BEEKEEPING CLASSES IN OCTOBER

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1 BEEKEEPING CLASSES IN OCTOBER Next Meeting Wednesday, September 16 Gateway Centre Suites The Rainier Room, Ste. 301 Time: 7 PM 1313 E. Maple St. Bellingham, WA REMEMBER MEETINGS ARE NOW THE THIRD WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH! THANKS TO OUR AUGUST SPEAKERS We were treated to two outstanding guests at our August meeting; Will MacHugh of Eltopia gave us a preview of his company's exciting new product, which is a high-tech attempt to eradicate varroa mites. You can find out more about MiteNot and even sign up for news about the product at Washington State Beekeepers' voice in Olympia, Tim Johnson, enlightened and entertained us on the ways of the state legislature, and filled us in on the status of two bills of interest beekeepers as farmers, a bill that passed this year, and the noxious weed bill that is still being kicked around. That bill is attempting to allow bee forage to be planted when noxious weeds are removed. Stay tuned. Tim is also interested in learning about our concerns as beekeepers. You can contact Tim at: timj@nwpolicygroup.com. Two of our beekeeping experts are offering classes, unfortunately on the same day: MBBA Director Michael Jaross is presenting a twohour candid view of what it really takes to keep bees in your own back yard. He'll be giving local sources for equipment, bees, and advice based on ten years of successful beekeeping. WHEN: October 10, 10:30 am 12:30 pm WHERE: Cloud Mountain Farm COST: $30 register in advance at: And repeating his popular session at Whatcom Community College, MBBA member Miguel Boriss's workshop on beginning beekeeping will be on October 10 from 9 am to 1 pm. Cost is $49 and registration information can be found at (From that link, choose home and garden in the class offering list.) Watch for news regarding a November workshop by Dianna Sammataro, renowned author of the indispensable Beekeepers Handbook. This twoday event for intermediate and advanced beekeepers will be here in Bellingham and is limited to about 35 participants. MBBA Member cost will be $60; non-members, $100. Meeting Refreshments Anyone is welcome to bring something to eat or drink and give us an excuse to schmooze. And thanks for cleaning up after! 1

2 IAL C E SP EN EV T Open to the public Requested donation ($3) at the door for non MBBA members. 2

3 BOOK REVIEW other interesting facts. I've only tried a few of the recipes (too busy looking at the pictures?!) with mixed results. The coconut macaroons didn't seem to come out right, but they weren't even around long enough to get stale, so worth another try. Other recipes came out well. A wonderful end to Masterton's book is the image of a life's work amulet a tiny vial containing 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey, representing the amount that one worker bee will make in her entire life. The Fresh Honey Cookbook: 84 Recipes from a Beekeeper's Kitchen The Fresh Honey Cookbook is published by Storey Publishing $ Review by Maggie Grantham The last thing I needed was another cookbook, but Laurey Masterton's beautiful photographs lured me in when I picked up her book from the bee-related display at BelleWood Acres. Like a beekeeper's year, the book is organized by seasons and months, even highlighting a different honey varietal each month (tupelo, orange blossom, acacia, avocado, raspberry, tulip poplar, sourwood, blueberry, cranberry, eucalyptus, chestnut, and sage). And if those exotic honeys intrigue you, there is a comprehensive online honey source list in the back of the book. I webindulged in some avocado and eucalyptus from Bennett's Honey Farm in California and received a prompt delivery. And the author is a beekeeper; her story of being introduced to the notion while catering a party for The Honeybee Project in Asheville, NC, is interesting, as is the tale of her continued infatuation with all things bee. The non-honey ingredients in the recipes that are bee-dependent she highlights in bold, and wants us to think about how important pollinators are to every mouthful we enjoy. Interspersed with the recipes are stunning bee photos and concise explanations about workers, drones, queens, the hive, and how to taste honey among CALCULATOR FOR BEES' LIFE CYCLES From the North Olympic Peninsula Beekeepers' newsletter comes this useful Life Cycle Calculator. From the link below, print the two main wheels on heavy card stock, cut them out, secure the center and align to give you specific dates for the life cycles of workers, drones, or queens. (There is also a varroa wheel that gives you their life cycle, but how do you tell when they begin roaming the hive? ) The Ready Reckoner created by the Edinburgh beekeepers in the UK is especially handy for keeping track of sacrificial drone frames. /lifecycle_wheel_v4.pdf 3

4 NEW FINDINGS ABOUT VITELLOGENIN Trophallaxis bees feeding each other Tempe, Ariz. -- When it comes to vaccinating their babies, bees don't have a choice -- they naturally immunize their offspring against specific diseases found in their environments. And now for the first time, scientists have discovered how they do it. bees use this same pollen to create "royal jelly" -- a food made just for the queen that incidentally contains bacteria from the outside environment. After eating these bacteria, the pathogens are digested in the gut and transferred to the body cavity; there they are stored in the queen's 'fat body' -- an organ similar to a liver. Pieces of the bacteria are then bound to vitellogenin -- a protein -- and carried via blood to the developing eggs. Because of this, bee babies are 'vaccinated' and their immune systems better prepared to fight diseases found in their environment once they are born. Vitellogenin is the carrier of these immune-priming signals, something researchers did not know until now. First edible vaccines for bees While bees vaccinate their babies against some diseases, many pathogens are deadly and the insects are unable to fight them. Researchers from Arizona State University, University of Helsinki, University of Jyväskylä and Norwegian University of Life Sciences made the discovery after But now that Amdam and Freitak understand how studying a bee blood protein called vitellogenin. The bees vaccinate their babies, this opens the door to scientists found that this protein plays a critical, but creating the first edible and natural vaccine for previously unknown role in providing bee babies insects. protection against disease. "We are patenting a way to With the discovery of how bees naturally produce a harmless vaccine, vaccinate their babies, researchers can now The findings appear as well as how to cultivate develop the first vaccine for insects. This today in the journal the vaccines and introduce vaccine could be used to fight serious diseases PLOS Pathogens. them to bee hives through a that decimate beehives. This is an important cocktail the bees would eat. development for food production. "The process by which They would then be able to bees transfer immunity stave off disease," said to their babies was a big mystery until now. What we Freitak. found is that it's as simple as eating," said Gro Amdam, a professor with ASU's School of Life Sciences and co-author of the paper. "Our amazing discovery was made possible because of 15 years of basic research on vitellogenin. This exemplifies how long-term investments in basic research pay off." Co-author Dalial Freitak, a postdoctoral researcher with University of Helsinki adds: "I have been working on bee immune priming since the start of my doctoral studies. Now almost 10 years later, I feel like I've solved an important part of the puzzle. It's a wonderful and very rewarding feeling!" How it works In a honey bee colony, the queen rarely leaves the nest, so worker bees must bring food to her. Forager bees can pick up pathogens in the environment while gathering pollen and nectar. Back in the hive, worker One destructive disease that affects bees is American Foul Brood, which spreads quickly and destroys hives. The bacterium infects bee larvae as they ingest food contaminated with its spores. These spores get their nourishment from the larvae, eventually killing them. This disease is just one example where the researchers say a vaccine would be extremely beneficial. Why this discovery is important to humans It's widely known that pollinators, including bees, are facing serious environmental dangers. During the past six decades, managed honey bee colonies in the United States have declined from 6 million in 1947 to only 2.5 million today. Not only are bees affected by diseases, they have been decimated 4

5 by a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder. Researchers don't know exactly what causes this, but pesticides, pests, pathogens and nutrition problems may all be contributing factors. According to a 2014 report by the U.S. government, pollinators are instrumental for a healthy economy and critical to food security, contributing 35 percent of global food production. In North America, insects pollinate 87 of the top 115 food crops and honey bees are vital in keeping fruits, nuts and vegetables in our diets. Humans depend on bees and other pollinating insects for a huge portion of their food supply. Insect vaccines could play an important role in helping to combat colony collapse disorder, in addition to fighting a variety of diseases. All egg-laying species have vitellogenin This discovery could have far-reaching benefits for other species, as well as substantial, positive impacts on food production. All egg-laying species including fish, poultry, reptiles, amphibians and insects have vitellogenin in their bodies. The food industry could implement the use of natural vaccines that would not only be inexpensive to produce, they could easily be used in developing countries. "Because this vaccination process is naturally occurring, this process would be cheap and ultimately simple to implement. It has the potential to both improve and secure food production for humans," said Amdam. Queen and retinue spotted in MBBA member Marco Hubert's hive 5