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Honey Bee Lab
Subscribe to the Melitto Files blog (4/19/2017) by Mary Bammer - 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 including... Read More
2021 Spring Virtual Bee College Registration is OPEN! (2/5/2021) by Amy Vu - Join the UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory for the 2021 Spring Virtual UF/IFAS Bee College! Image Credit: Suzy Rodriguez, Department of Entomology and Nematology Description Join the University of Florida, Institute of Food... Read More
Florida Beekeeping Management Calendar: February 2021 (2/1/2021) by Amy Vu - Recommendations for your Florida apiary in February 2021: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. Additional resources: Requeening a Beehive Tools for Varroa Management Varroa Sampling Methods (video) The Benefits of Pollen to Honey... Read More
A New and Revised Resource: World Honey Bee Health.com (1/29/2021) by Amy Vu - The Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory at the University of Florida (HBREL) is announcing the completion of a website and manuscript update of the global distribution of western honey bee (Apis mellifera) pathogens and... Read More
Florida Beekeeping Management Calendar: January 2021 (1/6/2021) by Amy Vu - Recommendations for your Florida apiary in January 2021: 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) The Benefits of Pollen to Honey Bees How to... Read More
Beekeeping Management Calendar: December 2020 (12/1/2020) by Amy Vu - Recommendations for your apiary in December 2020: 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 The year-round Beekeeping... Read More
Florida Beekeeping Calendar: September 2020 (9/1/2020) by Amy Vu - Management practices for your apiary in September: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. A yearly beekeeping management calendar can be found here Additional resources: Tools for Varroa Management Varroa Sampling Methods (video) Small... Read More
Research Update: Anatolian & Arabian Honey Bees (7/17/2020) by Amy Vu - The UF/IFAS Honey Bee Laboratory has collaborated on research that led to two 2020 publications on different honey bee subspecies. Below are summaries of the research and links to the full publications. Apis mellifera anatoliaca... Read More
Research update: Varroa Control (6/12/2020) by Amy Vu - The UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory conducted research projects that led to two 2020 publications on Varroa destructor. Below are summaries of the research as well as links to the full publications. Rearing Varroa destructor in... Read More
Research Update: Honey Bees and Pesticides (5/15/2020) by Amy Vu - The UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory (HBREL) collaborated on research that led to two 2019 publications on honey bees and pesticides. Below are summaries of the research as well as links to the... Read More
UF/IFAS Honey Bee Lab Workshops: Spring 2020 (12/17/2019) by Amy Vu - Still looking for a great gift for the holiday season? How about the gift of education and beekeeping experience? With all the opportunities the UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab has to offer, we... Read More
Research update: Honey Bee Nutrition (11/15/2019) by Amy Vu - The UF/IFAS Honey Bee Lab has collaborated on research that has led to two publications related to honey bee nutrition in 2019. Below are summaries of the research and the links to their full publications.... Read More
Beekeeping Management Calendar: November (11/1/2019) by Amy Vu - 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 Originally published November, 2016. Revised and republished November,... Read More
Florida Beekeeping Calendar: October 2019 (10/1/2019) by Amy Vu - Management practices for your apiary in October: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. A yearly beekeeping management calendar can be found here Additional resources: Tools for Varroa Management Varroa Sampling Methods (video) How... Read More
What’s new with Nosema treatment? (9/23/2019) by Amy Vu - Nosema disease is believed by some to be a significant stressor of honey bees. Nosema is contracted by honey bees by ingesting the spore through trophallaxis (food sharing) or by ingesting waste from an infected... Read More
Florida Beekeeping Calendar: September (9/2/2019) by Mary Bammer - Management practices 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 Honey Bee... Read More
Florida Beekeeping Calendar: August (8/1/2019) by Mary Bammer - Management practices 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) Foulbrood in Honey Bee Colonies Originally published August 2017.... Read More
Swarm management basics (7/15/2019) by Susan Harris - A honey bee colony has two main goals for the year: 1) survive (i.e. build up the number of bees working to find and store enough honey and pollen to live through the next winter)... Read More
Florida Beekeeping Calendar: July (7/5/2019) by Mary Bammer - Management practices 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 published... Read More
Research update: Ground-nesting and orchid pollinators (6/17/2019) by Mary Bammer - The UF/IFAS Honey Bee Lab has collaborated on research that led to two 2019 publications on wild pollinators. Below are summaries of the research as well as links to the full publications. Native orchid pollination This research... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: June (6/3/2019) by Mary Bammer - 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
What’s new with Varroa? (5/13/2019) by Mary Bammer - The UF/IFAS Honey Bee Lab has collaborated on research that led to two recent Varroa-related publications. Below are summaries of that research as well as links to the full publications. Varroa feeding This research was conducted... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: May (5/1/2019) by Mary Bammer - Recommendations for your apiary in May: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. For more information, check out this resources: Swarm Control for Managed Beehives Originally published May, 2017.... Read More
Florida Beekeeping Calendar: April (4/15/2019) by Mary Bammer - Recommendations for your apiary in April: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. For more information, check out these resources: Florida Beekeeping Management Calendar: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in848 Swarm Control for Managed Beehives: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in970 Florida... Read More
10 tips for teaching kids about bees (4/2/2019) by Mary Bammer - This post was written by Master Beekeeper, Meghan Orman Bees are fascinating; there’s just no getting around it. If we don’t share our fascination with the young people around us, bees’ future maybe in peril.... Read More
Florida Beekeeping Calendar: March (3/19/2019) by Mary Bammer - 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, Varroa... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: February (2/1/2019) by Mary Bammer - 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 in... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: January (1/3/2019) by Mary Bammer - 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 Originally published January, 2017. Revised and republished... Read More
A century old tale of ‘Beekeeping in the South’ (12/15/2018) by Mary Bammer - In 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 and... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: December (12/1/2018) by Mary Bammer - 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 Originally published December, 2016. Revised and republished... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: November (11/1/2018) by Mary Bammer - 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 Originally published November, 2016. Revised and republished... Read More
Immediate Hurricane Relief for Beekeepers (10/17/2018) by Mary Bammer - 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 are... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: October (10/2/2018) by Mary Bammer - 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) How... Read More
Apiary hurricane preparedness (9/12/2018) by Mary Bammer - 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 few... Read More
Industry Updates for Florida Beekeepers (5/7/2018) by Mary Bammer - 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 what... Read More
Lithium Chloride for Varroa Control? (4/18/2018) by Mary Bammer - 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 control (Ziegelmann... Read More
Understanding Integrated Crop Pollination (2/20/2018) by Mary Bammer - 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 and... Read More
A Fond Farewell (2/8/2018) by Ashley Mortensen - 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 Research... Read More
Varroa Biology and Management: An Overview (12/1/2017) by Susan Harris - 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 eventually... Read More
Changes are coming to Bee College (11/9/2017) by Mary Bammer - 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 changes... Read More
Mosquito control and Florida beekeepers (9/22/2017) by Mary Bammer - 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 this is... Read More
Award-Winning Student (8/24/2017) by Brandi Simmons - 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 Florida... Read More
Water sources for bees, not mosquitoes (7/6/2017) by Mary Bammer - 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 access... Read More
Subscribe to the Melitto Files blog (4/19/2017) by Mary Bammer - 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 including... Read MoreLooking out for Nosema in spring colonies (3/23/2017) by Ashley Mortensen - 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 of... Read More Taking advantage of honey bees’ natural behaviors (2/3/2017) by Susan Harris - 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 to... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: January (1/10/2017) by Mary Bammer - 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 see... Read More
Beekeeper Management Calendar: December (12/2/2016) by Mary Bammer - 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 our... Read MorePollinator protection that starts in the lab (10/27/2016) by Mary Bammer - 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 with... Read More Field study of a new pesticide (9/15/2016) by Josh Campbell - 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 contact... Read More
Zika and Florida Beekeepers (9/9/2016) by Mary Bammer - 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 the... Read MoreValue of Bees to Blueberry Fruit Set (8/1/2016) by Josh Campbell - 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 45... Read More
Varroa: the honey bee destructor (6/14/2016) by cjack - 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 mites... Read More
Melitto Files gets a new look (6/14/2016) by tbustamante - 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 Bee... Read More