Beer for bees? Not exactly, but hop plant extract is a defense against catastrophic pest
May 27, 2014
From: Associated Press via The Republic
By BLAKE NICHOLSON
BISMARCK, North Dakota — Beekeepers in the nation’s top honey-producing state are getting help through a product tied to a plant typically associated with beer.
The federal government is once again allowing North Dakota beekeepers to use Hopguard pesticide — made from an extract of the hop plant — to control a pest thought to be connected to colony collapse disorder.
“Left uncontrolled, varroa mites cause deep and widespread losses in bee colonies,” Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. “They are the most serious pest problem facing beekeepers.”
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