Just What Makes That Little Old Ant…Change A Flower’s Nectar Content?

Ants foraging on nectar transmit yeasts that change sugar-chemistry and may affect subsequent pollinator visitations and plant fitness.   Ant pollinators (Crematogaster auberti) foraging on a female flower of Cytinus hypocistis. Credit: Courtesy of Clara de Vega and Carlos M. Herrera. Ants play a variety of important roles in many ecosystems. As frequent visitors to flowers, they can benefit plants in their role as …

UC Davis Bee Team Wins Major Award

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 team award from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America (PBESA), …

New National Honey Board Members Sworn In at April Board Meeting; Officers Elected

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. Reporter Dan Rather, in his newscast …

New National Honey Board Members Sworn In at April Board Meeting; Officers Elected

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 Kimberly Coy, Marketing Specialist, USDA/AMS; Jill …

Bee Industry Hosts U.S. EPA for Tour of Almond Pollination Sites

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 Fund (NPDF) Board provided Jones with …

EPA Approves Apivar Honeybee Miticide For Use In All 50 United States

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 Apivar® miticide effective March 11, 2013. EPA …

National Honey Board Seeks Nominees for Board Positions

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 four seats, one first handler, one importer, …

USDA Expects Record-High Combined Corn and Soybean Acreage

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 the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National …