Originally published in The Speedy Bee, Vol. 28, Nos. 4 (pp. 8-10) and 5 (pp. 6-7), April and May.  Reprinted in BEE BIZ, Issue 10, August 1999, pp. 8-11.

A Feast of Firsts: Fifty Sixth Federation Convention Meets in Music City, Nashville, TN


By

Malcolm T. Sanford
http://apis.shorturl.com

In this article:

Introduction: A Feast of Firsts
President Hackenberg's Report:
Panel on Honey Board Changes:
Federal Bee Research Update:
Industry Funded Queen Research Results:
Tennessee Beekeeping:
Small Hive Beetle: Problems and Solutions
World Honey Marketing Issues:
Fluvalinate Resistant Varroa: New Treatment Issues
State of Bee Inspection Programs:
Other Firsts: Invitation to Fort Worth

Introduction: A Feast of Firsts

The fifty-sixth annual convention of the American Beekeeping Federation met in Nashville, TN hard by Vanderbilt University at the Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel. This meeting was marked by many firsts, revealing that with Federation doings, like many things in modern life, change is everywhere. The first ABF President’s Award was given jointly to two of the organization’s giants, Robert Banker and Hood Littlefield. Both of these men led the Federation through the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. Mr. Littlefield was president for three consecutive terms (1970, 1971 and 1972). Mr. Banker served as president for two terms (1964-65) and also as secretary-treasurer from 1954-1963 (nine years) and 1969-1977 (eight years). The first meeting of the Foundation for the Conservation of Honey Bees met to hammer out a mission statement and begin the work of establishing an organization for fund raising in the larger, global community. This was the first time in this reporter’s memory that only two candidates were running for American honey queen, ensuring that both would be selected as spokeswomen for the honey industry in the role of either queen or princess. A new discussion format was introduced around the Sunday morning breakfast table (eggs and issues), as part of a changed agenda, beginning on Friday ending Tuesday. Finally, the meeting was a first to focus on a Section 18 control material, Bayer Bee Strips (comaphos), for a brand new bee hive threat, the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida), and the first to promote radical changes to the Honey Research, Promotion and Consumer Information Order, which would provide for money for bee research and honey quality assurance..

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President Hackenberg's Report:

David Hackenberg, current president of the Federation, in his address focused on the current state of the honey market. He said that beekeepers should stop complaining about current trade realities and get on board with current trends in selling honey. He also said that "value added," should be a part of every beekeeper’s vocabulary. In a review of last recent Federation accomplishments, he listed 1) bringing the industry together to get new Honey Board legislation passed, 2) achieving Section 18 labeling for coumaphos, 3) ongoing review of the bee research laboratories at Beltsville, Tucson, Weslaco and Baton Rouge, and 4) signing on a new health care insurance program. In closing, president Hackenberg said a big challenge continued to be bringing all beekeeping interests for the future prosperity of the industry.

President Hackenberg continued the program by discussing how projected changes in the Honey Board legislation came about. Beginning with a beekeeping summit meeting in Reno, Nevada, over the last two years all organizations representing beekeepers, producers, packers and importers have met and finally agreed on changes to the order. They include: 1) addition of a $0.075 per pound assessment on handlers, 2) increase in assessment on imported honey from $.01 to $.015 per pound, 3) decrease in assessment on producers from $.01 to $.0075 per pound, 4) a specific reservation of funds for beekeeper-level projects, and 5) authority to create a quality assurance regulatory program and develop purity standards for honey. These alterations have now made it past Congress, Mr. Hackenberg Said, and best guesses are that there will be a referendum in October or November 1999.

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Panel on Honey Board Changes:

A panel of supporters for the above changes followed. Bonnie Woodworth set the tone with a discussion of how rural communities have survived the great changes of the last third of the twentieth century. Qualities investigators have found that are held in common are trust, ability to work together and capability of effectively communicating with one another. The same things will be necessary for the beekeeping industry, she concluded, if it wanted to prosper into the next millennium. David Ellingson followed this presentation concluding that the most important change was the quality assurance program. This was emphasized as well by Jim Doan. He said perhaps the most important market share was in the industrial use area as a great number of products were being introduced and a limiting factor would be lack of uniform standards. George Hansen and Charlotte Randall both thought the research dollars were also important. This is especially true because other sources of sustainable money for research was not available. In addition, this would provide a benefit from the Honey Board that many could contribute to and see concrete results from the use of the funds. A video presentation has also been developed by supporters revealing why they support these changes.

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Federal Bee Research Update:

By almost any measure, the Nashville convention was a watershed in beekeeper/researcher relations. Dr. Floyd Horn, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Administrator gave the keynote address and was hosted at an open lunch where he pledged better cooperation between his organization and the industry. Many were indeed surprised and delighted at the candor of Dr. Horn as he discussed the trials and tribulations of ARS in attempting the meet the beekeeping community’s needs in the next millennium. One of the challenges is the continuing rise in costs to support a single scientist in the system, which includes both salary and operating expenses, now estimated to be in excess of $300,000 per year. Among other things, Dr. Horn pledged in excess of $100,000 in emergency funding for small hive beetle research at the Gainesville, FL ARS laboratory. Finally, he offered to look into the possibility of finding an ARS scientist who might be recruited to look at honey adulteration issues.

This mutual respect seemed to also trickled down. For the first time in this reporter’s experience beekeepers seemed genuinely to understand and support the work of Dr. Karl Narang, the ARS National Program staff and the four honey bee laboratories he oversees. This was in no small part helped by the demeanor and content of the laboratory’s chief administrators, as well as appointment of Dr. H. Shimanuki as Technical Liaison to the Industry. After 32 years as Director of the Beltsville, MD Laboratory, Dr. Shimanuki, who won this years Apicultural Award of Excellence from the American Association of Professional Apiculturists (AAPA), has taken this role to better facilitate information flow from the National Program Staff to the four laboratories and their beekeeper constituency. As part of this, Dr. Shimanuki will also be actively working with other agencies (EPA, FDA, APHIS) on apicultural matters. He has another mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address in this capacity. One of his projects will be to coordinate research leading to a package of tools beekeepers can use in mite control as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach.

Taking Dr. Shimanuki’s place as director of the Beltsville Laboratory is Dr. Mark Feldlaufer, who described himself as a new kid on the block. The laboratory has several major thrusts, according to Dr. Feldlaufer. It will be looking at long-range sperm and egg storage using super cold (cyro-preservation). It will also ontinue to be a center for viral and bacterial disease study, specifically looking at the effectiveness of Terramycin® control of American foulbrood and identification of bee viruses. The lab will also study wax moth biology (fungal and viral control) as well as materials designed to repel moths. Other research will be on basic biology of the small hive beetle and resistance by Varroa mites to pesticides. As part of the latter is research on both a field and lab assay to determine resistance and molecular analysis of mite DNA. Finally, the lab will also be looking at analytical capabilities in determing chemical (pesticide) residues in bee products.

Dr. Tom Rinderer discussed the Baton Rouge, Louisiana lab’s program. One initiative is to look at stress on bee colonies. According to Dr. Rinderer, this is becoming a critical problem as beekeepers are pushing bees to the limit by extensive movement. This adds to all other stresses (Varroa, small hive beetle, tracheal mite, nosema) on colonies, decreasing productivity. One of the labs goals is to reduce pesticide use by beekeepers to half of present levels through introduction of resistant or tolerant bees. A large reason fo this is the significant effect pesticides appear to be having on drones in terms of sperm count and longevity. Varroa tolerant bees imported from Russia will soon be out of quarantine for trials in Louisiana and elsewhere. The most promising mechanism at present is non-reproduction of mites in bee colonies. Research on Varroa DNA has also produced results, correlating with observations that mites introduced from Japan into South America do not appear to be as virulent as those originating in other parts of Asia.(Russia), which were introduced into the U.S. Tracheal mites are also on the Baton Rouge research agenda according to Dr. Rinderer. It has been discovered that a specific grooming behavior using the middle pair of legs is one mechanism for resistance to these mites. This appears to be a heritable trait that can be exploited in the breeding process.

Dr. Eric Erickson reported on activity at the Tucson, Arizona laboratory. Part of that research is to link Varroa tolerance with cell size. Smaller size appears to be less stressful on bee colonies in general. Tucson has an advantage in that most feral colonies in the area are Africanized. Thus, the laboratory is able to find and study colonies that support Varroa mites without treatment, much like has been described for colonies in South and Central America. One discovery is that white nodules can be seen on workers when they are fed on by Varroa. These have been found to be almost pure tyrosine, a characteristic chemical of immune response in other insects. These nodules also appear to contain viruses. Essential oil screening and delivery to control varroa is also being examined at Tucson. Tucson is one of the few places doing pollination research, according to Dr. Erickson, and the only one where honey bees are emphasized. One line of study is sunflower seed production. How transgenic Roundup Ready Soybeans affects honey bees is also being examined. This is but one example of transgenic crops that are being increasingly exploited in modern agriculrture.

Dr. Bill Wilson reiterated that since he joined ARS in 1966, he had not seen a better time than the present for communications between the beekeeping constituency and researchers. In the past, it seemed that most administrators and scientists did not speak the beekeeper’s language and vice versa. At the same time scientific accountability had waned. Both beekeepers and researchers, he concluded, have come a long way.

The Weslaco, Texas research facility, Dr. Wilson said, was fortunate enough to receive about a half a million dollars in extra funding last fiscal year. This fact was important because it provided the necessary wherewithal to send lab personnel to Florida and elsewhere to look at Varroa resistance. It was also serendipitous that while looking at Varroa resistance, the Weslaco facility was able to piggy back small hive beetle studies onto that effort. It was largely due to Weslaco personnel (James Baxter, Patti Elzen and Frank Eischen) cooperating with Florida beekeepers and regulators (Charlotte Randal, David Westervelt) that data was there for efficacy of coumaphos, which right before the meeting was approved as a non-food use for Varroa and small hive beetle control by the EPA. The lab will continue its efforts in this arena, Dr, Wilson concluded, especially those having to do with small hive beetle biology. The basic biology of the Africanized honey bee (AHB) will also continue to be a focus of the Weslaco facility. Studies in this area include the spread of AHB, and like at the Tucson lab, the mechanisms by which AHB supports Varroa populations without chemical treatment.

Dr. Karl Narang wrapped up the topic by making a list of things that ARS will be actively engaged in:developing:

1 Mite-resistant or tolerant honey bees
2.
New pesticide formulations
3.
Natural products to control pests
4.
Methods to produce more populous colonies.
5. Better ways to detect and find queens.
6. Improved management methods for AHB
7. Wax moth and ant control.
8. Bactrial and viral disease control.
9. Improving pollination of specific crops.
10. Better methods to detect honey adulteration.
11. Protecting honey bees from pesticides.
12. Continuing control of the small hive beetle.

In conclusion, Dr. Narang urged beekeepers to continue communicating with him, Dr. Shimanuki and the four laboratories. Only by taking an active role in advisory boards and bee research committees, will beekeepers be able to have their needs addressed in the 21st century.

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Industry Funded Queen Research Results:

Preliminary results of research on queens and package bees were presented by scientists from Virginia Tech. This was an outgrowth of discussion at the Colorado meeting last year <http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/papers/colorado.htm#16>, when a group of committed producers raised enough money to fund two studies. One by Keith Tignor is looking at effects of sublethal dosages of chemicals on queens and drones. The other was a shipping survey carried on during the spring. Of 165 queens shipped, seven were dead on arrival. As part of this study, temperature was measured during shipment by small instruments which were able to take measurements during the course of the journey. A wide variance was observed from a maximum of 1090F to 200F for 4.8 hours! These studies will be continuing and are thought to represent a good model for other industry-supported research.

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Tennessee Beekeeping:

Dr. John Skinner provided a fine overview of Tennessee beekeeping. Immediately apparent was the diversity of the state. Few could answer the question, for example, how many states bordered Tennessee and what were their names. East, middle and west Tennessee all have different terrain and soil conditions, making standard recommendations about beekeeping difficult to say the least. Dr. Skinner’s talk was a blend of geography and anecdotes about the apicultural history and contemporary scene in the Volunteer state.

As part of the host activities, Tennessee beekeepers were delighted to honor the state’s most prominent beekeeper who has passed on. Few have been as influential in their field as Mr. Leslie Little, who began working with bees in 1925. A Friday night reception honoring him and his family revealed the depth to which the Little’s have been involved in both beekeeping and Federation activities. Few, this reporter included, had not met Mr. Little over the years at conventions. He was active in the American Bee Breeders Association, The Honey Industry Council of America, and the Royal Jelly Research Foundation. He was an American Beekeeping Federation director (1949-1973), Tennessee’s State Apiarist (1949-1972) and authored nine editions of "A Bee Book for Beginners." He and his family were deeply involved in the Tennessee Honey Queen program, supporting numerous candidates, several of whom became American Honey Queens. It was obvious from the tenor of the reception celebrating his beekeeping life that Mr. Leslie Little will be sorely missed by Tennesseeans.

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Small Hive Beetle: Problems and Solutions

The small hive beetle problem and possible solutions was the subject of a panel on this recently introduced insect from South Africa.. Given that this insect was first detected only six months ago, there are bound to be differences of opinion by those closest to the situation. Dr. Frank Eischen of the Bee Research Unit, Westlaco, Texas Beneficial Insects Laboratory moderated the discussion. He said that at first he was skeptical about the beetle’s depredations, but seeing the effects firsthand have convinced him otherwise.

Dr. H. Shimanuki, recently back from a collecting tour in South Africa, was the first speaker. He said that reports that he had stated the beetle was not a problem in United States were too rash. During his visit to South Africa, Dr. Shimanuki said that practically every bee colony he saw had adult beetles. In spite of this, however, the beekeepers reported that these insects were not causing great damage. Of more consequence was the invasion of the African bee’s (Apis mellifera scutellata) range by the Cape bee (Apis mellifera capensis). One beekeeper, Dr. Shimanuki visited indicated a thirty percent loss each year from this phenomenon. Relatively speaking, therefore, the few colonies lost from small hive beetle are not as serious.

According to Dr. Shimanuki, colonies that are lost in South Africa from any cause are easily replaced by those trapped in bait hives. There is no organized queen or package bee enterprise in that country. Conditions in South Africa, therefore, are not easily reconciled with those present in the United States. Varroa, tracheal mites and wax moth, for example, are problems that have yet to be fully felt there. Dr. Shimanuki suggested that beekeepers not panic, but keep a close eye on the beetle and consider carefully a variety of practices that might mitigate the extent of its effects, particularly sanitation around the honey house.

James Baxter of the Weslaco lab, who has been in the forefront of small hive beetle research in Florida began his presentation by awarding a plaque to his coworker, Ms. Charlotte Randall for her diligent efforts in helping complete the research that led to a real bright spot reported at the convention, approval of a Section 18 label for coumaphos-based treatment inside the hive. Mr. Baxter gave a history of the beetle and its detection in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia. It has also been reported in North Carolina. So far, the biology of the pest is not totally known, he said. It is now been shown, however, that beetles will preferentially hide under cardboard inserts on the bottom board and small units seem to attract more beetles than larger colonies. However, the beetles may also move quickly to other reaches of the colony, making predicting their presence in a colony more problematic. Limiting factors involved in beetle population buildup are thought to be soil type and condition, moisture, and temperature. He concluded by showing the results of experiments using eight insecticides. The best control was by the material that has just been approved, coumaphos, as well as permethrin, soon to be approved for use outside the colony as a soil treatment.

Mr. David Westervelt of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services discussed his observations in the field as part of the team doing experiments on the hive beetle (See January 1999 Bee Culture). He said the beetle hides with great alacrity within the colony based on temperature and other factors, using it almost like a "hotel." He reiterated that smaller units seem to attract more beetles and reported that nucs are especially vulnerable. He has also observed that beetles appear to lay eggs on cues, which appear to correlate with hive manipulation. Moving colonies, for example, or annoying them in other ways, accelerated egg-laying. Those disturbed in an observation hive were seen immediately to begin mating and laying eggs; this small colony quickly succumbed.

Dr. Eischen finished the panel’s presentations with a description of an experiment to determine alternate hosts for the beetle. A wide variety of fruits were shown to be not very attractive to the small hive beetle with the exception of cantaloupes and pineapples. Cutting fruits made them more attractive, although in one case, beetles bored through the rind of an uncut cantaloupe and by the time this was noticed, the fruit contained hundreds of adults. These results appear to indicate that fruits will attract beetles, but they appear to be a resource of last resort.

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World Honey Marketing Issues:

As usual, the world honey market was on the minds of those attending the Nasville meeting. A savy panel of producers and packers was assembled to look at this vital area. Darrel Rufer of Minnesota urged beekeepers to keep informed about honey prices and issues, even if its not what they wanted to hear. An example of this, he said, was the fall off in calls to the honey marketing hotline correlated to the fall in the price. This should be the opposite, he said. There ought to be more calls, which would show that beekeepers are taking charge of their own marketing, something absolutely necessary for beekeepers who want to survive the marketing shifts that no doubt will continue to happen into the next millennium.

Hans Boedeker of the Impex Group, Tustin, California provided an outline of the history of the honey market over the last three years. It shows, he concluded, that it is still a world commodity and almost totally price driven. In 1995, Mr. Boedeker said, the honey market began to rise in price so that by 1996, it was at close to one dollar a pound. Unfortunately, this was followed by a precipitous decline of over fifty percent of value over the next two years. One reason for this was the Chinese situation. Besides the anti-dumping suit brought by U.S. beekeepers along with an increased 15 percent tariff, the government also instituted a quota system. Both of these events caused massive dislocations and bankruptcies. With the Chinese situation in flux, honey buyers turned to Argentina in 1996-98. During the 1995 Apimondia meeting substantial quantities were contracted for 1996 at $.61/pound. By January 1996, the U.S. crop was delayed by three weeks, forcing buyers to increase the price by 4-5 cents per pound per week, until it topped out at $.93/pound. However, suppliers of Argentinian honey soon caught up with the demand and prices leveled off or declined. Things driving future honey demand include an Argentinian crop of 165 million pounds, the new U.S. loan program and the National Honey Board’s goal 400, by the year 2000 increasing U.S.

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Fluvalinate Resistant Varroa: New Treatment Issues

The spread of fluvalinate resistant Varroa was addressed by Dr. Bill Wilson of the Weslaco, Texas Beneficial Insects Unit. This is a moving target, Dr. Wilson said. There continue to be questions about where the phenomenon is and how it developed. It is no one’s fault, he said, and is the result of using a single control material. Mites are notorious for becoming resistant to insecticides and Varroa is no exception. The only way to tell if it’s in your bees is to pay attention and see if the controls work as they historically have done. Dr. Jeff Pettis at the Beltsville Bee Laboratory has developed a field test that can be used to determine resistance. It was published in several industry journals, including APIS-Apicultural Information and Issues, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida , April 1998 < http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis98/apapr98.htm#1>.

A presentation by Mann Lake Supply revealed the newest treatment for both fluvalinate-resistant Varroa and small hive beetle. This is based on the active ingredient called coumaphos, formulated in a plastic strip, similar to Apistan®. This material will only be available through Mann Lake and will be manufactured by Bayer. It is available only under a Section 18 label, which carries strict reporting requirements and limits the amount sold in each state. Only beekeepers in states granting the label will be allowed to use the materail. The Section 18 is available only for one year. Bayer and others are in the process of applying for a less-restrictive Secion 3 or general use label.

Although there is a new material to control Varroa, Apistan® continues to work in many areas, according to Oscar Coindreau of Wellmark International. Taking a page out of Benjamin Franklin’s book, Mr. Coindreau said that the only things in life that are certain are life, death, taxes and resistance to pesticides. He called on beekeepers to be good stewards of products like Apistan®, for they continue to be important in beekeeping. He also said some other products are on the horizon, including one called Apitol®, a systemic which shows good promise.

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State of Bee Inspection Programs:

"The State of Apiary Inspection Programs" was the title on a panel, consisting of several chief apiarists. It also acknowledged the fact that The Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) were also meeting in conjunction with the Federation in Nashville. The panel members were introduced by Ms. Kathleen Prough, AIA president from Indiana. Her state, she said was composed predominantly of hobbyists and there was no resistration system in place. Robert Reiner of South Dakota described bee inspection in his state as changing with the migratory beekeekpers that mainly are located on a temporary basis there. There is mandatory registration, a minimum distance law in effect, and like elsewhere the challenge is more and more mobile bee colonies. Whereas beekeepers used to go primarily to and from Texas, they are more and more likely to be headed for California and the almond orchards. Bee inspection has become much more service oriented in South Dakota, with inspectors advising beekeepers to treat for Varroa when eleven mites show up in a roll jar. A major issue that is now looming in the state is Terramycin®-resistant foulbrood. This is not considered a epidemic yet, Mr. Reiner said, but would bear watching.

Mr. Laurence Cutts of Florida discussed that program. This is the most organized and best funded in the nation, Mr. Cutts said, with a foulbrood level of only .5 of one percent. The program consists of mandatory registration, registration fee as well as charges for special inspections. It is a migratory state, but also has a population of resident beekeepers. Seventeen full-time inspectors in Florida examine about 260,000 hives per year owned by 1200 beekeepers. These numbers are substantially reduced over those of previous years. Florida bee inspection is also helped by an advisory body, which assists the agriculture commissioner. The Honey Bee Technical Council has members of the beekeeping, extension and regulatory community, which debate and vote on issues to be acted on by the commissioner. In recent years, the body has been responsible for ensuring that Florida received adequate labeling on materials to protect bee colonies against Varroa and now the small hive beetle. As in other programs, the focus of Florida inspection has changed from strictly regulatory to be more service oriented. In this vein, it has distributed printed materials and helped in research projects that directly help beekeepers maintain their competitiveness.

Mr. Gordon Rudloff described bee inspection in Ohio as gradually getting out of the burning business to control American foulbrood. As elsewhere inspection has become more service and education oriented, which has been responsible for dissolving conflicts. This has happened partly because the physical number of beekeepers has been reduced from 9,000 to 3,000. In addition, many of these are hobbyists and the one-on-one focus encouraged by the inspection service, along with distribution of educational materials has created a much better relationship between regulators and those being regulated.

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Other Firsts: Invitation to Fort Worth

Besides the formal program, the usual educational and special interest workshops were held during the Nashville convention. The immensely successful Kids ‘n’ Bees Explo under the able leadership of Kim Lehman also brought in many local children for everything from a microscopic view of bees to face painting.

A small, but enthusiastic audience was attracted by the Eggs ‘n Issues Breakfast, which brought experts together to talk one on one with participants about a number of current topics. Another first was an inspirational service Sunday morning, featuring a sing along with "Dim Reflections," an adult contemporary Christian duo. Finally, there were several slide shows billed as "Beekeeping Around the World." These featured the always-interesting Brian Sherriff with his unique dual-screen images about African beekeeping and Gus Rouse, describing his queen rearing facility in Hawaii. These were an excellent prelude to promotion for the seminal beekeeping event of the decade. The 1999 Apimondia meeting to be held in Vancouver, Canada promises to be the best-organized and largest ever in North America. Hard on the heels of that event will be the fifty-seventh American Beekeeping Federation meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, the first of new millennium. Y’all come hear!

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