tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64536342024-03-18T07:33:22.901+00:00Propolis<strong>bees, honey and other sticky subjects</strong>Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.comBlogger1127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-73606282359078005462008-03-19T23:10:00.003+00:002010-01-09T12:44:50.990+00:00Bees on You TubeBritish comedian, Eddie Izzard's take on beekeeping.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-71094867703822929872008-03-19T09:43:00.005+00:002008-03-19T09:52:55.416+00:00Introducing ... sublingual therapySublingual therapy might sound a little riske to ignoramuses like me, but apparently it's not an uncommon way to treat allergies. And now they are experimenting with it for allergies to bee stings.Italian researchers found that putting honeybee venom under the tongue was safe and significantly reduced reactions in people allergic to bee stings. So far they have only tested it on people who have &Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-14284152799758543742008-03-18T12:05:00.003+00:002008-03-19T08:32:38.793+00:00Penthouse beesBees in downtown areas of Japan seem to becoming popular. A shopping mall recently bought some hives as part of its development project. They seem to be using a mix of eastern and western honeybees (Apis cerana and Apis mellifera).Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-27176044211417837132008-03-18T10:06:00.007+00:002008-03-20T11:02:14.814+00:00Honey -- the ugly sisterWhy is that honey can only command a fraction of the price of wine? I had a very heated debate on this last night -- heated in the sense that it was in a sauna. We had been discussing Trockenbeerenauslese (as you do) and a gorgeous wine that retails at £25 ($50) for a half bottle. (This one -- Trockenbeerenauslese 2000 37.5cl Welschriesling/Pinot Gris Josef Lentsch Podersdorf/See -- to be preciseTurloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-52790317588386392742008-03-18T09:46:00.005+00:002008-03-18T10:00:36.213+00:00Royal jelly flicks a switchThe royal jelly secret that turns larvae into queens rather than workers may have been uncovered. Scientists at the Research School of Biological Sciences at the Australian National University (ANU) have discovered that royal jelly flicks a genetic switch in larvae."Royal jelly seems to chemically modify the bee’s genome by a process called DNA methylation and disrupts the expression of Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-20668653177031913272008-03-16T18:43:00.003+00:002008-03-16T18:56:10.326+00:00Sticky momentIt's nice to know that the New Zealand authorities seem keen to ensure the authenticity of the medicinally-acclaimed UMFR manuka honey. The paperwork of an un-named supplier is under investigation by the Active Manuka Honey Association. They say there is no problem with the honey.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-22450511870345650962008-03-14T12:24:00.004+00:002008-03-14T12:30:30.518+00:00Too much to bearAfter failing to stop a bear stealing honey from his hives by playing Serbian turbo-folk music at great volume, an exasperated Serbian beekeeper took the bear to court and won. The bear didn't show up and won't be punished, but because it is a protected species the state must pay the beekeeper 2,238 Euros for damage to his hives.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-9833444706920983002008-03-13T22:36:00.002+00:002008-03-13T22:38:57.313+00:00Honey money demandedWhile I have been off doing other things, you may be interested to know that the British Beekeepers Association has been kicking up a media stink about the plight of honey bees and the UK Government's refusal to invest research funding.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-45942272056802993542008-03-13T22:26:00.002+00:002008-03-13T22:28:58.474+00:00Another bee movie: The Secret Life of BeesThe best seller The Secret Life of Bees featuring two beekeeping sisters and focusing on racism and civil rights is being made into a film.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-38363460886785889872008-03-13T20:23:00.004+00:002008-03-13T20:33:31.167+00:00The godfathers of the ant worldFirst: long time, no post. Apologies -- if you care!There is a fascinating BBC News Online story about another social insect today -- the ant and how its males surreptitiously pass on the queen gene to ensure that their offspring become reproductive queens, not mere workers. Or, to put it another way, unlike honeybees it isn't just the larval food that determines who can become a queen. Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-79117214291133286702008-01-28T22:39:00.001+00:002008-03-09T08:42:17.200+00:00Not just another nest removalA bees' nest has been removed in California Florida and made the news -- but beekeepers will be interested in the method. Have a look at this picture.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-7888818674715386112008-01-25T22:10:00.000+00:002008-01-25T22:15:34.296+00:00Unicef bee girl goes a step furtherA girl from a very low-income Indian family turned to bee-keeping to make a living at age ten and and was declared the 'UNICEF girl' in 2006. Now she has been hailed as a role model by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Anita Kushwaha is now 19 and and comes from a remote Bochaha village in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district. She is studying English in a women's college.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-11346578943150648142008-01-25T22:05:00.001+00:002008-03-18T16:05:10.847+00:00Brain swarmNew Scientist this week features swarming and compares it to a human brain activity. (You'll need a subscription for the link.)Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-39158719676123082342008-01-25T21:55:00.001+00:002008-01-25T22:00:07.869+00:00The perfect bee crimeJust getting back into my blogging stride after a break with an intriguing story from New Zealand where some highly technical thefts have been taking place. Not mere thefts of beehives, but thefts of the queen on brood frames leaving everything looking apparently undisturbed. South Islanders are blaming North Islanders. A b-crime every bit as sophisticated as e-crime.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-74230428288975816962008-01-11T08:51:00.000+00:002008-01-11T09:00:49.689+00:00State funeral for Kiwi beekeeperA modest 88 year-old former Kiwi beekeeper who didn't do very well at school or university, but who is a household name throughout the British Commonwealth and beyond, is to receive a state funeral in New Zealand. Some 53 years ago, that beekeeper also happened to be the first person to climb the world's highest mountain, Everest. Sir Edmund Hillary has died. His legacy in helping Nepalese Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-30179622955971098892007-12-20T22:42:00.000+00:002008-12-10T03:06:46.503+00:00The last queen bee of LibyaSince I last posted a piece on Miss Olive Brittan MBE, the last royal beekeeper of Libya, nearly three years ago, I've had some correspondence and am delighted to have received this photo from Albert Lee via Lofty Albert Webb (Lofty). I'm hoping to hear more about Miss Brittan from another source soon, so keep watching.I understand that this picture was taken in 1962/3 and features the renowned Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-80774352549146603282007-12-04T14:00:00.000+00:002007-12-04T21:21:48.165+00:00Swarm stops playOn the lunchtime news were pictures of the English and Sri Lankan cricket teams plus umpires laid flat on their faces on the pitch as a swarm of bees passed overhead in Kandy. Pictures here.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-18588535030621404952007-12-04T10:38:00.000+00:002007-12-04T10:47:56.764+00:00A spooonful of sugar helps the honey go downIsn't it interesting how the vilest tasting honeys are being found to have medicinal properties. Here's the latest on buckwheat honey for children's coughs. To allay any thoughts that I may be too sceptical, I suppose it's possible that it's because dark honeys are high in antioxidants that the strongest flavoured honeys are most potent.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-43029267467029158882007-11-22T21:29:00.000+00:002008-12-10T03:06:47.132+00:00Hampshire's beekeepers celebrate 125 years at Wooton St LawrenceThis may seem like any other English parish church, but it has a particular association for beekeepers and on 10 November 2007, Hampshire Beekeepers Association (HBA) celebrated its 125th birthday there for a very special reason. It is the church of the Rev Charles Butler, sometimes called the Father of English Beekeeping. Born in 1560, Butler was vicar at Wooton St Lawrence parish church in Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-74192012919957164452007-11-08T11:17:00.000+00:002007-11-09T11:10:57.553+00:00All he is saying is ...A lawsuit is flying because Jerry Seinfeld's recently released Bee Movie uses the catchphrase "Give Bees a Chance,". Richie Gerber, known to Howard Stern fans as Cousin Richie, owns an organic skin and hair-care company called BeeCeuticals Organics that claims the phrase as its own. He claims that DreamWorks and Paramount, after initially exploring opportunities to work with Gerber, Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-48123302079984199112007-11-07T09:33:00.001+00:002007-11-07T09:37:25.182+00:00Bees ferry banAmongst the new conditions for the resumption of the Hawaiian interisland Superferry are: watch out for whales. But Governor Linda Lingle admitted that she forgot to include restrictions on the transport of bee equipment to deter the spread of destructive varroa mites from O'ahu to the Big Island, the centre of the state's bee industry.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-76576509835307766712007-11-06T12:18:00.000+00:002007-11-06T12:27:44.102+00:00CCD and bee industrialisationMark Winston, the head of bees at Simon Fraser University in BC, Canada has been letting off steam about the industrialisation of beekeeping.He thinks that CCD crisis goes much deeper than a particular virus. He thinks that the industrialization of bee farming has made bees more susceptible to mass die-offs and abrupt disappearances.By "separating bees from their keepers," Prof. WinstonTurloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-55161680655732745952007-11-05T10:24:00.001+00:002007-11-05T10:32:57.585+00:00Bay of Plenty emptyAfter reports of the potential CCD threat to New Zealand's kiwi fruit crop, reports of widespread honeybee deaths appear one day later.The second report implies agricultural chemicals are suspected, something that will doubtless be rectified rapidly since kiwi fruits are dependent on honeybee pollination arnd are worth $NZ 720 million a year.Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-398425477463839482007-11-02T17:24:00.000+00:002007-11-02T17:36:14.401+00:00"There's a lot more veterinarians out there than apiculturalists"Eric Mussen of University of Califiornia, Davis, gave an excellent overview of CCD last month. Here are a few extracts ...Mussen identified malnutrition, parasitic mites, infectious microbes and insecticide contamination as among the possible culprits. It’s a complex issue, he said, but one thing is certain: “It seems unlikely that we will find a specific, new and different reason for whyTurloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453634.post-28962284283212148582007-10-29T14:07:00.000+00:002008-12-10T03:06:48.595+00:00Brood exhibitionThere's a must-see exhibition for anyone interested in beekeeping at Winchester's Great Hall in Hampshire, UK.Bill Woodrow has Brood — Sculpture from the Beekeeper Series 1996-2007 on show there until 10 December 2007.The exhibition features honey and wax and the gold glistens. The larvae high in the walls were especially commissioned for the Great Hall.My photographs of a few of the Turloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497824768323499215noreply@blogger.com3