Correcting My Mistakes
Dear handsome reader, I’ve come a long way. In early articles, I wrote wrong like “queen retinue pheromone and queen mandibular hormones are made in different parts of the body“. I also said that they queen bees produced “hormones that affect other bees“… or mentioned that drones have zero use other sex with the queen… yikes.
I have worked through my 2023 articles and posted corrections here, along with explanations for the changes. Images were the worst offenders, and I have reworked them accordingly. Enjoy reading my follies.
The Scientific Name of Bees
- Simplified sentences, cleared up writing.
- Clarified the origin of “mellifera” vs “mellifica” by providing excerpts from historical texts.
- Clarified that the Linnaean classification system was outdated and superseded by the modern International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
- We now have tribes, superorder, superfamilies, sub families, sub genus, sub species, and so on. All to establish an exact naming system (“genealogy”) of organisms.
Scientific Beekeeping
- Removed references to “further reading” – this isn’t an advertisment, it’s its own article!
- Updated spelling, typos (“Nassonov glands… good one me)
Raising Bee Queens
- Titlename reworked “queen bees” is far less awkward
- Clarified functions of pheromones – retinue vs mandibular.
- Distinguished between supersedure and emergency queen cells based on cell building
- Emergency cells are roughly-built since the colony was not expecting sudden queenlessness… well done beekeepers!
Supplemental Bee Feeding
- Provided more insightful captions around feeding procedures
- Added an emerging protein patty source: yellow mealworm beetles
Honey Bee Mites
- Clarified that powdered sugar dusting is a “detection” not “treatment” technique.
- Varroa spends most of its time in cells. If after sugar dusting you find mites on the bottom board, then the populations are so high that that they’re found on workers. If this is the case, you’ll need to treat them anyway.
- Clarified that essential oils like thymol are sold in approved formulations – Apiguard, ApiLife Var, and Thymovar. Check if they’re permitted in your region before using, and DON’T use any random thymol essential oil you find lying around.
Migration of Bees
- Replaced images with more relevant content; updated captions
- Removed references to jobs in migratory beekeeping. What am I, a job board?
- If you have a job for me I’d happily do it….
- Simplified section headers – repeating myself far too much… ah, the joys of SEO.
How do Pesticides Affect Honey Bees?
- Added more images to the pesticides section – on juvenile hormones and ecdysone, as well as the voltage gated ion channels.
- Clarified that Varroa is now “established” the eastern part of New South Wales, and so beekeepers have to manage it like the rest of the world.
Honey Bee Removal
- Removed sections related to “When to call a beekeeper vs pest controller” – redundant.
- As a biased man, you should always call a beekeeper. They’re cheaper too!
- Clarified the role of pest control removers and when they’re required – not all jobs may need a beekeeper (some residents don’t have the patience and want them out NOW)
- Simplified the role of swarming and colony preparation
Managing Honey Bee Diseases
- Cleaned up image captions.
- Added links to further reading – small hive beetles, wax moths, honey bee predators
How to Help Native Bees
- Improved image captions.
Pesticides that Kill Bees
- Renamed to “How Pesticides Kill Bees”
- Clarified the differences between sublethal effects and outright lethal effects… can’t believe I got that wrong
- Used better images.
Beetles in a Beehive
- Improved images & their captions
- Clarified that some areas do not have SHBs – e.g. UK. Climate isn’t as favourable but they are a risk
American Foulbrood
- Corrected that microscopic analysis is no longer the only method for detecting AFB – field test kits exist
- Improved image captions
Wax Moths
- Improved grammar (read: dumbed it down) – less adverbs.
- Greatly improved image captions.
Sacbrood Virus, Genetic Drift & Anatomy of Bees
- Improved image captions.
- No major clarifications – content is solid
Asian Giant Hornet
- Improved image captions
- Reverted name “Northern Giant Hornet” into “Asian Giant Hornet” – I enjoy being outdated and politically incorrect.
Corrected spelling & grammar errors. Upgraded image captions – content is solid!
- The Natural Beehive
- Urban Beekeepers
- Honey Project
- “Are Honey Bees Invasive?”
- Bees, Herbicides & Fungicides
- Does Roundup Kill Bees?
- Pesticides in Honey
- Are Organic Pesticides safer for bees?
- Honey Bee Stomach
- Thorax of a Bee
- Head of a Bee
- Why do Bees Buzz?
- What do Bees do with Water?
- Nosema Disease
- Requeening a Hive
- Apis dorsata
- Flumethrin for Varroa
- How to check for Varroa
- Using a Varroa stickyboard
- Honey bee lifecycle
Removed:
Bees in Trees
Very similar to “the natural beehive” – not a very good article. Turned into a draft, may be adjusted in the future
Organic honey bees
Not sure what I was thinking when I wrote this – half advertorial for honey and half attempt to meet all the SEO guidelines for “organic bees” – turned into a draft
Commercial pollination
Gee really? Who would have though that writing about pollination statics from the around the world is a good idea?
Disappearing honey bees
Again, SEO focused. Colony collapse disorder isn’t an issue anymore… like acid rain or the ozone layer… lol