Bee Mystery Solved?

BeeWeaver's thoughts... The paper by Bromenshenk et al., recently published in PLoS One, adds to earlier work suggesting that CCD is characterized by bees which are infected with multiple pathogens. The new and controversial result presented by this group is that a virus never before identified in honey bees, the Invertebrate Iridescent Virus (IIV), may be correlated with CCD. They used proteomic and bioinformatic techniques to generate the new findings. The methods description is not very detailed but I'll describe what the general approach they employed. In summary, they isolated proteins from colonies with and without CCD, digested those proteins into small peptide fragments, ran those peptide fragments through a liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) pipeline, and then identified the organisms from which the proteins originated by searching a library of microbial proteins for instances of proteins where the precise detected peptide fragments occurred. Questions have been raised about the feasibility of accurately identifying the correct organisms from which the peptide fragments originated using their techniques, and the omission of the most likely confounding source of proteins (the failed to include honey bee proteins) in the library they searched for peptide fragment matches. Nevertheless, it is interesting that co-occurrence of Nosema cerranae with IIV echoes earlier findings from another group which often detected Nosema cerranae and other viruses in the colonies that were afflicted with CCD. It has been established that one may control Nosema cerranae with the same antifungal compound - fumigillin B - that is effective in treating infections of the previoulsy more common Nosema apis, a cousin of Nosema cerranae and the microsporidian parasite that was originally characterized in honey bees many years ago. As a final note, the authors detected IIV in most populations of bees they examined. One notable exception is Australian honey bees, which they found were not infected with IIV. Find the PLoS research article here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0013181

Plant and Design your own Bee Garden

Wildlife-loving gardeners across the world enthuse about planting butterfly gardens, but relatively few think to design and plant a bee garden. Designing and planting a bee garden will bolster the health of your garden and help conserve one of earth's treasures. Why Design and Plant a Bee Garden There are over 3,500 species of bees native to the United States. Unfortunately, their numbers are declining. In fact, the entire world is experiencing a shortage of bees. Why is this a problem? Bees provide the much-needed service of pollinating plants. Approximately 80 percent of the flowering plants on earth require the help of pollinators, such as bees, for survival. That includes the plants which serve as food for humans. It is estimated one out of every three bites of food we take is made possible by bees and other pollinating wildlife. Planting a well-designed bee garden provides food and shelter for bees, allowing them to nest and increase their population in safety. In return, the bees will increase the health and productivity of your garden and the gardens of those around you. How to Design and Plant a Bee Garden Variety is the spice of life to a bee. Bee gardens that use 10 or more species of bee-preferred plants tend to be the most successful. Bees will even visit less attractive plants in these gardens while they are there. Using a wide variety of preferred plants in your bee garden will also attract a wide variety of bees. This is especially true when you choose to use a nice assortment of plants native to your area. Bee season goes from March through October. Choose a selection of plants that will bloom successively during this time period. A continuous provision of nectar and pollen will be available to bees if one type of bloom becomes available as another is dying out. Flowers should be planted in large patches of like varieties to allow bees to dine in one spot for long periods of time. Gardens with scattered plants do not attract as many visits, and therefore receive less pollination, because bees expend too much energy flying between locations. Bees thrive in gardens that are not extremely manicured, as solitary bees (ones who do not live in colonies) often prefer to make their nests in the ground. If you prefer the manicured look of mulch, leave some areas of dirt exposed for solitary bee nesting. Bee houses are an option when a manicured garden look is preferred. Place them in the shady areas of your garden where they will not be disturbed. Another option is to create bee nesting areas by filling planters and barrels with soil or sand. Place these where they will be protected from direct sunlight and rain. Bees require a bit of water in addition to their nectar. A good bee garden will include a few puddles from which the bees can drink. Keep the puddles in muddy areas, as the bees will absorb needed minerals and salt from the soil as they sip the water. Pesticides should not be used in bee gardens. Many pesticides work indiscriminately, killing off helpful insects along with the intended pest victims. If you truly need a pesticide in your garden, use a natural one made from microbes or plant derivatives and apply after sundown. Choosing Plants When You Design and Plant a Bee Garden The best plants to choose for your bee garden are varieties that are native to your area. Native plants will attract a nice variety of native bees. Certain bees require the native plants of their area to survive. Shop for your bee garden plants at a reputable nursery with knowledgeable staff who can assist you. Plants that are not native to your area will attract bees as long as you pick the correct varieties. Stay away from anything with the word 'double' in the name or description. 'Double' plants have been bred to grow extra petals instead of anthers, the reproductive parts of the flowers, from which bees collect pollen. Stick to the old-fashioned single varieties of both non-native and native plants for your bee garden. Bees are especially attracted to flowers that are purple, blue or yellow. They do not have the capability to see red and will rarely visit flowers in variations of that primary color. A few red flowers, such as bee balm, attract bees by reflecting ultraviolet light. Small bees, which have short tongues, are most often attracted to small, shallow flowers. Use flowers such as daisy, marigold, butterfly weed, valerian, buttercup, aster, yarrow and Queen Anne's lace. Larger bees, which have longer tongues, can handle slightly deeper flowers. They enjoy plants such as delphinium, larkspur, columbine, monkshood and snapdragon. Long-tongued bees are also attracted to various herbs, such as sage, oregano, mint and lavender. Leaf-cutting bees are drawn to plants in the legume family and sweet clover. Flowers to Use When You Design and Plant a Bee Garden Bees require two types of plants to survive: pollen plants and nectar plants. Pollen from plants is taken back to their nests to feed the young bees. Nectar plants feed the adult bees to give them energy while looking for pollen. Some of the nectar is also added to the nests to feed the baby bees. Below is a short list of bee-preferred plants based on blooming season. Some of these plants will provide bees with just nectar or just pollen, while others will provide both. Speak to specialists at your local nursery for additional suggestions for your bee garden based on your location. Spring: Nectar plants - Barberry, Bee plant, Blue Pea, Borage, Chinese Houses, Horehound, Lavender, Sage, Salvia, Scented Geranium, Wisteria Pollen plants - Bush Anemone, California Poppy, Yarrow Combination - Bidens, Blanket Flower, Blazing Star, Daisy, Marigold, Tansy Summer: Nectar plants - Basil, Catnip, Horehound, Lavender, Lamb's Ear, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Sea Holly, Spearmint, Thyme, Toadflax, Verbena Pollen plants - Borage, California Poppy, Chaparral Nightshade, Tomato, Yarrow Combination - Bidens, Black-eyed Susan, Blanket Flower, Bluebeard, Calenula, Cosmos, Daisy, Dusty Miller, Goldenrod, Gum Plant, Lemon Queen, Pincushion, Purple Coneflower, Pumpkin, Squash, Zucchini Autumn: Nectar plants - Autumn Sage, Rosemary, Toadflax, Verbena, Yellow Trumpet bush Combination - Bluebeard, Cosmos, Pumpkin, Squash Sunflowers are excellent bee plants that bloom throughout the season. They come in two types: with and without pollen. They will attract more bees to your bee garden if you choose the varieties with pollen.

Pop BeeWeaver

You can now follow our buzz on twitter and bee-friend us on facebook. After all, bees are one of nature's exemplary social beings.

Texas Beekeepers are buzzing about bees....

The Central Texas Beekeepers will be hosting a Beekeeping Demo at the Washington County Fair from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 16 and Friday, Sept. 17. For more info email: centraltexasbeekeepers@gmail.com Alamo Area Beekeepers: Next meeting is Sept. 21. For more info email: tbower@gvec.net Bee Classes in the Bryan, TX area, email: lonestarfarms1@gmail.com

Decline in US colonies on the rise... AGAIN?

On a sad note, I am hearing from many commercial beekeepers who have seen a significant loss in their colony numbers. Growers in California may be strapped to get all the bees they need for the almond bloom that is just a few weeks away. I hope the losses are not as high as I've heard, but certainly there are not as many colonies in California as needed.

BeeWeaver Bee Delivery Network

Orders are coming in for Spring 2010! I am thrilled to say that the number of orders set for delivery directly to drop off locations is higher then ever. The news about the delivery network is spreading, and more beekeepers are becoming part of the delivery system.

Danny is off to Australia

Australian honeybee scientists and Australian beekeepers asked Danny to consult with them on BeeWeaver's success in breeding varroa tolerant stock. He will also take this opportunity to meet with the producers of TaylorMade queens and bees, Warren and Rose Taylor. Despite high honey prices in Australia the Taylors have committed to ship bees to the US in 2010.

Australia, amazingly, has remained varroa free. In the meantime, the beekeeping community is choosing to arm itself with information. We are hopeful that Danny's information will prove useful to the Australians and help them stay a step ahead of varroa.

Our new web site is up and running!

Our new web site is up and running! Our site includes a much better shopping cart, informative bee videos, lots of beekeeping photos, a blog, and much more. We hope you enjoy the BeeWeaver online experience and would love to hear what you think about the changes we have made. We certainly appreciate your patience while we were in transition.

Orders for Spring 2010 have started to roll in. We sell out every season, so do not wait too long to get your bee order in to us. Go ahead... give that new shopping cart a try!