WCBA -Westmoreland County Beekeepers Association

Hi all-

With temperatures nearing 50 degrees in Western PA, on Tuesday 2/10, it may be a good time to check the status of the supplemental feed on your hives.

At this time of year the best type of supplemental feed are non-liquid types that can be placed directly above the cluster.

What to Feed Your Hive During Harsh Winters
During harsh winters, honey bees rely heavily on stored honey for nourishment. However, when natural forage disappears and temperatures drop, supplemental feeding becomes essential. Here are some effective winter supplemental foods for honey bee hives:

Fondant: A solid sugar-based food that serves as an excellent winter feed. It provides a slow-release energy source and is easy for bees to access. Unlike syrup, fondant remains usable in freezing temperatures, making it a preferred choice for many beekeepers.

Pollen Substitutes: Supply essential proteins for hive development. Though not always necessary in winter, they can be beneficial if natural pollen is scarce. Pollen patties should be placed near the cluster, allowing easy access to protein when needed.

Candy Boards: Sugar-based feeding solutions placed above the cluster. They provide a controlled, long-lasting food source, reducing the risk of moisture buildup inside the hive. Candy boards are particularly useful in regions with extended cold seasons.

By providing these supplemental foods, beekeepers can help the colonies stay nourished through the cold months and emerge stronger in the spring.

Best regards.

‼️📣 WCBA meeting Cancellation: Tuesday January 20th - Due to extreme temperatures

Hello all-
We are going to cancel our meeting tomorrow evening Tuesday January 20th - Due to extreme temperatures.

Our Next meeting is scheduled for February 17.

Please stay safe and keep warm.

Sent on behalf or the WCBA Board,
Meloney Mantsch, Secretary

Happy Mothers Day! The Queen Bee ~ FOLLOW:
Historical Honeybee Articles - Beekeeping History
Read these beautiful verses about the Mother Queen Bee.

“In a word, the Queen Bee in her
whole shape and colour, is a
beautiful creature.”

'velut inter lignes luna minores'

“As the moon when in a clear night,
she fills her circle, is more and more
eminently beautiful than all the lesser
stars, so is the Queen Bee among the
other Bees. ” -Purchas, c. 1657

'velut inter lignes luna minores'
('As shines the moon among the lesser stars'. - Horace)

Samuel Purchas, in his book ‘A theatre of politicall flying-insects:’ -1657

Image: circa. 1853, inside cover, ’The Hive and the Honeybee.’
by L. L. Langstroth
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/85243 /11/mode/1up

🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

Alfred Neighbour, wrote ‘The apiary; or, Bees, bee-hives and bee culture‘ 1865, Describes the admiration and respect the worker bees have towards their Majestic Queen.

"… her movements are measured and
majestic, as she moves in the hive the
other bees form a circle round her, none
venturing to turn their backs upon her,
but all anxious to show that respect and
attention due to her rank and station.
Whenever in the exercise of her sovereign
will the queen wishes to travel amongst
her subjects, she experiences no
inconvenience from overcrowding;
although the part of the hive to which
she is journeying may be the most
populous, way is immediately made,
the common bees tumbling over each
other to get out of her way, so great is
their anxiety not to interfere with the
royal progress." -Neighbour, c. 1865

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Dr. Evans,—who may be styled the poet-laureate of the bees,—lived at Shrewsbury, where he practiced as a physician. His poem on bees is written with great taste and careful elaboration, and it describes the habits of bees with a degree of accuracy only attainable after continuous scientific observation. In Evans poem ‘The Bee’ (first book) circa. 1806. Evans introduces the Insect Queen:

"But mark, of regal port, and aweful mien,
Where moves, with measur'd pace, the Insect Queen !
Twelve chosen guards, with slow, and solemn gait,
Bend at her nod, and round her person wait.
Not eastern Despots, of their splendour vain,
Can boast, in all their pomp, a brighter train
Of fear-bound Satraps ; not in bonds of love
Can loyal Britons more obedient move,
Whose patriot King an heartfelt homage finds,
And guides with easy rein their willing minds.
The pregnant Queen her duteous slaves attend,
With plausive air the high-arch'd dome ascend,
Cling in fond rapture round the genial bed,
And o'er her form a living curtain spread,"
-Evans, c. 1806

🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

Edward Bevan, author of ‘The Honey-bee: Its Natural History, Physiology, and Management of Honeybees’ -1827, is considered by many as the first work of bee literature possessing any claim to the character of scientific. In the article ‘Bevan on the Bee‘, Second Notice, 1843, Bevan describes the worker bees paying homage, caressing and touching with love and affection their Royal Queen.

"Like the English monarchy, that of our
particular subject, the species known
as the domestic or honey Bee, embraces
three orders, not ill resembling king,
lords and commons. The queen is not
only the acknowledged head and
representative of the nation, but its
common source of population, her
ample loins pouring out annually as
many young as are necessary to keep
up the numbers of the hive; which are
rarely less than twelve thousand, and
rise to perhaps fifty or sixty thousand
where abundant room is offered them.

The queen has no regular guard, either
when she traverses the combs or when
she is stationary. In either case, as we
have frequently observed, the working
bees that happen to be near her, for the
most part, turn their heads, towards her,
after the manner of courtiers in the presence
of royally, and wherever she moves clear
the way to allow her to pass, or rather get
hastily out of her way, forming a circle
round hut never accompanying her. They
occasionally, during her progress, fawn
upon and caress her, touching her softly
with their antenna. As she moves onward,
till the bees, thro' which she successively
passes, pay her the same homage; those
which in her track she leaves behind,
close together, and resume their
accustomed labors." -Bevan, c. 1827

🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

James Thacher, in his book ‘A practical treatise on the management of bees,,,’ 1829 describes the love an affection worker bees have for their Mother Queen.

"She is likewise their mother in the
strictest sense. Among 20, or 30,000
bees of which a hive frequently consists,
the queen is the only one that breeds;
and it is to this prerogative that she is
indebted for the extreme love and
affection which she enjoys from her
subjects. Their respect and obedience
are truly remarkable. She is almost
continually attended by a circle of bees,
who devote themselves to her service,
some present her with honey, others
pass their trunks lightly over her body
in order to remove from it any thing
that may be offensive. When she walks,
those that are in her passage, range
themselves in a respectful manner to
make way for her. They either know,
or appear to know, that this procedure
has an important object in view, that
of augmenting the number of their
citizens. The queen being the parent
of the hive, it is from her alone, that
a complete swarm composed of queens,
drones and workers, can proceed; and
without all these different members of
the community, it cannot either lay up
stores or be preserved in existence."
-Thacher, c. 1829

🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

Joseph Warder, in his book, ‘The true Amazons: or, The monarchy of bees’ - 1713, describes the Queen Bees subjects loyalty to the Monarch Queen.

“Indeed, no Monarch in the world is
so absolute as the Queen of the bees;
(which pleads very much with me,
that Monarchy is founded in nature,
and is approved by the great Ruler
of Princes.) But oh, what harmony,
what lovely order is there in the
government of the bees! The
Queen-Bee governs with clemency
and sweetness, so doth your Majesty;
she is obey’d and defended, out of
choice and inclination by her subjects,
so is your Majesty. And here I cannot
but wish that all your Majesty’s
subjects were as unanimously loyal
as the subjects of the Queen-Bee“.
-Warder, c. 1713

🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

John Thorley in his book ‘Melisselogia, or, the female monarchy: being an enquiry into the nature’ -1744, describes the beautiful and glorious Queen.

The Sovereign, or Queen-Bee described.

“This stately, beautiful, most noble and
glorious insect, in so many things
expressing royal majesty, has been for
a great number of years my grand favourite.
A princess I greatly admire; very highly
value and esteem, and justly prefer before
the many thousands of her subjects. “. -Thorley, c. 1744

How much should you charge for local honey?
You can find comparison prices here.

February 2024 Regional Honey Price Report | Bee Culture February 2024 Regional Honey Price Report Reporting Regions Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 Region 4 Region 5 Region 6 Region 7 Summary History Extracted Honey Prices Sold Bulk to Packers or Processors Range Average Price/Pound Last Month Last Year 55 Gallon Drum – Light 2.15 2.25 2.73 2.80 3.02 2.40 3...

Sharing a post I put together from my beekeeping history page. -Joe

Honeybee or Honey Bee? Which is it?

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, “honeybee” is spelled as one word. It is common for newspapers such as the New York Times or the Washington Post to tend to use the dictionary spellings. However. in the book Anatomy of the Honey Bee from 1956, Robert E. Snodgrass wrote:

Regardless of dictionaries, we have in entomology a rule for insect common names that can be followed. It says: If the insect is what the name implies, write the two words separately; otherwise run them together. Thus we have such names as house fly, blow fly, and robber fly contrasted with dragonfly, caddicefly, and butterfly, because the latter are not flies, just as an aphislion is not a lion and a silverfish is not a fish. The honey bee is an insect and is preeminently a bee; “honeybee” is equivalent to “Johnsmith.” Likewise, honey bees and bumble bees are true bees in the order Hymenoptera, so entomologists spell them as two words, even though the dictionaries and newspapers spell them as one.

So there you have it. If you’re ever in doubt, check the ESA Common Names of Insects Database. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there, find another reputable source and check on the insect’s order, and remember this short rhyme: “If true, then two.”

Don't miss an article ~ Please like this page.
Historical Honeybee Articles - Beekeeping History

Source:

Is it Honey Bee or HoneyBee? Bed Bug or Bedbug? House Fly or Housefly?
https://entomologytoday.org/2014/05/06/is-it-honey-bee-or-honeybee-bed-bug-or-bedbug-house-fly-or-housefly/ #:~:text=In%20his%20book%20Anatomy%20of%20the%20Honey%20Bee,the%20two%20words%20separately%3B%20otherwise%20run%20them%20together.

Common Names of Insects Database
https://entsoc.org/publications/common-names

Common Names of Insects List
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fentsoc.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Ffiles%2FCommon_names_list_11-28-23.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

Is It Honey Bee or Honeybee? Bumble Bee or Bumblebee? Who Decides the Common Names of Bees?
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0005772X.2021.1982315

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Penn State Extension to offer ‘Beekeeping Around the World’ webinar series | Penn State University For those interested in learning about how beekeeping is practiced in different parts of the world, Penn State Extension is offering a free, seven-week webinar series that will take place from noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays from Feb. 15 to March 28.