The next EDBA meeting information is now available here: https://edmontonbeekeepers.ca/event/february-meeting-2-2-2/
There are some additional events available as well. Go check it out. Lots to learn!
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Category: News
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Netflix – Rotten – Not Honey
People are eating product that is “Not honey”.
Its more of a “who done it?” real life crime documentary mixed with food sources but the first episode focuses on Honey so you might find it interesting. I like how it gives some insight into the bigger world of honey production and the import/export world.
https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80146284
At least check out the first episode:
With demand for honey soaring just as bees are dying off in record numbers, hidden additives, hive thefts and other shady tactics are on the rise. (55minutes)
This docuseries travels deep into the heart of the food supply chain to reveal unsavory truths and expose hidden forces that shape what we eat.
Its very interesting to see how they test for the sources of honey to make sure its not fake! Looking for pollen is old school! Imagine testing and sampling thousand of varieties:
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Stories about Bees and Bats
Doing bee research can lead to some interesting stories. Two stories about the challenges of studying winged wildlife, from bats to honey bees.
Part 1: Cylita Guy finds unexpected adventure when she studies bats in the field.
Part 2: Rachael Bonoan discovers she may be dangerously allergic to the honey bees she studies.
Did you want to know a bit more about bees, hornets and wasps from around the world? It might help answer those questions all your friends and family ask about.
Follow the link to an amazing info-graphic with great pictures in an easy to read format. Most people think they are just jerks but did you know the difference between a hornet and a wasp?
A big thanks to a little junior beekeeper to be who passed along the information. Great find Garrett!
Full graphic and the source found here.
You might already know that there are different types of bees out there, but which ones are important to our ecosystems, which ones are endangered, which ones make honey?
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Beekeeping, is it for you?
The Camrose Wildlife Stewardship Society is having our president, Craig Toth, present on the basics of beekeeping and showing off the materials needed to take a peek into a hive.
Thursday, June 22nd 7pm at the Stoney Creek Centre in Camrose
Click here to look at the Brochure PDF for more information.
Its great to see bees being promoted so well! Good job Craig.
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CBC Radioactive Interview
Craig Toth (our President) has been doing a lot of media coverage lately and working on bee awareness projects.
Click here to take a listen of Craig talking with Portia Clark on the CBC radio show called Radio Active.
Prof. Norberto García from Argentina gave an informative presentation at the 80th Annual Alberta Beekeepers Commission AGM & Convention, regarding the fall of honey prices and adulteration of honey.
Prof. Garcia teaches Apiculture at the UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DEL SUR in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. He is also Senior Consultant of NEXCO S.A., the main Argentine honey exporter.
He is the current president of the International Honey Exporters Organization (IHEO) and Member of the Board of Directors of TRUE SOURCE HONEY (U.S.A), representing NEXCO S.A. He also chairs the Working Group on Adulteration of Bee Products of APIMONDIA.
Prof. García has worked intensely during recent years to create awareness on the problems of honey adulteration in different national and international meetings.
Please find below a link to this presentation
Figure 4 is said to be the most telling. How do you increase colony numbers by 13% but increase honey exports by 196%?
The research concludes “…that fraud mechanisms are responsible for the injection of a very important volume of cheap “manufactured” and diluted honeys to the market. The use of adulteration by various means becomes the method by which circumvention can be disguised and market share is increased.”
Our very own President, Craig Toth got some media attention with his work helping northern Alberta scientists.
Why are the bees dying? Northern Alberta scientists are helping find the answer
The experiment in progress:
If anyone has been to Craig’s beeyard, this should bring back memories:
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Honey Birds
Ever heard of a honey bird? Nasty pieces of work if you ask me because they are all brood parasites that lay one egg in a nest of another species. Honeyguide nestlings have been known to physically eject their host’s chicks from the nest and they have hooks on their beaks with which they puncture the hosts’ eggs or kill the nestlings.
Honeyguides are named for a remarkable habit seen in one or two species: they guide humans to bee colonies. Once the hive is open and the honey is taken, the bird feeds on the remaining wax and larvae.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeyguide
They are among the few birds that feed regularly on wax—beeswax in most species.
http://news.nationalpost.com/life/cities-becoming-sweet-spot-for-bee-keeping-as-montreal-company-rents-out-hives-3
A Montreal-based company is renting out beehives to people who are interested in making their own honey and to learn more about beekeeping.
Once rented, the company places hives in either a backyard, a balcony or a flat roof. The renting period lasts one year, and costs $65 a month. Alveole staff does all the beehive maintenance.