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Item Subject: aanjan94
APICULTURAL AWARENESS
ES USDA
JAN/FEB 1994
VOL. 7, ISSUE 1
USDA REPORT ON THE U.S. BEEKEEPING INDUSTRY AVAILABLE
REPORT ABSTRACT: An estimated 125-150,000 beekeepers in the
United States operate between 3.2 and 3.4 million honey bee
colonies. Less than 2 percent of beekeepers are full-time
(commercial) operators (300 or more colonies), more than 90
percent are hobbyists (fewer than 25 colonies), and the remainder
are part-time (25-299 colonies). Honey bee pollination is vital
to U.S. agriculture. Most pollination is provided free as a by-
product of honey production. In 1988, beekeepers derived 53
percent of their income from honey program payments. Total honey
program payments have declined since 1988, from $100 million to
$16 million in 1992. This report updates information on the
beekeeping industry and its relationship to agriculture and the
environment.
Chapters covered within the report are: Structure of the U.S.
Beekeeping Industry, Characteristics of Beekeeping Firms, Honey
Bee Pollination, Marketing, Honey Price Support Program,
Correlation Analysis of Selected Beekeeper Characteristics, and a
Bibliography. For information on acquiring a copy of the report,
contact Fredric Hoff at the address presented below.
SOURCE: Fredric L. Hoff, USDA/ERS, Room 1240, 1301 New York
Avenue, NW, Washington D.C., 20005-4788 (202)219-0883
CANADA - A REVIEW OF THE HONEY BEE POPULATION
AND FACTORS AFFECTING IT
The report, dated June 16, 1993, reviews the status of the
Canadian beekeeping industry and factors that affect the
population of beehives. Honey production rates, Numbers of
beekeepers, Number of hives, Number of overwintered hives, Cost
comparison for packages, and mite control procedures, are
examples of topics covered in the comprehensive report. The 12-
page report includes descriptive charts, maps, and graphics.
SOURCE: Gary B. Hergert, Market and Industry Services Branch,
Agriculture Canada
NOTE: For a copy of the report, communicate with J. Tew at one
of the addresses given at the end of this publication.
NATIONAL EXTENSION PUBLICATIONS LISTING
DISTRIBUTED ELECTRONICALLY
The National Extension Beekeeping Publications List will be
loaded on the Ohio State University electronic "Gopher" system
for those who access such a system. The last listing to the
publication was February, 1992. If you have extension bee (Apis
or non-Apis) publications, and want your publication added to the
list, please forward a specimen copy to me along with purchasing
information. Also, a few hard copies are still available.
Contact J. Tew at one of the addresses at the end of this
publication for information on ordering copies.
BEEKEEPING CALENDAR AVAILABLE
The North Carolina State Beekeepers publish a Calendar of
Beekeeping every year. It contains lots of interesting
information, meeting dates, management suggestions, and recipes.
It has a slight regional bias, but should still be interesting to
most beekeepers. It is printed on recycled paper and in two
colors. Copies are available at $6.00 each from:
North Carolina State Beekeepers Assn., 1403 Varsity Dr., Raleigh,
NC 27606.
SOURCE: Stephen Bambara, NCSU-Entomology, Box 7626, Raleigh NC
27695-7626. [log in to unmask]
Insect Learning: Ecological and Evolutionary Perspectives, is
edited by Daniel R. Papaj and Alcinca C. Lewis. The hardback,
having fourteen chapters (398pp), is a comprehensive text that
amasses the expertise of fourteen expert authors. Though many
other insect species are discussed, Insect Learning addresses
honey bees, bumble bees and other bees extensively throughout the
text. The purchase price is $54.95 plus postage and handling and
is available from:
Routledge, Chapman & Hall, ITP Distribution Center, 7625 Empire
Drive, Florence, KY 41042 USA -- PHONE (212)244-3336; FAX
800-248-4724
LONG- VERSUS SHORT-RANGE PHEROMONAL
ATTRACTION IN HONEYBEE SWARMS
SCHMIDT, JUSTIN O.//THOENES, STEVEN C./
/SLESSOR, KEITH N.//WINSTON, MARK L.
During reproductive swarming, honeybee pheromones mediate
the attraction, movement, and cohesiveness of thousands of bees
as they depart from the hive and fly to a new nest site.
Although two principal pheromones, worker Nasonov pheromone and
queen mandibular gland pheromone, are known to play fundamental
roles in the swarming process, the exact roles of these
pheromones has eluded understanding. We report here the unique
and distinctive roles of these pheromones. Nasonov pheromone
acts as a sole long-range orienting and attracting signal for
scout bees searching for suitable nest cavities and for nestmates
as they follow scouts to the new nest. Queen pheromone serves as
a short-range attractant and orienting cue that indicates to
flying workers the location of the queen. Both pheromones
stimulate clustering and cohesiveness of workers after they reach
the nest site.
SOURCE: Justin O. Schmidt, USDA, ARS, Pacific West A, 2000 E.
Allen Road, Tucson AZ 85719; Telephone: 602-670-6380; Fax:
602-670-6493.
PC-BEEPOP, A MICROCOMPUTER MODEL OF THE
POPULATION DYNAMICS AND ECONOMICS OF HONEY BEE COLONIES
BROMENSHENK JERRY J.//DEGRANDI-HOFFMAN GLORIA
PC-BEEPOP is an interactive computer model simulating the
population dynamics of a honey bee colony. Population
predictions are based upon initial colony population size, age
structure, weather conditions, forager life, queen egg laying
potential, and food stores available in the colony. Previous
publications concerning PC-BEEPOP hive appeared in ecological and
toxicological journals. This manuscript was written for a wider
audience of entomologists to inform them of the availability of
this program, and to describe some of its capabilities. Examples
of simulations that might be used in entomology, apiculture, or
ecology classes are included.
SOURCE: Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, USDA, ARS, 2000 East Allen
Road, Tucson AZ 85719. Telephone: 602-670-6380; Fax:
602-670-6493.
AGRICULTURE CANADA HONEY BEE IMPORTATION DISCUSSIONS
Prior to 1984, the Canada/US border was open to the importation
of packaged honey bees. Since 1984, when tracheal mites
(Acarapis woodi) were first reported in the U.S., no importation
has been allowed into the provinces east of the Manitoba border.
However, packaged bees from the continental U.S. continued to be
available to beekeepers in the western provinces until prohibited
by Ministerial Order following the identification of the varroa
mite (Varroa jacobsoni) in the U.S. in 1987. All importations
from the U.S. were stopped as of January 1, 1988, and the 2-year
embargo has been twice renewed. The current embargo will expire
at the end of 1993. On September 11, 1993, a Bee Consultative
Meeting was held in Calgary to discuss issues concerning the
border closing. Based on discussions held, the following
recommendations were made:
1. It is recommended that the existing Honey Bee Prohibition
Regulations, 1991 be extended beyond December 31, 1993 for an
additional two years. Further, it is recommended that, subject
to the satisfactory completion of the actions listed below and of
a formal risk assessment, the decision to be taken and announced,
as soon as possible after the summer of 1995, that the border
will be opened.
2. It is recommended that consideration be given to allowing
queens only to be imported from the continental U.S. under
tightly controlled experimental conditions in 1995.
3. It is recommended that the beekeeping industry, under the
leadership of the Canadian Honey Council, give high priority to
resolving the uncertainties that exist, and to developing a
strategy to enhance the long term viability and competitiveness
of the industry.
A list of suggestions was included that would augment the
implementation of the recommendations made.
SOURCE: Agriculture Canada, Food Production and Inspection
Branch, 2255 Carling Avenue, 3rd Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y9
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Item Subject: Signature Block
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James E. Tew, Ph.D. * (216)263-3684
Department of Entomology * [log in to unmask]
OARDC * FAX (216)262-2720
The Ohio State University *
Wooster, Ohio 44691 *
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