Where is everything going?

Disappearing........

• Time..... is the one thing that seems to be going away very quickly so here is a rundown of some interesting things that happened this year in Entomology.
  
  
• Varroa Mite's as the worst threat to bees..... At the AHPA's 2007 convention in Phoenix, AZ most of the scientist speaking there had done a lot of research on Honey Bee Genetics. I used to try to wrap my brain around Gene research and found it uninteresting until I started listening to Honey Bee Genetics. At the time of the convention the biggest single threat to Honey Bees in the United States was unanimously the "Varroa Mite". Scientists were spending a lot of time and energy in researching and studying the affects of the Varroa Mite on Honey Bees and have come a long way. Between Honey Bee Genetics and cross breeding lines of bees that would resist them it is alot to keep up with - SMR is now VSH do you know your ABC's?
  
  
• CCD the biggest threat to Honey Bees........ Known as the Disappearing Bee Disease. In March I attended the Department of Ag's hearing on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in Washington DC. There was some very interesting testimony that brought out some interesting theories. Click on the link below to read the transcripts of that hearing, very interesting........
  
  Review the Colony Collapse Disorder in Honey Bee Colonies Across the United States - Public Hearing Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture Serial No. 110-07 March 29, 2007
  
  60 Minutes did a good piece on the Honey Bee and CCD. Click Here to see.
  
  
• Honey...... In Oklahoma it has been rather warm since the first freeze and our bees have started eating part of their honey stores. We are hoping the Farmers Almanac is wrong and this won't be another warm winter.....we'll see.
  
  
• Beekeepers....... October 27th the Oklahoma State Beekeepers Association presented the 25th Albert Lincoln Beekeeper of the Year award to Harry McQuown the President of Frontier Country Beekeepers Association located in Guthrie, OK. Mr. McQuown is a 3rd generation beekeeper. Multi generation beekeepers are disappearing and we really need to work our best to get younger people involved in this fascinating hobby/career! We have focused on not letting the Honey Bee disappear but what about the beekeeper?
  
  

Coming up is the AHPA's 2008 Convention in Sacramento, CA. With everything going on in the world of Honey Bees don't let this one pass you by!