Editor’s Note: The complete text of “Fine-Scale Linkage Mapping Reveals a Small Set of Candidate Genes Influencing Honey Bee Grooming Behavior in Response to Varroa Mites” is attached here. The complete text of “High-Resolution Linkage Analyses to Identify Genes That Influence Varroa Sensitive Hygiene Behavior in Honey Bees” is attached here.
From: Purdue Agricultural News
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University researchers are zeroing in on genes that help honeybees defend against varroa mites, one of the largest factors in bee population declines.
November 9, 2012
From: Otago Daily News
A Dunedin school pupil has tasted sweet success in reaching the final of a national competition for his science project on honeybees.
The Realise the Dream event, organised by the Royal Society of New Zealand, rewards secondary school pupils who have undertaken science or engineering projects.
John McGlashan College pupil Hamish McMillan (18) said he was “pretty chuffed” his project on the measurement of a gene, the complementary sex determiner, in 126 bees from feral hives and 114 bees from managed hives, had been selected.
November 7, 2012
From: The Desert Review
By Christine Souza Credit to California Farm Bureau Federation
In anticipation of next year’s almond bloom, more than 1.6 million honeybee colonies have begun entering California via trucks that pass through border protection stations. After hearing from beekeepers about extended delays at some border stations and limited access to water for their honeybees, the apiary and almond sectors have come up with solutions in partnership with the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
November 5, 2012
Editor’s Note: The complete study, “Long-Term Exposure to Antibiotics Has Caused Accumulation of Resistance Determinants in the Gut Microbiota of Honeybees” published by the American Society for Microbiology is attached here. Federal officials working on the pollinator risk assessment need to consider the importance of this study as part of their work.
From: Yale News
The gut bacteria of honey bees have acquired several genes that confer resistance to tetracycline, a direct result of more than five decades of use of antibiotics by American beekeepers and a potential health hazard for bee colonies, a new study by Yale University researchers show.
November 1, 2012
From: Western Farm Press
The Federal Colony Collapse Disorder Steering Committee (CCD SC) held a national stakeholder conference seeking input on issues involving honey bee health.
The CCD SC (comprised of representatives from USDA and EPA) invited stakeholder representatives from beekeepers, advocacy groups, state agencies, beekeeper manufacturers, commodity groups, agrochemical producers and government/academia researchers to Arlington, Va., for a two-day session to review progress and gather input for future research needs. Opening remarks were presented by USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe and National Institute of Food & Agriculture Director Sonny Ramaswamy. The CCD SC organized breakout groups to focus on items in nutrition, biology, genetics/breeding, pesticides, pathogens and arthropods.
October 31, 2012
From: Explore Utah Science
Millions of buzzing residents have moved into Utah, as the number of new beekeepers registering with the state has increased eightfold since 2006.
That’s good news for local farmers and gardeners who depend on honeybees to pollinate their crops. The bad news is that the new arrivals could be bringing with them a rash of problems.
Several honeybee experts worry that in the hands of novice beekeepers, all those hives could become incubators for viruses and pests ready to hitch a ride to any of the thousands of commercial hives around the state.
October 31, 2012
Editor’s Note: For access to the complete article from SpringerLink, see here.
From: Recent Advances in Entomological Research
Yanping Chen
Abstract
Viruses pose a serious threat to the health and well-being of honey bees, Apis mellifera, the most economically valuable pollinators of agricultural and horticultural crops worldwide. Recently, honey bee viruses have gotten a lot of international attention due to the significant disease status that viruses cause in honey bees and the recent observation of the tight correlation between Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in the U.S. and Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus. Over the past decades, considerable progress has been made in our understanding of virus infections in honey bees. This review chapter summarizes previous findings and recent progress in the understanding of the morphology, genome organization, taxonomy, transmission, and pathogenesis of honey bee viruses. The prospects of future research and challenges associated with the study of honey bee viruses are also discussed in detail.
October 29, 2012
The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE) recently submitted comments to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on its Draft Guidance Document on the Risk Assessment of Plant Protection Products on Bees.
In its comments, the CRE concluded that EFSA’s initiative to address the problem of limited data regarding pollinator exposure under its current approach to risk assessment by incorporating external datasets, is a model to be emulated by the EPA and other government regulators. The CRE encourages EFSA to continue to work with stakeholders to harness the resources of the private sector by incorporating existing research and datasets into the modeling of its risk assessment framework.
October 26, 2012
From: IsleOfMan.com
By: Lisa Corkish
The Honey bees kept on the Isle of Man have enjoyed good health whilst that of those on neighbouring Islands has significantly declined with the spread of new diseases and pests, most notably Varroa. Should the Varroa mite get into bees here it is most unlikely that it could be eradicated and it would become a chronic cause of disease and reduced production.
October 26, 2012
From: The Hill’s Congress Blog
By Barbara Glenn, CropLife America
Earlier this month, scientists, regulators, beekeepers and others gathered in Alexandria, Va., for the National Stakeholders Conference on Honey Bee Health. The meeting, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), focused on the latest findings and information regarding challenges to honey bee health around the world.
October 24, 2012
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