​You may have heard the statement “all beekeeping is local”. This means that, depending on where you keep bees, your beekeeping actions for a particular month could be drastically different than what is appropriate for beekeepers located elsewhere! During April, some beekeepers might be busy with tasks like installing packages and raising queens, while others might be using the mild days to crack lids on their colonies even while there’s snow on the ground. Regardless of what other tasks you are trying to accomplish this April, we hope you will find time to fill out our annual Honey Bee Colony Loss and Management Survey!
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TAKE SURVEY HERE

Project Apis m is excited to announce our first webinar of 2022. This is a one-hour program on April 5th, at 7:00 pm (EST). 

The event features a presentation by Dr. Vanessa Corby Harris, of the USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Tucson, AZ. who will discuss a current research project, entitled, "Toward a more comprehensive assessment of honey bee pollen substitutes."  This research, which was funded by the Healthy Hives initiative in 2020, is a large-scale comparison of commercially available protein supplements and their impacts on bee health. 

The presentation will be followed by a live Q & A with Dr. Corby-Harris, and commercial beekeeper, Blake Shook, of Desert Creek Honey,  who is a collaborator on the project. 

To join us for this free event, please register HERE. 

Anyone can download a copy of the flyer, and we hope you share this event with friends! 

Contact Grace at Grace@ProjectApism.org with any questions. To be notified when a recording becomes available, please sign up for updates from Project Apis m.

​We hope to see you in April! 

​Every February, the almond bloom pulls about 88% of the country’s honey bee colonies to California for one huge pollination event.1 The pollination migration presents an opportunity to positively impact the health of the majority of the nation’s bees with practices that can also benefit the nation’s almond growers. The cost of colony rentals for pollination has steadily gone up year over year, alongside the increased cost incurred by the beekeeper to provide enough food for the bees and maintain healthy colonies.

Project Apis m. is excited to welcome our new Habitat Program Director, Rory Crowley to our team. 
 
Starting in January, 2022, Rory will be managing the Seeds for Bees program in California and working with the Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund to grow and develop PAm’s forage & habitat programs.  We are looking forward to the addition of Rory’s unique experiences which bring new perspective along with well-worn “boots-on-the-ground” to our efforts. 

Project Apis m. is seeking a Habitat Program Manager to join our team! Below are the details of the position, and you can download a copy of the position announcement HERE. Help us get the word out!

Position Announcement:
 Project Apis m. is a 501(c)5 nonprofit organization founded in 2006. Project Apis m.’s mission is to fund and direct research to enhance the health and vitality of honey bee colonies while improving crop production. Project Apis m. (PAm) also builds programs to improve honey bee health such as best management practices and honey bee habitat programs. Project Apis m. 2.0 is a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2017 to expand the reach of Project Apis m. to a new audience. The Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund is a program of PAm 2.0. Project Apis m. is committed to creating a purposeful and intentional workspace for all employees and constituents. We are committed to inclusivity, learning, community, integrity, and humility. 

Position Summary:
The habitat program manager supports PAm’s mission by managing the Seeds for Bees Program in California, liaising with the Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund in the Midwest, and interacting with research efforts on honey bee nutrition and habitat. The habitat program manager engages with farmers and almond growers in California’s central valley to recruit Seeds for Bees participants and to provide technical assistance to participants. This position represents Project Apis m. at national and regional meetings, providing an overview of all PAm’s programs, promoting our mission, and recruiting habitat participants. The successful applicant will exhibit enthusiasm toward and dedication to serving the beekeeping industry and crop production. 

This year the entire West and Northern Midwest is experiencing drought, leaving some growers with barely enough water to keep their crops healthy. Beekeepers are also struggling in places like North Dakota, where honey bees are preparing for almond pollination in February and some beekeepers are reporting record low honey crops. When nectar dries up, bees struggle to produce the honey they need to survive Winter.