APIS Volume 4, Number 5, May 1986
In this issue
- Lovebugs Keep Bees From Palmettos?
- Does Adversity Create Better Beekeepers?
- Providing Water During Dry Times
- Florida House Bill 928: Honey Bee Technical Council Formed
- More on Liability Insurance
LOVEBUGS AND PALMETTO BLOOMS
There has been a problem with lovebugs reported this year. Generally these insects have been implicated in clogging radiators, obscuring motorists' vision, and damaging automobile finishes. In this case, they are being blamed for repelling honey bees from palmetto blooms. Observations of this phenomena appear to have been reported in the past, but no substantive proof of lovebugs actually repelling honey bees exists. Although to humans, the insects may "smell," limited experiments have indicated bees pay little attention to dead lovebugs in sugar syrup, according to Frank Robinson, retired research apiculturist at the University of Florida.
There is little question that lovebugs may be found on palmetto blooms. Both male and females adults take nectar during the one week or so of their life. It is, therefore, conceivable they are in competition with honey bees for nectar and that bees' efforts in visiting blooms might be less rewarded. Appearance of large numbers of lovebugs are sporadic; it is then that they pose the problems for motorists and presumably would be greatest competition for foraging honey bees.
Lovebugs are actually flies (the order Diptera) in the family Bibionidae. They occur almost anywhere in the state of Florida, from the panhandle south to Dade county and are so widespread chemical control does not appear to be feasible. Airplane pilots have reported the insects at altitudes of 1000 to 1500 feet and fishermen have seen mating pairs several miles from land. Observations by H.A. Denmark, Division of Plant Industry, and P.S. Callahan, USDA Insect Attractants Laboratory, indicate the largest number of lovebugs fly between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Away from highways, the insects appear to fly in a searching pattern, while those on or near roadways fly aimlessly. These investigators showed that automobile exhaust fumes irradiated by the sun at a temperature over 80 degrees F. attracted lovebugs, a situation duplicated in nature where methane gas generated by decaying organic matter attracts them to lay eggs.
WHAT MAKES BETTER BEEKEEPERS?
What makes better beekeepers? This is a question with important ramifications for the extension apiculturist and beekeeper alike. Responses to my survey attached to the recent renewal notice indicated that lack of time was a major impediment to many trying to be better bee managers. It is possible to simply establish a colony and never check on its condition; the bees do fine in many instances and the argument that bees can take care of themselves quite adequately without care is strongly borne out by much anecdotal evidence. Could this mean that beekeeping is too easy?
Perhaps now, but not in the future. Ironically, the almost insurmountable problems facing beekeepers today, including the potential future effects of Africanized honey bees and Asiatic bee mites, may result in something quite contrary to what conventional wisdom now dictates.
There were hints of this at a joint symposium sponsored by the American Beekeeping Federation and the Tri-Country Committee on Africanized Bees and Parasitic Mites in Phoenix, Arizona last February. Dr. Raymond Borneck, President of Apimondia, is quoted at the symposium as saying that bees make more honey when there is Varroa because European beekeepers see their bees more often and take better care of them.
Another convincing argument that confronting seemingly impossible problems might create better beekeepers can be found by looking at Brazil. Dr. Helmut Weise, extension apiculturist in that country, provided statistics to show how Africanized honey bees have actually strengthened the beekeeping industry there. He indicated that during the last twenty years, honey production in Brazil has increased from 4,000 tons to 28,000 tons and the industry is in the best shape it has ever been. This optimistic scenario is the reason Brazilians have suggested that the Africanized honey bee is not the unmanageable insect reported in other areas of South and Central America.
Dr. Moeses Katznelson, extension apiculturist from Argentina, expressed the same sentiment. Since the arrival of the Africanized honey bee, beekeepers in his country have improved, he said, and the bees were also more productive. He concluded with the eyebrow-raising thought that those in the U.S. should look forward to arrival of Africanized honey bees and parasitic mites, because this would be responsible for a stronger beekeeping industry based on a far superior bee.
Will problems posed by an over supply of honey now and Africanized honey bees and Asiatic bee mites in future. quickly weed out the marginal beekeepers, resulting in and a more healthy beekeeping industry in the United States? Only time will tell, but evidence for this conclusion is accumulating at a rapid pace, and corroboration can be found in historical analysis of most cultural, as well as biological, events.
[Editor's Note 5/12/1997--With the introduction of Varroa, some of these predictions were right on the money; many beekeepers have given up the fight. On the other hand, a whole new generation of apiculturist has grown up that does not know beekeeping before Varroa.]
DRY TIMES
Reports from around the state indicate that several areas are experiencing dry times, especially in the north. Intermittent creeks have dried up and tree leaves are showing signs of moisture stress. This adds up to telephone calls from county agents and others about honey bees collecting water from faucets and swimming pools.
A word to the wise should be sufficient. Please provide a water source for bees, if there is any likelihood the insects will forage in nearby urban areas during dry spells. Prevention is the only cure to this problem; by the time the honey bees have been trained to a watering place like a swimming pool and have generated complaints, it's too late to do anything. Once a water foraging pattern has been set, it is almost impossible to do anything to change it. A watering source can be practically any device which will give the bees moisture, yet not drown them. If vessels are filled with water in an apiary, make sure wooden or other kinds of floats are present so the bees don't drown. Also, change the water periodically; don't let it stagnate and develop mosquito populations.
Honey bees may become much more noticeable during dry times; this could potentially lead to problems for all beekeepers in an area. It always pays to be the best of neighbors as a beekeeper and a good way to start is providing water for bees, before they attract undue attention.
HOUSE BILL 928
A new honey bee law is in the works. It has passed the House and soon will be voted on in the Senate, according to those in the Florida State Beekeepers Association who have been monitoring its progress. A summary of the major provisions are as follows:
- Renames the Florida Honey Certification Law as the Florida Honey Certification and Honeybee Law.
- Prohibits introduction of honeybee pests or unwanted bee races.
- Provides for certification and labeling of Florida-produced honey.
- Provides for revocation and suspension of certificates of inspection and permits.
- Authorizes fumigation, destruction or treatment of honeybees, beekeeping equipment or products under certain circumstances.
- Provides compensation for beekeeping equipment and honeybees destroyed due to infestation of American foulbrood.
- Creates a Honeybee Technical Council within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
[Editor's Note 5/12/1997--This bill passed. The Honey Bee Technical Council has since met to deliberate a number of issues.]
MORE ON LIABILITY INSURANCE
Concern over liability insurance continues. The February 1986 issue of APIS reports details on what many are calling a crisis. The latest issue of The American Beekeeping Federation Newsletter published the results of a survey carried out to find possible insurance underwriters for personal and product liability coverage. Of twenty-three contacted, only two would offer personal liability and none would offer product liability to beekeepers. The survey indicates that as bad as the situation is now, however, be prepared for it to get worse.
The message, according to the newsletter, is that if you still have liability insurance, protect it at all costs! It is expensive, but members of the Federation can still obtain basic liability protection through Insurance Protectors of Denver, Colorado. Another package tailored especially for beekeepers is being marketed by Insurance Professional of Kansas City. To join the Federation, contact the Secretary/Treasurer, 13637 N.W. 39th Ave., Gainesville, FL 32606.
Sincerely,
Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (352) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: (352)-392-0190
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis.htm
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
©1986 M.T. Sanford "All Rights Reserved
