Month: October 2020

To save honey bees, human behavior must change. Poor management practices have enabled spread of bee pathogens, bee researcher argues.

October 30, 2020

In the search for answers to the complex health problems and colony losses experienced by honey bees in recent years, it may be time for professionals and hobbyists in the beekeeping industry to look in the mirror. In a research essay to be published this week in the Entomological Society of America’s Journal of Economic Entomology, … More To save honey bees, human behavior must change. Poor management practices have enabled spread of bee pathogens, bee researcher argues.

Sunflower pollen has medicinal, protective effects on bees.

October 25, 2020

With bee populations in decline, a new study offers hope for a relatively simple mechanism to promote bee health and well-being: providing bees access to sunflowers. The study, conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, showed that two different species of bees fed a diet of sunflower pollen … More Sunflower pollen has medicinal, protective effects on bees.

New tool improves beekeepers’ overwintering odds and bottom line.

October 20, 2020

A new tool from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) can predict the odds that honey bee colonies overwintered in cold storage will be large enough to rent for almond pollination in February. Identifying which colonies will not be worth spending dollars to overwinter can improve beekeepers’ bottom line. Beekeepers have been losing an average of 30 percent of overwintered … More New tool improves beekeepers’ overwintering odds and bottom line.

Over 1 BILLION. That’s how many pounds of lethal pesticides we spray every year. More than 1 billion pounds of toxic chemicals that kill pollinators and endanger our food supply.

October 15, 2020

The European Union banned dangerous neonicotinoid pesticides more than TWO YEARS AGO, knowing they contribute to mass pollinator deaths. So why does the U.S. still use them? Because they make big money for corporations like Bayer-Monsanto. These and other Big Polluters are driving bumblebees, monarch butterflies and countless other pollinators to the brink of mass extinction.  We cannot let … More Over 1 BILLION. That’s how many pounds of lethal pesticides we spray every year. More than 1 billion pounds of toxic chemicals that kill pollinators and endanger our food supply.