From: DavisPatch
Posted by Lindsey Hickman
ERIC MUSSEN; TRIBUTES AND ONE TRIBULATION Kathy Keatley Garvey UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
It was a time for tributes and one tribulation.
When honey bee guru Eric Mussen, Extension apiculturist and member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty since 1976, received the Alexander Hodson Graduate Alumni Award from his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, he was praised as an outstanding apiculturist who does the university–and the nation–proud.
June 19, 2013
Editor’s Note: The joint Australian Government-Honeybee Industry biosecurity plan, “Biosecurity Manual for the Honey Bee Industry: Reducing the risk of exotic and established pests affecting honey bees, Version 1.0” is attached here.
From: Farm Weekly (Australia)
Bee-autiful biosecurity plan
A NEW industry biosecurity plan has been launched by Plant Health Australia (PHA) in conjunction with the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council.
The plan was launched at the 100th NSW Apiarist Association Conference in Merimbula NSW last month, establishing a range of actions to be taken by stakeholders to protect Australia’s honey bees and the valuable pollination services that they provide.
June 17, 2013
From: National Post
By Greg Burchell
Ottawa is spending $244,000 to help build a tougher honey bee.
Researchers at the universities of Guelph and Manitoba are working with queen bee producers in Ontario to find bees that are resistant to the disease and pests that have decimated their numbers, and to then breed them, said Rob Currie, professor of entomology at the University of Manitoba.
“Beekeepers are losing on average 35% of their colonies every year. You always had a couple losses over the winter, but it was usually 5%,” said Les Eccles, a specialist at the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association.
June 14, 2013
From: Press Release
Jerusalem– Research leading towards a solution to the problem of colony collapse disorder (CCD) — a world-wide syndrome of bee disappearance inflicting losses of an estimated $35 billion annually in the US alone — has earned a Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor first prize in this year’s Kaye Awards for Innovation. The awards will be presented on June 18 during the 76th meeting of the Hebrew University Board of Governors.
The project began with the discovery by Prof. Ilan Sela of a new virus (IAPV), and the insertion of the IAPV genome in the public database. Then, an American group doing a metagenomic study, associated the phenomenon of CCD with IAPV.
June 12, 2013
From: Wired
by Ian Steadman
The Cornish black honeybee, once believed to be extinct but still extremely rare, could be key to saving worldwide bee populations from colony collapse disorder.
According to the BBC, research from Paignton Zoo has shown the black bee is better at fighting off varroa mites. They carry the deformed wing virus, which has been implicated in the deaths of bees around the world.
Colony collapse disorder is a term that applies to a range of unknown factors that has led to the widespread decline of honeybee populations around the world.
June 10, 2013
From: NZFarmer.co.nz
DEBBIE JAMIESON
New Zealand’s bee industry has learnt to live with the varroa mite but has been left vulnerable to the viruses, Federated Farmers bees industry group chairman John Hartnell said.
In the 13 years since varroa had been in New Zealand, it had halved the number of working hives, with feral and wild hives being worst affected, he said.
The cost of treatment for each hive was about $50 a year and there were still considerable losses. Some West Coast beekeepers were reporting 15 per cent losses.
June 7, 2013
Editor’s Note: The PNAS study was discussed on the Bee Health IPD here and in CRE’s comments to the Welsh Government on their draft Pollinator Action Plan, available here.
The study, “Honey constituents up-regulate detoxification and immunity genes in the western honey bee Apis mellifera” by Wenfu Mao, Mary A. Schuler, and May R. Berenbaum, is available here. Supplemental supporting data from the study is available here.
From: Reuters
By Richard Valdmanis
June 5, 2013
From: Canada.com
New bees brought in from other areas of Canada
By Sarah Simpson, Citizen
Cowichan Beekeepers president Paul Peterson said despite all the efforts to address the issues of massive numbers of bee deaths over the last few years, bees are still under the gun.
“They’re doing a little bit better but there’s been a resurgence North America-wide because everybody wants to save the bees,” he said, noting membership with the Cowichan Beekeepers alone has seen a dramatic increase this year.
June 3, 2013
CRE Comments to the Welsh Government on Pollinator Action Plan
Members of the Biodiversity Team:
The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness appreciates the opportunity to participate in the activities of the Welsh Government to develop an Action Plan for Pollinators.
Our comments are based upon two recently completed landmark studies conducted in the United States:
(1) A United States Government state of the science report on bee health prepared jointly by the US Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency titled Report on the National Stakeholders Conference on Honey Bee Health; and
May 31, 2013
From: WRAL/TechWire
By JIM SHAMP, NCBiotech Writer
The buzz about North Carolina’s agricultural biotechnology leadership got louder Wednesday when Bayer CropScience broke ground on its North American Bee Care Center in Research Triangle Park.
Some 80 Bayer CropScience specialists, civic leaders and industry leaders gathered to celebrate the start of the 6,000-square-foot building committed to bee health and well-being.
When completed around the end of 2013, it will be similar to a center built in 2012 at the joint headquarters campus of Bayer CropScience and Bayer Animal Health in Monheim, Germany.
May 30, 2013
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