Review of Bee Health

Pollinator health the focus of new chair, scholarship at U of G

From: Guelph Mercury

The farming history of an Ontario family and the memory of businessman Donald Pinchin is being honoured with a $1-million gift to the University of Guelph to help protect pollinators.

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Guzman is known for his research on honeybee diseases, especially his 2010 study that determined varroa mites are the main culprit behind mysterious die-offs of honeybee colonies in Ontario. About 35 per cent of the province’s bee colonies were destroyed from 2007 to 2010.

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Leave a Comment June 15, 2016

New insights on how bees battle deadly varroa mite by grooming

From: Science Daily

Date: June 13, 2016; Source: Taylor & Francis

Summary: Scientists have compared the ability of two strains of honey bees to defend themselves against the parasitic mite varroa by grooming the mites from their bodies.

In a new study published in the Journal of Apicultural Research, scientists have compared the ability of two strains of honey bees to defend themselves against the parasitic mite varroa by grooming the mites from their bodies.

Leave a Comment June 14, 2016

Bees Commit Suicide to Protect the Colony From Deadly Mites

From: The Science Explorer

By Erica Tennenhouse

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A research team has now figured out how the Eastern honeybees manage to survive mite infestations that are fatal to Western honeybees. Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers found that a greater number of infested Eastern bumblebee larvae succumb to their mites than do their Western counterparts. Weak and dead larvae, together with their parasites, are expelled from the colony by their siblings, preventing the mites from spreading.

Leave a Comment June 13, 2016

Hawaii honey bee die-off points to likely culprits—Not pesticides, but varroa and viruses

From: Genetic Literacy Project

Andrew Porterfield

Although honey bee numbers are no longer in decline—overall numbers have been trending up for the past four years and are at record global highs—their health globally is still impacted by significant pressures. That’s led some environmental groups to blame pesticides for regional bee population declines. However, a number of recent reports points away from pesticides toward a viral cause.

Leave a Comment June 10, 2016

Social apoptosis in honey bee superorganisms

From: Nature | Scientific Reports

Paul Page, Zheguang Lin, Ninat Buawangpong, Huoqing Zheng, Fuliang Hu, Peter Neumann, Panuwan Chantawannakul & Vincent Dietemann

Leave a Comment June 9, 2016

Mites could play role in variable bee losses

From: Manitoba Co-Operator

Honeybee losses are all over the map in Manitoba this year, as experts eye the impact of the varroa mite

By Shannon VanRaes

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A recently released study by researchers from the University of Maryland and the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests that parasites like the varroa mite, as well as fungal nosema, may play a larger role than previously thought when it comes to colony decline, particularly over the winter months.

Leave a Comment June 8, 2016

Kauai Braces for Varroa Onslaught

From: The Garden Island | Kauai’s newspaper since 1901

Leave a Comment June 7, 2016

Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) Parasitism and Climate Differentially Influence the Prevalence, Levels, and Overt Infections of Deformed Wing Virus in Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

From: Journal of Insect Science

Ricardo Anguiano-Baez, Ernesto Guzman-Novoa, Mollah Md. Hamiduzzaman, Laura G. Espinosa-Montaño, Adriana Correa-Benítez

Leave a Comment June 6, 2016

ND Ag Commissioner Goehring announces new bee map, reminds beekeepers of regulation changes

From: Farm & Ranch Guide

BISMARCK, N.D. –Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring announced the availability of a new interactive web-based map to facilitate contact between landowners, beekeepers and pesticide applicators.

“The new bee map helps ensure the continued success of the North Dakota Pollinator Plan,” said Goehring. “The goal of the plan is to reduce honey bee exposure to pesticides while ensuring that farmers can continue to use the tools they need to be successful.”

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Leave a Comment June 3, 2016

Estimates of honey bee losses vary among agencies

From: The Argus Observer [Ontario]

Larry Meyer

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The Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, in a recent report, quoted U.S. Department of Agriculture figures that show 28 percent of honey bees died last winter, 6 percent more than in 2015.

But the USDA says there are more honey bees now than there were 10 years go when there was concern about die-offs in the hives, the association said.

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Leave a Comment June 2, 2016