APIS Volume 14, Number 9 September 1996
In this issue:
- Florida State Beekeepers Meeting
- What of the African Honey Bee?
- The Last Boy Scout Beekeeping Merit Badge
FLORIDA STATE BEEKEEPERS MEETING
This year's Florida State Beekeepers Meeting is expected to be extraordinary in several ways. It coincides with the end of filming of Uley's Gold, a motion picture about the tribulations of a Florida Panhandle beekeeper producing world- famous tupelo honey. The director, Victor Nu¤ez, and leading man, Peter Fonda, are both expected to attend the Thursday night fish fry and the Friday night banquet. The meeting will take place October 24-26 at the downtown Holiday Inn, 1250 W. University Ave., Gainesville, FL 32601, ph 352/376-1661. Register early as rooms are limited (reservation for the beekeeper block of rooms will be good only until October 10; $64 single/double) and the banquet ($25) is expected to be an early sellout with an address by Mr. Nu¤ez, who will show clips of the film. Registration for the meeting is $40, which includes spouse and minor children.
The fish fry is free IF YOU HAVE PRE- REGISTERED YOUR ATTENDANCE. It will be $5 per plate if you "just show up" and there is any fish left. Speakers at the meeting include Dr. Wyatt Mangum from Raleigh, North Carolina speaking on beekeeping history and the Kenya top bar hive; Sherry Jennings of the National Honey Board; and either Dr. H. Shimanuki or Dr. A. Collins from the Beltsville Bee Laboratory. For more information contact Caryl Kelley, 115 Patten Hgts., Lakeland, FL 33803; e-mail: CRKelley@aol.com; ph 941/862-2724. The Florida Honey Bee Technical Council will also meet on Thursday, just before the fish fry (see the article on AHB that follows).
WHAT OF THE AFRICAN HONEY BEE?
The African honey bee (AHB) has been on my mind since I returned from the Fifth Ibero-American Congress on Beekeeping, Mercedes, Uruguay, and the Second Roundtable Discussion on Bees, at the Ribeirão Preto Campus, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. A presentation by Dr. Lionel Gon‡alves at both events titled "The Africanized Honey Bee--A Plague or Benefit?" provided compelling evidence that this insect in Brazil must now be considered the latter.
Dr. Antonio Carlos Stort at the Roundtable summarized the history of Brazilian research and selection of Africanized honey bee behavior in two areas that have been controversial: defensiveness and food collection (production). Stinging behavior has been a major concern of beekeepers ever since the arrival of the bees, according to Dr. Stort, and there is a great variability in defensiveness. Both climatic factors and production of alarm pheromone are important in stimulating this behavior. Selection at the Ribeirão Preto campus and the subsequent release of European queens to the beekeeping industry has ameliorated substantially the defensiveness in colonies over the last 40 years, Dr. Stort said. Brazilian beekeepers have, thus, learned the effectiveness of requeening defensive colonies and also have adapted in other ways, including more judicious use of smoke. Dr. Stort concluded that defensiveness is no longer the number-one concern of the beekeeping industry.
Honey production has also climbed since introduction of the Africanized honey bee into Brazil, according to Dr. Stort. Research has shown that the bee and the hybrid cross with Europeans produces more honey than pure Europeans. A standardized test has been devised to compare colonies. Worker bees are trained to a 50 percent sugar solution located 70 meters from a hive and the following variables are studied:
- The weight of the bee for each visit.
- The amount of syrup collected.
- The time spent at the syrup source.
- The time spent in a colony between visits.
- The time before the syrup source is located.
- The flying time to the source and back to the colony.
Analyzing the above, Dr. Stort concluded, it has been possible to show that Africanized workers fly faster, spend less time in the colony and more in the field, and recruit sister bees faster than Europeans. Taken together, these traits make them more productive, and they have also been incorporated by selection into local bee populations.
Dr. David DeJong in "Africanized Honey Bees in Brazil, Forty Years of Adaptation and Success," Bee World 77(2), pp. 67-70, 1996 reiterated the above conclusions: "Africanized bees...build up much faster, ...are more resistant to diseases...are better pollinators, ...produce more honey, and,...can also be kept in severe climates. In addition, Dr. DeJong said, they produce a lot of propolis, which lately has become an important source of additional income.
Dr. DeJong said, today's Africanized bee is a productive and important part of the environment. It is treated in a positive way in everything from children's books to advertising. Many companies employ this insect as a symbol of hard work, thrift and organization. Brazilians, he concludes, have gotten used to Africanized bees.
Although the optimistic picture portrayed above appears to be the predominant one in most of tropical Brazil, many beekeepers in the south and neighboring countries (Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay), where a more temperate climate prevails, are inclined to keep European bees. Presentations at the Congress in Uruguay indicated their productivity (royal jelly and honey production) was considered to be greater in many areas, in spite of the fact that AHB tolerates Varroa and requires no chemical treatment for this parasite.
Getting used to the AHB means learning to live with this often temperamental insect. That's the focus of Agricultural Research (March 1996), the official information organ of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service. According to the publication, the AHB is bringing change and posing challenges for beekeepers on both sides of the Rio Grande River. Whereas on the Mexican side, bees are kept primarily for honey production, in Texas it's for pollination. For either enterprise, the beekeeper must adapt. Those producing honey have found locations increasingly limited while others moving bees for pollination must cope with increased potential for stinging and absconding.
Most AHB problems appear rooted in defensive behavior. Many animals are killed in Mexico each year, and people are also at risk (see April 1996 APIS). Nests pose significant problems in urban areas. Brigades composed of beekeepers, fire fighters (see August 1992 APIS), agricultural department workers and others have been formed. In Mexico City and Guadalajara, the publication says, an average of 10,000 wild swarms of bees are eliminated each year--most of them Africanized.
In addition, over time, almost all managed colonies in Mexico have become Africanized to some degree. At the beekeeping congress in Uruguay, however, there were reports that selection coupled with instrumental insemination was having an impact on managed bee populations in that country.
In the six years since its introduction, Texas beekeepers have also seen the feral AHB population become more Africanized, according to the ARS publication. They are having to deal increasingly with intrusion into their apiaries. AHB has increased costs by 20 to 25 percent, according to one operator, who also reports their behavior as "unpredictable and moody." For other discussions, see October 1990 and January 1994 APIS.
AHB in Arizona continues to be problematic. According to Dr. Ivan Shield, former state entomologist, as quoted by Dr. Keith Delaplane (Georgia Bee Letter, Jul-Sep 1996) from March 1966 What's Buzzing, Beekeepers Association of Central Arizona, the AHB can be eradicated by beekeepers being vigilant and taking measures to keep European bees from contact with Africanized drones. This is a tall order. Many remain skeptical, especially since the legislature deregulated the beekeeping industry. However, there is great economic incentive to do something. Landowners are liable for stings suffered on their property. One golfer got stung 150 times and now many of the 140 courses in the state are now paying up to $400 a month to trap bees.
The AHB continues to be found in southeastern, California, according to Dr. Eric Mussen in From the UC Apiaries, May/June 1996. Bees ancestral to Egypt and sub-saharan Africa were collected in the area (Imperial and Riverside counties). This was determined using mitochondrial DNA analysis. So far, though, Dr. Mussen concluded there is no evidence that AHB has moved out of this officially colonized area (see November 1995 APIS).
The northward migration of the AHB has slowed considerably, and there have been no reports east of Texas. The reasons are complex (see July 1994 APIS), but the result is that Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida are yet to affected. There are many ports of call along the Gulf of Mexico, however, that could be entry points for this insect (see May 1987 APIS). As a consequence, the Division of Plant Industry (DPI), Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, continues to run trap hives set up in port areas and along Interstate 10 to the Alabama state line to intercept migratory swarms.
According to an Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) memorandum dated January 29, 1996, the AHB was first detected in Puerto Rico in June 1994. By the month of October, the island was declared officially Africanized. In response, the Puerto Rican Department of Agriculture established an Interagency Working Group to coordinate fire department, forestry service, public health, education, civil defense, and extension and education efforts (see January 1990, May and August 1992 APIS). This resulted in trapping programs in urban areas and the Caribbean National Forest (El Yunque). Educational efforts to train beekeepers and emergency response teams have been mounted. Introductions into the Virgin Islands (by ship) and the Dominican Republic (by aircraft) have also been reported.
Spread of the AHB in the Caribbean and its implication for the state of Florida will be one focus of the Honey Bee Technical Council Meeting to be held in conjunction with the State Beekeepers Convention, Thursday, October 24, 1996 from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. At the last meeting, the concept of screening all colonies of honey bees coming into the state for AHB was discussed (see November 1995 APIS). The meeting will be at the Doyle Conner Building on SW 34th St. in Gainesville, ph 352/372-3505, Ext. 114.
The long-range prospects for the AHB in North America are murky. Many Canadian beekeepers and officials I have talked to over the last year remain concerned about this insect. Others dismiss totally the idea that AHB will establish any kind of population. Those in the latter camp believe beekeepers will successfully winnow out over-defensive bees and that feral populations will not survive harsh, temperate winters. Nevertheless, fears about this insect's ability to establish itself appear to be significant enough that many want to continue closing the Canadian border to U.S. honey bees.
Dr. Alfred Dietz, emeritus professor at the University of Georgia, reported his observations on these issues at the Roundtable Discussion in Ribeirao Preto in his paper titled: "Ecology and Distribution of Africanized Honey Bees in the Americas." According to Dr. Dietz, his study group collected AHB as far south as the 40th parallel and as high as 2,000 meters (5,400 feet). In addition, he said the ancestral group of AHB, Apis mellifera scutellata, has been reported to survive very cold conditions in South Africa and their hybrids the same in the Spanish Pyrenees. For more discussion of hybrids and hybridization see, May 1991 and June 1993 APIS. With reference to defensive behavior, Dr. Dietz said that this may ebb and flow over time. He reports observations in Guyana and northern Argentina of a reduction in defensive behavior in AHB after introduction, while in Mexico pioneering swarms were less defensive before the really troublesome bees arrived with the main front.
Dr. Dietz said that the AHB is able to exploit varied and unpredictable resource conditions far better than its European cousins. Absconding from the nest, selecting a wider range of nest sites and invading European colonies are all effective strategies giving it an edge. Surprisingly, he reported being unable to confirm that AHB had a much greater swarming rate than European bees in his Mexican studies. He concluded that the AHB will probably occupy more U.S. territory than many have predicted (see May 1991 APIS), but that this insect will not be as successful as it has been in the tropics. A major reason for this is the continued use of European honey bees by a cadre of well-trained, experienced and knowledgeable beekeepers (see January 1992 APIS). [Editor's note: the presence of an entrenched population of Varroa mites should also contribute to this phenomenon.]
THE LAST BEEKEEPING MERIT BADGE
The last beekeeping merit badge to be awarded by the Boy Scouts of America, Inc. was issued this spring by Dr. Glenn Hall of the Faculty of Entomology and Nematology here at the University of Florida who served as counselor. The merit badge had been officially canceled along with several others by the Scouts earlier this year. This happened in spite of letters generated by the beekeeping industry and others to continue the badge. However, the Boy Scouts gave special permission for Dr. Hall to work with candidates already completing some of the requirements so they could be awarded the badge. Only one Scout was able to finish the requirements on time.
The awardee, Christopher Scott Barfield, is a fourteen-year- old freshman at Gainesville High School. He has been invited into the Advanced Placement/Honors program, and is a trumpet player in the band. Christopher has completed all the requirements for the rank of Eagle Scout and is a senior patrol leader of Troop 416.
To date, there are no plans to resume the Boy Scouts of America beekeeping merit badge. This is unfortunate because it eliminates an important avenue of entry by young persons into the craft and science of apiculture.
In an effort to reinstate the beekeeping merit badge, a World Wide Web site has been created. If you would like to find out what you can do to help this cause, see http://www.webspan.net/~beluch/index.html.
Sincerely,
Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: 904-392-0190
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~entweb/apis/apis.htm
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
©1996 M.T. Sanford "All Rights Reserved
