News and Letters

Mānuka Honey Ruling New Zealand vs Australia

Honey producers in New Zealand have lost the fight with Australian producers to trademark the term mānuka. The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has ruled the term manuka honey cannot be registered as a certification trademark in...

07 Jun 2023

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Rainbow Eucalyptus

News and Letters

I have recently received several Facebook posts regarding the sale of Rainbow Eucalyptus trees that are being imported into Australia from the Philippines, via Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. They are so interesting to look at and everything I read...

6 hours ago

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Swarm Collection – Facebook feedback

News and Letters

Recently, we reposted some images from the Sydney Bees Facebook site, of Phillipe collecting a swarm of bees. This drew quite a bit of interest, and we wanted to share this with our readers also. Here is what Phillipe had to say: I was asked to help...

22 Apr 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Pesticides Damage the Brains of Baby Bumblebees, New Research Finds

News and Letters

Pesticides, along with the climate crises and declining habitat, have been blamed for the declining numbers of bumblebees in Europe. And in a new study published, scientists examined exactly how bumblebees are affected by pesticides by scanning...

16 Apr 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Can Wax Moth Help Solve the Problem of Plastic Waste?

News and Letters

The tiny waxworm went from zero to hero in 2017 when researchers discovered the caterpillar could potentially help solve one of the worldís most pressing environmental problems: plastic waste. The creature can chomp through plastic, even...

15 Apr 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Neglected Hives

News and Letters

Letter 2, Vol. 123, No 3, Sept 2021, p.7 I’m really concerned about neglected hives, especially the more remote ones like out where I live. It seems that after all our disasters, over the past two years in particular ñ from drought, to bushfire, to...

09 Apr 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Advice on Transferring Bees

News and Letters

Letter 1, Vol. 123, No 3, Sept 2021, p.7 I have a 6-frame poly nuc box with a poly super on it. I want to transfer the bees to a full depth 8-frame hive come Spring. The nuc frames are half depth though and Iím not sure how to make the transfer?...

08 Apr 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Bee disease offers rare insights into RNA virus origins

News and Letters

Two similar strains of a destructive honey bee disease have vastly different origin stories, revealing the ability of viruses to adapt rapidly and the risk this poses to global agriculture, according to new research involving Professor Sash...

02 Apr 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Cranky and ageing queen bee dilemma

News and Letters

Dear Dr Anna, When is the optimal time of year to replace a cranky or ageing queen bee? Pat. Dear Pat, That’s a great question, and thank you for asking about this issue, as it’s one that confronts many beekeepers from time to time. Let’s talk...

01 Apr 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Apimondia and Bees for Development support for Ukraine

News and Letters

Apimondia and Bees for Development are together raising funds, not to provide immediate humanitarian aid – that help is best delivered now by the Disasters Emergency Committee and other agencies. As soon as recovery is possible, we will pass...

26 Mar 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Hive health through Winter

News and Letters

Dear Dr. Anna, How do I know if my bees are doing well over Winter when it’s too cold to open the hive? From Bear. Dear Bear, That’s a great question. I am assuming that you are living in the cooler climates of Australia, and that your bees will...

25 Mar 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Unexpected Benefits from Pollinators at Edge of Second-Growth Forests

News and Letters

A new study has found open, light-filled forest edges support more flowers and pollinators than the dark interior of second-growth forests and the value of these areas should not be overlooked. The study, Forest Edges Increase Pollinator Network...

18 Mar 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Crucial Role of Hobbyists in Keeping Bee Industry Buzzing

News and Letters

That’s the finding of a new study by Associate Professor Kirsten Martinus, a human geographer in the School of Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia, which explored the differences and similarities between hobbyist and commercial...

18 Mar 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Bee Vaccine helps bees stay healthy

News and Letters

https://www. helsinki. fi/en/news/sustainability-news/the-first-ever-insect-vaccine-helps-bees-stay-healthy?

12 Mar 2024

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Bees with missing abdomens

News and Letters

I found this little girl in a swarm I rescued off the ground on a golf course recently. I thought that I must have damaged her in the process and thought nothing more of it. Last week I opened the hive to see how they were making out and was greeted...

11 Mar 2024

By The ABK Team