We will bring you information on worldwide developments within the beekeeping industry and related agricultural news. We will present a brief introduction to events, developments and interesting news releases as they occur. Want information sent directly to your inbox? Sign up for our free newsletter!
The EPA has posted a list of pesticides registered for use against Varroa mites to help beekeepers identify products that can help fight this invasive species of bee pest. As part of EPA’s role in the National Pollinator Health Strategy, the Agency has expedited its review of registration applications for new products targeting pests harmful to pollinators. In 2015, EPA expedited the …
(From American Honey Queen Program, Anna L. Kettlewell, Chairperson, 10432 W. Norwich Avenue, Greenfield, WI 53228) The American Beekeeping Federation is proud to announce that Kim Kester and Tabitha Mansker were selected as the 2016 American Honey Queen and Princess at its annual January convention in Jacksonville, FL. Queen Kim is the 23-year-old daughter of Jim and Barb Kester of Nekoosa, WI. …
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is organizing a national bee genebank as part of the agency's response to ongoing problems facing the country's beekeepers. Average losses of managed honey bee colonies have increased to more than 30 percent per year due to pathogens, pests, parasites, and other pressures including deficient nutrition and sublethal impacts of pesticides. These stresses have threatened …
American Association for the Advancement of Science Higher numbers of pollinators can significantly increase crop productivity of small-sized farms, while large farms experience a similar yield benefit only if increases in pollinator density are accompanied by diversity, a new study finds. More than two billion people are reliant on small-scale agriculture in developing nations, and while much evidence demonstrates that pollinators …
Rockefeller University The exquisite social hierarchy of insect colonies has long fascinated scientists. Take two eggs--both contain identical genetic material, but while one becomes a sterile worker, the other may develop into a queen that can reproduce. Workers perform brood care and other crucial tasks that keep the colony going, and typically live for a few weeks or months, whereas the …
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has opened the 60-day public comment period for its preliminary pollinator risk assessment for imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide, in a Federal Register notice published today. After the comment period ends, the EPA may revise the pollinator assessment based on comments received and, if necessary, take action to reduce risks from the insecticide. The preliminary risk assessment identified a …
(Courtesy of www.beeinformed.org) Dr. Vanessa Corby-Harris from the USDA-ARS is currently enrolling participants in a study to look at the effects of a probiotic, Parasaccharibacter apium (or P. apium) on colony health. In both lab and small-scale field studies, she sees a potential benefit of P. apium to colony health. Bees supplemented with this bacterium can survive better in the lab …
PENN STATE If a worker behaves altruistically and helps rear her sisters' offspring, she will ensure that her matrigenes -- those genes she inherits from her queen mother -- are passed on to the next generation. This image shows honey bee workers caring for their queen moher by grooming her. Credit: David Galbraith, Penn State Using modern genetic approaches, a team of researchers has provided …