Author: Bee Health Collective Staff

Proclamations for Pollinator Week

Written by Bee Health Collective Staff on August 18, 2022. Posted in blog, How Can I Help.

For those who think about bee health often, June 20th kicks off a familiar and fun time of year. It’s the beginning of Pollinator Week- an annual, international, event to celebrate pollinators and raise awareness about pollinator health.

Pollinator week is an annual event to celebrate pollinators and raise awareness about pollinator health.

All of our Bee Health Collective partners celebrate pollinator week, and Project Apis m.’s own Danielle Downey even helped get the week officially proclaimed in her home state of South
Dakota.

Did you know: Anyone can help get this week proclaimed by submitting a request to your home state. You can see if your state participates, and how to make the proclamation request here: https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator-week/proclamations

New look at the BHC

At the Bee Health Collective, we are celebrating by sharing a new look, new features, and fun facts about pollinators that can be found on our website which was created to promote accurate information about bee health and beekeeping in the U.S.

Happy Pollinator Week!

Parasites

Written by Bee Health Collective Staff on July 12, 2022. Posted in Honey Bee Health.

The single largest culprit of colony losses is the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Sometimes compared to a ‘dirty needle’, Varroa mites make a hole and feed on honey bees, vectoring viruses and bacteria as they feed. The mite was introduced from Asia, and the Western honey bee (Apis meliffera) is very vulnerable to this pest. Left unchecked, Varroa mites will kill most honey bee colonies.

Most beekeepers use chemical treatments to control Varroa mites and keep colonies alive. This is not ideal because chemical treatments are costly and laborious, have variable results, can leave residues, and may have sublethal effects on the bees themselves. Mites have also repeatedly developed resistance to chemical treatments.

Beekeepers desperately need more tools to control Varroa mites. Unfortunately, the market for these tools is quite small in comparison to other markets for new pest control research and development. Another, more sustainable approach to managing Varroa is through the development and use of mite-resistant bees. A variety of mechanisms such as grooming and brood removal are known. The best-characterized mechanism of resistance is the behavioral trait called Varroa sensitive hygiene (VSH). Bees that express VSH can detect reproducing Varroa in capped brood and remove the infested larvae, ensuring that Varroa do not successfully reproduce, keeping mite populations low.

A “Bee-g” Question: How do Honey Bees and Native Bees Interact?

Written by Bee Health Collective Staff on June 28, 2022. Posted in blog, Crops Bees Pollinate, Honey Bee Health, Uncategorized.

A honey bee and a native bee forage on the same floral resource in the captionCache Valley, Utah. Utah is home to about 900 species of native bees, and 28,000 commercial honey bee colonies.

Access to clean, nutritious forage is essential for all bees, and as bee forage is declining each year in the USA, the number of native bees and managed bees are also declining. 75 years ago there were nearly twice as many honey bee colonies in the US, and more than half the native bee species assessed seem to be in decline.

Add Your Data Point to the Map: Take the BIP Survey!

Written by Bee Health Collective Staff on June 28, 2022. Posted in blog, Commercial Beekeeping, Cost of Beekeeping, Honey Bee Health, How Can I Help.

You may have heard the statement “all beekeeping is local”. This means that, depending on where you keep bees, your beekeeping actions for a particular month could be drastically different than what is appropriate for beekeepers located elsewhere! During April, some beekeepers might be busy with tasks like installing packages and raising queens, while others might be using the mild days to crack lids on their colonies even while there’s snow on the ground. Regardless of what other tasks you are trying to accomplish this April, we hope you will find time to fill out our annual Honey Bee Colony Loss and Management Survey!

TAKE SURVEY HERE

Photo by: Dan Aurell, Bee Informed Partnership.

Protecting Pollinators from A New Threat – First-Ever U.S. Sightings of Northern Giant Hornet

Written by Bee Health Collective Staff on June 27, 2022. Posted in blog, Commercial Beekeeping, Honey Bee Health.

UPDATE: Please consult the APHIS’ Asian Giant Hornet and Lookalikes Guide. If you believe the specimen is an Asian giant hornet, please report your potential sighting to the state apiary inspector.

You may also want to contact your State Plant Health Director.

Size comparison of an Asian giant hornet and a honey bee.

Posting from the Data

Written by Bee Health Collective Staff on June 10, 2022. Posted in Uncategorized.

Hives Can Save Lives: How Beekeeping is Providing Emotional Support and Relief for Veterans.

Written by Bee Health Collective Staff on June 7, 2022. Posted in blog, Commercial Beekeeping.

Many of us have seen or experienced the therapeutic support that animals can give, especially for those with disabilities. Engaging with animals can promote healing, and it can even help build community. But did you know that beekeeping can provide emotional support and relief for veterans with PTSD and anxiety?

There are several organizations that teach veterans how to keep bees. Operated out of Sparks, Nevada, Bees4Vets helps military veterans and first responders living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) through beekeeping in their local communities. The program’s goal is to support and train veterans and first responders so that they can develop the interest and skills necessary to participate in beekeeping as a hobby.