British kids' bee study

The British seem to be on a forefront of bee research; even grade school children are publishing scientific papers! This is borderline embarrassing at first, but if you read through the article you will see that it is a great exercise. These kids, under the direction of their teacher set up experiments and tested bumble bees for their colour pattern and spatial abilities. Their research seems interesting; take a look at the article to see the way that they carried out their different coloured light experiments. They determined that the bees can apply what they learned and visit the digital flowers even after they are rearranged.

I am glad that the kids got to do this study with bees and learn how to do scientific reasoning and testing.

CBC: Kids' bee study published in science journal

Self destructing Varroa Mites?

Close up view of a Varroa Mite

UK scientists have applied a Nobel Prize winning theory called "RNA interference" which controls the flow of genetic information to attack the mites on a genetic level. They plan on targetting a specific gene which would force the varroa mites to self-destruct.

This treatment would be introduced to the hive by feed. So you would be able to put this in a pollen patty and the bees will deliver it to their young (where the majority of the varroa reside).

Read the article for yourself:

UK Guardian: Genetic breakthrough in fight against honeybee killer

National Geographic: Bee vs. Spider

This National Geographic video is of a jumping spider taking out a beloved honey bee.



Pretty cool! I am sure that you were hoping that the bee was going to sting the spider...

Winter! Mouse guard cleaning

See dead bees in snow!

It is just crazy to see how much time has gone by since I have posted. I am sorry for the disconnect. You can tell that it is winter time in the bee yard because there are so few articles in the newspapers about beekeeping! It is rather depressing. I suppose it gives us time to catch up on our magazine subscription reading.

Custom mouse guard: with bee bodies stuck in between the nails

For the last 2-3 weeks in my area we have had sub zero temperatures, meaning that the girls have not been able to get out of the hive and fly. This leaves a fairly big pile of dead bees waiting to be pulled out of the hive to clean up the hive. When there is a nice day(I typically do this twice per winter season), I take off the entrance reducer/mouse guard and clean the dead bees off the bottom board.

Scaped out dead bees

Moisture buildup

My side hive which I combined to make a two box hive right before winter, had a fair amount of moisture build up on the bottom board. To counter this moisture, I put a wood chip on the edge of the hive cover to allow more air to escape and be exchanged from the hive. When I removed the mouse guard to scrape out the dead bees, I noticed that there were some alive bees mixed in with the dead ones! That is because this is the only hive that I do not have a slatted rack for! Which would have allowed for an air space (which helps with moisture and allows the bees to hang lower in the hive).