Bee Behavior and Biology

I’ve ordered these articles to help you better understand bee behavior.

Robbing Behavior in the Honey Bee by Dr. Norm Gary 1966

A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 6

A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration Part 6 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2023 In our 2018 study in the California foothills, we confirmed that bees indeed drift from collapsing colonies to other hives, even to those at considerable distance. And that drifting can result in a substantial […]

A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 5

Contents A Deeper Look into our Data. 1 Was Robbing Involved with Mite Immigration?. 6 Discussion on Robbing. 8 Study Wrap Up. 9 Review.. 10 Next Month. 10 Acknowledgements. 11 Citations and Notes 11 A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration Part 5 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ June 2023 […]

A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 4

Contents Distance that Worker Bees will Drift 1 Effect of Distance upon Bee Drift 4 Hive-to-Hive Variation in Captured Tags 7 Validating our Methodology. 8 Mite Immigration: Results of the Stickyboard Counts. 10 Cumulative Mite Immigration. 11 Next Month. 12 Acknowledgements. 13 Citations and Notes 13 A Study on Bee and Mite Drift: […]

A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 3

Contents The Donor Colonies 1 Tagging. 1 Results and Discussion. 2 Did the Tagged Bees Behave Normally?. 2 Progress of the Colonies. 4 Answering our Questions 4 Observations from the Donor Hives. 5 Correlation With Varroa Infestation. 6 Tag Recovery by Date. 8 Timelines of Recovery of Drifted Bees 9 Relevance to Mite Immigration. 10 […]

A Study on Bee Drift and Mite Immigration: Part 1

Contents Introduction Was Another Field Study Justified? Background Research The Biology Behind Mite Transfer Between Hives How Much Mite Immigration Actually Occurs? How Do the Mites Get Transferred? How Important is the Drifting of Drones? How Much Drift is There of Worker Bees? How Important are the Guard Bees? Do Mites and Viruses Cause […]

A Study on Bee and Mite Drift: Part 2

Contents Questions to Answer 1 Materials and Methods 2 Placement of the hives 2 Preparation of the Mite Donor Colonies. 3 Tagging the bees 3 The Control Group. 7 Preparation of the Mite Receiver Hives 7 Eliminating the mites. 7 Magnetic tag recovery. 9 The stickyboards. 10 The hive scales. 10 Layout of the Donor […]

A Survey on Robbing at Collapse

Contents Robbing is Governed by Olfaction Back to what happens upon colony collapse A Survey on Whether Robbing Takes Place at Collapse My Conclusions From the Survey Responses Relationship to Bee and Mite Drift A humorous anecdote regarding training bees to a scent Acknowledgements Citations and notes A SURVEY ON ROBBING AT COLLAPSE Randy […]

The Nosema Problem: Part 7C – The Prevention of Dysentery

Contents Review.. 1 Balancing moisture elimination and heat loss. 2 Broodrearing in the winter cluster. 3 So let’s do the arithmetic!. 5 Practical applications. 5 Optimal Cluster size. 5 Winter stores ― honey and beebread. 8 Hive placement. 8 Hive insulation. 9 Hive ventilation. 10 Literature cited. 11 The Nosema Problem Part 7c The Prevention […]

Overwintering of Honey Bee Colonies

Overwintering of honey bee colonies This subject has long generated endless debate among beekeepers. There are a few excellent resources by those who have collected hard data: Dr. Floyd Moeller was a USDA researcher who performed extensive field research to test various beekeeping management practices. This excellent publication covers practices to improve overwintering success, and […]

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 13d – The Impacts of Parasites and CO2

First published in: American Bee Journal, October 2016

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 13d The Impacts of Parasites and CO2 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ October 2016 Winter is the most stressful time for the honey bee colony, and during times of stress, some parasites find opportunity in the hive. How can a beekeeper help his/her bees? The honey bee […]

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 13c – The Winter, and Hive Design

First published in: American Bee Journal, September 2016

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 13c The Winter, and Hive Design Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in September 2016 I begin the process of writing most of my articles thinking that I’ll cover the subject in a single piece. Next thing I know, I’ve got so many notes that I realize that […]

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 13b – The Winter Continued

First published in: American Bee Journal, August 2016

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 13b The Winter Continued Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ August 2016 In the previous article I summarized the basic mechanics and physics of the winter cluster. But I still had some “leftovers” worthy of further discussion… The Optimal Size of the Winter Cluster I showed in Part […]

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 13a – The Physics of the Winter Cluster

First published in: American Bee Journal, July 2016

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline Part 13a The Physics of the Winter Cluster Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2016 Updated in blue: 21 March 2019 In cold-winter locales, the temperature becomes too cool for workers to forage, and there is no nectar or pollen to be had anyway. In response, the […]

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 12 – Late Summer Through Autumn

First published in: American Bee Journal, June 2016

Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline: Part 12 Late Summer Through Autumn Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ are June 2016 I took a slight detour in my last article to address the “other bug” that we keep in our hives—the varroa mite. I plan to soon return to the mite. But first, let’s get […]

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