Archives – July, 2015
From: The Crimson White
A University of Alabama biologist has recently received a $1 million grant to do research on bumblebees.
Jeff Lozier, an assistant professor of biological sciences, along with two collaborators from the University of Wyoming and Utah State, received the grant from the National Science Foundation to study two specific species of bumblebees and their adaptation to a changing environment.
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The grant took effect in April 2015, but preliminary work for the research has been ongoing for the past two years. The grant is expected to fund three years of work and experiments.
July 16, 2015
From: AgriNews
By Candice Vetter – AgriNews Staff Writer
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“The Ontario government’s rush to regulate treated seed, without scientific basis, is dividing rural Ontario and further exacerbating the rural-urban divide. At the same time, agenda-driven, political appointees are fracturing rural relationships,” says the press release, quoting GFO chair Mark Brock.
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Brock then says beekeepers readily admit that poor hive management (starvation, weak colonies, fungal infections and mite infestations) and weather are likely to blame for bee mortalities.
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July 14, 2015
From: Farmers Forum
TORONTO — The province received 23,145 public comments on its proposal to ban neonicotinoid seeds during its 45-day period in the spring. While 90 per cent of those comments favouring the ban were being written, farm country was busy planting their food.
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Beekeeper backs farmers
July 13, 2015
From: Pacific News Center
Written by Clynt Ridgell
Varroa Mite Only Found on Feral Honey Bees
Guam – Earlier this week PNC brought you the story of the Varroa mite a tiny parasitic bug that is attacking the island’s bee population. Today we interviewed the man who first discovered the Varrao mite UOG biology undergrad Chris Rosario and Rosario tells us the good news is there is something we can do to get rid of the Varroa mite.
July 10, 2015
From: Citizen-Times
BOONE – Tracking the health of honeybees across the U.S. is the work of a multi-university team, including a computer scientist at Appalachian State University.
The Bee Informed Partnership, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is comprised of scientists from eight universities, including the University of Maryland, Oregon State University, the University of Tennessee and Appalachian. The partnership members are also beekeepers.
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For instance, the data collected since the project began indicate that beekeepers who treat their bees for the varroa mite experience fewer losses than beekeepers who don’t treat for the parasite.
July 8, 2015
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
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