News you can Use.....5 things Bennington Beekeepers should know about
Hello Beekeepers! Below are some news items
happening at home and abroad.
A.
ALDIS, Home Depot and Lowes are working to
eliminate neonicitinoid pesticides from their
products.
B.
Europe is banning neonics more comprehensively
C.
VT has a new honey bee inspector.
On the agenda at the annual Vermont Beekeepers
Association meeting this week was an item about the lack of an apiary
inspector since the recent retirement of the former state inspector Steve
Parise.
Association president
Michael Willard says before any discussion could take place, Agriculture
Secretary Chuck Ross told his group that current agency employee David Tremblay
will take on the job.
Tremblay works in the
pesticide enforcement program at the agency and Willard feels that background
will be helpful in light of concerns over the impact of pesticides on bees,
particularly a class of insecticides called neonicotinoids.
As with the previous
inspector, the job is not full-time and Willard says his members will be
watching to see if the new inspector has time to fulfill his responsibilities.
“We were just given the
information that they’re going to do the best that they can and it’s going to
be an ongoing process in understanding how much time commitment the new
inspector will have. We’re hoping it will be equal to what we had before,” says
Willard.
Deputy Secretary of
Agriculture Diane Bothfeld says the apiary inspector will focus on areas deemed
important by beekeepers.
In addition to monitoring
diseased hives, “they wanted us to concentrate on bees in and out of
state, they wanted us to concentrate on the sale of nuclei [start-up hives],”
she said.
Bothfeld says the agency is
using a fee collected from beekeepers to hire a seasonal inspector during the
summer months, largely to help hobbyists.
D.
HopGuard II Approved For Use in Vermont
The
Vermont Agency of Agriculture has received approval from the EPA for the sale
and use of HopGuard II in Vermont.
HopGuard II offers
a relatively benign method of varroa control that can be used throughout the
beekeeping season,
following the manufacturers
recommendations and directions.
HopGuard II is being sold in
the USA by Mann Lake.
E.
Southern VT Beekeepers next meeting March 15
7pm at the Manchester Community Library (138
Cemetery Street, Manchester, Vermont).
Tuesday, March 15. Bee Friendly Plants
Tuesday, March 15. Bee Friendly Plants
F. Biodynamic Beekeeper Gunther Hauk scheduled to speak
Gunther Hauk is a
nationally known biodynamic beekeeper and keeps Spikenard
Honeybee Sanctuary in Floyd VA. The Lamoille County Beekeepers
Club is bringing him to VT to do a full day beekeeping seminar on Sat March
12th from 9-4:30. Cost is $50.00. Please email Michelle Rauch at mprauch179@gmail.com to register. He
will also give a free lecture the night before. This takes place in Stowe
Vt.
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