FILENAME:  SEPAPIS.91
 
 
            Florida Extension Beekeeping Newsletter
    Apis--Apicultural Information and Issues (ISSN 0889-3764)
               Volume 9, Number 9, September 1991
 
                          BUDGET BLUES
 
     The newspapers here in Gainesville are full of governmental
spending cuts.  To many, singing the budget blues may seem nothing
more than a perennial rite of beleaguered bureaucracies.  And often
it's difficult to measure the impact of funding reductions.  Not so
this year.  The University of Florida at the present time does not
have enough cash on hand to cover summer school session A.  The
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) has lost over 30
faculty and 39 staff in research, as well as 8 state-wide extension
and 18 county faculty positions.
     The Department of Entomology and Nematology, which just moved
into a brand new building, also continues to suffer.  Funding for
Instructional purposes dropped fifty percent in the 1990-91 fiscal
year and a further 30% this year.  The amount dedicated to research
is half what it was last year.  Meanwhile extension funding has
been reduced over 60% the last two fiscal years.  It is important
to recognize that this is for the respective operating budgets
only.  The reductions do not reflect other costs like salaries, but
directly affect the potential quality and quantity of programs in
teaching, research and extension or outreach possible from the
University.
     This budgetary reduction invariably means less resources will
go into apicultural extension programming.  At present, printing
has been halted for all but one circular published by Cooperative
Extension which relate to apiculture and that one remains doubtful.
These booklets originally were and continue to be distributed for
free.  Once supplies are exhausted, however, they will only be made
available as copy machine facsimiles:  Florida Bee Botany (No. 686;
Protecting Honey Bees From Pesticides (No. 534); Diseases and Pests
of the Honey Bee (No. 766); Florida Beekeeping Almanac (No. 537);
and A Study in Profitability for a Mid-Sized Beekeeping Operation
(No. 722).
     A few copies of the above publications may still be available
from county Cooperative Extension Offices around the state.  I also
have a limited number of Florida Bee Botany, which because of its
color pictures, is more difficult to duplicate on copy machines. If
you wish a copy, drop me a line.  The others, however, I am now
forced to charge for because copying is the only way to make them
available.  Make a check payable to Department of
Entomology/Nematology; tell me which ones you want.  They are $3.00
each.  In addition, as stated in the July issue of this newsletter,
I will continue to make available at $6.00 each copies of the
recently published Agriculture Handbook 690, Diagnosis of Honey Bee
Diseases.  This is also available from the National Technical
Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161, for $17.00.
 
                        SOFTWARE OFFERING
 
     The new edition of the IFAS Microcomputer Software Catalog has
been published.  Program No. 43, "A Profitability Model for a Mid-
Sized Beekeeping Operation," continues to be listed in this
publication.  It is available at a cost of $25.00 (in-state) and
$35.00 (out-of-state).  It runs on IBM compatible computers (MSDOS)
and requires the user to have a copy of Multiplan (R) to read the
sheets.  To order, send a check payable to University of Florida to
IFAS Software Support, Bldg. 120, Room 203, University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL 32611-0162, ph 904/392-7853.  Be sure to indicate
the number and title of the program you want and the diskette size
(3 1/2 or 5 1/4 inch).
 
                      BEEKEEPERS INSTITUTE
 
     A smaller-than-normal, enthusiastic crowd assembled last month
for the Florida Beekeepers Institute at 4-H Camp Ocala.
Presentations on the progress of the African honey bee and the
Varroa mite situations in Florida headlined the event.  Dr. Keith
Delaplane from the University of Georgia was also in attendance.
He provided information on the status of mite and wax moth damage
in his state and efforts to control these pests.  It is not easy to
capture on paper the excitement of the Beekeepers Institute; you
must be there to experience it for yourself.  Below are the
comments a long-time Institute supporter, Mr. Vern Davis, made at
the 10th annual event in 1966:
     "I believe each succeeding Institute has been better than the
previous one.  To me each has been a rewarding experience.  What
has been the cost of the Institute?  Very small when compared to
the great value of information and ideas taken away by those
attending.  The personal contacts and friendships made, I am sure,
have been invaluable to you, as well as me.  Each time we leave, we
are full of enthusiasm and are determined to become not only better
but more efficient beekeepers.  Where can one go at such small cost
to talk bees to his heart's content?  These huts are huming (sic)
two o'clock in the morning with bee talk."
     The next Beekeepers Institute is scheduled for August 21-23,
1992 at 4-H Camp Ocala.  More information on registration will be
forthcoming in future issues of this newsletter.  I hope to see you
there.
 
                    AFRICAN BEE ALTERNATIVES
 
     At a recent meeting of the Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association,
there were a lot of glum faces.  These were caused by a discussion
of what many beekeepers will be faced with when the African honey
bee arrives.  The participants at that meeting urged me to write
something that would be upbeat and positive about this
overdefensive insect.  This is a tall order.
     Chance will play a big role in how the situation surrounding
the African honey bee develops.  This is why prognostications by
experts may or may not have validity.  There are many ifs
(unknowns) in the African bee equation and they will change as the
situation evolves.  On top of this is the fact that the bee itself
is variable and may behave in an unpredictable manner further
complicating the issue.
     As I wrote in an article in the December, 1989 issue of APIS,
much will depend on whether beekeepers perceive the apicultural cup
as half empty or half full when the bee arrives.  In Latin America,
for example, the proliferation of wild African bees now means a
free resource (wild swarms and nests) is available which was not
the case before.  This may also be true in subtropical Florida.
However, the public relations aspects of keeping wild bees will be
significantly different than in most of Latin America.
     Alternatives that some beekeepers might look to in the face of
a wild honey bee population concern removing the insects from
sensitive areas.  Beyond marketing such services in urban areas
(removing bees from houses), a trapping technology exists which can
be marketed to large firms.  Maintaining and running bee trap lines
around the many theme parks of Florida come to mind.  This has been
done in industrial parks in Brazil with some success.  Consulting
in the training of fire, police and others who will be called by
the public to remove nuisance bees is also a possibility.  This
will require some rethinking and retooling of skills.  The
beekeeper-would-be-bee-remover might have to adhere to rules of the
professional pest control operator.  Most present pest control
operations avoid honey bee jobs because they can be so complicated;
this leaves the field open to a specialist beekeeper.
     Those who wish to continue keeping bees as usual will also
have to rethink many aspects of their activities.  The successful
beekeeper of the future may in fact be more of a public relations
expert.  The message that will have to be drilled into the public's
head is that managed colonies of docile honey bees will be the
first line of defense against the wild, overdefensive African kind.
This will mean a constant job of educating neighbors and public
officials about the value of keeping bees in urban and rural areas
to compete with wild populations.  Part of this effort could well
be to make one's services as a bee consultant available to public
officials who will need good advice about matters involving
nuisance colonies and swarms.  Here you could become assertive,
wearing a white hat by taking the lead in community efforts to
control "unwanted" bees.
     The latter practice was advocated in an article entitled,
"Civil Obedience," in the July issue of Gleanings in Bee Culture.
It suggests that if a community does not have an ordinance dealing
with honey bees, local beekeepers should help draft one.  This is
a two-edged sword and must be approached carefully, however, if the
strategy is to be successful and not backfire.  The article, along
with a copy of a model ordinance developed for Texas, is available
by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Ordinance, P.O.
Box 706, Medina, OH 44256.
     Another "proactive" strategy the industry as a whole can
consider is developing a Code of Practice.  This is true in other
areas of the world as well.  According to the June, 1991 issue of
Buzzwords, the newsletter of the New Zealand National Beekeepers
Association, an important reason for contemplating a code of
practice is that some beekeepers are reporting difficulties with
local government.  Some councils, the newsletter continues, are
charging license fees of NZ $35.00 per hive (and no disease
inspection, thank you) while in town.  Local authority inspectors
are rumored to be using the public nuisance by-law to remove all
beehives located within municipal boundaries.  A code of practice
is seen as an effective counter to such problems, because councils
tend to use them as the basis for local body legislation.  The
article concludes: "The question your executive is asking, however,
is what should be included in such a code."
     In an effort to find out what a U.S. code might include,
groups have met and documents have been published.  A significant
event will occur October 24-26 in St. Louis, Missouri.  USDA and
the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
(NASDA) will meet along with industry representatives to hammer out
guidelines for a model honey bee certification plan.  One basis for
this is a document published last February entitled: Honey Bee
Pests--A Threat to the Vitality of U.S. Agriculture, subtitled, A
National Strategy.  Another document published by the Apiary
Inspectors of America, A National Honey Bee Certification Proposal,
will also be discussed in St. Louis.  I have copies of these
documents and will send them for $6.00, checks made payable to
Department of Entomology/Nematology.
     For more information about the meeting, contact Dr. Hachiro
Shimanuki, ph 301/344-2205.  Registration is $20.00 before
September 23, thereafter it is $30.00.  Send payment to Mr. Joe
Francka, Missouri Dept. of Agriculture, P.O. Box 630, Jefferson
City, MO 65102.  For hotel accommodations, ph 314/621-8200.
 
                    STATE BEEKEEPERS MEETING
 
     The Florida State Beekeepers Association will meet November 7-
9 in Gainesville at the Hilton Hotel.  The event begins with the
traditional fish fry on Thursday night provided by personnel of the
Division of Plant Industry under the guidance of Laurence Cutts.
Friday there will be formal presentations in the morning with a
business meeting in the afternoon.  The featured speaker will be
Dr. John Harbo of the USDA Honey Bee Breeding and Genetics
Laboratory, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Tours of the new Entomology
Building on the University of Florida campus as well as the Doyle
Conner Building are planned for Saturday.  For more information on
the event, contact Ms. Eloise Cutts, 2237 NW 16th Ave.,
Gainesville, FL 32605, ph 904/378-7719.
 
                       REMEMBER SEPTEMBER
 
     Remember that September is National Honey Month.  A line of
distinctive advertising items is available from the National Honey
Board to keep your customers coming back for more.   These include
recipes, brochures, clip art and the new cooking video, "Just Add
Honey."  For more information, contact the Board, 421 21st Ave.
#203, Longmont, CO 80501-1421, ph 303/776-1177.
 
                     NEW BUILDING DEDICATION
 
The Entomology/Nematology Department's new building will be
dedicated October 11, 1991.  The Featured speaker is Dr. Murray
Blum from the University of Georgia.  The ceremony will begin 10:00
a.m.  Several other functions are also planned.  For further
information on this event, contact  Sheila Eldridge, Department of
Entomology/Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
32611-0740, ph 904/392-1801, ext. 110.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
 
Malcolm T. Sanford
0740 IFAS, Bldg 970
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0740
Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143
FAX: 904-392-0190
BITNET Address: MTS@IFASGNV
INTERNET Address: [log in to unmask]