A Treatise on Mondern Honey Bee Management

Malcolm T. Sanford
Ever since it was discovered that honey bees could make more than enough honey for themselves,
people have attempted to culture these insects for economic gain. Even in today's modern
biotechnology climate, however, human ingenuity continues to be challenged to effectively manage the
complex behavior of a honey bee colony. This makes the craft of beekeeping alluring to many who are
asking why not me?
Because of its universal appeal, the honey bee is the world's most written about insect. Worldwide, over
140 journals are published on the biology and management of Apis mellifera. The origin of the genus
"Apis" appears to have been written in the stars, associated with the "sacred bull" of Egypt. The lioness
has also been shown to be related to the honey bee in Etruscan art. Almost every library has several
volumes, some very old, on the science and craft (some call it "art") of apiculture . We now know a
good deal about the honey bee than our predecessors, but much more needs to be learned. And brand
new challenges continue to appear.
The modern era has been called the "managerial age." We can no longer look at the earth's resources as
infinite, and instead, must learn to conserve them now and in the future. The honey bee is an excellent
ecological model, because the colony's division of labor is a classic example of how effectively nature
can use its resources. Thus, while managing honey bee colonies, the beekeeper can learn a great deal
about the relationships among living organisms on planet earth, including how the human and natural
worlds relate to each other.
Beekeepers have little influence over many issues in contemporary beekeeping. They are powerless to
change world honey prices, influence weather conditions, or lower prevailing interest rates. However,
they can actively manage their own and the bees' environment in many ways to increase productivity.
Measuring this continues to shift with time, but it is often based on the time frame chosen, which
might be in the future. This treatise is based on conditions found at the end of the 20th to first part of
the 21st century. It consists of over 100 pages of densely-linked information.
One goal of this treatise is to help the beekeeper determine areas over which most control is possible.
Another is to stimulate thinking about contemporary issues as they relate to apiculture. Relations with
neighbors, financial management and ethics are all discussed in this context. This is not so much a
comprehensive guide to beekeeping, but designed to increase awareness of the complexities inherent in
the activity.
Many of the sections included here were written for beekeepers with some experience and can stand by
themselves, but are often linked internally with other resources that add more detail. Thus, this
treatise is organized to provide appropriate background discussion catering to readers of all experience
levels. The final decision as to whether this effort fulfills its purpose, like management of the bees
themselves, is left to the beekeeper.
First on the list for anyone interested in culturing honey bees is to look at the biology of this insect.
That this truly the basis for honey bee management. With that understanding, the beekeeper can begin
to manage the keys to success via regulating population, providing nutrition, controlling diseases and
pests, managing pesticide exposure, promoting genetic diversity, processing and marketing honey bee
products and managing finances. This is all accomplished through a number of traditional tools
that beekeepers have learned to employ over the years.
The next chapter in understanding the honey bee will probably come from recent advances in genetic
research. The honey bee genome has been sequenced and this will inevitably lead to a much richer
knowledge base via genomic study than has already been developed for this most-studied of social
insects. Recent genomic study has revealed that honey bees may have originated in Asia, not Africa
has originally thought.
The evolutionary tree we constructed from genome sequences does not support an origin in Africa,
said Matthew Webster, one of the authors of a recent paper. This gives us new insight into how honey
bees spread and became adapted to habitats across the world.
"Another unexpected result was that honey bees seem to be derived from an ancient lineage of cavity-
nesting bees that arrived from Asia around 300,000 years ago and rapidly spread across Europe and
Africa. Extensive losses of honey bee colonies in recent years are a major cause for concern. Honey
bees face threats from disease, climate change, and management practices. To combat these threats, it is
important to understand the evolutionary history of honey bees and how they have adapted to different
environments across the world.
We have used state-of-the-art, high-throughput genomics to address these questions, and have
identified high levels of genetic diversity in honey bees, Webster said. In contrast to other domestic
species, management of honey bees seems to have increased levels of genetic variation by mixing bees
from different parts of the world. The findings may also indicate that high levels of inbreeding are not a
major cause of global colony losses. Editors note: This may not be true in managed honey bee
populations afflicted with the Varroa mite.
"Also hidden in the patterns of genome variation are signals that indicate that climate change has
strongly impacted honey bee populations historically. Populations in Europe appear to have contracted
during ice ages, whereas African populations have expanded at those times, suggesting that
environmental conditions there were more favorable, said Webster.
In the modern world, inescapable change is the watchword around the globe, as currently being
experienced by beekeepers across the globe. As an example Australia and Florida are examined here.
The inevitable conclusion is that operators must employ the strategy of working smarter not harder"
to increase Apicultural Productivity in the 21st Century. Contributor Randy Oliver provides an
excellent update on the changes affecting current beekeeping at this NY Bee Wellness event, published
February 2017, 1 hour 36 minutes.
Another area that seems ripe for exploitation by beekeepers is the cooperative. This construct has been
around for a long time, but is seldom used even though it is the prime way that honey bees themselves
have improved productivity over the centuries. A new model has been developed by entrepreneurs who
install and manage colonies in urban areas for customers. A unique way to promote beekeeping is
through the tax code. The American Bee Project seeks to connect owners of vacant land with
commercial beekeepers in creative ways. "By leasing their vacant land to a commercial beekeeper for
legitimate commercial agricultural use, property owners may be able to save on their property taxes,
insurance and other costs while helping to save the bees. Commercial beekeepers use the land to
make honey and rebuild the health of their hives."
Perhaps the biggest shift in beekeeping in the U.S. over the last two decades is that many
operators have moved into commercial pollination. This demands changes in honey bee management
that are often not compatible with those traditionally used in honey production. In addition, the large-
scale modern agricultural model for many crops and animals does not always fit as well for honey bees
used as commercial pollinators.
Finally, research is an important issue that is becoming more important in the contemporary beekeeping
environment. Although many beekeepers routinely take advantage of information created by
researchers, there is often a tension that exists between these two groups.
Another way to see what is involved in this treatise is to look at the following table of contents:

A Treatise on Modern Honey Bee Management: Introduction

Bee Research: What Scientists and Beekeepers Want

Bees and Genes: Sociogenomic Study Beyond the Beehive
Honey Bee Genome Project (HBGP)
Inescapable Change The Australian-Florida Connection
Management Tools
Beehive Design
The Flow Hive
Top-Bar Hive A Kindler, Gentler Beekeeping?
Beehive Preservation
Homespun Advice
Moving Bees
Package Honey Bees
Pollen Trap
Queen Excluder
Record Keeping
Requeening and Queen Rearing
 Smoking Bees: Alarm and Varroa Control?
Smoker Fuel: A Neglected Variable?
Tao of Smoking Bees
Splitting Colonies A New Old Management Tool
Using Nuclei and Queen Rearing; Michael Palmer
Stings and Reactions
Stopping Bees
The Observation Bee Hive
Uniting Hives (Colonies)
Veils, Gloves, Suits, Hive Tools, Epipens
Managing Diseases and Pests
A Case for Diagnostics
Africanized Honey Bees Short History
AHB in Northern Mexico September 1993
Managing Africanized Honey Bee Complexities
The Africanized Honey Bee In Ecuador
The Threatened African Honey Bee
Biological Control in Beekeeping
Black Bear
Chalkbrood
Comb Renovation
Defense Mechanisms of Honey Bees
Foulbrood
American and European Foulbrood Symptoms
American Foulbrood New Zealand Experience
Antibiotic-Resistant American Foulbrood in Florida? Hygienic Bees
Antibiotics and the Beekeeper
Long-Term Terramycin Use Promotes Resistance
New Developments in Antibiotic Use
Why Bee Inspection?
Honey Bees as Biological Control Agents
Insect Predators
Managing Stress
Nosema Disease
Small Hive Beetle Short History
 Aethina Tumida: A New Beehive Pest in the Western Hemisphere
The Nemesis Effect More Surprises?
Tracheal Mite Short History
Tracheal Mite Enigma
Unexplained Bee Kills
Varroa Short History
Feral Bee Comeback: Varroa Tolerance?
Integrated Pest Management for Varroa
The Promise of RNAi (Interference)
The Sugar Shake: Detecting Varroa While Not Killing Bees
The Varroa-Virus Connection
Toward Honey Bee Domestication The Varroa Connection
Varroa A Five-Species Complex
Varroa Mites A Community Problem
Varroa Tolerance Mexico
Viruses and Honey Bees
Wax Moth (Candle Fly)
Managing Finances
Financial Analysis Honey Production and Pollination Spreadsheet
Managing Genetics
All Bees Are Not Alike
What About Those Russian Bees?
Better Queens: Let The Bees Do It?
Breeding Programs: Has Their Time Come?
Bee Breeding in Serbia: Apicentar
Hygienic Honey Bees: A Little Used Technology
Introducing Bee Stock Risky
1922 Honey Bee Importation Law Changes Proposed
Narrowing the Honey Bee Genetic Base
Queen Problems A Continuing Conversation
Queen Quality: New Zealand and Australia
Queen Breeding Difficulties
The Honey Bee and American Chestnut
Managing Honey Bee Populations
Cluster Size Surface to Volume Ratio
 Managing Drones
On Predictability Africanized Bees
Working AHB at Night; Daylight Too; Bee Houses
Swarming and Absconding
On Collecting Swarms
Trapping Bees
Upward Ventilation
Warm Weather Risks
Managing Honey Bee Products
Beeswax
Focus on Apitherapy
Honey
Airborne Honey of New Zealand Tracing Honey
HAACP: Measuring Honey Quality/Safety
History of the National Honey Board
Honey Adulteration
Honey and Human Health Manuka Honey
Honey Quality In The Tropics
Organic Honey Issues
Pollen Analysis: Determining Honey Quality/Origin
Lathrop Pollen Atlas
Human Allergy to Bee Products: New Zealand/Australia
Pollen
Managing Nutrition
Feeding Sugar Syrup
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Robbing
Increasing Bee Pasture
The American Bee Project: Using Tax Law to Increase Bee Forage
Poisonous Plants
Pollen The Other Side of the Nutritional Coin
Feeding Pollen Substitute/Supplement
Supplemental Protein Feeding Australia/Brazil
The Candy Board: For Cold Weather Only
Watering Honey Bee Colonies
Managing Pesticides
Environmental Contamination
Fluvalinate Exposure: Effects on Queens and Drones
Measuring Relative Toxcity The LD50
Neonicotinoids