by Jim Fraser A new year, 2019, is upon us and I hope it brings good things to you and the rest of our fellow beekeepers. We have experienced a fairly mild winter so far, yet as I write this it is freezing outside and they are predicting at least one Polar Vortex event. When you have time, “bee” sure to check your bees for adequate food stores. My bees are consuming fondant at a very fast pace. Don’t lose Read More …
MSBA now has special web pages to help you connect with other beekeepers and the public. Checkout these great NEW FEATURES…
… “LOCAL HONEY FOR SALE”….
“BUY/SELL BEES”… “MSBA ONLINE DIRECTORY”, and a lot more
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Making the news… HOW HONEY BEE Clumps Withstand the Wind… Common WEED KILLER (Glyphosate) May Impact Honey Bee Mortality… ROYAL JELLY is not just superfood, it’s SUPER GLUE Read More …
The Art Institute of Chicago has made public 82,000+ high resolution digital images of paintings, prints and other artifacts. All are completely free to download and reuse. I typed “bee” into the search engine and was delighted to find this gem of a print from hundreds of hits. This is from 1578 by Joannes Stradanus, a Flemish artist who Read More …
What a crazy weather year! I was hearing about swarms all the way into September…WEIRD!!!!
Unfortunately I am again seeing a large number of “Fall Crash or “Fall Dwindle.” Without opening the beehive you’d think it is a fairly strong because robbing bees can make the hive look industrious. Some symptoms are more than a handful of dead bees in front of the hive with normal activity inside: upon inspection no bees at all meaning no brood no nothing. Some of these hives were treated for mites some were not. My diagnosis is that this is mite/viral load-related. Read More …
As I look out the windows of my truck traveling to my bee yards, I know that it is fall based on the calendar; however, the trees aren’t showing many signs of fall and the temperatures aren’t really fall like either. Once again, the weather is not reading the books. Either way, the bees need to be put to bed for winter – feed them so they are heavy, put on mouse guards, and kill the mites. Many beekeepers do more, many do less and we all hope for Read More …
Three amazing speakers will be featured at the 2018 Fall MSBA Meeting and HONEY SHOW! Mel Disselkoen will present his “On The Spot Queen Rearing” technique. Val Dolcini will explain the POLLINATOR PARTNERSHIP organization which is dedicated to protecting pollinators. Doug Vinson will discuss HONEY & NUCLEUS COLONY PRODUCTION, management and science.
Click READ MORE for full AGENDA, Location, timing Read More …