4th set of Readings

Salmon Farms Quarantined

Three salmon farms in BC have recently been quarantined due to the discovery of the IHN virus

The fish are still going to be sold to people because the virus does not negatively affect humans

It was very interesting to read about this because one of my friends whose dad is a fisherman (he works on his dads boat) was called in with his dad to help with this. I'm not sure what it was he was doing but he was definitely there


Pesticides Turn Bees Into Picky Eaters

Pesticides are turning bees into "picky eaters" who ignore perfectly good nectar and collect only the sweetest nectar

These pesticides could be a major contributor to colony collapse disorder


Syngenta Settles Herbicide Lawsuit


When it rains atrazine is washed into lakes and rivers which supply many people with drinking water. The chemical can cause low birthweight, birth defects, and reproductive problems


52 million people may have been affected by this chemical


To me this is extremely scary and makes me think that all herbicides, pesticides and insecticides should be completely banned wether there is research proving that they are bad or not.

3rd set of Readings

1. Starting Queen Cells

This article talks about the Skep, Miller, comb, and Alley methods of starting queen cells

2. Clipping and Marking Bees

This article talks about the different tools and methods people use to clip bee's wings and to mark the bees for identification. These tools/methods include putting a baldock cage over a queen for clipping/marking

3. Finishing Queen Cells

If there are more than one or two frames with queen cells on them. The queen cells may not get completely finished as the hive cant feed all of the cells

4. Using Queen Cells

If there are leftover queens you can freeze them, then drop them in alcohol, where they ferment. The liquid created by this process can be used to lure hives into swarming

2nd set of Readings

A Guide to Queen Rearing

This video shows how to do a method of Queen Rearing that is apparently cheap, easy and effective

This video was very clear on what to do when using this method, and how to do it. However I'm not entirely sure why this method works. Why does doing this cause the bees to make queens? Also why does he crush the cells every inch? 

Splitting a Hive

A split is usually done for one of two reasons. One is that you have an overcrowded hive and are trying to prevent a swarm from happening. Splitting a hive doesn't always stop a hive from swarming, but it greatly decreases the chances. The other reason is that you wan't to have more hives in your apiary.

The old hive is left without a queen but has the capability to make a new one. If you were to put a new queen in you should wait a few days to do it, otherwise the other bees might smell the new queen's hormones and kill her.

How to Perform an Artificial Swarm

The idea behind this is to make the bees think they have already swarmed by separating the queen from the brood

It always amazes me how smart bees are and how they work as a team. It is almost like a hive is an organism itself and each bee is a cell

1st Set of Readings

#3

This article is about how hospitals in York, Ontario are trying to improve the food they serve and how this is greatly improving the patient's stay

I found it very cool that 80% of the food comes from Canada, of that 62% comes from Ontario. I wonder what percentage of my diet comes from BC and Canada as a whole

#37
This article/report from the UN blames various factors for messing up local food habits and for causing a public health disaster. These factors include urbanization, the spread of Western Lifestyle through out the world, and the rise of supermarkets.

I found it very interesting that in Hungary and in some US states there is a tax put on junk food (pop chips etc.). Also in Hungary the money collected from the junk food taxes is being put into the healthcare system

Identifying and Treating Varroa

1. Varroa mites are the biggest parasites in the world, relative to their host. The size ratio of honey bee to varroa mite is equivalent to that of a human to a basketball.


2. Varroa mites are the number one killer of honey bees globally.

3. A simple, effective and accurate method for treating varroa is the alcohol wash method.
   "The test is carried out as follows:

• Use a wide-mouth glass jar and scoop about 300 bees (~1 cup) from the brood area. Make sure that the queen is NOT included!
• Add 50 ml (~ 2 oz) of windshield wiper fluid (or diluted methyl hydrate, or rubbing alcohol) to the jar and shake for several minutes.
• Remove lid and pour contents into a container covered with light metal wire-mesh screen (8 mesh/in) or a coarse sieve. Repeat.
• Pour alcohol solution into a second container covered with cheesecloth or fine sieve. Count number of mites." - Agricultural Factsheet #222

Do varroa mites only prey on bees? Or do they also go for other insects? Possibly ants?

Identifying Nosema

1. Nosema belongs to a group of highly specialized fungi. It only effects adult bees, the most susceptible being the worker bees. The infection begins when bees ingest Nosema spores. Once ingested the spores uncurl  a long straw-like polar filament which penetrates and infects outer gut cells

2. To diagnose Noseama, collect 10-25 bees, that are older than 8 days old, from the hive entrance of a number of colonies. Total sample size should be about 100 bees. You can then either send them away to be examined or examine them yourself through a microscope.

3. Once Nosema has been diagnosed, you can treat it by disinfecting the comb, or through the use of medication. Comb can be disinfected by electron-beam irradiation. The only medication registered for the control of Nosema is Fumagillin.

Fumagillin is the only registered medication to treat Nosema. Are there any other unregistered home remedies that people claim to help Nosema?

Common Bee Diseases

1. Not only do diseases and viruses harm bees, but also pesticides, insecticides, and various animals including bears, cattle, birds, ants, frogs, toads, and many more.

2. Bee's can be effected by many different viruses and diseases. Reading about these, the one that interested me the most was bee paralysis. This virus only affects adult bees. A bee keeper will notice hairless glossy bees, bees crawling on the ground around the hive, or bees trembling on the landing board unable to fly.

3. The most serious disease a hive can get is American foulbrood. This disease is caused by Bacillus larvae and can be identified from a shot gun appearance of the capped broad. The capping will also be sunken and have some holes in it. If you open the cells they will contain a gooey tobacco spit coulered substance.

Have the bees at the school ever had a disease/virus or been attacked by pests?