Baltimore Backyard Beekeepers Network

URGENT - please do this TODAY! Long post, but there’s a state bill meant to close a loophole in the neonic ban that will be voted on THIS WEEK. The link is below:
https://bit.ly/2LikN3L

Our bees are in trouble, and they need our help, specifically, your help. Over the past decade or so, thousands of colonies have died all over the state of Maryland and many more nationwide. Our environment has become increasingly toxic to bees and wild pollinators by the overuse of bee-killing insecticides by farmers and homeowners.

There is a state bill we need to act on now. I am writing to ask you to sign on to a group letter from Maryland bee clubs and apiaries in support of fixing a loophole in the Pollinator Protection Act. The letter will be submitted to lawmakers.

HB 208 is an amendment to the 2016 Pollinator Protection Act, which the legislature passed prohibiting the sale to consumers of outdoor garden products containing neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides. Neonics are the most toxic pesticides for bees. A single application will kill pollinators for years to come because this class is systemic—once applied, they poison with each bloom season, with a half-life of 7 years.

Using unclear language in the law as a loophole, stores that sell Restricted Use Pesticides to certified applicators continue to leave neonic-containing consumer garden products on their shelves for consumers to buy, resulting in over 100 stores, including 40 Target stores, to sell these chemicals to consumers for whom it is illegal to use—so unsuspecting consumers are breaking the law when they buy and use these products. This comes at a time when Bee Informed Partnership finds national losses to be the second highest in history at 44%, and summer losses the highest ever at 32%

Delegate Anne Healey, the original sponsor of the 2016 Pollinator Protection Act, is sponsoring HB 208 to correct this loophole so the bill will be protective of bees, as it was intended. (The law does not apply to agriculture or commercial certified applicators, indoor use or veterinary products.)

Delegate Healey needs your support to protect Maryland’s bees.

Please add your bee club/apiary/involvement/business as a signatory on this letter now: https://bit.ly/2LikN3L

If you just have a few hives in your yard, you can call it something like “Katie’s Bees” or “Star-Spangled Apiary” or some classy name, and list yourself as the owner. It doesn’t have to be registered as a business, but you are a producer.

Then pass this letter on to other beekeepers you know.

Time is of the essence—the hearing is next week!

Thanks for your help in making Maryland safer for bees!

Bee Club and Apiary Sign-On to Support HB 208 to Fix the Loophole in the Pollinator Protection Act Dear Chair, Vice-Chair, Members of the Committee, We, the undersigned, are beekeepers and beekeeping clubs in Maryland. We are writing to ask for your support in passing HB 208, which will amend the Pollinator Protection Act to correct a loophole that is being used to allow some stores to sell consu...

Does anyone need a swarm? They were there before the storm. Good size, but you’ll need a ladder. DM this page!

The Honey Moon

A Full Moon in June is Called the 'Honey Moon'
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Historical Honeybee Articles - Beekeeping History

In Europe, the only full moon of June was known as the Honey Moon, a time to gather honey from the hives. The June full moon stays low in the sky. It often takes on a honey-amber color from the atmospheric dust low on the horizon.

In some places there is a belief the honey must be taken during full moon, or the bees make away with it; in other cases the idea is they make away with it if it is not taken on a dark night, as disturbed bees always fill themselves with honey if possible. It is obvious how these notions arise. In some cases the small kinds are merely brushed off the combs, in others the comb is put into a bag and and all the bees destroyed.. In many cases the face of the man taking honey is covered, and in Assam ginger is chewed to keep off the bees. The honey is harvested at certain times of the year, but it is noteworthy that there is usually more than one honey harvest during the year.

Source:

Image: The June 2013 “Honey Moon” rising. Photo credit: Stephen Rahn.

The British Bee Journal, Dec. 1, 1883, page 269

Blue bees!

Rare Blue Bees Back From The Dead As Species Prove Not Extinct In Florida A rare bit of good news (just in time for Endangered Species Day) saw a rare species of blue bee “back from the dead” as it was spotted in Florida this spr

h/t to Doug Romans

Happy Mother’s Day!