For the last two years, we’ve been trying to breed mite-tolerant bees out of regular packages here in southern Wisconsin. Read more about our theory and methods in our grant application. Our project has been funded by the Blooming Prairie Foundation and the native-seed producer and plant nursery Agrecol, which also hosts our hives. We … More Bee-Breeding Project — Lab Note 3.02
We are carrying out a multiyear bee-breeding project as part of an effort to reduce the need for mite treatments in honeybee colonies. This short post is specifically directed towards our fellow beekeepers. We hope to 1) give you a summary of the study we’re carrying out and 2) tell you about the precautions we’re … More Bee-Breeding Project: Information for our Fellow Beekeepers
We’re starting up the full-scale test of our bee breeding project. You can read a project description here. Lab notes are just that: a record of our work and data. The bees were installed at their Agrecol locations on April 19, 2020. We have five clusters around the periphery of the property. Each cluster got … More Hive Buildup and Splitting — Lab Note 3.01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 10 Jun 2020 The Low Technology Institute 608-886-9584 info@lowtechinstitute.org Bee-Breeding Research against Colony Collapse Disorder Funded by Blooming Prairie Foundation, Hosted by Agrecol A method that has succeeded in breeding mite-tolerant bees in Sweden, Wales, and Africa will be tested in southern Wisconsin; mites are the leading cause of colony collapse … More PRESS RELEASE: Bee-Breeding Research against Colony Collapse Disorder Funded by Blooming Prairie Foundation, Hosted by Agrecol
We’re scaling up our bee breeding project this year. You can find out more by reading the initial proposal here or watching the video as we installed our first colonies on YouTube. Anybody following the news knows that honeybees are in crisis. Bees are a critical link not only in the human food chain but … More Thanks to Our Bee-Project Sponsors!
We just installed twenty hives as part of our bee breeding research project. In short, a mite is the leading cause of colony collapse disorder. Unfortunately the standard treatment involves repeated application of chemicals to the hive, some more harmful than others. Beekeepers in Africa, Sweden, Wales, and other locations have been breeding bees that … More New Video: No. 19 — Installing Bees for Research Project
Our grow-your-own project is underway. Right now, we’re in the planning stages. In February, we get a month of “business as usual,” to order and plan for the upcoming decrease of fossil fuels in our food system. Starting in March, we’ll only have a quarter of our trips to the grocery store and less shipping … More Foodmageddon: Grow, Glean, and Forage Over Two Million Calories for a Year?
We are expanding our work to develop mite-tolerant bees and strategies for other beekeepers to follow suit, and you can be part of it! We’ll be creating a bee yard with 60 hives, and each one costs about $150 to build. We’re looking for businesses, organizations, and individuals or groups who are interested in adopting … More Adopt A Hive! — Partner with Us to Help Bee Research
In addition to getting together our solar panel system, plans, and permits, we’ve been working on a grant proposal to greatly expand our bee breeding program. This application was written for nonbeekeepers. A more technical grant proposal is in the works for a beekeeper-specific organization. We have made a habit of sharing our grant proposals … More Where Have We Been? Writing a Bee Grant Proposal
This September 7th at 10 a.m., we’ll be giving a presentation on beginning beekeeping at the Edgerton Public Library. This free and public talk will go over some of the basics folks should know before taking the plunge and starting a backyard apiary. We’ll cover the bee life cycles, seasonal activities, equipment, how to get … More Upcoming Bee Presentation: Beginning Beekeeping, Sep. 7, 10:00 a.m., Edgerton Library