From: AgriPulse
WASHINGTON, April 2, 2015- A group of 12 senators, mostly Republicans, sent a letter this week to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy asking her to explain the steps the agency is taking to protect pollinator health, and to consult producers along the way.
“We want to be sure EPA engages grower organizations and other stakeholders most affected by any regulatory review,” the letter signers said.
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April 3, 2015
From: TVNZ ONE News (New Zealand)
Leaders of the bee industry were given a stinging rebuke at Parliament today during a briefing at the Primary Production select committee.
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‘Varroa the most expensive biosecurity failure’
Regarding other challenges facing the bee industry, Mr Leahy told the select committee that the varroa mite continued to be the biggest problem and “most expensive biosecurity failure” in this country costing around $25 million a year in extra labour and mitigating actions.
Mr Leahy estimated that since varroa had infected New Zealand bees over the past 14 years it had cost the industry around $240 million to control.
April 2, 2015
From: National Monitor
Researchers in the UK have made tiny bee backpacks which allow them to track the foraging of wild honeybees. The hope is that a better understanding of the bees behavior will shed light on what is causing the decline in Europe’s wild bee populations.
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For example, recent reports blamed CCD on pesticides known as neonics. However, a new report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that neonics are not responsible and that North American domesticated bee populations are stabilizing and even rebounding in some areas. Meanwhile in Europe, where neonics are currently banned, CCD seems to be continuing to affect both domestic and wild bees.
April 1, 2015
From: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
The agriculture importance of the honey bee cannot be overstated and in recent years declines in bee populations has become troubling, leaving scientists scrambling to understand the intricacies that encapsulate this essential insect. To that end, scientists from Penn State University and Georgia Institute of Technology have found that honey bees use collections of genes, from two distinctly separate mechanisms, to ward off viruses, bacteria, and gut parasites.
“Our results indicate that different sets of genes are used in immune responses to viruses versus other pathogens, and these antiviral genes are regulated by two very distinct processes—expression and DNA methylation,” explained David Galbraith, graduate student in entomology at Penn State University and lead author on the study.
March 30, 2015
From: Huffington Post | Science
Jon Entine, Exec Director, Genetic Literacy Project; Senior Fellow, World Food Center, University of California-Davis
Even as a special White House created task force is poised any day now to address concerns over supposedly vanishing honeybees, new research suggests that the very premise of the federal investigation may be misplaced.
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“This is a really complex issue with no quick and easy solutions,” May Berenbaum told me. These papers simplistically fingering neonics are” just not good science.”
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March 27, 2015
Editor’s Note: The new Ontario restrictions are going into place as additional evidence accumulates demonstrating that neonics are not the cause of bee health decline.
From: The Western Producer
by Robert Arnason
Ontario unveiled regulations this morning to reduce the use of insecticide seed treatments by 80 percent.
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GFO chair Henry Van Ankum said last fall that the government is ignoring those efforts and attacking grain farming for political gain.
“With this announcement, agriculture and rural Ontario has been put on notice: the popular vote trumps science and practicality.”
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March 25, 2015
From: 3 News (New Zealand)
By Dan Satherley
Bee numbers have been plummeting since the 1990s, with pesticides usually taking the brunt of the blame.
But a three-year study in the United States has now shown that at real-world dosage levels, bee colonies are remarkably tolerant of insecticides; therefore, there must be something else driving what’s become known as colony collapse disorder.
Scientists at the University of Maryland subjected colonies to imidacloprid, the world’s most commonly used insecticide, and found it had no real effect on colony numbers when used at recommended levels.
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March 23, 2015
Editor’s Note: For more information about the study, Assessment of Chronic Sublethal Effects of Imidacloprid on Honey Bee Colony Health, see here.
From: by Entomology Today
Honey bee colony declines are a major threat worldwide. Among the lineup of possible causes — including parasites, disease, climate stress, and malnutrition — many have pointed the finger squarely at insecticides as a prime suspect, especially at a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids.
However, a new study from the University of Maryland shows that the world’s most common insecticide — imidacloprid — does not significantly harm honey bee colonies at real-world dosage levels.
March 20, 2015
Editor’s Note: The study, Assessment of Chronic Sublethal Effects of Imidacloprid on Honey Bee Colony Health, is available here. The study concludes, “To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the chronic sublethal effects on whole honey bee colonies subjected to worse-case scenarios as well as normal dietary exposure (5μg/kg) to imidacloprid. … Our results provide evidence that imidacloprid exposure doses up to 100 μg/kg had no significant effects on foraging activity or colony performance during and shortly after 12 weeks of exposure….” [Emphasis added.]
From: Science 2.0
By Hank Campbell
March 18, 2015
From: CSIRO | Australia’s national science agency
Thousands of honey bees in Australia are being fitted with tiny sensors as part of a world-first research program to monitor the insects and their environment using a technique known as ‘swarm sensing’.
The Challenge
Honey bee populations at risk
Bees are the world’s most prolific pollinators of food crops – with one third of the food that we consume each day relying on pollination, these little creatures contribute billions every year to the global economy. Healthy bees are a sign of a healthy agricultural industry.
March 18, 2015
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