American bee researchers are looking closely at better nutrition as a possible defence against Colony Collapse Disorder, and have developed a new “science-based” bee food to that purpose. MegaBee was developed by Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman and her colleagues at the ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, and went on the market in 2007 through Dadant.

Honey bees devour a new, nutrient-rich food. This artificial diet resulted from 5 months of research. Photo by Stephen Ausmus (ARS USDA)

Bee researcher Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman and her ARS colleagues tested nearly 1,000 different combinations of amino acids — the building blocks of proteins — in their search for the most effective bee diet supplement.

MegaBee bee diet was tested on California bees preparing to go to almond pollination in spring 2007, and again in winter 2007 with the same bees. Results of field testing showed that bees ate MegaBee at about the same rate as natural pollen, but the MegaBee-fed colonies produced more brood.

Artificial feeding can be the key to survival of struggling colonies in early spring, before forage plants are in bloom or when cold wet weather prevents the bees from flying. The developers of MegaBee also suggest that the product “might be especially useful as a late-fall and early-winter nutrition boost for bees, a time when colonies typically enter a low ebb.”

Northern beekeepers may be a bit concerned about stimulating brood production too late in the season, if the usual corresponding increase in Varroa mites are also to be expected — right before bee yards get snowed in for the winter, and colder temperatures prevent any mite-control treatments.

Future plans call for further tests to see if bees outside of California will also thrive on this new diet, and to provide more information about honey bees’ year-round nutrition needs.

The Maine State Beekeepers Association will hold their Annual Meeting on Saturday, 12 April 2008 at the Calumet Club, I-95 Exit 113, Augusta Maine. The Tri-County Beekeepers Association will present this year’s meeting. The program fee is $30 and includes a buffet luncheon and morning refreshments.

Dr Thomas Seeley, Professor of Biology and Chairman, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University will give two presentations:

• “House Hunting by Honey Bees, A Study of Effective Group Decision Making” and
• “Forest Bees and Varroa Mites”.

David VanderDussen, CEO of NOD Apiary Products in Ontario, Canada, will also give two presentations:

• “IPM Mite Control with Mite-AwayII”
• “Trends in Beekeeping”

For more information and a registration form contact: Carol Cottrill (207) 364-0917, email: WMBAmail@msn.com or Jon Cullen, President, Tri-county Beekeepers Association (207) 567-3537, email: jonanadkaren@pivot.net.

Beekeepers looking for a role model could go further do no better than the extraordinary life of Dr. Eva Crane, the British beekeeper who founded the International Bee Research Association and was for 35 years its Director.

Eva (Widdowson) Crane was “a towering figure in the world of apiculture,” as Richard Jones described her in The Guardian. Other tributes published on her death at 95 years of age, in September 2007, described her as “one of the most prominent ‘bee persons’ of the 20th century” and “responsible for turning the study of bees into a scientific subject.”

A brilliant student, Eva Widdowson was one of only two women to study mathematics at King’s College, London, completing her her degree in two years and going on to a Master’s degree in quantum mechanics. She received her PhD in 1938 and moved on to teach Physics at Sheffield University.

The beekeeping world might never have known Dr. Crane — who was clearly destined to a world-changing career in nuclear physics — except for her marriage to James Alfred Crane, RNVR.

One of their wedding presents was a hive of bees.

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Apimondia, the Italian Beekeepers’ Federation, and the Honey Research Centre of the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” announce the 2nd International Forum on Apitherapy, Apimedica and Apiquality 2008. The event will be held from 9 to 12 June 2008 at the Villa Mondragone Congress Centre in Rome, Italy.

The first International Forum Apimedica 2006, considered the relationship between apitherapy and mainstream medicine, and how these fields could complement each other. Apimedica and Apiquality 2008 reflects the focus that Apimondia has been pursuing in recent years, and aims at the development and improvement of quality standards on apitherapy and bee products for the benefit of both beekeepers and the public at large.

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Robin and Stella Mountain, formerly beekeepers from South Africa, now tour operators living in the USA, are running a Beekeeping Safari in South Africa,
2 - 15 December 2008.

The special-interest holiday tour is planned to offer activities to appeal to beekeepers and their non-beekeeping companions alike.


On the Tour:

• Beekeeping in the Apis mellifera scutellata region
• Lesedi Cultural Village, Cradle of Humankind, Pretoria
• Swaziland: Beekeeping in Bulembu / Visit Swazi Candle, Ngwenya Glass Factory
• 2 Full days Safari in the Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga
• Your chance to see the “Big Five” (Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Cape Buffalo, Elephant)
• Beekeeping in the Apis mellifera capensis region
• Cape Town with visits to the African Penguin Breeding Colony, Cape Point, Table Mountain
• Kirstenbosch, the most famous South African Botanical Garden
• Visit the Winelands and Stellenbosch

For more details, including a full itinerary and pricing information, visit www.NtabaTours.com or contact Robin Mountain at Ntaba Tours, by email at mountainbee@fewpb.net or ntabatours@yahoo.com.