Dog Detecting American Foulbrood

American foulbrood is a bacterial disease, highly contagious and very destructive to honey bee colonies.

Here is Klinker, a dog detecting American foulbrood just by sniffing the hive outside. She is the only certified dog in the United States that can detect this disease.

Read further: This special dog is saving our bees. She's the only one that can.

Propolis, Hive Medicine

Everything coming out of a beehive has medicinal properties. One such substance is propolis, sticky and smelly but very effective. Here is a great article about propolis:

• 7 Health Benefits of Bee Propolis, by Margie King.

Few highlights about propolis:

• Anti-Microbial Action
• Heals Burns
• Prevents Dental Cavities
• Treats Parasites

Bees in Danger

Pollinators, especially honey bees, are in danger. The issue is very serious such that The White House has announced a new plan to tackle the problem.

Read the story in detail:

• Obama Unveils Plan to Reverse Alarming Decline of Honeybees, by Carrie Arnold.

The first 21 days of a bee’s life, Anand Varma

Anand Varma is a biologist. He got into beekeeping after he is asked to photograph a story on honeybees for National Geographic. Check his photos:

Bee pupa developing eyes.

Bees ready to emerge.

Read the story at National Geographic:

• For a Biologist-Turned-Photographer, a Beehive Becomes a Living Lab, by Melody Rowell.

You can find his TED talk, here:

• The first 21 days of a bee’s life.

Things to Consider Before Keeping Bees

Do you consider becoming a beekeeper? Here is a list 10 Things to think about before becoming a Beekeeper, by McCartney Taylor:

• YouTube video.

TED talks about Honey Bees

A collection of TED Talks (and more) on the topic of bees:

• TED Bees.

Especially, don't miss Marla Spivak's talk:

• Why bees are disappearing, Marla Spivak.

Beekeeping Forum at NPR

There was a program at NPR with a forum discussing "Obama Dedicates Land, Money to Honeybee Restoration".

Guests are Eric Mussen, Emeritus State Apiarist; Claire Kremen, UC Berkeley; and Kendal Sager, beekeeper - member of the Beekeepers Guild of San Mateo.

Half an hour program at KQED:

• Obama Dedicates Land, Money to Honeybee Restoration

Getting Honey through Customs

Each country has its own customs regulations.

You can NOT bring honey into New Zealand and Australia from other countries. It is completely illegal, and you would get fined.

You can bring honey into USA, England, Turkey from other countries.

USA: You can bring honey entering the United States in passenger baggage for personal use. You must still declare it as well as all food products in the customs declaration form. Travelers bringing food into the U.S. for personal use: "Honey- comb honey, royal jelly, bee bread, or propolis if it is not intended to be fed to bees (USDA Miscellaneous and Processed Products Manual, Table 3-100)"

UK and EU countries: I have found this leaflet for UK, and it explains the regulations for all EU countries. Bringing food products into the UK. Page 7: "You are allowed up to 2kg combined weight per person of other animal products (i.e. other than meat, dairy and fish products) such as honey, eggs..."

Of course, it needs to be in the checked-in luggage. It is considered to be liquid for carry-ons and will be confiscated.

Losing our Honey Bees

An annual survey indicates that the loss of honey bee colonies reached to 42%. These are concerning results on this year's terrible survival rates of managed Honey Bees.

• A Sharp Spike in Honeybee Deaths Deepens a Worrisome Trend, The New York Times
• Honeybees dying, situation ‘unheard of’, The Washington Post

I am a third year beekeeper, having more than 10 hives. I happened to lose 4-5 hives in the same period. These results match my experience...

'Preservation' with Honey

Award winning, Los Angeles-based photographer Blake Little had a crazy idea of covering models in honey. His work is called "Preservation."

Further reading:

• 'Preservation' by Blake Little, SF Globe.
• Blake Little - Honey covered humans for preservation series, Design Boom.

Art: Beehive Sculptures & Maps

Chinese artist Ren Ri works with honey bees to create these amazing geometric beehive sculptures and maps. His work, Ren Ri: Yuansu Projects, is on display at Hong Kong's Pearl Lam Gallery.

Ren Ri, also an experienced beekeeper, creates these by manipulating honey bee's behavior. First, he places the queen bee at the center of polyhedron box and worker bees start building comb around her. Then, he changes the position of the box every seventh day, which is a reference to the seven days of creation. The new position is determined by a throw of dice, which introduces randomness.

Further pointers:

• Geometric Beehive Sculptures by Ren Ri by Christopher Jobson.
• Ren Ri's Beewax Sculptures by Alessandro De Toni.
• Chinese Artist Exhibits Gorgeous 'Sculptures' Built By Bees by Mallika Rao, The Huffington Post.

Honey on Tap

This is incredible, extracting honey without even opening the hive:

How do the Flow™ frames work?
The Flow frame consists of already partly formed honeycomb cells. The bees complete the comb with their wax, fill the cells with honey and cap the cells as usual. When you turn the tool, a bit like a tap, the cells split vertically inside the comb forming channels allowing the honey to flow down to a sealed trough at the base of the frame and out of the hive while the bees are practically undisturbed on the comb surface.

Their web site: Flow™ Hive
Watch the YouTube video: New Invention - Flow: Honey on Tap Directly From your Beehive