Archives – April, 2016
From: Purdue University
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have reduced protein in goldenrod pollen, a key late-season food source for North American bees, a Purdue University study shows.
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“Bee food is less nutritious than it used to be,” said Jeffrey Dukes, study co-author and professor of forestry and natural resources and biological sciences. “Our findings also suggest that the quality of pollen will continue to decline into the future. That’s not great news for bees.”
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April 15, 2016
From: KJZZ.org | Arizona Science & Innovation Desk
By Andrew Bernier
Bee colony populations have dropped more than half during the last decade but are slowly making a comeback. While scientists are not exactly sure what is causing this decline, Arizona researchers are pushing the limits of baby bees to see if it makes them stronger adults.
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At ASU’s Bee Lab, researcher Ying Wang is testing malnutrition effects by starving bees as larvae and again as adults. She and a team recently published two papers on the resiliency of bees in light of food shortage by measuring behavior, physiology and hormone regulation. The first paper suggests bees starved as larvae develop different adaptive responses compared to adult bees not starved as larvae.
April 14, 2016
From: Bee Culture | The Magazine of American Beekeeping
Several species of bumble bee, including Bombus occidentalis, pictured, are experiencing steep population declines.
The research finds the American commercial bumble bee industry accidentally helped spread a fungal pathogen of bees.
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April 12, 2016
From: Bee Culture
by Greg Hunt, J Krispn Given, Jennifer M. Tsuruda, Gladys K. Andino
Introduction.
April 11, 2016
From: ScienceDaily
Source:University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Summary: Scientists hoping to explain widespread declines in wild bumble bee populations have conducted the first long-term genetic study of Nosema bombi, a key fungal pathogen of honey bees and bumble bees. They found that N. bombi infections in large-scale commercial bumble bee pollination operations coincided with infections and declines in wild bumble bees.
Scientists hoping to explain widespread declines in wild bumble bee populations have conducted the first long-term genetic study of Nosema bombi, a key fungal pathogen of honey bees and bumble bees.
April 8, 2016
Editor’s Note: The complete article, “Potential for virus transfer between the honey bees Apis mellifera and A. cerana” by Orlando Yañez, Huo-Qing Zheng, Xiao-Ling Su, Fu-Liang Huc, Peter Neumann & Vincent Dietemann is available here.
From: AgProfessional
By Journal of Apicultural Research
Interspecific transfers of viruses between the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) are rare, even if honey bees are kept in close proximity, new research reveals.
April 7, 2016
From: Politico | Morning Agriculture
By Helena Bottemiller Evich
With help from Catherine Boudreau, Jenny Hopkinson, Victoria Guida and Jason Huffman
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“We did send a clear signal that we’re following the science on this,” McCarthy said. “We have made some decisions recently that even the pollinator advocates, or the folks who care about this, think we did a very good job on. We’re taking these neonics one at a time because we’re going to follow the science one at a time. And we’re not going to take an easy solution and say it’s all about neonicotinoids, it really isn’t, we know that pollinator health is a variety of factors, and we’re looking at those and we’re judging one pesticide at a time.”
April 6, 2016
From: Science Codex
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists hoping to explain widespread declines in wild bumble bee populations have conducted the first long-term genetic study of Nosema bombi, a key fungal pathogen of honey bees and bumble bees.
Their study, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that N. bombi was present in the U.S. as early as 1980, well before several species of wild bumble bees started to go missing across the country. The study also found that N. bombi infections in large-scale commercial bumble bee pollination operations coincided with infections and declines in wild bumble bees.
April 5, 2016
From: Napa Valley Register
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Le Conte, known throughout Europe for his work researching varroa mites and their effects on honeybees, will address “Honey Bees That Survive Varroa Mite in the World: What We Can Learn From the French Bees.”
In addition to groundbreaking work on the continent, Le Conte collaborated with Gene Robinson at the University of Illinois to isolate the pheromone that helps regulate labor in the honeybee colony. Le Conte has also worked with Mark Winston, Marion Ellis and many others throughout the country. He sits on the advisory board of the Bee Informed Partnership, a groundbreaking organization that helps beekeepers keep healthy and stronger colonies.
April 4, 2016
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