Project Apis m. Logo
Stay Connected

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

Join Our Mailing List

 

 NEW UPDATE!

ALMOND STATUS

Dan Cummings

Cummings Report

 

 NEW UPDATE!

HONEY BEE STATUS

Dr. Gordon Wardell

 

 

 

PAm Performance Audits

PAm had 3 separate performance audits this summer. Our grant managers concur that we are managing our projects very well. Positive feedback from our funders lets you know how we are doing in helping honey bees!

 

Meeting dates were on:
July 17th - CA Dept of Food & Ag

                 'Building Forage'

July 31st - CA Dept of Food & Ag

                 'BMPs'

August 21st - Costco 

'WSU Germplasm Repository, Tech Transfer Teams & the PAm-Costco Scholar'

 

 

The Bee Box

Blue Diamond Growers Logo
The July/August issue of Blue Diamond Growers magazine 
'Almond Facts' is out. Read contributing writers Christi Heintz & Meg Ribotto's 'The Bee Box', just click on the pic.

      Beekeeping Events
           2014 - 2015
It's time to plan for beekeeping club meetings and conferences. Registration is now open for several events. Visit our 'Events' page for direct links. To date, PAm will be a guest speaker and/or have a booth at:

   

USDA Honey Bee Forage & Nutrition Summit

October 20 - 21, 2014
  Washington, D.C.

 

    California State Beekeepers 

125th Annual Association Meeting

    November 18th - 20th, 2014
              Hyatt Regency
                Valencia, CA 

 

     Almond Board Conference

        December 9 - 11, 2014
             Sacramento, CA

 

     North American Beekeeping (ABF) Conference and Tradeshow

          January 6 - 10, 2015
             Disneyland Hotel
                Anaheim, CA

 

Stop by and visit us! 

 

Honey Bee Forage Plant

 Sainfoin 'Shoshone'

Plant in Spring or Fall. Sainfoin benefits are its nitrogen fixation, forage capabilities, and nutritional value. PAm will be planting demo plots as a honey bee forage habitat in the West and Upper Midwest. A planting/info guide can be found here from NRCS. Photo is courtesy of Bighorn Sainfoin Seed Co. 

We will  keep you posted on how the bees liked it!


 

 

Buzz Worthy!

  Honey Bee Nutrition

by

Dr. Eric Mussen

UCDavis


 

Emergency Response Kit
Bee Informed Partnership offers this service to aid beekeepers with crashing hives that require immediate attention. With ERKs, beekeepers gain a better understanding of the factors that contribute to their colony loss and what may be ruled out. To order kits call (301) 405-3799 or 
 

HELP HONEY BEES

 

Make your donation to Project Apis m. securely with PayPal or mail to:
Project Apis m.
6775 Chardonnay Road
Paso Robles, CA 93446
BEE On Our Supporters' Page!

With your donation, your name will be placed on our Supporters' Page.  

Make your donation today!

Help Us Help the Honey Bee!

September 2014
Autumn: The Start of the Bee Conventions!
  

 

In the beekeeping world, Autumn is heralded by registrations forms!  It is time to mark your calendar for the upcoming annual beekeeping conferences. I judge this 2014-2015 season to be distinctive. Take a look at the agendas. Unique and unprecedented partnerships have formed over the past year with the focus on honey bees and you will be hearing from co-presenters from government, corporate, academic and NGO sectors. At PAm, we have formed alliances with Pheasants Forever, Costco, California State Beekeepers Association, Pollinator Partnership, Bee Informed Partnership, Blue Diamond Growers and others too! We have some other cooperative efforts in the works as well. Are you seeking a meaningful and long-lasting relationship? Consider collaborating with PAm. In this newsletter you can find out how. We can help you plant the seeds for a program that involves honey bees if you will contact us.

 

Back to the calendar...September - WAS; October - North Dakota, Montana, NAPPC, Bee Culture; November - Oregon, CSBA; December - Idaho, Almond Board; and January - AHPA and ABF. While we can't possibly be at all the state and national beekeeping meetings - I still mark the dates!

 

                                               Meg Ribotto, Editor

 PAm - Pheasants Forever Partnership


 

What do honey bees and pheasants have in common? Loss of critical habitat.

 

Now Project Apis m. (PAm) and Pheasants Forever are proud to announce a unique and innovative collaboration. The mission of the Honey Bee Habitat Partnership (HBHP) is to promote, establish, enhance and protect habitat that is vital to sustaining both species. Together, both non-profit organizations aim to improve the landscape through active conservation practices while educating  the public and land managers of the importance of pollinators.

 

Click here to read about the goals and objectives of the PAm-Pheasants Forever Habitat Partnership and how you can become involved.

Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities

How can your corporation or business help the honey bee? You can become involved in the vital pursuit of improving honey bee health and productivity for improved crop pollination and in increasing U.S. honey production.
 
Project Apis m. has the experience in developing partnerships within your corporate environmental stewardship and sustainability program. A sustainable supply of bees equates to a sustainable food supply.
 
We can help you plant the seeds for a corporate responsibility program that involves honey bees. Contact Christi Heintz. To learn more, click here.

 Beekeeper Loses Forage Site After 20 Years

 

Archie "The Beekeeper" Mitchell has placed bees on remote land at Vandenberg Air Force Base for over twenty years.  He recently received a letter letting him know his bees were no longer welcome on Department of Defense lands.  Unfortunately, this is a step backward from the President's White House Initiatives he announced during Pollinator Week. 

Project Apis m. is working to resolve this issue.  But we need your help.  Contact Dr. Michael Stebbins and Doug McKalip, White House Rural Affairs, that the Department of Defense needs to understand how vital honey bees are to our food supply.  Click here to email their office. Letters can also be sent to:

John M. Larson, Colonel, USAF

Chief, Congressional Inquiries

SAF/LL

1160 Air Force Pentagon

Washington, DC  20330-1160

  

and the

 

Inspector General

AFSPC/IGQ

250 So Peterson Blvd

Peterson, AFB, CO  80914

 

Please send a copy of your letter to [email protected] in case we have other destinations for the letter. In our view, bees and beekeepers are endangered too!

Elina Lastro Nino - NEW Extension Apiculturist at UCDavis


Starting in September, Elina Lastro Nino will be the new extension apiculturist at UCDavis. Nino currently works with Dr. Christina Grozinger at PSU. Elina is known for her expertise on honey bee queen biology, chemical ecology, and genomics. "She will devote 70% of her appointment to conducting practical, problem-solving research projects and interact with the beekeepers and industry concerns", according to the UC News. Click here to read the full article. Nino replaces Dr. Eric Mussen who retired on June 30th after 38 years in the position but "has agreed to remain active in an emeritus capacity and will be advising Dr. Nino on both her extension program and research activities."

Photo and article quotes courtesy of UC Entomology & Nematology News.
PAm Funding Research

Last month, PAm put out a call-for-proposals. We received numerous research proposals! Thank you to our  research community that is dedicated to solving honey bee problems.  These new proposals will:
  • Provide practical solutions for almond growers and for managed honey bee colonies
  • Yield results that can be transferred into field practice
  • Provide an excellent rate-of-return for beekeepers and growers.

Blue Diamond Growers (BDG) has entrusted PAm with the funding and with the award process. The research proposals, that met the initial criteria, have been given to the PAm Scientific Advisors team for review and scoring. Award recipients will be notified in the coming weeks.

 

While the deadline has passed for the above BDG funding, PAm continually accepts proposals and awards grant funding. Click here.

 PAm Guest Speaker at  ITCA


The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA), established in 1952, consists of 21 of the federally recognized Tribes in Arizona and is a non-profit that administers over twenty federal, state and private grants and contracts in a variety of areas including health, research, and environmental quality. Project Apis m. was invited to speak and have an educational outreach table at the 2-day event held in Chandler, AZ on August 27th. Topics PAm covered included honey bee biology, pesticide effects, BMP's and agriculture pollination needs.

The training workshop attendees awareness of honey bees was greatly piqued and a partnership between PAm and the Tribal Council may be pending. Tribal lands in Arizona are vast, include water rights, and may hold possibilities as forage, rest and rehab stops for migratory honey bees.

Economist & Beekeeper: Dr. Gary Shilling

A  Gary Shilling   Beekeeper
                                               3:53 Minutes

Economic consultant A. Gary Shilling, President of 

A. Gary Shilling & Co., Inc. speaks about his after-hours passion for beekeeping.

Now Enrolling CA Almond Growers in Honey Bee Forage Project
 
PAm is once again providing free seed to almond growers in California. The 'Seeds for Bees' honey bee forage project is now enrolling cooperators. Working with land managers and owners, PAm has established acreage, seed mixes, seed suppliers, and planting regimes. 
 
By educating growers about the value of providing honey bee forage, many acres of potential honey bee habitat can be made available to sustain nutrition-starved honey bees. Mustard for pre-almond bloom and clover/vetch for post-almond. If you are an almond grower, contact [email protected]. Visit our forage page to learn more on cover cropping.
 September Bee Husbandry
  • NUTRITION - Fall is a critical time to maintain bee strength and build bees for pollination services starting Feb. 1st in almonds
  • Forage can be limited in early Fall, supplemental feeding is critical, especially protein, to target strong 8+ frame colonies
  • Water is as important as food. Keep bees well-hydrated
  • REQUEEN - Over-wintering colonies fare better if young. Requeen if necessary.
  • INSPECT & MONITOR - Continue to inspect colonies and apply treatments as necessary to control pests and diseases.
  • Project Apis m. has e-learning modules and YouTube videos on Varroa, Nosema and Nutrition - Just click on the word!

Project Apis m. has developed Best Management Practices (BMPs) for beekeepers and almond growers, including hive, colony and business management. All can be accessed here.

 

Project Apis m | | [email protected] | http://www.ProjectApism.org
6775 Chardonnay Road
Paso Robles, CA 93446

Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved.