Janruary 2020 Monthly News Letter

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Our New Home!

We will be moving to a new facility starting January 2020. Thanks to Pastor John Jorgensen and the Three Rivers Bible Church for hosting us since May 2015. There is plenty of parking across the street from the front door. There is also parking behind the building which is accessed from the east side. We are returning to our 7:00 PM meeting time.

Our annual Christmas potluck was hosted by Dennis and Dixie Tollefson in their beautifully decorated home. About 30 beekeepers and friends dined on delicious holiday fare. The gift exchange showcased the imagination of our members and even included a demonstration hive hidden under the tree. Last year’s bee suit made another popular appearance and was stolen until it was frozen. Beekeepers just want to have fun!

Handmade Proud:

Looking to buy new woodenware at reasonable prices?

• Bottom Boards

• Top Covers

• Inner Covers

• Hive Boxes and more…

Contact Jerry Herren

Ph. (360) 355-0051 Swarmchaser40@gmail.com

It’s Winter. Below are some things that will help your bees survive it.

Add an upper entrance to vent excess moisture.
Insulate the top of your hive.
Use a quilt board or solid foam board 1” to 2” thick.
The entrance should also be periodically checked to make sure it is not plugged with dead bees. The undertaker bees don’t carry bodies out very far when it is cold and they can pile up at the entrance.
Check hive weight, and if light feed solid sugar.
Keep entrance small so mice don’t foul your hive.

The Other Bees in Our Backyard

The European honey bee is just one of more than 20,000 bee species worldwide and more than 4000 species in America. Honey bees were brought to America by settlers, only reaching the West Coast in the 1860s. Before that wild, unmanaged bees provided most of the pollination of wildflowers and crops. Native bees are still the most important pollinators of wild plants. Native bees play a large role in crop pollination, and they are often better pollinators than honey bees, spending more time on each flower and therefore helping to transfer more pollen.

The vast majority of bees are solitary, meaning they don’t form complex colonies with divisions of labor, like honey bees. Although social bumble bees nest in cavities, solitary wild bees either excavate nests in the ground, or find hollow stems to occupy. The rainy environment in the Pacific Northwest makes the latter nesting strategy much more attractive, as plant stems are less likely than soil to get inundated. Because most native bees are solitary, they don’t have a hive to protect and are therefore much less likely to sting than honey bees. In fact, you really must get a native bee mad to provoke it into stinging you.

Major Bee Groups in the Pacific Northwest (I’ll cover these groups over the next few newsletters)

• Bumble Bees (Bombus)

• Mason Bees (Osmia)

• Sweat Bees (Lasioglossum and Halictus)

• Mining Bees (Andrena)

• Leafcutter Bees (Megachile)

• Cuckoo Bees (Sphecodes, Nomada, Triepeolus and Coelioxys)

Bumble Bees

Bumble bees are easy to identify, with their large, fuzzy bodies and iconic black and yellow banding. Some species of bumble bee have white or orange markings as well. Like honey bees, bumble bees carry moistened balls of pollen on their hind legs.

Common species in the Pacific Northwest: Black tail bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus; fuzzy-horned bumble bee, Bombus mixtus; yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii; California bumble bee, Bombus californica.

Bumble bees are capable of operating in cool weather when other bees cannot fly. By flexing their flight muscles they can raise their body temperature by several degrees and their furry bodies help insulate them from the cold.

Some plants, particularly tomatoes, peppers, and other plants in the Solanaceous nightshade family, have “sticky” pollen and require stimulation in order for the flower to release pollen grains. Bumble bees grab the flower and vibrate their bodies with a loud “buzz” (this movement is known as sonication) which shakes the pollen grains from the flower.

Bumble bee colonies are annual in cycle. Thus, bumble bee colonies start anew each spring from overwintering young queens that mated the previous summer.

Colonies are usually established in old mouse nests, bird nests, house insulation or other places, above or below ground where dry, fluffy nest material is available. Some bumble bee species have even been observed carrying additional material into the nest.

Bumble bee populations are declining in many areas due to habitat destruction, pesticide misuse, and disease

Old Cowlitz Landing Farm

534 State Route 506

Toledo, WA 98591

Featuring the Beeline Beekeeping Supplies catalog, nucs, packages and more.

Contact Gary or Ginger Rogers

Ph. (360) 219-7701

Bee venom new buzzword with farmers in India

Honey farmers or apiarists, who were primarily collecting only honey, are now beginning to strike it rich by extracting the prized “bee venom”. Protein-rich bee venom is the most sought after resource in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry as it is widely used in anti-ageing creams and treatment of severe arthritis.

“The venom has both anti-inflammatory, anti-viral properties and is used in several drugs, especially to treat arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. More than 50% of the venom is composed of a protein called melittin.

Unlike the usual cruel methodology, farmers have adopted a new and painless mechanism that does not hurt the bees. “Generally, bees die after the bite as their stinger is stuck inside the enemy body. But we make them bite against a glass surface covered with thin fabric so that the stinger does not get stuck. When the venom drops onto the surface, it dries up in less than a few minutes. Later, we scrape it to collect the venom,” It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to extract one or two grams of venom.

The Buzz on Asian Giant Hornets

By John Holmes

Bad news continues for Northwest beekeepers. In September Asian Giant Hornets (Vespa mandarinia) were discovered in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In December a dead hornet was confirmed in Blaine, Washington. These confirmed sighting are 56 miles apart, with passage over water of at least 11.5 miles. It indicates the possibility of multiple hibernating queens over a wide area. Since these hornets appear to be surviving to the north of Washington it is safe to assume, they will be able to survive in Western Washington and beyond. The news articles that are coming out remind me of the “killer bees” era, so it is important to look at the biology and history of this and another invasive hornet. The information is not encouraging.

The yellow-legged or Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is native to South-East Asia, and like the Asian Giant hornet it is a voracious predator of pollinating insects including honey bees. Since its accidental introduction into South-Western France in potted plants from China in 2004, it has spread to much of western Europe. By 2010 it had spread to half the territories of France. In 2012 it was found in Northern Spain. The presence of the Asian hornet in Great Britain was first confirmed in September 2016.

The Asian Giant Hornet (AGH) is the largest species of hornet in the world, workers ranging from 27 to 40 mm (1.06 to 1.57 inches) with queens 50 to 60 mm (1.97 to 2.36 inches). For reference our native Bald-faced (not a hornet) is typically 12 to 15 mm with queens reaching 18 to 20 mm. The AGH native range occurs in East Asia spanning temperate to tropical climates, from Korea to Sri Lanka, typically found inhabiting higher altitude forests. The AGH queens coming out of hibernation in the spring builds their nests almost exclusively in holes in the ground, rarely inside buildings. These can be pre-existing cavities or holes made by the hornet itself. Development from egg to emerging worker takes around 21 days. The AGH is a dominant predator, mainly hunting other insects, particularly bees. AGH are commonly known to kill larger insects such as Praying Mantises and even other Wasps and Hornets. AGH workers often fly 1 to 2 km (0.62 to 1.24 miles) from their nest but may travel up to 8 km (4.97 miles). Adult AGH are unable to digest solid proteins and instead only feed on the fluids from their victims. They feed their masticated prey to their larvae (particularly the honeybee larvae) in the form of a regurgitated paste. The AGH larvae then secrete a clear liquid which the adults consume. By the late summer, the population of the colony is at its peak with around 700 workers. The queen then begins to produce young queens and males (non-fertilized eggs). The virgin queens and males leave the hive to mate, the workers and current queens die out in the autumn. Leaving the young fertilized queens to survive the winter and begin the process again the next spring.

The AGH and the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana) co-evolved together becoming predator and prey. In an attack the AGH rub a pheromone on the nest that signals other hornets to attack. They crush honeybees one after another (up to 40 per minute) with their mandibles until all the honeybees are killed, then carry away all of the masticated larvae to feed their own larvae. A colony of about 30,000 European honeybees attacked by 30 hornets, could be wiped out in 3 hours. In Japan the native honey bees have developed a thermal defense against the AGH. The bees attack incoming hornets with approximately 500 honeybees surrounding the hornet in a tight ball. The temperature within the cluster rises to 47 C (117 F), which is above the upper lethal limit range of 44-46 C degrees, killing the hornet.

This temperature does not adversely affect the honeybees because their upper lethal limit is slightly higher, 48-50 C degrees.The toxicity of AGH venom is lower than that of honeybee venom. The median lethal dose, a dose at which 50% of subjects will die, is 4.1 mg venom per kg body weight (injected in vitro in mice) for AGH and 2.8 mg/kg for honeybee venom. Although the honeybee venom is more toxic, the much larger hornet usually injects a greater quantity of venom making a hornet sting potentially more dangerous. Except for allergic reactions, humans will usually survive several dozens of bee stings without lasting consequences, the claims similar to "three hornet stings will kill a man" are not true. This is not to say AGH stings are not painful. Masato Ono, an entomologist at Tamagawa University, near Tokyo, said it's "like a hot nail through my leg.

" Note the boot in lower right corner to give scale to nest size

An Asian hornet trap developed to protect hives and control hornets in Europe

https://www.vitaeurope.com/beehealth/products/apishield-hornet-trap/

Netherland Hornet website http://www.vespa-crabro.de/vespa-mandarinia.htm

Confirmed sightings

https://wastatedeptag.blogspot.com/2019/12/pest-alert-asian-giant-hornet.html

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/invasive-asian-giant-hornets-found-on-vancouver-island-1.4589009

If you think you’ve found an Asian giant hornet, report it to WSDA’s pest program via email at pestprogram@agr.wa.gov. If possible, send a photo.

Out in the Bee Yard

By Bill Holmes

The discovery of a nest of Asian giant hornets on Vancouver Island near Nanaimo in September was alarming, but I was hopeful the threat was eliminated when it was destroyed. Hopes were dashed when a couple found a dead hornet in Blaine just a few weeks ago. They also spotted a live hornet at their hummingbird feeder. At this point we don’t know if there is a nest associated with those sightings or if a couple of infertile workers hitched a ride on a vehicle aboard the ferry. I wouldn’t count on it. Asians have been living with this T-rex of the Vespula family for a long time and though they can be deadly, they are not very aggressive unless they are being threatened. As John points out in the previous article, this could be a serious predator of our bees. And for now, we don’t know how to control it. The state will set up traps in the Blaine area for the Asian giant hornets and will reach out to the public for help next year in keeping an eye out for the pests and reporting any they find to the WSDA Pest Program. Already on a Cathlamet area news facebook page, a resident said they saw one in their kitchen. No picture, no body, just a post. We will probably see more of this type of report if more are found around the US/Canadian border. I will stay as skeptical as always of social media posts. But I do hope John finds some deployable defenses for us so we will be ready if the worst becomes real. The link in John’s article to a hornet trap does not mention its suitability for the giant hornet which is different than the Asian hornet, but I would think it would be effective at keeping them out. It wooneuld not stop them from beheading thousands of bees outside the hive which is a typical behavior. I would think the trap would be very effective against yellow jackets though.

Went out and weighed the hives yesterday. I was glad to see that they have essentially remained unchanged since December 2 when I last checked. According to Wahkiakum pud the average temperature was 2 degrees colder this December than last year. Colder is better as less stores are consumed when the bees are not as active. It was 45 degrees out and a few bees were flying, if I was a bee whisperer, I would have told them to go back home and relax. I checked the sugar supply on the 3 hives I was feeding, and though the bees were crawling over it, there was still plenty. Two of those had a quilt board with cedar shavings in side compartments and a center section for sugar. The shavings were dry but the area around the upper entrance was damp. I believe my ventilation is adequate. On the hives that are not on sugar I like to lift the outer cover and check the bottom side for moisture or mold. If I find either I’ll reevaluate that hive’s ventilation. The next thing I do is press my ear to the side of top box and listen. I usually hear them without having to disrupt them with a knock. But I do occasionally have to knock and then be rewarded with a melodious roar. All nine were still beeing, just 3 more months to go.

If you want your bees to survive you have to get out there and see what’s happening. Then if they need something you better get to it, don’t wait. The more time you spend with your bees the better you’ll be prepared to notice the beginnings of trouble. Bill

Bee efficiency boosts diversified farming

The more diverse a farm’s plant population, the more beneficial it is for bee pollinators, and the more efficiently those pollinators work. Those are the conclusions in a new paper published in the journal Ecology Letters by former Washington State University graduate student Elias Bloom.

Bloom and his co-authors, looked at pollinator and plant populations on small farms (under 30 acres) and urban gardens in western Washington. “Growing a wide variety of plants boosted the number of bee visits,” said Bloom. “People want a silver bullet crop that they can plant that will bring in more pollinators, but that idea just wasn’t supported by our data. Having a variety, especially if they’re rare in a region, is the best way to increase pollinators.”

These rare plants, which could be anything that isn’t grown by other nearby farms, complement more traditional crops because they may flower at different times of year, or have beneficial traits that help pollinators vary their nutritional intake, he said. Increasing that diversity also boosts pollinator efficiency by upping the number of visits a bee makes to crops at that farm. “That means farmers can increase bee visits to their farm without adding more bees,” said Bloom, who earned his Ph.D. from WSU in entomology in 2019. “And we showed it works for both honey bees and wild pollinators. If a farmer is thinking about buying more bees, planting more diverse crops could be an alternative.”

Bloom and his colleagues worked closely with 36 farms and urban gardens to look at the variety of plants each produces, and to measure pollinator visits. Among their partners were Hmong gardeners, originally from Southeast Asia, who now farm in the Seattle area. “They brought a few plants with them when they immigrated here that you won’t find in other gardens,” Bloom said. “But they also grow staples found on most farms and gardens nearby, like tomatoes, peppers, or squash. Our research shows that this experimentation to introduce rare plant species may drive plant-pollinator interactions.”

That doesn’t mean farmers have to seek out rare produce from Asia or Africa, it just means they should consider a wider variety of plants from different plant families. “You ideally want plants that flower at different times and with different flowers shapes and dimensions,” Bloom said. “Some flowers are very small and shallow, which is great for small wild bees. Taking those things into consideration helps boost pollinator visits to your farm or garden.”

https://news.wsu.edu/2019/12/03/bee-efficiency-boosts-diversified-farming/

Bees Like Hemp

Some pollinators tend to flock to hemp, but according to a recent study, the taller the trees, the more plentiful the bees. Researchers at Cornell University collected bees in the summer of 2018 to identify which ones are attracted to hemp.

In the study, published in the journal Environmental Entomology, the team found that plant height is “strongly correlated” with bee abundance and that hemp plants at least two meters tall attract “nearly 17 times the number of [bee] visits compared to short plants.” Additionally, they found that the crop can support 16 different bee varieties in the northeastern United States. Of the 355 individual bees captured by “repeated sweep net collections,” 60 percent were Apis mellifera, while 30 percent were Bombus impatiens.

Although hemp does not have vivid colors, enticing aromas and other alluring features that tempt insects and other pollinators, it nevertheless produces large amounts of pollen at a time of the year when there’s typically a shortage— meaning hemp can be an important and plentiful source of food for bees when they need it. “The Bee Community of Cannabis sativa and Corresponding Effects of Landscape Composition” published in the journal Environmental Entomology.