News

The Bee Team: (from left) Eric Mussen, Neal Williams, Robbin Thorp, Lynn Kimsey and Brian Johnson. (Kathy Keatley Garvey Photo) by Kathy Keatley Garvey UC Davis Dept. of Entomology DAVIS, CA–“The Bee Team” at the University of California, Davis, has won a major award. Five faculty members from the Department of Entomology received the coveted Continue Reading »

Randy Oliver, commercial beekeeper and scientist, has investigated and summarized the factors involved in colony losses this winter, including the contribution of pesticides. In this lengthy two-part analysis he has obtained many opinions from both commercial beekeepers and scientists. By now, most everyone has heard that honey bee colonies died in massive numbers this winter. Continue Reading »

New National Honey Board Members Sworn in. Firestone, Colo., April 17, 2013 – Several new Board members and alternates appointed by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack last December attended the National Honey Board’s (NHB) first meeting of the year on April 9-10 in San Diego, California. Pictured here (from left to right) are Continue Reading »

Dead Bees and Empty Hives Show the Extent of the Losses Oakdale, CA — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator, Jim Jones spent a day with beekeepers and almond growers to learn more about this year’s massive colony losses, and beekeepers’ concerns about the role of pesticides in the decline. The National Pollinator Defense Continue Reading »

Véto-pharma is submitting approval applications for individual states and anticipates this process will be complete by the end of April.   New York, NY –April 2, 2013 –Véto-pharma S.A., the French veterinary pharmaceutical company specializing in honeybee health, announced today that the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted Section 3 registration approval of its Continue Reading »

Firestone, Colo., April 1, 2013 – The National Honey Board is seeking persons interested in serving as a Board member or Alternate Board Member. The National Honey Board is composed of 10 members, including three first handlers; two importers; one importer-handler; one marketing cooperative; and three producers, and their respective alternates. The Board will fill Continue Reading »

U.S. Farmers Look to Be Resilient in 2013 WASHINGTON, March 28, 2013 – Determined to make up for a crop that was adversely affected by historic drought last year, U.S. farmers intend to plant a record-high combined 174.4 million acres of corn and soybeans in 2013, according to the Prospective Plantings report released today by Continue Reading »

Syngenta News Release Syngenta and Bayer CropScience today proposed an action plan to help unlock the EU stalemate on bee health. This follows the failure of the European Commission to reach agreement with Member States on an appropriate response to EFSA’s report on the theoretical risk to bee health from neonicotinoid pesticides. John Atkin, Syngenta’s Continue Reading »

Two new studies have highlighted a negative impact on bees’ ability to learn following exposure to a combination of pesticides commonly used in agriculture. The researchers found that the pesticides, used in the research at levels shown to occur in the wild, could interfere with the learning circuits in the bee’s brain. They also found Continue Reading »

(Courtesy National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA) Honey production in 2012 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 147 million pounds, down 1 percent from 2011. There were 2.62 million colonies producing honey in 2012, up 5 percent from 2011. Yield per colony averaged 56.1 pounds, down 6 percent from the 59.6 pounds in 2011. Continue Reading »