Honey Bee Lab
Subscribe to the Melitto Files blog (4/19/2017) - The Melitto Files blog is hosted by the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory. It features blog posts written by the HBREL staff, Florida apiary inspectors, and Master Beekeepers on topics... Read More
Florida Beekeeping Calendar: March (3/19/2019) - Recommendations for your apiary in March: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. Additional resources: How to Quantify Nosema Spores Infection Rate in a Honey Bee Colony Varroa Mite,... Read More
New Beekeeper Resources from the Honey Bee Health Coalition (2/22/2019) - Since 2015, the Tools for Varroa Management Guide published by the Honey Bee Health Coalition (HBHC) has been a go-to beekeeper resource on Varroa. The guide includes information about the mites, tips on how... Read More Beekeeper Management Calendar: February (2/1/2019) - Recommendations for your apiary in February: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. Additional resources: The Benefits of Pollen to Honey Bees How to Quantify Nosema Spores Infection Rate... Read More Beekeeper Management Calendar: January (1/3/2019) - Recommendations for your apiary in January: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. The year-round Beekeeping Management Calendar can be found here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in848 
A century old tale of ‘Beekeeping in the South’ (12/15/2018) - 15In 1920 the American Bee Journal published a book called “Beekeeping In The South; A Handbook on Seasons, Methods and Honey Flora of the Fifteen Southern States”. Written by Kennith Hawkins, a Beekeeping Specialist... Read More Beekeeper Management Calendar: December (12/1/2018) - Recommendations for your apiary in December: his calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. The year-round Beekeeping Management Calendar can be found here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in848 Beekeeper Management Calendar: November (11/1/2018) - Recommendations for your apiary in November: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. The year-round Beekeeping Management Calendar can be found here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in848 
Immediate Hurricane Relief for Beekeepers (10/17/2018) - Hurricane Michael significantly impacted the beekeeping industry in the Florida Panhandle. This area is home to about 500 registered beekeepers and nearly 50,000 colonies, which amounts to more than 1.2 billion bees. These colonies... Read More Beekeeper Management Calendar: October (10/2/2018) - Recommendations for your apiary in October: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. The year-round Beekeeping Management Calendar can be found here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in848 Additional resources: Tools for Varroa Management Varroa Sampling Methods (video)... Read More Apiary hurricane preparedness (9/12/2018) - As always during hurricane season, your safety, and that of your family and neighbors is the top priority as a pending storm approaches. As long as you are otherwise safe and prepared, however, take a... Read More Beekeeper Management Calendar: September (8/31/2018) - Recommendations for your apiary in September: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. Additional resources: Tools for Varroa Management Varroa Sampling Methods (video) How to Quantify Nosema Spores Infection Rate in a... Read More
A Reasonable Argument in Support of the Chinese Tallow Flea Beetle (8/31/2018) - A note on the Chinese Tallow Flea Beetle from Dr. William Kern, UF/IFAS Associate professor: I hope to offer a reasonable argument why Florida Beekeepers should support the release of the Chinese tallow flea... Read More Beekeeper Management Calendar: August (8/6/2018) - Recommendations for your apiary in August: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. Additional resources: Tools for Varroa Management Varroa Sampling Methods (video) Originally posted, August 9, 2017. Reposted August 6, 2018. Beekeeper Management Calendar: July (7/4/2018) - Recommendations for your apiary in July: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. Additional resources: Tools for Varroa Management Varroa Sampling Methods (video) Bottling, Labeling, and Selling Honey in Florida Originally posted,... Read More Beekeeper Management Calendar: June (6/4/2018) - Recommendations for your apiary in June: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. Additional resources: Tools for Varroa Management Varroa Sampling Methods (video) Bottling, Labeling, and Selling Honey in Florida... Read More
Industry Updates for Florida Beekeepers (5/7/2018) - The Florida Administrative Code (FAC) associated with honey bees and beekeepers (Rule 5B-54) has undergone some changes that will have an effect on beekeeping operations in Florida. This post will summarize the changes and... Read More Beekeeper Management Calendar: May (5/2/2018) - Recommendations for your apiary in May: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. Originally published May, 2017. Republished May, 2018.
Lithium Chloride for Varroa Control? (4/18/2018) - At the end of 2017, German bee researchers published a journal article detailing work that they had completed which looked at the compound lithium chloride (LiCl) as a new potential option for Varroa... Read More Beekeeper Management Calendar: April (3/30/2018) - Recommendations for your apiary in April: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive.
Understanding Integrated Crop Pollination (2/20/2018) - As the world’s dependence on pollinators increases, researchers from around the country work to develop practical strategies to ensure that our nation’s crops are adequately pollinated. In a collaboration between nearly a dozen universities... Read More
A Fond Farewell (2/8/2018) - Hello Florida Beekeepers! I wanted to extent a heart-felt thank you for your support and encouragement over the past few years. After six plus years as a graduate student in the UF Honey Bee... Read More
Varroa Biology and Management: An Overview (12/1/2017) - Varroa destructor is the Number One pest of our Western Honey Bee, Apis mellifera. This pest (commonly called Varroa or Varroa mite) is a parasite that feeds on a bee’s hemolymph, causing honey bee stress and... Read More
Changes are coming to Bee College (11/9/2017) - The UF Honey Bee Lab is constantly striving to improve our extension programs in an effort to be more effective and approachable to beekeepers across Florida. Because of this, we are making some significant... Read More
Mosquito control and Florida beekeepers (9/22/2017) - As Florida continues to recover from the effects of Hurricane Irma, many mosquito control districts in the state are temporarily stepping up their spray programs. It is important to realize how and why... Read More
Award-Winning Student (8/24/2017) - Congratulations Ashley Mortensen! Ashley has been awarded the 2017 Southeastern Branch John Henry Comstock Award given by the Entomological Society of America’s National Office. Ashley Mortensen is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of... Read More
Water sources for bees, not mosquitoes (7/6/2017) - This summer, keep your bees’ water source from becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Best Management Requirements for beekeepers requires that managed honey bee colonies have... Read More Subscribe to the Melitto Files blog (4/19/2017) - The Melitto Files blog is hosted by the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory. It features blog posts written by the HBREL staff, Florida apiary inspectors, and Master Beekeepers on topics... Read MoreVeterinarians’ guide to honey bee antibiotics: Webinar (3/28/2017) - A new FDA ruling means that many beekeepers will need a prescription from a veterinarian to use certain honey bee antibiotics. The UF Honey Bee Lab hosted a webinar on February 22, 2017 to... Read More
Looking out for Nosema in spring colonies (3/23/2017) - A guide to quantifying the honey bee pathogen, Nosema, in colonies Regular subscribers to this blog may have noticed multiple mentions of Nosema in recent posts of the Beekeeping Management Calendar. These recommendations have highlighted the importance... Read More
Taking advantage of honey bees’ natural behaviors (2/3/2017) - Honey bees are an insect with a complicated life history and social organization. The honey bee that we use in the United States, Apis mellifera, is a cavity dwelling insect that flies to flowers... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: January (1/10/2017) - Recommendations for your apiary in January: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management, and is not comprehensive. The year-round Beekeeping Management Calendar can be found here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in848 Additional Resources For information on colony nutrition... Read MoreNew Year, new rule: A look at the FDA ruling on prescriptions for honey bees (12/23/2016) - Starting January 1st, 2017, if you choose to use antibiotics for the prevention or treatment of the bacterial diseases American foulbrood (AFB) and European foulbrood (EFB) in honey bee colonies, you will need a... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: December (12/2/2016) - Recommendations for your apiary in December: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management, and is not comprehensive. The year-round Beekeeping Management Calendar can be found here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in848 Have something to say? Join the discussion on... Read MorePollinator protection that starts in the lab (10/27/2016) - In vitro literally means “in glass” in Latin. More broadly in vitro describes a process occuring outside of its biologically normal setting, generally in a laboratory. The idea summons up images of scientists in white lab coats... Read More
Field study of a new pesticide (9/15/2016) - Pesticides in Agriculture Pesticides are an important tool for farmers to control unwanted insect pests. In recent years many commonly used pesticides have been shown to be dangerous to bees that they come into... Read More
Zika and Florida Beekeepers (9/9/2016) - A letter from the Florida Chief of Apiary Inspection, David Westervelt: The Southeastern United States is in a triple threat situation for mosquito proliferation and control. Listed below are conditions making it favorable for... Read MoreReducing African honey bees using managed European colonies (8/15/2016) - At the UF HBREL we love when our science has practical applications for Florida beekeepers. Below is a summary of one such study with African and European honey bee colonies. Hypothesis: The presence of managed... Read More
Value of Bees to Blueberry Fruit Set (8/1/2016) - Florida Blueberry Industry Blueberry growers in central and south Florida mostly utilize the highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum). It does not require many chill hours (the necessary number of hours where temperatures fall between 32 and... Read More
A Tale of Two Subspecies: Genetics studies of South African honey bees (7/8/2016) - There are two factors that play an integral role in distinguishing between populations within a species. First, an organism’s geography restricts its ability to disperse. Individuals in adjacent populations migrate between one another at... Read More
There’s a new Bee College in town, and it’s better than ever. (6/24/2016) - Mark August 12th and 13th on your calendar folks. South Florida and Caribbean Bee College is right around the corner! Yes, you read that correctly. The UF Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab is... Read More
Varroa: the honey bee destructor (6/14/2016) - Varroa destructor Background: Varroa is the most devastating pest of the western honey bee. It is responsible for the death of honey bee colonies world-wide, resulting in millions of dollars of damages. The... Read More
Melitto Files gets a new look (6/14/2016) - The Melitto Files has hit the web in a whole new way! We are transitioning from a newsletter format to an online blog. This will be the new source of information about the Honey... Read More