About 15 years ago, Hackenberg Aviaries, which has beehives in Florida and Pennsylvania, was harvesting 300 raw honey barrels per year. According to owner Davey Hackenberg, this number has dropped to as low as 40 barrels per year, with many beekeepers having similar stories about their diminished harvest returns. With honey numbers dropping, the wholesale…
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A local chef is using all-natural ingredients to make her body and those of her clients “naturally heal.” Chef Deborah Frankel became a “natural” chef about 30 years ago and has come up with some pretty creative concoctions she says can fight off the flu and help prevent other illnesses as well. Chef Frankel gets…
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Everyone wants to know what is really going on with Manuka honey. We see various claims countered by government regulations, but the Australian Manuka Honey Association hopes to help clarify things with the help of a grant they have just been awarded. While United States organizations are a bit skeptical, the Australian government is kicking…
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I know what you are asking… why are they writing about a juice shop opening when this is a honey blog? To answer that question right off the bat, it is because they use Manuka honey in some of their recipes, of course! Southern Pressed Juicery is currently operating out of Greenville, South Carolina. That…
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Theft of hives is happening more and more to beekeepers these days, and one local beekeeper in Miami finally had enough. Since it was unlikely he was going to get any results with the local police, he turned sleuth to see what was happening to his bee hives. Miami-Dade Beekeeper Wainsworth Brown teamed up with…
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Just when it seemed like the Manuka honey beekeepers were going to fight the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) tooth and nail of the definition of Manuka honey, the MPI backed down redefining the liquid gold, so beekeepers backed off and dropped the pending suit. Initially, the MPI was trying to define monofloral or multifloral…
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Detroit is a city that often finds itself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, but that is not the case this time. A couple of Detroit natives are trying to use honey to bring a neighborhood overrun with blight back to prominence. The non-profit organization is run by Timothy Paule and Nicole Lindsey.…
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It’s always a sad story when Mother Nature takes a swing at small businesses, but a story coming out of Prunedale, California just might be sadder because of one extra, crucial factor—there was intention behind the destruction, and it was completely unnecessary and cruel. In the small community of Prunedale, one or more vandals toppled…
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Recently, honey producers from the Australian island state of Tasmania have claimed they’ve found proof that Manuka honey had actually been produced in Tasmania long before its neighboring country New Zealand did so. Even more so, they intend to fight their Kiwi neighbors if they continue claiming right over the honey’s iconic name. As most…
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For relatively new beekeepers, there is likely nothing more frustrating than coming up to check your hives, only to find that half of them have vacated the hive entirely. Fortunately, this is not a case of colony collapse disorder, which results in all of a hive’s worker bees suddenly disappearing. More than likely, the missing…
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While most people consider retiring once they hit their 60s, Steve and Joyce and Thorson chose to reinvent their lives and with gusto. Canners, gardeners, and occasionally cattle owners, the Thorson’s live outside of Manhattan, Montana, with Steve owning several construction companies and Joyce previously working as a TSA agent with Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport.…
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After a limited ban was placed on neonicotinoid pesticides in the spring of 2014 by the European Union, the hope for beekeepers and honey lovers was that the continent would see an immediate decrease in the amount of the pesticide in honey. Now, almost four years later, nearly one fourth of honey samples out of…
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It’s likely that many have heard tales of bears—black bears, grizzly bears, sun bears, you name it—breaking into bee hives and stealing honey, just like the Winne the Pooh stories many of us grew up reading and having read to us. There is also a good chance you’ve watched plenty of videos of bears performing…
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The delicious gourmet honey New Zealanders and admirers from all over the world love on toast, in tea, or straight from the jar might become cheaper in price due to changes in Manuka honey’s official definition. As a way of protecting honey lovers from buying lower quality products and strengthening this particular sector, New Zealand’s…
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For those who live outside of California, the wildfires taking place within the state’s borders and their record-shattering devastation may not have had everyone’s attention. However, it surely had the attention of Ventura, California residents Steve and Kelly Nimmer. After being woken up in the middle of the night by a phone call from their…
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With winter quickly approaching, it’s not uncommon to hear about homeowners finding various critters holing up in their homes for warmth, shelter, and protection from predators – as well as extensive breeding to the point of infestation. However, one woman out in Omaha, Nebraska discovered a less common invader inside her home – a huge…
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As many are probably aware, pesticides, specifically the commonly used class called neonicotinoids, have been named as a likely primary cause of the noted decline of honeybee populations throughout various parts of the world. While some countries have begun making efforts to limit the use of neonicotinoids, with some even outright seeking to ban their…
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With Manuka honey still as popular as it ever was – and New Zealand beekeepers earning considerably more compared to business before the Manuka explosion – thievery has become a growing problem for the industry, with thieves showing incredible skill in their criminal acts. In one recent case in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, a local…
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It’s not uncommon to glance inside your pantry and wonder about anything that’s not in a can, questioning how long you have before it goes bad and has to be thrown out. Whether it’s a jar of jam, a tub a peanut butter, or the dried seeds saved from last year’s garden, questions of longevity…
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Honeybees have proven themselves to be tiny, complex creatures whose patterns of behavior continue to offer insights into more than just the animal kingdom. In addition to their crucial role in our agricultural system as pollinators, they can also produce various beneficial substances human beings have learned to safely extract and use, such as beeswax…
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Recently discovered during a northern Italy university workshop on the Etruscans, several beekeeping artifacts, including 2,500-year-old seared honeycombs, were discovered by students. They also found remnants of a one-of-a-kind grapevine honey made by beekeepers who must have travelled via rivers to make it. “The importance of beekeeping in the ancient world is well known through…
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While honeybees are more well-known and celebrated for their essential role in large-scale pollination, there has been a recently published study suggesting that very soon society will be thanking the little pollinators for paving the way toward more precise color imaging in the field of digital photography. The findings of the study’s investigation, published by…
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Much research has been dedicated to the positive effects honey can supposedly have on our overall health – and with that research comes some interesting discoveries to be pondered over. Recently, a study revealed there is a natural sugar in honey with the potential to lessen the risk of a heart attack. According to this…
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As long as Manuka honey has been on the market, there has been the issue of authenticity, with fake products being pushed into consumers’ hands alongside the genuine ones. While Manuka honey originates from New Zealand, products claiming to be the real deal could have been made thousands of miles away. Because of this, industry…
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Mead, an alcoholic drink made by fermenting water and honey, is the one of the oldest known beverages out there, and it is largely shrouded in legend and myth. After tales of Greek gods and Viking heroes from Norse legends consuming the drink by the barrel, mead is now seeing a rise in sales in…
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Manuka honey, with its value and popularity among consumers, is often stolen by those seeking to illegally profit from it. This happens if it’s in the form of stolen honeybee hives, which is very common in New Zealand, where the Manuka bush originates. It also happens in the form of jars taken right off the…
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“Ping pong” tourists are individuals who travel to the same place multiple times in order to take part in as many facets of the place as possible. This is especially true for visitors to the beautiful island country of New Zealand. Over a five year period between 2010 and 2016, roughly one third of NZ…
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It takes about 60,000 bees to travel up to 55,000 miles and visiting more than 2 million flowers, to gather enough nectar to make one pound of honey. Raw honey is a truly remarkable substance and a great product with amazing benefits you should include in your diet. Beekeepers have acres of large bee colonies…
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Honey is a natural sweetener and its many different varieties are available based on the hundreds of different flowers and plants frequented by bees. Raw manuka honey is made from the tea tree bush native to New Zealand and it has a dark color and robust flavor. Among the many advantages of raw manuka honey…
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Pathogen Patterns By studying the genes of honeybees, scientists may one day better comprehend the diseases and viruses that affect them, specifically how their genes resist. “In the past decade, honeybee populations have experienced severe and persistent losses across the Northern Hemisphere, mainly due to the effects of pathogens, such as fungi and viruses,” says…
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The Jetai Bee While stingless bees are without stingers, they still have ways to protect themselves. The Jetai bee, a bee species that originates from Brazil, is a great example. The Jetai bees have their own guard bees, which are larger and protect the entrance. These bees remain at the nest’s entrance in order to…
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For as long as can be remembered, mites have been a threat to honeybees and their colonies, and these mites include the parasitic Tropilaelaps mercedesae. Research recently published in GigaScience has revealed the genome of the T. mercedesae has been greatly affected by its interaction with honeybees. The research was done by a team at…
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It’s a well known fact that horses can be easily startled. One ranch horse named Gunner, after being startled by a pair of bunnies, kicked into a guardrail and tore his hind leg to the bone. Gunner’s veterinarian, Andrea Arbuckle, began to look for ways to help treat the horse’s wound safely. “In the process…
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In an effort to give bees the space they need to roam and gather pollen, Cedar Rapids, Iowa is setting aside 1,000 acres of land. During this spring season, at least 188 acres are being seeded with native prairie grasses and wildflower plants, which should prevent invasive weeds while nourishing pollinators. The project has secured…
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It’s well known that honeybee and other bee populations are decreasing globally and alarmingly quick. Because of the possibility of bee extinction, while very far off, is a possibility nonetheless, researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan are developing pollinating drones since human beings rely heavily on bees…
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A company based in Western Australia aims to harness a strong global demand by developing a “Manuka Province” in the southwest area of the state, something that can effectively compete against New Zealand’s global honey industry. The company has chosen the Yarloop area, which was devastated by a bushfire a year prior, as its choice…
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Frank Drummond, professor at the University of Maine, is the last person known to have held a Maine-originated rusty patched bumblebee. Drummond, who admits to being foggy on the details, believes it was around summer 2009 when he found the bee. During that time, he and his students were busy collecting specimens in Stockton Springs.…
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If you’re the type who likes to cook for their significant other on Valentine’s Day, this decadent meal offers a savory taste that’s almost as sweet as dessert thanks to the ever-reliable Manuka honey. This homemade pasta with lemon, herbs, and Manuka honey may sound like too much of a challenge, but making your own…
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Research into recent hot weather in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia is showing that the weather could lead to far more pest problems for apiarists than originally thought. Dr. Diana Leemon, Queensland’s Department of Agriculture, suggests beekeepers should keep an eye out for the small hive beetle (SHB). These tiny pests could reduce honey…
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For those that enjoy sweets but want to stay true to an all-natural product the best option is honey but not just anything that you can buy off the store shelves but rather a truly unique and tasty product that exceeds all expectations. Raw Manuka honey comes directly from New Zealand beekeepers that spend their…
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