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Randy,s Posts

2019 EcoFarm

Beekeeping is more difficult today than it used to be. Our changing agricultural landscape provides less forage, and growers still apply pesticides to freely (although the pesticide situation for bees today is far better than it used to be in the ’60s and ’70s). The main problem for honey bees worldwide is the recent invasion...

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Nosema and dysentery Part 1

It’s “Common Knowledge” that Nosema Causes Dysentery… But is it actually true? Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Yesterday I inspected a group of 40 hives returning from almond pollination. All were strong and healthy, other than two unusual deadouts, which no longer had any bees on the combs, and only a scattering of a few dead workers...

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Guessing the Future with Varroa: Part 1

Guessing the Future with Varroa Part 1 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ December 2018       The Greek philosopher Heraclitus maintained that there is nothing permanent except change.  This certainly applies to biology and the business of beekeeping, both of which are always in some state of evolution.  However, beekeeping in the U.S. was unusual in...

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Guessing the Future of Varroa: Part 2 – Ways that Bees Can Manage the Mite

Guessing the Future with Varroa: Part 2 Ways that Bees Can Manage the Mite Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ in January, 2019       I suspect that our problems with varroa—at least for commercial beekeepers—may get worse before they get better.  But I’d be willing to bet that eventually, we’ll all be keeping bees...

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The Pesticide Situation: Part 1

Contents The Earth’s Biosphere. 1 The human population. 2 Insect populations in general 2 Agriculture’s situation. 3 The value of pollinators. 4 Who is the real enemy?. 4 Our three choices. 4 The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. 4 Acknowledgements. 4 References. 4     The Pesticide Situation Part 1 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com  ...

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The Pesticide Situation: Part 2

The Pesticide Situation: Part 2 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   First Published in ABJ, February 2019   The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act requires that a pesticide will generally not cause any unreasonable risk to man or the environment — taking into account the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of...

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The Pesticide Situation: Part 3 – Some Future Directions in Agriculture

The Pesticide Situation: Part 3 Some Future Directions In Agriculture Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ, March 2019 Allow me to introduce this article with a disclaimer.  I do not claim to be a crop farmer nor pesticide expert.  But over the past decade, I’ve spent a lot of time listening to those with...

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The Pesticide Situation: Part 4 – Pesticide Resistance and Changes in Farming Practices

The Pesticide Situation: Part 4 Pesticide Resistance and Changes in Farming Practices Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ, April 2019 Although I’ve heard some activists call for a ban on all pesticides, the hard fact is that production agriculture, whether conventional or organic, will for the foreseeable future depend upon the application of plant...

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Mite Drift Quantification

Mite Drift Quantification: A Citizen Science Project Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com I’ve updated the instructions at the link below: @Citizen Science Mite Drift Instructions  

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The Pesticide Situation Part 5: Reinventing Nature

Contents Reinventing Nature. 1 Biopesticides (aka “biologicals”) 1 Resistant cultivars. 2 intensive agriculture. 4 Innovations in Mechanical Technology. 5 Agroecology and “regenerative agriculture”. 5 Resistance to change in a changing world. 7 Notes and citations. 8   The Pesticide Situation Part 5: Reinventing Nature Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ May 2019 In their...

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The Nosema Problem: Part 1 – It’s “Common Knowledge” that Nosema Causes Dysentery… But is it Actually True?

Contents What is dysentery?. 4 So why does everyone think that nosema causes dysentery?. 7 The sad part. 7 Nosema apparently does not cause dysentery. 7 next. 9 citations and notes. 9   The Nosema Problem: Part 1 It’s “Common Knowledge” that Nosema Causes Dysentery… But is it Actually True? First published in ABJ May...

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Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance: Walking the Walk

Contents Selective breeding for mite resistance. 4 The 2018 season. 4 A visit to France. 12 My spring surprise. 13 Selection vs. Bottlenecking. 16 Choosing the breeders. 17 The big question ― heritability. 18 The importance of the drone pool 19 A Primer on Bee Genetics. 19 Bottom line. 21 Acknowledgements. 22 References. 22  ...

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The Nosema Problem: Part 2 – The Enigma of Nosema

Contents The invasion of Nosema Ceranae. 2 How did ceranae get into the U.S.?. 5 Signs of nosema infection. 5 A key finding. 8 Next. 9 citations and notes. 9   The Nosema Problem: Part 2 The Enigma of Nosema Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2019 I’ve recently read Raquel Martin-Hernandez’s excellent...

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Reading material

Below are links to some classic beekeeping publications: Farrar 1944 Productive-management-of-honeybee-colonies   USDA 1967 Beekeeping in the United States    Scroll down to Moeller’s “Managing Colonies for High Honey Yields” Beekeeping-in-California_1987 I also recommend (or have had recommended): Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees, 2nd Edition: Honey Production, Pollination, Health, Malcolm Stanford.  Malcolm has an easy-to-read writing...

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