News from the world of beekeeping – Items of potential interest 6 July 2019
Rosanna Mattingly Editor, Western Apicultural Society Journal Editor, The Bee Line, Oregon State Beekeepers Association
IN THIS ISSUE . . .
Bee thieves find sweet rewards in California’s almond groves
Five pollinators beyond honeybees E
ntomological Society of America, Plant-Insect Ecosystems Section June-July 2019 Newsletter Congra
tulations to the 2019 USA PAm-Costco Scholar Fellowship Bu
zz Kill: U.S. Honey Bees Suffer Worst Winter on Record
Why is honey in Oman creating a business buzz?
Organic farming enhances honeybee colony performance
Butterfly House returns to promote public awareness of pollinator issues
What’s Happening To Our Honey Bees?
Bee hotels leads UNG to participate in pollinator census
Grocery giant Kroger updates pesticide policy
American Transmission Company: Continues funding for planting and pollinator habitat projects
Operation Pollinator Tours Southern Manitoba
Honeybees hit by Trump budget cuts
Yellow jacket ‘super nests’ are back in Alabama
Celebrating 10 years of collaboration for InforMEA: collective intelligence for environmental governance
Today’s environment is under immense and unprecedented pressure, and the field of international environmental law is evolving rapidly to meet these challenges.
Multilateral Environmental Agreements are the cornerstones of this network of international law. The agreements work through . . .
To continue reading: https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/blogpost/celebrating-10-years-collaboration-informea-collective-intelligence
❀
Bee thieves find sweet rewards in California’s almond groves
Sarah Min
Orin Johnson, a second-generation beekeeper based in Stanislaus County, California, considers himself the poster child for bee theft. He has had his hives stolen four times over the past 15 years, a haul worth . . .
To continue reading: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-almond-production-has-made-a-lucrative-business-of-bees/
❀
Five pollinators beyond honeybees
The plight of pollinators has been a common topic among both gardeners and non-gardeners for the last few years. An illegal application of pesticide on Linden trees (Eugene, 2014) in Oregon was the catalyst for writing, discussion, legislation and increased awareness of how actions in our own gardens impact pollinators, in Oregon and nationwide.
Despite this increased awareness . . .
To continue reading: https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/five-pollinators-beyond-honeybees/article_992f902e-f5fd-5224-8de3-cecaa541562e.html
❀
Entomological Society of America, Plant-Insect Ecosystems Section
| June-July 2019 Newsletter | |
|
To continue reading: https://www.magnetmail.net/actions/email_web_version.cfm?ep=_lnw3Vy2fJ1JTiLGBTZqIK6iUpoJeymxgy7afwrcT-xuoSaDbBVtbvPtp6YVYfkdd7aMGqROI28JXIK6RiiqRFPTTXjlcFpvRfPUPeSdkfulurEIqYqPVFy0gQH5nZkE
❀ Congratulations to the 2019 USA PAm-Costco Scholar Fellowship Awardees!
The Canada PAm-Costco Scholar Fellowship application period is open and applications will be accepted through July 8, 2019. Click Here for more information, and to apply.
Scholarship: Since 2013, Project Apis m. (PAm) and Costco Wholesale Corporation have collaborated to sponsor a competitive scholarship program for a Ph.D. – level candidate. The purpose of the Costco Scholar Program is to ensure the continuity of honey bee health scientists and specialties in the academic and research world. It also intends to develop and contribute to sustainability of the beekeeping industry and assure its future contributions to agriculture, where many crops depend upon pollination for success. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are, or will be, pursuing research-based doctoral degrees in fields within the Project Apis m. mission of enhancing honey bee health while improving crop production.
2019 USA Awards . . .
To continue reading: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Introducing–The-2019-USA-PAm-Costco-Scholars-.html?soid=1130361512910&aid=OYlJE_DvHDg
❀
Buzz Kill: U.S. Honey Bees Suffer Worst Winter on Record
Daniel Raichel
Have you ever gotten bad news at your own party?
That’s something like what happened in the middle of National Pollinator Week . . .
To continue reading: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/daniel-raichel/buzz-kill-us-honey-bees-suffer-worst-winter-record
❀
Empty Calories
Dan Wyns
Somewhere early on in a “Beekeeping 101” class you’ll learn that honey bees forage for 4 things: nectar, pollen . . .
To continue reading: https://beeinformed.org/2019/07/02/empty-calories/
❀
Why is honey in Oman creating a business buzz?
In the Al-Hajar mountain chain of northern Oman, what appears to be just a pile of logs is actually an apiary of beehives.
This is a centuries-old method of beekeeping which has been passed down from one generation to the next.
And in the traditional Omani method, the bees form . . .
To continue reading: https://www.africanews.com/2019/06/28/why-is-honey-in-oman-creating-a-business-buzz/
❀
Organic farming enhances honeybee colony performance
A team of researchers from the CNRS, INRA, and the University of La Rochelle is now the first to have demonstrated that organic farming benefits honeybee colonies, especially when food is scarce in late spring. The scientists analysed six years of data collected through . . .
To continue reading: http://www.cnrs.fr/en/organic-farming-enhances-honeybee-colony-performance
❀
Honey bee waggle dance communication increases diversity of pollen diets in intensively managed agricultural landscapes
Fabian Nürnberger et al.
Abstract
The benefits of honey bee dance communication for colony performance in different resource environments are still not well understood. Here we test the hypothesis that directional dance communication enables honey bee colonies to maintain a diverse pollen diet, especially in . . .
To continue reading: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mec.15156
❀
Butterfly House returns to promote public awareness of pollinator issues
Collin W. Clayton
On June 1, after a week-long delay due to inclement weather, The Arboretum at Flagstaff reopened one of its most popular attractions for the summer season — one that features close encounters with insects currently at risk of endangerment.
The Butterfly House, which is in its fourth year of operation, is . . .
To continue reading: https://azdailysun.com/news/local/butterfly-house-returns-to-promote-public-awareness-of-pollinator-issues/article_be987428-50fe-5219-a2d5-5957d3a15176.html
❀
What’s Happening To Our Honey Bees?
Joe Leicht
If you’re like most people, your first experience with a honeybee may have been a painful one as you played barefoot in the backyard as a child.
Just as likely, you’ve outgrown . . .
To continue reading: https://www.timesnewspapers.com/webster-kirkwoodtimes/what-s-happening-to-our-honey-bees/article_40b8dcc0-98db-11e9-914a-bf437658f46f.html
❀
Bee hotels leads UNG to participate in pollinator census
J.K. Devine
University of North Georgia (UNG) student Jada Tipton never realized the impact bees had on the food supply until one photograph changed her perspective.
“I saw a picture . . .
To continue reading: https://ung.edu/news/articles/2019/07/bee-hotels-leads-ung-to-participate-in-pollinator-census.php
❀
Grocery giant Kroger updates pesticide policy
Kroger released an update to its pollinator policy encouraging suppliers to move away from pesticides and adopt alternative pest management.
“We recognize the global honeybee population is vulnerable, with research indicating that causes may include the use of certain pesticides, including neonicotinoids. Due to the potential risk . . .
To continue reading: https://www.feedstuffs.com/news/grocery-giant-kroger-updates-pesticide-policy
❀
American Transmission Company: Continues funding for planting and pollinator habitat projects programs help beautify communities and promote pollinator habitat
PEWAUKEE, Wis. – Recognizing that trees and vegetation are among the features that make communities special places for residents and visitors, American Transmission Co. will continue funding for planting projects in communities in its service area through its Community Planting and Pollinator Habitat programs. . . .
❀
Operation Pollinator Tours Southern Manitoba
Cory Knutt & Ryan Funk
Operation Pollinator made stops in Winkler and Manitou this week.
Jim Tokarchuk is the executive director of the Soil Conservation Council of Canada.
He explained the purpose of the tour.
“Just to give us a chance to . . .
To continue reading: https://pembinavalleyonline.com/ag-news/operation-pollinator-tours-southern-manitoba
❀
Should I stay or should I go? Pollinator shifts rather than cospeciation dominate the evolutionary history of South African Rediviva bees and their Diascia host plants
Belinda Kahnt et al.
Abstract
Plant‐pollinator‐interactions are often highly specialised and may even lead to coevolution. Yet when plants and pollinators coevolve, it is not clear if this will also result in frequent cospeciation. Here we investigate the mutual evolutionary history of . . .
To continue reading: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mec.15154
❀
Honeybees hit by Trump budget cuts
Sam Fossum
Washington (CNN)The US Department of Agriculture has suspended data collection for its annual Honey Bee Colonies report, citing cost cuts — a move that robs researchers and the honeybee industry of a critical tool for understanding honeybee population declines, and comes as the USDA is curtailing other research programs.
It’s also another step toward . . .
To continue reading: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/06/politics/honeybees-study-usda-donald-trump-budget-cuts/index.html
❀
Yellow jacket ‘super nests’ are back in Alabama
Kelly Mayes
When spring finally sprung in 2006, a plague of 90 yellow jacket “super nests” the size of a Volkswagen Beetle formed on the sides of homes, cars, and sheds across Alabama. Now, The New York Times reports, they’re back. Normally, yellow jacket nests are much smaller and die out in the winter, leaving the queen to start a new colony come spring. This year, however . . .
To continue reading: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/07/yellow-jacket-super-nests-are-back-alabama?utm_campaign=news_daily_2019-07-02&et_rid=79887736&et_cid=2889841
❀
FROM CATCH THE BUZZ:
- An Invitation from the Team in Montreal for Apimondia 2019
Dear Apimondia Community, The Canadian Honey Council and its industry partners are proud to invite you to join the 46th Apimondia Congress, which will… Read on » 2. The Roles of Drifting and Robbing in Varroa Destructor Mite Infested Colonies
David Thomas Peck & Thomas Dyer Seeley Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York PLoS One. 2019 Jun 21;14(6):e0218392. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218392. eCollection 2019…. Read on » 3. Big Data and Innovations for Healthy Bees, Project B-GOOD Seeks to Create a EU-Wide Management and Health Data Platform to Assist Sustainable Beekeeping
Big data, an interactive platform and six different technological innovations are the core of the recently started Horizon 2020 project B-GOOD in its 4-year mission to… Read on » 4. CRP Colonies Had Better Health, More Bees and Greater Ability to Turn Nectar and Pollen into Vitellogenin – No Surprise, But Good News
Posted by Sue Kendall A bee gathering pollen and nectar from a helianthus flower. Everyone wants healthy, thriving honey bee colonies. One-third of the… Read on » 5. So, You Want a Piece of the Other Side of all That Almond Pollination Money? Consider Owning a Piece of the Pie, So to Speak. Invest in an Almond Orchard
FRESNO, Calif. – Brandon Silveira, a fourth-generation farmer and real estate investor is the founder and CEO of FarmFundr, an Agriculture Investment company that… Read on » 6. California Almond Farmers Would Benefit from Increased Efforts to Protect Essential Bee Foraging Territory in Northern Prairie States
The Prairie Pothole Region supports 40 percent of the country’s commercial bee population. Credit: Jennie Durant California almond farmers who depend on commercial bee… Read on » 7. Pollen Collected by US Honey Bees in Urban Settings Shows Dramatic Seasonal Variation
By: Public Library of Science Pollen collected in traps. Credit: Pierre Lau The diversity and availability of pollen foraged by honey bees across urban and… Read on » 8. Preliminary Figures Suggest Honey Harvest from Bee Colonies Could Be Up in 2019 in California
By: Christine Souza – California Farm Bureau CENTRAL VALLEY – It’s a “mixed box” when it comes to beekeeper expectations regarding this season’s honey… Read on » ❀ FROM ABJ EXTRA:
- Mite-A-Thon 2019 Help Protect Bees Everywhere We are the Pollinator Partnership, an organization devoted to pollinator conservation, and we are reaching out to you about a collaborative effort we are leading to help beekeepers and honey bees across North America – theMite-A-Thon. . . . To continue reading: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/2/#inbox/FMfcgxwChSKtBwCQFBRWTQQJbPkDbCxG
❀
FROM POLLINATOR-L:
Postdoc: Collective behavior of epithelial cells and honey bees, Heidelberg
2-Year Postdoc Position: Rules governing collective behavior at different scales – Collective sensing and group behavior in epithelial cells and honey bees
Heidelberg Academy of Sciences project page: https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hadw-bw.de%2Fgroup%2F23%2Fcollective-sensing&data=02%7C01%7Ccmg25%40psu.edu%7Ccbe8cd44577a4cd2347208d6fc55d73c%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C636973842958790974&sdata=558GfCUJfEZ90Xyp%2BAVtSeEzC6WOoinsiBZHbGdclEs%3D&reserved=0
We seek candidates for a theoretical/computational postdoctoral research position to work on an interdisciplinary project examining collective sensing in two model systems: Epithelial cells and honey bees. Using a combination of experiments, modeling, and simulation, we will investigate how group composition affects collective sensing and decision making at these different biological scales. The proposed analysis is divided into three parts. The first step involves a robust characterization of how individual cells in a group, or individual bees in a colony, differ from each other. Following this, we examine the mechanisms that drive type/task differentiation in the group. Finally, we seek to use experimental manipulations combined with data analysis and model simulation to ask how group composition and within-group differences affect group function in these systems. Through this comparative analysis we seek both common rules of behavior, as well as contrasting mechanisms which are specific to each system.
The position will be based in the Department of Collective Behavior at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior at the University of Konstanz. For this project, the successful candidate will join an active team of postdoctoral researchers spanning multiple disciplines: Cellular biology (Medhavi Vishwakarma), honey bee biology (Michael L Smith), and mathematical modeling (Jacob D Davidson). Specific expertise in cellular biology or social insect biology is not necessary, but an ability to span between and contribute to both systems is essential.
The postdoc will work both independently and part of an active research team to develop research questions and perform analysis. A strong computational background is ideal (e.g. data analysis, modeling, simulation). Experimental data will be provided, so this position does not involve lab or field work. Preliminary results, however, may lead to additional experiments in collaboration with other team members. Innovative and creative thinkers are especially encouraged to apply. The working language is English.
Requirements:
* Ph.D. (or equivalent) in computer science, physics, engineering, computational biology, or related.
* A commitment to working in an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment.
Applicants should email the following as a single PDF to: Collective.Sensing@gmail.com
* cover letter describing your interest and qualifications for this position (1-page)
* curriculum vitae (CV)
* contact information for 3 references
* All applications received prior to 15 July 2019 will be given full consideration.
❀
Research Scientist/Entomologist
Please pass on to get the word out we are hiring for this role. Any help is appreciated. While it states 5 years’ experience, I think they would also look at new PhD grads or Post-Docs.
https://www.gdit.com/careers/job/a7d2b0fb4/research-scientistentomologist/
❀
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Crop Sciences Assistant Professor Specialty Crop Entomology