Recent Posts

61

General Beekeeping / Re: Harnessing Honey Bee Biodiversity in the Fight against Honey Fraud

« Last post by MalteseHoneyBee on August 24, 2024, 11:11:46 am »

I agree. Open borders and import of different maladies cause a lot of the world's problems.

62

General Beekeeping / Re: Harnessing Honey Bee Biodiversity in the Fight against Honey Fraud

« Last post by iddee on August 24, 2024, 05:20:22 am »

I agree. Open borders and import of different maladies cause a lot of the world's problems.

63

General Beekeeping / Re: Harnessing Honey Bee Biodiversity in the Fight against Honey Fraud

« Last post by MalteseHoneyBee on August 24, 2024, 04:20:11 am »

64

General Beekeeping / Re: Harnessing Honey Bee Biodiversity in the Fight against Honey Fraud

« Last post by MalteseHoneyBee on August 23, 2024, 03:14:16 pm »

Beekeeping in earthenware jars all but ceased in the 1990s, when the varroa mite decimated two-thirds of the local bee colonies.

https://www.guidememalta.com/en/sweet-as-honey-the-story-of-malta-s-liquid-gold

That happened when the Varroa mite was accidentally introduced in the '90s. Of course, Varroa is not native here, so a lot of bees died. However, those that survived, now 30 years later, have developed a pretty good resistance, as mentioned in the paper above. That's why it's important to stop contaminating the local gene pool, as they will naturally start to adapt. Not to mention that imports themselves can bring new diseases and pests.

65

General Beekeeping / Re: Harnessing Honey Bee Biodiversity in the Fight against Honey Fraud

« Last post by iddee on August 23, 2024, 04:38:40 am »

Beekeeping in earthenware jars all but ceased in the 1990s, when the varroa mite decimated two-thirds of the local bee colonies.

https://www.guidememalta.com/en/sweet-as-honey-the-story-of-malta-s-liquid-gold

66

General Beekeeping / Re: Harnessing Honey Bee Biodiversity in the Fight against Honey Fraud

« Last post by MalteseHoneyBee on August 23, 2024, 03:48:59 am »

Is the Varroa mite present in Malta?  If the answer to that question is "Yes",
how well does the Maltese bee manage in the battle to compete with it?

you have the answer in this scientific paper which was published last year https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13592-023-01008-w

67

General Beekeeping / Re: Harnessing Honey Bee Biodiversity in the Fight against Honey Fraud

« Last post by efmesch on August 20, 2024, 03:30:53 pm »

Is the Varroa mite present in Malta?  If the answer to that question is "Yes",
how well does the Maltese bee manage in the battle to compete with it?

68

Books / Honey Bee Social Evolution by Keith Delaplane

« Last post by Bakersdozen on August 20, 2024, 11:17:04 am »

Honey Bee Social Evolution is the latest book written by Keith Delaplane. It is scheduled for release on November 19, 2024. Preordering is available at John Hopkins University Press. https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12160/honey-bee-social-evolution?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0wXFl78k7PJnG4Duk1U-plcouaM4lyDKIeNlkbyM6S_4OlAe7IpGNZdHA_aem_BX7ZNNdqwxLxe

69

General Beekeeping / Harnessing Honey Bee Biodiversity in the Fight against Honey Fraud

« Last post by MalteseHoneyBee on August 18, 2024, 01:27:25 pm »

Harnessing Honey Bee Biodiversity in the Fight against Honey Fraud

At the European level, the principle of honey authenticity, based not only on local flora but also on endemic honey bee ecotypes, should be given serious consideration. This approach offers a dual safeguard in promoting sustainable honey production amidst globalisation, climate change, and other challenges: it ensures authenticity, quality, and increased valorisation by protecting against honey fraud; while also conserving the increasingly threatened biodiversity of honey bee ecotypes.

Full Article >>> https://nahlamaltija.org/2024/07/28/harnessing-honey-bee-biodiversity-in-the-fight-against-honey-fraud/

70

General Beekeeping / Re: VIDEO Unique Insect: The Maltese Honey Bee

« Last post by MalteseHoneyBee on August 18, 2024, 01:25:32 pm »

I know nothing about them, but welcome to the forum. Maybe some others can comment.

thank you