Editor’s Note: The study discussed below, “Entomopathogenic fungi as potential biocontrol agents of the ecto-parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, and their effect on the immune response of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)” by Mollah Md. Hamiduzzaman, Alice Sinia, Ernesto Guzman-Novoa is available here.
From: Phys.org
A Varroa mite on a honey bee pupa. Credit: Gilles San Martin
(Phys.org)—A fungus normally used to control insect pests may help honey bees protect themselves from a destructive mite by both infecting the mites and preventing suppression of the bee immune system, says a team of bee researchers at the University of Guelph.
N.C. State study says higher shipping costs, invasive mites boost tab for crop pollination
By Reid Creager
Pollination is basic science, but the cost of it is getting more complicated.
Rising honey prices, invasive mites and higher diesel fuel costs have increased the price of services performed by commercial beekeepers during the past 20 years, says a new study from N.C. State University.
The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) held its 12th Annual International Conference at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from October 17-19. The morning session on October 18 included keynote speeches by experts across the world.
As observed by the CRE, Dr. Anne Alix of the Dow AgroSciences, European Development Centre had some significant conclusions in her presentation based on her research. In particular, Dr. Alix stated, “Honey bee decline, is widely recognized as a multifactored issue.” “Pesticides are easy to identify as a factor,” because you only need to look where the pesticide is in the market. Pathogens are much more difficult to determine their correlation to honey bee decline, but are just as much an issue.
Beekeepers are fighting for the honeybee after the worst summer for years.
Honeybees are facing a multitude of enemies but a practical course looking at ways to combat one of the most common is open to beekeepers from across the South West when Somerset Beekeepers’ Association’s (SBKA) hold their first Development Day at Cheddar on Saturday, November 24.
The day of lectures and workshops at the Kings of Wessex Academy will examine ways to tackle the blood-sucking varroa mite, which weakens colonies and is responsible for wiping out most of the country’s wild honeybee population.
Beekeeper Phil Wilson isn’t afraid of bees, but he is respectful of them. He took the last honey of the year three weeks ago and will save the rest to help the bees survive the long winter. Photo by David Bell
It’s a natural antiseptic and an analgesic. It’s good for your complexion. It’s better for your system than sugar, and is a natural energy food. Marathon runners eat it before races. Hospitals use it to treat burns.
The USDA convened a very interesting conference on the health of honey bees. Any observer who does not specialize in the subject had to be impressed—if not surprised—by the amount of research that has been conducted on bees. Upon consideration such an emphasis is understandable in that a significant portion of our food crops is dependent upon bees.
Salient points made at the meeting and observed by CRE include:
— Accolades to USDA for emphasizing bee health decline in lieu of CCD.
Trying to count the bees buzzing about in a hive is like trying to count the grains of sand on a beach. But if you’re worried the deadly virus that has been decimating beehives across the country might be jeopardizing your source of fresh honey, check out this honey bee counter that tracks the comings and goings of your hive’s population.
The latest threat to the beleaguered honeybee? A parasitic fly that turns its prey into a flying zombie. Winston Ross on the ‘flight of the living dead’—and why we should all beware.
It was a dark December night, which is why the lights were on outside the biology building at San Francisco State University, where a professor named John Hafernik studies bees, butterflies, beetles, and other insects of note. Those lights, illuminating his building’s entryway, would catapult Hafernik into a story that reads like a mystery novel—or at least a B movie. Scattered on the sidewalk, just beneath the flickering bulbs, were a handful of honeybees.
CRE Editor’s Note to the University Times (Ireland)
We note a difference between the title of the following article and its text. The title raises a question regarding the impact of pesticides on disappearing bees whereas the text is considerably more conclusive when it states: “New research points to widely used pesticide Clothianidin as a precursor to these mass disappearances…..It represents another triumph for corporate sponsored blinkering of our environmental awareness.”
We call your particlar attention to research conducted by a leading European scientist which concludes that the Varroa mite spreads a lethal disease which results in bee health decline. “So the only way to control the virus is to control the levels of the mite..”
