ESPACIO APICOLA - CORDOBA - ARGENTINA

Argentine Beekeepers' Magazine

Version en Castellano

FRENCH HONEY MARKET

FRENCH BEEKEEPERS ARE LOSING SALES IN THEIR LOCAL MARKET

March 4th, 2024

(Espacio Apícola Reuters - Swissinfo.ch, March 4th, 2024) We transcribe the news from the Paris branch of the Reuters Agency published by the Swissinfo site, of the Hevetic Confederation, under the title "France offers aid to its struggling beekeepers amid farmer protests" on February 23rd.

"PARIS (Reuters) - France has set aside 5 million euros ($5.41 million) to help its beekeepers, the agriculture ministry said on Friday, a group of producers that has joined protests this month by farmers... (continue reading about 1 minute


HONEY MARKET

ABRUPT HONEY IMPORTS DROP IN THE US DURING JANUARY 2024

February 29th, 2024

(Espacio Apícola, February 29, 2024) Honey imports into the United States showed a sharp decline between January 2023 and January 2024, the data comes from the respective reports published monthly by the United States Department of Agriculture.

In addition, the downward trend in prices for Argentine honey that prevailed throughout 2023 continued. In the year-on-year analysis, extra light amber honey, below 50 mm Pfund on the traditional scale, fell more than... (continue reading about 1 minute


EFSA - EU

REVIEW OF THE TRANSGENIC CORN MON 810 AUTHORISATION

January 24th, 2024

(ESPACIO APICOLA, January 24th, 2024) The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) published on January 19th the Assessment of genetically modified maize MON 810 for renewal authorisation under Regulation, according to the specific regulation of the Community.

Genetically modified (GMO) corn MON 810 contains the Cry1Ab gene, from Bacillus thuringiensis, which produces a toxin that affects the... (continue reading about 2 minutes


HONEY MARKET IN ARGENTINA

LOW INTERNATIONAL PRICE EVEN IF THE RELATIVE PRICE IMPROVES

January 20th, 2024

(ESPACIO APICOLA, January 20th, 2024) Averaging the honey harvest in Argentina, production shows great contrasts between areas in which nothing was produced and others with high yields. The late rains and cold slowed down the beginning of the season in much of the most important beekeeping region of the country. The nectar flow season is expected to extend a little longer than usual.

The NVDI Vegetation Index Map (photo) published by the National Meteorological Service for the first half of January clearly shows the response... (continue reading about 3 minutes


EFSA - EU

HONEY BEE COLONY MODEL FOR PESTICIDES RISK ASSESSMENT

December 27th, 2023

(ESPACIO APICOLA, December 27th, 2023) The European Food Safety Agency EFSA promotes the production of a computational model of a beehive for the pesticides risk assessment. Today, in its third version, ApisRAM has already described the environmental scenarios with which it will interact in order to carry out, in the near future, the pesticide risk assessment in all corners of the European Union.

It is expected that this tool will already be operational and will be useful by 2025, when the Apimondia Congress is also planned in Copenhagen. Among other objectives, this model is focused... (continue reading about 4 minutes


US HONEY MARKET

AUSTERE CHRISTMAS FOR ARGENTINE BEEKEEPING 2023

Administrative Review of Anti Dumping Sanctions against honey from Argentina, Brazil, India and Vietnam in the United States

December 22nd, 2023

(ESPACIO APICOLA, December 22nd, 2023) The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) began this administrative review last August 29. The DOC is checking the performance of the honey exports of sanctioned countries to the United States during a period of 18 months between the application of the preliminary sanction from November 23rd of 2021 to May 30th of 2023.

REVIEW OF ARGENTINE CASES

In the case of honey from Argentina, beyond the initial measures regarding NEXCO's lawsuit before the United States Court of International Trade and the changes in the chosen market of reference to compare the Honey export prices of ACA, which we describe and analyze in our last magazine (Espacio Apícola nº 141), the investigation continues its course in what at times seems like something already seen and experienced, a true déjà-vu.

As the DOC could not get a Cost of Production (COP) for the investigated companies in the other three countries the DOC arrives at a final determination based on... (continue reading about 6 minutes


Argentine Beekeeping

BEEKEEPING SEASON 2023-2024 IN ARGENTINA

November 18th, 2023

(Espacio Apícola, November 18th, 2023) So far in the beekeeping season in Argentina, lemon honey was a failure in Tucumán, a province in the north of Argentina, as well as in the southeast of Corrientes, a province in front of Brazil in the east, where excess of rainfall ruined the honey harvest. For its part, the Monte Nativo Cordobés (Cordoban native forest) was very weak compared to previous years.

The lack of rain and temperature fluctuations have delayed the season in the rest of the country between 15 and 30 days, with the low minimum temperatures being very inportant in the Pampa Húmeda, Río Negro, Mendoza, where the minimum temperatures were below and in some cases well below the historical average that has been established between 1991 and 2020 as a reference period to determine anomalies according to the National Meteorological Service in Argentina (SMN).

As far as soil moisture is concerned, the drought of previous years... (continue reading about 3 minutes


Argentine Beekeeping

Geographical Indication of Honey from Cordoban Natural Forest

October 17th, 2023

(Espacio Apícola, October 17th, 2021) In their desire to distinguish their products and marketing conditions, producers and beekeeping cooperatives from Traslasierra, Ischilin, Cruz del Eje, among other towns, departments and areas of the northwest arc of the Córdoba province, Argentina, were finally able to submit a request to the Ministry of Agriculture for the recognition of Geographical Indication (GI) of Honey from Cordoban Natural Forest.

The northwest arc of the Córdoba province, Argentina (map of the province indicating five departments of the western Córdoba corresponding to the publication of its Apibotanical Map in our magazine Espacio Apícola nº 80 - Dec. 2007), is an area of more than 4 million hectares in which predominate... (continue reading about 2 minutes


SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE: ECONOMY OR ECOLOGY

October 14th, 2023

(Espacio Apícola, October 14th, 2021) A new review that includes the analysis of data from more than 2,500 sites reveals that global warming, resulting from greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation and land use change in favor of agriculture is causing the reduction of pollinators and consequently puts regional production at risk, representing a risk to human well-being.

Under the title: "Key tropical crops at risk from... (continue reading about 2 minutes


BALANCE OF THE APIMONDIA CONGRESS CHILE 2023

4 de octubre de 2023

(Espacio Apícola, 2 minutes 30 seconds, subtitles in English)


ADVANCE OF THE ARGENTINE BEEKEEPING SEASON 2023

October 2nd, 2023

(Espacio Apícola, Córdoba, Argentina, October 2nd 2023) We have pointed on the map of the rainfall gradient of the National Meteorological Service of Argentina the areas based on the different zonal reports that we have received and that we publish below.
Furthermore, the normal advance of each area can be inferred according to the different isohyets that show the rainfall gradient that increases from West to East in almost the entire national territory and that has the month of September as its starting point.

September was gone in the central area (COR) of Argentina with normal conditions, predominance of cold and dry winds from the southern sector, with temperatures in a range of... (continue reading about 5 minutes


EFSA

UPDATED GUIDANCE TO EVALUATE AGROCHEMICALS

June 4th, 2023

(EFSA, May 11th 2023) The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reviewed its guidance document on how to assess risks to honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees from "plant protection products" (a euphemism for one-dimensional thinking. For pollinators they are agrotoxic). The revised guidance document takes into account the latest scientific knowledge and contains the most up-to-date methodologies for conducting risk assessments in this area.

Find out about this New Guide for Risk Assessment on the EFSA website by clicking here (4 minutes reading).

Those interested in learning more about the EFSA guidance on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees can join our public online info session on 13 June 2023.


APIMONDIA 2023

INTERNATIONAL HONEY CONTEST

May 13th, 2023

(Espacio Apícola, May 13th 2023) All registered amateur or professional beekeepers in the 48th Apimondia International Beekeeping Congress can participate in the International Honey Contest of the Congress to be held in Espacio Riesco, Santiago de Chile. Honey from packagers will not be accepted.

Samples must be submitted before July 31, 2023.

This year we will only proceed with... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


ANTIBIOTIC RESIDUES IN HONEY

February 27th, 2023

(Espacio Apícola, February 27th 2023) The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an alert for honey imported from Saudi Arabia containing ciprofloxacin residues last February 22nd.

Ciprofloxacin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, from the fluoroquinolone family, a drug reserved as a last resort against infections that show resistance to other antibiotics.

It is harmful to the intestinal flora, so it is... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


HUGE PLACE FOR THE NEXT 48TH APIMONDIA CONGRESS

February 17th, 2023

(Espacio Apícola, February 17th, 2023) Last Wednesday, February 15th, we visited "Espacio Riesco" the Convention and Events Center of Santiago de Chile where the next Apimondia Congress will be held this year between September 4th to 8th.

In the following video (less than 2 minutes) you can appreciate the magnitude of the facilities and amenities that this Convention Center offers to visitors.

In turn, we inform that the reception of abstracts is now open for all those who want to present their work at the 48th Apimondia Congress in front of the following commissions:
Apitherapy
Bee Biology
Beekeeping Economy
Beekeeping for Rural Development
Bee Health
Pollination and Bee Flora
Beekeeping Quality and Technology

Visit the Congress site HERE to find out and register


ARGENTINE HONEY HARVEST 2023

January 26th, 2023

(Espacio Apícola, January 26th, 2023) This season, the honey harvest in Argentina is advancing on delay also. Last year, it was delayed in the central region and this year the honey harvest in the "Parque Chaqueño" area of Córdoba continued until this week inclusive. The lack of rain complicated mainly the prairies of the Central Region of Argentina, while towards the province of Buenos Aires the significant rains that fell in a large area of the provincial territory this week augured a good February for many of those who have already completed satisfactory the first round. Photo: unloading supers with honey in the extraction room of the Villa de Soto Cooperative, Córdoba, courtesy Mr Luciano Cuenca.


HONEY PRICE TO THE PRODUCER 2023

January 26th, 2023

(Bolivar, Bs.As., Argentina, January 24, 2023) The price of honey paid to the producer is around US$ 2.50 plus VAT per kg of light-colored honey, below 50 mm Pfund, while for the darker honeys the operations continue to be very slow and with many requirements. Darker honeys are being bought as long as they have low HMF, a high ratio of Fructose to Glucose, low in glyphosate residues and no Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids (PA), Mr. Mauricio Bigne tells us. Despite the fact that the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) did not include honey in the product chart attached to Regulation 1881/2006 on Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) of PA in honey (See Espacio Apícola No. 134), the market continues to use this parameter to restrict buying or lower prices. The Argentine beekeeper is being paid US$1.60 per kg of honey over 50 mm Pfund. It should be noted that the payment is received in Argentine pesos and at the official rate of the dollar currency of the Argentine National Bank (Photo), 50% lower than the market price of the US currency.


EXPO-MACIÁ 2023 HONEY CONTEST

(Maciá, Entre Ríos, Argentina, January 24, 2023) The Municipality of Maciá invites Argentine and foreign beekeepers to participate in the Honey Contest that it organizes within the framework of the Api-Expo that will be carried out there from March 24 to 26.
Honeys are classified by color into three categories:
- Clear honeys, up to 40 mm Pfund,
- Amber honeys, from 40.1 to 79.9 mm Pfund, and
- Dark honeys, from 80 mm Pfund.

At the same time, only honeys with a moisture up to 20% participate, clean of notable impurities and without signs of fermentation. Then, during the fair, a panel of people minimally trained in sensory analysis serves as the jury. Contact: lepmamacia@gmail.com


APIMONDIA 2023 IN ESPACIO RIESCO SANTIAGO

January 5th, 2023

(Espacio Apícola, January 5th, 2023) You can hire your stand now for the Commercial Exhibition that will carry out beside the 48th International Congress, Apimondia2023, to be held in Santiago de Chile between September 4 and 8. On the right, the Google Map showing the route from the Espacio Riesco complex to the center of Providencia, the closest area of hotels, gastronomy and services.

The congress will take place in the Espacio Riesco, a complex located to the north of the city, very accessible by car from the entrance route from... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


Argentine Beekeeping 2022 Balance sheet

December 23rd, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, December 23rd, 2022) Argentine Beekeeping 2022 Balance sheet

  1. SEASON ON DELAY
    More delayed than last year, the algarrobo honey harvest in the Parque Chaqueño Occidental in the west and northwest of the province of Córdoba, although uneven, has given relief to several migratory beekeepers who came from Tucumán and Northern Argentina where the season was not good. In addition, those who were careful to get the algarrobo honey before the mistol or other species blooms that turn them darker appear will achieve a better position to sell them in bulk.
    Other areas have a very irregular performance such as the north of Santa Fe or the south center of the province of Entre Ríos. In the Humid Pampas area the beehives are developing very well but they are getting darkers honeys than usual which is a clear indicator of drought. Rains are expected to change the outlook.

  2. INTERNATIONAL HONEY TRADE
    Exports of Argentine honey to the United States have been normal and the market has largely absorbed the anti dumping sanctions (Espacio Apícola 135 - Spanish only) against honey from Argentina, although the price... (continue reading about 5 minutes)


ERADICATE XENOPHOBIA IN BEEKEEPING LANGUAGE

November 25th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, November 25th, 2022) In the final note of her doctoral dissertation at the University of California San Diego, Daniela Zárate wondered if the name of Africanized bees should be changed and said:

"While the term "Africanized" honey bee (AHB) has become commonplace, this epithet is perhaps due for revision. Africanized as a descriptor is frustratingly broad and fails to accurately reflect the diversity of geographic lineages that an admixed honey bee of the American continents can encompass. In addition, there exist more than a dozen African honey bee subspecies exhibiting a diverse ... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


THE ARGENTINE BEEKEEPER FACING THE RISK OF CONSUMING HIS CAPITAL

November 9th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, November 8th, 2022) The current political and economic crisis that the Argentine Republic is experiencing falls on the back of regional economies and beekeeping among them.

Adverse weather conditions for honey production until now in Argentina this year, the increase in the cost of living and inputs is added. During high profitable years producers improve their infrastructure and productive capacity. If they have a livestock farm they capitalize on cows, facilities, genetic improvement or more plots to increase production. In this market economy, who does not grow disappears. On the other hand, in bad years producers know that they have to sell part of their livetock, logically at lower prices than desired, to keep the wheel turning and to resist. They get rid of some heads and postpone projects.

The Argentine beekeeper has the same dynamic ... (continue reading about 4 minutes)


ALERT IN THE UNITED STATES FOR POSSIBLE FRAUDULENT HONEY

October 24th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, October 24th, 2022) After several months without news in the adulterated honey import alerts, published by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), honey shipments were interdicted on October 10 owned by a Mexican company.

These alerts for adulterated honey imply the detention of all the shipments of the intervened companies, without physical examination.

The previous event was published on June 14 adding a ... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND GENETIC STUDIES IN DRONE CONGREGATION AREAS

October 18th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, October 18th, 2022) During the next INNOVAR 2022 contest, organized by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Argentine Government, a group of researchers from CONICET belonging to the National University of Tucumán and sponsored by the Miguel Lillo Foundation they will present this weekend a particular bee health monitoring system with their work on epidemiological and genetic studies of Apis mellifera in Drone Congregation Areas.

Beyond the curiosity that may cause that theme in the varied public that will visit the exhibition at the Tecnópolis Center between October 20 and 22 the theme and the applied techniques ... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


CHILE LAUNCHES ITS BEEKEEPING PROMOTION LAW

October 15th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, October 13th, 2022) Signed by the President of the Republic, Gabriel Boric Font, and his Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela van Treek, Chile has enacted Law No. 21,489 on "Protection and Promotion of Beekeeping". It is the first normative body of the activity in the brother country. The rule entered into force yesterday, after its publication in the Official Gazette of Chile.

It is noteworthy that despite the great experience on pollination of different crops ... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


HONEY MARKET

NEW HONEY HARVEST NEW PRICES 2022

October 8th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, October 8th, 2022) Starting this October, when the honey harvests end in the northern hemisphere, a new cycle begins in the honey market based on the different variables: harvest volume available, cost of money, global market perspective. This date is eagerly awaited by most Argentine exporters who have seen operations slow down due to anti-dumping sanctions in the United States and the enormous increase in freight rates in the last year.

According to the USDA Honey Report of September 2021, the average price of honey paid to Argentine honeys between January and August 2021 was US$ 3434 per ton. That price is the average of all the sales of the four categories (according to colour) US$ 105,107,442 and the 30,604,765 kg purchased.

The USDA Honey Report of September 2022 shows... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


BEE HEALTH ALERT

THE SMALL HIVE BEETLE IN SOUTH AMERICA

September 28th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, September 29th, 2022) The Small Hive Beetle (SHB) was detected for the first time in South America more than six years ago near Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Brazilian authority took more than a year to declare its presence before the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE, for its acronym in French). During the first years of "official" presence of the SHB in Brazil, beekeepers who apply the sanitary rifle (burn the hives with SHB) were financially compensated. But once the compensation was suspended, the control of the plague were abandoned and it spread at least to the west, arriving last year to cross the border and be detected in Paraguay. Recently it was also detected in... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


BEE HEALTH 2022-2023

THE VARROA HURTS WHEN THE NECTAR FLOW STARTS

September 28th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, September 26th, 2022) September is closed and we are already in full spring in the central area of the fertile plain of Argentina. Dry weather is good for brood development and the hives probably already have several brood combs, in principle very healthy. If an opportune sanitary treatments against Varroa were carried out in the fall, it is expected that these colonies will have a very low load of mites. However, given the economic situation of the beekeeping sector in Argentina, already since the last year, some producers ... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


September 7th, 2022

THE ISTANBUL APIMONDIA CONGRESS CONCLUDED

Finally, after the pandemic and Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the Apimondia Congress could be held last August in Istanbul. The congress itself, although light, had moments of exchange...continue reading

ESPACIO APICOLA MAGAZINE No. 136

We distributed the 136th hard edition of Espacio Apícola before traveling to Istanbul with new advances in the field of bee colony nutrition, the growing demand for...continue reading

CALL TO SOLIDARITY

The shed of Walter Alegre, a beekeeper in the Middle Valley of the Río Negro, Argentina, caught fire recently. He lost all the suppers, queen rearing material and the...continue reading

LAVALLE API-EXPO

This Friday and Saturday, September 9 and 10, respectively, the api-expo will take place in Lavalle, Mendoza province. The appointment is again at the Municipal Sports Center. We will have the opportunity...continue reading


High-end honey awards

July 5th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, July 5th, 2022) London Honey Awards ceremony will be held next Saturday, July 9th. This contest is oganized by George Kouvelis who also organizes a similar contest assessing olive oil quality every year.

George invites all interested parties to present their honeys in this contest every year whose purpose is to inform honey growers, honey producers, beekeepers, processors and retailers, who distribute their legally standardized products, to preserve and improve the quality of its brand product by promoting high quality honey.

Among the Platinum honeys, there are many samples of ... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


APIMONDIA 2022

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM IS READY

June 30th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, June 30, 2022) July news-letter from Conmark was received today by email with the following Scientific Program of the next Apimondia Congress that will be held in Istanbul, Türkiye


HONEY WITH ANTIBIOTIC RESIDUES IMPORT ALERT

June 27th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, June 27th 2022) Antibiotics residues in honey are a symptom of a lack of Good Manufacturing Practices, which for our specific activity we call Good Beekeeping Practices.

The Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA) frequently publishes alerts of different irregular events in food imports, among them the appearance of prohibited antibiotics in honey, which constitutes a very important help to ... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


APIMONDIA 2022

Near 600 papers about beekeeping

June 18th, 2022



ANTI-DUMPING INVESTIGATION

USITC CONFIRMS THAT THE HONEY INDUSTRY IN THE USA WAS INJURED

June 6th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, June 6th, 2022) Last Friday, June 3rd, the United States International Trade Commission published in the Federal Register of the United States its Determination regarding the Investigation against alleged dumping of Raw Honey from Argentina, Brazil, India and Viet Nam, stating as follows: "On the basis of the record developed in the subject investigations, the United States International Trade Commission ("Commission") determines, pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930 ("the Act"), that an industry by reason of imports of raw honey from Argentina, Brazil, India and Vietnam, provided for ... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


NEW VARIANT OF VIRUS IS MORE LETHAL TO HONEYBEES

June 3rd, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, June 3rd, 2022)A dangerous variant of the deformed wing virus (DWV) is on the rise worldwide. The virus infects honeybees, causing their wings to atrophy and the animals to die. The new variant, which has already replaced the original strain of the virus in Europe, is spreading to other regions of the world and causing entire bee colonies to collapse.

This has been shown in a study by an international research team led by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), which analysed data on the spread of virus variants over the past 20 years (See the map). The paper appeared in the International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife.

Deformed wing virus (DWV) is transmitted by... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


Istanbul and Turkish Bekeeping Information Regarding the Next Apimondia Congress

May 26th, 2022



BEES UNITE THE WORLD

May 2nd, 2022

(APIMONDIA PRESIDENT, May 2nd, 2022) These past two years of COVID have made it difficult to plan and carryout our 47 th biennial Apimondia Congress that was scheduled to be held in Ufa, Russia in September of 2021. Then came the invasion of sovereign Ukraine by Russian troops which caused us to cancel plans to meet in Ufa in 2022. As Apimondia, we work to be apolitical and follow UN guidelines to recognize countries and set our fees. We have major reasons that require us to meet and hold ... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


BEEKEEPERS IN CHILE ON ALERT AND MOBILIZATION

April 26th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, April 26, 2022) Beekeepers from southern Chile gathered around Mario Flores have begun the "National Beekeepers Union of Chile". Mario Flores is an internationally recognized queen bee breeder for his invention, in the 1990s, of the helical pollen trap. Currently his son, Mario Flores h., PhD student in Social Sciences at the University of La Plata, Argentina, is one of those who is in the assembly of this organization.

The trigger seems to be the bad honey harvests in recent seasons due to the drought and the consequent death of beehives. This would have exposed the insufficient income that beekeepers receive for the pollination services ... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


ANTI-DUMPING INVESTIGATION

THE DOC INCREASES THE PENALTY AGAINST ARGENTINE HONEY

April 9th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, April 9th, 2022) Finally, as planned, the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) published the respective Final Determinations of the anti-dumping investigation filed against honey from Argentina, Brazil, India and Vietnam yesterday.

The DOC, which had already suspended the anti-dumping investigation of Ukrainian honey for 90 days due to the Russian invasion, finally repealed it definitively (see previous note).

In the DOC Final Determination against Argentine honeys they were sanctioned with a higher percentage than in the Preliminary Determination, while the others received lesser penalties according to the following tables: ... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

LAWSUIT AGAINST UKRAINE HONEY WITHDRAWN

March 28th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, March 28th, 2022) In early March, the Ukrainian company TOV Agro East Trade Ukraine submitted a letter to the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) requesting that honey from Ukraine be excluded from the investigation for alleged dumping, due to the Russian invasion. The ITC immediately turned the document over to the Department of Commerce of the United States (DOC), in charge of the investigation, which on the same day suspended the proceedings on the lawsuit against honey from Ukraine for ninety days, as we reported on this page in a timely manner (read the note).

On March 24th, the petitioners submitted the following communication to Gina Raimondo, Secretary of the International Trade Administration (ITA) of the DOC and to Lisa Barton, Secretary of the ITC entitled: "Withdrawal of Petition and ... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


MACIA EXPO

BUSINESS MEETINGS
THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE WILL EXPIRE

March 18th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, March 18, 2022) Within the framework of the Maciá-Expo, organized by the government of Maciá city, Entre Ríos, Argentina, business meetings will be held between honey buyers from the United States, Germany, France, Spain and Paraguay with Argentine companies, cooperatives and so on.
The business meetings are scheduled for Saturday, March 26.
Registration is free for all those interested. This March 20th is the deadline for registration. Follow the enrollment instructions on this page.


APIMONDIA

THE 47TH CONGRESS EMIGRATED TO ISTANBUL

March 17th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, March 17, 2022) To the cry of "Bees Unite the World" and like a colony besieged by Varroa, the 47th Congress of Apimondia is NOT cancelled, organizers moved it to Istanbul.
In a brief email received earlier today, Burak Kaptan, PCO of Congress Conmark, in charge of the organization, notified us: "I kindly want to inform you that 47th Apimondia Congress will be organized in Istanbul between August 24-28, 2022.
We are looking forward to welcome you in Istanbul."


ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

UKRAINE ASKS TO BE REMOVED FROM THE INVESTIGATION

March 11th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, March 11th, 2022) At the request of two beekeeper associations, the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) initiated an investigation for alleged dumping of companies supplying honey from Argentina, Brazil , India, Ukraine and Vietnam (which account for about 90% of the honey that the United States imports...) on May 2021.

During the last 15 days, the DOC held "final" conversations on the Preliminary Determination of each country with the petitioners, except in the case of Vietnam, which has been long overdue. The DOC also had conversations by videoconference with... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


ARGENTINA

RENAPA UPDATE

March 9th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, March 9, 2022) At the request of Mr. Daniel Díaz, official of the Ministry of Agriculture of Córdoba province, we remind beekeepers from all over Argentina that they must update the information in the National Registry of Apicultural Producers (RENAPA) to be able to load in the system the labels that identify each drum of honey harvested.

The SENASA-enabled drum that you bought to package your harvest has a unique label issued by SENASA. After filling the drum, you must upload the label number in your self-management system on the website of the National Ministry of Agriculture so that you can sale the honey without problems.

When duly loaded into the system each label is a certificate of ownership so, it not only proves the origin of the honey (traceability) but also your proterty before the competent authority.

For this you must have updated your Registry in the Ministry of Agriculture. http://renapa.magyp.gob.ar/

It is a simple and brief process. If you are just starting as beekeeper, download the instructions from HERE to read it and look for the necessary documentation both to register or to update your registration.

¡Update it now ! and avoid delays or inconveniences for when you need to sell honey, move bee hives, products, etc.


APIMONDIA

RUSSIAN INVASION CONDEMN AND CANCELLATION OF THE 47TH CONGRESS

March 7th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, March 7, 2022) The International Beekeeping Federation APIMONDIA condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and canceled the holding of the 47th Congress in an extraordinary meeting of its executive committee. The 47th Congress of that entity was scheduled to take place in Ufa a Central-South city of the Eurasian country in the coming month of September.

The committee also confirms that the next 48th Apimondia Congress will be held in the city of Santiago de Chile next year 2023.-

(March 8th) Local organizers from Chile have reported that the 48th Apimondia Congress will be held at the Espacio Riesco Convention Center in the city of Santiago from September 4 to 8, 2023

Read the Apimondia statement here


APIMONDIA 2022

TIME TRIAL THEY LOOK FOR A NEW VENUE FOR THE APIMONDIA CONGRESS

February 25th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, February 25th, 2022) While we continue to receive expressions of concern and even rejection of the holding of the Apimondia Congress in Russia, based on our concern expressed yesterday, today we received a communication from the Project Manager of the Turkish Professional Organization of Congresses the company in charge of the Congress in Ufa, which says:

As the Apimondia Federation and the PCO of the Congress, we are working diligently to find a viable solution to the Apimondia Congress that was to take place in Ufa, Russia this September. We continue to meet with our Russian colleagues but the incursion into sovereign Ukraine by Russia has closed off the possibility that the meeting can take place as planned.

We are exploring many options for a 2022 Congress and will make a firm decision in the coming two weeks. We are optimistic that a Congress can still take place this year.


APIMONDIA UFA 2022

MUST IT BE CANCELED?

February 24th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, February 24th, 2022) Under the rule of shadows caused by Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, we have removed the announcement of the next Apimondia Congress Ufa 2022 in Russia from our website, waiting for the next events.

We would like the Russian Federation, through its legitimate institutions, to choose another model of greatness that truly confronts authoritarianism, they have the history and the power to do so.

We wish a prompt peaceful solution to visit Ufa, its people and its traditional beekeeping. Meanwhile, the next Apimondia Congress 2023 is scheduled in Santiago de Chile.-


HONEY MARKET 2022

A LONG TRIP TO MAY

February 15th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, February 15th, 2022) There is still a long way to May 23rd, if there are no further postponements, to know the decision of the United States International Trade Commission (US-ITC) on antidumping sanctions against honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam. Perhaps in this image from wikipedia, market operators can find the answer they are looking for...

Unlike the previous investigation promoted against honey from Argentina and China in 2000, now there are five countries involved. The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) has used different criteria... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


HONEY MARKET 2022

NEGOTIATING A BASE PRICE OF ARGENTINE HONEY

January 18th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, January 18th, 2022) The agreements for signing new honey supply contracts are delayed throughout the world pending a better idea on the final resolution of the dumping investigation promoted in the United States against its main honey suppliers: Argentina, India, Vietnam, Brazil and Ukraine.

Argentine honey exporters are in contact with their clients trying to agree on prices. Today, more than ever, since the beginning of the investigation in the United States, European buyers have been served on a platter... (continue reading about 4 minutes)


EXTREME HEAT ALERT

What was given is over?

January 7th, 2022

(Espacio Apícola, January 7th, 2022) Forecast teperatures of all climate models are predicting above 36ºC from La Pampa and Buenos Aires to Salta and Formosa, in Argentina.

Events of small swarms and beehives melting due to heat and lack of water are present.

From Entre Ríos, a province also affected by fires, Mss Gloria Fabre, from Apiarios Fanoni, recommends that we replace the use of the smoker with a water sprinkler.

Given the drought and high temperatures prevailing, the apiaries must have an abundant supply of water within a radius of less than 500m, preferably less than 300m.

The small collonies and beehives with few bees and free spaces (without completing the respective frames) are the most susceptible to collapse. On the edges of the beehives and nuclei only the black wax frames resist.

Extreme temperature conditions without rains are expected for the next 10 days and a drought is expected at least until March, which has reduced expectations for the honey harvest in the main Argentine honey region. In areas where there is no water reserve in the soil and without rains, what was given was over, at least until March.

Photo: video capture in Santiago del Estero, the honey drains from a nucleus, already without bees and without one of the 4 corresponding frames.



IMPACT OF DROUGHT

MORE EVIDENCE OF SORGHUM HONEYDEW IN ARGENTINA

December 30th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, December 30th, 2021) Veterinarian Nicolás Turinetto from Nogoyá (ER), shared the following video showing the sugarcane aphid on sorghum and the honeydew that honeybees suck (Subtitled in english). They are also confirming the mortality of beehives due to the fumigation of sorghum in Mansilla (ER) and the presence of cochineal honeydews on acacias, blackberries and other plants, staining the alfalfa honeys up to 60 mm Pfund also in the Entre Ríos hills.


IMPACT OF DROUGHT

NEW HONEYDEWS IN ARGENTINA

December 20th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, December 20th, 2021) Sorghum area is increased because of the current drought cycle in the central and northern areas of Argentina and the success achieved by the nutritional quality of its flour.

The sorghum sowing increment provoque two impacts on beekeeping. First, dispersion of sugarcane aphid in sorghum crops has caused the appearance of sorghum honeydew (previous note subtitled in English) in honeys from Entre Ríos, Santa Fe, Chaco and where the bees sucked the aphid outgrowths.

At second, the aphid was sheltered in other species close to previous sorghum areas this winter and it is already present in sorghum crops in Chaco province where spaying... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

RETROACTIVE TARIFFS WILL BE APPLIED FOR HONEY FROM ARGENTINA

December 11th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, December 11th, 2021) The US Department of Commerce (DOC) regulated the Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances in the case of honeys imported from Argentina. The notification was finally published on December 8th. None of the other four countries investigated have been sanctioned with this measure.

Based on the fact that the DOC determined that there are "critical circumstances" in the importation of honey from Argentina, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of raw honey from Argentina that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


50 YEARS OF THE PEDRO BOVER QUEEN BEES BREEDER FARM

December 7th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, December 7th, 2021) The Pedro Bover Apiary is one of the 14 experimental farms that the Ministry of Agrarian Development of Buenos Aires Province has in this, which is the most populated district of the Argentine Republic. This was noted by the Agronomist Osvaldo Atela on December 3rd during the 50th aniversary of his large and active Assn of cooperators, "created in 1971 to unite governmental and private efforts", as Atela declared this Saturday in "La Miel en tu Radio" a radio program by Leandro Frígoli that is broadcast by "Radio Ekko" from Azul city, in the same Buenos Aires province.

4857 members from all over the country, neighboring countries and Europe passed through this institution. With more than 750 students who have attended... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

MORE ABOUT THE PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION

November 25th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, November 25th, 2021) The US Department of Commerce investigation initiated last May into a demand for anti-dumping actions against raw honey imported from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam, as we described it in detail in our issue #132 of Espacio Apícola, reached its Preliminary Determination on November 17 and was published by the Federal Register on Tuesday 23.

With this publication, the taxes imposed, already reported by us on November 18 are confirmed, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is instructed to suspend liquidation of entries... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

THE UNITED STATES PREFERS INDIAN HONEY

November 18th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, November 18th, 2021) Finally, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) resolved affirmatively the Preliminary Determination against raw honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam today.

Regarding the Argentine case, the two companies that refused the investigation (Industrial Haedo S.A. and CIPSA) were sanctioned with a rate of 49.44% over the sale price. For its part, NEXCO S.A., which was answering the seventh supplementary questionnaire this Monday, received a penalty of 7.84%; while the Asociación de Cooperativas Argentinas ACA was severely sanctioned... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


APIMONDIA-RUSIA-2022

CALL FOR PAPERS

November 8th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, November 8th, 2021) The next Apimondia Congress will be held in the city of Ufa, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, of the Russian Federation, between September 5 and 10, 2022.

The presentation of works is open in the most relevant instance worldwide. At the same time, it is a great opportunity for many Western beekeepers to meet and exchange with their Russian... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

ARGUMENTS PRIOR TO THE PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION

November 3rd, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, November 3rd, 2021) Petitioners have requested the DOC to incorporate the figure of "Critical Circumstances" considering that Argentina, Brazil and India have been anticipating honey sales to the United States between January and September 2021 in order to avoid paying the tariffs that they hope will apply to these countries. On November 1st, the DOC has asked Petitioners for proof that this circumstance has been promoted within the framework of the annual meeting of the "National Honey Packers and Dealers Association" to justify the incorporation of this figure.

If this request is granted, the DOC would be... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


MORE THAN 100 COMPANIES INVOLVED IN THE MARKETING OF HONEY IN ANUGA 2021

September 15th 2021

(EA, September 15th 2021) ANUGA, one of the largest food fairs in the world will be held in Köln, Germany, from October 9 to 13, 2021. The appointment is face-to-face or online.

Regarding the honey market, we have found more than 100 companies which offered, bottling, marketing and distributing honey worldwide. The country with the most companies interested in honey is Italy, with thirteen companies, among which the CONAPI cooperative... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


APIMONDIA INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON GLOBAL TRENDS IN BEEKEEPING

September 1st 2021

APIMONDIA INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON CURRENT TRENDS IN BEEKEEPING (September 1st 2021, EA) The Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation and president of the Organizing Committee of the 47th Congress of Apimondia in Ufa, Russia 2022, Dmitry Patrushev and other local authorities, together with the President of Apimondia Jeff Pettis and other authorities of the Beekeeping Federation, they will inaugurate this two-day International Symposium on Global Trends in Beekeeping which will be held remotely on September 20.

The symposium commemorates the 37th Apimondia Congress that took place... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


CHLORPYRIFOS WAS PROHIBITED IN ARGENTINA

August 30th 2021

(Espacio Apícola, August 30th 2021) Resolution 414/2021 of the National Food Health and Quality Service (Senasa, Argentina) came into force last August 7th, prohibiting the importation of Chlorpyrifos, in its formulations such as Chlorpyrifos ethyl and Chlorpyrifos methyl, as of next September 21st and its elaboration and packing as of November 5th of the current year. Its commercialization and use being definitively prohibited throughout the national territory, as of November 5th, 2022.-

In a previous report, prepared and published by the Comahue Center for Environmental Toxicology... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

DESPITE THE POOR HONEY HARVEST FORECASTED IN THE USA THE PRICE OF HONEY IS CONTRACTED

August 28th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, August 28th, 2021) US Federal Register published, on Thursday 26, the decision of the Department of Commerce (DOC) to postpone the Preliminary Determination in the investigation on what the petitioners consider Less-Than-Fair-Value price of imported honeys from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam.

The measure had been requested from the DOC by the petitioners (see report of August 18).

"On May 11, 2021, the Department of Commerce initiated the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigations of raw honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Vietnam. Currently, the preliminary determinations are due no later than... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


FIPRONIL WAS PROHIBITED IN ARGENTINA

August 26th 2021

(Espacio Apícola, August 26th 2021) Resolution 425/2021 of the National Service of Agrifood Health and Quality (Senasa, Argentina) entered into force last August 14th prohibiting the importation of Fipronil as of October 13th and its elaboration and packing as of December 12th.

The use of the neurotoxic insecticide is the active principle of widely used formulations such as CLAP (Bayer) or Termidor (Basf).

The marketing and use of these and other products... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

US-PETITIONERS ASKED TO DELAY THE PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION OF ANTI-DUMPING SANCTIONS AGAINST HONEY IMPORTED FROM FIVE COUNTRIES

August 18th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, August 18th, 2021) The petitioners for anti-dumping actions against honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam asked the USDOC to postpone the Preliminary Determination, originally scheduled for next September 28. The maximum period to which it could be extended is November 17 (190 days after the date the Secretary began the investigation).

Among the arguments they point out: that they have found deficiencies in the initial responses of the investigated companies; "Postponing the Initial Determination will allow the agency to send supplemental and additional questionnaires to clarify its initial responses and accurately determine the magnitude of... (continue reading about 5 minutes)


ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

US BEEKEEPERS ACCUSE GERMANY AND BELGIUM OF TRADING FAKE HONEY

August 7th, 2021

Booth of Sodruzhestvo Ukranian company at the Apimondia Fair 2013 in Kiev(Espacio Apícola, August 7th, 2021) The accusation, by the American Honey Producers Assn. and the Sioux Honey Assn. (petitioners), occurs within the framework of the investigation carried out by the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) against honey imported from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam.

The term of the investigation for alleged dumping promoted by those two US associations is averaging and for which a Preliminary Determination was initially expected towards... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


SORGHUM HONEYS IN ARGENTINA

July 27th 2021

(Espacio Apicola, July 27th 2021) We present this synthesis refering to the impact on honey production of the sorghum seeding area increased in Argentina last year. The video of "Campo Activo" an agricultural magazine of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the "Universidad Nacional de Córdoba" (Argentina) was broadcast by Channel 10 and channel "U" on July 18. Sorghum is a grass (Poaceae) that like corn or sugarcane produces sugars by acid way; so these are from the C4 group of sugars, different from the sugars of flower nectar of other characteristic genera of Argentine honeys. The presence of these sugars in honey has raised alerts in the market. (Subtitled in english)


HONEY: ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

STRONG IMPACT ON ARGENTINE BEEKEEPING AFTER THE SELECTION OF COMPANIES TO BE INVESTIGATED BY US-DOC

June 24th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, June 24th, 2021) Finally, after two defections, the Asociación de Cooperativas Argentinas C.L. (ACA) and Nexco S.A. will be the two Argentine companies investigated by the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) in the antidumping actions promoted by two associations of US beekeepers.

Two Argentine companies were left behind, Industrial Haedo and CIPSA, which refused to participate in the investigation. This means that these two companies will be sanctioned with the highest tariff and a punitive tariff that virtually takes them out of the honey market in the United States... (continue reading about 4 minutes)


ANUGA

THE INTERNATIONAL FOOD FAIR MAKES ITS LAUNCH

June 21st, 2021

ANUGA 2021(Espacio Apícola, June 21st, 2021)"The preparations for Anuga 2021 are running at full speed." Said Ms Stefanie Mauritz, Koelnmesse director. "The current developments give us reason to be very positive. The first model regions are opening up in Germany, the lockdowns are being reversed in many European countries, major events and re-starts of trade fairs are currently being planned. We are recording very good registration figures: Exhibitors from over 94 countries have already registered for Anuga."

Situation is very particular for the honey market... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION

US DOC BEGINS ANTIDUMPING INVESTIGATION AGAINST HONEYS FROM FIVE COUNTRIES

June 4th, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, June 4th, 2021) The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) initiate the anti-dumping duties investigation against honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam today.

The Fact Sheet published by the DOC consists of four sections, the first one of which lists the Alleged Dumping Margins with a significant expansion of the margin stipulated for Argentine honey by petitioners. From the initial allegation raised by the plaintiffs, which ranged from 16.83% to 22.60%, the ITC went to a range from 9.75% to 49.44%. For Brazil... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


ANTIDUMPING AGAINST FOREING HONEYS

NEXT TO A PRELIMINARY RESOLUTION

June 1st, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, June 1st, 2021) This is a key week in the demand for anti-dumping actions against honeys from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam by the American Honey Producers Association (AHPA) and the Sioux Honey Assn. (SHA).

The decision of the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) is awaited, which must be issued before June 14th, if there was damage to the primary production of honey or not. The filings of the lawsuit, in general and in particular against Argentine honey, were conspicuously weak. (continue reading about 3 minutes)


BARKMAN HONEY AND SUNLAND TRAIDING RESPOND TO DOC AND CHARGE ON SIOUX

May 13th, 2021

User information of Sioux Honey Assn during antidumping against Argentina and China 2000(Espacio Apícola, May 13th 2021)After 10 days of the The Guardian publication about the accusations made by Kelvin Adee, president of the American Honey Producers Assn. (AHPA), against several companies linked to the Honey Packers Association of the United States, two of the accused honey packers responded this Tuesday, May 11, before the Department of Commerce (DOC) with testimonial statements, during the preliminary investigation of anti-dumping actions against honeys from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam.

The press operation through The Guardian, which featured Kelvin Adee, Henry's Bullfrog Bees and Golden Prairie, has had a great impact and generated surprise, not only for showing the internal conflicts... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


EUROPEAN COURT RATIFIED PROHIBITION OF THREE NEONICOTINOIDS

May 6th, 2021

(BeeLife, May 6th 2021) In 2013, the European Commission partially suspended three neonicotinoid-based substances (imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam). Following the decision, Bayer sued the Commission, challenging its right to impose the suspensions. Today, the European Court of Justice has definitely ruled in favour of the Commission's ban [1]. The ruling dismisses Bayer's attempt to overturn the Court's decision of May 17, 2018 [2].

After eight years of legal battle, the European Court... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


Sunland Traiding and Lamex Food are accused of importing fraudulent honey into the United States

May 2nd, 2021

the guardian (Espacio Apícola, May 2nd 2021) Ten days ago two associations of US beekeepers initiated a lawsuit for dumping against honey from Argentina. It caught our attention that among the causes for which they say they have lost sales opportunities and a significant drop in the price of honey, these two associations did not make any reference to the successive frauds that allowed the entry of suspicious honeys and directly sold syrups as honey to the United States, at a vile price, from Asia. Far from being the cause of any harm to the US beekeeping industry, we said, "the genuine honey producers we have been jointly and severally victims of this fraud".

Under the title "US beekeepers sue over imports of Asian fake honey" Alison Benjamin published... (continue reading about 3 minutes)


AHPA and SHA against Argentine Honeys

April 23, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, April 23rd 2021) On April 21, the AMERICAN HONEY PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION (AHPA) and the SIOUX HONEY ASSOCIATION (SHA) made a petition, before the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the International Trade Commission (ITA) of the United States, requesting antidumping sanctions against raw honey imported from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam, as we had anticipated last March on this site.

American beekeepers represented in these two associations said that between 2018 and 2020 (continue reading about 4 minutes)


DUMPING: A DEMAND AGAINST HONEY FROM ARGENTINA, INDIA, VIETNAM, BRAZIL AND UKRAINE WOULD BE IMMINENT

March 23, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, March 23, 2021) According Argentine honey exporters the American honey importers have been notifying them since the end of 2020 that Sioux Honey Assn. (The Sue) is promoting anti-dumping measures against Argentine, Brazilian, Vietnames, Indian and Ukrainean honeys.

The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) would impose a preliminary tax, averaging the alleged commercial irregularities of the five countries, and then do a case-by-case study. Taxes would come into effect... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


16000 BEEHIVES DIE FROM FIPRONIL IN COLOMBIA YEARLY

March 12, 2021

Mortandad de abejas - photo semana com(Espacio Apícola, March 12, 2021) The Colombian website "Semana", in its sustainability section, published the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) decision to temporarily suspend the registration of fipronil throughout the national territory due to the death of more than 64,000 beehives in four years. Beekeepers of Quindío department are the most affected.

The insecticide is approved in Colombia, in different formulations, for use in avocado, coffee, citrus and passionflower crops. The first three with a high need of bees for their pollination and passion flowers (passion flowers, Passiflora spp.) are food for bees but also... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


Final stretch for the Argentine honey harvest 2021

February 24th, 2021

Girasol Baez Sierra de la Ventana - ESPACIO APICOLA 92(Espacio Apícola, February 24th, 2021) A meager honey harvest in the "Pampa Húmeda" region in Argentina this year precisely due to lack of humidity. The drought caused by "La Niña" phenomenon, low temperatures on the equatorial line of the Pacific Ocean, affected mainly the province of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, South of Santa Fe, including Entre Ríos, even La Pampa and southwest of Córdoba which are areas generally not so affected by "La Niña" phenomenon.

January and February were rainy, with less insolation and lower temperatures than usual, which did not favor the late development of the meadows in the center of the country.

The best harvests have been in areas... (continue reading)


HONEY MARKET
Certification Standards update for 2021

December 16th, 2020

(American Bee Journal) Washington, D.C. - December 14, 2020 - The True Source Honey program will enhance its standards starting Jan. 1, 2021 to better address honey authenticity.

The updated standards will note that True Source Certified Honey, whether imported to North America or purchased directly from North American beekeepers, is tested for authenticity by an accredited laboratory at some point in the supply chain using either EA/LC-IRMS and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) profiling or EA/LC-IRMS and High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) analysis. This is in addition to the long-established pollen analysis requirements for shipments of honey from countries identified as high-risk.

"The True Source Certified standards previously required.. (continue reading)


PESTICIDES & BEES: CALL OF UNAF 2020

December 14th, 2020

Version française

sign the petition(SumOfUs & UNAF, December 10th, 2020)The French Union of Beekeeping UNAF calls for the signing of a petition on the SumOfUs platform in order to "strengthen the legislation to reduce the exposure of bees to ALL pesticides. The call is given in the framework of a recent authorization for the use of neonicotinoids in sugar beet crops, suspending the law that prohibits it.
The call refers to the report of ANSES, the agency responsible for evaluating risks in the areas of food and the environment, which highlights the ineffectiveness of current regulations and calls for the strengthening of French legislation to reduce the exposure of bees to ALL pesticides.
"Bayer's lobbyists," -says the petition-, "surely must already be busy in the corridors of ministries to stifle this report. But together, we have the power to highlight these recommendations and pressure decision makers to act."
This report is an unexpected opportunity to pressure... (continue reading about 2 minutes or sign clicking on the UNAF logo)


FRANCE MOVES TOWARDS GENUINE HONEY AND ROYAL JELLY LABELING

December 10th, 2020

(Córdoba, December 10th, 2020)"The deadline is approaching" says Henri Clement, president of the National Union of French Apiculture (UNAF) The law approved on May 27th, 2020 by the National Assembly, that asks to mention the countries of origin of honeys in jar labels, will take effect on January 1st, 2021 and will also apply to royal jelly.
This new law, to which the UNAF has contributed by ardently defending greater transparency in the labeling of imported honeys, provides in particular that "for honeys made up of a mixture of honeys from more than one Member State of the European Union or from a third country, all countries of origin will be indicated in... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


HONEY WOULD BE THE PREFERRED SWEETENER IN THE USA BY FIRST TIME

November 23th, 2020

National Honey Board TM(National Honey Board Longmont, Colorado, USA) The sweetener made by Mother Nature claims the number one spot among Americans as their most preferred sweetener. The ranking, revealed in the National Honey Board Consumer Attitudes & Usage Study 2020, asked consumers to choose their favorite from among several common sweeteners, including white sugar, brown sugar, several non-calorie sweeteners, raw sugar, monk fruit, and maple syrup. Honey came out on top for the first time.
According to consumers, honey rates above other sweeteners in attributes like... (continue reading about 2 minutes)


47th APIMONDIA CONGRESS IS POSTPONED UNTIL 2022

November 18th, 2020

Apimondia Congress Ufa 2022(Apimondia 2021 secretariat, November 13, 2020) The 47th Apimondia Congress will be postponed until Agu-Sept. of 2022

The executive Council of Apimondia, in close consultation with the Local Organizing Committee and the Russian National Union of Beekeepers have decided that this is the most sensible course of action given the realities of COVID-19 and uncertainty that this pandemic is causing for travel. We remain committed to a great 47th Apimondia Congress in Ufa in 2022: "Let's bee in the heart of Eurasia".

We are planning a traditional meeting in 2022 with in person attendance and a live ApiEXPO trade show, coupled with... (continue reading the press release)


BEE VENOM IS A POWERFUL ANTIVIRAL

November 12th, 2020

Prof. Nestor Urtubey(Córdoba, November 12, 2020) Bee venom is a complex mixture of proteins, polypeptides, low molecular weight components and aromatic and aliphatic constituents in different proportions, says Néstor Urtubey (photo) at the beginning of his article "Antiviral Action of Bee Venom and Apitoxin for Medical Use" published in Espacio Apícola magazine #129 last August.
Phospholipase A2, which constitutes between 10 to 12% of the dry bee venom weight, is an enzyme that acts on the lipid bilayer of viruses, inactivating them. Its activity is increased when it acts synergistically with... continue (about two minutes reading)


WEATHER FORECAST:
LA NIÑA 2020 PHENOMENON IS INTENSIFYING AND PROLONGED

October 30th, 2020

(World Meteorological Organization WMO, Geneve, October 29th. 2020) La Niña has developed and is expected to last into next year, affecting temperatures, precipitation and storm patterns in many parts of the world, according to the WMO.
This year's La Niña is expected to be moderate to strong. The last time there was a strong event was in 2010-2011, followed by a moderate event in 2011-2012.
La Niña refers to the large-scale cooling of the ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, coupled with changes in the tropical atmospheric circulation, namely winds, pressure and rainfall.
WMO's new ENSO Update states there is a high likelihood... continue (about two minutes reading)


POLLINATOR ALERT BAYER LAUNCHES REINFORCED ROUNDUP

October 21st., 2020

(agriculture.com, USA, October 20, 2020) With CROPSHIELD technology Bayer is launching Roundup PowerMAX 3 herbicide - a new formulation within the Roundup brand of agricultural herbicides. The latest formulation contains a new proprietary surfactant blend with high-performing weed control, say Bayer officials. Over a three-year launch, this new crop protection product will be introduced initially in the Southeastern states in year one, with plans of expansion throughout the United States in years two and three.

Compared to generic herbicide products on the market, as well as the 45-year history of current Roundup brand agricultural herbicides, the new formulation has the highest concentration... continue (about two minutes reading)


IT RAINS IN THE ARGENTINE HONEY BASIN AND THE DOBLAS API-VIRTUAL-EXPO IS COMING

October 20th., 2020

(Espacio Apícola, Córdoba, Argentina, October 20th. 2020) Beekeeping Cooperative of Doblas, La Pampa province in Argentina, has announced its first api-virtual-expo edition to be broadcast on YouTube and Facebook.
On November 3, 4 and 5, starting at 7:00 p.m. we will have the opportunity to listen to Leonardo de Benedictis, climatologist at Canal Rural, making his projection; then on Nov. 4th, Norberto García, president of the beekeeping economy commission of Apimondia, will speak about the honey market; and, finally, on Nov. 5th, Graciela Rodríguez (from INTA Hilario Ascasubi) and Joaquín Moja (CONICET grant holder) will speak about Good Practices, emphasizing on nutrition management of beehives.
The activity is sponsored by the Government of La Pampa, Doblas city and NEXCO company, in an effort to keep Doblas' presence alive in the national beekeeping scene.
The beekeeping season in the region improved its expectations... continue (less than a minute reading)


ARGENTINE HONEY MARKET IS VERY FIRM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON 20-21

October 10th., 2020

(Espacio Apícola, Córdoba, Argentina, October 10th. 2020) Contracts already exceed US $ 3,000 per honey ton, and operations are being carried out at US $ 3,100 for conventional honey, below 50 mm Pfund.
United States demand is strong.
After having detected glyphosate in manuka honeys imported from New Zealand, Japan honey market faces serious difficulties. Based on this, a tolerance threshold would have been set below 10 ppb (mg/Tn), which would virtually leave Argentine honeys out of that market. Japan's honey packers are negotiating a higher threshold with their government.
The price of honey paid to producers in Argentina is betwen $ 190 to $ 200 per kilogram for honeys below 50mm Pfund, (two hundred Argentine pesos/kg) plus VAT.
Despite the prevailing difficulties to move within the country, due to the restrictions imposed by the national government because COVID-19, pollination services in northern Argentina could be fulfilled. Although the citrus honey harvest has been good in Tucumán province, but producers in the region are concerned about the drought.
The production of algarrobo (similar mesquite) honey is good in the South West of Santiago del Estero province, while in the rest of the province the blossom is very uneven. The mistol tree has already started to bloom and, strangely, the atamisqui is also blooming early.
The Northwest of Córdoba province is already populated by transhumant beekeepers awaiting a blossom that is delayed in Cruz del Eje area and to the west. The threat of fires in this region is high and beekeepers are on the alert to move their beehives if necessary. This is not the case of many informal producers who have not even been able to reach their apiaries because they do not have the corresponding authorizations.
The north of Santa Fe province started very well and early. The drought is not a problem for the native forest areas there at this time. With some rainfalls over melilotus and sunflower they will get a good harvest that has already started with a supper of algarrobo honey. The south center of Santa Fe province, where there are more prairies, more dependendant of spring rains, they have some problems.
In Entre Ríos province, beekeepers who moved to the Paranacito coast (photo) are very hopeful, making nucleus and waiting to get a honey supper before their next move.


FRANCE BACK OFF ON BIODIVERSITY AND POLLINATORS PROTECTION

(BeeLife, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium October 7th 2020) French parliamentarians just approved a law proposition that endangers bees, pollinators in general and biodiversity. France had spent years spearheading the progress for the protection of nature and public health from dangerous pesticides. It was at the forefront of legislative matters protecting the balance of ecosystems in Europe. However, with the vote on October 6, 2020, France has significantly reversed its progress. Parliamentarians approved a law modifying conditions for the use of plant protection products on sugarbeet crops in case of sanitary danger. Authorities will now be able to introduce derogations to allow the use of banned pesticides. Like other countries in the EU, France is now facing once more the risks of neonicotinoids, after over twenty years of beekeepers, environmentalists and scientists denouncing and presenting evidence of its unacceptable risks.

BeeLife emphatically deplores this decision and stands in solidarity with its French members ADA AURA, FFAP, FNOSAD, UNAF and SNA, as well as with all French beekeepers and environmentalists. Francesco Panella, president of BeeLife, declares that the situation regarding derogations in France is particularly dire. "If we are sure that a pesticide is unacceptable to use, how can we agree to derogate for its use? The exceptions are only used to continue not to change. Indeed, there are always alternatives, but we must want to build them. But a good part of the agricultural and political world does not want to change, and the result is evident. This new stepback towards unsustainability is unacceptable!"

The decision by the French parliament is setting a dangerous precedent that expands beyond the specific use of emergency authorisations for banned pesticides. The decision has immediately weakened other legislative developments aiming at protecting human and environmental health. Even more troubling, it is sending a discouraging message to other members of the European Union. After years of serving as an example for ambitious environmental policymaking, France is now finding itself lowering the bar for itself and others. Full text on BeeLife site


KENZO Spring-Summer 2021
Bee a Tiger

(Córdoba, October 3rd. 2020) The well known Japanese brand picks up the glove of XXI century environmental and cultural challenges in its own way, with its style.
"I have never started a collection with so many questions in front of me and so many mixed feelings about the present and the future. - begins Felipe Oliveira Baptista, art director of the company Surely no one can expect linear answers to the current situation.
The world is lost and everyone must try to find some sort of sense (and possible order) in it. How can one define and pretend to give answers to a reality that no one understands or fully comprehends? How can one draw conclusions from a situation that is far from ending and in which the consequences are impossible to grasp? The world is ill, the world is bleeding, but it is still alive. And, as long as there is life there is hope. An optimistic answer must come with a certain degree of pragmatism. So, where do we go from here? How do we move on? How can we help people? make them dream? give them hope and at the same time facilitate their lives.
The references, ideas and concepts of this collection are as eclectic, varied and contrasted as the states of mind, that I went through since the beginning of the pandemic. Dichotomies have never been so visibly contrasted and harsh. The world is crying, so are the flowers in all the prints we have developed for the collection. Archival Kenzo poppies and hortensias were given a digital crying effect. From flowers the primal feeling of protection and cocooning came an ode to the bees, the regulators of the planet. Now, more than ever we are overwhelmed by a sense of urgency to take care and protect our world. Bees and the beekeepers with their mesmerizing clothings and hats that echo so strongly the fragility and distance imposed and needed today. Going places… a mirage of dreams, hope, excitement and discovery. We will not give that up. Clothes that transform themselves to adapt to all situations. The fully covered and protected becomes fragile and naked, daring danger and rules..." Leer más, visitar la colección completa"

LONDON INTERNATIONAL HONEY AWARDS
MAY 17-18, 2021

(Espacio Apícola, September 28th, 2020) "Fernando, I appreciate your help with the apicultura.ar Please make an announcement through it". George Kouvelis(General Manager of the London International Honey Awards - LIHA).
"LIHA is an alternative where people do not buy goods or services, but relationships and stories."
London International honey Awards is an international honey contest organized by George Kouvelis, who is also the organizer of a similar contest in olive oil.
The honey contest is divided into QUALITY of honey and PACKAGING of honey.
Also Emre Yildirim, a friend of Apimaye, is part of this organization. We met Emre in Apimondia Congresses throgh the Turkish company Apimaye and its innovative thermal hives, which we saw operating in the field in Beykoz, near Istanbul, in 2017.
In times of "social distancing" by COVID-19, this contest, promoted in London, center of consumption and concentration of the gourmet honey market, can be an alternative with an international presence to promote honeys from Latin America and worldwide.
Take a look on the honey awarded last year, the award-winning labels ... in which our designers are inspiring, the packaging and presentations ... And be encouraged to participate to show your product and effort. 25% off up to September 30th registration


AWAITING FOR NEW SANCTION AGAINST NEOTICOTINOIDS BY THE EUROPEAN COURT

BeeLife(BeeLife, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium - September 24th, 2020) The neonicotinoids imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxan, some of them used in Argentina since the mid-1990s (imidacloprid in sunflower) received a partial ban in the European Union in 2013. In response to the claims of Syngenta and Bayer, The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) declared those claims inadmissible in 2018 and Bayer appealed again.
Today the General Advocate of the CJEU, the German Juliane Kokott, states that: "!the arguments presented for the appeal are unsubstantial and that the Court should not overturn the Commission’s ban (of 2013)". and adds "the previous ruling contained legal errors regarding the distinguished prohibition measures between professional and non-professional uses of these neonicotinoid substances. Nevertheless, it does not justify overturning the ban imposed by the European Commission." For its part, the European BeeLife Beekeeping Coordination, chaired by Francesco Pannella with a long history in beekeepers' organizations (AAPI, UNAAPI, both are members of BeeLife), Buglife, Greenpeace and PAN Europe, among others, considered that the final decision in this case will mark an important precedent in future procedures related to risk assessment and its impact on environmental protection.
Although the opinion of the Advocate General is not binding, the European Court of Justice must take it into account.
Source: BeeLife


ARGENTINA DEBATE OVER AERIAL SPRAY OF AGROTOXIC PRODUCTS
#BeesAsThreshold

escuela y agrotoxicos(Espacio Apícola, September 23rd, 2020) National deputy Leonardo Grosso proposed a bill of "Minimum Specifications of Environmental Protection for Agrochemical Fumigations" by which aerial spray are prohibited and also, land fumigations are prohibited in a radius of 1500 meters around urban centers, schools, waterways, bee sheds, etc.
In return, Alicia Fregonese, Federico Zamarbide and Marcela Passo presented their projects promoting the monitoring and traceability of fumigations, phytosanitary containers, even proposing "black boxes" to record date, time, weather conditions, geolocation and other information of each use of "phytosanitary products".
The Grosso project does not appear to have the support of the landowner sector. Most landowners (including legislators, politicians, judges and public officials, even heirs to small parcels, of any political sign) are not interested in passing any law that limits the rental capacity of their properties, although the technology applied were dangerous for the environment.
Source: infoagro.com.ar
Report for apicultura.ar by Fernando Esteban.

POLLINATOR ALERT:
BOSCALID AND CAPTAN

EFSA(Espacio Apícola, September 14th 2020) EFSA bulletin published last Friday the "Peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance captan (Bayer)". It confirm that the risk is high for birds, mammals, aquatic organisms, bees, and non-target arthropods other than bees for several of the representative uses. Its use should be limited to the production of strawberries in totally closed greenhouses until harvest, however it is authorized on field production of fruit trees such as almond trees, stone fruits, strawberries, pome fruits and all kinds of vegetables (chickpeas, beans, tomatoes , lettuce, aubergines, etc.). According to the Tier 1 risk assessment, a high chronic risk was identified for adult honey bees and larvae for all representative field uses. The report states that captan is not an endocrine disruptor but while Bayer's safety data sheet states that it is not carcinogenic, the technical sheet of captan released by infoAgro.com says that it is a carcinogenic cat. 3 and it is considered carcinogenic in the state of California.
Full text of the review.
In the other, BASF requested EFSA to modify the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) of boscalid in pomegranates, from the initial quantification limit of 10 ppb (0.01 mg/kg) to 2 ppm (2.0 mg/kg). Until now, boscalid is officially considered non-toxic to bees, Its concentration found in bee bread and nectar was below the levels considered critical. However, a paper published by Laurianne Paris in ELSEVIER's journal of Invertebrate Pathology point to the impact of boscalid on the gut microbiota of the bee and its synergy in the virulence of Nosema attacks. For its part Nature published in Scientific Reports a paper by Noa Simon-Delso and Etienne Bruneau, from CARI (Beekeeping Center for Research and Information, of the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium) and others, in which they point out that chronic exposure of bees to boscalid significantly reduces the life of bees and that the traditional 10-day evaluation method is not enough since at high concentrations boscalid kills bees in about 7 days, while in low concentrations it does so at an average 25 days, for a control group whose half-life was 32 days.

ARGENTINE SPRING 2020 WITH "La Niña" PHENOMENON

ANOMALIA DE PRECIPITACIONES - LA NIGNA - ARGENTINA 2020(Córdoba, September 11, 2020) The temperatures of the Pacific Ocean at the Equator are 1 or 2 degrees below the average and this means that there are NOT enough convective movements to drag moisture from the proximity of the Asian coasts to South America, therefore, we have "La Niña" scenario. This was announced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) this Thursday.
These circumstances habitually are conditioning the weather in Argentina with a spring rainfall increase in San Luis, La Pampa and the northwestern Patagonia regions. On the other hand, "La Niña" reduce the expectations of rainfall in the north of Argentina, the Litoral regions and the province of Buenos Aires. Córdoba province is split in the middle, with a higher probability of more rainfall in the Río Cuarto area, to the south, and a lower forecast of rainfall in the north-central areas of the province.
The National Weather Service (SMN) in Argentina states "La Niña conditions are already present and are likely to continue into summer. Since late April the surface of the equatorial Pacific is showing persistent cooling."
almond pollination - Seeds for Bees(MODESTO, Calif. August 3rd 2020) — The Almond Board of California (ABC) and Pollinator Partnership are proud to announce the alignment of ABC's California Almond Sustainability Program (CASP)1 and Pollinator Partnership's Bee Friendly Farming (BFF) program to promote the importance of providing pollinators with nutritional forage. To further support almond growers in planting pollinator habitat, the Almond Board is simultaneously launching its Bee+ Scholarship, through which it will provide free cover crop seed to 100 almond growers through Project Apis m.'s Seeds for Bees program. The scholarship will also cover the cost for growers to register for the BFF program.
full article

(Espacio Apicola, May 11, 2020) The honey market is firm. There are difficulties in accessing some towns to upload honey from the beekeepers' sheds due to the quarantine restrictions imposed in some provinces and municipalities. This is slowing down dispatches.
The price of honey below 50 mm Pfund to the producer is between $ 125 and $ 130 (Argentine pesos per kg), slightly above US $ 1.85 of the last month. Contracts with the United States are over US $ 2,500 per ton.
Confidence in the country's health system, due to a low morbidity and mortality rate from COVID-19, is an indicator of the reliability of SENASA's food security system and Argentine beekeeping production.

(Espacio Apicola, May 11, 2020) The 20/21 beekeeping season is already underway in Argentina. Due to the prevailing restrictions because COVID-19 spreading risk, transhumant beekeepers are processing authorizations in the respective provinces and municipalities to be able to move beehives.
The transport of beehives should be ruled by the protocols already established for the load transport, allowing the truck to follow its route, maintaining the proper isolation of the driver, who in turn must travel alone.
Regarding the personnel, some producers are processing accommodation in houses or farms as far as possible from the towns, organizing the supply of food and fuel and without attending the town during the first 14 days of mandatory quarantine but, with authorization to go to the apiaries.

(Espacio Apicola, May 11, 2020) All beekeeping fairs and exhibitions in Argentina have been suspended.
The next beekeeping exhibition in Lavalle, Mendoza province, moved to April 2021.
The Macia exhibition, in Entre Rios province, was re-scheduled for October 9-11.
The traditional "ExpoMiel de Azul" was suspended and does not have a date, like the Beekeeping Congress organized simultaneously by SADA in the same Buenos Aires province town.
Next week the new date of the FILAPI Beekeeping Congress in Temuco, Chile, will be known. Its organizers plan to carry it out in October this year.

Visit the site of the Argentine Beekeeping on the Internet to contact and make the purchase of necessary supplies in shops you trust "

1.- HONEY

(Espacio Apicola, May 18, 2020) Argentine Honey price in bulk, to producer, is paid in Argentine pesos at the equivalent of US $ 1.75 - 1.85 for light color honeys, according to distance from port and payment terms. It is used the Banco Nación rate, $ 67.73 / U $ S today. Demand is sustained and FOB price had a significant improvement from March to now, standing at US $ 2,400 - 2,500 per ton for light color honeys for the United States. Contracts to Europe and darker honeys have also improved. The extraordinary harvests of eucalyptus honey and that produced on islands compensate the losses in other regions of the country. In the past week, producers in the south-west of Buenos Aires concluded with the last harvest of the season, the yellow flower, with good yields.

2.- MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES

Beekeeping factories as well as packing bottles factories are working as hard as possible with one work shift. Most of them with delays due to logistical and personnel problems. Some workers cannot attend due to belonging to a risk groups, referred to COVID19, or due to other limitations imposed by the circumstances. Even so, the interest of producers to "materialize" the payment of honey in inputs for production, renewal and possible expansion is evident.

3.- QUEEN BEES AND TRASHUMANCE

Despite being a quarantine exception activity by the National Government, there were and still there are many difficulties in harvesting and conditioning the hives in the fall. The inter-Provincial (inter-States) sanitary controls placed serious obstacles to beekeepers movements even with duly registered hives in these provinces. Certain provinces completely closed their borders and the national beekeepers were not able to return to their homes yet. The maneuver is strongly suspected as some governors require beekeepers to complete a 14-day quarantine in hotels that would be owned by the same governors (they charge beekeepers US $ 600 to stay during those days in hotels near their private homes).
Thanks to the efforts of those interested the export of queen bees was accomplished. Breeders from Mendoza were not allowed to cross the province of San Luis (despite exports were excepted), they had to make a detour through La Pampa and Buenos Aires provinces to finally reach the capital city and the Ezeiza airport. Thanks to the good will of the head of the area at SENASA, who signed the dispatches at his home (due to the administrative shutdown), different shipments could be completed. The difficulty was also for the recipients, since all shipments of queen bees to Europe were concentrated in Germany, where those interested had to go to find their shipments.

4.- FAIRS, CONGRESSES AND EXHIBITIONS

All the beekeeping exhibitions in Argentina have already been suspended, and it is expected that the remaining ones for the first semester will be suspended and most likely for the entire current year.
The National Government closed the airports for passengers to and from abroad until September, so it will not be possible to attend any international event outside the country before that date either.
Telephone sales of materials and supplies have been accelerated, as well as Internet sales. Since freight transport is the only one authorized and in front of volatility of the exchange market, professional beekeepers are making purchases in their trusted stores with agreed shipments. Make use of well-established businesses and formal suppliers, who regularly publish their products, so as not to expose yourself excessively to fraud.

(ESPACIO APICOLA, February 1st 2020) Varroa mite has not been a pressing problem in Argentine Beekeeping during the last years. The main cause of varroa mortality has been and it is the lack of care and control by the beekeeper, as there are different substances available in different formulations.
There are beehives losses due to defective acaricide lots occasionally or because the mishandling of some products mainly organics applied too late.
There are no significant attacks of varroa mite in Argentina this season 2019-20. This has led some merchants to suggest applying lower doses of acaricides, generating confusion and discredit.
It is important to remember that every treatment must be respected and carried out completely. The beekeeper can decide which is his threshold of varroa tolerance from 0.25% to 0.50%, the risk depends on the date of control. Below the given threshold, it makes no sense to apply a treatment. But if you decide to do it, it must be effective and complete.
The options of synthesis products cost in Argentina are from US $ 0.70 per beehive and up. Organic products cost from US $ 1.40 and up. Those who prepare their own recipes with synthetic or organic products have costs ranging from US $ 0.30 to US $ 0.50 per beehive.
Review the calendar and treatment proposed in Espacio Apicola 122

(December 14th 2019, Cordoba, Argentina) Export Duties for Argentine Honeys would remain at the same value with which it was operated from July 2019.
Decree 32/19 was signed today by the new President of the Nation (Alberto Fernandez). It was published in the Official Bulletin eliminating the maximum tax of $ 4 (Argentine peso) per dollar exported for Mercosur Common Nomenclature products and the general tariff of Article 1st of Decree 793/18 was lowered from 12% to 9% for some products.
For its part, products present in Annex I of Article 2nd of decree 793/18 was modified. It maintains a maximum tax of $ 3 (Ars) per dollar exported from honey and other products excepted from the general rule. Finally, General Export Taxes remain in 12%. In case of Honey it would not be higher than $3 (Ars) per dolar exported.

(December 3rd 2019, Cordoba, Argentina) There are rejections and penalties for honeys with a significant levels detected (close to 5%) of sugars syrups provided by beekeepers to beehives.
Maintaining the sugar supplementation until the beginning of the nectar flow "so that the hive does not fall" is an inappropriate practice that now began to be sanctioned.
Check the publications we have made on the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (Espacio Apicola nº 124) NOT to spoil your business.

(December 3rd 2019, Cordoba, Argentina) The beekeeping season in the Chaco forest region is clossing with a prevalence of mistol's honeys. Ziziphus mistol honey is very tasty, light amber color, very viscous, low humidity and highly foamy, making it too difficult to extract, decant and package process.
Another typical species of the region, the Algarrobo (Prosopis spp), is very poorly represented this year. Regarding the Atamisqui (Capparis ataqmisquea), it was expected to harvest something in the areas where it rained at the end of November. It is the fourth season of Atamisqui fails.

(December 3rd 2019, Cordoba, Argentina) Price to producer of Light Amber honeys is around 100 Argentine pesos, it is 1,67 U$S/kg at the beginning of December 2019.
Likewise, few operations would be carried out due to the uncertainty regarding the export rights policy that the new Argentine government will impose. So far, that right is 5% on the FOB price and on a dollar price at $ 40 / U$S which implies 2 Argentine pesos for each dollar exported.
If the price of the dollar was updated the export duties would be 3 Argentine pesos for each dollar exported.

(December 3rd 2019, Cordoba, Argentina) Most Argentine beekeepers who moved their beehives to Santiago's forest are finishing moving their colonies to the meadow. After the honey harvest, is time to varroa monitoring and eventually perform a varroa control treatment. Buy organic products or follow the instructions for preparing them published in Espacio Apicola 112 and 122.

(December 3rd 2019, Cordoba, Argentina) We are celebrating our first 29 years sharing experiences of the Argentine Beekeeping and the World for our readers. From those beginnings in December 1990 spraying the basic learning on beekeeping to our current commitment on the quality and diversity of beehive products and the use of beekeeping to optimize agricultural production and environmental remediation, we have addressed a rich range of themes and stakeholders with which beekeeping interacts nationally and internationally. Thank you for joining us in this passion.

(November 12th 2019, Cordoba, Argentina) In the face of honey frauds, as everybody knows, now there are ambiguities and communicational phenomena that confuse the social and normative concept of the most popular product of the honey bee.
There are three recent products that are interfering with the concept of honey in Argentina and worldwide:
1.- "Honey for vegans." It is the international naturalization of fraud produced with rice syrups.
2.- "Honey free of bees". A product processed from bacteria recently awarded in an Argentine Israeli university.
3.- "Honey of Yatei". A product of a social insect that is NOT Apis mellifera, which has physicochemical parameters outside the ranges defined for honey in CODEX and with a profile more linked to a medicine than a food. In this case, to call this product as "honey" is likely to degrade it and renounce the richness of real and biological diversity.

(November 12th 2019, Cordoba, Argentina) Beekeeping season in Argentina has good prospects.
After a cool and dry October, that greatly reduced the production of honey in the western Chaco forest region, in November masses of moist and warmer air prevailing propitiating better flora development.
Honey crops in Chaco, North of Santa Fe, East of Santiago del Estero come with very good averages.
Water excesses along the Litoral region (East-North-East of Argentina) are complicating the beekeeping operations but are encouraging.
Finally the price of honey to the producer is sustained. The equivalent of US $ 1.60 per kg plus taxes is offered, with some upward trend.

(August 19th 2019, Cordoba, Argentina) Cold fronts and high pressure systems in the center of the country are delaying the start of the beekeeping season that seemed to be anticipated in July.
Deforestation does not stop and it increased the cold and high pressure effects; deforestation eliminates evapotranspiration effect from the environment as a climate regulation factor at surface level, further slowing down the hive start.
On the other hand, "El Niño" is passed to neutral and its tendency to "Niña" seems to take away the rainfal in the central region of the country. In the absence of humidity, prevalence of sudden changes of extreme temperatures are possible.

(Austria, June 25th 2019)Important sectors of civil society in the European Union want to suspend the agreement with MercoSur because Brazilian productions comes from deforestation and monoculture. Since the creation of the EU this is just one of many decisions tending to reduce the food and inputs importation from Mercosur. Read in reliable external site.
In counterpart, China finds in the provision of cheap food produced in South America, an excellent opportunity to consolidate the market for its industrialized products. Read in reliable external site

(Austria, June 19th 2019) Former president of the European Professional Beekeepers Association, Mr. Harald Singer, published his experiences with honeycombs of 4.9 mm cells and their interaction with bees selected for their hygienic behavior. "Differences in cell sizes used in beekeeping are often proposed to be one of the factors regulating Varroa population growth. An in depth research of the relationship between these factors has been undertaken using the 'Carnica Singer population'. The acceptance of foundation with a specific cell size appears to underly selection. Smaller cell size (4.9 mm.) foundation/combs reduces the Varroa-population growth compared to 5.5 mm. This reduction is also dependent on the presence of the VSH- behaviour trait in the worker bee population within the colony. Smaller cell size combs in combination with breeding for the 'right genetics' (cell size and VSH) can be one part of an integrated sustainable treatment concept for Varroa control." Read the full article

(CIAS, June 19, 2019) The Social Bees Research Center of Mar del Plata University (CIAS, Buenos Aires, Argentina) invites you a postgraduate course on June 26, 27 and 28 and free workshops to debate the current beekeeping and native bees of the country.
The workshop will involve apicultural producers (representatives of SADA and local apicultural producers), Governmente and SENASA officials and researchers. More info

(ADENEU, June 19, 2019) Neuquen Beekeeping Program Coordinator, Ms. Nancy Garcia, and the Economic Development Agency of Neuquen invite you the "First Patagonian Pollination Workshops" to be held on July 11 and 12 in the Edgardo Phielipp Auditorium of ADENEU; 802 Sarmiento Street, Neuquen city (Neuquen, Argentina) with researchers and the sponsorship of companies linked to pollination services. Program

BEES AND PESTICIDES: STAKEHOLDERS TO PARTICIPATE IN GUIDANCE REVIEW

(EFSA, May 8th 2019) EFSA is setting up a stakeholder consultative group to support its upcoming review of the guidance on risk assessment of pesticides and bees. The group will be consulted at various stages during the review and provide input to the EFSA scientific working group charged with revising the document.
In March 2019, the European Commission (EC) mandated EFSA to revise its 2013 guidance document on the risk assessment of plant protection products and bees (Apis mellifera, Bombus spp. and solitary bees) (EFSA, 2013), which was republished in 2014 following feedback from MSs collected during a workshop organised by the EC.
So far, there has been insufficient support by Member States represented in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed to implement the guidance for regular renewal and approval assessments. Many Member States, before considering its full implementation, have expressed their preference for a revision of several aspects of the guidance document. In addition, new evidence has become available since the original guidance was published. As a follow-up, in March 2019, the EC mandated EFSA to review its 2013 guidance document.
Deadline for submission of nominations: 21 May 2019
More info

HOW PESTICIDES USED IN LIVESTOCK THREATEN BEES

(Córdoba, April 11th, 2019) "For several years, episodes of bee mortality have appeared near animal breeding in different regions of France." The National Union of Beekeepers of France (UNAF), a member of BeeLife (European Beekeeping Coordination), commissioned an inventory report of the insecticides used in the breeding of cattle and sheep. "The objective was to understand the mechanisms of action in bees, to question the rules for their placement in the market and to measure the risks they represent for the beekeeping activity."
The overcrowding animal production system increases significantly the concentration of pesticides (insecticides, fungicides, antibiotics) in feed lots, high production dairy farms and also poultry farms that the UNAF itself suggests in its report.
The report should be usefull to place apiaries far enough of such intensive animal production centers or to sugest bee friendly animal treatments. The study was conducted by the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)
English report
Rapport en français

BEEKEEPING AND AGRICULTURE COEXISTENCE

(Macia, Entre Rios, Arg. March 23, 2019) In Macia's exhibition, finally, an Argentine beekeeper (Mr. Arnoldo Karst) had informal access to the National Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Luis Miguel Etchevehere, and told him "do something because we are disappearing". The fact, registered by different media, put on the table and without bureaucratic or political filters the systematic expulsion of beekeeping from the great plains dedicated exclusively to soybean and corn monocultures. An analysis of the fair and this episode that we titled "From the speech of coexistence to the reality of exclusion" in 4 minutes of the radial program "La Miel en tu Radio" with English subtitles in the following youtube link

BEEKEEPING AND AGRICULTURE COEXISTENCE

(Macia, Entre Rios, Arg. March 23, 2019) In Macia's exhibition, finally, an Argentine beekeeper (Mr. Arnoldo Karst) had informal access to the National Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Luis Miguel Etchevehere, and told him "do something because we are disappearing". The fact, registered by different media, put on the table and without bureaucratic or political filters the systematic expulsion of beekeeping from the great plains dedicated exclusively to soybean and corn monocultures. An analysis of the fair and this episode that we titled "From the speech of coexistence to the reality of exclusion" in 4 minutes of the radial program "La Miel en tu Radio" with English subtitles in the following youtube link

CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES - CGMP

(Cordoba, Arg. April 5, 2019) The preventive against the allergen risks in honey and the need to take precautionary measures against any type of the product contaminations they are the focus of the recently Updated of the program of Good Manufacturing Practices made by the FDA that should be applied in what we call Good Beekeeping Practices.
This responds to the new audit scheme for honey exporting countries to the United States. We have published in "Espacio Apicola" #124 the Current Good Manufacturing Practices updated and focused on bee production. Access the online magazine in Spanish at ESPACIO APICOLA 124

PERU: QUEEN BEES IMPORTS

(March 26th, 2019) In 2018 Peruvian authority opened the import market for Queen bees from Chile and now they are concluding negotiations to open the market for Argentine queen bees.
Many referent people from Peruvian beekeeping do not accept these agreements; However, the pollination market of blueberries and avocado of the Andian country claim for more gentle bees.
Two are the most delicate topics: First, not to disseminate bee diseases in Peru and, second, to facilitate the entry of genetic diversity to improve or in some cases replace the local Africanized bees.
To achieve these purposes the sanitary protocols of the origin countries must be certified and the quarantine period in the destination country must be reduced (currently it is a closed quarantine of 60 days).
The biologist and Chilean expert on queen bee breeding, Mrs. Pamela Rodriguez, suggests that it would be more convenient to export queens and to grafted them into bee packages.

FEW BEEKEEPERS IN MACIA

(March 25th, 2019) The first api-expo of the year in Argentina was held in Maciá, Entre Ríos. Despite the organizational effort, the call for beekeepers was low. On Saturday at noon, only 200 beekeepers had entered with their beekeeper id. At times, the rate of officials by beekeepers rised to 1/6 or 1/5, counting municipal, provincial and national officials, legislators, decentralized agencies teams, etc.
Once again, sales was focused on annual consumption of supplies such as suits and gloves, followed by smokers and hand tools or wire coil to spend the winter.
There is little honey and the demand seems to be even lower.

VARROA TREATMENT

(March 25th, 2019) In Argentina it is too late and risky to apply cardboard strips with oxalic acid. Those who have not yet done varroa treatment should opt for volatile products such as amitraz or flumethrin. Follow the recommendations of the varroasis treatment calendar published in Espacio Apicola magazine No. 122

SPEEDING UP THE HONEY IMPORTS IN THE USA

(March 19th, 2019) Next May 2019 is the deadline for American honey importers to register for the Volunteer Qualified Importer Program (VQIP). According to the FDA this registration streamlines the import process by making it faster.
It is important for you that your customer is a VQIP to collect your exports faster and avoiding risks. For this you and your honey supply chain must comply the safety plan and CGMP, respectively.
The three steps required under the Food Safety Modification Act (FSMA) applied to beekeeping and honey production are available to all Spanish-speaking beekeepers and companies in ESPACIO APICOLA 124.

THE "BIBLE" OF HONEY BEE NUTRITION
(March 19th, 2019) Zbigniew Lipinski published in English his book "Honey Bee Nutrition and Feeding" In Temperate/Continental Climate Of The Northern Hemisphere. The text, based on the most relevant and contemporary scientific literature on the subject, has 1356 bibliographical references, beside the main experience gathered by the author in more than 40 years working with bees.
Zbigniew Lipinski, from the Polish Academy of Sciences, holds a Doctorate in Sciences and a PhD in Animal Parasitology and the diseases of beneficial insects.
The English version has 430 pages. It was edited by Richard Jones for the Eva Crane Trust. It is available at the northernbeebooks site at about 30 pounds plus shipping or by contacting the author lipinski@sprint.com.pl

ARGENTINE BEEKEEPING SEASON 2018/19
(March 19th, 2019) In spite of the good spring perspectives, the honey production season in Argentina was poor. Many beekeepers took advantage dividing their hives towards the end of February. Some ones are offering stock up to 2000 beehives at less than U$S 50 per beehive.
Despite the low price of honey the market remains very quiet.
The genuinness determination methods of honey seems to be only a cuckoo to scare the producing countries and step on their heads with low prices. Mexico, Hungary and Argentina have high "Honey" stocks. Some honey businesses such as Brazilian "organic honey" seems to have a great financial component rather than product quality. The market analyzers from IHEO, asking beekeepers to demostrate the genuineness of their product they are responding to those financial interests.

GLYPHOSATE RESISTANT ALFALFA

(November 22nd, 2018) The approval of glyphosate-resistant alfalfa seeding from next autumn in Argentina is in force.
Resolution #33 of the Agroindustry Ministery was enacted on June 7 and favors the entrepreneurial group Bioceres, based in one of the country's main milk basins.
Although in the EU there are increasingly restrictions to admit honeys with glyphosate residues and although the FDA itself in the United States declared the presence of glyphosate illegal in honey, it is not understood the seriousness of the current Agroindustry Secretary call to formulate an "Apicultural Strategic Plan, Argentina 2030". Of course, if we do not worry about glyphosate residues in milk or cheese for our children, what can we expect about honey?

ALARMING OPTIMISM

(November 22nd, 2018) A record crop speculation for this season has been spread in official and agricultural scopes when a large part of grains is still to plant in Argentina plains.
One of the main factors of the economic crises that cyclically crosses Argentina is due to superlative speculations regarding the expectation of harvests. In recent years, whether due to floods or extraordinary droughts, Argentina did not reach the expected volumes. This made the promises to the financial sector unfulfilled.
It is worrisome that, at the current delicate moment, the financial sector is again tempted with a harvest expectation in the face of a "El Niño" phenomenon whose effects are far from being mathematically foreseeable.
The beekeeping campaign, which began with very good prospects, would be in a stand-by today due to the extreme climatic conditions that it presents particularly this spring in the central region of Argentina.

ARGENTINE MEAD

(November 22nd, 2018) The article 1084 of the Argentine Food Code (CAA) that describes the different types of mead, its characterizations and minimum quality parameters, as well as the authorized additives and their maximum concentrations, was modified. The update was promoted by ASAL, food safety agency of the Santa Fe province, where commercial initiatives for export have been developed. The norm published in the Official Bulletin enters into force today, November 22, 2018.

PAMPEAN BEEKEEPING FLORA

(November 22nd, 2018) The Chivilcoy University Center organizes a course to teach how to shape a floral curve and how to know the flora of beekeeping interest for new and experienced beekeepers next December 1st. The course will be in charge of the recognized specialist in the subject Laura Gurini, of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA). More information centrouniversitario@chivilcoy.gob.ar

NEW HONEY TRACEABILITY SYSTEM IN ARGENTINA

(November 12th, 2018) As of December 1st, every batch of honey that is harvested to be marketed in or from Argentina must be registered in the Beekeeping Traceability System implemented by Senasa.
The measure is in compliance with resolution E5-2018 and it is part of a systematization that has been going on for several years.
At first, each beekeeper needs a "tax code" to access its registration as a producer from the platform offered by the Federal Administration of Taxes (AFIP).
Likewise, all extraction rooms authorized or temporarily authorized by Senasa are obliged to register online every batch of extracted honey.
This honey, packed in drums with a unique and inviolable label, will be tracked in the system through the 11 digit code of the label.
Thus the label refers in the Senasa system to all the steps followed by that honey, from the apiary where it was specifically harvested, to which commercial operators intervened until its export or final destination.
Take a look on the manual of this unique official global traceability system at Agroindustria
The special recommendations for the use of this traceability system in the Espacio Apícola magazine nº 122 are available.

RAINS EXCESS IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF ARGENTINA

(November 12th, 2018) Even though there is a water deficit acording to the average of the decade, in the first 12 days of November the rainfalls have been strong in a large part of the fertile plain of Argentina.
Mr. Daniel Massello, beekeeper of Calchaqui, province of Santa Fe, he sent me today the records of rainfall in the Santa Fe area. They range from 60 mm to more than 300 mm being the mode 170 mm and the overall average higher than this.
To avoid the runoff that we have suffered in previous years under the phenomenon of "el niño", the province of Córdoba, with more than 10 million hectares dedicated to direct sowing with chemical fallow, should implement an aggressive reforestation plan.
The provincial government is already demanding a reforestation area of 2% in the fields of the province. This value is purely symbolic. It is required at least 10% of reforested area to influence the environmental conditions and improve soil conditions, for every 250 Ha minimum. This could generate water absorption areas and lungs of evapotranspiration, plus a diversification in the use of land, as we suggested with the request of a "Law of incentive to agricultural productive diversification" in 2010, Espacio Apícola magazine nº 92

ARGENTINE HONEY MARKET

(August 18th, 2018) Argentina exported about 37,000 tons of honey in the first half of 2018, mostly in bulk.
The price average and depending on the volumes per destination was U$S 2.60 while the average of the main market, the United States with almost 18,000 tons, was U$S 2.49.
The average value of the dollar in the first quarter was $ 20.10 (Argentine pesos per dollar) while in the third quarter the average rise to $ 23 (ARS per USD).
The price paid to producers today for white honeys, below 34 mm Pfund, is approximately $ 50.
The current dollar price is $ 29 (ARS per USD). The rising interest rates makes the cost of money more expensive and the devaluation of the currency is not reflected in the price of the honey to producers.

BAYER CONDEMNED IN CALIFORNIA

(Reuters, August 10th, 2018) The German company Bayer was sentenced to pay U$S 39 million in compensation and another U$S 250 million for punitive damages last Friday August 10th because the death of a groundskeeper. Mr. Johnson died because cancer caused by the glyphosate of Roundup (the herbicide leader of the transgenic production that devastates ecosystems) belonging to Monsanto, the company recently acquired by Bayer AG in 65 billion dollars.
The San Francisco Superior Court ruling is the first of a list of approximately 5,000 pending cases in the United States. Contrary to the suspicion of the World Health Organization, Bayer denied that glyphosate is carcinogenic.
Source: Reuters

HISTORIC: HAWAI'I ENACTS FIRST U.S. BAN ON CHLORPYRIFOS
(June 17th 2018, Pesticide Action Network) Hawai'i made history when Governor David Ige, watched by representatives of the community from across the islands, signed into law Senate Bill 3095, banning all uses of chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide that has been shown to harm children and has been found in food, air and drinking water. The high-profile pesticide was slated for a ban, but under Scott Pruitt’s Environmental Protection Agency, the planned ban was reversed.

GLYPHOSATE:What to do with contaminated honeys?

(June 17th 2018, elentrerios.com) Uruguayan beekeeping faces a huge problem. "There are 7,000 tons of honey stocked in the producers' warehouses.
"There is a lot of honey without problem with glyphosate, but there is so much honey in the world market that prices dropped and merchants want to buy honey at lower prices than production costs. We would be losing a lot of money by selling it at that price." Alfredo Aguilera, secretary of the Uruguayan Apicultural Society (SAU).

HONEY MARKET

(June 12th 2018, EA) Apparently operations are very quiet, both nationally and internationally.
From Espacio Apícola magazine we think it is the oportunity to promote the current traceability system that will be launched in the next beekeeping season in Argentina. It is seen as a tool of strengthening trust between supplier and client. It is an easily auditable system to guarantee the genuineness of the honey offered. See the system's instructions and opportunities and colaborate with us by https://joom.ag/NhyY

THE CHALLENGE OF THE NEXT FAIRS IN ARGENTINA

(June 12th 2018, EA) The beekeeping expo of Doblas (La Pampa province), finally announced for August 10 and 11, should announce an attractive program and commercial alternative to increase a call that has not been satisfactory in the last editions. The honey harvests in the region have been irregular.
For its part, the Exhibition of General Lavalle, in Mendoza province, has a good opportunity in terms of the honey harvest that this province has had and the traditional supply of queenbees, nucleus and bee packages is an undisputed strength of this province with the highest proportion of bee breeder farms.

THE AZUL's HONEY EXPO HAS HAD A POSITIVE BALANCE

(June 12th 2018, EA) The Azul beekeepers' Centre returned to be protagonist, successfully, with the fair developed in facilities of the Rural Society last weekend. Two buildings and a big tend housed almost 60 companies related to beekeeping.
The audience gathered mainly on Saturday. The number of attendan was enough but moderate.
The honey buying and selling operations were very limited. CIPSA buys from its usual suppliers. Only Patagonik S.A. was willing to make business. The price offered was around $ 40 (forty Argentine pesos). There were talks between machinery manufacturers and exporters to make business buying machineries with honey.

HONEY TRACEABILITY COMPUTER SYSTEM

(June 6th 2018, EA) In Argentina, the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP) set up, within its online services platform, the computerized traceability system for SENASA. It is a very simple system to operate and ductile for the company and the Argentine beekeeping sector. It is a very interesting tool to certify the genuineness of our honey, which every extraction room is obliged to access. We have published the instructions based on the explanations of Mr. Adrian Ibarra and we have added suggestions to take advantage of its structure according to the needs of the beekeeping company. All that remains is for SENASA to adapt some aspects of the regulations that are not sufficiently in line with the needs of the beekeeping sector. The system comes into force in the next season and will also be the central theme of the Azul's Honey Expo this weekend.

VARROA TREATMENT CALENDAR

(June 6th 2018, EA) Ricardo and Juan Manuel Prieto sent us their data sheets and analysis about how to use the cardboard strips embedded with a solution of oxalic acid in glycerin against varroa. Based on this information, we elaborated a Varroosis treatment calendar for the Pampean region, easily adaptable to other areas in Argentina. We also add a reading of the Strengths and Opportunities of this treatment as well as its Weaknesses and Threats (SWOT). The Calendar, published in Espacio Apícola 122, will be a dominant theme of the Expomiel Azul 2018 next weekend.

Will they hit on the nail?

(April 1st 2018, EA) We have heard Agr. Norberto Garcia Girou, current IHEO president, talking about genuinity of honey certification with NMR some times. We also visited the Bruker stand in Apimondia Congress Exhibition. We have analyzed thoroughly the conference of eng. Federico Berrón during the Apimondia Congress also, and then, we compared this explanations with the different honey marketing strategies and other products wich emulate honeys at the ANUGA exhibition in Cologne, Germany. There we saw self-sacrificing local beekeepers teaching how to consume "honey" up to stands selling honey emulated products for vegans. We analyze the applying feasibility of NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) technology to guarantee the market of genuine honeys in our 121 issue (in Spanish).

ARGENTINE BEEKEEPING SEASON IS FINISHING

(April 1st 2018, EA) Argentine beekeeping season is finishing between 10 to 15% bellow previous season yield. Apiaries next to lagoons or flooded soils last year, have had a high freatic napa that allowed them in some areas to exceed 80 kg of honey per beehive.
However, blooms that depend on rainfall did not gave nectar and the decline was significant.
With a national honey consuption around 10.000 tons per year, we expect an exportable supply around 55000 tons.
The current ridiculous regulation about drums traceability of SENASA will force companies to sell off the stock as soon as possible to reach October with the lowest reserve of old drums to see how to operate with new requirements.

TRACEABILITY OF DRUMS

(March 14th 2018, EA) The new system of drums traceability is already enable in Argentina. It was made by SENASA and Agricultural Ministry of Argentina. This traceability system for a single-use of each drum for honey will be mandatory for the next 2018/19 crop however stakeholders can already operate with it adding the application from their self-management AFIP site (the Tax Administration Agency) with fiscal key.
The impact of the measure was surprising. The Sanitary Authority would have received a flood of inscriptions of honey extration rooms, which in some provinces would have tripled the existence of those under law in the last 10 years. More information: apicultura.com.ar (in Spanish)

PROHIBITION OF AGROCHEMICALS
(March 14th 2018, EA) The Eurpean Food Safety Agency (EFSA) ratified the ban on three neonicotinoids: clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam; as well as the restriction of the use of Fipronil as seed treatment of certain crops.
Fipronil has razed the Uruguayan beekeeping where it was banned. Imidacloprid was a silent enemy for more than 20 years in Argentine beekeeping, particularly in sunflower treatment. Its danger was exposed in several editions of Espacio Apicola magazine, more recently in Walter Farina paper "Effect of sublethal doses of imidacloprid on the behavior of young adult bees" (Espacio Apicola #114 www.apicultura.com.ar/114.html) and in Espacio Apicola magazine #121 "Chronic exposure to neonicotinoids near corn crops reduce the health of bees" by N. Tsvetkov et al.

HONEY MARKET - ERRATA
(March 4th 2018, EA) We apologize to Ing. Federico Berrón for the mistake we made when mentioning him in the cover of Espacio Apicola magazine edition #121 (www.apicultura.com.ar/121-tapa-CORREGIDA.jpg). We mentioned Federico Berrón in the article on honey market. There we reffer in detail to his lecture in Apimondia Congress 2017 and to wich we added notes from the same congress and, in particular, about honeys and pseudo-honeys that were offered a week later at the ANUGA international exhibition (Germany). On the cover we had a slip and we mixed his name with another well-known actor in the apicultural chain. Federico Berrón is an active Mexican beekeeping entrepreneur.

HONEY BEE NUTRITION
(February 24th 2018, EA) Prof. Geraldine Wright made a complete review on honey bee nutrition. She lecture in Apimondia Congress and wrote a deep article which is available on the web. Since Haydak's mixtures up to now it is the most complete answer to larvae, nurses, foragers and queen bees requirements.
Original article: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043423
We translated and published it into Spanish in Espacio Apicola #121. Ask us for your issue at espacioapicola@gmail.com

ARGENTINE AUTHORITY CONFIRMS DRUMS' RULES FOR EXPORT HONEY

(SENASA June 9th 2017) The Argentine Sanitary Authority (SENASA) confirms validity of Ministry of Agriculture Resolution 121/1998 by a Memorandum who says: By this note we warn that the honey from 2016/2017 crop must be marketed into new or recycle drums strictly complying what Resolution number 121/1998 stablished" The note number 203/1998 is signed by Dr. Dal Bianco.
Strict packing norms under wich we have exported honey during the last 18 years was remembered and ratified.

GMOs TO DEGRADE NEONICS

(Source: Peter Borst, Cornell Univ., USA, June 15th 2017) "A method and system for the treatment of honey bees (Apis mellifera) protects them from various life threatening conditions.
What is claimed is: 1. A method for providing a pollinator with the ability to assimilate neonicotinoid pesticides, comprising, providing to a pollinator a modified bacteria of a species normally found in the gut microbiome of the pollinator, said modified bacteria being adapted to degrade a neonicotinoid pesticide, wherein the modified bacteria have genes involved in the degradation of neonicotinoid pesticide."
We ask ourselves: Is this an advance? Maybe, Couldn't it be better to reduce the use and abuse of neonicotinoids before introducing GMOs into bees?

GLYPHOSATE IS RATIFIED AS CARCINOGEN IN FRESNO

(Los Angeles Times, LA, California, USA March 14th 2017) In January, Superior Court Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan tentatively dismissed a challenge by Monsanto and a citrus growers group. In her final ruling last week, the judge said that none of Monsanto's objections were viable, the Fresno Bee reported.
A judge has ruled that California can require Monsanto to label its popular weed killer Roundup as a possible cancer threat despite insistence from the agrochemical company that it poses no risk to people.
It's sold in more than 160 countries, and farmers in California use it on 250 types of crops.

CRITICAL FLOODS IN ARGENTINA

(Espacio Apicola, April 12th 2017) The Chivilcoy's api-expo was carried out during the last critical weekend in the North of Buenos Aires province and the South of Santa Fe and Cordoba provinces. In Ricardo Prieto's farm rainfalls was over 300 mm between Saturday 8 and Monday 10th. The routes between Buenos Aires and Mendoza were and remain cutted. The National road #188 is cutted in several points. The National Road #7 is cutted next to La Picasa lagoon. On Monday 10th the water crossed above National Road #8 at Arias city, between Venado Tuero (Santa Fe) and Rio Cuarto (Cordoba) cities. It's only a sample of the whole panorama of several Argentine provinces: Tucuman, Santiago del Estero, Catamarca, La Pampa, Cordoba, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, Buenos Aires up to Comodoro Rivadavia city in Chubut province where the city was destroyed by the runoff from the "El Chenque" mount. It is an emblematic picture of the neglect atitud of us about environmental infrastructure. Take a look on the Level Curves Map of Cordoba Province, "Between Drought and Floods", Espacio Apicola magazine # 118.-

WEATHER: REALITY DESTROY FORECAST

(Espacio Apicola, January 17th, 2017)During the first 15 days of January it has rained more than the average of whole summer in the central region of Argentina. In the area there are one million hectares flooded, loss of crops and loss of livestock.

After several weeks of drought the rains began for Christmas recovering initially the honey production but the excess has caused loss of beehives in Eastern Cordoba, in the south center of Santa Fe and in several points of Entre Rios provinces. Many beekeepers cannot enter the fields to harvest for lack of soil density.

On the other hand, some lots of Algarrobo honeys (prosopis) harvested in November reached an excellent quality with colors below 20 mm Pfund and humidity around 16%. In the meadows of Cordoba and Santa Fe we found , before the floods, clover honeys between 4 and 15 mm Pfund, with humidity below 18%.

HONEY EXPORT REFUNDS

(Espacio Apicola, January 17th, 2017) 2017 started with a decree that grants a refund of 3% to honey exports in Argentina. To this benefit, which is understood as a tax refund, can be added 0.5% by denomination of origin, another 0.5% if it is organic honey and a plus of 0.5% if the product carries the Seal of "Argentine Quality". Some agents have expressed dissatisfaction with this measure whose economic impact is low and the risks are very high.

BAYER, WHO ELSE?...

(EFSA, January 17th, 2017) The German company who bought Monsanto insists on the registration of spirotetramat. The US justice removed the pesticide in 2009 (Espacio Apicola No. 90), due to procedural errors. Spirotetramat is harmful for bees in the larval stage. Now Bayer in Austria (is it its backyard?), has made EFSA to raise the MRL of spirotetramat to 400 ppb in pomegranates and 50 ppb in vegetables.

A VERY ANORMAL BEEKEEPING SEASON IN ARGENTINA

(Espacio Apicola, December 16th 2016) Citrus Honey production was very good in Tucuman as the Algarrobo crop in Southern Santiago del Estero. Both honeys are from spring and they are beautiful (white and dry honeys, below 25 Pfund mm and 16% respectively). But current season is irregular in the main honey production area of Argentina.
Mendoza has had a poor crop.
Santa Fe and Cordoba were waiting for temperature and moisture but at the moment we have a very few hot and too dry days.

Sunflower seeding was higher in Santa Fe and Chaco and it is expected to have a good crop. Some melilotus are flowing very well in northern Santa Fe but the region needs humid and hot days.

Finally the predicted dry weather for summer was anticipated. Thermal amplitude is high in the honey crop area of the Pampas and it is very windy. It is not encouraging the honey crop expectation in the prairies, next to a hot and dry January. Hope to be wrong !

BEEKEEPING AGAINST THE FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL DISORDER IN ARGENTINA

(Espacio Apicola, December 16th 2016) The price of honey is still low, the Government debt taking liquefies many dollars to sustain the fiscal deficit, and interest rates are very high.

A Seed pool are offering a yield of 14% (USD) per year and investments in livestock sector arround 8% in the same currency. So, given the mismanagement of land use and all primary production, the opportunity cost emerges as the only variable that subjugates any production that is not linked to soybean and corn monocultures (dedicated almost exclusively to biofuels, oils and Different feedingstuffs).

A project for any primary productive sector is not seen. In this context, the entire Argentine beekeeping chain faces an international market with a high internal cost and an increasingly restricted availability of resources.

President Macri's choice for a discourse linked to the story of "climate change", according with the interests of the soybean model, hides the evident weakening of the environmental infrastructure caused by the forest clearance.

Beyond a necessary and desirable ordering of state institutions, which is costing fortunes, it seems that nothing more can be expected of the current administration.
As always, it is imperative for beekeeping to propose alliances with other sectors to generate alternatives to the current model of land and water use. Because this model is leading us definitively to an environmental and productive catastrophe in the short term.

ARGENTINE HONEY MARKET

(Espacio Apicola, August 29th 2016) According to the recent SENASA report the current Argentine Honey exports rise up to 42000 tonnes at the end of July. Whole Argentine Beekeeping chain need and expect to export over 60000 tonnes in this year to maintain its structure and to grand a better expectation on the next season which is already underway.
Producers are concerned on the low price of the honey in front of the uncertainty of the new season yields; over all in the marginal areas where they had to move to shelter from the toxic-dependent monoculture. Doblas Api-Expo, with small audience but very well organized by its mentors and residents of the city, it was a clear sensor of this scenario.

RESIN TECHNOLOGY FOR HONEY. THE DISCUSSION

(Espacio Apicola, April 20th 2016) The American Bee Journal sent us an special issue last March 3rd. with a Ron Phipps article about the International Honey Market under this title "Resin technology applied to honey creates products which cannot be labelled as ‘Honey’”. We have put this article into context and translated for Argentine Beekeepers with some annexes to explain what and what for is this technology applied on honey. The technology started a great discussion between importers, exporters and the whole honey industry.

SMALL HIVE BEETLE IPM IS READY IN SPANISH

(Espacio Apicola, Cordoba, Arg - April 20th of 2016) Because of the Brazilian alert last month regarding an SHB event in Sao Paulo State, Espacio Apicola magazine asked the authorization of Dr. William Michael Hood to translate into Spanish and to publish his "Handbook of Small Hive Beetle IPM" published by the Clemson University of South Carolina. This handbook is ready in Espacio Apicola #115 for our Spanish-speaking readers. Thanks Mike and Cooperative Extension of Clemson University!

ARGENTINE FLOODINGS

(Entre Rios, Santa Fe, Cordoba, provinces of Arg. April 20th 2016) Thousands of beehives are lost because flood and runoff in the central area and the Argentinian Mesopotamia. It is raining in this region from March 20th up to now with a few cloudy days. The Parana and Uruguay rivers are receiving a great caudal from their affluents in the high basin but all the lower basin is adding a lot of water. The soil profiles of the region are saturated because deforestation of the whole Argentine fertile plain used only for soybeans and corn plantations.

RESIN OR RESIDUES?

(Espacio Apicola, April 20th 2016) While the FDA in America is working to ban effectively the commercialization of Chinese, Indian, Taiwanese or Vietnamese honeys treated with Resin Technology to remove antibiotic, pesticides or HMF, EFSA in Europe is approving higher MRL of pesticides in honey. After the costly Bablock case, when the beekeeper sued and win against the Bavarian State because trace of GMO into his honeys, now EFSA in accordance with the request of the German Government accept e.g. up to 200 ppb of Thiacloprid (Bayer - EFSA paper) into honeys because its use in colza treatments. What would be more suitable to protect the natural condition of the honey and its safety? What do you prefer, Resin Technology or higher MRL of toxics?

EFSA: NEW ADVANTAGE FOR NEONICOTINOIDS

(Espacio Apicola, Cordoba, Arg - March 3rd. 2016) The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) raised the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) of thiacloprid to 200 ppb in honey.
"The EMS based the MRL proposal on a total of eight trials where honey was collected in hives positioned close to rapeseed plots treated with thiacloprid at the full bloom growth stage. Based on residue levels in honey collected 16 to 29 days after the last application, an MRL of 0.2 mg/kg was derived for thiacloprid in honey".
The news is perhaps a relief for the market but is worrisome for the global beekeeping since it is recently checked the damage that neonicotinoids provoke interfering with neuronal receptors of young adult bees in their learning stage (Carolina Mengoni Goñalons & Watler Farina 2015 - PlosOne original paper in English and 2016 Espacio Apicola in Spanish).
Bayer and the German states do not want to lose more trials with beekeepers, as the judgment in the Bablock case in 2011; Mr. Bablock could not sell his honey because the presence of GMOs. So EFSA without looking at the impact on the beehives, authorizes raise again the MRLs for products highly called into question by its environmental impact.
The country requesting the MRL increase of Thiacloprid in honey is Germany. The laboratory that produces it is Bayer. THIA-CLOPRID: a sadist contraction of thiametoxan and imidacloprid two neonics that have devastated the beekeeping world for two decades. EFSA paper

YUCATAN: HARRASED BY CLIMATE AND BEETLE

(yucatano.com Mexico - March 2nd. 2016) The iconic Mexican peninsula that exported honey mainly to Germany suffers severe weather that have significantly reduced the production of honey. Also this year, met with the dispersion of Aethina tumida, the small hive beetle spoils the honeycombs and honey. El Yucatano

WORLD APIMONDIA SYMPOSIUM ON ORGANIC BEEKEEPING IN THE ARGENTINE PROVINCE WORLD LEADER ON DEFORESTATION

(Espacio Apicola, Cordoba, Arg - March 2nd. 2016) The Fourth World Symposium on Organic Beekeeping will be carried out in Santiago del Estero from 6 to 10 September 2016.
The event is sponsored by the Ministry of Production, Natural Resources, Forestry and Lands of the Province, Apimondia and INTA (National Institut on Agro Technology).
Gonzalo Camba, a lab technician of the Regional and Remote Sensing Analysis (LART) of the Faculty of Agronomy, University of Buenos Aires (FA-UBA) recently revealed in his thesis work that Santiago del Estero leads the world deforestation ranking with 4 million hectares (40,000 km2 or 10 million acres) of native forest devastated in recent decades. (sobrelatierra.agro.uba.ar)
Its deforestation rate is 39 times higher than in the subtropical forests. It is clear that the "chaquenio" park is the main resource of Organic Beekeeping in the region.
Take a look at the objectives and commissions of the symposium

THE SMALL HIVE BEETLE IS IN BRAZIL

(Espacio Apicola, Cordoba, Arg - February 25th 2016) The World Organisation for Animal Health confirmed the presence of the SHB, Aethina tumida, in Brazil.
The event was recorded on March 1st 2015 but it was reported one year later by Dr. Figueiredo Marques Ghilherme Henrique, Director of Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply in Brasilia last February 23rd 2016.
The finding was in an apiary near 22º 47' S and 47º 38' W in vicinity of Piracicaba city, Sao Paulo State, on a tributary of the Parana River about 800 km to the entrance of it in Argentine territory, as can be interpreted on the map of the World Animal Health Information System.
It is a serious and alarming event for Argentine Beekeeping because the wet cicle prevailing in South America, because the high swarming behavior of Africanized bees, added to the waterways of communication.
From where the infestation comes? It does not seem to be linked with the progress of the beetle in Central America; this event were located in proximity to the Port of Santos, in the same State of San Pablo it seems to be the route of entry of SHB into Brazil.

HONEY MARKET

(Fernando Esteban, Cordoba, Argentina - February 16th 2016) The most pessimistic position in Argentina say two things: At first, the industry in the USA and EU have replaced the honey by another product. In second, we have in Argentina an important remnant of the 2015 honey harvest that will be added to the surplus of a good honey harvest in 2016. Therefore, it will take three years to balance the supply and demand.
The most optimistic voices are coming from abroad, where it is expected: at first, the honey stock of packagers runs in a month. Second, the syrups that are sold like honeys to Europe (and the USA) probably by China and Vietnam will be punished soon.
Fortunately the best yields in many areas of Argentina are lowering production costs, but is necessary to move the wheel not to provoke a bankrupt.

HONEY PRODUCTION FALLS IN YUCATAN

(terra.com; sipse.com - Mexico - February 8th 2016) Miguel Lara Sosa, president of the Maya Bee Assn., said that cooperatives did not collect enough honey from November up to now to meet the demand of foreing markets, mainly Europe.
"This is one of the worst starts of the season in many years -Mr. Lara says-, and for example, in the same period some years ago they reach at least 100 tonnes but now the partners has not collected more than a ton".
More information

PORTUGUESE DOCTORS TO BAN GLYPHOSATE

(Sustainable Pulse, Portugal - February 9th 2016) The president of the Medical Assn. of Portugal is calling for a worldwide ban on glyphosate because it is a precursur of celiac desease, infertility, kidney disease, autism, birth defects and other diseases, in addition to damage ecosystems and because it is a threat for tens of endangered vegetable species.
More information

ARGENTINE HONEY CROP

(Espacio Apícola, February 7th 2016) In a complex scenario at the end of Cristina Fernandez' Government for the farmers, the reduction of herbicides use in poor soils it was good for honey crop in several regions of the fertile plain areas of Argentina. The "fertile plain areas" are a vast deforested region including the famous "Pampas" but nearly triples it in size.
Another positive factor for beekeeping was the prevalence of "El Nino" from the end of winter and spring, in South America, providing abundant rains in several regions. So some areas in the East and South of Cordoba, West and Sothern west of Buenos Aires and La Pampa they recovered honey production volumes and mainly clear honeys, in the last two years. Cordoba, Santa Fe and Entre Rios also maintain higher averages than the past decade with some difficulties.

IMIDACLOPRID LICENCE UNDER REVISION

(Espacio Apícola, February 7th 2016) After twenty years of massive use of IMI the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put under review the record of this neonicotinoid because their negative impact on beneficial insects.
A new paper of Walter Farina is added to the extensive bibliography published on the subject. The well known scientist of UBA worked on the nerve disturbance that IMI provoque in the learning system of honeybees and their orientation.
The paper published by PlosONE was translated into Spanish by me and published in Espacio Apicola Magazine #114, the Argentine Beekeepers' Magazine. Original article

SMALL HIVE BEETLE (SHB) IS ALREADY IN SOUTHERN MEXICO

(Espacio Apícola, November 21st. 2015) The advance of SHB (Aethina tumida) is confirmed in the southern region of Oaxaca, Mexico and threatens to spread in Central America watching South America.
The plague which comes from the fruit of South Africa is a beetle whoose larvae burrow into the honeycombs, contaminating and destroying them.
Source

ARGENTINE BEEKEEPERS REGISTRATION FORM

(Espacio Apícola, January 7th 2016) A new online protocol replaces the traditional registration form for beekeepers and honey extraction rooms in Argentina, RENAPA.
From now this record is directly linked to the Federal Public Revenue Administration (AFIP).
The new entrepreneurs should be fill the form in the website. Current credentials are valid until its expiration and must be updated online. More information

INTERNATIONAL BEEKEEPERS MEETING IN ECUADOR

(Espacio Apícola, November 21st. 2015) Called by Mr. Franklin Sandoval, head of APISAN company, it will be held the First International Beekeepers Meeting in Quininde, Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador.
The appointment will be in the Auditorium of Drivers Union of Quininde on November 26 to 28th.
Invited by Franklin, we will be sharing with beekeepers from Ecuador and Colombia that they have already confirmed their attendance. You will find all the details of this meeting in the next Espacio Apicola magazine No. 114. More information

EDITION 113 OF ESPACIO APICOLA MAGAZINE

(Espacio Apícola, November 21st. 2015) We have updated our apicultura.com.ar website with a sketch of the last issue of Espacio Apicola No 113. There you will find the top stories of this issue that it has been distributed to our subscribers by Correo Argentino. The information focuses on the development chance of beekeeping in the islands of the Parana River in Argentina and the current situation of Beekeeping in the Islamic Republic of Iran where Parodi Foundation invited us to make a diagnostic of the activity for the United Nation Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). We also publish a brief analysis of the exporter market situation of the Argentine Honey, among others. More information

COLDEST OCTOBER IN 40 YEARS

(Espacio Apícola, November 1st. 2015) The beekeeping season in Argentine prairies was very advanced in late August and early September. However, the "Niño" did not provide us the expected water but yes a fall of temerature. According records of Mr. Ricardo Prieto and Luis Gomez, queen bee breeders from Buenos Aires and Mendoza respectively, this October was the most cold in 40 years.

BEEKEEPING AND AGROCHEMISTRY

(LA JORNADA, MX. November 1st. 2015) Mr. Rémy Vandame, organic beekeeping adviser among the native peoples of southern Mexico, reaffirmed the already proven in many other countries, even in the European Union: "coexistence between OGM crops and honey production is impossible", as well as any another production not resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. In Cordoba, Argentina, Mr. Nestor Ingaramo found that the beehives exposed to the herbicide decline to death. More info: (LA JORNADA

CONGRESS OF ORGANIC HONEY PRODUCTION

(Espacio Apícola, November 1st. 2015) The government of the province of Santiago del Estero summoned the same Rémy Vandame as a consultant under the organic beekeeping congress to be held in that province in September 2016 with Apimondia sponsorship and local coordination of Coopsol cooperative. The specialist was met with provincial authorities and Mr. René Sayago and Alejandro Henin members of the cooperative in Santiago del Estero city last Friday October 30.

CHINA HONEY

(LA REGION, GALICIA, SP. November 1st. 2015) Europe has many fronts of trade battle with China, mainly to contain the entry of high-tech products at bargain prices. The authorities look to other side about honey, they allow to enter Chinese honeys and later they solve the local producers with a subsidy. Here it is the Spanish beekeepers claim. LA REGION

MONSANTO AND SYNGENTA COME BACK

(ESPACIO APICOLA, November 1st. 2015) Accused of being largely responsible for the loss of productivity and even the mortality of bees, both multinationals have their programs to improve their image.
Monsanto bought "Beeologics" in 2013 a company of a renowned beekeeping researcher to study the effect of neonicotinoids on bees. Meanwhile Syngenta announces a broadcast day at its experimental station in Santa Isabel, Santa Fe, to show its "Operation Pollinator" next Thursday November 5.

NEONICS NATURE.COM

(NATURE, October 16th 2015) The prestigious scientific journal published an article open access where the harmful impact of pesticide neonicotinoids in the reproductive tract of queen bees is highlighted. NATURE

HONEY PRICE IN ARGENTINA

(ESPACIO APICOLA, October 16th 2015) Argentina is having a major remnant of honey in their stocks, the productive season is starting very cold and the prices are in the freeze, below $ 18 (Argentine pesos per kilogram).

APIMONDIA & OXALIC ACID

(Espacio Apícola, July 4th 2015) The APIMONDIA Congress and its commercial ApiExpo will be held in Daejon, Korea, from September 15 to 20th 2015.
The organizing committee extended the deadline for submission of abstracts until July 15th.
We would love to attend this congress to present the cardboard strips soaked in a solution of Oxalic acid into Glycerol development for treating varroa, tested by the Queen bee breeders Ricardo and Juan Manuel Prieto. Unfortunately Daejon is too far and expensive for this Argentine editor. This takes us away from the possibility of presenting this summary by now.
But beekeepers and all who are interested in testing the formulation published in the issue number 109 of Espacio Apícola, its preliminary results published in Espacio Apícola number 111 and the final experience published in Espacio Apícola number 112 is available to all stakeholders. It is a formulation presented as State of the Art, free of patent rights.
Take a look on Apimondia web site www.apimondia2015.com and try to make an effort to be there!.

MELISSOPALYNOLOGY AND SENSORY ANALYSIS COURSES

(Espacio Apícola, June 30th 2015) Ms. Paula Lanzelotti (Eng. on Food), technical director of the Melacrom Laboratory invites the courses that will be taught at the University of Lujan, Buenos Aires, Argentina from August 10 to 14th. It is also lectured by Drs. M. Cristina Telleria and Nancy M. Apostolo and the participation of MS Beatriz Perez. After this course will be offered another about sensory analysis starting in the afternoon of August 14th and the whole August 15th. For more information MEETINGS

GOOD ATMOSPHERE DURING THE HONEY SHOW IN AZUL

(Espacio Apícola, June 15th 2015) The Honey Show organized by the Azul Beekeepers Center had a positive and encouraging result on mid-june.
The turnout was moderate and concentrated between 10:00 and 18:00 hours on Saturday. But the audience, which was driven by a good harvest in the region, was decidedly to concrete operations at each stands of the companies.
Apicola Danangie company, the current greater company in continuity and efficiency in the provision of hive materials, they sold all the goods they carried even with little public already on Friday. In the evening they had to call the factory to ask for another truck with merchandise for Saturday. The honey sales were absent during the meeting and operations are currently carried out to maintain the structure and await the decision of the buyers or to change towards alternative markets.
All lectures were given by INTA technicians in their PROAPI and Rural Change II programs, many technicians contracted by the State were present. The agronomic engineer Mauricio Rabinovich, currently working in SENASA, was present spreading and encouraging the compliance of the latest regulation 81/15 about monitoring and control of varroa. He invested too much time talking about it in our stand also with the beekeepers who came to get our magazine.

SUCCESSFULLY VARROA CONTROL

(Espacio Apícola, May 13th 2015) More than 100 beekeepers met at the farm of the Queen bees breeder Mr. Ricardo Prieto last Saturday to know the results, obtained by him, in controlling the varroa with cardboard strips soaked with oxalic acid diluted in Glycerine (food grade).
Juan Manuel and his father Ricardo showed how 400 hives remained below 1% of mites; with an average even below 0.5% since June 2014 up to now.
The art of preparing strips based on what was published in Espacio Apicola (the Argentine Beekeepers' Magazine) No 109 and 111 were adjusted.
At the meeting several beekeepers expressed their concern about the problems they've had with synthetic drugs in some ways that appear on the market.
In the closing panel which participated Mr. Marcelo Pita (beekeeper from Santiago del Estero), Juan Manuel and Ricardo Prieto (hosts) and myself, all questions were answered and we suggest to everybody to make their own tests.
We think that making this solution at 55ºC ( 131ºF), as we have published, we are soaking the strips in a product with high levels of Glyceryl mono oxalate. If you could help us making HPLC and/or FTIR to know what kind and proportion of compounds are presents in the final product I will be glad to received your contact.
All documentation on the different treatments against Varroa with oxalic acid and its results, was recorded in Espacio Apícola magazine from No. 101 (May 2012) to No. 111 (January 2015) inclusive.

EPA Okays Oxalic Acid for Varroa Mite Control

(American Bee Journal, March 12th, 2015) Application Methods and Labeling Oxalic acid will be labeled for application by three different methods: By Solution to Package Bees (Oxalic acid in sugar solution is applied as a spray to the package); By Solution to Beehives (Oxalic acid in sugar solution is trickled between frames and other spaces); Vapor Treatment of Beehives (Oxalic acid dihydrate is heated and the vapor sublimates in the hive) Full information: ABJ site Mr Ricardo Prieto, Queen bees breeder since 1976, has developed a profesional method and tool to apply sublimated oxalic acid. See the photo of it in Espacio Apicola magazine No 104

ARGENTINA: MONITORING PLAN AGAINST VARROA SHALL BE CARRIED OUT BY BEEKEEPERS

(Buenos Aires, Official Bulletin, March 12th 2015) Resolution 81-2015 issued by the National Service of Agro-Food Security, senasa, obliges beekeepers to keep track of varroa monitoring in their hives and treatments applied. Beekeepers must keep for two years packaging products applied, reaffirming that can only be used commercial products approved by the agency.

MACIA: ALL READY FOR THE API-EXPO

This weekend, March 20 to 22, Macia city receive us in their local celebration that includes an agricultural, craft and beekeeping exhibition. The festival also features public shows and it is sponsored by the local, provincial and national governments.

INSPECTION OF CHINESE AUTHORITIES TO THE ARGENTINE BEEKEEPING CHAIN OF PRODUCTION

Between March 25th and April 1st is announced the visit of Chinese health inspectors to evaluate the opportunity to open their market to Argentine bee products. We have published in Espacio Apicola 111 the current standard for honey of the PRC, as well as the possible updating of it proposed to the World Trade Organization Take a look here

AMERICAN FOULBROOD IS HITTING NEW ZEALAND

(Northland Age, New Zealand, November 6th 2014) American foulbrood, described by Far North Adult Literacy student Brian Sillick as the Ebola of the bee industry, has not only arrived in the Far North but is running rampant according to FNAL tutor Hine LeLievre.
She and four of her students, who have invested a great deal of time in learning to keep bees, and have gained real expertise in diagnosing infected hives, said earlier this week that no co-ordinated effort was being made to address the problem, and that they feared for the future of the industry.
If the Far North lost its bees, they added, other industries, notably horticulture and pastoral farming, would also be in real trouble.
The students had destroyed seven of their nine hives at Awanui by burning them, and the bees, then burying the remains. Twenty-five hives had also been destroyed at Pukenui, but five abandoned sites were known of in that area. Read more

EFSA: SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS ABOUT AGROCHEMICALS OPEN TO OBSERVERS

(Parma, Italy, September 13th 2014) As part of EFSA’s commitment to openness and transparency, the Authority allows observers to attend some of its plenary meetings. By attending these open plenary meetings interested individuals can observe how risk assessment is conducted by EFSA’s Scientific Committee and its Scientific Panels, and at the same time interact with and put questions to EFSA’s scientific experts. The EFSA Guidelines for Observers apply

DROUGHT FALLS HONEY PRODUCTION IN NICARAGUA

(Managua August 24, 2014, Alma Vidaurre Arias, El Nuevo Diario) "The lack of natural food for bees, by the lack of rain is causing the emigration of hives, a situation that will drop to 30% honey exports for 2014-2015", said the president of the National Commission for Beekeeping of Nicaragua, CNAN, Fabricio Mendoza.

A Copernican Turn:
HONEYBEES COMES FROM ASIA NOT FROM AFRICA, as some studies affirm

(Nature Genetics, August 24th 2014) "A worldwide survey of genome sequence variation provides insight into the evolutionary history of the honeybee Apis mellifera" Andreas Wallberg et al. Abstract: The honeybee Apis mellifera has major ecological and economic importance. We analyze patterns of genetic variation at 8.3 million SNPs, identified by sequencing 140 honeybee genomes from a worldwide sample of 14 populations at a combined total depth of 634×. These data provide insight into the evolutionary history and genetic basis of local adaptation in this species. We find evidence that population sizes have fluctuated greatly, mirroring historical fluctuations in climate, although contemporary populations have high genetic diversity, indicating the absence of domestication bottlenecks. Levels of genetic variation are strongly shaped by natural selection and are highly correlated with patterns of gene expression and DNA methylation. We identify genomic signatures of local adaptation, which are enriched in genes expressed in workers and in immune system– and sperm motility–related genes that might underlie geographic variation in reproduction, dispersal and disease resistance. This study provides a framework for future investigations into responses to pathogens and climate change in honeybees.

APITERAPHY AND COSMETIC: BEETOX REPLACE THE BOTOX

(EFE, Madrid, August 25, 2014 by antena3.com). Based creams bee venom have become a natural alternative to botox and the most exclusive beauty centers are offering it as treatment with the claim that many celebrities use them to eliminate wrinkles and provide greater sensitivity and smoothness to your skin.
Deborah Mitchell, creator of Heaven brand products, explained that bee venom pushes out wrinkles giving a look and a soft feel and flexibility totally opposed to the appearance of "no expression" and frozen associated with botox, and with its cream, which she calls 'beetox' recovers splendor and appearance of the face that is rejuvenated.

ORGANIC BEEKEEPING ENTERPRISE IS FOR SALE


(Córdoba, August 18th) The company had started 5 or 6 years ago a beekeeping enterprise in order to produce certified organic honey and bottled it to the most demanding markets. Bringas' Family and Monte Native Ltd., project owners, decided to sell 1000 hectares located in Tuclame 20 km from Villa de Soto, Córdoba province, Argentina.
Also the whole project of organic certified honey is for sale, with 600 hives, plant and ratings of the company.


HONEY MARKET IN SPAIN U$S 4,14 PER KILO


(May 19th 2014) According to the monthly newsletter published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Magrama), which collect the numbers of the honey campaign, ended last March 31, with an average price of honeydew in bulk 15.64% higher than the previous season, with 3.77 euros per kilo. The multi-flower honey in bulk, meanwhile, closed at 3.02 euros per kilo, ie, 2.72% more than the previous. More info.

END OF THE BEEKEEPING SEASON IN ARGENTINA

(May 6th 2014) Overall it was a meager harvest, darker honeys in areas where they were traditionally white. The humidity played a major role in many batches appearing what we have called "acquired water", a phenomenon widely discussed in a review published into Espacio Apícola magazine No. 108, "Humidity and Honey".


NEXT MEETINGS ON BEEKEEPING IN ARGENTINA

May 9 to 11th a new Meeting in Maipú - Buenos Aires Province.-
May 16 to 17th traditional meeting in Malabrigo - Santa Fe Province.-
June 6 to 8th Older meeting in Azul - Buenos Aires Province.-
September 19 to 21st traditional meeting in Lavalle - Mendoza Province.


HONEY MARKET IN ARGENTINA

Despite the strong international price of honey, as detailed into Espacio Apicola magazine Nº 108, a lack of liquidity in Argentina is pushing down the price of honey. In many cases the payments are deferred for lack of liquidity, pending devaluation and/or liquidation of exports. The cost of credit in Argentina is very high, exceeding in all cases over a 60% for total interest rate annually.-




ARGENTINE BEEKEEPING SEASON 2013-2014

(December 26th 2013) We present an advance of the beekeeping season in Argentina. Initial difficulties in the north, a great November as we had not for years and many difficulties since December 20 with very high temperatures without cooling overnight, and low humidity. View report in Spanish only MIEL: TEMPORADA APICOLA ARGENTINA


APIMONDIA KIEV 2013

(August 15th 2013) The biggest event of beekeeping history will take place from September 29th to October 4th in Kiev, Ukraine.
Final program in click here
Espacio Apícola will be present in this congress collecting information relevant to Argentine beekeeping. We will establish a meeting point in the exhibition hall to meet with those interested in getting in touch with us and with Argentine Beekeeping.
We thank our suscribers and our sponsors for their support to attend the congress, especially the following companies: Parodi Apicultura, CIPSA Honey, Indumentaria APIDAN (clothing), AMCAR (queen bee breeders), Distribuidora Vairolatti (supplier), Alamgramp srl, Gruas San Blas, Apícola Danangie and Grupo Devoto.
Hope to see you in Kiev from September 29th to October 4th. Lint to an Argentine Beekeeping Catalogue


CANADA:
Spotlight in bee die-off is back on seed treatments

(January 16th, Original Source: OntarioFarmer.com) The focus of ongoing research into what is killing off North American honeybee populations has shifted back to insecticide seed treatments.
A new two-year study by researchers at Purdue University has found high concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides, commonly used as seed treatments in corn and soybean production, in the bodies of bees found dead around their hives. The researchers say in a university press release that those insecticides were present at high concentrations in waste talc that is exhausted from farm machinery during planting.
The insecticides clothianidin and thiamethoxam were also consistently found at low levels in soil - up to two years after treated seed was planted - on nearby dandelion flowers and in corn pollen gathered by the bees, according to the findings published in the journal PLoS One.
Researchers Christian Krupke and Greg Hunt began their study after receiving reports of bee deaths at planting time near agricultural fields in 2010 and 2011. Analyses found that neonicotinoids were present in each sample of affected bees. They suggest that excess talc used in air seeders to keep seed flowing is released during planting and planter maintenance and is then blown into the environment. It showed extremely high levels of the insecticides - up to about 700,000 times the lethal contact dose for a bee.
The researchers also found that corn pollen carried by bees later in the year tested positive for neonicotinoids at levels that are not acutely toxic but enough to kill bees if enough is consumed.
The researchers also say they will continue the study to look at the sublethal effects of neonicotinoids, suggesting that bees that do not die from the insecticide could suffer other effects, such as loss of homing ability or less resistance to disease or mites.


NEONICOTINOIDS INTO NECTAR AND POLLEN OF SQUASH

(Austria, December 13th of 2012, from Harald Singer to Espácio Apícola) Movement of Soil-Applied Imidacloprid and Thiamethoxam into Nectar and Pollen of Squash (Cucurbita pepo)
Kimberly A. Stoner (Department of Entomology), Brian D. Eitzer (Department of Analytical Chemistry), The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
There has been recent interest in the threat to bees posed by the use of systemic insecticides. One concern is that systemic insecticides may translocate from the soil into pollen and nectar of plants, where they would be ingested by pollinators. This paper reports on the movement of two such systemic neonicotinoid insecticides, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, into the pollen and nectar of flowers of squash (Cucurbita pepo cultivars “Multipik,” “Sunray” and “Bush Delicata”) when applied to soil by two methods: (1) sprayed into soil before seeding, or (2) applied through drip irrigation in a single treatment after transplant. All insecticide treatments were within labeled rates for these compounds. Pollen and nectar samples were analyzed using a standard extraction method widely used for pesticides (QuEChERS) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometric analysis. The concentrations found in nectar, 10±3 ppb (mean ± s.d) for imidacloprid and 11±6 ppb for thiamethoxam, are higher than concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides in nectar of canola and sunflower grown from treated seed, and similar to those found in a recent study of neonicotinoids applied to pumpkins at transplant and through drip irrigation. The concentrations in pollen, 14±8 ppb for imidacloprid and 12±9 ppb for thiamethoxam, are higher than those found for seed treatments in most studies, but at the low end of the range found in the pumpkin study. Our concentrations fall into the range being investigated for sublethal effects on honey bees and bumble bees.
Citation: Stoner KA, Eitzer BD (2012) Movement of Soil-Applied Imidacloprid and Thiamethoxam into Nectar and Pollen of Squash (Cucurbita pepo). PLoS ONE 7(6): e39114. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0039114
Editor: Subba Reddy Palli, U. Kentucky, United States of America
Funding: This study was supported by a grant from Project Apis m. (URL: www.ProjectApism.org). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.


"GENETICS: SCIENTISTS DISCOVER THE HIGH SENSITIVITY OF BEES TO THE ENVIRONMENT"

(BBC, London, December 11th 2012)By Mark Kinver Environment reporter, BBC News.
Researchers say they have unlocked the genetic secrets of honey bees' high sensitivity to environmental change.
Scientists from the UK and Australia think their findings could help show links between nutrition, environment and the insects' development.
It could, they suggest, offer an insight into problems like Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious cause of mass bee deaths globally.
The findings appear in Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Extensive histone post-translational modification in honey bees ABSTRACT
Histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) play a key role in regulating a variety of cellular processes including the establishment, maintenance and reversal of transcriptional programmes in eukaryotes. However, little is known about such modifications in the economically and ecologically important insect pollinator, the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Using mass spectrometry approaches, we show that histone H3.1, H3.3 and H4 of the honey bee are extensively modified by lysine acetylation and lysine methylation. We analysed histones isolated from queen ovaries and 96-h-old larvae, in toto we quantified 23 specific modification states on 23 distinct peptides. In addition, we have identified and characterised patterns of histone PTMs that reside on the same peptide, generating detailed combinatorial information. Overall, we observed similar profiles of histone PTMs in both samples, with combinatorial patterns of lysine methylations on H3K27 and H3K36 more frequently identified in histones extracted from queen ovaries than from larvae. To our knowledge, this comprehensive dataset represents the first identification and quantitation of histone PTMs in this eusocial insect and emerging epigenetic model.


"ROUNDUP: BEES AND HUMAN HEALTH"

(Córdoba, September 20th 2012)ROUNDUP NOT ONLY DESTROY BIODIVERSITY TO BEES, IT IS ALSO CANCEROGENIC.
(Caen, France September 19th 2012) In press: Food and Chemical Toxicology - ELSEVIER
Title: Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize
Gilles-Eric Séralini (a), Emilie Clair (a), Robin Mesnage (a), Steeve Gress (a), Nicolas Defarge (a), Manuela Malatesta (b), Didier Hennequin (c), Joël Spiroux de Vendômois (a)
(a) University of Caen, Institute of Biology, CRIIGEN and Risk Pole, MRSH-CNRS, EA 2608, Esplanade de la Paix, Caen Cedex 14032, France
(b) University of Verona, Department of Neurological, Neuropsychological, Morphological and Motor Sciences, Verona 37134, Italy
(c) University of Caen, UR ABTE, EA 4651, Bd Maréchal Juin, Caen Cedex 14032, France

Article history:
Received 11 April 2012
Accepted 2 August 2012
Published online: September 19th 2012

ABSTRACT "The health effects of a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize (from 11% in the diet), cultivated with or without Roundup, and Roundup alone (from 0.1 ppb in water), were studied 2 years in rats. In females, all treated groups died 2–3 times more than controls, and more rapidly. This difference was visible in 3 male groups fed GMOs. All results were hormone and sex dependent, and the pathological profiles were comparable. Females developed large mammary tumors almost always more often than and before controls, the pituitary was the second most disabled organ; the sex hormonal balance was modified by GMO and Roundup treatments. In treated males, liver congestions and necrosis were 2.5–5.5 times higher. This pathology was confirmed by optic and transmission electron microscopy. Marked and severe kidney nephropathies were also generally 1.3–2.3 greater. Males presented 4 times more large palpable tumors than controls which occurred up to 600 days earlier. Biochemistry data confirmed very significant kidney chronic deficiencies; for all treatments and both sexes, 76% of the altered parameters were kidney related. These results can be explained by the non linear endocrine-disrupting effects of Roundup, but also by the overexpression of the transgene in the GMO and its metabolic consequences." Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691512005637
Check the impact of the article on media linked to food industry:
http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Safe-levels-of-Monsanto-fertilizer-and-GM-crop-linked-to-cancer/?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily&c=N7nhRGfuXxy2z991bwplKxU%2BCsJxk5Cu


"EUROPE AS GMO-FREE REGION"

(Brussels, September 5th 2012) The European Green Party and the European GMO-free Regions Network is meeting with politicians, scientists, EU institutions and businesses in Brussels today to discuss the future of GMO-free food and agriculture in Europe.
Annex Ituzaingó Neighborhood Mothers (Córdoba, Argentina) were invited because they are a symbol of struggle and perseverance who reach a criminal trial that sentenced a farmer and a crop duster aircraft because they sprayed with chemicals banned by law in an area protected by a declaration of a health emergency.
The GMO-free Europe Conference 2012 has been co-organised by the Greens and the GMO-Free Regions Network, and is the first such meeting in two years.
Currently, two GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are approved for cultivation in Europe – Monsanto’s MON810 corn (already banned in several European countries), and BASF’s Amflora potato (they are stoping production in Europe and they are moving to America from January, according The NY Times). Several other GMO crops are not approved for cultivation but can be imported into Europe, and unintentional presence of GMOs is tolerated at a level of up to 0.9% in other crops.
Speaking with FoodNavigator, GMO campaigner for the Greens in the European Parliament Arnaud Apoteker said that GMO legislation in Europe is at a critical stage. Yesterday, key campaign groups met “to strategize and figure out how to go along in our fight to keep a GMO-free Europe,” he said, ahead of today’s more formal meeting.
Questioning authority
“The main political issues are directly related to upcoming issues at the Commission level,” said Apoteker, including other GMO crops pending EU approval, and the issue of whether individual member states should be allowed to impose national bans for individual crop cultivation without invoking action from the World Trade Organization.
“Up to now, if you want to ban the growing of GMOs, it means you question the authority of the EC,” he said. But in his view, there is no need for revision of the current law on national bans.
“Our opinion is that we don’t really need a new text because if we read the original text, depending on how you interpret it, it allows for member state bans….We don’t want to lose something for a dream that may not materialise.”
Also on the conference agenda is the issue of new GMOs being proposed for commercialization and how the risk assessment is performed by EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority).
Voluntary GMO-free labelling
In addition to the legislative issues, the conference organisers are also working on a voluntary label certifying that a product is GMO-free, Apoteker said. Such a designation already exists in Germany, Austria and France, which have programmes to label meat, milk and eggs as GMO-free, considering that animals fed GM crops are not required to be labelled as GM under EU legislation, and the European Union imports about 30m tonnes of GM crops as animal feed each year.
Carrefour’s Engagement Qualité, for example, now has about 300 products labelled GMO-free, and Apoteker claims that many producers of GMO-free products have seen a significant increase in sales since they started labelling.
“The question now is whether we need EU-wide regulation or whether it would be more efficient to push companies to begin to label in a practical but significant way.”
Apoteker said that following the conference, he would like all stakeholders to have a clear picture of future possible outcomes.
“What I would like is that everyone goes back saying ‘how can we work together to make sure that the EU is GMO-free’ – not just my region, my city, or my fridge.”
Source: Conference urges drive toward GMO-free Europe
The European Green Party and the European GMO-free Regions Network is meeting with politicians, scientists, EU institutions and businesses in Brussels today to discuss the future of GMO-free food and agriculture in Europe.
http://www.foodnavigator.com/Legislation/Conference-urges-drive-toward-GMO-free-Europe


CALL: "BEES ARE THE THRESHOLD"

(Cordoba, June 4th 2012) Regarding our proposal to consider the life of bees as a threshold for human health risk, Honeybee larvae will be used to determine the environmental impact of pesticides.
The American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM proposed new standard, ASTM WK36581, Practice for in Vitro Rearing of Honeybee Larvae, is being developed by Subcommittee E47.02 on Terrestrial Assessment and Toxicology, part of ASTM International Committee E47 on Biological Effects and Environmental Fate.
Among the pesticides are specified insecticides, herbicides and fungicides. The Association invites those interested in this field to attend the International Committee E47 on Biological Effects and Environmental Fate. For more information go to www.astm.org/JOIN


MACIA
"National Beekeeping Party"

(Macia, Entre Rios, April 1st 2012) This past weekend was held the exhibition of agricultural, livestock and beekeeping in Macia, Entre Rios. The weather was great, very sunny and pleasant. The organization was exceeded once again with a more extended campus, very neat, clean and very comfortable especially for exhibitors enjoyed a parking area more than enough. Another highlight was the wide diffusion that took the "National Beekeeping Party". Presentations of the exhibition were made in many cities in Entre Rios, but also in cities of Santa Fe, Corrientes and Misiones. Finally, the organizers brought in "direct flight" from Brussels to Macia, the President of the Commission for Technology and Quality of Beekeeping Products of Apimondia: Etienne Bruneau to lecture on current market honey. The party also included the visit of the Governor of Entre Rios, the Vice-President of Apimondia and the National Beekeeping Coordinator. The Ministry of Tourism of the Nation hired very expensive art shows, with the presence of "Soledad" (popular singer) among others. Still, the audience was considerably lower than in the previous edition.


HONEY MARKET IN EUROPE

(Macia, April 1st 2012 - Fernando Esteban) Etienne Bruneau spoke with us on Sunday morning in Macia and told us that is not yet resolved the issue of the presence of pollen from transgenic plants into honey (GM pollen). We said him that we are working to adapt to new standards of honey arisen in France, Germany and Europe from the issue of the presence of pollen from genetically modified plants (GM pollen) in honey and he said it was "very risky because we also face analysis and any contamination could interfere and override the job done". He also said that "promoters of all this trouble do not represent anybody, EPBA is a very small organization where beekeepers are neither French nor Spanish, nor Italian, nor the Greeks". Then we asked him what he thought about the French decree signed on January 30 on the labeling of apiculture products "GMO-free within 3km" and that we publish in "Espacio Apicola" No. 100 and he told us "is a voluntary labeling and yet he does not seem right, or good because the risk will remain".A transgenic pollen reaches far France from Spain, he said. Finally we asked whether it will be modified European Standard on honey and he did not know if it was going to change, it is not clear whether to modify or rather to clarify the terms and the concept of pollen in honey as a component and not as "ingredient ". "Everything depends on the agreement reached by DG-AGRI and DG SANCO." If the SANCO requested the rule change for honey ... AGRI want to know what benefit they get in return, and not necessarily SANCO is willing to give. So time passes, the agreement is not reached and the situation remains unresolved.


SAN FRANCISCO API-EXPO 2012

(Córdoba, April 1st 2012) From "Espacio Apicola" still think we need to prepare to meet the requirements of different standards on honey based on the information and documents published in our edition No. 100. Moreover, there were always risks and standards already formally take different tolerances. Because of this, besides lectures on "start beekeeping", "intensive management of beehives" or "bees nutrition", we plan to provide tools to "identify areas of production according to different markets" in the next "XX Fair and Beekeeping Meeting from de Center of the Country", San Francisco Api-Expo 2012, on May Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th in San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina.-


BERLIN: WORSHOP ABOUT GM POLLEN IN HONEY
(December 18th 2011 - Espacio Apicola) There were two meetings regarding GM pollen in honey last week.
The meeting of the European Comission (EC) in Brussels on Monday 12th and the Workshop organized by the German Ministry of Agriculture in Berlin on Tuesday and Wednesday 13 and 14th.
The EC is upset because Germany react in advance without agreement with the EC. Also they didn't want to attend at Berlin meeting because it is also an iniciative without any consultation. But finally the EC was present in the Woorkshop looking for consensus. All the people in the EC think that the resolution of the Court is a bad interpretation of the Directive on Honey, except German people.
What has happened in Berlin?
The ministry of agriculture of Germany is open to discuss but the preasure of German people against OGM is so high then they are looking for strong arguments to answer with enough force against the "Green" party.
Official technicians from Europe and also Germany has not a protocol to work. It is very difficult to take a representative and homogenic sample. The DIN norm ask 15% of the honey for sampling. This is only possible in shelf sampling not in bulk.
If it is not easy to sampling, the PCR technic to check if there are GM material, and to check if it is an authorized or not event and to thereafter quantify it is even harder. Then nobody from official laboratories and institutions offer a technic solution.
The Argentine presentation lectured by Ms Paula Lanzelotti concluded the meeting saying that pollen is not an ingredient and we need to check it as part of the honey (Like the EC is proposing). Then if labeling threshold is 0,9 % and the total pollen amount in honey is about 0,1 % the GM pollen is very insignificant, it is difficult to check and it will be always bellow the threshold then it is not necesary to discuss about it and the Directive on Honey is clear about it and there are not problem with the Directive on OGM products.
The German beekeeper Walter Haefeker from the EPBA said "you can solve a legal problem but not the absence of GM pollen in honey if you do not take enough measures in origin. Then in Germany our costumers are asking for GM free honeys"
Regarding "meassures from the origin" we also talk about the difficulties on coexistance between GM cultivation and conventional regarding weather conditions, movements of trucks and movement of beekeepers.
Conclusion: The EC is asking to European Countries not to make any action before its resolution but in fact Germany do it.
Members of EC are proposing a change of the Directive of Honey but it will take time.
Surely, Germany will walk alone with own rules.
Before EC decision there are no rules and market is ambiguous.
It depends on commercial agreements between parts. The Court will work with precedent sentence of Bablock case.


THERE WILL BE ENOUGH HONEY FOR EUROPE
(October 7th 2011 - Espacio Apicola) Only two emissaries from the European Union were enough to hold the expectations of a couple of thousands of Argentines, Brazilians, Chileans and Uruguayans in Apimondia claiming the European Union to open its market to honeys with traces of GMO pollen.
During the conference developed in "La Rural" in Buenos Aires, Mr. Walter Haefeker and Mr. Etiénne Bruneau took calmy the mocking lesson from transgenic wonders provided by geneticist Esteban Hopp -INTA-, in turn, they reaffirmed the position of the European Court. Particularly Haefeker reported that who produces honey with GMO must sell outside Europe.
Did not take long the traditional boasts of some people saying "they need our honey." To this, the European Union also responded with a harsh humiliation on September 30th. From November 1st. 2011, the honey from India will be allowed to enter the European Union. With India and China as suppliers, the European honey market seems to solve the main quality problem: price.


ARGENTINE BEEKEEPING IN A HINGE
(September 13th 2011) There are two basic facts that determine the future of the Argentine Beekeeping. One is the resolution of the European Court against the presence of transgenic pollen as ingredient in honey. The other is the announcement of the Agri-Food Strategic Plan, Argentina 2020.
The European Court's ruling is consistent with legislation then, to access the European honey market, we will have to follow all the steps according to the regulations, as described in the editor's words of "Espacio Apicola" magazine No. 98.
The announcement of the Agri-food Strategic Plan (PEA) made by the President of Argentina, based on a technological package of Genetically Modified Organisms, no-till sowing and chemicals, implies a challenge to beekeeping.
On the one hand, the option offered by the National Government is to regard beekeeping as social containment tool (under the umbrella of "Beekeeping for Rural Development"). On the other hand, the needs of commercial beekeepers: the course of action and the options to be discussed by the industry and by beekeepers as explained in the article "Argentine Beekeeping in a hinge".


CHEAP SHOT
(June 14th 2011) Finally, the EU gave the strike announced last February.
As reported in the Uruguayan newspaper "La Republica", the EU took away the status of "natural" to honeys from that country, because they contain GMO pollen.
As with Nitrofurans in 2003, the EU will use this scheme to fall down the honey price. This affects especially to those countries that were in line with European standards of Good Beekeeping Practice and HACCP standards of honey homogenization.
It is worth remembering that at the end of 2010, Great Britain, authorized again the use of nitrofurans in poultry production.
Will the UE punish Bayer and Monsanto to distort life or a few Euros for the "innocent victim beekeeper" will be enough?
On the other hand, what defense we could expect from governments whose economies depend on GMOs?
Source: http://www.larepublica.com.uy/economia/457159-miel-pierde-su-estatus-natural


EUROPEAN HONEY MARKET
(April 29th. 2011) Last February 9th 2011, Europa Press sprayed the news of a case of a german beekeeper who produce honey near fields of Bayern state, where MOM 810 is seed with European Union autorization since 1998 for investigations.
DNA of this GMO corn and modified proteins were detected in pollen collected by beehives around these fields. Traces of MON 810 DNA was detected in some honey samples.
Considering that the presence of GMO corn residues makes his products unaviable to be solt or consumed, the beekeeper started legal actions against Bayern state in German courts.
While several brokers say that it is an internal problem of a German beekeeper against Bayern state, to European buyers it is an excelent "casual" excuse to freeze the market and fall down the honey price at the end of March.
Argentine exporters made bussiness during the first two month of 2011 for about 50% of the whole done during 2010.
After 6 years having detected the problem, when the market just left the "Nitrofurane parody", this case get out of the drawers in a German court to stop the market when the honey price rice over USD 3000 per ton. This stage is quite similar to the same before Slovenian Congress 2003.
The absurdity of the situation and its actors is unsustainable; as well as to those European brokers that are "on vacation". No need to be very suspicious to understand that since 1998 up today, this GMO pollen did several trips around Europe and it could be found where you want to look for, as well as others GMO crops along Europe.
This situation give advantage once more to Argentine exporters who work with USA in front of those that attend the European market. Market that for the odd jobs of some natural alkaloids present in some honeys, is now preparing to manipulate the price with this new excuse.
As in 2003-2005 ALL the honey will be sold, just a matter of seeing who can hold the honey.
During the next days the court must pronounce sentence and a decision is expected to guide the honey market after June.
It is expected that only an inclusion of a warning consumers paragraph on the labels about the possible presence of GMO traces were imposed.
We will be able to attend this topic next May, Saturday 7th, during the Rio Cuarto Api-Expo carried out in the Rio Cuarto Rural Society facilities, Córdoba, Argentina.
Original source: Europa Press


IMPACT OF PELLSTON WORKSHOP IN ARGENTINA
(April 22nd. 2011) Fortyfive specialists from four continents took part in the "Pellston Worksop on Potential Risks of Plant Protection Products to Pollinators" carried out in Pensacola, Florida, USA, last January 16 to 21st 2011.
Meeting addressed key issues on the effect of pesticides on honey bees.
Scientist from institutes of beekeeping, university researchers, directors of state agencies for pesticides regulation and some representative of private companies in order to rich a balanced discussion between the parties.
The argentine resercher Teodoro Stadler, PhD, from the Environmental Toxicology Laboratory (Laboratorio de Toxicología Ambiental, member of the Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo - IMBECU - CRICyT - CONICET, Mendoza, Argentina) took part on this workshop.
Stadler will share the results of this workshop and local research findings in a conference in the auditoruim of the "Sociedad Rural de Río Cuarto" (Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina) next Saturday May 7th at 18:00. This conference takes place in the context of the "XIX Fair and Beekeeping Meeting from the Centre of the Country" organized by "Espacio Apicola" magazine with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food of Cordoba province and the endorsement of the "Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto".
Lecture title: "Pellston Workshop Report on Potential Risks of Plant Protection Products to Pollinators (January 2011, Pensacola, Florida, USA) and Local Research Findings"
Further information: info@apicultura.com.ar


Bayer strikes
(Monheim, November 16, 2010) – Bayer CropScience announced today that it has acquired a product for the efficient control of varroa mites (Varroa destructor) from Exosect Ltd., Winchester, United Kingdom. The market launch of this new bee health product in the United States is planned for 2011. First registrations in major European countries are expected from 2012 onwards. The acquisition also enables Bayer CropScience to develop innovative bee health solutions and to commercialize new bee health products worldwide. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The product is based on the innovative Entostat™ technology, a food grade powder refined from a natural wax which is sustainably harvested from a particular species of palm tree, combined with the miticidal active ingredient thymol. After being spread directly onto the top of the frames, bees start to clean the powder out of the hive. It adheres to their bodies via electrostatic attraction. As they move throughout the hive, the powder is distributed to other bees and onto the framework of the hive, including open brood cells.
"Bayer is aware of its responsibility as a producer both of crop protection products and of bee health products", said Dr. Franz-Josef Placke, Head of Development at Bayer CropScience. "Therefore, we are investing in research and development to provide beekeepers with sustainable solutions to improve the health of their bees and beehives."
Press release: Bayer CropScience


FACULTY OF MEDICINE OF NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF CORDOBA CONFRONTS AGROCHEMICALS
(Córdoba, August, 28th 2010) In the assembly hall of Pabellón Argentina and the Faculty of Medicine Secretary of Graduates it was held the "First meeting of physicians from Fumigated Villages", last August Friday 27th and Saturday 28th. Espacio Apícola was present collecting first hand information.
In the centennial National University of Córdoba (UNC), founded by the Jesuits in the XVII Century and worldwide known because of the famous University Reformation ("Reforma Universitaria") of 1918, the most genuine will of scientific honesty wheeled out. After almost a hundred years serving "modernity", several tens of physicians from Fumigated Villages aroused the obsequious university structures to denounce the fast increase in spontanous abortions and congenital malformations caused by the contamination with agrochemicals. The most appointed ones were the Endosulfan and the Glyphosate with their correspondent coadjuvants, due to the fact of being the most studied among more than 100 thousand molecules that form the different "phytosanitary" prodcuts, as merchants of GMO food changes like to call.
PhD Rodolfo Páramo, pediatrician and neotatologist from Malabrigo, located in the northern central part of Santa Fe, described how he realized about the toxicity of agrochemicals when many women had spontanous abortions and/or their children were born with malformations while the grain silos were placed in the downtown. Said situation changed, in part, when they removed the silos from the city. He also explained how he felt betrayed by SENASA when said institution authorized the use of Glyphosate and other acrochemicals labeled as safe, when nowadays it has been proved their hight risk to population in general and for pregnant women in particular.
PhD Raúl Horacio Lucero, Chief of the Molecular Biology Lab from Universidad Nacional del NorEste (UNNE), presented a list of malformations in newly born kids whose mothers were daily exposed, especially during the first weeks of gestation, to the fumigations in the cotton fields of Chaco province.
PhD Gladys Trombotto, genetist of UNC Maternity ward, showed how the cases of congenial malformations increased without any change in the historical risk factors.
In turn, PhD Hugo Gómez Demaio, Chief of the pediatrics service of Posadas Hospital in Misiones, apart from showing the statistics and notorious congenial malformation cases in children of peasants from the region, he also highlighted that the interference of agrochemicals as endocrine disruptors cause from effeminacy to the complete inability to engender males due to the lack of testosterone during the first stage in the neural crest formation, before the fifth week of gestation.
The meeting, that included during the opening ceremony the presence of PhD Gustavo Irico, Dean of Faculty of Medicine UNC, was good for the information exchange and to joing profesionals from different provinces.
Among the presentations, Dr. Andrés Carrasco's was highlighted. The director of UBA Molecular Embriology Lab and CONICET researcher refered to his work "Glyphosate-Based Herbicides produce Teratogenic Effects on Vertebrates by Impairing Retinoic Acid Signaling". Said work, that was ignored and even vilified by the National Minister of Science and Technique, Lino Barañao, was published in the magazine Chemical Research in Toxicoly, last July.
Closing the event, chiefs of different chairs of UNC Faculty of Medicine concluded that there was enough evidence to demand immediate protective measures.


BEGINNING OF THE SEASON IN ARGENTINA
(Córdoba, August 25th 2010) There is a great movement of beehives in areas of blueberries, citrus, almond, fuit trees and Native Forest.
After a long time of bitter cold, Argentine beekeepers are hopeful and looking for new horizons. The risk of late frosts is high.
The next season is the central topic of the edition 93 of our magazine "Espacio Apicola".
Information generated by the Argentine Beekeeping site.


QUEEN BEE COMPETITION
(La Paz, Mza, August 25th 2010) Mendoza beekeepers convened the fourth edition of the competition in "La Paz" county. There will be the selection of queen bees and award next December 4 and 5th. You are welcome to meet and share ! More http://centroapicolalujandecuyo.blogspot.com


LAVALLE API EXPO
(Lavalle, Mza, August 25th 2010) With high profile of the Queen Bees Breeders Association of Mendoza, LAVALLE city calls for an Api Expo next September 10 to 12th. A meeting where beekeepers teach beekeepers and a commercial hall joins Argentine companies with Argentine and Chilean beekeepers.


HONEY PRICE TO ARGENTINE PRODUCERS
(Buenos Aires, August 25th 2010) 1 USD = 3,94 ARS
1 Honey Kg = 9,25 ARS = 2,34 USD
1 pound = 1,06 USD aprox.


ARGENTINE MEETINGS
(August 18th 2010) The National Honey Show of Azul (Buenos Aires province), carried out in June was a success in relation to poor beekeeping season. Organizers declined the invitation only to Saturday with a good criterion. It was the best show of the year.
This weekend 20, 21 and 22 August the appointment is in Rosario under Sonia Torre & Associates organization.


MEXICO: Small hive beetle
(Zacatecas, June 1st 2010) The "Small hive beetle" (Aethina tumida), native of South Africa, was detected in the United States in May 1998 and the State of Coahila, Mexico, in 2008. Recently it has been reported in the State of Zacatecas showing his steady progress in the Northern country.
In addition to the prophylactic measures recommended for beehives treatment, is to highlight the suggestion of removing the soil surrounding the colonies to cut the reproductive cycle of the beetle.
Full text on El Sol de Zacatecas


AZUL HONEY PARTY - JUNE 2010
(Buenos Aires, Argentina - May 23rd, 2010) It is available now the list of conferences to be expound during the next "Fiesta Nacional de la Miel" in Azul (Buenos Aires province) from JUNE 26th to 27th. You can access it via the link on this page.


ARGENTINE BEEKEEPERS
(Córdoba, Argentina - May 4th 2010) Beekeeper René Monteverdi and his brothers Raúl and Daniel from Balnearia, Córdoba, Argentina will share their updating experience next Saturday during the San Francisco api-expo. They started beekeeping activity 20 years ago in a cattle rissing area and now they have all their beehives on pallets to move along the country.
The Api Expo starts next May 7th at 16:00 with a lecture in charge of Cordovan University proffesors and finishes on Sunday 9th after several beekeepers' proposals about beehive nutrition.
The program has been updated today. Check it in www.apicultura.com.ar


HONEY MOISTURE
Argentina (March 5th 2010) - Some colleagues from "Pampa úmeda" region told us that they harvested honeys with a little more moisture than the normal this season. Due to a lot of rainfall during the crop season.
It is advisable to control that moisture and to sell this honeys above the normal values as soon as possible.


BEEHIVES SHORTAGE
USA (March 5th 2010) - In spite of predictions it was noticed beehives shortage for almond pollination in California, once more. Beekeepers have been received offers of U$s 200 per beehives (in fact nuclei) "with two frames of bees and above". American beekeepers, affected by CCD, would appeal to Aussies bees packages.


MACIA PARTY
(March 5th 2010) - Maciá city party includes a beekeeping show, it will be visited by the president of Apimondia, Gilles Rattia, this year. Among the invited artists it will be singing "Peteco Carabajal" and "Chaqueño Palavecino" two of the most important Argentine folklore singers. The appointment is in Maciá, Entre Ríos, next March 26th to 28th.


CHIVILCOY API-EXPO
(March 5th 2010) - The Rural Society of Chivilcoy summons to the new edition of its beekeeping exhibition next April 17th and 18th.


EXPO-APICOLA SAN FRANCISCO 201
The "18th Fair and Beekeeping Meeting from the Center of the Country" will be carried out in San Francisco (Córdoba, Argentina), "apex of Argentine Beekeeping towards the North of the Country", on May 7th to 9th. Further informationwww.apicultura.com.ar


ARGENTINA: END OF SEASON
(Córdoba, February 13th 2010) It has Already arrived to all our subscribers the 90th edition of "Espacio Apícola" beekeeping magazine. Soon it will be available a synthesis in this site. You can read in advance the editor words and index clicking here.
The honey crop has been good in many regions of Buenos Aires province and there have been honey again, after four years, in La Pampa province.
Santa Fe, Córdoba and Mendoza suffered the effects of a lingering drought followed by virulent storms and heavy rains. Flowers washed by the rain and few sunny days in the necessary moment made the honey crops to fail in many regions of these provinces.
The rainfall forecast for the next two weeks in the Mesopotamia, added to the soil moisture saturation and the overflowing of many rivers, condition the honey crop in Entre Ríos and the south of Corrientes province.
Even when we have the capacity to control part of the natural forces and also mitigate their negative effects, the bad agricultural practices increase the destructive effect of these forces out of their own limits. Massive deforestation, clearfield and no-till sowing (siembra directa), as if it was the only agricultural technology, have eliminated the natural barriers of contention of winds and rainfalls.
Rainwater runs on compacted fields for "no till sowing" looking for the sea. The use of the "chisel" (tool of spikes to break the compacted fields and to facilitate water absorption) is not either enough, or comparable to the penetration that roots of native forests offer.
Groundwater doesn't recover their storing level and the disappearance of forests moved away the rainfalls of the natural watershed of the mountain ranges. Desertification affects not only much of Argentine Beekeeping, but also the same landowners that paradoxically will be subsidized by the disasters that in many cases have caused themselves. For our habitual subscribers, it is the chronicle of an announced catastrophe.
How does the Argentine Beekeeping advance and how are it and its relation with the world modified?
Follow this Espacio Apícola closely. Remember to update your subscription for 2010.
In Argentina $ 60 (five editions, shipping included)
Rest of the world U$S 40 (five editions, shipping included)


BEES FREE OF AFRICANIZATION
(Cordoba, December 13th 2009) Digital photos and computers optimize the techniques to determine bee races.
The use of digital photos and image vectorizing softwares have allowed traditional morphometrical taxonomy identify africanized bees just with a picture of the right forewing of bees.
A photographic image is transformed into vectors able to be related to one another and analyzed in logical form by a statistical softwares in a few minutes. Tiago Francoy, from USP (Brazil), applied this technique to determine africanized bees and he achieved an effectiveness of more than 99%. He made the comparative works using the Rutner collection as reference and samples from the whole Brazil. Detailed description of the technique, results and the charts that identify the main commercial bees races were published in Espacio Apicola edition No. 89. The main queenbees breeders from Argentina are considering it and its success can be significant for the international bees market. More information inform@apicultura.com.ar


HARVEST EXPECTATION IS GETTING BETTER
(December 13th, 2009) Despite the delay, rains are arriving in the central region of Argentina. At the end of November Mr. Enrique Vairolatti, from San Francisco (northeast of Cordoba province) a region with a high concentration of beehives, told us that bees had already taken two small suppers. The area surrounding Rio Cuarto city, south of Cordoba and San Luis provinces, began to receive good rainfalls at the beginning of December. At the same time, Mr. Mario Iaconis from National Radio of Bahia Blanca city announced significant rainfalls in the Southwest of Buenos Aires province. The hydric balance is good in the whole coastal region (coast of Parana river, Center and East of Buenos Aires province and the whole Mesopotamia).


COMMERCIAL UPGRADE
We have upgraded the information of honey and beewax exporter, suppliers of materials, machineries and inputs companies that also support this information and training Space at the service of the Argentine Beekeeping. Check the new telephone guide and E-mails in "Argentine Beekeeping Exporters and Suppliers"


CCD: BEES INTOXICATION
(November 24th 2009) The National Union of Beekeeping of France (UNAF) ratified in Apimondia its accusation against the Imidacloprid, the Fipronil and neonicotinoids as well as the Thiametoxan but UNAF went farther and demonstrated that the Ministry of Agriculture of France hides the technical reports to the control agency of the European Union.
The president of the European Professional Beekeepers Association (EPBA), Walter Haefeker, affirmed in Montpellier that the German government, compensated beekeepers whose beehives were damaged by Bayer Crop Science products but, the German government demanded beekeepers to throw away pollen frames polluted with pesticides to eliminate any evidence of the chronic intoxication that beehives exposed to pesticides suffer. That intoxication is produced by airborne dust during coated corn seeding, by remains of coated seeds in field, by puddles polluted with pesticides and by drops of gutation of plants born from coated seeds with systemic pesticides, recently demonstrated and published in the USA.
Before the latest call to decide the approval of pesticides in the United Kingdom next January 2010, David Ramsden (Member of the Beekeepers Association of Twickenham, London) exhorted all British Beekeepers to let their delegates know what they think before voting in BBKA meetings. "As you may know, the British Beekeepers Association endorses some pesticides, and in return receives income from the manufacturers -said David- For me, it is a simple question of ethics. Not a scientific or technical one, as there is insufficient evidence to come to any absolute conclusion regarding the danger of the various products to bees. The question I beg is the ethical proposition “should the BBKA endorse these products for money?” My answer is no." affirm David in a message spread by Phil Chandler last Friday November 20. This problem is discussed in detail in "Espacio Apícola" n. 89.


ALARMING TOXICITY OF GLYPHOSATE
(Página 12 Newspaper - Argentina - April 13th 2009) A laboratory scientific investigation confirms glyphosate is highly toxic and it causes devastating effects in embryos. Glyphosate is the Roundup® active ingredient, a total herbicide what is based the soya been production and the main source of clearfield idea, registered by Monsanto Corp. Thus, it was determined by the Laboratory of Molecular Embryology, CONICET-UBA (Faculty of Medicine) that, with dilutions dose up to 1500 less than those used in the fumigations of soya fields, it was proved intestinal and heart dysfunctions, malformations and neuronal deteriorations. The study, carried out in embryos, is the first one in its type and it refutes the supposed harmlessness of the herbicide.
The Laboratory of Molecular Embryology is twenty years working in academic investigations. It is placed in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and linked to the National Council of Scientific and Technical Investigations (CONICET). It is the most important reference on the matter in Argentina, conformed by graduates in biochemistry, genetics and biology. During the last fifteen months they studied the effect of the glyphosate in amphibious embryos, from the fecundation until the organism acquires the morphological characteristics of the species.
Next to the glyphosate they are also studing their helpings as POEA that, when working as a detergent, it is an animal fat derivated that has high toxicity and residual power.
Source and full text: http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-123111-2009-04-13.html


THE DROUGHT WORSENS THE HONEY CROP
(Newscast of Rural Channel - Thursday 29/01/09 15:15 GMT) Images from the National Meteorological Service show the deficit of water in the soil of the central region and the Argentinean Northeast. From yellow to red it is shown that the situation is serious and extreme respectively. Only in green areas it is acceptable the water retained level of the soil. The factors that worsen the drought are several and firstly the anthropic changes play an important role. In this situation the bee hardly survives, it does not turn out.
Check the image from Google
Source: National Meteorological service


ARGENTINEAN MIRACLE
(Newscast of Rural Channel - Thursday 29/01/09 15:15 GMT) It is known that Argentina imports pollen and royal jelly. Only honey is exported and some wax; occasionally and in insignificant quantities, queen bees and propolis are also exported.
In the edition number 43 of the magazine "Alimentos Argentinos" by SAGPyA (National Secretary of Cattle Raising, Agriculture and Food) (December of 2008) it was published what is called "Numbers of beekeeping chain", where it is said that Argentina exports 93% of the honey that turns out, for more than U$S 150 million.
According to the published data, those U$S 150 million annually is enough to amortize 3,39 million beehives, the honey extraction rooms, the operative expenses of the annual calendar and to keep 100.000 jobs!.
It seems that living in Argentina is so cheap! that as the incomes (according to this data) for each job is about U$S 1500 a year, the Argentinean State maintains an export tax for honey of 10% and it would not be necessary to do away with the right customs that Argentinean honey pays to enter in Europe, about 17%... It seems this does not affect the competitiveness of Argentina in the "generous" honey market.
We beg our readers not to believe in these numbers published by SAGPyA. Because of this kind of articles, not as irresponsible as this particular one, the Argentinean beekeepers had to stand the anti-dumping sanctions that the US Department of Commerce (DOC) imposed some years ago. In Argentina U$S 1500 annually is hardly enough to pay the social insurance and the contribution for the job of a rural worker without any qualifications.
Abrir imagen guardada en Google
Source: Alimentos Argentinos nº 43 - December of 2008 - SAGPYA Argentina. Fuente: Revista Alimentos Argentinos nº 43 - Diciembre de 2008 - SAGPYA Argentina


BRITAIN'S BIGGEST FARMER BANS NEONICOTINOIDS
(January 29th, 2009) The Co-op, which owns 25,000 hectares of farm land in Britain - banned the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on all its farms to protect honeybees.
Simon Press, senior technical manager at the Co-op group said: "We believe that the recent losses in bee populations need definitive action, and as a result are temporarily prohibiting the eight neonicotinoid pesticides until we have evidence that refutes their involvement in the decline." Paul Monaghan, the Co-op's head of social goals accused the UK government of failing to recognise that "pesticides could be a contributing factor" in the breakdown of nature's number one pollinating machine.
Full story http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/28/bees-coop-pesticide
BBC Interviewhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/listen_again/default.stm
Source: BeeAlert


ESPACIO APICOLA No. 85
(January 27th, 2009) It has already been distributed the edition No. 85 of our Argentine Beekeepers' Magazine "Espacio Apícola" completing the five editions of 2008. Remember to renew your subscription (Spanish only, for foreing countries U$S 40 per year.- Five editions shipping and handling included). For further information inform@apicultura.com.ar


SITUATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BEEKEEPING SEASON IN THE PAMPAS - ARGENTINA
(Newscast of Rural Channel - Thursday 11/12/08 15:15 GMT). The annual comparison of Green Index (Chlorophyl activity) published by the National Meteorological Service shows the repercussion of the drought in the Pampas and the central area of the Country. This deficit, marked by the yellow and brown areas (check image), shows the difficulty to build up of the colonies during the months previous to the nectar flow.
The next image (2) compares the Standard Rainfall Index, in the same period from 2007 and 2008, also published by the National Meteorological Service. It can be observed that at the beggining of the 2008 season the general conditions are better than last year's in almost the whole region, except from those that remain in yellow or brown color.
The area sowed with sunflower can be considered as a parameter to project the honey production in Argentina. The following graph (3), taken from the work published in Espacio Apícola # 84 by Ofelia Naab and Angélica Tamame, shows the evolution of sunflower areas between 1992 and 2005. In 1999 Argentina had a record honey crop. Nowadays the estimation of sunflower sowed areas is about 2,2 million Hectares (5,4 million Acres).


ESPACIO APICOLA 84th EDITION
(November 10th 2008) Editorial words and abstracts of the main titles of Espacio Apícola magazine # 84 are available in this page.


CCD: ITALY BANS PESTICIDES
(September 17th 2008) The Italian government banned the use of several neonicotinoid pesticides that are blamed for the deaths of millions of honeybees. The Ministero del Lavoro della Salute e delle Politiche Sociali issued an immediate suspension of the seed treatment products clothianidin, imidacloprid, fipronil and thiamethoxam used in rapeseed oil, sunflowers and sweetcorn. The Italian government will start a monitoring program to further investigate the reasons of recent bee deaths.
full Italian text
Italy followed Germany and Slovenia which banned sales of clothianidin and imidacloprid in May. In France imidacloprid has been banned on sunflowers already since 1999. In 2003 the substance was also banned as a sweetcorn treatment. Bayer´s application for clothianidin was rejected by French authorities.


WARNING: ENVIROMENTAL CONTAMINATION CAUSES BEE LOSSES
(September 13th 2008) 400 beehives died and other 200 were affected in hardly one weekend in Venado Tuerto, Santa Fe, Argentina.
Bee illnesses were not detected. Neither there were fumigations in the area.
The main suspicions are the emanations of two local industries dispersed by the wind.
The involved industries would produce high dioxine levels, a substance generated mainly by plastic incineration.
A similar phenomenon was reported 10 years ago near Laguna Paiva, also in Santa Fe province where there was a pathogenic residues oven.
Source: Beekeepers Association of Venado Tuerto.

CAUTION IN CORDOBA:
"Clavel del Aire" Tillandsia spp.
ANOTHER ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE

María Luisa Pignata PhD verified high levels of environmental contamination studying Nickel and Zinc concentrations in "Clavel del Aire" (Tillandsia spp.) around Río Tercero city, Córdoba province. "Clavel del Aire" are those small plants that we usually see in the electricity or telephone cables or sticked in tree branches. These vegetables feed on nutrients that are spread in the air and their study is used to verify the environmental contamination. The ovens where this contamination would come also emanate dioxines, that beside these heavy metals in high concentrations are also highly toxic.
Source: María Luisa Pignata PhD, FCEFyN-UNC

RISK FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTIONS
In areas of Córdoba province where it is practiced the pigeon hunt, 1000 annual lead tones are spread as ammunitions of shotguns, a true lead mine. As metal, lead is not necessarily toxic but, in contact with other substances in the field, it is oxidized and it becomes soluble transformed in a highly toxic substance. The small size of ammo makes them easier oxidable. This allows the absorption of heavy metals by plants and they put in risk several agricultural productions, mainly those that look for an organic certification.
Source: María Luisa Pignata PhD, FCEFyN-UNC

CALENDAR
II Organic Beekeeping National Meeting
Organized by Letis CORP.
Place: Rural society of Santa Fe, Argentina
Date: September 26th
Further information click here


Symposium of Queen Bees Breeders and Instrumental Insemination
Place: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Date: October 15-19th 2008
Further information: beekeeping.com


Apimondia Congress

Place: Montpellier, France
Date: September 15-20th 2009
Further information apimondia2009


Contact us:
inform@apicultura.com.ar
To spread a piece of news join:
Espacio Apícola

CRISIS IN ARGENTINA
(Conjucture analysis in PDF file- June 2008)

QUALITY CONTROL OF POLLEN AND ROYAL JELLY COURSE
The Beekeeping Investigation Center (CEDIA) of the National University of Santiago del Estero (Argentina) invites professionals, technicians and interested people to receive this training next July 28th to 30th 2008.
Directed by José Francisco Maidana PhD, in Spanish.
At the end of the course participants will have achieved:
• The necessary training to determinate the quality of pollen and Royal jelly samples, as norms settled by the C.A.A. (Argentinean Alimentary Code).
• The specific ability appling techniques to detect possible adulterations of pollen and Royal jelly. • A positive attitude to divulge the specific properties that determine the nutritious and therapeutic value of pollen and Royal jelly.
Contact: cedia@unse.edu.ar


PROPOLIS AND THE C.A.A.
(Buenos Aires, May 14th 2008) the Combined Resolutions 94/2008 and 357/2008 of the Secretary of Political, Regulation and Sanitary Relationships, and of the Secretary of Agriculture, Cattle raising, Fishes and Foods, respectively, incorporate to the Argentinean Alimentary Code (C.A.A.) the Articles 1308 bis and 1384, and they substitute the Article 1339.
The norm was published on May 14th 2008 in the Official Bulletin of the Argentine Republic, and it establishes a term of sixty (60) days so that the holders of certificates of products that contain propolis begin the procedure of registration of this products, according to the specifications of the present Resolution.

PRESENT & FUTURE
(Córdoba - January 10th 2008) After two years of having consolidated the normative about honey export and production in Argentina, it is necessary a reconversion of the Argentine Beekeeping Sector. The fiscal bureaucratic labyrinth and the lack of agricultural planning are reducing profit and productivity of the beekeeping companies dedicated only to honey production and commercialization in Argentina. This was the topic tackled by Fernando Esteban, in the today beekeeping column in Rural Channel's news. (Rural channel - satellite - every Thursday from 13:15 to 13:30 Argentina or 15:15 to 15:30 GMT)

DISCUSSION
(July 2nd, 2007) The beehive-loose rising in the latest winter in northern hemisphere, called CCD by Americans, and the probably looses in this Argentine winter are breaking news on beekeeping television and radio programmes.
The reason of these looses are not determinated yet. People discuss the following factors: Parasites and honeybee diseases, over use of pesticides, possible GMO implication and the weather change.
Several acts asking founds for more than 100 millon dollars to researches, are in the Senate of USA. Argentine beekeepers claim a diversity agricultural activities. The request was done in the latest Api-expo of Rio Cuarto (Cordoba - Argentina) and gived formally to President Kirchner with an "Open Letter" last June.


COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER
(USA - April 25, 2007) Scientists Identify Pathogens That May Be Causing Global Honey-Bee Deaths. This CCD affect European and American beekeepers mainly. New was broken by an Army laboratory who works on chemical and biological technologies. There would have many academic, government and commercial teams working on this way. Will be this the cause or just a mask of agrichemicals and GMO?. Enter your name and password to read the full article in English

COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER (CCD)
(March 9th) This winter the bee looses would be around 40 to 70% in 24 of the 50 states of USA. In a message to the Bee-L Peter Borst talking about the experience of Mr. Lance Sundberg said "Some beekeepers have lost more than 80 percent of their colonies already this year" last March 3rd.
Almond pollination contracts rise up to U$S 140 per colony.
BBC Cience taking note of the "Colony Collapse Disorder" published the following article ¿Y DONDE ESTAN LAS ABEJAS" (click to check it in Spanish), the Argentine News Agency, TELAM, rewrited it under the title "Gran desconcierto en Estados Unidos ante la desaparición masiva de abejas" (click to check it in Spanish)