A Deadly Bee Virus Is Being Spread By Humans
From: Co.Exist
Deformed wing virus is the last thing honeybees need right now.
Leave a Comment March 4, 2016
Archives – March, 2016
Idaho Professor Says Honeybee Hive Size Critical To Survival
From: Boise State Public Radio
Honeybees are dying off at an alarming rate. For several years, scientists have been looking at a number of factors that may be influencing their survival. Now, a University of Idaho scientist has found a working model that may explain why honeybee colonies collapse.
UI professor Brian Dennis built a mathematical model that shows the size of the beehive may be the critical factor in colony collapse disorder. That’s when too many bees in a hive die or disappear and the hive falls apart.
Leave a Comment March 3, 2016
When Varroa Mites Hitch a Ride
From: Bug Squad | Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Those blood-sucking varroa mites (Varroa destructor) are considered the No. 1 enemy of beekeepers. In powerful numbers and weakened colonies, they can overwhelm and collapse a hive.
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“Varroa have been recorded hitching rides on bumble bees and yellowjackets,” observed native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis. “Varroa have been reported as feeding on larvae of these and other critters–but not successfully reproducing on them. Also bumble bees and yellowjackets typically overwinter as hibernating queens not as perennial colonies like honey bees. Thus they are not suitable hosts for Varroa.”
Leave a Comment March 2, 2016
EFSA Raises Maximum Residue Level for Neonicotinoid in Honey
From: European Food Safety Agency
Leave a Comment March 1, 2016
Complete Vindication for USDA
From: The Guardian
Government rejects scientist’s claim it tried to cover up his pesticide research
Nonprofit released confidential decision in complex case involving monarch butterflies, scientific freedom and the safety of the nation’s food supply
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According to a 20 January confidential report on Lundgren’s case, a USDA scientific integrity review panel “concluded that the scientist’s written complaint did not provide credible and verifiable evidence to support his contention that his research was impeded and that he was restrained from communicating with the media and interacting with the broader scientific community,” in violation of the agency’s scientific integrity policy.
Leave a Comment March 1, 2016
