. I was also caught off guard by the shelf life suggestions made at the end of the article because I have always thought of honey as a naturally preserved food. Seemingly that is only true to a certain extent.