The COLOSS Conference Bridges the Atlantic

The 15th Conference of the COLOSS honey bee research association has now concluded at the Université Laval bureau in Montréal, Canada. The meeting was attended by a record 154 delegates from 37 countries. This represents some 12% of the current membership of 1,275 members from 95 countries, which is extraordinary for an international organisation. A key task of the meeting was …

Microbes on the Menu for Bee Larvae

ARS News Service By Jan Suszkiw MADISON, WISCONSIN, August 20, 2019—Bees only feast on nectar and pollen, right? Wrong. Turns out, Nature's famously busy insect isn't strictly vegan, after all. Reporting online in this month's American Naturalist, a team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university scientists has shown that bee larvae (brood) have a taste for "microbial meat." ARS entomologist Shawn Steffan and his …

Legacy of Robbin Thorp: Franklin’s Bumble Bee
Proposed as Endangered Species

DAVIS - The late Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis,  and a global authority on bees, worked tirelessly to try to include Franklin's bumble bee (Bombus franklini) as an endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). In fact, he and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on June 23, 2010 …

Clemson Study Finds Wildflowers Create
Pollinator Harmony for Watermelons

Denise Attaway, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Public Service and Agriculture   CHARLESTON – A Clemson University graduate student has found adding a little color to watermelon fields can attract pollinators which can help improve quality and increase yields of one of South Carolina’s most important vegetable crops. Miriam “Mimi” Jenkins of Tampa, Florida, has found growing strips of wildflowers near …

Honey Bee Health Coalition Releases Information to Help Beekeepers, Veterinarians Manage Foulbrood

Guide includes how to test and treat American and European Foulbrood, new Veterinary Feed Directive rules for using antibiotics, and the importance of being vigilant The Honey Bee Health Coalition unveiled a new resource for beekeepers today — an information sheet for hive management decisions related to American Foulbrood (AFB) and European Foulbrood (EFB). An expert team of beekeepers, entomologists, apiary …

USDA Predicts Record Almond Crop for 2019

Despite unusual weather and pollination challenges, a USDA grower survey estimates a 2019 crop of 2.5 Billion pounds of almonds — a new record, and a 9.6 percent increase over 2018 production. From the report: The initial subjective forecast for the 2019 California almond production is 2.50 billion pounds. Forecasted production is 9.6 percent above last year's production of 2.28 billion pounds. …

Bee Health Guru Smartphone App Promotes Kickstarter Fundraising Campaign

Bee Health Guru, a new smartphone app designed to help beekeepers diagnose conditions in their hives, is promoting a fundraiser to fine-tune development of its software. The Kickstarter campaign runs through the end of May. As Malcolm Sanford reports in the May issue of ABJ: “Bee Health Guru combines observations in the field using a phone’s microphone and an App running …