Welcome to The Buzz, our monthly newsletter coming to you straight from the 🍯honeyverse🍯 featuring a wide selection of stories, articles, links, product updates and much more!
Haven't subscribed yet? Click here to sign up for an account and select the Subscribe option to make sure you receive the email version and are eligible for Buzz Club discounts!
Calling all fundraisers, calling all fundraisers! If you or someone you know are fundraising for an important cause, we'd love to hear about it! Find out more about our 2023 fundraising options here!
We wanted to try something new: have a read of this helpful guest article by Michael Jenkins for beginner friendly info on making it easier for bees to thrive in your garden!
A collection featuring some of the latest and greatest. From last month, wildflower seed packets! This month, be prepared for something a little different 🍝
National Geographic has just published a fantastic read on a very recent study around how discarded detritus found in bee hives can be examined to learn many things about the environment surrounding the hive.
Cities involved included Tokyo, Venice, Sydney, Melbourne and New York.
Researchers were able to discover information about the local microbiome including the presence of types of fungi and bacteria as well as DNA from the pathogen which causes cat scratch fever in humans!
Described as "flying Swiffer sheets", bees may become even more useful to humans if researchers are able to take advantage of their unique abilities which are especially well suited for collecting materials from the environment.
A challenging winter has left British Columbian bee colonies in danger as the previous winter resulted in colony losses close to 45 percent.
Mites are expected to be the primary problem, particularly parasitic varroa mites, however there are several other contributing factors involved.
Kevin Hamilton, BC apiary inspector, recommends planting bee friendly plants such as lavender and sage as a way for individuals to help these pollinators out 🐝
Following our analysis from last month of the Canadian Government's report on food fraud, the European Commission has found 46% of overall sampled products to be fraudulent, with 100% of the UK honey sampled to have failed testing.
Counterfeit foods have become a major problem as they undercut high quality products from legitimate businesses and suppliers, while at the same time deceiving consumers with food containing materials that aren't on the label.
A master beekeeper, Lynne Ingram, is quoted as saying that shoppers should make sure to choose products that state the country of origin on the label, as well as source from traditional local beekeepers when possible.
Comprehensive (read: large) piece detailing the latest on our understanding of bee intelligence
Ecologist Stephen Buchmann posits that bees may have a "primitive form of consciousness" and can display complex emotions
An experiment involving a "robotic crab spider" demonstrated that bees can show behaviour similar to PTSD symptoms
With bees such a crucial part of the human diet and life on Earth in general, this research is critical given the enormous numbers of bees that must perish in order to grow certain crops at scale
Honeybees are unique among bees in their mating strategies and anatomy in a very large way
For most bees, a queen will mate with a single male bee or a only a few, whereas a honeybee queen will mate with several partners (described as extremely polyandrous)
This research analyzes genetic samples from various species' of bee to learn more about how highly social bees may compare to other types, a great read for anyone curious about bee behaviour (written well!)
Did You Know?
April comes from Latin Aprilis, a word with uncertain origins 🤔 (Wikipedia page)
Stingless honey bees exist! There are hundreds of species' of these, and humans have been working with them since ancient times. More at Wikipedia
Among honeybees, males are called drones and do not have stingers or the ability to feed themselves. His primary function in the hive is to prepare to mate with a maiden queen and distribute the hive's genetic information to other hives. After mating, the drone's mission is complete and he soon passes away.
Let us know how we did!
We want to build a newsletter worthy of your interest. If you have any comments, suggestions or questions about The Buzz or absolutely anything else, we'd love to hear about it! Find our contact info here or simply give us a ring at 204-612-2337. See you next time!