Author: CHC April 4, 2019

Rosanna Mattingly Editor, Western Apicultural Society Journal Editor, The Bee Line, Oregon State Beekeepers Association Author, Honey-Maker: How the Honey Bee Worker Does What She Does (Beargrass Press

IN THIS ISSUE . . .

2019 Western Apicultural Society Conference Comes to Ashland, Oregon Could Wildfires Benefit Bees?

Researchers decipher and codify the universal language of honey bees

A study warns of the need to return to indigenous and local practices to conserve pollinators

Widespread losses of pollinating insects in Britain

West Linn now one of 80 Bee City USA spots

Program to Promote Pollinator Health Hits Milestone

Zoos Gone Wild—with Hope

New Poster Available for Pre-Order! FROM CATCH THE BUZZ: 1. THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT POLLINATORS IS TO KEEP PEOPLE ON THEIR LAND. POLLINATORS NEED PEOPLE

2. FISH AND BEES “TALK” WITH HELP FROM ROBOT TRANSLATORS
3. HONEY BEES CAN HELP MONITOR POLLUTION IN CITIES
4. PLANT DISEASES, PESTS RUINING CROPS, IN SOME CASES UP TO 40% – JUST LIKE BEES
5. THREE NEW PODCASTS OUT ON WWW.BEEKEEPINGTODAYPODCAST.COM

FROM ABJ EXTRA:

1. Honey Integrity Task Force Finds No Adulteration in US Retail Test

2019 Western Apicultural Society Conference Comes to Ashland, Oregon   ASHLAND, OR., March 29, 2019 – Every year the president of the Western Apicultural Society is given the chance to host the “WAS” conference on their own turf and highlight what’s good about their region.  In July of 2019, current WAS President, Sarah Red-Laird, is honored and humbled to take on this role and will create not just a conference, but an experience that emphasizes what they are – a society.   The theme is “Hive Mind for the Greater Good,” built on the values of persistence and authenticity and celebrating community, women in leadership and, of course, bees and their keepers.   The weekend of July 12^th-14^th will be a mix of dynamic keynote talks, workshops built on the themes of art, beekeeping, social media and marketing, bee habitat conservation, education, native bees, and global research.   In an effort to create community, they will also provide plenty of opportunities for networking:

• A “storytelling hour” in the theme of #beekeeperfail (all beekeepers have them)
• The “Community Waggle Dance Tabletop Show,” where attendees can apply to show off a hive design, their research, a tech innovation, etc.
• A “Roundtable Speed Swarm” event where guests will rotate (in groups) to speaker-hosted tables to spend some time in dialogue with a leader they have been admiring from afar.
• Throughout the conference they will provide multiple breaks and a happ-bee hour each evening to encourage beekeepers to meet up and waggle dance with someone who’s also into beginning beekeeping, honey production, co-ops and supply chain management, bee habitat, native bees, or bee-themed travel and service opportunities, etc.

Keynote Speakers & Workshop Leaders include: Dr. Judy Wu-Smart, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Katrina Klett, Elevated Honey Co.; Hilary Kearney, Girl Next Door Honey; Dr. Meghan Milbrath, Michigan State University; Anna Gieselman, Bee Amour Jewelry; Sarah Red-Laird, Bee Girl; Molly Romero L.Ac., MSOM, Active Acupuncture of Ashland; the native bee team from the Logan, Utah, USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit; a streamed opening welcome by Dr. Marla Spivak, and more.   On Sunday, July 14^th, they will have a limited number of spots for hands-on beekeeping and bumble bee workshops, a bee-friendly vineyard wine tasting tour, and a collaboration with the Ashland and Medford Food Co-Ops for a self-guided “Rogue Valley Farm Tour” (map icons will guide you to all of the bee-friendly farms)!   The conference runs from July 12^th – 14^th, however, they recommend you arrive early to enjoy the best Ashland has to offer!  WAS attendees get discounted tickets to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Momentum River Expeditions will take a group of WAS attendees out to raft the Rogue River on July 11^th.    More information and registration at:  https://westernapiculturalsociety.org   Conference Notes

• The cutoff for reserving rooms with a reduced rate at Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites, the conference venue, is April 8, 2019. A later date was provided in the February 2019  issue of the WAS Journal. We regret the error.
• *The deadline for submitting applications for the Community Waggle Dance Tabletop Show is March 31, 2019.
• *Early-Bird Registration ends June 11, 2019.

 

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Could Wildfires Benefit Bees? Jodi Helmer

Jim Rivers went into the burned forest looking for bees. As an assistant professor at Oregon State University, specializing in forest ecology, Rivers knew that forests regenerating after a disturbance like a fire, windstorm, or logging often saw a rise in pollinators like bees. But he also knew that bees were in trouble. More than half of native bee species in the US had declined severely in number since 2005. . . .

To continue reading: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/could-wildfires-benefit-bees-pollinators-native

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Researchers decipher and codify the universal language of honey bees

For Virginia Tech researchers Margaret Couvillon and Roger Schürch, the Tower of Babel origin myth—intended to explain the genesis of the world’s many languages—holds great meaning.

The two assistant professors and their teams have decoded the language of honey bees in such a way that will allow other scientists across the globe to interpret the insects’ highly sophisticated and complex communications.

In a paper appearing in April’s issue of Animal Behaviour, the researchers present . . .

To continue reading: https://phys.org/news/2019-03-decipher-codify-universal-language-honey.html

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A study warns of the need to return to indigenous and local practices to conserve pollinators

We need to recover and apply the strategies of various local communities and indigenous peoples around the world to conserve and protect pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, moths, some bird species, and bats. That is the warning given by the study “Biocultural approaches to pollinator conservation“, which has just been published in the journal Nature Sustainability, and is co-authored by Elisa Oteros-Rozas, a Juan de la Cierva researcher in the Chair in Agroecology and Food Systems at the UVic-UCC. The study was co-authored with an extensive group of university researchers from . . .

To continue reading: https://www.uvic.cat/en/news/a-study-warns-of-the-need-to-return-to-indigenous-and-local-practices-to-conserve-pollinators

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Widespread losses of pollinating insects in Britain Simon Williams

Many insect pollinator species are disappearing from areas of Great Britain, a new study has found.

The research, led by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, measured the presence of 353 wild bee and hoverfly species across the country, from 1980 to 2013. It showed one third of species experienced declines in terms of areas in which they were found, while one tenth increased. For the remainder of species, their distribution was either stable or the trend was inconclusive.

A positive but unexpected finding of the study was the increase in key bee species responsible for pollinating flowering crops, such as oil-seed rape. This could be in response to the large increases of mass-flowering crops grown during the study period and government-subsidised schemes that encourage farmers to plant more of the wildflowers they feed on.

The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, also showed that . . .

To continue reading: https://www.ceh.ac.uk/press/widespread-losses-pollinating-insects-britain

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West Linn now one of 80 Bee City USA spots

WEST LINN, Ore. (KOIN) — Bees have new friends in West Linn.

West Linn is now a Bee City USA, one of 80 cities nationwide that worked to improve their landscape for pollinators.

The unanimous vote by the West Linn City Council was the result of months of work between the West Linn Parks and Recreation Department and the Xerces Society. . . .

To continue reading: https://www.koin.com/news/local/clackamas-county/west-linn-now-one-of-80-bee-city-usa-spots/1880889263

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Program to Promote Pollinator Health Hits Milestone

The National Pollinator Garden Network (NPGN) was originally founded by nine organizations including the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA).  In June 2015 the NPGN launched the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge (MPGC) and just recently surpassed its original goal.

“We wanted to get a million gardens planted with pollinator-friendly flowers and . . .

To continue reading: http://agnetwest.com/program-promote-pollinator-health-hits-milestone/

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Zoos Gone Wild—with Hope Lela Nargi

For the past few decades, members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums throughout the United States have been partnering up with private organizations and local, state, and federal agencies to restore and reintroduce species into their natural habitats.

They’ve also been stepping in to preserve land in their own backyards (as well as further afield)—to give mammals, reptiles, insects, and fish a leg up as climate change, development, pollution, and other threats continue to challenge their survival.

Below are a few highlights . . .

To continue reading: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/zoos-gone-wild-hope

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New Pollinator Poster Available for Pre-Order The 2019 poster, Endangered Pollinators and their Habitats, features beautiful artwork by Carol Schwartz. This poster displays numerous North American pollinator species that are at risk and listed as federally endangered or threatened in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Learn more about the species, artist, and poster at https://pollinator.org/shop/posters!

 

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FROM CATCH THE BUZZ: 1. THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT POLLINATORS IS TO KEEP PEOPLE ON THEIR LAND. POLLINATORS NEED PEOPLE

A global study has concluded that people are essential to conserving the pollinators that maintain and protect biodiversity, agriculture and habitat.

“There’s increasing awareness of the importance of pollinators to our quality of life,” lead researcher Rosemary Hill said.

“That discussion is often reduced to how to protect bees, and how to expand the amount of land managed as conservation reserves.

“What we found is that the best way to protect pollinators is to support . . .

To continue reading: https://www.beeculture.com/catch-the-buzz-the-best-way-to-protect-pollinators-is-to-keep-people-on-their-land-pollinators-need-people

2. FISH AND BEES “TALK” WITH HELP FROM ROBOT TRANSLATORS

A robot interacting with young honey bees in Graz, Austria, exchanged information with a robot swimming with zebrafish in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the robots’ communication influenced the behavior of each animal group, according to a study published in Science Robotics today (March 20).

“It’s the first time that people are using this kind of technology to have two different species communicate with each other,” says Simon Garnier, a complex systems biologist at . . .

To continue reading: https://www.beeculture.com/catch-the-buzz-fish-and-bees-talk-with-help-from-robot-translators/

 

3. HONEY BEES CAN HELP MONITOR POLLUTION IN CITIES

Honey from urban bees can tell us how clean a city is and help pinpoint the sources of environmental pollutants such as lead, new University of British Columbia research has found.

In a study published today in Nature Sustainability, scientists from UBC’s Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research (PCIGR) analyzed honey from urban beehives in six Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods. They tested for miniscule levels of lead, zinc, copper and other elements and carried out lead isotope analyses – akin to fingerprinting – to identify where the lead came from.

“The good news is that the chemical composition of honey in Vancouver reflects its environment . . .

To continue reading: https://www.beeculture.com/catch-the-buzz-honey-bees-can-help-monitor-pollution-in-cities

4. PLANT DISEASES, PESTS RUINING CROPS, IN SOME CASES UP TO 40% – JUST LIKE BEES

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Pests and diseases are taking a substantial bite out of the world’s five major food crops — in some cases, up to 40 percent. Scientists at Penn State, Cornell and four other universities worldwide recently teamed to study and inventory the impact of plant diseases and insects on a global scale.

Who should care?

“Declining crop health affects everyone . . .

To continue reading: https://www.beeculture.com/catch-the-buzz-plant-diseases-pests-ruining-crops-in-some-cases-up-to-40-just-like-bees/

5. THREE NEW PODCASTS OUT ON WWW.BEEKEEPINGTODAYPODCAST.COM

To read/listen…: https://www.beeculture.com/catch-the-buzz-three-new-podcasts-out-on-www-beekeepingtodaypodcast-com/

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FROM ABJ EXTRA:

1. Honey Integrity Task Force Finds No Adulteration in US Retail Test

PHOENIX, Ariz. (March 19, 2019) – An independent test of top selling honey products sold in U.S. grocery stores found zero instances of adulteration.  In all, the 30 top selling products were tested, all of which represented the top items in the honey category as determined by Nielsen’s recent 2018 honey category research.  These brands account for approximately 40 percent . . .

To continue reading: https://mailchi.mp/dadant.com/march-20-2019-honey-integrity-task-force-finds-no-adulteration-in-us-retail-test?e=d476a0d684

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