Bee Behavior and Biology Archives - Scientific Beekeeping https://scientificbeekeeping.com/bee-behavior-biology/ Beekeeping Through the Eyes of a Biologist Mon, 16 Oct 2023 21:22:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 6 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-study-on-bee-drift-and-mite-immigration-part-6/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 21:00:28 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8294 A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration Part 6 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2023     In our 2018 study in the California foothills, we confirmed that bees indeed drift from collapsing colonies to other hives, even to those at considerable distance. And that drifting can result in a substantial […]

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]]> A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 5 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-study-on-bee-and-mite-drift-part-5/ Sun, 06 Aug 2023 17:21:34 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8244 Contents A Deeper Look into our Data. 1 Was Robbing Involved with Mite Immigration?. 6 Discussion on Robbing. 8 Study Wrap Up. 9 Review.. 10 Next Month. 10 Acknowledgements. 11 Citations and Notes 11     A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration Part 5 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ June 2023 […]

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]]> A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 4 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-study-on-bee-drift-and-mite-immigration-part-4/ Sat, 22 Jul 2023 21:39:13 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8196 Contents Distance that Worker Bees will Drift 1 Effect of Distance upon Bee Drift 4 Hive-to-Hive Variation in Captured Tags 7 Validating our Methodology. 8 Mite Immigration: Results of the Stickyboard Counts. 10 Cumulative Mite Immigration. 11 Next Month. 12 Acknowledgements. 13 Citations and Notes 13     A Study on Bee and Mite Drift: […]

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]]> A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 3 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-study-on-bee-drift-and-mite-immigration-part-3/ Sat, 22 Jul 2023 20:26:43 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8170 Contents The Donor Colonies 1 Tagging. 1 Results and Discussion. 2 Did the Tagged Bees Behave Normally?. 2 Progress of the Colonies. 4 Answering our Questions 4 Observations from the Donor Hives. 5 Correlation With Varroa Infestation. 6 Tag Recovery by Date. 8 Timelines of Recovery of Drifted Bees 9 Relevance to Mite Immigration. 10 […]

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]]> A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 1 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-study-on-bee-drift-and-mite-immigration-part-1/ Mon, 08 May 2023 20:31:14 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8089   Contents Introduction Was Another Field Study Justified? Background Research The Biology Behind Mite Transfer Between Hives How Much Mite Immigration Actually Occurs? How Do the Mites Get Transferred? How Important is the Drifting of Drones? How Much Drift is There of Worker Bees? How Important are the Guard Bees? Do Mites and Viruses Cause […]

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]]> A Study on Bee and Mite Drift: Part 2 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/8063-2/ Wed, 03 May 2023 05:48:15 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8063  Contents Questions to Answer 1 Materials and Methods 2 Placement of the hives 2 Preparation of the Mite Donor Colonies. 3 Tagging the bees 3 The Control Group. 7 Preparation of the Mite Receiver Hives 7 Eliminating the mites. 7 Magnetic tag recovery. 9 The stickyboards. 10 The hive scales. 10 Layout of the Donor […]

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]]> A Survey on Robbing at Collapse https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-survey-on-robbing-at-collapse/ Wed, 29 Mar 2023 22:35:40 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=7999 Contents Robbing is Governed by Olfaction Back to what happens upon colony collapse A Survey on Whether Robbing Takes Place at Collapse My Conclusions From the Survey Responses Relationship to Bee and Mite Drift A humorous anecdote regarding training bees to a scent Acknowledgements Citations and notes   A SURVEY ON ROBBING AT COLLAPSE Randy […]

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]]> The Nosema Problem: Part 7C – The Prevention of Dysentery https://scientificbeekeeping.com/nosema-part-7c-the-prevention-of-dysentery/ Wed, 01 Apr 2020 07:52:46 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=6419 Contents Review.. 1 Balancing moisture elimination and heat loss. 2 Broodrearing in the winter cluster. 3 So let’s do the arithmetic!. 5 Practical applications. 5 Optimal Cluster size. 5 Winter stores ― honey and beebread. 8 Hive placement. 8 Hive insulation. 9 Hive ventilation. 10 Literature cited. 11 The Nosema Problem Part 7c The Prevention […]

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]]> Overwintering of Honey Bee Colonies https://scientificbeekeeping.com/overwintering-of-honey-bee-colonies/ Sun, 02 Feb 2020 18:11:34 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=6383 Overwintering of honey bee colonies This subject has long generated endless debate among beekeepers.  There are a few excellent resources by those who have collected hard data: Dr. Floyd Moeller was a USDA researcher who performed extensive field research to test various beekeeping management practices. This excellent publication covers practices to improve overwintering success, and […]

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]]> Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 13d – The Impacts of Parasites and CO2 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/understanding-colony-buildup-and-decline-part-13d/ Mon, 30 Jan 2017 04:55:55 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=2936 Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 13d The Impacts of Parasites and CO2 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ October 2016 Winter is the most stressful time for the honey bee colony, and during times of stress, some parasites find opportunity in the hive. How can a beekeeper help his/her bees? The honey bee […]

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