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| Pennsylvania - Montgomery County Beekeepers' Association (MCBA) Serving Montgomery, Bucks and surrounding counties in Pennsylvania, the MCBA is an association of hobbyist and professional beekeepers. Our mission is to provide education, hands-on training, support, and fellowship in all aspects of beekeeping. Both experienced beekeepers and novices participate in our monthly meetings, field trips, and social events.
Tri-County Summer Lecture at Keeney & Ziegler Apiaries Interested in chemical-free mite reduction? Then join us for this special tri-county event. Speaker: Warren Miller Topic: Mite Reduction Through Summer Requeening and Queen Rearing When: Tuesday, June 30th, 6:30 pm Where: Keeney & Ziegler Apiaries, 9361 Old 22, Bethel, PA 19507-0068 Directions here
WRITE-IN ASSISTANCE NEEDED With the critical state of bees throughout the world, and the importance of bees to the PA state agricultural economy, it is imperative that we maintain our hive inspection programs. Funding for 2010 has been cut and we need your help to write to the Governor and express your interest in funding beekeeping inspections. Read Jim Bobb's Note here. Read the PSBA Letter here. The requests to the governor are simple: - Place money in the 2010 budget to continue Apiary inspection program for 2010.
- Give the PA Dept. of Agriculture flexibility to hire seasonal inspectors for May - Sept 2010.
Contact the Governor through the online form here. Thanks for your help!
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UPDATED! Calendar Change If you have already marked up your calendar for 2009 with the MCBA events, "bee" aware that the Summer Picnic date is now July 18th to avoid a conflict with PSBA, who changed their picnic date. The updates are also on the printable consolidated calendar. Keep an eye on the website for any future changes!
Beekeepers Ball in NYC Held at South Street Seaport, the Beekeeper's Ball looked like quite the bash! Featuring honey-based treats and mead, the event was held to raise pollinator awareness. All the more critical in NYC where beekeeping is currently illegal. Read more and check out the pictures!
Are GM Crops A Factor in CCD? A German scientist has sent evidence to the US that he believes provides a compelling argument that genetically modified, pest resistant crops may be one of the possible causes for the decline of the honeybee. Check out the story.
Nature Editorial on CCD -- Dennis VanEngelsdorp Responds (May 2009) A brief Nature magazine editorial posits that CCD may be primarily caused by bacterial infections. Editorial is brief but states that studies on two Spanish apiaries 750 kilometers apart have shown that Nosema ceranae was the only likely suspect in collapse and that treatment and elimination of the bacterial infections has demonstrated reduction in CCD incidence. Read the brief editorial. However in a recent interview of Dennis Van Engelsdorp (USDA) by Nature Online, he was asked to respond to the editorial, and stated that he felt the N. ceranae was a red herring. A stressor for sure, but not the primary cause of CCD. Read more of Dennis' interview, and his other comments on CCD causes.
Are You Bees Smart Enough to Join NASA or to Surf the Web? Check it out! NASA has set up a website for our bees called HONEY BEE NET. The goal of the program is to track honey bees and pollination patterns. They are looking for evidence of such things as how changes in land use affect forage and forage patterns, climate change and to predict the northward march of Africanized Honey Bees. There is a comprehensive chart on one of the pages that discusses the nectar sources and timing in our area.
Did You Catch the Buzz on the Bailout and Beekeepers? Did you hear that in October 2008 a bailout package included "crop insurance" for beekeepers to the tune of $150 Million was created with the help of the USDA (see USDA News Release). There is a lot of buzz on the web both for and against the program. Some say it is not enough to ensure the safety of our agricultural industry and to protect 1 of every 3 bites that we put in our mouths others wonder whether the timing is prudent. Read the transcript of the Fox News interview that started some of the controversy. Take a look, too at some of the beekeeper blogs and their responses. See the USDA Risk Management Agency home page on the honey crop insurance program for more information.
Looking for Info on How Bees Work? You might want to check out this website that contains some educational material on how bees work. Check it out.
Roadside Habitat for Bees A better option than the vast monoculture that we subject bees to with our suburban lawns, check out this idea on the Discovery Channel for creating roadside habitat with native plant species.
Surfing the Web? Watch These YouTube Videos and "Bee" Conscious of Bee Issues Surfing? Have a few minutes? Then watch these entertaining videos by Dennis vanEngelsdorp at the Taste3 conferences this year and last year. Dennis is the Acting State Apiarist for the PA Department of Agriculture and a great speaker! Do you have Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD)? Dennis thinks that we might.... and that it may be contributing to CCD.... "Make Meadows Not Lawns" is one of his quotes, and it would make a great bumper sticker. He remarks that 11% of all pesticide use in the US goes to maintaining our lawns, which are sterile fields as far as the bees are concerned -- no pollen sources in evidence! See the entire 2008 video here. If you like the 2008 video, check out his 2007 talk at Taste3, where he talks about bee anatomy and his love of bees shines through.... well with some reservations, anyway. He says he won't give a cell phone to a bee because they are social insects and the phone bill could bankrupt you. See the entire 2007 video here. Still not tired of honeybee videos? Try these:
More Honey Laundering In an in-depth investigative report, Seattle P-I reports on 973 drums of imported honey worth more than $500,000 seized at Seattle Tacoma port, and describes the tangled route that the honey and other honey shipments have taken to get to the US. The report includes illegal changes in country of origin, illegal antibiotics in the honey and honey that is not pure honey, at all! The shocking schemes are all to get this lucrative product onto the US market. Read more.
Penn State Study Finds Honey more Effective than OTCs for Nighttime Coughing The 2007 study showed that Honey worked best for reducing the frequency and severity of nighttime coughing as compared to over the counter medicines for the same purpose in children older than 12 months of age. 300 Year-Old Beeswax Found Washed up on an Oregon State Beach earlier this year, scientists dated the 10-lb block of beeswax to a Spanish Galleon that sunk more than 300 years ago. Even more fascinating? They believe the wax was from the far east based upon the bees wings they found in the wax and the lack of native bee species in North America at the time. Read more.
 Haagen-Dazs Supports the Cause for CCD ResearchIf you haven't been to their website, it is full of activities (send your friends bee-mail), curricula for teachers and t-shirts to support the cause. Also watch the video of their Ads for awareness. Check out their site at Haagen Dazs Loves Honey Bees.
Help Support 4-H Center by Recycling! Read more about 4-H Recycling
Looking for an Old News Article? Check out Bees in the News to find the older posts that were originally on the home page. Both fun and scientific, they are posted on our new page.
SWARM? Please call us, don't email.
See our Swarm Control page for information on reaching beekeepers, by phone, in your region. Calling all Cooks! Don't forget to bring honey-baked goods to upcoming meetings and events!
MON, June 29, 2009 - New Beekeepers Seminar - 6pm in Beeyard (bring veil) and 7pm in the Classroom. Tue, June 30, 2009 6:30 pm Tri-County Lecture by Warren Miller - Summer Requeening for Mite Reduction See details. Sat, July 18, 2009 - MCBA Summer Picnic - Fort Washington State Park, Militia Hill Picnic Area Sat, July 25, 2009 - PSBA Summer Picnic - Lancaster County -- See PSBA website for details
MCBA Meeting Location: Montgomery County 4-H Center 1015 Bridge Road (Route 113) Skippack, PA 19426 Contact MCBA At: Inquiries@MontCoBeekeepers.org | |
Your Hive Not Registered? Think You Have Foul Brood? Registering your hive is not just good beekeeping practice, it is the law. Our region has a very high incidence of foul brood, which is a very communicable bacterial infection in hives. Our regional inspector Rob can be reached at 717-798-4136. You can register with him, schedule an inspection or discuss what you are seeing. The apiary registration form is available here.
Short Haired Bumblebee to be Reintroduced to UK from New Zealand First introduced to New Zealand from the UK by accident, they are now in a position to repopulate the extinct population of short haired bumble bees in the UK, many years later. With the reduction in honeybees, maintaining native pollinators is more crucial than ever. Read more.
April Newsletter is Here! Just in time for the arrival of spring our newsletter has arrived! Check your mailbox (electronic or otherwise) or review it on our Newsletter Archive page. Photograph Copyright Bill Mondjack March 2008
MCBA Marketplace Looking for a venue to advertise the sale of your products? Or are you a consumer looking to find a place to buy local honey, pollen, propolis or beeswax? Then look no further. MCBA is starting up a Marketplace, which will be free for MCBA members. Look in the newsletters for additional details on how to sign up.
Slight Decline in Colony Loss in US in 2008-2009 Season New report shows that 2008-2009 season losses appear to be about 25%, down from a high of 36% last season. This is good news for beekeepers, but underscores the importance of staying on top of hive management and continuing research into CCD. Read more from the PBS synopsis under their "Silence of the Bees" web page.
Apimondia Predicts European Beekeeping May Die Out in 8 to 10 Years At current rate of decline, Apimondia, a European beekeeping body predicts the loss of beekeeping on the continent in the next 8 to 10 years. With the rates of loss about 30% in much Europe, but up to 80% in Germany, some areas are reaching a critical stage. Read more.
New Beekeepers Arrive in Record Numbers! Feb 24 was the first of a series of New Beekeeper's Seminar. The report was that it was standing room only, and that the discussion was lively with lots of good questions. Unfortunately we need to close registration for the program due to the overwhelming response. We apologize for not being able to accommodate more, but it looks like we are full for this year. We hope to see you next year. Looking forward to seeing those of you who did sign up already the last Tuesday of each month (Feb - Sept) for the rest of the New Beekeepers agenda.
WE'VE WON!! 2009 PA State Farm Show Educational Booth Competition for Clubs and Groups Thanks to everyone who contributed honey, ideas, props to the Farm Show Booth this year -- I understand from Robin Kugler that approximately 25 people contributed their honey for the display. Thanks to Robin, Harold and Nancy for setting up the booth. According to the PA State Farm Show Web Page we have won first place again this year. The Farm Show runs through next Saturday, Jan 17th. I will post a photo of this year's winning booth when I get one. Congratulations to our club. Looking forward to a great year of meetings and events.
Hive Equipment Irradiation for American Foulbrood (AFB) Do you have, or do you suspect AFB? If so, you should have already registered for the Spring Irradiation (registration cutoff March 1, irradiation date March 18). Previous methods of control for AFB spores have called for the costly destruction of hives and equipment. Review the details on our Irradiation Update page and contact MCBA if you would like to have your hives irradiated this fall. The dates have not yet been announced for the fall registration. Help yourself and your fellow beekeepers by spreading the word about hive equipment sterilization!
BBC Reports on CCD The report didn't cover much new territory and stated that there is still no definitive cause. The article highlights experts who believe that there will never be an isolated single cause, but blame good old fashioned stress: varroa mite, monoculture agriculture, nomadic lifestyle, pesticides and more are all blamed for causing that stress. Read more.
Bees Buzzing on Cocaine Scientists in Australia load up free-base cocaine to study the effects on learning. As you might expect, their skills were drastically affected by the drugs. Read more about their study and the results that were published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Co-Op in UK Bans Use of Neonicotinoids The Co-Op is not only the largest agricultural grower in the UK (with 70,000 acres under cultivation) but also a UK supermarket chain. It is the first supermarket chain to ban the use of neonicotinoids in the production of products that it sells. Read more.
Tangerine Growers Tell Beekeepers to Buzz Off In a disagreement that looks like it is headed to the courts, California growers object to the pollination of their tangerines by bees as they accidentally introduce pollen from other species and cause the growth of pits in the fruit. State Agriculture is being asked to mediate the problem, but can you sue a bee for trespass? Read more. Update! Tangerine Growers Lose in Court - Bees May Stay Tangerine growers are told they must negotiate with beekeepers, but that bees will not be forced to move from nearby fields. Read more.
Medi-HoneyTM Proven to Help Heal Wounds Honey has long been recognized for its antiseptic properties, as it was originally used and documented by the Egyptians. New products are being explored today that show honey is equally effective in overcoming drug resistant microorganisms and in helping wounds to heal. There are many articles on this discovery, but read just a few, here. Press Release. Article.
EAS to Make Pre-1925 Beekeeping Texts Available On-Line In case you hadn't heard, from the Eastern Apiculture Society website: "An exciting opportunity exists for beekeepers to help make spectacular volumes from the E.F. Phillips Beekeeping Collection at Cornell University's Albert R. Mann Library available to the public via the World Wide Web. EAS has donated seed money to the effort to digitize rare books in the E.F. Phillips Beekeeping Collection at Cornell University's Albert R. Mann Library. The Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association has offered a challenge grant where TBBA will match the next $1,000 in new public donations to this effort. This PDF file provides additonal details, as well as a form for submitting your donation. As these volumes are digitized, they will be made available at The Hive and the Honeybee: Selections from the E.F. Phillips Beekeeping Collection. As of the summer of 2004, the first ten volumes are available on-line."
Carbon-Free Honey Labeling Honey received "carbon-free" seal due to offsetting all of its carbon emissions in the production and distribution of the honey with environmental projects like reforestation. Read more.
Bear Found Guilty in Court of Law for Stealing Honey Bear found guilty (in absentia) and state had to pay beekeeper, since the bear was broke. See the full story at Sky News.
Fun Facts Honey bees may start to concentrate nectar in flight on the return to the hive! Why wait to start the evaporation of moisture when you are zipping through the air? Read more.
Bee Venom Helps Fight Hypertension -- Latest in Penn State Research Penn reasearchers have created a way to use bee venom to help study hypertension. Read it here.
Getting Ready for 2009 Season Don't forget to pay your 2009 Dues.
Please send your $10 Annual Dues (check payable to "M.C.B.A.") with any updates in contact information (name, address, email, phone) to: (Use our handy form) MCBA c/o Anne Brennan 145 Cedar St. Jenkintown, PA 19046 PS) You may also send your PSBA State Beekeeper dues of $20 Indiv / $25 Household (total of $30 or $35 for both MCBA and PSBA) to receive 10 state newsletters each year, encourage research on bee health, and promote efforts to dissuade local township and boroughs from restricting beekeeping.
We Are Under Continuous Construction!  Our web page is ALWAYS under construction, so check back frequently for additions and new information. | |
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