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In late August of this year, along a weedy stretch of highway north of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, three bumble bees were plucked from the side of the road. The specimens, which were collected and identified by a team of entomologists from UC Riverside, turned out to be Cockerell’s bumble bees. “And what is so [...] People often ask if they can convert a favorite recipe to use honey instead of granulated sugar. This is a tough question with a short answer of “maybe” or “sometimes.” Although it sounds like it should be easy enough to do, even the best bakers may get disappointing results. For the most part, I [...] Here in the northern hemisphere your calendar may tell you it’s the first day of winter, but it is actually the first day of spring–at least for honey bees. Like many plants and animals, bees are highly affected by changes in day length. Immediately after the winter solstice, when the hours of daily sunlight [...] Foodies are familiar with the term “terroir” especially as it relates to wine, coffee, tea, olive oil, and even cheese. The term comes from the French and literally means “land.” The idea here is that the special physical characteristics of the place where an agricultural item is grown affect the way it tastes. These [...] Tamarisk, also known as saltcedar, is one of those plants beloved by beekeepers and reviled by nearly everyone else. Governments and conservation groups spend untold dollars digging, pulling, and poisoning it, as well as searching for predators and diseases that might wipe it out. But still it persists and I doubt we will ever [...] My recent posts on heat transfer in liquid and solid feeds have generated a host of good questions. Since many of the questions are similar, I’ve attempted to answer them in the following Q & A. Q: So what should I feed my bees, sugar syrup, fondant, or hard candy? A: Both liquid feed [...] The following question was written in response to my post “Heat transfer in sugar syrup.” It’s a great question but a complex subject. The following is a vastly simplified explanation, but I hope it begins to explain why the bees can eat cold sugar but not cold syrup. The comment follows: The alternative [to [...] Honey bees can elevate their thoracic (core) temperature by exercising their muscles and generating heat. However, below an air temperature of about 57-59°F (14-15°C) an individual bee can soon become immobile if she doesn’t work hard to stay warm. Surely you’ve seen one on a cold landing board—alive but barely able to take a [...] In a recent post I discussed why grocery store honey often tastes bland. I mentioned floral sources, mixing, and filtering. But one important issue I forgot is pasteurization. Unless it’s specifically marked “raw,” much of the honey on grocery store shelves is actually pasteurized. Pasteurization is a process that destroys microorganisms with heat. Different [...] Okay, here’s an honest statement: I always think of myself first and foremost as a writer. Any other label is way down on my list, including beekeeper, scientist, environmentalist, business manager, and mother. So why is it that I cannot write a post without at least one egregious and embarrassing whooper of an error? [...] |
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