According to recent reports, Scotland has a desperate need for more beekeepers due to the production of honey becoming a rare commodity in various areas as of late, experts have said. This year’s crop of honey this past summer has been a “virtual failure” because of the weather, and a jump in prices is expected.…
Manuka Honey Fig Dip with Blue Cheese and Garlic Pitas There are some days when the only way you can see them ending involves a filling snack rather than a large, time-consuming meal. While large meals make for good, tasteful experiences, sometimes all you are in the mood for (or have the energy for) is a…
Ironman legend Dave Scott is a six time Kona champion, and he follows a ketogenic diet, which is high in healthy fats and low on carbohydrates. It is easily explained like this: 60 percent of his food is good fat high in omegas like seeds and nuts, olives, coconut oil, and fish. 20-25 percent is…
Strange red honey began to show up in the hives of New York City beekeepers in the summer of 2010. At first, many beekeepers thought the bees had foraged a new plant like sumac, but after they kept finding the red honey in their hives, they had a few samples tested. It turns out the bees’…
Bayer, a global enterprise in the life science fields of healthcare and agriculture, launched a scientific study trying to prove that seed pesticide treatment is not harmful to bees while also trying to assess the effect of oilseed rape grown from clothianidin-treated seeds on bees. Clothianidin is an insecticide similar to thiamethoxam and imidacloprid, and…
Contrary to popular belief, proteins in larval foods of honeybees do not determine the larvae’s growth into queen bees. This includes the protein royalactin, which was previously thought to be the “queen determinate” since 2011. This is the finding of a study from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenburg, which was published in the journal Nature.…
It’s a generally held opinion around the world that honeybees and other bee species are in a bad situation. Their numbers have been showing drastic decreases in most countries due to pesticides, malnutrition, and also colony collapse disorder (CCD) for reasons not well understood. One notable exception in all of this, however, is Israel, where…
‘What you see is what you get’ is a motto that many Manuka honey vendors have but not as many live up to when tested by consumers. Often what happens is that the ingredients on the labeling look promising but what is inside the jar is a mix of ingredients that dilute the purity and…
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have added seven species of bees to the nation’s endangered species list as of October 1st, 2016. Despite the commonly held opinion that honeybees and other bees are in danger of going extinct, Virginia Tech researchers theorize that the native Hawaiian yellow-faced bees do not reflect other bee statuses…
Manuka Honey Apple Bread Pudding Desserts fresh out of the oven are perfect for the fall season, and this is one you will definitely want to add to your go-to list of recipes. It is a Manuka Honey Apple Bread Pudding, and it is perfect for any occasion. This dessert is a great way to…
The botanical kingdom has many interesting plants with unexpected powers of deception—often meant as a defense or a hunting tactic. Carrion flowers are a prime example, as they mimic the smell of rotting meat to attract scavenger beetles and flies to cover them in their pollen. Many carnivorous plants also attract insects with sweet odors and…
For those of the Jewish faith, while Rosh Hashanah has passed, the season for challah and honey is still going strong. Despite the threat American bee populations are facing with their declining numbers, the Jewish beekeepers of Pittsburgh, PA are reminded to dip their bread into sweet honey and solidify a vow to protect this species…
As many have likely heard at least once, honeybee colonies in the U.S. have been collapsing at growing rates over the last decade, and pesticides are suspected to be a major culprit of these colony collapses. This includes fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides. Many scientific studies have looked at these pesticides separately rather than investigating the…
What does the study of bees have to do with pollen variations and season allergies? Cassandra Darnell, a science major, is conducting an ongoing independent study of the honeybees she brought to Penn State Berks in order to find out. In the spring of this year, Darnell set up four hives on Berks campus—two of…
For Yale University, Founder’s Day is a day to commemorate centuries of its history, and it was recently established in 2014. This year, along with the usual accoutrements, however, the university is launching the Yale Sustainability Plan of 2025. Cracking down on sustainability and renewable resources, Yale’s beekeepers have begun the task of making the…
Chicken Fajita Grill with Manuka Honey Corn Cakes If you’re looking for a different meal with some spice, flavor, and culture, this Chicken Fajita Grill with Manuka Honey Corn Cakes recipe is what you’ve been waiting for! Combining flavors like cumin, cayenne pepper, lemon, and the New Zealand-originated Manuka honey, this dish provides a healthy…
Most kids start lemonade stands or rake leaves to earn some cash, but this seven-year-old, Jackson Moyer of Midland, MI, has starting a business of keeping bees. His inspiration came from his older sister, who started a dog walking business, so he asked his dad, Craig, if he could do something similar. Craig thought it…
Beekeeping is becoming more popular as more species of bees become endangered, with many realizing the importance of their work and seeking to preserve bees as much as possible. Alexander and Anastasia Bartsch are two such people working to raise bees. Clara Fortmann is the owner of Lexington Interfaith Garden in Lexington, MA, where she…
A new $30 million tourism proposal in Rotorua, New Zealand has been revealed, and it will showcase the story of Manuka honey. This tourism experience is the result of a partnership between Rotohokahoka D North 4D Trust and New Zealand Manuka Group. The NZ Manuka Group founder and chairman, Phil Caskey, said the project would…
Despite the fear that genetically modified (GM) foods are dangerous, experts in the country of India can assure the biosafety of the crops. This likely didn’t quell many fears given the reactions from some activists, who were looking to counter the possible green stamp of approval that GM mustard plants were given by India’s Union Ministry of…
The endangered species list has gained a new entry that may be concerning to those who live in the United States. The yellow-faced honeybee is dying off in large numbers in Hawaii, and the impact this will have on the main continent and the rest of the world is currently unknown. For Hawaii, this could…
Gluten-Free Manuka Honey Cake For those who find themselves with gluten sensitivities, you no longer have to be denied the sweet taste of honey cake! With this Gluten-Free Manuka Honey Cake, anyone has the chance to try the sweet and spicy blend of flavor with the right dash of Manuka honey, all thanks to the…
After seeing the rusty patched bumblebee disappear from almost 90 percent of its historic range over the past two decades, federal wildlife officials have made a formal recommendation to list this bumblebee as an endangered species. The recommendation comes from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service after the Portland, Oregon-based Xerces Society petitioned the agency…
It would be disingenuous and wrong to label Roger Beattie of Banks Peninsula, New Zealand as just your average farmer. Then again, however, how does one describe someone who is a wild sheep breeder, a kelp entrepreneur, a blue pearl entrepreneur, and a would-be weka farmer? Beattie himself says he is an “environpreneur,” which in…
While many may not know it, September was Bee Awareness Month—an entire month dedicated to honeybees and other bee species—and it’s in times like these that many learn just how important bees are beyond providing honey. Farmers, for instance, require honeybees for pollinating to ensure quality growth of pastures, horticulture, and arable crops. For pastoral…
It’s likely we’ve all seen one of those commercials featuring neglected animals with the pictures and videos of them staring through cages in harsh conditions while looking malnourished. The sad, heartbreaking music usually plays in the background, and the desired result is a call to action from those watching to donate or give some of…
Besides providing honey and pollinating crops, honeybees provide incredible amounts of knowledge just by existing as they have for millennia. From behaviors humans do not partake in, studies on how certain genetics developed over time, to demonstrating the effects of man on nature, honeybees never stop giving more for us to contemplate. One unexpected benefit…
Apple-Raisin, Manuka Honey Challah Whether you simply love unique breads or are of Jewish heritage and are baking for the holidays, this Apple-Raisin, Manuka Honey Challah is like no other! Combing the traditional fluffy texture of bread with sweet fruits and Manuka honey, this 10-serving bread takes some time, effort, and probability a bit of…
