Alex Scroxton
Gemalto’s M2M unit is developing an ambitious project with agricultural science firm Eltopia and the University of Minnesota. The objective: to save the honeybee from extinction
But now, the IoT may have found a key use case study in the fight against Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the devastating condition that has decimated honeybee populations worldwide. The IoT may not only be on the verge of saving the honeybee, but humanity itself.
CCD occurs when most of the worker bees living in a colony vanish, leaving behind food and a small cohort of bees to care for both the immature larvae and their abandoned queen.
July 7, 2015
From: Phys.org
An infestation of speck-sized Varroa destructor mites can wipe out an entire colony of honey bees in 2-3 years if left untreated. Pesticides help beekeepers rid their hives of these parasitic arthropods, which feed on the blood-like liquid inside of their hosts and lay their eggs on larvae, but mite populations become resistant to the chemicals over time.
July 6, 2015
From: The Asahi Shimbun
By RYOMA KOMIYAMA/ Staff Writer
MORIOKA–A small company here developed a method that gives honeybee drones a purpose other than just mating–and could resolve the disappearing-bee mystery that threatens crop production around the globe.
The method targets the Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite measuring only 1 to 2 millimeters in size that latches on to honeybee pupa to suck out their bodily fluids. The host bee gradually weakens and becomes susceptible to various diseases.
Some researchers speculate these mites are causing the so-called colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon observed from around 2006 in which honeybees disappear from their hives overnight.
July 1, 2015
Editor’s Note: Translated from the original French via Google Translate. The orginal article, AFRIQUE DU SUD : Les abeilles menacées de disparition, is available here.
From: LeMauricien.com
They were among the last to not see their population decrease. But the South African bees are found now housed in the same boat as their sisters from Europe or the United States. The reason: an epidemic of foulbrood, which could sign their disappearance.
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June 29, 2015
From: Digital Journal
By Tim Sandle
A Mississippi State University Extension Service apiculture specialist has challenged the assumption that the indiscriminate use of pesticides is responsible for the decline in bee populations. This theory is mites.
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According to apiculturist (that’s bee specialist) bee expert Jeff Harris, the issue that should be focused on is infection of hives by the Varroa mite.
Read Complete Article
June 26, 2015
From: ScienceDaily.com
Source: Mississippi State University, Office of Agricultural Communications
Summary:Researchers are looking at the relationships between pesticides and row crops, farmers and beekeepers, and factors influencing honeybee health. This story focuses on the Mississippi Honey Bee Stewardship Program.
Pitting farmers against beekeepers does little to solve the problems facing pollinators.
“In some cases, anti-pesticide groups are using the challenges facing bee health as an opportunity to set up a very black-and-white, good guy versus bad guy scenario when it comes to agricultural production,” said Angus Catchot, an entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “In the long run, this could hurt the average beekeeper in our area because that is the only story farmers are hearing in the media. It makes them wary of having beekeepers on their property or fearful of losing important crop production tools, such as neonicotinoid seed treatments.”
June 25, 2015
From: LiveScience
Jessica Arriens, U.S. National Science Foundation
Jessica Arriens, a public affairs specialist for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), contributed this article to Live Science’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
The honey bearers arrived in the early 17th century, carried into the United States by early European settlers. Apis mellifera, a name that truly translates as “bee honey-bearer” — though they are better known as honey bees.
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June 24, 2015
From: NZFarmer.co.nz
ROB TIPA
Independent scientists have identified a new parasite in bees on the Coromandel peninsula, one of several regions around New Zealand that have reported the loss of thousands of colonies of honey bees since last spring and a substantial drop in honey harvests since.
Lotmaria passim, a parasite that attacks the gut of honey bees, was only discovered by a team of American researchers about six months ago.
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“We’ve tested for pesticide exposure and we haven’t found any evidence of that,” Borowik said.
Read Complete Article
June 22, 2015
From: Mississippi State University, Office of Agricultural Communications
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“Mid-South entomologists have conducted a lot of research on whether or not neonics are present in the nectar or pollen of our major row crops,” Catchot said. “Soybean is the crop bees prefer to forage on based on our surveys, and in soybean, we found zero occurrence of neonics in the flowers of the plant when the soybeans were planted with a neonic seed treatment.”
In cotton, they found no occurrence of neonics in the nectar and very low occurrence in the pollen.
Read Complete News Release
June 19, 2015
From: Mississippi State University | Office of Agricultural Communications
By Keri Collins Lewis, MSU Ag Communications
STARKVILLE, Miss. — A lifelong beekeeper and Mississippi State University Extension Service apiculture specialist offers an unusual list of reasons for bee colony death.
“My top three reasons for bee colony death are Varroa mites, Varroa mites and Varroa mites,” said bee expert Jeff Harris. “This is my sarcastic response to the heavy emphasis in the press on the effects of insecticides and other pesticides on honey bees.
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June 18, 2015
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