Update If you missed the original broadcast, no problem! You can now see the full-length video of the Nature program Silence of the Bees on the PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/full-episode/251/.

Bees on PBS Nature Documentary

(Originally posted: 1 November 2007)

Silence of the Bees is the first in-depth look at the search to uncover what is killing the honeybee. The filmmakers of Bees take viewers around the world to the sites of fallen hives, to high-tech labs, where scientists race to uncover clues, and even deep inside honeybee colonies. Silence of the Bees is the story of a riveting, ongoing investigation to save honeybees from dying out. The film goes beyond the unsolved mystery to tell the story of the honeybee itself, its invaluable impact on our diets and takes a look at what’s at stake if honeybees disappear. Silence of the Bees explores the complex world of the honeybee in crisis and instills in viewers a sense of urgency to learn ways to help these extraordinary animals.

The honey bee documentary premiered on 28 October 2007. Watch a brief video online to get a taste of the program, and keep an eye on local listings!

If you have some free time on this coming Sunday afternoon, you can watch the members of the Beaverlodge (Alberta) bee research program in action on TV!

This will be on the French language network of the CBC, on the science show called Découverte (Discovery), as part of a segment looking at factors causing the recent losses of honey bees in Canada — Pourquoi y-a-t-il a de moins en moins d’abeilles? as the program asks. Why are there fewer and fewer bees?

Dr. Stephen F. Pernal, Officer in Charge at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Beaverlodge Research Farm, was interviewed earlier this summer and some of the work at Beaverlodge Farm was filmed for the program.

The bee episode of Découverte airs at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 14, 2008 (check your local listings). The show is also broadcast internationally on channel TV5. To find out the hours of broadcasting in different countries, visit http://www.tv5.org.

The following is a trailer for The Vanishing of the Bees — a feature-length documentary that looks at the “economic, political and spiritual implications of the world wide disappearance of the honeybee, a mysterious ecological tragedy that could topple our food chain and forever change our way of life.”

“If we want a diet that is more than gruel, we need our pollinators.”
– Dennis vanEngelsdorp (bee researcher, Pennsylvania State University/Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture)

For more information, visit www.vanishingbees.com

Nosema disease in honey bees is caused by the protozoa spore nosema apis that infects the epithelial cells of the bees’ ventricles. Nosema ceranae is another type of nosema discovered in bees in our region recently, and it is believed that this may play a role in the heavy losses that many beekeepers have experienced.

Fumagilin-B, an antibiotic registered for the treatment of nosema infection in honey bees, is the recommended method of control. Fumagilin-B works by attacking the actively multiplying disease-producing parasites in the bee’s digestive tract.

Fumagilin-B should be fed only in sugar syrup, as dusting and extender patties are not very effective.

Medicated syrup should be fed in the fall after the honey supers have been removed. This fall feeding is very important to protect bees during the winter season, when they’re cooped up in the hive. About 8 to 12 litres (2-3 gallons) of 2:1 sugar syrup will usually be needed for each colony. If you’re making your own sugar syrup for fall feeding, mix 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. Commercial bee syrup may also be used.

Mix 1 rounded teaspoon of Fumagilin-B into 4 ounces of warm water (38-49°C or 100-120°F), and stir this into 4 litres (1 US gallon) of sugar syrup until it has dissolved. One 454g bottle of Fumagilin-B will usually be enough to treat 50 colonies.

Country Fields Beekeeping Supplies website has a fact sheet with more information about the safe and effective use of Fumagilin-B to treat both Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Volunteers from the Central Beekeepers Alliance have once again set up a display booth at the Fredericton Exhibition (FREX) and will be there all week, answering questions and talking to visitors about honey bees and beekeeping.

As usual, local honey and the association’s own honey cookbooks are for sale at the CBA booth. And, of course, we’ve got beekeeping gear and equipment on display — as well as the stars of the show, a glass-sided observation hive of live honey bees and their queen.

CBA member and keen photographer Richard Duplain took a few minutes away from manning the beekeeping booth to record a few moments in the week-long event. (Click on any thumbnail pictures to view.) Thanks, Richard, for sharing these pictures!