The Honeybee Conservancy

Life With Wings. 1 of 4 Panels. Copyright Mika Holtzinger 2008. Click to view more.

As you may know, EB White was the author of the much-beloved books “Charlotte’s Web,” “Stuart Little” and “The Elements of Style.” But did you also know he was a dedicated beekeeper?   With a dash of humor, E.B. White addressed queen rearing in this poem, which was published in The New Yorker December 15, 1945:

Song of the Queen Bee

“The breeding of the bee,” says a United States Department of Agriculture bulletin on artificial insemination, “has always been handicapped by the fact that the queen mates in the air with whatever drone she encounters.”

When the air is wine and the wind is free
and the morning sits on the lovely leaf,
and sunlight ripples on every tree
Then love-in-air is the thing for me
I’m a bee,
I’m a ravishing, rollicking, young queen bee,
That’s me.
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LIFE Magazine Aug 11, 1952. The cover, a black-and-white closeup of Joan Rice, announced her as “Robin Hood’s New Girlfriend”.  Also on the cover, a headline  announcing, “Farewell to Eva Peron.”  But what is not alluded to on the cover is the edit piece that you and I probably would have gotten the most delight out of reading: an arresting full-color photo essay titled, The Life of the Bee. Paintings By Microscope Reveal the Busy World Inside The Hive.  Let’s have a look…

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Charles Henry Turner

Born on February 3, 1867 to former slaves, Dr. Charles Turner rose to become one of the preeminent entomologists in the United States. Dr. Turner earned his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Cincinnati and later became the first African-American to receive a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Turner published nearly 50 scholarly papers and is the source of a number of groundbreaking breakthroughts including the discovery that insects can hear and that ants use light and smell to travel to and from their nests.  He also discovered that honey bees have color vision and are able to recognize patterns and shapes. His seminal work pre-dated that of Nobel prize winner Karl von Frisch.

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As you know, September is National Honey Month.  Here are five “honey hacks” to help you make the most of your honey.

1. Has your honey crystallized? Crystallized honey can be liquefied by slowly heating it for up to a minute.
2. Out of sugar? Use honey!  Since honey is up to twice as sweet as table sugar, use half the amount in honey.
3. Cooking with honey? To help honey slide off your measuring spoon, simply coat it with vegetable spray first.
4. Have a minor skin burn? Research shows that honey is an effective treatment for minor burns. It’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties may promote healing. So if consider reaching for some honey in lieu of burn creme.
5. Out of moisturizer? It’s said that Cleopatra maintained her beauty with honey and milk baths.  Honey is a humectant, which means that it attracts water and, as a result, is an ideal skin moisturizer.  Apply honey to your face and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Thank you Häagen-Dazs for the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at UC Davis, which is scheduled to open on September 11th.  The Haven will not only serve as a research and pollinating facility but as a tool to raise awareness about the plight of honey bees.  As the Sacramento Bee has reported, “America is losing its honey bees at an alarming rate for unknown reasons. Last winter, an estimated 33.8 percent of commercial hives died out.”

A map of the Haven.

In addition to honey bees, other bee species are benefiting.  It’s been reported that over 55 types of bees are already calling the Haven home including fuzzy bumble bees, metallic sweat bees, wood-dwelling carpenter bees and solitary mason bees. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by jfschmit

September is National Honey Month. It’s an ideal time to celebrate honey and indulge in your craving for this sweet and viscous food known as “liquid gold.”  While indulging, why not focus on local honey, or honey made as close as possible to your home?  Here are five potent reasons to step away from the generic honey bear at your local supermarket and instead reach for a jar (or more!) of local honey. Read the rest of this entry →

Since 2006, more than three million honeybees in the U.S. and billions worldwide have mysteriously died, which affects one in three mouthfuls of food we eat.

Help raise awareness – share this new public service announcement.

Link to share: http://bit.ly/beetalk

Tomorrow is National Honeybee Day.  Let’s share these videos to raise awareness and inspire people to act as stewards for bees and their natural environment.

Link to share: http://bit.ly/workerbees

Like trains of cars on tracks of plush
I hear the level bee:
A jar across the flowers goes,
Their velvet masonry

Withstands until the sweet assault
Their chivalry consumes,
While he, victorious, tilts away
To vanquish other blooms. Read the rest of this entry →

Did you see the Monday, July 5th episode on Good Morning America (GMA) titled, “Honeybees in Danger?”  The GMA host says, “”honeybees now in danger of disappearing and along with them things like ice cream and fresh fruit…”