The Buzz Issue 7: Momma Bee 👑
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🐝 This Month's Features:
May Fireside with John Russell
John Russell's regular State of the Hive: field notes on how our bees have been doing!
Monofloral Culture: A Step In The Wrong Direction
A deep dive into the details around monofloral agriculture, and how it impacts not only pollinators but the environment at large.
How do Bees Collect Pollen?
When bees are out there pollinating, how exactly are they transporting that pollen back to the hive? The answer is saddlebags.
Pollinator Poetry!
Introducing our newest section, this month featuring Emily Dickinson and John Greenleaf!
Social Media Highlights
Introducing our other newest section, we showcase some of our recent social media posts in case you missed 🎺
A Honey Dipper Contest!
Just how good are you at counting honey dippers? We present the perfect opportunity to find out the answer to a question you've never asked AND get your hands on some sweet, sweet prizes!
New Products Collection: Mother's Day Edition
Now, Mother's Day is coming up fast (Sunday May 14th!). Beekeepers know a thing or two about keeping momma happy since the resident hive Queen has to effectively keep the entire colony of bees alive through thick and thin and types of disasters that would send a collective of humans running for the hills! This year, we rolled up our sleeves and expanded our Bath and Beauty Collection as well as put together a lovely gift basket for anyone needing something sure to make Mom feel like royalty 👑
Beeswax Hand and Body Cream (now available in an adorable glass pot!)
The Ultimate Mother's Day Basket
News and Miscellany
“No Bees, No Food.” How Insects Help Farmers With Their Harvest
- Fascinating piece on cutting edge agriculture
- Jim Shanks, farmer, like many has relied heavily on imported bumblebees in order to sustain greenhouse growing
- "bio-control" companies such as Biobest Group supply massive numbers of bees and other insects to growers to assist with pollination and protection from pests
- Bumblebees are notable specialists at buzz pollination which involves using vibrations to enhance the pollination process
- Read more on the Literary hub website here!
Honey Bee Virus Found in Canadian Mosquitoes
- Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV, Wikipedia article) does massive amounts of damage to honeybee colonies around the world
- Researchers have now reported that the virus has been found in North American mosquitoes for the first time
- Mosquito samples used in the research come from Manitoba, Canada as detailed in the original research paper here
- The current outlook is that BQCV most likely cannot be transmitted from a mosquito host, and the mosquitoes most likely acquired it from mosquito nectar foraging behaviour
- Plant nectar is a "key source" of nutrition for both male and female mosquitoes
- Entomology Today has a fantastic writeup here
Did You Know?
- The roughly 20,000 species of bees we know about are divided into just seven families. Of those seven families, only one contains honey-making bees, the Apidae.
- There are 8 different honey bee species. They all fall under the genus Apis, and are characterized by their ability to make honey and build comb.
- The 8 honey bee species are Apis florea, Apis andreniformis, Apis dorsata, Apis laboriosa, Apis mellifera, Apis cerana, Apis koschevnicovi, and Apis nigrocincta.
- The Bombus family (bumble bees)also produce honey and wax but not in a surplus.
- The largest of these are the "giant catagory". The giant honey bee group comprises two species, Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa.
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!