Project Apis m. Logo
Stay Connected

Like us on Facebook
  
Follow us on Twitter
  
View our videos on YouTube

Join Our Mailing List
TOP 4 PhD Candidates
PAm-Costco Fellowship
There were numerous, qualified and outstanding applicants vying for the $50K, multi-year, PAm-Costco Apis Fellowship. Narrowing down the field to the top four applicants based on their research projects, university advisor recommendations, honey bee enthusiasm, and a 3-year commitment to honey bee research was a challenge for the judging panel.  The final candidates have been notified and interviews will be held later this month.
Bee Culture
The magazine of American beekeeping is hosting...
MILES TO GO
October 5 - 6th
Medina, Ohio
This first-ever conference will highlight every aspect of migratory beekeeping.  "If you move bees for a living, are going to or are thinking about it, this two-day event is for you."  Click here to register or call Kim Flottum at 330-725-6677 Ext 3214 or email at [email protected] with 'Miles' in the subject line.
Mark your Calendar!

Aug 5 - 9              EAS

Aug 14 - 17          PSU Int'l Conf

Sept 19 - Oct 4    Apimondia

Oct 5 - 6               Miles-to-Go

Oct 12                  North Dakota

Oct 16 - 19           WAS

Oct 22- 24            NAPPC

Oct 31 - Nov 2     Oregon

Nov 10 -13           ESA

Nov 18 - 22          CSBA

Dec 3 - 5              Almond Board

Jan 7 - 11            AHPA

Jan 7 - 11            ABF

For quick links click here!
  

1st Prize - $4,000 CASH!
The California State Beekeepers Association (CSBA) is NOW selling drawing tickets.  The winners will be announced at the 124th Annual CSBA Convention in Lake Tahoe.  (Winner need not be present to win.)  In addition to the 4K cash prize; 2nd prize:  Syrup Pump; 3rd prize: 25 Kona Queens; 4th & 5th prize: $250
With your support, CSBA will be able to continue its honey bee research program and the 'Right to Farm Fund'.  To purchase - click here.
BEE Part of the Solution!
Mail Your Donation
 Project Apis m.
         P.O. Box 3157
       Chico, CA 95927
 
DONATE on our web
Bee Informed Partnership and the USDA have piloted a program to aid beekeepers.  ERK is designed to rule out causes of large scale, suspicious colony loss through small scale sampling. The cost of the kit without pesticide analysis is $80. PAm offers a cost-share program for pesticide analyses of hive matrices.  View lab directory.
August Bee Husbandry
Varroa and Nutrition
Check your colonies for mites.  Conduct a random sampling of hives.  Use biological methods to suppress mite populations when surplus honey is being produced.  Exercise judicious treatment and follow the label.  Recheck - don't assume your treatments are working!  Think about finding Fall floral resources and feed bees sugar syrup and pollen substitutes to improve over-wintering survival and to build bees for pollination services.
Pollination Contract
Have your almond pollination contract in place by the end of the summer at the latest.  A contract template can be accessed by clicking on the picture below.
Pollination Contract Template
August 2013
Enhancing the Health of Honeybees
  
  
Gene banking is simply preserving genes to be available for future use.  Stockpiling genes is nothing new.  For thousands of years farmers have stored seeds to ensure future harvests.  There are numerous gene banks all over the world and they come in all manner of sizes. Have you heard about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault?  Built in the Arctic, permafrost and thick rock ensure that even in a power outage or disaster, the seed samples will remain frozen.
  
While maybe not on Svalbard-scale, Washington State University's Breeding Program is about to get a big boost in its honey bee gene banking lab.  Dr. Steve Sheppard, Brandon Hopkins and Sue Cobey gave Costco and PAm reps a tour of WSU's facility last month.  Collaboration with PAm and Costco will provide the necessary and longed-for improvements in their germplasm respository.  The funding will provide long-term semen storage, improved freezing technology, instrumental insemination services, a repository manager and an outreach and industry specialist for the beekeeping community.
  
The Legacy Germplasm Library at WSU will help build greater genetic diversity and ensure a future sustainable supply of honey bees for pollination.  It is one solution to help the beekeeping industry and for growers whose crops are dependent on the honey bee.  We're banking on it.
  
                                                            Meg Ribotto, Editor
WSU-Costco

Brandon Hopkins, WSU PhD student & Apis Molecular Manager, shows Shauna Lopez, Costco, lab practices for cryropreservation and queen insemination.

                                                                                         Photo:  Ribotto

PAm Purchases Nexcelom Vision System

 

Dr. David Tarpy's research at NC State University will be aided with new technology that will be able to screen queens and drones for sperm number and viability.  With funding from PAm, the Nexcelom Vision System will be able to process samples at a rate of approximately 5 minutes per queen or drone. Decreasing time and labor costs will enable Tarpy and his team to do much needed research and also provide a service to beekeepers, particularly queen breeders.  The Nexcelom, at a cost of $30K, will  be used as a service for bee breeders who wish to screen their bees as part of the BIP sustainability model.  PAm - practical research - guided BY beekeepers FOR beekeepers.

WSU Rapini
PAm staff and WSU honey bees in Pullman, WA enjoy the rapini mustard bloom.  The seed was provided by PAm.
   

PAm Successfully Manages CSBA Grant

 

The  2010 California Department  of Agriculture (CDFA) Specialty Crop Block Grant awarded to the California State Beekeepers Association (CSBA) and managed by PAm has come to a close.  The goal of the grant was to improve forage resources for pollinators of California's specialty crops.  Accomplishments, to just name a few, included: identified seed and seed mixes for honey bees, initiated numerous forage plots throughout the state, conducted nutritional analyses on pollen, held a forage field day to educate & encourage more landowners to sow seeds for bees, and leveraged grant funding with corporate funding.  With this corporate funding, the 'Seeds for Bees' forage project will continue this year.  PAm is offering free seed, mustard mix, rapini mustard, Capay clover mix and lana vetch for growers and land managers in CA.

Beekeepers:  Talk to your CA Contacts
 
Are you a beekeeper and have a contract with a grower in CA?  Tell them about our 'Seed for Bees' forage project.  We will begin shipping seed mixes  (click) this month to sow September 10th through November 10th - the ideal window when the soil is still warm and before the first germinating rains.
 
How can YOU convince your grower contact?
Say this...
 
Planting a bee forage cover crop will:  improve soil fertility, increase organic material, fix nitrogen, improve water infiltration, suppress noxious weeds, conserve soil moisture, increase beneficial insects, and reduce soil erosion.
 
 Contact us at [email protected].
PAm Co-Funds CA Border Station Hose Bibs
Migratory beekeepers bringing their colonies into CA this coming pollination season will have access to water at several border inspection stations. The CA Dept of Food & Ag (CDFA) is installing multiple heavy duty hoses that will extend from the water lines to the shippers' trucks to provide water to the bees.  The border stations include:  Benton, Needles, Truckee and Yermo. Click on the photo above for helpful tips on pre-outfitting your trucks with coupling hoses. PAm also has a  PDF guide. PAm contributed $10,000 to this project - practical solutions for beekeepers!
Project Apis m | | [email protected] | http://www.ProjectApism.org
P. O. Box 3157
Chico, CA 95927

Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved.