HISTORY and AWARDS BRIEF HISTORY | PRESIDENTS | HUBBARD AWARD | BEEKEEPER OF YEAR | WOMAN OF YEAR | RESEARCHER OF YEAR  PIONEER AWARD | HONEY QUEENS | VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR | PRESIDENT'S AWARD A BRIEF HISTORY OF FLORIDA BEEKEEPING by Laurence Cutts Emeritus Apiary Inspector Division of Plant Industry Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Honey bees are not native to the Americas. They were brought over from Europe by colonists. They were recorded as being in Virginia in 1622 (Nelson, 1971). Native Americans called them "white man's flies." It is not known when the first honey bees were introduced into Florida. It is also not known whether they were of English or Spanish origin. Prior to the turn of this century many colonies in Florida were kept in sections of hollow logs called "bee gums." It was reported in 1879 that almost everyone in the Daytona area kept several (McIntyre, 1879). However, commercial beekeeping was practiced before this time by a fruit company from New York. It was reported that they operated one of the first apiaries of any consequence in the state on the west side of the Halifax River, where the city of Daytona now stands. This apiary was established in 1872. The production of lemons, oranges and honey made a very good combination. The company would sail back to New York City in the spring with a cargo of Florida fruit and honey. This practice excited considerable attention around New York as well as in certain Florida towns. W. S. Hart, located at Hawks Park in Volusia County, began producing honey and fruit in like manner soon after. Along about this same time another apiary of importance was started near the city of Wewahitchka in Gulf County by S. S. Alderman, who also grew oranges along with the production of honey. This early development of beekeeping in Florida took place between 1872 and 1888. Florida at that time had few inhabitants and virtually no roads. The pioneer beekeepers had a hard time of it. They obtained their bees from the forest, lived in remote sections of the country which, could be reached only by small vessels and lived a very lonely life. The success of S. S. Alderman and W. S. Hart soon caused reports to be widely circulated that an average of one barrel -- or about four hundred pounds -- of honey per colony was being secured in Florida. This report meant much to Florida in beekeeping, for almost at once people began to establish apiaries all over the state and to put in modern equipment (Wilder, 1928). A Mr. Wiggins was reported as operating an apiary and small trading post at Wiggins Pass in Collier County in 1881 (Tebeau, 1966). Progress has continued down to the present time. Frank Stirling, in a speech to the Florida State Beekeepers' Association on Dec. 3, 1920, quoted a statement by P. J. Wester, former Florida Experiment Station Horticulturist, AIt is worthy of note that the world record for honey production is held by the sub-tropical state of Florida. The 103 colonies of an apiarist there, known to the writer, averaged 208 lbs. of honey per colony one year, and one produced the astonishing amount of 496 pounds (Stirling, 1920). Although Florida was known for high honey yields around the turn of the century, it was not a Utopia of beekeeping. An article in the January 1901 issue of American Bee-Keeper magazine by M. W. Shepherd is titled "Bee-Keeping In West Florida - A Letter From A Land Flowing With Malaria And Honey." He mentions that the only way to get from place to place was by boat and that accessible high ground is scarce (Shepherd 1901). Early Florida beekeepers moved their colonies from one honey flow to another long before migratory beekeeping was practiced elsewhere. These movements were by boat. Bees moved from the tupelo swamps to the farm land by steamboat. They also moved from the mainland to the keys by boat. Migratory movement has always presented a risk. Truck loads today may be lost to a wreck. A beekeeper at Pensacola was reported to have lost a boatload of bees when a sudden squall caught him in Pensacola Bay (Hawkins, 1920). Apiary Inspection was created by Legislative Act on June 9, 1919. The Plant Commissioner in 1919, Dr. Wilmon Newell, was experienced in bee diseases, having been in charge of the Texas program for five years. He appointed Mr. C. E. Bartholomew as the first State Inspector and assisted him with inspections the first year (Morse, 1955). Initial inspections were in the Apalachicola river region which was reported to have more bees than any other area of the state. The tupelo honey produced in this region was valued at this time as a good honey to blend with other varieties of honey to retard granulation (Newell, 1920). Beekeeping in this area was also enhanced by steamboat transportation and bees were routinely moved into Alabama and Georgia for the summer and back into Florida for the spring. The number of colonies in the area coupled with the migratory nature of beekeeping there made the spread of disease a major concern. The finding of disease in one large apiary in 1918 caused beekeepers there to petition the legislature for an apiary inspection program with laws that would help prevent the movement of diseased colonies into Florida.   The Florida State Beekeepers Association was organized at Gainesville on October 6, 1920. It was anticipated that it would make for rapid improvement in the beekeeping industry of Florida ( Newell, 1921). A report of the organizational meeting states that a group of 100 enthusiastic beekeepers from all over the state were in attendance. The first officers were: J. W. Barney of Bradenton, President; F. K. Isbell of Wewahitchka, Vice President; K. E. Bragdon of Cocoa, Secretary; and J. R. Hunter of Wewahitchka, Treasurer. It is also stated that the establishment of the state association followed the organization of several strong local associations. On the same page is a classified ad for 2 or 3 frame nuclei from the Sarasota Bee Company, the beginning of a segment of the beekeeping industry that became a major part of the industry here in later years (Anonymous, 1921). On July 1, 1957, an Act of the Florida State Legislature became effective which provided to beekeepers compensation for bees and equipment destroyed by the state because of American foulbrood (Martin, 1960). Florida was the first state to implement such a program. The compensation program increased cooperation between the Department of Agriculture and the beekeeping industry and contributed to a steady decline in the incidence of American foulbrood in the state. Between 1920 and 1940 tupelo honey shifted from a honey for blending to a specialty honey recognized as one of the premier honeys of the United States. Since then beekeepers have exercised care to produce and market as pure a product as possible. In 1962, the Florida Department of Agriculture initiated a program to certify tupelo honey as a marketing tool for those who produce a quality product (Packard, 1962). This continues to be the only program of this nature in the United States. Florida beekeeping reached its peak in the late seventies and early eighties with over 360,000 colonies, often ranking number one in the nation in honey production. With the discovery of tracheal mites in 1984 and the Varroa mite in 1987, Florida beekeeping declined, as did beekeeping nationwide. In recent years the state had around 250,000 colonies and dropped to as low as number five in honey production in the U.S.. Florida beekeeping has now become almost totally migratory. Most bees in the state are moved from two to six times annually, either interstate or intrastate. About half of Florida's bees move to northern states in the summer for pollination or honey production. They pollinate everything from blueberries in Maine to almonds in California. Florida's orange blossom and tupelo honey are known world-wide. Although a considerable amount of honey is imported into the United States, these honeys are exported throughout the world. Addendum by Dr. Malcolm T. Sanford, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida: The Florida beekeeping industry has traditionally been aided by both a bee inspection program and unsurpassed educational commitment from the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), part of the University of Florida. These have been especially important during the last twenty-five years as the industry has faced challenges from exotic bee mites and the most recently introduced small hive beetle. A line of bee inspectors can be traced back to the law providing compensation to beekeepers in the late 1950s. Chief apiarists of note included Phil Packard, followed later Jim Herndon (who retired and was brought back into service due to tracheal mite introduction and the death of his successor Leroy Putnal). He was succeeded by Inspector Emeritus Laurence Cutts, who shepherded the industry through perhaps its darkest time as Varroa was introduced, changing beekeeping forever in the Sunshine state. Mr. Cutts retired in 2003, to be replaced by Jerry Hayes, who now finds himself confronted with perhaps even a greater challenge, what appears to be a growing spontaneous, indigenous population of Africanized honey bees. In the 1960s and 1970s, perhaps as many as six faculty members in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, IFAS, University of Florida were involved in beekeeping efforts, including Milledge Murphy, who some old time students still remember as one of their premier professors. The last of this cadre, was Frank Robinson, who retired in 1985. He was followed later by Dr. Harvey Cromroy, a prime player in acarology (mite) research, and most recently Dr. Jim Nation (bee nutrition) in 2004. The first beekeeping specialist in the Florida Cooperative Extension Service was John D. Haynie. "Honey Haynie" began a newsletter called Hum of the Hive in the 1950s. It was regularly published until his retirement in 1971. Mr. Haynie also began the Florida Beekeepers Institute in 1957. Hum of the Hive was taken up by Dr. Danny R. Minnick in September 1971. His "last issue" was written in August of 1972. At that time, 1,800 hundred persons subscribed. Thereafter, Dr. Freddie Johnson sporadically authored the newsletter along with Frank Robinson, until July 1981. The following month's issue was written by Dr. Malcolm T. Sanford, the author, who retired and became "Professor Emeritus," in 2001. In February 1983, APIS-Apicultural Information and Issues evolved from Hum of the Hive, taking on a different format with an upgraded logo. The first electronic issue came out in February 1984 on BITNET. Since then, APIS has been available worldwide via the INTERNET and World Wide Web. Parts of it have been archived across the Web on different sites. In 1989, the author published issues from Italy, in 1992, from Egypt, and a special collection of letters from France in 1997. In 1994, the story of APIS was featured in the FARNET publication, 51 Reasons: How We Use the Internet and What it Says About the Information Superhighway, the lobbying document used to educate the U.S. Congress about the value of the National Information Infrastructure (NII). This formally recognized the newsletter as a pioneer on the Internet, the first information organ of its kind available on World-Wide Web. In August 2006, Dr. Jamie Ellis joined the faculty of entomology as Florida's next extension specialist in apiculture. The combination of a strong beekeepers' association, Cooperative Extension effort and apiary inspection program should help Florida's beekeeping industry continue to rank among the best in the nation. Laurence Cutts                     0References Anonymous, 1921. American Bee Journal, Volume 61, No. 1, p.33. Hawkins, Kenneth. 1920. Beekeeping In The South. Hamilton Illinois: American Bee Journal. 120 p. Martin, Russell A. 1960. AApiary Inspection Department. Bulletin, State Plant Board of Florida, Volume 2, Bulletin 14. p.50. McIntyre, R. H. 1879. Apiculture In Florida &c., American Bee Journal. Vol. 15. No. 6, p.266-267. Morse, Roger. 1955. AThe Work of the State Plant Board of Florida. State Plant Board of Florida, Volume I, Bulletin 8, p.93-96. Nelson, Eric V. 1971. AHistory of Beekeeping In The United States from Beekeeping In The United States, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 335, Issued August 1967, Revised June 1971. Page 2. Newell, Wilmon. 1920. AQuarterly reports: Bee Disease Eradication. State Plant Board of Florida, Quarterly Bulletin, Volume 5, No. 1, Oct. 1920, p.32. Newell, Wilmon. 1921. AReport of the Plant Commissioner for the biennium ending April 30, 1920." State Plant Board of Florida Quarterly Bulletin Volume 5(2) January 1921. p.104. Shepard, M. W. 1901. ABEEKEEPING IN WEST FLORIDA - A Letter From A Land Flowing With Malaria And Honey American Bee-Keeper, January 1901. p.7-8. Packard, Phillip M. 1962. Apiary Inspection Section, Bulletin of The Division of Plant Industry, Volume 1, Number 2. p.67. Tebeau, Charlton W., 1966, Florida's Last Frontier, University of Miami Press. Page 116. Temme, Bill, 1999, Assistant Librarian, St. Augustine Historical Society, 271 Charlotte St., St. Augustine, FL 32084. Personal communication. Stirling, Frank. 1920. [A Speech Presented To The Florida State Beekeepers Association]. Located at: Division of Plant Industry Library Archives, Gainesville, FL. Wilder, J. J. 1928. Beekeeping in Florida. State of Florida Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 5, New Series. p.5. Past Presidents   1920-1929 J.W. Barney   1973 Laurence Cutts 1930 W.V. Blanton   1974-1975 Bill Craft 1931-1933 Dr. Waldo Horton   1976-1977 Felix Uzell 1934-1941 L.M. Dewey   1978-1979 Phil Packard 1942-1943 L.M. Lewis   1980-1981 Bill Sherman 1944-1945 W.C. Milton   1982-1983 Bill Merritt 1946 John Wilbanks   1984-1985 Frank Randall 1947-1948 Paul Cutts   1986-1987 Hank Will 1949 F.C. Markham   1988 Frank Randall 1950 C. Wade   1989-1990 Conrad Cramer 1951 Orren Davis   1991-1992 Ralph Russ 1952 R.L. Leath   1993-1994 John Westervelt 1953 Roy Novinger   1995-1996 Robert Kelly 1954 Ralph Wadlow   1997-1998 Charlotte Randall 1955-1956 Millard Coggshall   1999 Earl Russell 1957-1958 David Phillips   2000-2003 Elmore Herman 1959-1960 Felix Uzzell   2004-2005 Laurence Cutts 1961-1962 G.E. Tanner   2006-2007 Elmore Herman 1963 H.E. Orelup   2008 Laurence Cutts 1964 G.E. Tanner   2009 Reno Plenge 1965 Wayne Judan   2010 Tommy Duggar 1966 Vern Davis   2011 Gary Ranker 1967 Ross J. Haynes   2012 Gary Ranker 1968-1970 Ray Bailey   2013 Keith Councell 1971-1972 Frank Robinson       Florida State Beekeepers Association Woman of the Year Given to the woman that has helped the Association the most in the past year. This woman's name is also forwarded to the State Department of Agriculture where she is put in as a nominee for the Florida Woman of the Year in Agriculture. 1987 Charlotte Randall   1998 Sylvia Bullard 1988 Heidi Nixson   1999 Mary Faye Roberts 1989 Hazel Will   2001 Vernon Gwaltney 1990 Eloise Cutts   2005 Carolee Howe 1991 Carlene Croft   2006 Sylvia Bullard 1992 Luella Bell   2007 Nancy Gentry 1993 Betsy Woodward   2009 Beth Fox 1994 Essie Mashburn   2010 Caryl Kelley 1995 Josephine Emde   2011 Jayla Gillaspie 1996 Maria Hall   2012 Jeanette Klopchin 1997 Charlotte Randal   2013 Dr. Heather Gamper Pioneer Award Sponsored by the Randall Family Established in the memory of Frank Randall, Past president of the Florida State Beekeepers Association, member of the Board of Directors of the Sioux Honey Association, Director to the American Beekeepers Federation. Awarded to some of our older members for their contribution to the State Association in past years and maybe have not been recognized for their many hours of work. 1996 Felix Uzell   2003 Malcolm "Doc" Bullard 1997 Ed Russ   2006 John Westervelt 1998 James H. "Jimmy" Cook   2010 Frank Robinson 1999 Conrad Cramer   2011 William Roberts 2000 Malcolm "Doc" Bullard   2012 Noel & Marie Blanchet 2002 Millard Coggshall   2013 Roy Smith Researcher of the Year sponsored by: Groeb Farms, Inc. Belleview, FL Given to the person that has done the most for Florida beekeepers in the line of research 1991 Dr. Scott Yocum   2000 Dr. Peter Teal 1992 Dr. Harvey Cromroy   2001   1993 Dr. Orley Taylor   2002   1994 Dr. GleNn Hall   2003 David Miksa 1995 Dr. Keith Delaplane   2004   1996 Mr. Dean Breaux   2005   1997 David Westervelt   2006 Jim Amrine/Bob Noel 1998 Patti Elzen James Baxter   2007 Dr. James  Ellis 1999 David Westervelt       FSBA Association Volunteer of the Year 2008 Dennis Riggs Beekeeping Association of SWFL 2009     2010     2011 Wayne McChesney   2012 Dr. Leo Gosser   2013 Gary Ranker   Hubbard Award Beekeeper of the Year Was Given to the beekeeper that made his sole living from beekeeping and contributed to the Association Not awarded after 1990 1971 Ray Bailey   1981 Bill Shearman 1972 Felix Uzell   1982 Laurence Cutts 1973 Arthur Brady   1983 Conrad Cramer 1974 Paul Cutts   1984 George Lorton 1975 Bill Craft   1985 Bill Merritt 1976 D.P. Green   1986 Earl Escot 1977 George Curtis   1987 Phil Packard 1978 Jourdian Demuth   1988 Dr. Harvey Cromroy 1979 Phil Packard   1989 Ralph Russ 1980 Marvin Brown   1990 Dr. Glenn Hall Florida State Beekeepers Association Beekeeper of the Year Currently given to the beekeeper who has contributed the most to beekeeping and the Association feels justly deserves. 1982 Vern Davis   1997 Joe Bradley 1983 Floyd Moore   1998 Ralph Russ 1984 Jim Moore   1999 William "Bill" Roberts 1985 Frank Robinson   2000   1986 Marvin Brown   2001 Bert Gwaltney 1987 Bill Shearman   2002 Malcolm "Doc" Bullard 1988 Charlotte Randall   2003   1989 Frank Randall   2004   1990 Jimmy Cook   2005 Lee Del Signore 1991 Ralph Wadlow   2006 Rodney Jones 1992 Horace Bell   2007 Bert Kelley 1993 Conrad Cramer   2010 Gary Ranker 1994 Tony York   2011 Dr. Malcolm Sanford 1995 David K. McGinnis   2012 David Smith 1996 Peter Fonda AKA Ulee Jackson   2013 Bert Gwaltney Florida Honey Queens Duties are to represent the Florida State Beekeepers Association and Local Beekeeper Associations when asked.  Florida Honey Queens which also went on to become  American Honey Queens are also included in this list and noted with Visit:  Florida Honey Queen Program on FACEBOOK   Current Florida Honey Queen None:  See guidelines To arrange for a visit by Florida Honey Queen or for more information please contact Beth Fox at (407) 702-2853 or via email at [email protected] Current American Honey Queen       Contact:  American Honey Queen Program Chairperson Anna Kettlewell at 414.545.5514 for more info or to schedule an appearance with current Honey Queen. Florida Honey Queens of the past. 1949-1950 Mildred O'Neal   1974-1975 Pamela Lane Miss Sunflavor Renee Cutts 1950-1951 Lewis   1975-1976 Beth Scovil 1951-1953 Louise Larkin   1976-1977 Sandra Whitfield 1954-1955 Joan Gaskin   1977-1978 Jill Jacobs Kelly Gowan 1956-1957 Dorthy Prescott   1978-1979 Lorna Biondi 1957-1958 Judy Whitely   1979-1980 Kimberly Gainey American Honey Queen 1959-1960 Mary Frances Rigney   1980-1981 Robin Kyle 1960-1961 Pat McGinnis American Honey Princess American Honey Queen   1981-1982 Grace Jones 1961-1962 Mary Alice Boykin   1982-1983 Carol Tschida American Honey Queen 1962-1963 Janell K. Johnson   1983-1984 Crystal Jones American Honey Princess 1963-1964 Gail Latham   1984-1985 Alicia Watson 1964-1965 Karen Ann Roeter   1985-1986 Leah Fischer 1965-1966 Elizabeth Pardow   1986-1988 Cindy Riggs       1989-1990 Rachel  Roach 1967-1968 Evelyn Christian   1992-1993 Chris Prettyman 1968-1969 Cathy HitchmaN   1993-1994 Carolyn Burnett 1969-1970 Roxanne Herrington   1994-1996 Tori McGlon 1970-1971 Jan Ward   1997 Kim Hall 1971-1972 Kathy Brenner   2011-2012 Jayla Gillaspie 1972-1973 Sharon Revell   2013 Susannah Austin 1973-1974 Susan Harris   2014 Susannah Austin President's Award Given to the person that the President feels deserves recognition for their services to FSBA 2011 Robert (Bert) Kelley   2012 Ben Parks 2012 Tony Hogg   2013 Dr. Malcolm Sanford 2012 Tom Nolan       BRIEF HISTORY | PRESIDENTS | HUBBARD AWARD | BEEKEEPER OF YEAR | WOMAN OF YEAR | RESEARCHER OF YEAR  PIONEER AWARD | LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD | HONEY QUEENS | VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR | PRESIDENT'S AWARD created 09/10/11, rev Web design ©2011 Denrig, Inc., All rights reserved. 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