The Department’s Plant Protection Division team has been hard at work – finding and swiftly eradicating 3 Yellow-legged hornet’s nests over a 24-hour period ..read more

The Alabama Extension beekeeping team presents the At Home Beekeeping Series. This online series promotes educational information for beekeepers. This gives beekeepers the chance ..read more

Episode 174: Hygiene-Elicting Brood Semiochemicals as a Tool for Assaying Honey Bee Colony Resistance to Varroa In this episode of Two Bees in a Podcast, released on July 23, 2024, Dr. Jamie Ellis and Amy Vu welcome Dr. Kaira Wagoner—a research scientist with the Department of Biology at the University of North Carolina and Greensboro as well as the CEO of Optera—to talk about the research paper, “Hygiene-Eliciting Brood Semiochemicals as a Tool for Assaying Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colony Resistance to Varroa.” This episode concludes with a Q&A segment. Check out our website ..read more

Wind and water cause chemical pesticides to accumulate in bee-collected pollen and wax The United States is home to more than 4,000 types of bees. Those beneficial insects are responsible for successfully pollinating the crops that feed the world’s growing population. On the other hand, there are countless insects that attack, eat, and destroy those same plants. Agricultural producers often turn to chemical pesticides to protect their crops. Unfortunately, beneficial bees often fall victim to the same pesticides. To counter that, a group of scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (AR ..read more

By: Zachary Lamas Varroa largely feed on developing drone brood and on adult bees when drones are seasonally plentiful inside of a honey bee colony. However, when drone productions slows or altogether ceases after the main flow, Varroa shift dramatically onto worker bees. This happens midsummer, just as beekeepers take time away from their colonies. Unfortunately, this is not a lull. Yes, the honey flow is largely over. There is no pressing need for swarm control or to super colonies. The lack of urgency during this time may confer a sense of calm, and that everything is alright, but unfortuna ..read more

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Identification Technology Program (ITP), in collaboration with Pollinator Partnership, is pleased to announce the release of The BeeMD, a diagnostic application for identifying honey bee health problems. This release includes much of the content from the original website first published in 2016. On this new platform, the “visual key” has been completely restructured and streamlined, and the entire website redesigned and expanded, offering additional informational, visual, and supportive content. Please find the attached PDF announceme ..read more

ARS News Service Pearl Millet Wins Approval From Honey Bees and Other Pollinators USDA – For media inquiries contact: Jessica Ryan, (301) 892-0085 Bees collect pearl millet pollen. (Photo by Karen Harris-Shultz, ARS) Pearl millet, an annual grass used for grain and forage, can be a good food source for honey bees and hover flies, according to a recent study. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences researchers studied the impact of pearl millet as a ..read more

By: Dr. Tracy Farone Honey bees are one of the most important agricultural animals on Earth. These tiny creatures often fly around unnoticed, doing work they have mastered to provide not only for themselves, but for the plants, animals and humans that make up our shared home. Given the complex and increasing health challenges that honey bees face, the importance of collaborating together to develop fresh perspectives to nurture our bees cannot be understated. But do honey bees have doctors? This book compiles stories from one veterinarian’s recent journey into the world of apiculture. Looking ..read more

Episode 173: The Nutritional Landscape in Agroecosystems In this episode of Two Bees in a Podcast, released on July 16, 2024, Dr. Jamie Ellis and Amy Vu welcome Dr. Pierre Lau—a research entomologist/ecologist at the Pollinator Health in Southern Crop Ecosystems Research Unit which is part of the USDA ARS—to talk about the research paper, “The nutritional landscape in agroecosystems: a review on how resources and management practices can shape pollinator health in agricultural environments.” This episode concludes with a Q&A segment. Check out our website: ufhoneybee.com, for addition ..read more

Please accept our invitation to attend! The North Dakota Beekeepers Assn. [NDBA] Annual Meeting will be Friday, September 27, in Minot, N.D.: The Grand Hotel is the host facility. info@grandhotelminot.com 701 852 3161 P.O. Box 777 1505 N. Broadway, Minot, 58703 Reservations locator: North Dakota Beekeepers Assn. We have room for vendors, and the NDBA registration desk. NDBA is charging a flat rate of $250 per vendor to help run the meeting. If you wish to donate a $100 gift card for merchandise at your place of business, we can use a few door prizes. There is no charge for the tables and chai ..read more