In the back of the feed store, where pallets of fifty-pound sacks rise to the ceiling and a calico cat naps on a hanging scale, I watch two women obsess over brands of layer ration. From what I can hear, they are comparing the protein content of various brands. It makes sense. If you want […] Read more
In the back of the feed store, where pallets of fifty-pound sacks rise to the ceiling, I watched two women obsess over brands of layer ration. From what I could hear, they were concerned about protein content and they were comparing the nutritional labels. It makes sense. If you want healthy chickens and many eggs, […] Read more
Honey bee nutrition is getting a lot of press these days, and rightfully so. Many bee experts—including Marla Spivak, Zachary Huang, and Randy Oliver—believe that a lack of good nutrition may be a major factor in declining bee health. It is possible that many of the viruses and other pathogens that are plaguing bees are […] Read more
I have always shrugged off the idea of “bee tea” as ridiculous, a feel-good indulgence for beekeepers with too much time and money on their hands. The idea that bee health could be augmented by an infusion of things they never eat in nature—the leaves and flowers of various plants—is absurd. Practitioners of this oddity […] Read more
Honey bee nutrition is a hot topic these days. Due to their work in monoculture crops, honey bee colonies may not be receiving a well-balanced and complete diet. The surrounding landscape is changing as well, and in many areas, diverse plant life has been replaced by acres of invasive species—another type of monoculture. Whatever the […] Read more
The song “Dirty Water” was released by the Standells in 1966, but it could have been written by your local bee colony. It seems honey bees prefer water that most of us would consider unpalatable. I live in a place where water is not in short supply. There is a creek nearby—more like a small […] Read more
Yesterday I wrote that bees need a continuous supply of flowering plants such that something is always in bloom. I also mentioned that different types of bees prefer different types of flowers. What I didn’t discuss was the importance of pollen variety in the bee diet. I think it is easier to understand bee nutrition […] Read more