Raising native bees creates diversity in your ecosystem, which helps to ensure that all different types of plants are being pollinated. About 90% of native bee species are solitary, meaning they do not live in colonies or produce honey, making them easy to raise. Every female solitary bee lays eggs and takes care of her young on her own, which makes them very gentle and unlikely to sting, as they are not defending a hive or honey.The manner in which native bees, like the mason bee, forage and ca …

Recently, I received information on a “Lawns to Legumes” class — offered in Rochester-for free! — on how to transform your lawn into a more bee-friendly one. As I am a hobby bee-keeper and always wanting to learn more about bees, I signed up for the class! Whether it explored honey bees or bees native to Minnesota, I was eager to learn from them as both species are important to our world.While waiting for the class to begin, I paged through some of the many handouts available outside the classro …

The oxalic acid dribble method involves mixing oxalic acid with sugar syrup and applying it straight to your clustered bees using a large syringe. It is ideal to perform the dribble at a time when little to no capped brood is present in the hive and when your bees are clustered together. It can be done in temps as low as 40 degrees F. This way, the bees will remain clustered when you open the hive. What you’ll need: Oxalic acid (Api-Bioxal) Gram scale Glass container for mixing …

A team of scientists from RMIT University, Monash University and the University of Toulouse III has trained honeybees (Apis mellifera) to match a character to a specific quantity, revealing the insects are able to learn that a symbol represents a numerical amount.Studies have shown that a number of non-human animals have been able to learn that symbols can represent numbers, including pigeons, parrots, chimpanzees and monkeys.Some of their feats have been impressive — chimpanzees were taught Ara …

With the Varroa destructor mite a pernicious pest of managed honey bee colonies across North America, beekeepers have a variety of control methods to choose from to reduce the mites’ impact on their hives. Which ones do they most prefer?To answer that question, researchers at the University of Maryland and the Bee Informed Partnership analyzed four years of data from surveys that asked beekeepers about their Varroa-management methods. Their findings, reported in a new study published in April in …