1. No category

Meetings are held at 7:00 pm every
third Monday at A. I. Root meeting
room at 623 W. Liberty Street,
Medina, Ohio (at the end of the West
Liberty Commons Bldg). Check the
website for any changes to our
regular schedule.
www.medinabeekeepers.com
Use Common Sense: If Medina Schools
are closed, we will cancel the meeting
or Beginners class that night. If your
roads are bad, ours probably are too.
Stay home and stay safe.
We need our beekeepers. Your bees
need you.
Association Contacts:
Pres: Peggy Garnes
6045 Lance Rd
Medina, OH 44256
330.723.6265
pgarnes001@neo.rr.com
V-P: Kim Flottum
7011 Spieth Rd
Medina OH, 44256
330.722.2021
kim@beeculture.com
Sec: Molly White
1737 Halls Carriage Path
Westlake, OH 44145
440.899.8624
mollymariewhite@gmail.com
Treas: Paul Kosmos
6386 State Road
Sharon Township OH, 44281
330.239.1379
pkosmos@frontier.com
Newsletter Editor/ Publisher
Tracy Alarcon/ 330.396.1352
tntalarcon@juno.com
Medina Co. Bee Yard
Your name here
Refreshments Coordinator
Kathy Summers
330.725.6677, ext. 3215
330.461.1081, cell
kathy@beeculture.com
Webmaster
Your name here
Directors:
2016: Ken Hazard 440.526.5891
2015: Adam Stearns 330.808.0294
2014: Buzz Riopelle 330.483.3360
Ohio State Extension Specialist
Denise Ellsworth
OSU Dept. of Entomology
330.263.3723
ellsworth.2@osu.edu
State of Ohio Inspector
Barbara Bloetscher
614.644.5839
BBloetscher@agri.ohio.gov
Medina Co. Bee Inspector
Dustin Thompson
740.272-2828, 614.230.2868
deesbeesofohio@yahoo.com
Medina Co Ext Office
Ashley Kulhanek
330.725.4911/ kulhanek.5@osu.edu
THE BEE HERDER
Publication of the Medina County Beekeeper’s Association
www.medinabeekeepers.com
Next Meeting
March 17th, 2014 @ 7:00 PM
Speaker: Dr. Jim Tew
Topic: "The Natural Bee Nest in an Artificial Hive"
Dr. James E. Tew is the beekeeping specialist for the Alabama Cooperative
Extension System, Auburn University and emeritus professor, The Ohio
State University. Jim has taught classes, provided extension services, and
conducted applied research on honey bees and honey bee behavior specifically pollination behavior. Additionally, he continues to contribute
monthly articles for national beekeeping publications and has authored:
Beekeeping Principles, Backyard Beekeeping, a chapter in The Hive and the
Honey Bee, and Wisdom for Beekeepers. He is a frequent speaker at state
and national meetings and has traveled extensively to observe beekeeping
techniques. http://www.onetew.com
“Beginners Half Hour”
The “Beginners Half Hour” at 6:30 across the street as usual, so bring your
questions, observations and notebooks so you can ask, and get answered
those questions that too often don’t get asked during the regular meeting.
Bee Feeders
Dry Pollen Feeders will be available to club members at the March Meeting.
Cost: $15.00
Includes assembled, painted dry pollen feeder with one (1# Ultra Bee Dry Pollen
Substitute) bag dry pollen. Made with cut lengths of PVC, end piece, diverter,
eyelets and a length of chain for hanging. Completely assembled, painted and ready
to hang. Just add baggie of dry pollen (provided) and hang! Ready before the trees
are. Nutrition is so important and your hive needs dry pollen for rearing brood.
A portion of the net profit will be donated to the club.
Refreshments from Kathy Summers
SNACKS – Please remember to bring something to share with the club members.
It doesn’t have to be homemade. Questions, comments or suggestions please
contact Kathy Summers
kathy@beeculture.com
(Editor’s note; we sure could use a donation of honey for our meetings. We go
through about a pound a meeting, this is from personal experience. We are after all
a Beekeeping Club and shouldn’t have to BUY honey! Thank you. Tracy ☺)
It’s time to RENEW your MEMBERSHIP
Treasurer’s Report by Paul Kosmos
Our membership continues to grow. MCBA now has 242 members. 134 members have paid
their dues for 2014 so far. That means there are still 108 members who have not realized the joy
of supporting MCBA in 2014! Unpaid members are removed from the club roster following the
April meeting.
Membership dues for 2014 are due now. It would be greatly appreciated if we could complete
dues collection as early in the year as possible. Please see me at the meetings or mail your check
with the form below.
MCBA Financials:
Library Fund Financials:
Feb 2014
YTD
INCOME
Sales
Cost of Sales
Education – Tuition
Education – Materials
Member Dues
Other Income
TOTAL INCOME
0.00
0.00
2410.00
(1139.57)
540.00
14.25
404.68
0.00
0.00
3400.00
(1972.69)
1700.00
92.65
3219.96
EXPENSES
Bank Charge
Bees
Clothing
Communications
Equipment
Fees
Gifts given
Insurance
Meals & Entertn
Miscellaneous
Refreshments
Repairs
Speaker Support
Supplies
TOTAL EXPENSES
OVERALL TOTAL
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
40.00
(0.09)
46.92
0.00
522.90
218.77
828.59
(423.91)
0.00
0.00
0.00
53.27
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
40.00
(0.09)
46.92
0.00
1211.97
218.77
1544.77
1675.19
MCBA Balance as of Feb 28, 2014:
less Sales Tax Payable:
Feb 2014
YTD
INCOME
Other Income
TOTAL INCOME
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
EXPENSES
Meals & Entertn
TOTAL EXPENSES
OVERALL TOTAL
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
(0.00)
Library fund as Feb 28, 2014:
$783.87
MCBA footnotes:
• Communication Expense for Feb will show in
March for $26.07 plus actual March expense.
Library fund footnotes:
• none
11210.44
(0.00)
Annual notes:
The MCBA Beginner's class has been a great success, especially considering the brutally cold winter. A
total of 51 new members took the class (between the Saturday and Tuesday classes). It is wonderful to
see the continuing enthusiasm for our honey bees!
March in the Bee Yard Spring is Coming!?
Photo from Paul Kosmos.
1) Make use of resources for learning. This includes attending
meetings, reading books and magazines, and using the Internet.
A) www.ohiostatebeekeepers.org click on the “Training Program”
link, then choose your topic.
B) “The Ohio State University Bee Lab”
http://beelab.osu.edu/t08_pageview/Workshops_and_Webinars.htm
C) The Brushy Mountain Bee Farm website
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Resources/Videos.asp again, click on the topic of your choice.
D) http://www.extension.org/bee_health “These resources are brought to you by the Cooperative
Extension System and your Local Institution”, this is an excellent site.
E) http://scientificbeekeeping.com/ I find this site very informative and helpful, hopefully you will also.
Spring is just around the corner and this is a very critical time for our bees. It’s at this time of year when
we have the majority of our “Winter” losses due to starvation. As ashamed as I am to admit it this has
happened in my apiary this year. Two of my colonies STARVED to death! It’s nobody’s fault but mine!
It wasn’t “too cold, for too long”, there wasn’t a pesticide issue, it wasn’t Varroa, Virus, or Nosema, it
was all my fault for not making sure there was more than enough food! When I went through the dead
colonies there, wasn’t a single cell with either pollen or honey in it, only dead bees. I failed to take care of
these colonies. Now I would like to say that this will never happen again, and I will do my very best to
make sure it doesn’t, there is a lesson here for me, if you “think” they will be okay, add more food. There
hasn’t been a colony yet that died from too much good food!
Check your colonies to make sure there is still food in them. You can do this by trying to lift one end of
the colony, if you can lift it easily, add food! Also, you can remove the top and look to see where the bees
are. If all your bees are at the very top of the hive then add some form of food, a candy board, a slab of
fondant, even some dry sugar on a piece of newspaper can make all the difference. In this months “Bee
Culture” there is a recipe for a “Sugar Slurry” that you can feed your bees. Now is also a good time to add
that “Pollen” Patty.
Don’t let your bees STARVE TO DEATH like I did! Tracy Alarcon, Editor
• Now is a good time to start monitoring your Varroa Mite levels using a “Sticky Board”.
• Ventilation. An upper entrance can be very helpful to the bees. It allows the warm moist air to
leave the hive helping prevent cold water from dripping down on the girls, wet cold bees are
dead bees!!!
• Insulation- There are many different opinions regarding insulating Hives for the winter. I know
it’s hard to believe beekeepers having different opinions! One suggestion is to use 2” rigid foam
insulation on top of the inner cover and under the outer cover. The idea is the inner cover won’t
get so cold that the condensation from the bees breathing freezes on the inner cover, then thaws
and rains down cold water on the girls. Cold wet bees are DEAD BEES. If you do this tape over
the hole in the inner cover, the girls will chew on the insulation, which probably is not good for
them. It also lowers the insulation value.
• Wrapping- Some beekeepers “wrap” their hives to try and help the girls make it through the
winter. So now that Spring is almost here the question is “When do I unwrap the colony”? There
are of course many answers to that question and all of them are good. Some unwrap their colonies
when the first dandelion blooms and they add supers for honey, others unwrap when they feel it is
time to “reverse” the brood boxes, some will wait until Memorial day to completely unwrap their
colonies. So as you can see all good answers, I unwrap when the wrapping gets to be too much
trouble when working the colonies, around the time the first dandelions bloom.
• If needed provide a reliable water source.
New-Bees
For those of you that are new to the club and beekeeping, a hearty WELCOME!!
I’m sure that many of you are wondering what you should be doing right now while waiting for your bees
to arrive. Below are some suggestions to help you get ready for this exciting adventure!
• Study! Read your book from the Beginners Class. If you have already read it, re-read it again,
cover to cover! Follow the links in “Bee Yard” section. You can never have too much knowledge.
• Attend the “Beginners Half Hour” and the regular meeting.
• Set up your apiary site, where your bees are going to go. REGISTER YOUR APIARY with the
Ohio Dept. of Ag. The new registration form is
http://www.agri.ohio.gov/public_docs/forms/Plant/2013%20Apiary%20Application%20.pdf
• Practice lighting your smoker. Follow the link for a short video demonstration from The Ohio
State Beekeepers Assoc. http://www.ohiostatebeekeepers.org/beekeeping_class/lighting-asmoker/
NOTICE of Proposal to change BYLAWS. The club will vote on this issue at the April meeting.
Article VIII
Section 1. This Constitution or Bylaws may be changed at any regular business meeting by a majority
present, provided such changes are submitted to all members in writing at least 30 days prior to the date
when they are voted upon.
2014 Proposed Amendments to Article VII
Many of the Standing Committees called for in the Bylaws have gone unfilled and unused for at least 7
years. Some of the functions called for in the Bylaws have been absorbed into various officer
responsibilities. It is time for a comprehensive review of the Standing Committees that we should have in
the Club.
1. Proposed - Strike Section 1.A, the Membership committee, in its entirety. This function has been
largely incorporated into the Treasurers function.
2. Proposed - Strike Section 1.B, the Public Relations committee, in its entirety. These duties have
been executed when necessary by the Club's officers.
3. Proposed - Strike Section 1.C, the Publicity & Education committee, in its entirety. The relevant
duties are executed via the Newsletter and the Website, both functions of the Communications
Committee.
4. Proposed - Strike Section 1.E, the Mutual Assistance committee, in its entirety. This position has
not been filled nor the function called upon in over <10?> years. Should the need arise, the
position can be filled on an ad-hoc basis pursuant to Section 2.
5. Proposed - If one or more of the above Proposals are adopted, renumber the remaining subsections as necessary.
6. Proposed - Amend the Communications Committee to read "The Communications Committee
shall publish regular notices of meetings and other beekeeping information to members and to the
public at large through channels such as the newsletter and website. The Communications
Committee shall be chaired by the Editor."
http://www.medinabeekeepers.com/index.php?title=Medina_Beekeepers_talk:Bylaws
http://www.medinabeekeepers.com/index.php?title=Medina_Beekeepers:Bylaws
Knowledge is power; ignorance is expensive
Upcoming Speakers for 2014
Kim has outdone himself again with another GREAT SLATE of speakers for the coming year! Tell all your
beekeeping friends to make the trip to Medina to listen and learn from these amazing people! Guests are
always welcome!!
April 21 – Jeff Harris, Extension Specialist, Mississippi State, (columnist) – Summer Time, and the livin’ is
Busy, getting the most from your bees without overdoing it. “Although the hot summer time in Mississippi is
ideal for sipping a mint julep under the shade of an oak tree, it is not time to fully relax. I assume the same is
true for God's country up here in Ohio. Many beekeepers busy themselves with extracting the primary honey
crop, taking care of wet extracted combs, and forever battling the Small Hive Beetles that continue to grow in
numbers well into August. This is a time to take care of the crop, the combs, but more importantly, it is a time
to allow colonies to contract their broodnests and ride out the hot and driest part of the year with only a
nominal loss in overall colony strength. This is also the time to re-sample for Varroa mites and make
decisions about treating with chemicals long before winter bee production. It may be the dog-days, but work
never ends for the beekeeper.”
May 19 – TBA
June 16 – Jenner Berry, University of Georgia Research Specialist (columnist), Queen rearing workshop on
the weekend, then “Raising the best queens in the world…in your beeyard.”
July & Aug – Medina County Fair
Sept 15 – Vaughn Bryant, Texas A&M, “Everything you ever wanted to know about identifying pollen in
your honey.”
Oct 20 – Ed Cobey, Bee Culture Columnist, Ski Patrol, and beekeeper for our Oct meeting. Topic…Gettin’er
done. Keeping bees Full Speed.
Nov 17 – Elections, year-end summary of Medina’s honey crop, and Beeyard summary and photos.
Dec 15 - Christmas Party
Remember to REGISTER YOUR APIARY
It’s that time again to register your apiary with the Ohio Dept. of Ag. Follow the link
http://www.agri.ohio.gov/public_docs/forms/Plant/2013%20Apiary%20Application%20.pdf
For Sale (paid advertisement. “We, MCBA, explicitly do not warrant the transaction in any way. All sales are at
buyer's/seller's own risk.2”)
Package bees from Georgia, 3 lbs. Ital. starting at $99. Available 1st. week of April. Also 5-frame NUCS from central
Florida tentatively priced at $145(maybe lower). FOB Wellington, Ohio--call 440-281-2688 for early reservations or
FOB Grove City (Columbus)--614-506-4523. From: Morris Hinton, keeping bees since 1991. Honey Bee Mine Apiaries
and Hinton Apiaries.
Membership Application or Renewal
Medina County Beekeepers Association
Name
_____________________________________________________________________________
Check here if this is a renewal and all information on the roster is correct. Otherwise, please fill out the section below:
E-mail _____________________________________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________________________________
City
_________________________ Zip _____________ Phone ___________________________
(Optional) # of Colonies ____
2014 dues are $20 for email delivery, $25 for mailed newsletters.
Make checks payable to Medina Co. Beekeepers Assn. and send care of: P Kosmos, 6386 State Road,
Sharon Township, OH 44281. Please do not use this if you will be taking the Beginner Class.
"Man masters nature not by force but by understanding."
Jacob Bronowski
“The Bee Herder”
C/O Tracy Alarcon
2860 St. Rt. 225
Diamond OH, 44412
The Ohio Sensitive Crop Registry (OSCR) from Jared Shaffer
Pesticide drift from target areas may damage sensitive crops and organisms such as honeybees, grapes, strawberries, tomatoes and broadleaf vegetables. Communication between beekeepers, producers and pesticide
applicators is critical to avoid personal/property damage while allowing target crops to benefit from applied
pesticides. The Ohio Sensitive Crop Registry (OSCR) is a voluntary informational tool designed to allow
stakeholders an effective way to communicate and protect organic crops, pesticide-sensitive crops and
apiaries. OSCR was developed and is operated by the Ohio Department of Agricultures’ Pesticide & Fertilizer
Regulation section, which trains and licenses over 30,000 pesticide applicators and more than 13,000 pesticide
products operating in the state of Ohio.
Registered apiarists and organic and pesticide-sensitive crop producers have the ability to draw their locations
on an online map and share them with other registered users. Licensed pesticide applicators in the state of
Ohio, such as farmers spraying their crops or ODOT crews applying roadside herbicides, can log-in to the
system and search the map for sensitive areas nearby. Apiaries in particular can be difficult for pesticide
applicators to spot and avoid. Although beekeepers must post their contact information in every apiary, OSCR
can be used in addition to these postings to help applicators locate apiaries and contact the beekeepers before
spraying.
To help ensure the highest-quality data for pesticide spray planning, the Ohio Department of Agriculture
verifies each user registration request and each crop location submission before the data is entered into the
Registry. Due to this verification process, OSCR is currently designed for use by commercial agricultural
entities only; homeowners with private gardens, landscaping along roadways and community areas are not
eligible to use the OSCR system. Only apiarists and those who produce crops for sale will be approved to
enter data into the system. This level of quality control is designed to allow for the continued success of OSCR
and the optimal use of pesticides in Ohio.
Users can register for an account online through the OSCR website. Paper enrollment forms will be made
available to those without internet access who also wish to register. These forms can be acquired by contacting
ODA at 614-728-6386, or the local OSU Extension office. OSCR can be accessed directly via this address:
http://www.agri.ohio.gov/scr
For more information, visit the OSCR website or contact Jared Shaffer at:
Attention: Sensitive Crop Registry
Ohio Department of Agriculture
Pesticide & Fertilizer Regulation
8995 E. Main Street, Bldg. 23
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-3399
Phone: 614-728-6386
Fax: 614-466-9754
Email: SensitiveCropRegistry@agri.ohio.gov
2014 March 19 - MCBA Website Training
Wednesday, 6:30-8:30 pm
Because the weather was so bad, MCBA is hosting a second session to learn how to contribute to our website.
If you couldn't make the last session, please join us on March 19th. Or if you'd like a refresher or a deeper dive
into any topics, join in. We will adjust the syllabus based on what you want to learn. We will set up your
account, edit a page, start a discussion, create new pages and learn lots of tricks so you can get started making
the club's website a better, more useful tool.
MCBA hosts an "open website" that any member can edit. You can ask questions on our website - or answer
them. You can create a beeyard report, write a page about the latest pesticide research, comment about
different kinds of beekeeping equipment, or just help keep the list of Current Events up to date. Our website
depends on the effort of volunteers and will be as much or as little as we, the members, make of it.
Location: Medina County Library computer room. The Computer Lab has 18 computers available first-come,
first-served but you can also bring your own laptop and connect to the library's internet connection.
The Columbiana County and Portage County Tree Sale
http://www.portageswcd.org/newsletter/2014%20WINTER%20EMAIL.pdf
Below is from the Portage Soil and Water newsletter. Follow the above link for the complete newsletter with
ordering information. Help FEED the BEES!
“Patrons include hunters, beekeepers, birders, nature enthusiasts, timber producers, and fruit and nut growers.
Since we know that conservation land management choices are not always black and white, we have once
again sought the input of area experts to better meet the challenge. We have worked together to offer a list of
plants that will meet a number of landowner needs without compromising the future integrity of our natural
areas and resources.
Beekeepers:
Kim Flottum, author, and editor of Bee Culture magazine
We received several plant requests from beekeepers this year. Kim had wonderful insights and several species
on our lists were removed and replaced by plants that offered a higher value to honey bees as well as native
bees. American Basswood was specifically requested and we are happy to offer this tree.
Since we all benefit from the pollination services provided by bees, we should try to improve our landscape by
adding plants that keep these important insects well nourished. Kim says that planting Red Maple and Sugar
Maple is like providing meat and potatoes. Maples are among our earliest flowering plants and provide bees
with their first food of the season. Other trees we offer that help bridge the gap before spring gets into full
bloom are River Birch, Tulip tree, and Sycamore. But we have one last plant to recommend based on our
conversations with Kim. He told us about being in Ireland for a beekeeping workshop.
He said that while he was there he was served “Hawthorn” honey and he now claims it is some of the best
honey he has ever tasted. Hawthorn is also a great plant for birds. And if you are thinking its main attraction is
the berries, well you might be interested to learn that over 160 species of insects use this plant as a food
source…..think that might attract some birds?”
Ohio State Beekeepers Association www.ohiostatebeekeepers.org
OSBA has provided beekeepers across the state with many enjoyable and educational experiences throughout the
year. Our 2013 Fall Conference, was abuzz with almost 400 beekeepers, honey judging, interesting break-out sessions
and a wide variety of vendors….and we’re planning even bigger and better activities in 2014.
Upcoming OSBA Conferences:
June 7: Keynote Speakers: Jerry Hayes and Keith Delaplane, Location: Miami University, Oxford OH
Nov 1: Keynote Speakers: Sue Cobey and Mike Palmer, Location: Tolles Career and Technical Center, Plain City,
OH
Over 160 beekeepers enrolled in the OSBA Certified Master Beekeeper Program. Don’t be left out! This self-paced
program helps expand your beekeeping knowledge and helps you step outside of your comfort zone. Visit our website for
all the details.
Dear Ohio Beekeepers,
We would like to invite you, as a beekeeper in Ohio, to participate in a survey of springtime bee health that is
being conducted by Dr. Reed Johnson in the Department of Entomology at the Ohio State University.
The purpose of this study is to compare the success of honey bee colonies near crop fields with colonies away
from crop fields to determine the role that crop fields play in bee deaths in April, May and
June.
Do not worry if your hives aren't near crop fields - we need your survey
responses too!
Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary and you may withdraw from the study at any time with no
strings attached. If you would like to participate in the study, you will be asked to complete a brief survey
about the location of your apiary in relation to nearby crop fields and the health of your honey bee colonies.
The survey is estimated take 5 - 15 minutes. Your knowledge will contribute substantially to understanding
how the surrounding landscape may influence the health of honey bees and we highly appreciate any feedback
you can provide.
http://go.osu.edu/springbeesurvey
Please complete the survey by August 31, 2014.
See http://go.osu.edu/springbeesurvey if you have any questions.
Colony Assessment- Online Class http://class.ucanr.org/login/index.php
This online class is offered by The University of California. To access the class, follow the link above. When you get to
the site you can login as a guest or you can create an account, I logged in as a guest. Then in the upper left of the web
page click on the “ANR Online Learning” part of the page. This will take you to the all courses page
where you can follow the link to the, Honey Bees and Colony Strength Evaluation class. This is well worth
your time!
This ezine is also available online at http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2014.03.06.08.34.archive.html
CATCH THE BUZZ
New Model For Virtual Hive Lets Everybody Look At Bee Problems
Alan Harman
British scientists have created a virtual hive that gives them just about everything except a bee sting.
In their search to unravel the complex causes of colony decline, the new computer model will help scientists, beekeepers
and regulators to understand multiple environmental effects on honeybee colonies.
The model simulates a honey bee colony over the course of several years.
It is freely available at http://www.beehave-model.net
The scientists, led by Prof. Juliet Osborne of the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter,
created what they call the Beehave model to simulate the life of a colony including the queen's egg laying, brood care by
nurse bees and foragers collecting nectar and pollen in a realistic landscape.
“It is a real challenge to understand which factors are most important in affecting bee colony growth and survival,”
Osborne says. “This is the first opportunity to simulate the effects of several factors together, such as food availability,
mite infestation and disease, over realistic time scales.”
The model, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, allows researchers, beekeepers and anyone interested in bees, to
predict colony development and honey production under different environmental conditions and beekeeping practices.
To build the simulation, the scientists brought together existing honeybee research and data to develop a new model that
integrated processes occurring inside and outside the hive.
The first results of the model show that colonies infested with the common parasitic mite Varroa can be much more
vulnerable to food shortages. Effects within the first year can be subtle and might be missed by beekeepers during routine
management.
But the model shows these effects build up over subsequent years leading to eventual failure of the colony, if it was not
given an effective Varroa treatment.
Beehave can also be used to investigate potential consequences of pesticide applications. It can simulate the impact of
increased loss of foragers. These results show colonies may be more resilient to this forager loss than previously thought
in the short-term, but effects may accumulate over years, especially when colonies are also limited by food supply.
Beehive simulations show that good food sources close to the hive will make a real difference to the colony and that
lack of forage over extended periods leaves them vulnerable to other environmental factors.
Addressing forage availability is critical to maintaining healthy hives and colonies over the long term.
“The use of this model by a variety of stakeholders could stimulate the development of new approaches to bee
management, pesticide risk assessment and landscape management,” Osborne says. “The advantage is that each of these
factors can be tested in a virtual environment in different combinations, before testing in the field.”
While Beehive is mathematically very complex, it has a user-friendly interface and a fully accessible manual so it can be
explored and used by a large variety of interested people, she says.
“It is a real challenge to understand which factors are most important in affecting bee colony growth and survival,”
Osborne says. “This is the first opportunity to simulate the effects of several factors together, such as food availability,
mite infestation and disease, over realistic time scales.”
British Beekeepers Association president David Aston says the model will be an important tool in helping to understand
the interactions and impact of the diverse stressors to which honey bee colonies can be exposed.
“Not only will it be invaluable for scientific research purposes, but it will also be an important training tool to help
beekeepers better understand the impacts of their husbandry and other factors on the health and survival of their colonies,”
Aston says.
This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping, published by the A.I. Root
Company. Find us at -Twitter. Facebook. Bee Culture’s Blog.
Scientia potentia est