Items of potential interest 7 April 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 . . .
UCD Arboretum: Research resource, pollinator paradise
Introducing Beescape: A new online tool and community to support bees
Online tool identifies best and safest places to keep bees
Road Trip: How Hive Transportation Puts Stress on Honey Bees
SURVEY FAQs – Tips and Tricks to answering BIP’s National Colony Loss and Management Survey
The Impact of a Global Decline in Pollinators
Wild bees flock to forests affected by severe fire
The GreenBee Wildlife Web Initiative
Native Pollinators Boost Agriculture
Meridian Co-op Gardeners to open
Notes from Montpelier: Improving Vermont lives, one bill at a time
$21.7M in improvements will drastically change Newfields’ look and how you get there
FROM CATCH THE BUZZ 1. BEE REMOVAL TO BE ILLEGAL IN TEXAS
FROM ABJ EXTRA 1. NOW LIVE! The 2018-2019 Colony Loss and Management Survey!
UCD Arboretum: Research resource, pollinator paradise
Although every season offers something unique to UC Davis Arboretum visitors, spring is perhaps the most spectacular. It’s when many California native plants blossom after an extended winter dormancy, native bees emerge from their wood and underground nesting sites and additional migrating butterflies and hummingbirds take advantage of this popular rest stop on their way to destinations further south.
“For over 80 years we’ve curated a . . .
To continue reading: https://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/ucd-arboretum-research-resource-pollinator-paradise/
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Introducing Beescape: A new online tool and community to support bees
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new online tool and community, called Beescape, enables beekeepers, or anyone interested in bees, to understand the specific stressors to which the bees in their managed hives, home gardens or farms are exposed, according to researchers at Penn State. . . .To continue reading: https://news.psu.edu/story/564399/2019/04/01/research/introducing-beescape-new-online-tool-and-community-support-bees
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Online tool identifies best and safest places to keep bees
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Honeybees play essential roles in pollinating plants that humans and animals rely on for food. Declines in bee populations, including 20 percent of honeybee colonies per year in Indiana, threaten our food supply. Insecticide exposure, loss of flowering plants, and fewer nesting habitats, disease and parasites are all factors.
Beekeepers must, therefore, identify safe places to establish their colonies. A new online tool, developed by entomologists from . . . To continue reading: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2019/Q2/online-tool-identifies-best-and-safest-places-to-keep-bees.html
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Road Trip: How Hive Transportation Puts Stress on Honey Bees
Dacotah Melicher
In research published this week in Environmental Entomology, colleagues and I at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center, in collaboration with North Dakota State University (NDSU), investigated transportation stress while bee hives are in transit to identify sources of stress that may affect survival and pollination ability.
To read article: https://entomologytoday.org/2019/04/01/road-trip-hive-transportation-stress-honey-bees
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SURVEY FAQs – Tips and Tricks to answering BIP National Colony Loss and Management Survey
Not even a week has passed since this year’s Colony Loss and Management survey went LIVE! As of this morning (4/5/2019), more than 1,200 beekeepers have already entered their information.
WOW! Thank you for your time and continued support!
So far your response rate is tracking previous years, but of course, we want to beat last year’s numbers! So please, spread word about . . .
To continue reading: https://beeinformed.org/2019/04/05/survey-faqs-tips-and-tricks-to-answering-the-bee-informed-partnerships-national-colony-loss-and-management-survey/
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The Impact of a Global Decline in Pollinators
A global decline in the number and variety of pollinators is a serious concern. On The Point, we discuss some of the causes for the decline and how we can help protect and promote pollinators, including beekeeping.
Pollinators are critical in the production of most fruits and vegetables. According to the USDA, three fourths of the world’s flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce. While there aren’t exact figures, surveys in the U.S. and Europe are documenting . . .
To continue reading: https://www.capeandislands.org/post/impact-global-decline-pollinators#stream/0
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Wild bees flock to forests affected by severe fire
CORVALLIS, Ore. — A groundbreaking two-year study in southern Oregon found greater abundance and diversity of wild bees in areas that experienced moderate and severe forest fires compared to areas with low-severity fires.
The study, published today in the journal Ecosphere by researchers in the Oregon State University College of Forestry, is the first to demonstrate that wildfire severity is a strong predictor of bee diversity in mixed-conifer forest. . . .
To continue reading: https://www.morningagclips.com/wild-bees-flock-to-forests-affected-by-severe-fire/
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The GreenBee Wildlife Web Initiative LONGMONT, Colo., March 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Pollinators need help and Waldorf schools and communities are taking action. Honey bees, wasps, butterflies, moths and more … these are a few of the pollinators needed throughout the agricultural and natural world. As part of the Waldorf education centennial celebration and an ongoing mission to create a more sustainable future, schools across the globe are taking action.
Over the course of 2019 and 2020, an estimated 50,000 students in over 160 Waldorf schools across North America will be creating an ecologically green “continental parks system” by planting pollinator gardens and tending bees in backyards, playgrounds, schoolyards and public spaces.
These new green spaces will . . . To continue reading: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-greenbee-wildlife-web-initiative-300820796.html
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Native Pollinators Boost Agriculture Paul Post
TROY, N.Y. — Nationally, crops pollinated by insects have a nearly $30 billion value.
But pollinator populations are threatened by impacts such as development, which reduces habitat, along with pesticide use and changing weather patterns.
Amy Howansky, of the firm Backyard Solutions, shared tips for “Attracting Pollinators and Birds to the Landscape” at the recent . . .
To continue reading: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/news/northern_edition/native-pollinators-boost-agriculture/article_1e793359-9006-599f-b3b0-33ac9f8b37cb.html
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Meridian Co-op Gardeners to open
Patty Bowen
MERIDIAN — The Treasure Valley’s booming growth is hard on native pollinators — like butterflies and bees — whose habitats are disappearing in the construction.
Juli Bokenkamp, president of the Meridian Co-op Gardeners, said without those native habitats, pollinators struggle to find a place to live.
The Meridian Co-op Gardeners are planting . . .
To continue reading: https://www.postregister.com/farmandranch/southwestern_idaho/meridian-co-op-gardeners-to-open-pollinator-garden/article_b6af7c06-e9a4-5ade-8dcd-77b7e54bacc7.html
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Notes from Montpelier: Improving Vermont lives, one bill at a time
Carolyn Partridge
This week was marked by long hours on the Floor of the House – the result of the policy and money committee crossover deadlines. After three 11- to 13-hour days at the State House, I was completely ready to head home on Friday. Over dinner, my husband, Alan, asked what we had done this week and I said, “Well, just to name a few, we worked on and passed bills on childcare, health care, pollinator protection, low-income home weatherization, broadband deployment, workforce development, the revenue bill, the budget, and the capital budget. No wonder I’m tired!”
The Pollinator Protection Bill (H.205), which came out of House Agriculture and Forestry, was reported and passed on Tuesday and Wednesday. If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, it will ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides for outdoor, household use on July 1, 2019. . . .
To continue reading: https://www.reformer.com/stories/carolyn-partridge-notes-from-montpelier-improving-vermont-lives-one-bill-at-a-time,569196
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$21.7M in improvements will drastically change Newfields’ look and how you get there
You’re about to see major modifications to Newfields’ campus and its Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park.
A series of grants and gifts worth $21.7 million will introduce a fall festival on a scale similar to Winterlights; more food events; a multi-use path that helps cyclists reach the grounds; trail improvement; an open pollinator meadow; and fresh contemporary art. The projects are on the front end of a 30-year master plan that . . .
To continue reading: https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/arts/2019/04/06/newfields-upgrades-parking-art-trails-indianapolis-museum-of-art-ima/3238315002/
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FROM Fernando Esteban, www.apicultura.com.ar: 1. BEEKEEPING AND AGRICULTURE COEXISTENCE
(Maciá, Entre Ríos, Arg. March 23, 2019) In Maciá’s exhibition, finally, an Argentine beekeeper (Mr. Arnoldo Karst) had informal access to the National Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Luis Miguel Etchevehere, and told him “do something because we are disappearing. ” The fact, registered by different media, put on the table and without bureaucratic or political filters the systematic expulsion of beekeeping from the great plains dedicated exclusively to soybean and corn monocultures. An analysis of the fair and this episode that we titled “From the speech of coexistence to the reality of exclusion” in 4 minutes of the radial program “La Miel en tu Radio” with English subtitles in the following link https://www.youtube .com / watch? v = XNJUvptsJFg & t = 27s
- CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES – CGMP
(Córdoba, Arg. April 5, 2019) The preventive against the allergen risks in honey and the need to take precautionary measures against any type of the product contaminations they are the focus of the recently Updated of the program of Good Manufacturing Practices made by the FDA that should be applied in what we call Good Beekeeping Practices. This responds to the new audit scheme for honey exporting countries to the United States. We have published in “Espacio Apicola” #124 the Current Good Manufacturing Practices updated and focused on bee production. Access the online magazine in Spanish at https://joom.ag/kZwa
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FROM CATCH THE BUZZ: 1. BEE REMOVAL TO BE ILLEGAL IN TEXAS
Zachary Bauer
Bee removal is a common practice for many bee owners. Well, it’s about to become illegal in Texas if an Irving lawmaker has her way.
When a local bee keeper gets a call concerning a swarm or hive in a nearby residence or tree, they load up and ride to the rescue. They arrive and set up their equipment and carefully bring the bees home to a new location where they can grow and thrive.
However, new legislation being filed in Texas would prevent most bee keepers from performing this valuable service unless they first . . .
To continue reading: https://www.beeculture.com/catch-the-buzz-bee-removal-to-be-illegal-in-texas/
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FROM ABJ EXTRA:
- NOW LIVE! The 2018-2019 Colony Loss and Management Survey!
Good morning America!
It’s beautiful outside! The birds are chirping and the bees are flying! You may even notice a few flowers outside too!
Here in the South, our many azaleas are in full bloom! This means Spring is upon us!
And of course, Spring means one thing: it’s time to take the Bee Informed Partnership’s annual Colony Loss and Management Survey!
It’s easy! One click and you are in, ready to take the survey and to serve our nation’s beekeeping industry:
The information that you provide will . . .
To continue reading: https://mailchi.mp/dadant.com/april-1-2019-now-live-the-2018-2019-colony-loss-and-management-survey?e=d476a0d684