Newsnotes - September 2010

MITE AWAY QUICK STRIPS

Sen. Schumer Urges Action on Transshipped Chinese Honey

‘HONEST HONEY’ CHANGES NAME TO ‘TRUE SOURCE HONEY TM’ TO CLARIFY GOAL OF PROTECTING U.S. HONEY CONSUMERS AND CUSTOMERS

Duty Circumvention a Threat to U.S. Honey Iindustry, Honey Supply Quality

Insulin Signaling Key to Caste Development in Bees

Honey as an Antibiotic: Scientists identify a Secret Ingredient in Honey that Kills Bacteria

Bees Help to Beat MRSA Bugs

New Pollen Trap Announced

Blending Art with Science at UC Davis Honey Bee Garden

Newsnotes - August 2010

Date Set for Grand Opening of Honey Bee Haven at UC Davis

DAVIS--The grand opening celebration of the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis, is set for Saturday, Sept. 11.
The event, initially slated for June 19, was rescheduled to allow the bee friendly garden to grow, said Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology.
The public opening, expected to draw a large crowd, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the site on Bee Biology Road, and will include speakers, honey tasting, hand-outs, children’s activities, and tours of the apiary, haven, and nearby Campus Buzzway, a field of wildflowers.
“We've delayed the Häagen-Dazs bee garden opening until Sept. 11 to give the plants more time to grow and fill out,” Kimsey said. The half-acre bee friendly garden, planted last fall next to the Laidlaw facility, 1 Bee Biology Road, is designed to be a year-around food source for bees and other pollinators, to raise public awareness about the plight of the honey bees and their importance, and to show what area residents can plant in their own gardens.
Kimsey expects it to be a “campus destination.”
Art created by students and the community in the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, founded and directed by UC Davis entomologist-artist Diane Ullman and artist Donna Billick, will be permanently displayed at the garden.  The entrance will feature two towering bee-hive sculptures, one sculpture painted to depict the work that bees do inside the hive and the other, the work outside the hive.
Another highlight is a large bee sculpture, being created by Billick for a pedestal beneath an almond tree.
A Sausalito-based team created a series of interconnected gardens with such names as “Honeycomb Hideout,” “Nectar Nook,” “Pollinator Patch” and “My Backyard” to win the international bee-friendly garden design competition, a gift to UC Davis from the Häagen-Dazs. The design is the work of landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki.
Among the other features: a “Learning Center” “Save the Bees Sanctuary,” “Round Dance Circle” and “Waggle Dance Way.”
The bee haven design can be downloaded at http://beebiology.ucdavis.edu/
HAVEN/honeybeehaven.html. 
More details on the opening will be forthcoming, Kimsey said.

Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications Specialist
Department of Entomology
396A Briggs Hall
One Shields Ave.
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616
kegarvey@ucdavis.edu
http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/home.cfm


Langstroth Graduate Fellowship in Entomology Endowed with $250,000 Gift

University Park, Pa. -- Penn State has received a $250,000 gift to endow a graduate fellowship in entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
At the request of the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, the endowment will be named the Lorenzo L. Langstroth Graduate Fellowship in Entomology, in honor of the 19th century apiarist widely considered to be the "father of American beekeeping."
Income from the endowment will be used to recruit and retain outstanding graduate students pursuing an entomology degree, with first preference given to students conducting research related to honey bees.
One of the most pressing problems facing researchers is Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a phenomenon in which the majority of adult honey bees of a hive disappear, often spelling death for the colony. Still not fully understood, CCD in the last four years has affected honey bee colonies all across the nation, with losses ranging from 30 percent to near 100 percent in apiaries with CCD symptoms.
Penn State researchers, including Diana Cox-Foster, professor of entomology and a member of the University's Center for Pollinator Research, have been investigating why CCD happens while at the same time working on ways to strengthen the pollinator population.
"We are really grateful for this new graduate fellowship in entomology," she said, "which will make a huge difference in our ability to train future researchers to help improve the health of honey bees and other essential pollinators."
The Rev. Lorenzo L. Langstroth was a Philadelphia-born apiarist, clergyman and teacher who in 1851 revolutionized the beekeeping industry in the United States with the invention of a new beehive. His top-opened, movable-frame structure effectively used what he called "bee space" and allowed the beekeeper to easily inspect and manage the hive in a way that previously had not been possible without disturbing the bees and their home. The "Langstroth Hive" continues to be the standard used by beekeepers all over the United States.
He also published several books on practical hive management, beginning with "Langstroth's Hive and The Honey-bee, The Classic Beekeeper's Manual" in 1853, which is still in print.
Langstroth's lifelong observations, numerous discoveries and further inventions helped to turn beekeeping into a large-scale, cost-effective and sustainable industry. The fellowship is being created to honor his 200th birthday.

A'ndrea Elyse Messer, Ph.D.
Sr. Science & Research Information Officer
Research Communications
University Relations
Penn State
814-865-9481 (office)
814-883-8807 (cell)
aem1@psu.edu


USDA Begins National Survey of Honey Bee Pests and Diseases

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2010 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the beginning of a 13-state survey of honey bee pests and diseases conducted cooperatively by USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Pennsylvania State University (PSU). The survey will help USDA scientists to determine the prevalence of parasites and disease-causing microorganisms that may be contributing to the decline of honey bee colonies nationwide.
"Bee health is critical for the success of pollination-based agriculture, which produces about a third of our diet in the United States," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "There has been a disturbing drop in the number of U.S. bee colonies over the last few years while the demand for commercial bee pollination services continues to grow, and this survey will help us to better understand the factors threatening our honey bees so we can take effective action to protect them and the crops that they pollinate."
The voluntary survey includes 350 apiaries across 13 states and will last through the end of the year. APHIS developed the survey protocol jointly with ARS and PSU and allocated $550,000, provided by Section 10201 of the 2008 Farm Bill, for the survey. Survey kits have been mailed to state apiary specialists, who will collect samples of bees and debris from the apiaries in their states. ARS and PSU scientists will test the samples for specific pests and pathogens. APHIS is particularly interested to know whether foreign mites of the genus Tropilaelaps have entered the United States.
The survey will take place in Alabama, California, Georgia, Indiana, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Once all the samples have been analyzed, APHIS will summarize the results and post the summary on its Web site.
Beekeeping is an essential component of modern U.S. agriculture, providing pollination services for more than 90 commercial crops and adding $15 billion in value. Since the 1980s, however, a number of factors have contributed to the declining health of U.S. honey bee colonies. These include the introduction of several honey bee pests into the United States, such as the small hive beetle, which can damage honey comb, stored honey and pollen, as well as deadly bee parasites such as the Varroa mite (Varroa destructor), tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi) and single-celled gut parasite Nosema ceranae. Honey bees also face a number of newly introduced diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi.
In addition, beekeepers began to report in 2006 a new threat to honey bee health that scientists have named colony collapse disorder (CCD). In colonies exhibiting CCD, adult bees leave the hive and never return, abandoning the queen and eggs. APHIS, ARS, USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture and a number of other organizations have formed a CCD working group, which is researching the possible causal agent(s) of CCD. The survey results will provide valuable information in this effort.
For more information about the survey, please visit the APHIS Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/honey_bees/survey.shtml


Bee Photo Competition

Become part of a Global Bee Education Resource

With the continuing success of the Vita Gallery, a free photo gallery for beekeepers, honeybee health company Vita (Europe) Ltd is launching a photography competition. Anyone can submit up to three photos relating to bees or beekeeping to try to win a cash prize, while at the same time contributing to the enormously popular Gallery (www.vita-europe.com) which is benefitting beekeepers across the globe.
Since its launch last September, the Vita Gallery - which contains more than 300 images of bees and beekeeping - has received huge interest from beekeepers across the globe.
“The Gallery has users from more than 600 beekeepers in 40 countries and we’ve been delighted by the spontaneous feedback from may of them,” said Jeremy Owen, sales director of Vita (Europe) Ltd. “We knew that many beekeepers needed images to accompany their talks on bees and beekeeping – but we never quite realized just how many people give such talks. The Vita Gallery is turning into an important educational tool and we therefore want to expand it by inviting anyone to contribute their best bee-related photos.”
The winner of the competition will receive a 50 euro cash prize, plus Vita anti-varroa products for 10 colonies. There is also a special prize for the winner of the under 16 category.
The deadline for entries to the competition is 1 December 2010, allowing plenty of time for people to take some photos this season, or select ones from their collection.

How To Enter
To enter the competition, just email up to three digital photographs (no larger than 1mb each) relating to bees or beekeeping to vitagallery@vita-europe.com. The theme is broad, with current photographs in the gallery ranging from vintage beekeeping equipment to shots of active colonies and foraging bees.
Please include your name, postcode (or equivalent) and country in your email. You may also include captions for your photographs if you wish. Please state if you are under 16 and eligible for the Young Person’s Prize.

Terms and Conditions
The deadline for entries to the competition is 1 December 2010.
Entrants must certify that the image/s they are submitting is their own work and that they own the copyright for it. It is the responsibility of each entrant to ensure that any images they submit have been taken with the permission of the subject and do not infringe the copyright of any third party or any laws. In providing images for the competition, each entrant agrees that Vita can put it in the online Vita Gallery for others to use.


Saving the Bees Through Art

Saving the Bees—
One Art Piece At A Time

DAVIS--They are artists with a honey of a heart—a honey of a heart for the plight of honey bees.
Artists showing their work at the recent “Bees at The Bee” art show in Sacramento donated a total of $900 from gross sales of $1560 to honey bee research at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis.
“The art work was peered at, pored over, perused, examined, appreciated, loved and admired by hundreds of eyes on Saturday,” said Sacramento artist and art show coordinator Laurelin Gilmore who thought of the bee-themed show as a way to help honey bee research and boost awareness of the declining bee population ravaged by colony collapse disorder (CCD).
“We were applauded and congratulated on every aspect of this little event, and I for one am bursting with pride for having been any part of it.” The event, sponsored by the Sacramento Bee, drew hundreds of visitors to The Bee’s open courtyard.
“This was a marvelous event, altogether educational and entertaining, greatly benefiting honey bees and our bee research program at UC Davis,” said Lynn Kimsey, professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. Laurelin did a terrific job planning the event, with the support the Sacramento Bee, to support the bees.”
Gilmore invited artists from within a 12-county area to submit their work. Some 60 artists submitted a variety of work, including acrylic paintings, watercolors, pen and ink drawings, metal and paper sculptures, photographs, fused glass plates, pendants, a fleece blanket, crocheted multimedia, collages, monoprint-woodcut, neckpiece, individually painted CDs, and a scrimshaw engraving on a mammoth ivory.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale went to UC Davis honey bee research. Artists grossed $1560, of which $900 “is going directly to the UC Davis bee research,” Gilmore said. Gilmore praised the artists for their “willingness and eagerness to participate in making my little idea grow so tall.”
“The plight of the honey bees is filtered through each artist in a different way, and the results run the gamut from funny to beautiful to profound,” she said. The “Bees at The Bee” also included live music, refreshments, and educational information about bees. Scoopy, The Bee’s mascot, handed out chocolate bees.
Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty, displayed a bee observation hive and answered questions about bees, including CCD, the mysterious malady in which adult bees abandon the hive, leaving behind the queen bee, brood and food stores. Honey bees pollinate a third of the food we eat, he said.
Mussen also handed out free samples of Honey Lovers, a new line of candy (fruit chews) by Gimbal’s Fine Candies, San Francisco. Gimbal’s is donating 5 percent of the proceeds from the sale of its Honey Lovers for UC Davis research. Other handouts were from Burt’s Bees, Häagen-Dazs and the Partners for Sustainable Pollination.
The Bohart Museum of Entomology displayed “Save the Bees” T-shirts and other gift items. The Sacramento Area Beekeepers Association offered honey and other items. Artists from the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, founded and directed by entomologist-artist Diane Ullman and artist Donna Billick, showed art work that will be permanently installed at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis.
Plans are under way for the grand opening on Sept. 11 of the garden, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Bee Biology Road. The garden, a year-around food source for honey bees and other pollinators and an educational experience for visitors, was planted last fall. Featuring a series of interconnected gardens with such names as “Honeycomb Hideout,” “Nectar Nook” and “Pollinator Patch,” it is the design of a Sausalito team: landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki.
At the haven, visitors can glean information about the plight of the honey bee, what plants attract pollinators, and what to plant in their own gardens. The haven is a "bee friendly farm" as designated by the Partners for Sustainable Pollination, directed by Kathy Kellison and headquarted in Santa Rosa. Penny Stockdale of UC Davis is organizing the grand opening of the garden, which will include speakers, apiary and garden tours, children’s activities, and educational information.

Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications Specialist
Department of Entomology
396A Briggs Hall
One Shields Ave.
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616
kegarvey@ucdavis.edu


North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue Harvests the First “Executive Honey”

RALEIGH, NC — June 22, 2010, Gov. Bev Perdue suited up in beekeeper attire and approached a job perhaps no other North Carolina governor has tackled – pulling honeycombs from beehives with thousands of honey bees buzzing nearby.
“That’s a lot of honey!” Gov. Perdue exclaimed, as she removed a narrow honeycomb literally dripping gold.
The two beehives sitting on the north lawn of the executive mansion in Raleigh were installed late last year, after grounds supervisor Gerald Adams decided to explore the benefits of having bees to pollinate the gardens on the grounds. Adams, who oversees production of a number of crops used by the first family and donated to local area food banks, has already seen a dramatic difference.
“Apple trees that have never had more than a handful of apples on them now show 50 or 60 or more,” he said. “The pollination benefits of the bees have been clear already within the first six months of having the hives.”
The honey bees, which may fly up to a 2-mile radius around the hive every day, were sprayed with non-harmful smoke to subdue them; then the governor assisted Danny and Mary Jaynes as they removed the frames of honeycombs from the hives. Danny Jaynes is the president of the Wake County Beekeepers Association and has mentored Adams during his introduction to beekeeping.
“The honey bee is not only North Carolina’s state insect, but also a crucial player in North Carolina agriculture. Their role in pollinating our crops is essential, and often overlooked by people who don’t know the important part they play,” said Gov. Perdue. “Having the bees here on the mansion grounds not only gives us a chance to boost our own fruit and vegetable production, but also serves as an education tool for the school groups and tours who visit the mansion regularly.”
So just how much honey did the group harvest? According to the Jaynes, nearly 12 gallons, or some 150 pounds. The honey, which was inspected and deemed “Grade A,” will be bottled and used at the mansion, given as gifts from the governor and first gentleman, and donated to local food banks. (Press release courtesy of Alana Allen, Press Office, Office of the Governor)


George Washington Mount Vernon Campus is Home Sweet Home for Four Hives

Donated by Local Cooperative, Beehives Promote Urban
Agriculture and Importance of
Pollinators During 4th Annual National Pollinator Week,
June 21-27, 2010

WASHINGTON – The George Washington (GW) University’s Mount Vernon Campus has 120,000 new residents – four hives of Italian honey bees, just in time to celebrate National Pollinator Week. According to the Pollinator Partnership’s (P2) North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC), bees are vital to the ecosystem of urban areas and provide important habitats for many bee species.
 Donated by local beekeeping cooperative Sweet Virginia, the bees’ journey to GW began this spring when junior Melissa Eddison, inspired in part by the installation of beehives at the White House, drafted a proposal to establish hives on campus. The initiative is part of an effort to promote sustainable food and gardening spearheaded by GW student organization Food Justice Alliance.
“It’s a great educational opportunity for GW,” said Ms. Eddison, who plans a career in international sustainable agriculture.
GW alumna Amanda Jo Formica, B.A. ’10, is former founder and past president of Food Justice Alliance and will serve as one of two beekeepers for the hives this summer. “The bees—and their ability to pollinate thousands of plants every day—will result in bigger and brighter plants and flowers on campus and in the surrounding neighborhood. We are extremely fortunate to be able to work with Sweet Virginia and have their volunteers serve as mentors for our new beekeepers.”
Sweet Virginia is a nonprofit organization located in Manassas, Va., composed of volunteer beekeepers that harvest, process (drain the beeswax bits), bottle, package and donate Northern Virginia wildflower honey. Sweet Virginia co-founder Dan Price’s desire to bring beehives into urban areas and to expose students to the practice of keeping bees prompted him to donate the hives to the university. GW plans to offer beekeeping workshops for the University community in the future.
Taking care of the bees on campus will typically require 10 to 15 minutes each day. Duties will include monitoring the bees, catching and hiving swarms, and looking for diseases or other problems. Each beehive measures about 2.5 feet wide, 3 feet high and houses approximately 30,000 bees.
“The hives are a wonderful way to honor the University’s namesake,” said Paula Lawley, GW assistant vice president for online strategy and experience, amateur beekeeper, and Sweet Virginia board member. ”George Washington kept bees at his Mount Vernon Estate and noted that his favorite breakfast, even when traveling, was cornmeal cakes with honey.” (Courtesy The George Washington University)


Harry Fulton Retires

Mr. Harry Fulton, “Harry” as he was known in his almost 40 years of service to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry has retired. Most significantly for the Apiculture Industry, Harry has been actively and progressively involved in State, National and International issues to the beekeeping industry all of this time. Harry is a beekeeper so he knows beekeeping and all levels of the industry from backyard beekeepers to commercial beekeepers with thousands of colonies.
He has served on the National Honey Board as a member and on the National Honey Board nomination committee. He has been the Secretary/Treasurer of the Mississippi Beekeepers Association since 1975 and written and published a newletter “Bee News and Views” that has a readership well beyond Mississippi.
Harry served as president of the Apiary Inspectors of America twice, in 1978 and 2005. He developed a State Action Plan for dealing with future introductions of African Honey bees into Mississippi. This is only in his helping keep the beekeeping industry healthy, vital and active. His many other duties as state entomologist included plant pest programs, cooperative Agricultural Pest Surveys, pesticide usage and permitting, president of The Mississippi Entomological Society (1994), establishing the Mississippi Mosquito and Vector Control Association (1990), Southern Plant Board Positions and National Plant Board positions. Additional work included activities that helped farmers, commodity groups, advisory committees, various governing boards and stakholders throughout his years of service.
As you can see, Mr. Harry Fulton is going to be missed because he did so much. Replacing 40 years of experience, expertise and trust takes time. We will miss Harry as a leader, mentor and friend. (Courtesy of Jerry Hayes)

Obituary - Willy Baumgartner

The beekeeping industry has lost one of its greatest supporters. Willy Baumgartner, founder of Medivet Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and developer of the improved Fumagilin-B medicine for honey bees, died May 18 after a lengthy illness. Willy was 82 years old. Willy Baumgartner was a Swiss-educated chemist who immigrated into Canada when he was in his twenties. After a successful career in Ontario with a pharmaceutical company, Willy moved west to Calgary in 1980.  He established Medivet - an enterprise making a variety of veterinary medicines mostly for cattle and horses. Soon his High River, Alberta, company began to specialize in pharmaceuticals for honey bees.
Until age 50, Willy didn't know about bees or beekeepers. But his veterinary supply business was getting requests for better medicines for honey bees. Like most people, back in 1980, Willy had no idea that honey bees could get sick and would need pharmaceuticals. While he was supplying medicine for horses, beekeepers started to ask for the same medicines for their bees. As a careful pharmacist, he knew that beekeepers shouldn't be dumping horse medicine into their bee hives. But, at that time, Willy didn't know the habits of beekeepers. As he found out, we can be pretty sloppy. So, Willy tested the materials, figured out the right dosage for a colony of bees and found a way to keep the medicines active at different temperatures and in different qualities of water. And Willy taught and encouraged beekeepers to treat bee medicines... like medicines. Willy said, “A small mistake with any drug can harm bees and the entire beekeeping industry. Too little or too much medicine can cause disease resistance, kill bees, or worse, contaminate honey.  A lot of our work has involved getting dosage and delivery systems right for the beekeeper."
One of his first achievements was improving oxytetracyclines so they would maintain their efficacy in the rather alkali water common on the western prairies. He worked out dosages, reminding beekeepers that "a hivetool is not a measuring device."   Willy Baumgartner's greatest pharmaceutical accomplishment was improving the delivery of fumagillin products for honey bees. Developed by Abbott Laboratories researchers in the early 1950s as a medicine for people, it was found to be more effective as a honey bee treatment against nosema.  But the material clumped in water, wasn't stable for long, and was difficult to deliver to honey bees in the right dosage. Willy solved these issues, creating Fumagilin-B and making it available at an affordable price to beekeepers. The medicine is the only effective treatment against nosema, which has been widely implicated as a leading cause of colony collapse disorder. It can be said that Willy's work has saved the lives of hundreds of millions of honey bees around the world.
He and Ursula - his wife and business partner - enjoyed  traveling to dozens of beekeeping gatherings: the local Calgary Beekeepers' Club, provincial meetings across Canada, international meetings in the USA and farther afield. They were regulars at Apimondia meetings and were major supporters of Vancouver's Apimondia 99. In 2007 he received an achievement award from the Alberta Beekeepers Association; and,  in 2009 he became an honorary member of the Alberta Honey Producers Co-op.
Adony Melathopoulos, of the Beaverlodge Research Farm, says, "There was no better supporter of beekeeping research in Canada than Willy Baumgartner's Medivet Company." His business donated tens of thousands of dollars to research - all without any expectations or restrictions.
A tireless innovator, he developed machines and methods to safely distribute oxalic acid into hives to fight mites, regimes for safe tetracycline and fumagillin treatments, and procedures for proper pharmaceutical use in beehives. But he also strongly believed that beekeepers need more than antibiotics, acaricides, and fumagillin products to be successful. At every opportunity, he promoted integrated management approaches to beekeeping. Willy especially advised beekeepers to reduce stress in their beehives by keeping strong, well-provisioned colonies with young queens in well-situated apiaries. Willy said he would be happiest if his business could close because that would mean all bee diseases were cured.
Willy Baumgartner was a warm and generous person; a friend to all who knew him.  He was a keen traveler, champion Jass player, skier, shooter, amateur actor, and great supporter of the Swiss cultural Society.  He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. (Courtesy of Ron Miksa, Calgary)


Obituary - Charles Parker

Charles “Charlie-Bee” died May 26, 2010. He was 64.
Charlie was founder, owner and operator of Charlie-Bee Honey, Parker Bee Apiaries Ltd. for 40 years. His dedication to his work began at the early age of 13, with one bee hive. This hobby later flourished with the help of his wife Ruth, family and devoted staff to what now is the largest beekeeping operation in Ontario.


Florida Beekeeper Charged in Thefts

By Kristin Chambers
Reprinted courtesy of the Palatka Daily News
CRESCENT CITY, FL- The owner of a Crescent City honey farm was arrested in June after authorities say he stole bee hives, honey and honey-making equipment from businesses in St. Johns County.
Ruben Josey, owner of Josey's Honey Farm and vice president of the Beekeepers of Putnam County, was charged with two counts of dealing in stolen property after 48 beehives and related goods were located.
According to a report from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, the hives were reported stolen in December and January.
Other hives and stolen property from Putnam and neighboring counties may also be involved, said Lt. Johnny Greenwood, a spokesman for the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
The state Department of Agriculture is heading the investigation.
Nancy Gentry, a Putnam County beekeeper, honey producer and member of the Beekeepers of Putnam County, said she and other local beekeepers, have been trying to gather information due to rising suspicions.
"We are pleased to see Mr. Josey has been arrested," she said. "The number of beekeepers that have been affected ... increase every day. There was a considerable amount of honey discovered still in the honey boxes and it looks as though those were stolen from beekeepers in Georgia, so this just keeps getting bigger and bigger."
Each hive contains registration numbers that are listed with the state.
Gentry said she and others had searched the back roads of the Crescent City area on Tuesday looking for evidence after they became suspicious of Josey.
"Beekeepers are tenacious when they find out there is a corrupt beekeeper," she said. "It is a hard business and you have to help each other."
Josey, 45, was elected the vice president of the Beekeepers of Putnam County when Gentry formed the organization in January 2008.
"He purported himself to be a beekeeper of longtime standing and he was elected," Gentry said.
"We came to find out most of it was lies," she said. "But as evidence began mounting against him I think he was beginning to find out people were on his trail."
Josey has been removed from the Putnam organization and a sister beekeeping organization he joined in Flagler County, Gentry said.
Josey is being held at the Putnam County Jail on a bond of $50,000.
Sgt. Chuck Mulligan, spokesman for the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, said Josey could be transferred to St. Johns County for charges he faces there, but a decision will be made by the State Attorney's Office once an arraignment location is set.


Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees

Storey’s Guide to Raising Series, with over 1.7 million copies in print, is recognized as the most trusted source of animal husbandry information. Now we are applying that same thorough approach to the world of the honey bee. And the timing couldn’t be better. Bees are vital to our existence, as they pollinate the plants that provide our food. Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees releases in August.
Because of the plight of bees, many cities are starting to allow beekeeping. A beehive is visible for the first time ever on the South Lawn at the White House, as well as in two parks, in the National Arboretum, and on the roof of the Fairmont Hotel, all in Washington D.C. There are honey co-ops and rooftop hives in Chicago, including on the green of City Hall! Urban blogs and websites abound, from Kirk’s Urban Bees (kirksurbanbees.com) in Los Angeles to the Urban Apiary (urbanbees.blogspot.com) in Atlanta to City Bees (citybees.blogspot.
com) in Washington, DC.
Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees is an invaluable resource for beginners, detailing practices to ensure success of their first hives. The book outlines time, financial, and legal restrictions to consider before getting into beekeeping, and everything from safety and housing equipment, to honey collection techniques. The guide delves into specifics for the advanced beekeeper who needs to know all they can about diseases, optimizing crop pollination, requeening the colony, and more.
Author Dr. Malcolm Sanford is one of the most recognized writers on beekeeping in the United States. He has been published in Bee Culture and American Bee Journal and is Coordinator of the Apis Information Resource Center, author of The Apis Newsletter, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida. He has been a beekeeping management consultant in Egypt, Italy, France, Chile, Ecuador, Iraq, and Mexico, and he lives in

Newsnotes - July 2010

Microbial Team May be Culprit in Colony  Collapse Disorder

SAN DIEGO, CA - May 25, 2010 -- New research from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified a new potential cause for "Colony Collapse Disorder" in honey bees. A group of pathogens including a fungus and family of viruses may be working together to cause the decline. Scientists reported their results in May at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.
"There might be a synergism between two very different pathogens," says Jay Evans of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, a researcher on the study. "When they show up together there is a significant correlation with colony decline."
Beginning in October 2006, some beekeepers began reporting losses of 30-90 percent of their hives. Although colony losses are not unexpected during winter weather, the magnitude of loss suffered by some beekeepers was highly unusual.
"Domesticated honey bees face numerous pests and pathogens, tempting hypotheses that colony collapses arise from exposure to new or resurgent pathogens," says Evans.
To better understand the cause of these collapses, in early 2007 Evans and his colleagues collected bees from both healthy and declining colonies across the country, but primarily from California and Florida where most of the commercial pollination activity takes place. They have screened these samples and similar samples from each year since then for both known and novel pathogens.
They found a slightly higher incidence of a fungal pathogen known as Nosema ceranae in sick colonies, but it was not statistically significant until they began pairing it with other pathogens.
"Levels of the fungus were slightly higher in sick colonies, but the presence of that fungus and 2 or 3 RNA viruses from the family Dicistroviridae is a pretty strong predictor of collapse," says Evans.
Nosema is transferred between bees via the fecal-oral route. When a bee initially ingests the microbes and they get to the mid-gut, they harpoon themselves into the gut wall and live inside the epithelial cells there. Evans believes that the slightly higher numbers of the fungus somehow compromise the gut wall and allow the viruses to overwhelm the bees. In colonies with higher Nosema numbers they found virus levels to be 2-3 times greater than healthy colonies.
While this is a working theory and they are still in the discovery phase looking for new pathogens, Evans and his colleagues are also actively looking for a way to boost bee defenses against Nosema.
"A way to protect against Nosema might be the key for now," says Evans.
A live interview with Jay Evans was web
cast May 25, 2010, over the ASM Live uStream channel (http://www.ustream.tv/
channel/asm-live).

Small Hive Beetle Found In Hawaii

(Hawaii Dept. of AgricultureNews Release)

HONOLULU - The Hawai`i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) has confirmed the presence of another serious bee pest, the Small Hive Beetle (SHB), in hives located near Hilo. The discovery of this new pest, in addition to the already established varroa mite, imperils the queen bee export and honey industry in Hawai`i.   In response to this detection, the department has invoked the Incident Command System to coordinate and manage rapid response efforts.  It is not known how the SHB arrived in Hawai`i.
On Tuesday, April 27, 2010, a beekeeper on a Pana`ewa farm contacted HDOA's entomologist in Hilo about beetles he found in the hives on the farm.   The entomologist collected four beetles and together with HDOA entomologists in Honolulu made a preliminary identification.  Samples of the beetles were confirmed as SHB on Friday, April 30, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Identification Service in Riverdale, MD.
Staff from HDOA's Plant Pest Control and Plant Quarantine branches has already begun conducting surveys in the Hilo area.  So far, adult and larval stages of SHB have been found at two sites.  Surveys in West Hawai`i, where the majority of the queen bee operations are located will begin today.  Staff from O`ahu and Kaua`i has been dispatched to assist Hawai`i Island staff in this labor-intensive activity to determine the extent of the infestation. Two teams will be working in the Hilo area and one team in West Hawai`i.  HDOA is utilizing the Incident Command System, which is widely used for other emergency responses, to manage this pest emergency. 
"The Small Hive Beetle will be difficult to eradicate and control because it also feeds on various decaying fruits which are abundant in the wild," said Neil Reimer, manager of the Plant Pest Control Branch.   "We are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a queen bee certification procedure that would allow for the continued export of clean queen bees to foreign and domestic areas."
HDOA staff is working with counterparts on the mainland to develop most effective treatment strategies that may control SHB.
SHB (Aethina tumida) adults are about four to five millimeters in length and are yellowish-brown in color, turning brownish, then to black as it matures. They feed on honey, pollen, wax, honey bee eggs and larvae and tunnel through the honeycomb, damaging or destroying the honeycomb and contaminating the honey. Symptoms of SHB infestation include discolored honey, an odor of decaying oranges, and fermentation and frothiness in the honey. Heavy infestations may cause honey bee colonies to abandon hives.
SHB is native to South Africa and was first detected in the U.S in 1996 in South Carolina.  It was subsequently detected in Florida in 1998 and is currently found in many states in the South and Central areas of the U.S. and California.  Although found in the U.S., SHB is under international regulation for export of queen bees and it is a concern that some foreign countries may impose restrictions on the importation of queen bees from Hawai`i.
Varroa mites were first found on O`ahu in April 2007, and later in Hilo in August 2008 and Kona in October 2009.  To date, varroa mites have not been detected on Kaua`i or in Maui County.
HDOA is asking residents to report any backyard or feral bee hives to the State's toll-free Pest Hotline, 643-PEST (7378).

'Honest Honey' Launched to Protect U.S. Honey Consumers and Customers

Duty circumvention a threat to U.S. honey industry, honey supply quality

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2010 - Four North American honey marketing companies and importers - Golden Heritage Foods, LLC, Burleson's Inc., Odem International, and Dutch Gold Honey - today launched the Honest Honey Initiative and pledged to help protect the quality and reputation of the U.S. honey supply, as well as the sustainability of U.S. beekeepers and honey businesses. The initiative seeks to call attention to illegal sales of honey in circumvention of U.S. trade laws, a practice that the organizers estimate cost the United States up to $200 million in uncollected duties in 2008 and 2009 combined and threatens a vital segment of U.S. agriculture.
The group unveiled a website, HonestHoney.com, an educational resource providing information about where honey comes from and ways consumers, honey companies, food manufacturers and retailers can take action to eliminate illegally imported honey. 
"When honey is imported illegally, no-one can be confident of its true source and quality. Some products are not 100% honey and have other quality issues," said Jill Clark of Dutch Gold Honey, Lancaster, Penn. "We're asking people who buy and love honey to find out more about how the honey they enjoy is sourced. By raising awareness of unfair trade practices and taking the Honest Honey pledge, we hope to protect consumers and manufacturers who use honey, and to preserve the fair honey trade."
While many Americans purchase packaged honey, an even broader population enjoys honey in such products as cereals, breads, cookies, crackers, breakfast bars, meats, salad dressings, barbeque sauces, mustards, beverages, ice creams, yogurts and candies.
"Pick an aisle at the grocery store and you'll probably find at least one honey product there," said Clark. "It's a product that is added because of its wholesome, pure quality and taste, which is all the more reason why this issue is important."
"I'm glad that efforts like Honest Honey are educating people, because the quality of honey does matter - it matters to consumers and it matters to our nation's bee industry," said Dennis vanEngelsdorp, a honey bee researcher at Pennsylvania State University. "Illegally imported adulterated honey simply adds yet another problem to an already hurting bee industry."
"We estimate that millions of pounds of Chinese honey continue to enter the U.S. from countries that do not have commercial honey businesses," said Clark. "For example, countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Mongolia raise few bees and have no history of producing honey in commercial quantities, yet have recently exported large amounts of honey to the United States.
"Honey has earned a special place in people's hearts and minds as a wholesome, natural food.  We want to protect that reputation and quality," said Clark.
The Honest Honey Initiative is an effort by a number of honey companies and importers to call attention to the problem of illegally sourced honey; to encourage action to protect consumers and customers from these practices; and to highlight and support legal, transparent and ethical sourcing. The initiative seeks to help maintain the reputation of honey as a high-quality, highly valued food and further sustain the U.S. honey sector. Learn more at www.Honest
Honey.com.

National Honey Board Funds New Research Focusing on Honey Bee Health

Firestone, Colo. - The National Honey Board (NHB) will fund several new projects in 2010 related to a variety of bee colony health issues. Funding for the projects totals $95,137. The goal of the research is to help producers maintain colony health while assuring the maintenance of honey quality, with areas of interest being control of Varroa destructor, Acarapis woodi, Nosema ceranae, and small hive beetle; the investigation into the causes and controls of Colony Collapse Disorder; and honey bee nutrition, immunology, and longevity.

New projects approved for funding in 2010 include:
● "The costs of following the bloom - nutrient processing, microbial dynamics, and colony health in a migratory beekeeping operation (Jan. 2010- Dec. 2010)," Drs. Mark J. Carroll, Diana Sammataro, and Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffmann, USDA-ARS, Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Tucson, AZ.
● "Dealing with Nosema ceranae - infection cycles and treatment needs and approaches," Richard Fell, Brenna Traver, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 
● "A long-term plan to improve honey bee genetics: formation of a tech transfer team," Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota.
● "Is it possible to obtain accurate nosema and mite counts from a single sample of bees from the entrance?" Randy Oliver.

The NHB also approved a contribution to Penn State University's Center for Pollinator Research to support the July, 2010 International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy.
The National Honey Board conducts research, advertising and promotion programs to help maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets for honey and honey products. These programs are funded by an assessment of one cent per pound on domestic and imported honey. The National Honey Board is an equal opportunity provider and employer. (National Honey Board News Release)

National Honey Board Provides Revamped Educational Tools for Children

Firestone, Colo., - The National Honey Board has revamped its educational materials for children, creating a fresh look and feel to excite children about using honey. The two brochures, one educational and one recipe-based, are available for free (in limited quantities) to interested members or associations in the honey industry.
The educational brochure, A Sweet Story: The Making of Honey, describes how honey is made and includes a game and a quick and simple recipe. This fun and light-hearted brochure is primarily geared toward children 9 to 12 years old, but is suitable for younger children as well.
The children's recipe brochure, From Honey Bees to Brain Freeze, is a kid's ultimate guide to cooking with honey. From snacks to dinner to dessert, this brochure provides plenty of easy-to-follow recipes that are delicious and fun to make.
If any honey industry member or association is interested in obtaining copies of these brochures, please email Andrea Brening at andrea@nhb.org, or call (303) 776-2337. For more information on the National Honey Board, please visit www.honey.com, follow us on Twitter (Twitter) or become a fan on Facebook (Facebook). (National Honey Board News Release)

Bee Art

Olga Barmina, a staff research associate at U.C. Davis, shows her glass-fused plate that was featured at the bee-themed art show on Saturday, May 8 in the Sacramento Bee's open courtyard. A portion of the proceeds will benefit honey bee research at U.C. Davis (Photo courtesy of Kathy Keatley Garvey, U.C. Davis, Dept. of Entomology)

Newsnotes - June 2010

West Virginia Passes Beekeeper Immunity Law

West Virginia has become the first state in the nation to pass a law giving beekeepers immunity from liability for ordinary negligence. This law came about as a result of strong support by the leadership of both the House and Senate. We are fortunate to have a State Senate President, Earl Ray Tomblin, whose father is a beekeeper. Additionally, House Speaker Richard Thompson was raised by a grandfather who was a beekeeper. Finally, it helped that the honey bee is the state insect!

The law requires that beekeepers register their hives. It also mandates the WV Department of Agriculture to promulgate Best Management Practices for beekeepers. All beekeepers who abide by these two provisions will have absolute civil immunity from ordinary negligence. The Department is working on a set of emergency rules they hope will be in effect soon. Governor Joe Manchin signed the bill into law the first of April, making this the first state to protect its beekeeping industry. (Dan O'Hanlon, President - West Virginia Queen Producers
danohanlon@mountainstatequeens.com)

Huge Source of Commercial Beekeeper's Income Threatened?

Self-Pollinating Almonds Key to Bountiful Harvests

by ALFREDO FLORES
Reprinted From April 2010 Agricultural Research Magazine

California has more than 600,000 acres of almond orchards. At the beginning of each new year, these almond trees burst into bloom. That's when growers will need many millions of robust bees to ferry pollen from one cream-white blossom to the next.
Hive-rental costs to almond growers are high, ranging from $125 to $180 per hive. But in the future, these costs may be avoidable because bees may no longer be needed for almond pollinating.

This possibility could prove true as a result of the work of Agricultural Research Service geneticist Craig Ledbetter, in the Crop Diseases, Pests, and Genetics Research Unit in Parlier, California. He has developed new and improved self-pollinating almond trees-ones that can produce a bountiful harvest without being pollinated by insects.
Self-pollinating almonds are not new. The Tuono variety, originally from Spain, has been around for centuries. But it has few of the characteristics that have made California almonds beloved domestically and internationally. Almond breeders will tell you that Tuono is simply not as attractive as California's most popular almond, Nonpareil, because Tuono has a hairy texture to the seed coat.

"You can feel that hairiness with your tongue," says Ledbetter. "That can turn off U.S. almond consumers, who are used to the smooth texture of Nonpareils."
Another strike against Tuono-it has a very thick, hard shell, so only 32 percent of the nut is edible kernel. Nonpareil, however, is 60 to 65 percent kernel.
One good thing about Tuono's thick shell is that it gives the nut more resistance to the dreaded navel orangeworm, the primary pest of almonds in California. At Parlier, an areawide integrated pest management program is under way to reduce navel orangeworm damage and broad-spectrum insecticide use throughout the San Joaquin Valley. The program is being led by Joel Siegel, assisted by fellow entomologists Bas Kuenen and Chuck Burks.

Eight Great Almond Selections
Though both Tuono and Nonpareil almonds have their strong points, the ideal almond would have the best traits of each. In 1993, Ledbetter started his work to breed a desirable self-pollinating almond. Seedlings were first planted in 1996 and every year thereafter.
Tuono was used as the male (pollen) parent in conventional hybridizations with California-adapted almond cultivars and selections. Ledbetter and his team made the crosses at bloom time and came back at harvest time to collect the nuts. The scientists grew out those nuts into seedlings and then surrounded the branches with insect-proof nylon bags to exclude insects that could serve as pollinators. The seedlings bloomed, and some produced fruits inside the bags. The scientists knew that these seedlings were the self-pollinators, because no foreign pollen had been introduced into the bags.

At first, harvests from the seedlings were small, but by 2006 the trees began producing excellent harvests. In November 2008, after a very good fall almond harvest, Ledbetter and his Parlier team brought eight very promising self-pollinating selections to the California Almond Board for evaluation of taste and appearance. The testers were pleased with the skin color, oil content, and-most importantly-the flavor. The new almonds have many of the same characteristics of Nonpareil, which has been grown in California since the 1880s and accounts for 37 percent of all almonds grown in the state.

"What separates the Parlier-developed selections and Nonpareil, of course, is that these ARS almond trees need no external pollination," said Ledbetter. "Ours is a very good-looking kernel that's very comparable to that seen in Nonpareil."

Honey Importer Arrested for Allegedly Conspiring to Evade U.S. Iimport Duties for Chicago Office of German Food Distributor

CHICAGO - A Taiwanese executive of several honey import companies was arrested in Los Angeles in March on federal charges filed in Chicago for allegedly conspiring to illegally import honey that was falsely identified to avoid U.S. anti-dumping duties.

Hung Ta Fan, 41, was arrested without incident when he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight from Taiwan, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Gary J. Hartwig, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Chicago.

Fan, also known as "Michael Fan," of Taiwan, is president of Blue Action Enterprise Inc., a California-based honey import company. He was also an executive of other similar companies, including 7 Tiger Enterprises Inc., Honey World Enterprise Inc., both of which are now defunct, and Kashaka USA Inc., all of which he allegedly used to import Chinese honey into the United States. Fan was charged with conspiracy to illegally import honey in a criminal complaint and was expected to appear on April 1 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
Between July 2004 and June 2006, Fan and others allegedly used Blue Action and 7 Tiger to fraudulently import about 96 shipments of Chinese honey falsely declared as originating in South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand on behalf of and for the benefit of a German company and its worldwide affiliates, including an American subsidiary that operated in Chicago. The 96 shipments of honey had a total declared value of more than $4.5 million. By falsely identifying the honey as coming from South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, they avoided anti-dumping duties applicable to Chinese honey totaling nearly $9.9 million.

On May 10 and 11, 2006, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 384 drums of Chinese honey that were falsely declared as Korean by 7 Tiger, according to the complaint. After Fan and 7 Tiger sought permission to export the honey from the United States, it was ultimately forfeited without contest.

"Anyone who breaks our nation's customs laws seeks an unfair financial advantage over law-abiding competitors," said John Morton, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for ICE. "ICE will not tolerate products being illegally imported into the U.S. marketplace. We aggressively investigate those who thwart the laws and regulations that are put in place to protect U.S. businesses and the American public."

According to the ICE affidavit filed in Chicago, the charges against Fan stem from an ongoing investigation of the honey importing practices of Alfred L. Wolff Inc. (ALW), and other corporate affiliates of Wolff & Olsen, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Two Chicago-based executives of ALW, Stefanie Giesselbach and Magnus Von Buddenbrock, were arrested in Chicago on federal conspiracy charges in May 2008. They are cooperating with the investigation while the charges against them remain pending, the affidavit states. ALW's Chicago office imported millions of dollars of honey into the United States, it adds.
In May 2009, Yong Xiang Yan, the president of a honey manufacturer in China was arrested and he pleaded guilty last October to conspiring to illegally import Chinese honey that was falsely identified as coming from the Philippines to avoid a total of nearly $4 million in domestic anti-dumping duties. Yan is also cooperating in the ongoing investigation while awaiting sentencing, according to the affidavit against Fan.

In December 2001, the U.S. Commerce Department determined that Chinese honey was being sold in the United States at artificially low prices and imposed anti-dumping duties. The duties on Chinese honey ranged between about 212 and 221 percent between June 2004 and October 2005, and then were imposed in the amount of $2.06 per net kilogram through at least June 2006. Honey originating in South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand was not subject to any anti-dumping duties.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Boutros and William Hogan, Northern District of Illinois. If convicted, the conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Court, however, would determine a reasonable sentence to be imposed under the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
(US Immigration and Customs Enforcement News Release)

Groeb Farms Buys Miller's American Honey

Groeb Farms Inc., a portfolio company of Horizon Partners, has acquired Miller's American Honey Inc., a Colton, Calif.-based honey producer. No financial terms were disclosed. Houlihan Smith & Co. advised Miller's American Honey on the deal.   Houlihan Smith & Company, Inc. (Houlihan Smith) acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Miller's American Honey, Inc. in their sale to Groeb Farms, Inc., a portfolio company of Horizon Partners Ltd. The announcement was made by Charles Botchway, group managing director and vice chairman of Houlihan Smith. The transaction was led by Houlihan Smith Managing Director Lester (Jay) Rodgers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

George Murdock, Miller's American Honey's Board Chairman, issued the following statement: "The deal team at Houlihan Smith made extraordinary efforts to work towards "win-win" solutions in effecting our sale to Groeb Farms. Their approach cautiously avoided hyperbole, relying instead on honest, straightforward presentation of facts, supported by their ability to communicate complex financial data into evidence of true value."

In announcing the acquisition, Ernie Groeb, Groeb Farms president and chief executive officer said, "Merging these two businesses who share a common family legacy of commitment to the production of high-quality products will benefit our customers and their consumers." He continued: "We are honored that the Murdock family has entrusted the Miller legacy to us."
Houlihan Smith Vice President Matthew Thomason stated: "We are pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the Murdock family achieve their goals and realize an outcome fitting of the rich, 116-year heritage of Miller's American Honey."

About Groeb Farms, Inc.
Groeb Farms, Inc. (http://www.groebfarms.com/) began as a family-owned business in 1973. In 2007, the company joined forces with private equity company, Horizon Partners. Groeb Farms is the world's largest Industrial and Foodservice processor of honey, selling approximately 70M pounds of honey in 2009. In addition to honey, Groeb Farms also distributes peanut butter, molasses, mustard and vinegar. These Groeb Farms products are used for direct consumption or as ingredients in products such as salad dressings, sauces, snacks, bread, cookies, crackers, beverages, and meat. Groeb Farms, Inc. is headquartered in Onsted, MI, with locations in Belleview, FL and Baytown, TX.

About Miller's American Honey Company
Miller's American Honey Company is a family owned business which began in 1894. From humble beginnings as a Beekeeping enterprise, Miller's has grown into a $30M operation, with domestic as well as international customers. The Company's primary product line is honey; however, customers are also serviced with products, such as peanut butter, molasses and agave syrup. Products range from retail packages for grocery store shelves to tanker loads of honey for bakeries. Miller's American Honey Company is headquartered in Colton, CA with a second location in Oakland, CA. (Company Press Release)

Golden Heritage Announces Company Change

HILLSBORO, Kansas, April 9, 2010 - Golden Heritage Foods today announced plans to divest ownership of its Ohio plant and equipment assets to a private investment group headed by Dwight Stoller, current owner and Vice Chairman of Golden Heritage Foods' board of directors. As part of the transaction, the parties will enter into a long-term contract packaging agreement. The transaction is scheduled to close by June 30, 2010.
This divestiture will allow Golden Heritage Foods to increase its emphasis in their core competencies of marketing and packaging honey, molasses, and complimentary liquid sweeteners.

"This change will be seamless to our customers and suppliers," commented Brent Barkman, majority owner and chairman of the board, Golden Heritage Foods. "Under the strategic contract packaging agreement we will continue to have two plants from which to competitively operate across the United States and retain the ability to immediately transfer production to either facility should that become necessary. Golden Heritage Foods will be able to further optimize its efficiencies in fixed cost plant and equipment, and ensure that our customers continue to receive the highest quality, competitively priced products."
Dwight Stoller added, "In addition to our continued strategic relationship with Golden Heritage Foods, this will allow our Ohio investment group to aggressively pursue contract packaging opportunities within the food industry that do not compete with Golden Heritage Foods' product offerings."

Golden Heritage Foods is a leading food packaging and marketing organization that has served national food service distributors and major grocery chains throughout North America for nearly 50 years. Its product lines include pure honey, molasses and other complimentary liquid sweeteners.

Lance Armstrong Joins Honey Stinger Ownership Team

Seven-time Tour de France Champion Partners with Natural Foods Company

April 28, 2010 (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) - Honey Stinger, the manufacturer of honey-based nutritional foods, announces a partnership with professional cyclist Lance Armstrong. In addition to future product development and endorsement of Honey Stinger energy gels, bars and organic chews, Armstrong becomes part of the ownership team in the Steamboat Springs-based company.

"I first tried Honey Stinger products during a mountain bike race in Colorado," says Armstrong. "I was impressed with the great taste and energy they provided. Honey Stinger works for me in training and racing because you want to eat them and they work. I like the whole team - they understand what athletes need and they're great to work with. I'm excited to be part of the Stinger team and work with them on expanding the products and business."

Armstrong first met Len Zanni, Honey Stinger's Marketing Director, when they teamed up to race the 12 Hours of Snowmass mountain bike race outside Aspen in 2008. The foundation for a new business partnership was hatched over the course of long bike rides and get-togethers with company leaders.

Bill Gamber, an athlete/ entrepreneur, teamed up with his father William, a honey industry veteran, Bob Stahl, a food product developer, and John Miller, a professional beekeeper, to found Honey Stinger in 2002. Today, the company produces over 20 honey-based energy products that are distributed internationally at specialty sporting goods retailers and natural food grocers.

"We're thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to work with an athlete of Lance's stature. Beyond his athletic achievements, Lance is an inspiration and a leader in the fight against cancer," states Bill Gamber. "Our relationship with Lance comes at a time when Honey Stinger is riding a wave of momentum and this partnership is a major step for our brand."

UC Davis Honey Bee Research Receives Big Boost

DAVIS, CA-The Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, has received a $10,000 donation from Gimbal's Fine Candies, San Francisco, in support of its outreach and research activities.

The family-run, fourth-generation company founded in 1898, is donating 5 percent of all future proceeds to UC Davis honey bee research from its newly launched line of Honey Lovers' candies, heart-shaped fruit chews made with natural honey.

The first check, issued March 8, will be used in support of outreach and research activities at the facility. Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty, recently accepted the check from Lance Gimbal, president and chief executive officer.

"The UC Davis bee biology program is extremely appreciative of the generosity of Gimbal's Fine Candies," Mussen said. "Their contribution will enable us to reach more people with factual information about bees and beekeeping. It also is possible that their support of our research efforts may help uncover better methods of dealing with pests, parasites, and diseases of honey bees and honey bee colonies."

The line of Honey Lovers, featuring 16 different flavor combinations, includes pomegranate honey, honey-dipped strawberry, honey vanilla and huckleberry honey. Seeking to help save the bees, company officials expressed concern about the declining bee population. "Approximately one-third of our food supply depends on honey bees," said CEO Lance Gimbal. "Honey bees are in the middle of a crisis."

Much of the concern for the declining bee population is linked to colony collapse disorder (CCD), a mysterious malady characterized by adult bees abandoning the hive. The bees fly off and leave behind the queen bee, immature brood (eggs, larvae and pupae) and stored food. "CCD is still very much with us and is continuing to take a significant toll on honey bee colonies, both in California and across the country," Mussen said. "Hopefully, researchers will determine the cause and suggest solutions before too long."

The honey bee research program at UC Davis, one of the oldest in the country, dates back more than 76 years. The 8,200-square-foot facility on Bee Biology Road, located west of the UC Davis campus, is named for Harry Hyde Laidlaw Jr. (1907-2003), considered the father of honey bee genetics.

Among those working in honey bee research at UC Davis are Mussen; bee-breeder geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of the Laidlaw facility; bee breeder-geneticist Kim Fondrk; and insect virus researcher Michelle Flenniken, the Häagen-Dazs Postdoctoral Scholar. Native bee specialists are Neal Williams, assistant professor of entomology, and Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor, who both maintain offices and research quarters at the Laidlaw facility. Also at the facility are beekeepers Elizabeth Frost, research assistant, and undergraduate student Tylan Selby, majoring in entomology. (Courtesy UC Davis Dept. of Entomology News Release)

BASF and Nod Apiary Products Partner for Bee Health

Breakthrough in fight against Varroa destructor mite
Companies pledge to bring product to European Beekeepers

LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany and ONTARIO, Canada March 29, 2010 - BASF and NOD Apiary Products have announced a partnership to bring to European beekeepers a new product that controls the Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that has been identified by independent institutions as a major contributor to the declining number of bee hives on a global scale. BASF and NOD are investing in "Mite AwayTM Quick Strips" (MAQS), which target Varroa mites while they feed on developing baby bees. The backbone of this easy-to-use strip is a film made of BASF's biodegradable plastic Ecoflex®, which is filled with the miticide formic acid in a saccharide (plant sugar) formulation. The strip's secret: Designed to penetrate the brood cap, it stops the mite where it reproduces.

"Through our work with scientists, farmers and beekeepers in the Bee Biodiversity Network in France, we have gained a broad understanding of the factors impacting bee health," says Sandrine Leblond, France-based BASF bee expert. The Network has delivered practical, tested solutions to improve bee nutrition, but to date there is no easy way to control the Varroa mite. Bringing MAQS to the market will help fill this gap, supporting beekeepers and BASF's farmer customers.

The strips reproduce a defense mechanism observed in nature. Formic acid occurs in the venom of bees and the sting of many insects, such as ants. Nonetheless, it is the convenience and effectiveness of MAQS that gives beekeepers peace of mind. The strip can be applied right through the season and beekeepers also enjoy the benefit of a single application product with a short treatment period (7 days versus 42). In product trials in the US, Canada and France, MAQS have controlled up to 97 percent of Varroa mites.
Paying tribute to NOD's entrepreneurial spirit, Markus Heldt, president of BASF's Crop Protection division said, "We are pleased to be part of a positive solution that addresses the important issue of bee health, which is of central importance to beekeepers and farmers. This is a great example of partnership on many levels. The solution was co-designed not just by BASF and NOD, but importantly by the people who experience the problem first hand - beekeepers. Within BASF, we also used expertise and products from across a number of different divisions."

David VanderDussen, CEO of NOD Apiary Products said, "I am excited about this relationship and I am very pleased with BASF's great support. While our companies are very different in terms of size and focus, we share common values and are both passionate about the importance of biodiversity and the protection of the honey bee." The strips are already on the market in Canada, and authorities in Hawaii requested and received a "Special Local Needs" registration to ensure that beekeepers obtain access to the solution as quickly as possible. BASF and NOD plan to work with registration authorities in Europe to make MAQS available to the European beekeeping community within 2 years.
According to the terms of the agreement, BASF will provide substantial support to facilitate a global product launch, including on-going technical and regulatory assistance over a five year period. Both companies currently co-own the patent, with BASF committed to providing support for product registration and distribution within the EU.

Social Bees Have Bigger Brain Area for Learning, Memory:
Smithsonian Reports

Who's in charge? Who's got food? The brain region responsible for learning and memory is bigger in social bee queens who may have to address these questions than in solitary queens, report scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute who study the tropical sweat bee species, Megalopta genalis in Panama. Their study is the first comparison of the brain sizes of social and non-social individuals of the same species.

"The idea is that to maintain power and control in groups you need more information, so the bigger the group, the bigger individuals' brains need to be." says William Wcislo, Smithsonian staff scientist. "This is called the 'social brain hypothesis' also known as the 'Machiavelli hypothesis'."

Previous studies compared brain sizes among social and non-social animals. However, different animal species may be different in so many ways that it's hard to make a direct connection between brain size and sociality. This study focuses on a single species in which some individuals are social and others are not.

Megalopta bees exhibit a very primitive form of social behavior. Either a bee lives as a solitary queen, going out from her nest to forage for her own food or she can be a social queen--a stay-at-home mom. In that case, one of her daughters goes out to forage for her, so she rarely leaves the nest. Her daughters' ovaries don't develop, and she never leaves her mother to become a queen.

"It was surprising to us that even though the social queens don't have bigger brains overall, the fact that the area associated with learning and memory--the mushroom body-- was more developed in the social queens than in the solitary bees suggesting that social interactions are cognitively challenging, as predicted by the social brain hypothesis," said Adam Smith, postdoctoral fellow at STRI. "It's interesting to see that a characteristic like brain development changes so immediately, even with this simple mother-daughter division of labor."

This study was done in STRI's new insect neurobiology laboratory, built to take advantage of diverse tropical insect groups with a variety of brain sizes to understand how brain size and behavior are related.

Research Note

New Record for Reproductive Tropilaelaps Mites from Colonies of Apis cerana in Northern Thailand

by PRAPUN TRAIYASUTa,
MICHAEL BURGETTb and PANUWAN CHANTAWANNAKULa*

Summary
 The first record of Tropilaelaps mites reproducing in coloines if Apis cerana in Northern Thailand.

Thailand, as a part of Southeast Asia, is a biologically rich country which displays a diversity of honey bees species and associated parasitic mites. Four indigenous species of Apis are known from Thailand: the two dwarf honey bees (Apis florea and A. andreniformis), the giant honey bee (A. dorsata) and the cavity-nesting honey bee (A. cerana) (Oldroyd and Wongsiri, 2006). Additionally, in the latter part of the 20th century, the introduced European honey bee (A. mellifera) gained popularity as a commercial bee species throughout SE Asia and most especially in Thailand. 

Asian honey bee species are associated with host-specific parasitic brood mites that infest the immature stadia of the host honey bee. All of the parasitic brood mites of indigenous SE Asia honey bee species are normally host-specific. The introduction of the European honey bee (A. mellifera) to SE Asia saw several of the Asian brood mites utilize this non-native species as an alternative (non-adapted) host. The parasitic brood mite genus Tropilaelaps was previously thought to parasitize A. dorsata and/or A. laboriosa brood only, but has been shown to readily parasitize A. mellifera following the bee's introduction to SE Asia.

A report by Anderson and Morgan (2007) has shown that an additional species of Tropilaelaps is extant in SE Asia and neighboring regions (T. mercedesae), which means three species of Tropilaelaps are now recognized as brood parasites of the giant honey bees A. dorsata and A. laboriosa.

In a study concerned with brood parasitism, fifteen Apis cerana colonies were collected in Northern Thailand in 2009. In examining the brood combs from 14 of the 15 sampled colonies, ca. 250 brood cells/colony, no Tropilaelaps brood parasitism was noted. In one colony, however, where a total 660 sealed brood cells were opened, 2 pupal cells revealed 2 Tropilaelaps protonymphs. This very low prevalence rate shows that it is obviously rare for Tropilaelaps to parasitize Apis cerana brood. However, this is the first report from Thailand of Tropilaelaps reproduction in colonies of Apis cerana. This reaffirms the earlier finding in 1982 that T. clareae was capable of reproducing in brood cells of A. cerana in India (Delfinado-Baker, 1982).

Since the adapted host of T. clareae and T. mercedesae is A. dorsata, (Burgett et al. 1983, Anderson and Morgan 2007), our observation of Tropilaelaps reproducing on A. cerana brood confirms the earlier finding that the mite can utilize additional Apis species, but we postulate this host switch to A. cerana on the part of Tropilaelaps is a rare occurrence in situ while another cavity nesting honey bee, Apis mellifera, is much more vulnerable to Tropilaelaps infestations in Thailand. The natural control mechanisms used against Varroa by Apis cerana may also provide, as well, resistance to Tropilaelaps.

REFERENCES
Anderson, D.L. and Morgan, M.J. 2007. Genetic and morphological variation of bee-parasitic Tropilaelaps mites (Acari: Laelapidae): new and re-defined species. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 43:1-24.
Burgett, D.M., P. Akratanakul, and R.A. Morse. 1983. Tropilaelaps clareae Delfinado and Baker: a parasite of honey bees in Southeast Asia. Bee World. 64: 25-28
Delfinado-Baker, M. 1982. New records for Tropilaelaps clareae from colonies of Apis cerana indica. American Bee Journal, 112(5):382.
Oldroyd, P.B. and Wongsiri, S. 2006. Asian Honey Bees: Biology, Conservation, and Human Interactions, Harvard University press. London, pp. 13-35.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by The Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Program (PHD/ 0113/2550). We thank Dr. Natapot Warrit for reviewing this manuscript and Dr. G.W. Krantz (Oregon State University) for identification of the immature mite specimens. We also thank The Thailand Research Fund (RSA 5280010) and the Commission of Higher Education (CHE), Chiang Mai University.

a Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, THAILAND
b Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
* Corresponding author: panuwan@gmail.
com

Japanese Ministry Aids Iraqi Province with Beekeeping

COS KALSU, Iraq - The minister of the Japanese Embassy in Iraq signed a contract at Contingency Operating Site Kalsu March 24, 2010, to provide funding for two grassroots projects, which will benefit widows in Babil Province in Iraq.

The Seddah Women's Center and Jurf As-Sakhr Humanitarian Society both received grants that will help Iraqi widows learn to maintain and run honey-producing farms.

"The two projects we signed today will provide equipment and training for 100 women, but 40-times that number will ultimately benefit in the long run," Katsuhiko Takahashi, minister of the Japanese Embassy in Iraq, said through an interpreter. "Japan and the United States jointly contributed to these projects and they will aid in the development of Babil Province."

According to Takahashi, the Japanese government has funded 85 similar projects since 2003 and will continue to do so.

"The Japanese Embassy has been very active in supporting the reconstruction of Iraq," said Capt. Bryce Wunder, a member of the 1411 Civil Affairs Company. "They have offered a great source of funding for non-governmental organizations, called ‘grassroots' human security project grants."

The funded projects tap into an abundant natural resource in the province:  honey bees.
"The honey industry in Iraq is a lucrative one," Wunder said. "The excellent taste and quality is due to its high level of cedar and eucalyptus. This makes for a solid opportunity for the local people.

"Honey offers beekeepers a solid income each year," Wunder said. "We have established programs which offer war widows the ability to become beekeepers."
The commander of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Col. Pete Jones, thanked Takahashi and the Japanese government for their support to the people of Iraq.

"I truly believe these grants will make a great impact on the economy and further advance women's initiatives in this area," he said.
Established in 2008, the Seddah Women's Center provides sewing jobs, training and humanitarian aid. It benefits the lives of 89,000 people, including 3,000 widows and 4,000 orphans.

The Jurf As-Sakhr Humanitarian Society was established in 2003 and helps approximately 750 widows and 317 orphans. The Society teaches literacy, sewing, and human rights courses to over 50,000 people.

"Japan intends to continue to provide assistance as it pertains to the life of the people in Iraq," said Takahashi.

by Sgt. Ben Hutto
3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf Div PAO
United States Division - South
U.S. Army

Newsnotes - May 2010

WISCONSIN HONEY BILL PASSES SENATE BILL 419

March 15, 2010-Wisconsin's Governor Jim Doyl signed into law The Wisconsin Honey Standard, Wisconsin Senate Bill 419. The bill provides legal recourse for honey producers harmed by the sale of adulterated honey. It also provides for a "Certified Wisconsin Honey" label on a voluntary basis.
December 3, 2009 - Introduced by Senators Vinehout, Lehman, Miller and Schultz, cosponsored by Representatives Garthwaite, Vruwink, Barca, Ballweg, Brooks, Clark, Hilgenberg, Kerkman, Knodl, Molepske Jr., A. Ott, Pasch, Pope-Roberts, Ripp, Roys, Schneider, Steinbrink, Tauchen, Turner, A.Williams, Young and Zigmunt Referred to Committee on Agriculture and Higher Education.
An Act to create 100.187 of the statutes; relating to: requiring the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to establish standards for products sold as honey, prohibiting the labeling as Wisconsin certified honey of a product that has not been determined to meet the standards, prohibiting the labeling as honey of a product that does not meet the standards, and requiring the exercise of rule-making authority.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) to promulgate rules that establish standards for products sold as honey and standards for the testing by private laboratories of samples submitted by persons who wish to sell honey produced in this state as Wisconsin certified honey. The standards for honey must be consistent with the standard for honey under the Codex Alimentarius of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
The bill prohibits labeling a product as Wisconsin certified honey or implying that a product is Wisconsin certified honey, unless the product has been determined by testing to meet the standards established by DATCP, DATCP has approved a summary of the testing, and the product was produced in this state. Under the bill, DATCP investigates violations of this prohibition and may bring an action to enjoin violations.
The bill also prohibits labeling a product as honey or implying that a product is honey, unless the product meets the standards established by DATCP. Any person who suffers damages as a result of a violation of this prohibition may bring an action against the violator to recover the amount of the person's damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney fees.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 100.187 of the statutes is created to read:
100.187 Sale of honey and Wisconsin certified honey; rules, prohibitions. (1) The department shall promulgate rules that do all the following:
(a) Establish standards for products sold as honey that are consistent with the standard for honey under the Codex Alimentarius of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, number 12-1981, as revised in 2001.
(b) Establish standards for testing by private laboratories of samples submitted by persons who intend to sell honey produced in this state as Wisconsin certified honey to determine whether the samples meet the standards established under part. (a).
(2) (a) No person may label a product as Wisconsin certified honey or imply that a product is Wisconsin certified honey unless all of the following apply:
1. The product has been determined to meet the standards established under sub. (1) (a) by a laboratory whose testing procedures meet standards established under sub. (1) (b).
2. A summary of the results of the testing performed under sub. 1 have been submitted to the department and approved by the department.
3. The product was produced in this state.
(b) The department shall investigate violations of this subsection and may bring an action for permanent or temporary injunctive or other relief in any circuit court against a person who violates this subsection.
(3) (a) No person may label a product as honey or imply that a product is honey unless the product meets the standards established under sub. (1) (a).
(b) Any person who suffers damages as a result of a violation of this subsection may bring an action for damages against the violator for the amount of the person's damages or $1,000, whichever is greater. Notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), a court shall award to a prevailing plaintiff in an action under this paragraph reasonable attorney fees.

USDA SEEKS COMMENT ON DRAFT PEST RISK ASSESSMENT ON HONEY BEES IMPORTED FROM AUSTRALIA INTO THE UNITED STATES

United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing to the public that it has prepared an evaluation of the pest risks associated with the importation of honey bees from Australia. The draft pest risk assessment considers potential pest risks involved in the importation of honey bees into the United States from Australia after concerns that exotic honey bee pathogens or parasites may have been introduced into Australia. APHIS is making the draft pest risk assessment available to the public for review and comment.
This action was published in the March 15, 2010 Federal Register.
Consideration will be given to comments received on or before May 14. You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
·Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS- 2010-0001 to submit or view comments and to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
·Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0001, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A- 03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0001.

Comments are posted on the Regulations.gov Web site and also can be reviewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building, 14th St. and Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. To facilitate entry into the comment reading room, please call (202) 690-2817.
-------------
Federal Register
Vol. 75, No. 49
Monday, March 15, 2010

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0001]

Notice of Availability of a Draft Pest Risk Assessment on Honey Bees Imported from Australia
Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its programs is available on the Internet at (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Colin D. Stewart, Senior Entomologist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1237; (301) 734-0774.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 7 CFR part 322 restrict the importation, interstate movement, and transit through the United States of bees, beekeeping byproducts, and beekeeping equipment to prevent the introduction of pests into the United States through the importation of honey bees from approved regions. Australia is currently on the list of approved regions from which adult honeybees maybe imported into the United States under certain conditions.
In March 2002, APHIS issued a report assessing the risks of pest introduction into the United States in imports of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) from Australia. The evaluation identified 15 pathogens and pests of bees in that country, all of which occur in the United States. The evaluation concluded that there were no quarantine-significant honey bee pathogens or pests occurring in Australia.
In the 7 years since the completion of the evaluation for Australian bees, new threats to the U.S. honey bee population have emerged. The most prominent threat is Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious syndrome characterized by the abrupt disappearance of a colony's adult worker bee population, leaving a substantial population of healthy brood, an absence of dead bees, and the delayed invasion of hive pests and robbing of hive stores by neighboring colonies. A link between the disorder, first reported in the United States in 2006, and honey bee imports from Australia has been suggested. The May 2007 discovery of colonies of the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana) near Cairns, Victoria, also has raised concerns that exotic honey bee pathogens or parasites may have been introduced into Australia with the arrival of this foreign bee. These developments suggest a need to reevaluate the risks involved in importation of bees from Australia.
APHIS' review and analysis of the risks associated with the importation of honey bees from Australia are documented in detail in a draft pest risk assessment (PRA) titled, ‘‘Evaluation of Pest Risks Associated with Importation of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) from Australia'' (November 2009). Findings presented in the draft PRA state that there are honey bee viruses present in Australia that are not known to occur in the United States. The draft PRA concludes that zoosanitary measures may be necessary to reduce the possibility of the introduction of these viruses to the United States via the importation of honey bees from Australia.
We are making the draft PRA available to the public for review and comment. We will consider all comments that we receive on or before the date listed under the heading DATES at the beginning of this notice. The draft PRA and the comments received may be the basis for a future change in the regulations.
The draft PRA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may request paper copies of the draft PRA by calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the draft PRA when requesting copies.
Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of March 2010. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 2010-5573 Filed 3-12-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-S

UPDATE ON MITE-AWAY QUICK STRIP TM REGISTRATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Press release from NOD Apiary Products

Mite-Away Quick StripTM (MAQS ) is currently registered in the State of Hawaii, under a Special Local Needs registration, granted to protect Hawaii's queen rearing and organic honey industry. Varroa was first discovered in Hawaii in June, 2007.
In January, California State Beekeepers Association applied for a Section 18 emergency registration for California. In response, the EPA stated that there "has to be a lack of viable alternatives", and there has to be the occurrence of a "non-routine event", in order to allow a Section 18 registration. As well, there is already a Section 18 in place, for Hivastan®, for States to draw upon. The current varroa toolbox includes Apiguard®, Apilife Var®, Apistan®, Hivastan®, Check-Mite+®, Mite-AwayIITM, and the EPA even talked about the illegal use of Amitraz. The EPA did not see the need for another emergency registration.
Immediately, NOD will be pursuing a Section 3 (full federal) registration for MAQS, hoping that this will be expedited.  EPA has indicated Section 3 applications for biopesticides, such as MAQS, are to be fast tracked.
Beekeepers under stress are continuing to call. Due to the lowest honey crop on record in the US last year, and the need to protect the industry from the varroa mites in the critical summer honey flow time, some state beekeeping associations are looking into pesticide registration options for MAQS at the state level. Whether or not the EPA will consider the record low crop in 2009 to be a "non-routine" event is unknown.
NOD Apiary Products will continue to support beekeeping industry initiatives as it strives to obtain the legal use of Mite-Away Quick StripsTM prior to the Section 3 registration being granted, likely in 2011.
Please note that only limited quantities of Mite-AwayIITM are available. Production of Mite-AwayIITM was discontinued in order to gear up for MAQS production.   NOD is not planning on resuming Mite-AwayIITM production as we transition our registration into the MAQS product.

INDIANA BEE SCHOOL WAS A BIG SUCCESS

All participants in the Indiana Beekeepers' Association's Indiana Bee School VIII held on February 27, received a passing grade. The principal speakers were David Tarpy and Kirk Webster. We had a packed house; this being the first time ever that we had to enforce our registration deadline.  The buzz of the new beekeepers continues to get louder each year.  We only wish that the buzz of our honey bees would get louder. The B.I.G. (Bee Inspection Group) team of Ron Myers, Eldon Morehouse and Steve Doty reported their findings from the first year of their USDA North Central SARE's (Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education) grant. They received a grant: "Evaluation of the declining honey bee health and education of participating beekeepers". In 2009, they visited 54 different apiaries of beekeepers who volunteered to be a part of the study. Each one received a hive tool and a bee book "First Lessons in Beekeeping" for participating. These beekeepers had experienced a loss of 127 of their 282 hives (45.0 %) during the 2008/2009 winter. However, on a positive note, by summer of 2009, they had replaced those losses and added another 75 hives (26.6 %).
As for three of the biggest commercial beekeepers in the State, they lost 1810 (35.2 %) of their 5142 hives. By summer, they had replaced all but 9% of those losses. Part of that 9% was the selling of nucs to small beekeepers, which has become a big business for them.
 The second part of the grant involved the purchase of a microscope so that the B.I.G. team could inspect for nosema. A sample of 30+ bees was taken from each of 225 different hives at the 54 locations. Nosema was detected in 57 (25.3 %) of those samples. We were hoping to be able to differentiate between Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae, but haven't been able to do that so far. We are working with Purdue University on that issue. They have done DNA studies on some of the samples for us. We have one more year to complete the study. Some beekeepers are reporting 60-70% losses already for this recent 2009/2010 winter. A poor nectar flow in the late summer and fall plus having a long sustained cold winter are likely to be the major contributors to those losses. Even though times continue to be very challenging, the beekeepers of Indiana continue to be positive. Article by Steve Doty (jsdoty@indy.net)

PENNSYLVANIA HONEY QUEEN CROWNED

The Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association is proud to announce that Teresa Bryson was selected as the 2010 Pennsylvania Honey Queen during its annual winter meeting in Lewisburg, PA.
Teresa, 18, lives with her family on Walnut Grove Apiaries, a small sheep, goat and honey farm in Chambersburg, PA. In addition to caring for a hive of bees and the other farm animals, Teresa is a sophomore at Hagerstown Community College, double majoring in Forensic Science and English.
Teresa is an active 4-H member, having been involved in the Franklin County 4-H program for the past ten years. Through the various clubs she attends, Teresa has received numerous Best of Show awards, the Junior Achievement Award, I Dare You Award and has been chosen for state level competition for several of her projects. Moreover, Teresa is an agricultural educator at the 4-H Agricultural Center, instructing local students about the importance of Agriculture in Franklin County.
In her free time, Teresa enjoys reading, sewing, working in the family apiary and caring for the many animals on her families small farm. As the 2010 Pennsylvania Honey Queen, Teresa will travel throughout the state promoting the beekeeping and honey industries by attending schools, fairs, festivals and participating in media interviews. In addition, Teresa will represent Pennsylvania in 2011 as she competes for the American Honey Queen title in Galveston, Texas.

Newsnotes - April 2010

Biologist Discovers 'Stop' Signal in Honey Bee Communication

A biologist at UC San Diego has discovered that honey bees warn their nest mates about dangers they encounter while feeding with a special signal that's akin to a "stop" sign for bees.
The discovery, detailed in a paper in the February 23 issue of the journal Current Biology, which appears online today, resulted from a series of experiments on honey bees foraging for food that were attacked by competitors from nearby colonies fighting for food at an experimental feeder. The bees that were attacked then produced a specific signal to stop nest mates who were recruiting others for this dangerous location. Honey bees use a waggle dance to communicate the location of food and other resources. Attacked bees directed "stop" signals at nest mates waggle dancing for the dangerous location.
James Nieh, an associate professor of biology at UCSD who conducted the experiments, said this peculiar signal in bee communication was known previously by scientists to reduce waggle dancing and recruitment to food, but until now no one had firmly established a "clear natural trigger" for that behavior.
The stop sign is a brief vibrating signal made by the bee that lasts for about a tenth of a second with the bee vibrating at about 380 times a second. "It is frequently delivered by a sender butting her head into a recipient, although the sender may also climb on top of the receiver," Nieh said.
Bee researchers originally called it a "begging call," because they believed the signaling bee made it to obtain a food sample from the receiver.
But Nieh discovered in his experiments that one trigger for this signal-which caused the waggle dancers to stop and leave the nest-was attacks from bee competitors and simulated predators. The more dangerous the predator or competitor, he found, the more the stop signals bees produced to stop other bees from recruiting to that location.
"This signal is directed at bees who are recruiting for the dangerous food location and decreases their recruitment," explained Nieh. "Thus, fewer nest mates go to the dangerous food site. This is important because an individual experiences danger and stops recruiting, but the stop signal enables her to 'warn' nest mates who have not yet experienced danger and are still recruiting. The end result is that the colony will reduce or cease recruitment to the dangerous food patch in proportion to the danger experienced."
Nieh found in his experiments that during aggressive food competition, attack victims significantly increased their production of stop signals to nest mates, some by more than 40 times. Bees foraging for food that attacked other bees or experienced no aggression did not produce stop signals. But bees exposed to a "bee alarm pheromone" increased their stop signaling by an average of 14 times. Those whose legs were mechanically pinched in a simulated bite increased their stop signals by an average of 88 times.
Nieh said that cooperation within and between cells in an organism relies upon positive and negative feedback. "Super-
organisms," such as honey bees, are like a multi-cellular organism because each individual bee, just like a body cell, acts for the good of the whole, the colony. Superorganisms use many types of positive feedback signals, but there are few known examples of negative feedback signals.
What's interesting to biologists about the discovery of the stop sign, Nieh said, is that it's an example of a negative feedback, in which the colony's actions are stopped for the good of the colony.
"This is only the second example of a negative feedback signal ever found in a superorganism and is perhaps the most sophisticated example known to date," he said. (Kim McDonald, scinews@ucsd.edu)

Entomologist May R. Berenbaum Wins Public Understanding of Science Award

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has named May R. Berenbaum, professor and head of the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as winner of the 2009 AAAS Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award.
Berenbaum was honored for "her extraordinary ability to integrate her original research on the world of insects with her inspirational efforts to communicate the wonders and complexity of nature." She will receive the award during a 20 February ceremony at the 2010 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Diego.
Specifically, the AAAS award committee said: "One of the most respected entomologists in the world, Dr. Berenbaum is distinguished by a career that uniquely combines high-impact scientific discovery and effective public engagement. She transformed chemical ecology, a field that seeks to understand nature in chemical terms, by pioneering its integration with genetics."
In addition to research that has transformed the field of chemical ecology and has had a major impact on agriculture and the environment, Berenbaum was described in a 1997 New York Times article as "the most relentless creative insect advocate in the world." She is the legendary creator of the "Insect Fear Film Festival," which melds entomology and film into a new, successful form of public engagement with science. Now more than 25 years old, the annual event draws thousands of viewers and international media coverage.
Throughout her career, Berenbaum has emerged as an authoritative public source of information on insect problems. The prize selection committee commended her extensive service to the National Research Council (NRC), where she is a National Associate, an honor reserved for National Academy of Sciences members who make extraordinary contributions to the NRC. Her work as a National Associate has included chairing the committee on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which issued its report on the status of pollinators in October 2006 - months before the massive disappearances of honey bees across the country. She emerged as the CCD spokesperson for the scientific community, and she has written op-ed articles and testified before Congress on the issue.
AAAS Chief Executive Officer Alan I. Leshner, executive publisher of the journal Science said: "In recognition of her paradigm-changing scientific discoveries as well as her passionate dedication to public understanding of science, Dr. Berenbaum is highly deserving of the 2009 AAAS Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award."
A prominent entomologist interested in the chemical interactions between herbivorous insects and their host-plants, Berenbaum has studied the implications of these interactions on the organization of natural communities and the evolution of species.
She graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. degree and honors in biology from Yale University in 1975. She attended graduate school at Cornell University and received a Ph.D. degree in ecology and evolutionary biology in 1980.
Since that time, she has been a member of the faculty of the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has served as head of the department since 1992. In addition to her research, she is devoted to teaching and to fostering scientific literacy. She is the recipient of the 1996 Entomological Society of America North Central Branch Distinguished Teaching Award. She has authored numerous magazine articles, as well as three books about insects for the general public.
Established in 1987, the AAAS Award for Public Understanding of Science & Technology recognizes scientists or engineers who, while working in their fields, have also contributed substantially to public understanding of science and technology. Contributions include books, articles in magazines and newspaper, broadcasting, lecturing, museum presentation and exhibit design. (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

High Award for Honey Bee Expert Eric mussen of UC Davis

DAVIS--Honey bee guru Eric Mussen, an Extension apiculturist and member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty since 1976, is the winner of the statewide 2010 Pedro Ilic Outstanding Agricultural Educator Award for his work in educating the agricultural community, the beekeeping industry and the general public about honey bees.
Mussen, considered by his peers as one of the most respected and influential professional apiculturists in the nation, will receive the award March 1 at the California Small Farm Conference in San Diego. It is one of two annual awards memorializing Ilic, a Fresno County small-scale farm advisor who died in 1994.  The other award, for outstanding grower, goes to Jay Ruskey of Calimoya Exotic Fruits of Goleta, Santa Barbara County. The company, which Ruskey founded in 1991, grows and markets California cherimoyas and other exotic fruits.
Mussen and Ilic worked together as members of the Small Farm Work Group in serving the statewide, broad-based agricultural community, said nominators Larry Godfrey, Extension specialist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology, and Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the department.
"They were alike in many ways: their dedication, enthusiasm, high energy, friendliness, their commitment to small-scale and family farming, and the easy-going way they imparted information on a diversity of projects, solving a multitude of problems-and sometimes at a moment's notice," Godfrey said.
Mussen educates the beekeeping industry and general public with his bimonthly newsletter, "from the UC Apiaries," which he launched in 1976. Since 1976, he has also written "Bee Briefs," addressing such issues as diseases, pesticides and swarms. Both publications are on the UC Davis Department of Entomology Web site.
"Eric is a worldwide authority on honey bees, but no problem is too small and no question too involved for him to answer," Godfrey said. "He devotes his research and extension activities to the improvement of honey bee health and honey bee colony management practices. Eric helps growers, consumers, UC Farm Advisors, agricultural commissioners, scientists, beekeepers, researchers, pesticide regulators, 4-H'ers, and state and national agricultural and apicultural organizations. He ignites their interest in maintaining the health of bees, cultivates their friendship, and generously gives of his time and intellect."
"With the decline of the honey bee population and the increase of the mysterious colony collapse disorder, his expertise is now more highly sought than ever," Godfrey pointed out. "Any threat to honey bees is a threat to agriculture and a cause for his concern and a desire to assist. He is the only Extension Apiculturist in the UC system and in many regards, functions as the Extension entomologist for apiculture in the western U.S. and indeed, much of the country."
Last year Mussen served as president of the Western Apicultural Society, an organization he helped found in 1977. He delivered the keynote addresses at the 2009 California State Beekeepers' Association (CSBA) and the 2009 American Honey Producers' Association conventions. In addition, he provides leadership roles in the CSBA, the California Bee Breeders' Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, American Honey Producers' Association, National Honey Board, American Beekeeping Federation, American Association of Professional Apiculturists, and the Northern California Entomology Society, among others.

Are Bees Also Addicted to Caffeine and Nicotine?

A study carried out at the University of Haifa has found that bees prefer nectar with a small concentration of caffeine and nicotine over nectar that does not comprise these substances at all. "This could be an evolutionary trait intended to make the bee addicted," the researchers say.
Bees prefer nectar with small amounts of nicotine and caffeine over nectar that does not comprise these substances at all, a study from the University of Haifa reveals. "This could be an evolutionary development intended, as in humans, to make the bee addicted," states Prof. Ido Izhaki, one of the researchers who conducted the study.
Flower nectar is primarily comprised of sugars, which provide energy for the potential pollinators. But the floral nectar of some plant species also includes small quantities of substances known to be toxic, such as caffeine and nicotine. The present study, carried out by researchers at the Department of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Science Education at the University of Haifa-Oranim, headed by Prof. Ido Izhaki along with Prof. Gidi Ne'eman, Prof. Moshe Inbar and Dr. Natarajan Singaravelan, examined whether these substances are intended to "entice" the bees or whether they are byproducts that are not necessarily linked to any such objective.
Nicotine is found naturally in floral nectar at a concentration of up to 2.5 milligrams per liter, primarily in various types of tobacco tree (Nicotiana glauca). Caffeine is found at concentration levels of 11-17.5 milligrams per liter, mostly in citrus flowers. In the nectar of grapefruit flowers, however, caffeine is present in much higher concentrations, reaching 94.2 milligrams per liter. In order to examine whether bees prefer the nectar containing caffeine and nicotine, the researchers offered artificial nectar that comprised various natural sugar levels and various levels of caffeine and nicotine, alongside "clean" nectar that comprised sugar alone. The caffeine and nicotine concentrations ranged from the natural levels in floral nectar up to much higher concentrations than found in nature.
The results showed that bees clearly prefer nectar containing nicotine and caffeine over the "clean" nectar. The preferred nicotine concentration was 1 milligram per liter, similar to that found in nature. Given a choice of higher levels of nicotine versus "clean" nectar, the bees preferred the latter.
According to the researchers, it is difficult to determine for sure whether the addictive substances in the nectar became present in an evolutionary process in order to make pollination more efficient. It can be assumed, however, based on the results of the study, that the plants that survived natural selection are those that developed "correct" levels of these addictive substances, enabling them to attract and not repel bees, thereby giving them a significant advantage over other plants. The researchers emphasized that this study has proved a preference, not addiction, and they are currently examining whether the bees do indeed become addicted to nicotine and caffeine. (Amir Gilat, Ph.D.,Communication and Media Relations, University of Haifa

Exploring the Intimate World of Bees

New book in the growing Rutgers Animal Q&A Series sheds light on these exceptional creatures

Twenty-five thousand species of bees certainly create a loud buzz. yet silence descended a few years ago when domesticated bee populations plummeted. Bees, in particular honey bees, are critical links in the vibrant chain that brings fruits, vegetables, and nuts to market and dinner tables across the country. Farmers and scientists on the agricultural frontlines quickly realized the impact of this loss, but many others did not see this devastation. WHY DO BEES BUZZ?: Fascinating Answers to Questions about Bees (Paper $21.95, March 2010, 978-0-8135-4721-3) reports on the mysterious "colony collapse disorder" that has affected honey bee populations, as well as other captivating topics, such as their complex, highly social lives, and how other species of bees are unique and different from honey bees.
Organized in chapters that cover everything from these provacative pollinators' basic biology to the aggressive nature of killer bees, this insightful question and answer guide provides compelling facts. With clarity and depth, bee biologist Elizabeth Capaldi Evans and co-author Carol A. Butler examine the lives of honey bees, as well as other species such as orchard bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees. Accessible to readers on every level, and including the latest research and theory for the more sophisticated reader, the authors reveal more than one hundred critical answers to questions about the lives of bees.
Concepts about speciation, evolutionary adaptation and pollination, as well as historical details about topics such as Mayan beekeeping and the appearance of bees in rock art, are arranged in easy-to-follow sidebars that highlight the text. Color and black and white photographs and drawings enhance the beauty and usefulness of Why Do Bees Buzz?
Rutgers University Press, 100 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8099, T: 732-445-7762 ext. 626, F: 732-445-7039, http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu

Federal Grant Helps Madison County Beekeeper Make Sure Bees are Healthy

An Eaton, NY beekeeper is hoping to use a nearly $60,000 federal grant to improve conditions for the honey bee-production industry in the Northeast. Mike Johnston, who operates several bee yards in Madison County, has landed a federal specialty crop grant. It will allow him to study how to avoid losing bees to cold temperatures, and how to create hives that are more resistant to diseases and parasites plaguing the state's bee population.
Producers in New York state lose about one-quarter of their 28,000 nonmigratory hives each year to winter weather, Johnston said. Breeding more bees in the Northeast could mitigate the winter losses, which are partially attributed to stock purchased from the South, California or Hawaii that aren't adapted to cold climates.
Breeding more bees in the state would save $3 million in restocking costs over the next 10 years, an economic benefit that would be felt by local beekeepers and breeders. Johnston has put a lot of time and effort into his beekeeping enterprise.
He started his operation more than three decades ago with seven hives. Today, Johnston's Honeybee Farm has more than 200 hives, scattered across eight bee yards in Madison County that produced more than 6,000 pounds of honey last year.
Johnston, who works full time for Madison County's Soil and Water Conservation District, is in the process of turning his 2.3-acre parcel of land on Route 26 into an agritourism destination. For now, he sells his honey in glass and plastic bear-shaped jars at a roadside stand. But he's working on a full-scale store, with an observation area where visitors will be able to watch workers remove the combs from the hives and extract and bottle the honey.
Johnston said he hopes the study will result in the production of bees that are
mite-resistant, but also mild-mannered, winter-hardy and good producers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded nearly $1 million to farmers to encourage the long-term viability of a variety of specialty crops grown in New York state.
Specialty crops generate $1.34 billion annually in New York and make up one-third of the state's total agricultural receipts, according to state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker.
Courtesy of Alaina Potrikus, The Post-Standard.

The Secret Life of Bees: Researcher Explores Honey Bees' "Waggle Dancing" and Other Mysterious Behaviors

Newswise - How does a honey bee find its way in the world? How does it tell the other bees where it found the best food? Heather Mattila, assistant professor of biological sciences at Wellesley College, studies honey bee hives to find out how colonies work together to find food. It turns out a special dance they perform offers up clues to the process.
"So often, when you have animals going out and getting food in the environment, unless you can radio track them, you don't really know where they've gone," Mattila said. "But bees come back and do a ‘waggle dance' that lets you know exactly where they've been. You could put a point in a map about where they've gone based on the information that's in the dance."
Mattila's research, recently featured in Discover magazine, has gained importance in the agricultural arena as honey bee populations have declined dramatically - and mysteriously - in recent years. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 36 percent of colonies were lost in 2007-2008 alone.
From mangoes to mustard and almonds to apples, bees pollinate more than 400 crops that would be poor producers without their services - making their decline a major concern for the health of the world's food supply. By the latest estimates, bees in the United States add $15 billion in additional value to food supplies, contributing to about a third of our diet.
Mattila's research has found that when queen honey bees mate with many different male bees, creating a genetically diverse colony, honey bees are better able to resist diseases. They will also forage more and communicate more about the food that they've found. "Honey bees have a really sophisticated recruitment process for waggle-dancing and we know that it works a lot better when you have a lot of genetic diversity within the colony," she said. "The bees themselves, the individual foragers, are more likely to dance, they dance longer, more bees watch their dances, and more bees leave the hive after they watch their dances."
Sought out by beekeepers across the nation, Mattila tells them how to keep colonies healthy and maximize the genetic diversity of hives. On the Wellesley College campus, Mattila has established 40 full-size hives, which in summer house up to 50,000 bees each. By April, Wellesley will have completed the building of a new research space that will contain nine more observation hives of about 2,000 bees each, including video equipment for each hive.
This spring Mattila will teach the course "Animal Behavior," with Assistant Professor of Biology David Ellerby, for the first time, exploring how animal behaviors have evolved to meet the challenges of reproduction and survival - touching on topics including parental care, communication, conflict and aggression. Students will take part in labs including one on treating the notoriously aggressive Betta fish with Prozac to see how the chemical alters their behavior. They will also spend several weeks observing honeybee hives.
Wellesley senior Morgan Carr-Markell, of Shorewood, Wis., said she has always considered social insects fascinating. She became involved with Mattila's lab, and is now pursuing a thesis that focuses on the honey bees' waggle dance.
"When a worker bee comes back to the hive after foraging, she runs around excitedly trying to attract the attention of her sister workers. When she has their attention, she begins dancing in a figure-eight pattern," she said. "One way that foragers might attract the attention of other worker bees is by releasing pheromones, or chemical signals, from their abdomens as they dance."
For her thesis, Carr-Markell is investigating whether worker bees from different fathers produce different amounts of these chemical signals while they dance and if these differences affect the number of followers attracted. She calls honey bee communication strategies fascinating.
"Thousands of workers all live together and support each other without any authority directing their actions," she said. "They go out to forage, build the comb, take care of the brood, attend the queen, remove dead and diseased bees, circulate air through the hive, and, if necessary, give their lives to defend it."
Mattila, who joined the college in January 2009, is also collaborating with Christina Grozinger of Penn State University to study chemical communication during honey bees' swarming process. When honey bees swarm, half the colony leaves the nest with the queen and go through an intensive search for a new home. The bees have to move through the air together, always follow the queen and not get lost.
"We're going to look at the chemicals used in that process to determine how the colony stays cohesive when they're flying," said Mattila, as well as why some bees leave the nest and some don't. While Mattila has always been interested in animal behavior, she's always had a sweet spot for honey bees.
"Working with honey bees is amazing," she said. "You can learn so much about them, but they have so many mysteries left. We still don't understand how they work and why they do some of the things that they do." (Wellesley College News Release)

"Best Student Paper" Award Presented

Judy Y. Wu received a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from Humboldt State University, Arcata CA in 2005. She spent a year at the USDA-ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory in Fort Lauderdale, FL completing a Student Conservation Association internship where she conducted research on biological control agents (insects) targeting several highly invasive weeds. Judy began her Master of Science program at Washington State University, Pullman WA in 2008. She is currently completing her research on sub-lethal effects of pesticide residues in brood comb on worker honey bees and will be graduating May 2010.

Student Research Scholarship Awarded

Geoff Williams is a Ph.D. Candidate at Dalhousie University and Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada supervised by Dave Shutler, Dick Rogers, and Sandy Walde. For his thesis, he is investigating effects of the antibiotic Fumagilin-B® and the recently-detected fungal parasite Nosema ceranae on honey bee colony strength, while also studying effectiveness of this antibiotic on this parasite. His future work will investigate interactions between Nosema ceranae and western honey bees' historical Nosema parasite, Nosema apis, as well as compare pathology of these two parasites. In addition to his thesis research, Geoff has studied Varroa and deformed wing virus in honey bees, and has worked on a number of projects investigating potential effects of crop protection products on honey bee colony health.
Geoff has received numerous national and international awards for his work, including two NSERC Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships from the Government of Canada, the 2008 Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists' Student Merit Award, the 2008 Eastern Apiculture Society of North America Student Award, and a 2007 Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees Scholarship.  Since 2007, he has published 7 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and he has presented his research findings at 15 local, national, and international scientific conferences and beekeeper meetings.

The Wisdom of Bees

When Michael O'Malley first took up beekeeping, he thought it would be a nice hobby and a good way to bond with his ten-year-old son. But as he started to observe these indutrious insects, he noticed that they do a lot more than just make honey. These tiny, buzzing creatures not only work together to achieve a common goal but, in the process, create a highly coordinated, efficient, and remarkably productive organization. The hive behaved like a miniature but incredibly successful business.
In THE WISDOM OF BEES: What the Hive Can Teach Business About Leadership, Efficiency and Growth (Portfolio; May 17, 2010), O'Malley explains how bees can actually teach managers a lot about how to run their organizations. Among his twenty-five powerful insights are:
 Distribute authority: the queen bee delegates relentlessly, and worker bees make daily decisions based on local cues and requirements.
 Keep it simple: bees exchange only relevant information, operate under clear standards, and use straightforward measures and feedback to balance workloads.
 Protect the future: when a lucrative vein of nectar is discovered, the entire colony doesn't rush off to mine it, no matter how enriching the short-term benefits.

Blending practical advice with intersting facts about the hive, THE WISDOM OF BEES is a useful and entertaining guide for any manager looking to get the most out of his or her organization.
Michael O'Malley, Ph.D., is a social psychologist and management consultant who has coached some of the world's largest companies. He is currently the excutive editor for business, economics, and law at Yale University Press and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. He has been an avid beekeeper since 2002. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.
To be published by Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Group, on May 17, 2010, Hardcover/$21.95//ISBN 9781591843269

Bumblebees

Behaviour, ecology, and conservation
"Bumblebees are familiar and charismatic insects, occurring throughout much of the world. They are increasingly being used as a model organism for studying a wide range of ecological and behavioral concepts, such as social organization, optimal foraging theories, host-parasite interactions, and pollination. Recently, they have become a focus for conservationists due to mounting evidence of range contractions and catastrophic extinctions with some species disappearing from entire continents (e.g. in North America). Only by improving our understanding of their ecology can we devise sensible plans to conserve them. The role of the bumblebees as invasive species (e.g. . in Japan) has also become topical with the growing trade in commercial bumblebee nests for tomato pollination leading to the establishment of non-native bumblebees in a number of countries.
"Since the publication of the first edition of the book, there have been hundreds of research papers published on bumblebees. There is clearly a continuing need for an affordable, well-illustrated, and appealing text that makes accessible all of the major advances in understanding of the behavior and ecology of bumblebees that have been made in the last 30 years. Bumblebees is aimed at students, researchers, and interested amateaurs. Technical jargon has been kept to a minimum and sufficient background information given to enable anyone to follow the text without difficulty."
This is the second edition of this book, which was first published in 2003, ISBN 978-0-19-955307.5 (paperback). Published by Oxford University Press, www.oup.com.

New Hive Tool and Accessory Belt

Windsor, NY (February 22, 2010) - Beezerkbelts introduces two new innovative products created by beekeepers, for beekeepers.
The Beekeepers Tool Belt has pockets to hold a queen marker, pen, Sharpie type marker, scissors and a queen cage. The primary feature is a magnetic holder that fits any style hive tool. No more looking in the grass or trying to remember where you laid your hive tool last.
Hive tools become too sticky to easily slide into a holster type tool holder. The magnets quickly and securely hold your hive tool, while also lessening the chance that you might poke yourself with the tool.
Made to last in the USA, the lightweight, washable tool belt is built with quality materials often used in backpack constuction. The fabric is 420 denier nylon pack cloth, known for durability, abrasion resistance, and being mold and mildew resistant. The adjustable 48 inch belt is long enough to go over your bee suit and sweater when working in cool weather. Note that the quick release buckle has a breaking strength over 200 pounds.
The Beezerkbelts Beekeepers Tool Belt is patent applied for. All Beezerkbelts products carry a limited lifetime warranty covering defects in material and workmanship. Available at www.beezerkbelts.com

Rob Stopper

Keep the peace when your hives are open.

Beezerkbelts introduces the RobStopper mesh hive cover. It effectively stops robbing during hive inspection, and has simple and secure attachment. Also use it to protect stacked honey supers while working in the yard or while transporting them to the honey house.
The RobStopper is sized to slip over even the larger polystyrene hive boxes. It is made in the USA of durable nylon mesh that is washable, and it is mold and mildew resistant.
"I found myself hurrying my inspections, trying to reduce the threat of robbing from open boxes. I tried throwing a cloth or netting over the open boxes, but it slipped or blew off. By adding a sturdy elastic hem around the netting, it stayed put when I moved and stacked boxes. When I'm ready to put the hive back together, I can smoke down the bees through the mesh, and quickly slip the RobStopper off with one hand." says designer Sue Garing.
Sue Garing is a retired engineer living in Kirkwood, NY. She is working with fellow NY beekeeper Bob Talkiewicz, whose background includes design and marketing of high quality backpacking equipment. Visit www.beezerkbelts.com for ordering information and more innovative beekeeping equipment.

Mellifera Millinery -Custom Couture Beekeeping Hats and Veils©

Bobbie Meyzen, owner of Honey Bee Farm, LLC, located in Redding, Connecticut, has designed and created for this beekeeping season her delightful and functional "Mellifera Millinery Custom Couture Beekeeping Hats and Veils©" for the stylish beekeeper!
The Hats are available in two styles-
Traditional Straw Pith Helmut or Straw Garden Hat.
The Veils are Dark Tuile Netting.
Couture Silk Flowers (poppies, roses, sunflowers, hydrangeas, dahlias) and beautiful Ribbons come in custom varieties and colors made to each order's specification.
Samples of Hats are available at the Honey Bee Farm website at www.Honey
BeeFarm.org.
Photographs of completed Hats and Veils can be emailed to purchasers for approval prior to delivery for complete satisfaction. The price is $75.00 plus shipping (and plus 6% sales tax for orders sold in Connecticut.

Newsnotes - March 2010

Bees Recognize Human Faces Using Feature Configuration

"Going about their day-to-day business, bees have no need to be able to recognize human faces. Yet in 2005, when Adrian Dyer from Monash University trained the fascinating insects to associate pictures of human faces with tasty sugar snacks, they seemed to be able to do just that. But Martin Giurfa from the Université de Toulouse, France, suspected that the bees weren't learning to recognize people. 'Because the insects were rewarded with a drop of sugar when they chose human photographs, what they really saw were strange flowers. The important question was what strategy do they use to discriminate between faces,' explains Giurfa. Wondering whether the insects might be learning the relative arrangement (configuration) of features on a face, Giurfa contacted Dyer and suggested that they go about systematically testing which features a bee learned to recognize to keep them returning to Dyer's face photos. The team published their discovery that bees can learn to recognize the arrangement of human facial features on 29 January 2010 in the Journal of Experimental Biology at http://jeb.biologists.org/.

"Teaming up with Aurore Avargues-Weber, the team first tested whether the bees could learn to distinguish between simple face-like images. Using faces that were made up of two dots for eyes, a short vertical dash for a nose and a longer horizontal line for a mouth, Avargues-Weber trained individual bees to distinguish between a face where the features were cramped together and another where the features were set apart. Having trained the bee to visit one of the two faces by rewarding it with a weak sugar solution, she tested whether it recognized the pattern by taking away the sugar reward and waiting to see if the bee returned to the correct face. It did.

"So the bees could learn to distinguish patterns that were organized like faces, but could they learn to 'categorize' faces? Could the insects be trained to classify patterns as face-like versus non-face like, and could they decide that an image that they had not seen before belonged to one class or the other? To answer these questions, Avargues-Weber trained the bees by showing them five pairs of different images, where one image was always a face and the other a pattern of dots and dashes. Bees were always rewarded with sugar when they visited the face while nothing was offered by the non-face pattern. Having trained the bees that 'face-like' images gave them a reward, she showed the bees a completely fresh pair of images that they had not seen before to see if the bees could pick out the face-like picture. Remarkably they did. The bees were able to learn the face images, not because they know what a face is, but because they had learned the relative arrangement and order of the features.

"But how robust was the bees' ability to process the "face's" visual information? How would the bees cope with more complex faces? This time the team embedded the stick and dot faces in face-shaped photographs. Would the bees be able to learn the arrangements of the features against the backgrounds yet recognize the same stick and dot face when the face photo was removed? Amazingly the insects did, and when the team tried scrambling real faces by moving the relative positions of the eyes, nose and mouth, the bees no longer recognized the images as faces and treated them like unknown patterns.

"So bees do seem to be able to recognize face-like patterns, but this does not mean that they can learn to recognize individual humans. They learn the relative arrangements of features that happen to make up a face-like pattern and they may use this strategy to learn about and recognize different objects in their environment.

"What is really amazing is that an insect with a microdot-sized brain can handle this type of image analysis when we have entire regions of brain dedicated to the problem. Giurfa explains that if we want to design automatic facial recognition systems, we could learn a lot by using the bees' approach to face recognition."

Acknowledgement
Reproduced with permission. Courtesy Journal of Experimental Biology
REFERENCE: Avargues-Weber, A., Portelli, G., Benard, J., Dyer, A. and Giurfa, M. (2010). Configural processing enables discrimination and categorization of face-like stimuli in honeybees. J. Exp. Biol. 213, 593-601.

The Almond Tree's Secret Weapon

The toxin called amygdalin that is found in almond tree nectar is in fact an evolutionary development intended to give that tree an advantage over others in its surroundings

The nectar of the almond tree produces an extraordinary and dangerous poison. This is the only known plant to have this poison in its flowers' nectar. A study carried out at the University of Haifa has revealed that bees are mysteriously drawn to the toxic substance.

Has the almond tree developed a unique way of drawing potential pollinators? A group of researchers at the Department of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Science Education at the University of Haifa-Oranim speculate that the toxin called amygdalin that is found in almond tree nectar is in fact an evolutionary development intended to give that tree an advantage over others in its surroundings.

Previous studies have already shown that amygdalin can be found in almond nectar at a concentration of 4-10 milligrams per liter. It is also known that the almond tree is the only plant to have this toxin in its flowers' nectar; in fact, the tree's subgenus classification is Amygdalus, after the toxin it produces. For small mammals this is a deadly substance and as it is highly concentrated in the seeds of unripe wild bitter almonds, these almonds are also dangerous for human consumption.

A group of researchers, headed by Prof. Ido Izhaki along with Prof. Gidi Ne'eman, Prof. Moshe Inbar and Dr. Natarajan Singaravelan, investigated why it is that this plant produces such a potent toxin - a by-product of which is cyanide - in its nectar. They explain that the presence of amygdalin in the nectar is seemingly incompatible with the nectar's purpose of attracting insects to the flower to extract food and pollinate it and thereby contribute to the plant's reproduction.

The researchers exposed honey bees to plates of nectar that had varying concentrations of the toxin and a plate of nectar without the toxin. The team first monitored four different amygdalin concentrations, resembling the natural levels of the toxin in almond tree nectar: 2.5-10 milligrams per liter. A second experiment monitored levels much higher than those found in the natural form: 5-50 milligrams per liter. In both cases and for each of the compositions, the bees preferred nectar containing amygdalin over the amygdalin-free option.

"It is difficult - and sometimes impossible - to determine the workings of evolution, but it is likely that amygdalin is produced in the almond nectar so as to give the almond tree an advantage in reproduction. Based on our observations, we can make a guess at which mechanisms come into play for amygdalin to provide this advantage," Prof. Izhaki explains. For example, even though amygdalin is poisonous for mammals, it is not poisonous for insects, such as the honey bee, and it even produces a stimulant that attracts such insects. Therefore, it is possible that the plant produces it so as to attract potential pollinators. Another possibility is that the almond tree has developed this substance in its nectar as a form of filter: it repulses "non-expert" pollinators, but gives access to the "experts" that have built up resistance to the toxin while providing efficient pollination services for the plant.

The research team, in collaboration with Dr. Malka Halpern, Dr. Yoram Gerchman and research students Svetlana Friedman and Yana Gerstein, are presently examining the possibility of there being an additional mechanism in play: that the nectar toxin prevents inhabitation of bacteria that could spoil the nectar's quality and harm its appeal for potential pollinators, thereby impeding the tree's chances of pollination.

"Pollinating insects have always been lacking, so plants have had to develop ways to take the lead in attracting those that are available, in competition with other plants. Otherwise, they will not be able to reproduce. This is more than just a hypothesis: it is a very practical theory. For reasons that are not fully clear, there is a significant shortage of bees in the world. The worldwide scarcity of available pollinators severely harms agriculture and threatens supplies of produce for the human population. In California there are enormous almond groves that without bees will not produce fruit. Due to the scarcity of bees, the almond farmers in California are compelled to import - from as far away as Australia - truckloads of beehives during the almond's flowering season, so as to ensure pollination," Prof. Izhaki stated.

Amir Gilat, Ph.D.
Communication and Media Relations
University of Haifa
Tel: +972-4-8240092/4
Cell: +972-52-6178200
agilat@univ.haifa.ac.il

Honey-Bee Venom Clinical Trial

Apimeds, Inc. is completing its first clinical trial in the United States. The trial is a Phase II study of whole honey-bee venom (Apitox) for the indication osteoarthritis. The study is being conducted in Chicago, Columbus and San Antonio. The study specifically excludes beekeepers as patients. According to Dr. Robert Brooks, the company's Chief Operating Officer, the company expects to conduct a Phase III clinical trial beginning in Mid 2010. Apitoxin has been approved for use in Korea since 2003 and has a 49,000 patient safety profile.

In early 2009 Apimeds filed a orphan drug designation request from the US Food & Drug Administration for Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis as a subset of the disease. We were disappointed to receive a denial letter from FDA in July. The multiple sclerosis population exceeds the 200,000 patient limit for orphan status. The FDA did provide encouragement that their appeared to be enough clinical evidence to support a clinical trial. We explored submitting an orphan application for interferon failure, patients but after discussions with FDA abandoned this approach.
 
In 2009 a honey-bee venom product for veterinary use was approved in Korea.

JOURNAL OF APICULTURAL RESEARCH SPECIAL ISSUE:
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ON HONEY BEE COLONY LOSS

It has been unclear what has caused the recent global decline of honey bees. The Journal of Apicultural Research Special Issue published in January focuses on the latest evidence-based explanations of the extent and causes of honey bee colony losses. These peer-reviewed reports of current scientific thinking aid our understanding of recent eye-catching headlines proclaiming the dramatic demise of the honey bee, a world pollinator crisis, and the spectre of mass human starvation.

Honey bee colonies have recently been lost worldwide, but the extent of these losses and their causes may differ from country to country. In particular, Colony Collapse Disorder ("CCD") in the USA has caused much public and US governmental concern, leading to greatly increased research funding, and US scientists are working hard to provide explanations. There have also been significant losses throughout Europe, including the UK, and worldwide and, today, many respected bee scientists are investigating the situation.
So far, no single driver for these losses has been identified. Various factors have been suggested as explanations for elevated mortality of honey bees, but conventional causes such as pests (including the Varroa mite) and diseases, pesticides, beekeeping practices and the interactions between them, are receiving urgent attention through both national and large scale international research efforts.

Issue 49(1) of the Journal of Apicultural Research, published recently by IBRA contains a comprehensive mixture of evidence based review articles, original research articles, and reports of colony losses in many partner countries of the COST funded COLOSS Network. This issue is edited by Dr. Peter Neumann, the Chair of the global COLOSS network "Prevention of honey bee COlony LOSSes"; and Norman Carreck, Scientific Director, IBRA, and the University of Sussex, UK.
The Journal of Apicultural Research is available in electronic format from the IBRA website. However, in view of the special interest in this topic, issue 49(1) will also be available as a one-off paper edition for US$30.00 plus postage. The paper edition can be purchased through IBRA and individual papers can be downloaded from the website, www.ibra.org.uk

THE QUEST FOR THE PERFECT HIVE

A History of Innovation in Bee Culture

By Gene Kritsky
Honey bee pollination makes possible-directly and indirectly-a third of all the food we eat. According to the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, this managed natural process subsidizes $15 billion of crop production. Given how vital bees are to our economy and livelihood, recent widespread and unresolved thinning of hives-Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) -threatens both. In THE QUEST FOR THE PERFECT HIVE: A History of Innovation in Bee Culture Gene Kritsky calls beekeepers to action:

"If beekeeping is to survive ... we need to consider the advantages and creative solutions presented by strange old beehives."

Kritsky observes beekeeping's regular evolution since the first documented human theft of a honeycomb 8,000 years ago. While we've moved from honey hunting to honey cultivating-in hollow logs, horizontal hives, skeps, and countless other forms-we stopped innovating beekeeping over a century and a half ago. Why? Economics, Kritsky says. Today's common movable-frame hive greatly increased honey yields from previous hives, but the apparatuses cost enough to make changing equipment unappealing.
Given the impending economic crisis that CCD could harbor, Kritsky implores his audience to reignite the innovation that once characterized beekeeping. He writes:

"We are keeping our bees in ‘old' hives. Are we really using the ‘perfect' hives? Because we have stopped inventing hives, we really do not know."

Gene Kritsky is Professor of Biology at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, and Adjunct Curator of Entomology at the Cincinnati Museum Center. He is Editor-in-Chief of American Entomologist, the magazine of the Entomological Society of America.

THE QUEST FOR THE PERFECT HIVE: A History of Innovation in Bee Culture, by Gene Kritsky, will be published, in hardcover, by Oxford University Press on February 24, 2010 ($24.95 | 5½ x 8¼ | 216 pages | 147 b/w images| ISBN13: 9780195385441).

YouTube Channel for Bee Health Launched

The Bee Health eXtension.org web-initiative has a new YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/BeeHealth. The YouTube channel offers a wider reach for Internetbased videos about bees and serves as portal to more complete resources about bees. The first submissions to the channel come from Dr. Jamie Ellis and Catherine Zettel Nalen at the University of Florida and Dr. Kirk Visscher at the University of California, Riverside.

Dr. Jamie Ellis already has a strong presence on YouTube, and many of his videos are linked as favorites from the YouTube channel. Uploaded directly to the channel, are 4 clips from videos he and his lab produced about varroa mites, nosema disease, the small hive beetle, and tracheal mites. YouTube no longer accepts uploads longer than 10 minutes, so cohesive segments of Jamie Ellis's videos are uploaded to YouTube, with a link back to the University of Florida for the complete videos (http://www.ufhoneybee.com/). The complete videos cover the history, biology, symptoms, and management of these 4 important diseases and pests.

Dr. Kirk Visscher at the University of California, Riverside has provided a high quality example of the Honey Bee Dance Language, available for viewing at the YouTube channel.

With your Google or YouTube account, you can subscribe to the channel to track updates from the eXtension.org Bee Health community. For more web-based information about bees from Apiculture research and extension personnel, see the Bee Health homepage at www.extension.org/bee_health .

National Honey Board Makes Education a Primary Goal

Firestone, Colo. - Research studies have shown that many people don't know exactly what ingredients are in a bottle of honey, and the National Honey Board is making honey knowledge a key priority in 2010.
According to the 2009 Honey Attitude and Usage Study, 1 in 10 respondents thinks honey has added ingredients, such as corn syrup, sugar and preservatives. In addition, 1 in 7 respondents thinks that the color of the honey reflects its purity.

With its updated messaging strategy, the National Honey Board hopes that by informing consumers, food processors, chefs and the foodservice community that honey is pure and contains only one ingredient - honey - that there will be more consumption of and demand for this natural sweetener.

"There are so many misconceptions about honey," said Bruce Wolk, director of marketing for the National Honey Board. "The 2010 focus on education gives us an opportunity to reach out to the consumers and the foodservice industry about the basics of honey and why it is such a versatile product."

Honey blends, a combination of honey and artificial ingredients, are becoming commonplace in discount grocery stores and usually contain only a small percentage of honey. The 2009 research study shows that many consumers are aware of these honey blends, have previously purchased a honey blend and have demonstrated positive intent to purchase a honey blend in the future. This trend, if not further explored, may affect the future of honey.

In its educational component of the 2010 campaign, the National Honey Board will focus on basic honey messaging, educating consumers on pure honey, where it comes from and the natural process of how it is made.

National Honey Board Shifts Marketing Focus

Firestone, Colo. - A recent research study has sparked the National Honey Board to refocus its marketing efforts for 2010, adding new programs and reformatting existing ones.

According to the 2009 Honey Attitude and Usage Study, current users of honey below the age of 45 have dropped significantly since 2006. This 27 percent decrease poses an opportunity for the National Honey Board to delve into other marketing avenues, like social media, to reach new and younger audiences.
In reaching a younger demographic, the National Honey Board hopes to expand the awareness and use of honey into other markets, such as snacks and natural home and health remedies. The 2009 study has found younger users of honey more likely to use the product in these fields.

"Younger users of honey seem to be a little more creative in how they use it," said Bruce Wolk, director of marketing for the National Honey Board. "Because of that, we need to communicate with them through new channels, like social networking, to continue positive trends in honey purchases and usage."
But it's not just reaching a younger demographic that the National Honey Board has in mind - the organization is directly targeting current users of honey as well, regardless of age. Further research has shown that 60 percent of respondents report purchasing honey within the last year, a drop of 18 percent from 2006. This could mean a decline in not only purchases, but also in honey consumption and demand altogether.

Newsnotes - February 2010

MSU Research May Lead to New Ways to Control Honeybee Parasite

 East Lansing, Mich.-Ground-breaking discoveries by Michigan State University researchers could help protect honey bees from deadly parasites that have devastated commercial colonies.
 The MSU researchers for the first time were able to produce in the laboratory proteins that help channel sodium ions through cell membranes of parasites known as Varroa mites. The research, using cellular frog eggs, also found that these proteins react to chemcals differently than the sodium channel proteins in honey bees, a finding that could be a key to controlling the mites.
 "The insecticide used to control Varroa mites, fluvalinate, targets the mite sodium channel," said Ke Dong, MSU professor of entomology. "But the mites are becoming resistant to fluvalinate. Successfully producing the mite sodium channel in the lab now allows scientists to develop new chemicals that target the mite sodium channel but don't affect the honey bee's."
 Fluvalinate paralyzes the mite and eventually kills it. But in addition to the problem of growing mite resistance, the pesticide can harm bees and contaminate honey if not used extremely carefully.
 The MSU scientists also found two amino acids in the mite sodium channel that make the mite resistant to tetrodotoxin, or TTX, a deadly poison found in pufferfish not currently used as an insecticide.
 "Chemicals such as fluvalinate and TTX target sodium channels in insects and mites, so this basic research opens the door for more applied research on chemicals to control mites and other pest insects," Dong said. Other members of the MSU team are Yuzhe Du, senior research associate;Yoshiko Nomura, visiting scholar; Zhiqi Liu, former research associate; and Zachary Huang, associate professor, all in the Department of Entomology.

Harvard Robobees Project Receives Research Funding

INSPIRED by the biology of a bee and the insect's hive behavior ...we aim to push advances in miniature robotics and the design of compact high-energy power sources; spur innovations in ultra-low-power computing and electronic "smart" sensors; and refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines. BTW, our robobees don't sting...

Vision and Aims
The collaborators envision that the Nature-inspired research could lead to a greater understanding of how to artificially mimic the collective behavior and "intelligence" of a bee colony; foster novel methods for designing and building an electronic surrogate nervous system able to deftly sense and adapt to changing environments; and advance work on the construction of small-scale flying mechanical devices.
More broadly, the scientists anticipate the devices will open up a wide range of discoveries and practical innovations, advancing fields ranging from entomology and developmental biology to amorphous computing and electrical engineering.
Through a relationship with the Museum of Science, Boston, the team will also create an interactive exhibit to teach and inspire future scientists and engineers.

Body, Brain, and Colony
 From flies to fish to lobsters, small insects and animals have long been ideal models for roboticists and computer scientists. Bees, for example, possess unmatched elegance in flight, zipping from flower to flower with ease and hovering stably with heavy payloads.

Body
 By leveraging existing breakthroughs from Professor Wood's Microrobotics Lab, which conducted the first successful flight of a life-sized robotic fly in 2007, the team will explore ways to emulate such aerobatic feats in their proposed devices. In addition, achieving autonomous flight will require compact high-energy power sources and associated electronics, integrated seamlessly into the ‘body' of the machine.

Brain
 One of the most complicated areas of exploration the scientists will undertake will be the creation of a suite of artificial "smart" sensors, akin to a bee's eyes and antennae. Professor Wei explains that the ultimate aim is to design dynamic hardware and software that serves as the device's ‘brain,' controlling and monitoring flight, sensing objects such as fellow devices and other objects, and coordinating simple decision-making.

Colony
 Finally, to mimic the sophisticated behavior of a real colony of insects will involve the development of sophisticated coordination algorithms, communications methods (i.e., the ability for individual machines to ‘talk' to one another and the hive), and global-to-local programming tools to simulate the ways groups of real bees rely upon one another to scout, forage, and plan.

The Team
 The investigators, primarily based at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will coordinate efforts with faculty from the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard and Northeastern University's Department of Biology.
 In addition, Centeye, a microelectronics firm in Washington, D.C., specializing in vision chip and visual sensor technology, will contribute technical knowledge.
 A number of the collaborators are core faculty members of the newly created Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. As the work fits particularly well with Wyss's mission of "creating new materials and devices using Nature's design principles," the Institute, along with SEAS, will play a critical role in supporting the research, providing laboratory space and in-kind financial support.

Funding
 Harvard is one of three lead institutions receiving the latest round of awards under the NSF's Expeditions in Computing program.
 The program, established last year by the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), provides the CISE research and education community with the opportunity to pursue ambitious, fundamental research agendas that promise to define the future of computing and information and render great benefit to society. Funded at levels up to $2,000,000 per year for five years, Expeditions represent some of the largest single investments currently made by the directorate. (Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences News Release)

Final Moments of Bee Landing Tactics Revealed

 Landing is tricky: hit the ground too fast and you will crash and burn; too slow and you may stall and fall. Bees manage their approach by monitoring the speed of images moving across their eyes. By slowing so that the speed of the looming landing pad's image on the retina remains constant, bees manage to control their approach. But what happens in the final few moments before touch down? And how do bees adapt to landing on surfaces ranging from the horizontal to upside-down ceilings? Flies land on a ceiling by simply grabbing hold with their front legs and somersaulting up as they zip along, but a bee's approach is more sedate. Mandyam Srinivasan, an electrical engineer from the Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland and the Australian Research Council's Vision Centre, knew that bees must be doing something different from daredevil flies. Curious to know more about bee landing strategies Srinivasan teamed up with Carla Evangelista, Peter Kraft, and Judith Reinhard from the University of Queensland, and Marie Dacke, visiting from Lund University. The team used a high-speed camera to film the instant of touch down on surfaces at various inclinations and publish their discoveries about bee landing tactics in The Journal of Experimental Biology on December 28 2009 at http://jeb.biologists.org.
 First the scientists built a bee-landing platform that could be inclined at any angle from horizontal to inverted (like a ceiling), then they trained bees to land on it and began filming. Having collected movies of the bees landing on surfaces ranging from 0deg. to 180deg., and every 10deg. inclination between, Evangelista began the painstaking task of manually analyzing the bees landing strategies, and saw that the bees' approach could be broken down into 3 phases.
 Initially the bees approached from almost any direction and at any speed, however, as they got closer to the platforms, they slowed dramatically, almost hovering, until they were 16mm from the platform when they ground to a complete halt, hovering for anything ranging from 50ms to over 140ms. When the surface was horizontal or inclined slightly, the bees' hind legs were almost within touching distance of the surface, so it was simply a matter of the bee gently lowering itself and grabbing hold with its rear feet before lowering the rest of the body.
 However, when the insects were landing on surfaces ranging from vertical to 'ceilings', their antennae were closest to the surface during the hover phase. The team saw that the antennae grazed the surface and this contact triggered the bees to reach up with the front legs, grasp hold of the surface and then slowly heave their middle and hind legs up too. "We had not expected the antennae to play a role and the fact that there is a mechanical aspect of this is something that we hadn't thought about," admits Srinivasan.
 Looking at the antennae's positions, the team realized that in the final stages as the insects approached inverted surfaces, they held their antennae roughly perpendicular to the surface. "The bee is able to estimate the slope of the surface to orient correctly the antennae, so it is using its visual system," explains Srinivasan. But this is surprising, because the insects are almost completely stationary while hovering and unable to use image movement across the eye to estimate distances. Srinivasan suspects that the bees could be using stereovision over such a short distance, and is keen to test the idea.
 Finally, the team realized that bees are almost tailor made to land on surfaces inclined at angles of 60deg. to the horizontal. "When bees are flying fast their bodies are horizontal, but when they are flying slowly or hovering their abdomen tilts down so that the tips of the legs and antennae lie in a plane that makes an angle of 60deg." explains Srinivasan: so the legs and antennae all touch down simultaneously on surfaces inclined at 60 deg. "It seems like they are adapted to land on surfaces tilted to 60deg. and we are keen to find out whether many flowers have this natural tilt," says Srinivasan.
 Srinivasan is optimistic that he will eventually be able to use his discoveries in the design of novel flight control systems. Journal of Experimental Biology

Alberta Provincial Apiculturist Dr. Medhat Nasr Receives Distinguished Achievement Award from Alberta Beekeepers Commission

 Alberta Provincial Apiculturist, Dr. Medhat Nasr, is the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from Alberta Beekeepers Commission and was honored at the Annual General Meeting of Alberta Beekeepers Commission on Wednesday November 4, 2009.  Dr. Nasr is an internationally recognized expert on honey bee pests management.
 Dr. Nasr has developed an internationally recognized Integrated Pest Management Program focused on industry growth and sustainability. This program includes applied research, extension and regulations. He has a broad knowledge of honey bees and the beekeeping industry. His activities are critical components for the success of the beekeeping industry in the face of recent challenges.
 He played a significant role in opening the continental USA border for honey bee queen imports and facilitating access to bee packages and queens over the years from Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Chile.  He was instrumental in acquiring full registration of CheckMite for Varroa control. In 2007, with the surge of high winter losses of honey bees he worked with industry in persuading the Pest Management Regulatory Agency to register Apivar, a French miticide known to be effective against Varroa mites.  This work unquestionably helped the Alberta industry to improve honey bee health across Canada generally. 
 For the past seven years, Dr. Nasr has been conducting research to develop Pest Management and Pest Surveillance Programs to control honey bee pests. He partnered with industry members to develop a novel machine to safely and effectively apply pesticides in bee colonies.  He continues to work tirelessly to develop and implement new techniques for monitoring and controlling pests to restore honey bee health. In doing so, he gives a significant number of presentations every year, publishes a monthly article in the Alberta Bee News, the industry newsletter, and teaches apiculture courses and workshops.  He also assists beekeepers through telephone responses and one-on-one visits.

NEWSNOTES - JANUARY 2010

Bigger Not Necessarily Better, When It Comes To Brains

Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London

"Animals with bigger brains are not necessarily more intelligent," according to Lars Chittka, professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary's Research Centre for Psychology and University of Cambridge colleague, Jeremy Niven. This begs the important question: what are they for?
Research repeatedly shows how insects are capable of some intelligent behaviors scientists previously thought was unique to larger animals. Honey bees, for example, can count, categorize similar objects like dogs or human faces, understand 'same' and 'different', and differentiate between shapes that are symmetrical and asymmetrical.
"We know that body size is the single best way to predict an animal's brain size," explains Chittka, writing in the journal Current Biology, today. "However, contrary to popular belief, we can't say that brain size predicts their capacity for intelligent behavior."
Differences in brain size between animals is extreme: a whale's brain can weigh up to 9 kg (with over 200 billion nerve cells), and human brains vary between 1.25 kg and 1.45 kg (with an estimated 85 billion nerve cells). A honey bee's brain weighs only 1 milligram and contains fewer than a million nerve cells.
While some increases in brain size do affect an animal's capability for intelligent behavior, many size differences only exist in a specific brain region. This is often seen in animals with highly developed senses (like sight or hearing) or an ability to make very precise movements. The size increase allows the brain to function in greater detail, finer resolution, higher sensitivity or greater precision: in other words, more of the same.
Research suggests that bigger animals may need bigger brains simply because there is more to control - for example they need to move bigger muscles and therefore need more and bigger nerves to move them.
Chittka says: "In bigger brains we often don't find more complexity, just an endless repetition of the same neural circuits over and over. This might add detail to remembered images or sounds, but not add any degree of complexity. To use a computer analogy, bigger brains might in many cases be bigger hard drives, not necessarily better processors."
This must mean that much 'advanced' thinking can actually be done with very limited neuron numbers. Computer modelling shows that even consciousness can be generated with very small neural circuits, which could in theory easily fit into an insect brain.
In fact, the models suggest that counting could be achieved with only a few hundred nerve cells and only a few thousand could be enough to generate consciousness. Engineers hope that this kind of research will lead to smarter computing with the ability to recognize human facial expressions and emotions.

STOPS THE STING - Takes a Bite Out of Pain

by Beth Underwood
The pain was enough to bring a 250-pound man to his knees, screaming like a little girl. The culprit? Fire Ants. The victim? Mike Fultz, owner and developer of Stops the Sting. For several years, Mike and his wife Margaret have distributed Stops the Sting across the country, where it has been used successfully to stop the pain from bee and wasp stings.
Over the past year, though, Mike and his wife Margaret had received numerous testimonials from users who claimed remarkable success with the product after being bitten by fire ants.
"Until this year, we didn't know how bad fire ants were - or how well our product works," Mike said.
Not only was the product neutralizing the venom, it was also alleviating the blisters that typically surfaced as a result of the bites.
It wasn't that Fultz didn't believe the product would work - only that he wanted to see it for himself.
So with the help of a few witnesses, he stuck his hand into the fire ant mound while a video camera taped the footage.
"The pain was so bad, there were a few moments of anxiety as we walked back to the truck to get the product," Mike said. "But once I applied Stops the Sting, the pain was gone - no swelling or blisters."
For some people, though, trying something once isn't enough.
"I believe in the product to the point I've put my hand in a fire ant mound three times, just to be sure."
Each time the results were the same. Fultz even experimented with application as well, discovering that the quicker the ointment is applied, the better the results. The third time he was bitten, he left two bites untreated for about 30 minutes. Small blisters appeared at those sites. But the bites treated immediately - within 5-10 minutes - did not swell or blister.
"There's a huge need out there for something that really works," Margaret said. "We'd tried everything on the market, and nothing worked."
The development of Stops the Sting formula began in 2005. The Fultz's hired a lab in St. Louis, along with several chemical companies to assist in achieving the proper formulation, and then received FDA approval. Today, Stops the Sting is mixed and packaged for them at Memphis Contract Packaging.
"It's odd that adults who normally wouldn't do so are pouring bleach on their bodies to get rid of the pain," Margaret said. "Or they'll suffer through and go on."
"My dad always said, ‘If you're gonna be stupid, you better be tough,'" Mike added.
Maybe that's easy to say when it comes to adults, but there are other members of the population who shouldn't be left with that option - especially when Stops the Sting is available, they said.
"People don't think about the children," Margaret said. "It's our responsibility to make sure the kids don't suffer - not only children, but the elderly, too."
Knowing the effectiveness of their product, the Fultz's also want to make clear that anyone who is allergic to bee stings should not replace their current treatment.
"We don't make a life-saving claim. And we do not recommend getting rid of the EPI pens," Mike said. "Use that first. Follow your regular routine, and then apply this to stop the pain."
Oftentimes, the reduction of pain can help with the overall treatment. Intense levels of pain can also produce anxiety and panic - especially in children.
"This helps calm them because it takes away the pain," they said.
While some products simply numb the pain, Stops the Sting is proven to neutralize venom. In addition to its effectiveness on bee and wasp stings and fire ant bites, the product also works on poison ivy, minor burns, and even jelly fish stings.
"We're very proud of what we're doing," Mike said. "Of course, we want to make money, but what we're trying to do is give people a solution. If we're helping people, that's what matters."
Stops the Sting is available from Dadant & Sons, Inc (www.dadant.com). It is also available at the website: www.stopsthesting.com, or by calling (931) 403-2464.
Video footage of Mike's fire ant attack is available on YouTube.com

The World's First Art Gallery Devoted To Bees

Bees In Art: The world's first art gallery devoted to Beekeeping, Honeybees and Bumblebees depicted in art.
East Yorkshire, UK - Internet based 'Bees in Art' Gallery exhibits artwork by leading artists whose fascination with beekeeping, bees and other Hymenoptera has inspired them.
Bees in Art is curated by Royal College of Art graduates Andrew Tyzack and Debbie Grice.
We exhibit and sell important artworks by contemporary artists: Robert Gillmor and David Koster as well as works by past masters: Graham Sutherland. They deal with all art forms. The gallery is based online and has generated much interest globally. Beekeeping and Bees are an immensely important part of our ecosystem. For the first time, their fantastic life cycle is celebrated through art.
Andrew, 'Bees in Art' founder, is a graduate of the Royal College of Art and a third generation beekeeper. He keeps several beehives in the East Riding of Yorkshire, UK. His earliest memory of beekeeping was helping his grandfather capture a wild colony of bees, established in the wall of a wooden hut: "in the smoky gloom Grandad gently took away the inner wall and there were the bees populating beeswax combs.
Debbie Grice, co-founder, is an award winning artist and graduate of the Royal College of Art. Married to Andrew Tyzack, she is the ‘beekeeper's wife', jarring honey and creating the beautiful labels for the jars. Winner of the Folio Society Illustration Award 1998, Debbie produces evocative mezzotint engravings of apiaries. 'The Land Gallery' is Bees in Art's sister gallery and specializes in wildlife art with a special dedication to studying wildlife in the field. The Land Gallery has been featured in BBC TV, BBC Radio, Country Living Magazine, Yorkshire Post and numerous local society publications and newspapers. (www.beesinart.com)

Beekeeping In Indiana

by Steve Doty
Beekeeping in Indiana, 42 pages, 8 ½" x 11", takes its reader through the calendar year, including the basics of getting started with bees, ending up with "tucking down" bees for winter. In between, a full range of topics including races of bees, keeping bees healthy, and removing surplus honey from the hive are addressed.
Using colorful photos to illustrate beekeeping practices, author Doty has written text in simple, easy to follow terms so that beekeepers at all levels of experience and competence can find useful. Well balanced terminology will not intimidate the beginning beekeeper while informing the experienced.
A most interesting diagram is shown on page 12 where an analysis of the Honey Bee Worker's Life History is depicted from the egg stage sequenced through steps including her duties of cell cleaning, feeding larvae, comb building, guard duties and collection of water, nectar, pollen, and/or propolis.
Sticking exclusively to the craft, Beekeeping in Indiana leaves to other writers subjects such as marketing of honey and creating various hive products such as honey soaps, etc.
Steve Doty, a Purdue University graduate, resides in Fortville, Madison County, Indiana. A long-time hobby beekeeper, he is organizer/director of the Indiana Bee School, attended by over 500 in 2009, and past president of the 800-member Indiana Beekeepers Association
This publication is a practical gift for beekeepers at all levels, in Indiana, the Midwest and beyond, and makes good reading for anyone keeping honey bees in 2010.
For your copy of Beekeeping in Indiana contact the Indiana Beekeepers Association (a not-for-profit organization), Attention: Flo Schneider, Treasurer, 4760 Lanesville Road, Georgetown, Indiana 47122, email kenny@epowerc.net. Telephone 812-951-3737. (Dave Laney)

Dave Laney, a long-time hobby/sideline beekeeper, is chairman of the Laney Honey Company of North Liberty, Indiana, and co-founder of Indiana Beekeepers Association.

Tourneret Photo Book Available

French bee photographer Eric Tourneret's stunning new book of photographs of beekeeping around the world, "Cueilleurs de miel" ("Honey Hunters") is now available from Canadian Amazon (Amazon.ca). Photos from a five part series in the American Bee Journal offered a sample of this rich collection by a photo-journalist who spent five years traveling the globe, often under perilous conditions, to gather them. Although the text is in French, the photos tell their stories with rare vividness.

Indiana Royalty

Kelsey D. Salmon (right) and Lacy Dooley are the 2010 Indiana Honey Queen and Princess. They took reign Oct. 24, 2009. Kelsey, from Evansville, IN, has 3 hives and has been keeping bees for about 5 years. Her grandfather taught her as one of her many 4-H projects. Lacy, from Rockville, IN also began keeping bees on her family's farm as a 4-H project. These girls are excited to be teaching children of all ages about the importance of honey bees and serving the Indiana State Beekeeper's Association!

December 2009 Newsnotes

HONEY STANDARD OF IDENTITY BILL SIGNED IN CALIFORNIA

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed AB 1216 which establishes a modernized standard of identity for honey in California. This updated standard is modeled after the international Codex honey standard and is intended to assure that only pure honey is sold to consumers. A complete copy of the chaptered bill can be accessed on the Official California Legislative Information website.

 In 2006, the major US honey and beekeeping groups filed a petition with the US Food and Drug Administration asking that a similar standard of identity be adopted nationwide. The FDA has yet to adopt such a standard, but since Florida and now California have adopted new standards of identity for honey this year, it is hoped that other states and the FDA will follow their lead.

AB 1216 was sponsored by the California State Beekeepers Association and was introduced in the Legislature by Assembly Member Noreen Evans. Special thanks to all who contacted the Legislature and/or the Governor's office in support of this bill.

AFRICANIZED BEES MAY INCREASE FOOD SUPPLIES FOR NATIVE BEES
A long-term, before and after study of Africanized bee invasion of Mexico's Yucatan shows that 'killer bees' may actually increase food resources for native bees Aggressive African bees were accidentally released in Brazil in 1957. As "killer bees" spread northward, David Roubik, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, began a 17-year study that revealed that Africanized bees caused less damage to native bees than changes in the weather and may have increased the availability of their food plants.

Scientists feared that dangerous swarms of Africanized bees would compete with native bees. Roubik took on the daunting task of sorting out the role of invading pollinators in tropical forests. In 1988, he set up bee traps in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve-a vast area of mature tropical rainforest in Quintana Roo state on the Mexican Yucatan-with Rogel Villanueva-Gutiérrez, professor at the Colegio de la Frontera del Sur in Mexico. Africanized bees arrived in 1989.

"Our long view of the invasion shows that bees maintain higher-order evolutionary relationships with plants despite ups and downs in bee species within families," said Roubik. "Evolutionary relationships between bees and flowers, along with their flowering schedules, may be the fundamental currency that maintains this community."

Pollen from each plant species has a unique shape. Researchers compared pollen on bees in traps to pollen from flowers in the forest to determine which plants the bees were visiting.

Over the next 17 years, a severe drought and three hurricanes devastated native bees, but their populations rebounded each time. Africanized bees took over pollination of two plant families that had been important food sources for native bees: the cashew family and the spurge family. However, Pouteria, one of the plants native bees prefer, became more common. A few rare species of bees disappeared from traps later in the study.

Roubik cautions that native populations in less diverse areas might be less resilient to invasions. "Basically we're seeing 'scramble competition' as bees replace a lost source of pollen with pollen from a related plant species that has a similar flowering peak-in less-biodiverse, unprotected areas, bees would not have the same range of options to turn to."
These results are published in the Biol. J. Linnean Soc.

£1 MILLION AWARD TO ADDRESSS HONEY BEE DECLINE

Scientists at Rothamsted Research and Warwick University have been awarded £1M by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in partnership with Syngenta, to research the decline of honeybees.

UK government figures suggest bee numbers have fallen by 10-15% over the last 2 years; the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) quotes a figure nearer 30% for 2008. Since the declines were first reported a number of factors have been suggested. Most scientists now believe that a complex of interacting factors is the most likely cause.

Lead researcher, Dr Juliet Osborne said: "Bees living on agricultural landscapes have a lot to deal with! They must respond to sudden changes in availability of food - pollen and nectar - whist dealing with a variety of diseases, parasites and other stresses. This project will provide us with a unique insight into how disease and food supply affect the survival of bees in farmed landscapes."

The team will use a combination of field work and computer modelling to look at how the bees' behavior outside the hive, while looking for food, interacts with what is affecting bees in the hive - factors that have historically been studied separately. The ultimate aim of the project is to build a model that will allow us to understand how bees may respond to diseases in a changing farmed landscape.

Dr. Peter Campbell, Syngenta said: "Honeybees are important pollinators for many crops, garden and wild flowers. They are essential both for food security and sustainable agriculture and horticulture. This work will substantially improve our understanding of the many factors affecting honeybee health. A main outcome of the project will be a predictive tool that can help beekeepers, farmers and other landscape managers to improve honeybee health."

Prof. Janet Allen, director of research, BBSRC said: "We are all concerned about the decline in honey bee numbers and the effect this could have on our food supplies. It is highly likely that there is no one cause of the drop in numbers which makes this project absolutely critical."

As funders, the research councils and Syngenta are stepping up to the plate in the fight against declining honeybee populations. In addition to this project, Syngenta have also launched Operation Pollinator, a 5-year €1M programme in seven European countries (and the USA) to boost pollinating insects by providing wildflower strips. And Dr Osborne's project is one of four honey bee-related projects funded by the research councils in recent months, with a total investment of £2.1 million. For example, BBSRC is also funding a project led by Professor Ian Jones at Reading University, who is researching Israel Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), which is associated with colony collapse disorder and exacerbated by varroa mite infection. And the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is funding two projects: Dr William Hughes of the University of Leeds is investigating the effects of genetic diversity on transmission and evolution of infection of honeybees by the fungal parasite, chalkbrood and Professor Mike Boots of the University of Sheffield is looking at the evolution of virulence in viral diseases that infect honeybees via varroa mite.

BBSRC also manages the Insect Pollinators Initiative - a £10M joint funding source under the Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) partnership. This is a joint initiative from BBSRC, Defra, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Wellcome Trust and the Scottish Government. Projects funded under the initiative are due to be announced in July 2010.

Obituary - MILTON CARLYLE KNOEFLER

One of Southern California's Pioneer beekeepers, Milton Carlyle Knoefler of Riverside, CA passed away Monday, April 27, 2009 at the Corona Regional Hospital, at the age of 90. Born in Clyde, TX on April 15, 1919 to parents George and Lois Knoefler, Milton was the 6th of 9 children.

At a young age, Milton discovered a passion for keeping bees, and began his own business. Soon after, on Dec 1st, 1946, Milton married his sweetheart Joyce Booth.  Together, they developed a highly successful honey business, Knoefler and Sons Honey Inc., which became one of the largest beekeeping businesses in Southern California.  Milton diligently worked in the bees for over 60 years.

Milton Knoefler was well known throughout the beekeeping industry. He helped a number of beekeepers make their start, whether as their employer or as their mentor. Milton will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing this extraordinary man. Preceding him in death were sons, Walter and Dennis Knoefler, and his daughter Irene Pollard; also five brothers, Vincent, Wilbert, Ray, Kenneth, Albert G., and one sister, Naola (Ferdinand). He is survived by his loving wife Joyce Knoefler, son David Knoefler, brothers Donald and Harold W. Knoefler, 9 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren.

NEWS FROM IBRA INTERNATIONAL BEE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION

After almost 14 years "in charge" Richard Jones is stepping down as Director of the International Bee Research Association.

He will not disappear altogether, but will concentrate on expanding the magazine Buzz Extra, take on a role as roving ambassador for IBRA and perhaps be the bookshop assistant at various venues.

Above all he hopes to devote more time to rambling the lesser-used paths and indulging his lifelong passion for driving classic cars.

From 1st October Sarah Jones became the Executive Director of IBRA. Sarah joined IBRA in 2005 in a part time and very specific role to produce a digital catalogue of the material in the historical collection with a view to making this material more widely available. She then took care of inventories and oversaw the transfer of the Eva Crane Library to the national Library of Wales. These tasks steeped her in IBRA background and when the Director was hospitalised for period in 2007 she took on other duties including copyediting the Journal of Apicultural Research. Undoubtedly this background helped tremendously with the launch of Journal of ApiProduct and ApiMedical Science at the beginning of this year. The web site development and initiatives with new publications and products for the shop are all her work and so she is well placed to take on the full time and demanding role of Executive Director.

The 1st October also saw Norman Carreck in the role of Scientific Director. Norman has been Senior Editor of the Journal of Apicultural Research since 2007 and will continue in that role with an additional broader scientific brief. A skilled and qualified entomologist who has kept bees since his schooldays Norman's years at Rothamsted Research Institute and now his position at Sussex University make him well qualified for this important part-time role.

Tony Gruba continues in his amazingly multi-tasked role as Finance Manager (the job to which he was actually appointed in 1995), membership and subscription coordinator, as well as technical production wizard behind most of our in-house and web developments.

Jane Jones remains in the role she has made all her own "the IBRA bookshop lady". She has become the face of IBRA, familiar to many in her position behind the IBRA bookstall at conferences and bee gatherings around the world.

For any further information contact any of the above on: Email: mail@ibra.org.uk, Telephone #44 (0)2920 372409, Postal address: 16

North Road, Cardiff, CF10 3DY
Visit IBRA'S Informative Web Sites
www.ibra.org.uk
www.jaas.org.uk
www.librastore.org.uk

NEW PUBLICATIONS FROM IBRA

Anatomy and Dissection of the Honeybee

by H A Dade, published by IBRA, Cardiff as a revised edition 2009. £27.50 plus postage and packing. For 47 years, since it was first published in 1962, this book has been the standard textbook for the dissection of honeybees. It  underwent a gestation period of over ten years but emerged the better for it and has now run to three reprints and this revised edition.
It is a clear and practical guide to both the anatomy and dissection of the honey bee making the subject totally understandable even to those who have not had any formal training in such work. It is divided into three sections: the first part gives a detailed and logical description of the honeybee's anatomy, the second is a guide to dissection of all castes, while the third has 20 illustrated plates making the directions easy to follow.

Laminated Dissection Plates from Dade's Anatomy and dissection of the Honeybee.

 Produced and printed by IBRA, Cardiff 2009. 10 double-sided, (A4) laminated, loose leaves in protective envelope. £6.50 plus postage and packing. IBRA decided to produce these enlarged, wipeable, stand alone laminated sheets to fulfil the needs of the reader who can now have the diagram alongside the pages of the book, or even the microscope.

The latest publications represent the first two books in a series that will look at different aspects of the IBRA Historical Collection. There is an index in each book that gives museum acquisition numbers so that each item can be traced within the collection.

Beekeeper's Protective Clothing IBRA Historical Collection, Part I.

Produced and published by IBRA in Cardiff 2009, 32 pages, soft back, £5.00 plus postage and packing. This book has been compiled from the artifacts in the Collection that have been assembled from all over the world. To complement the individual items additional materials and illustrations have been used, all of which have been sourced from IBRA's unique photographic, journal and book collections. It gives readers an insight into how the beekeeper's clothing has changed over the centuries, and how it varies around the world.

Skeps, Tools And Accessories - IBRA Historical Collection, Part II.

Produced and published by IBRA in Cardiff 2009, 36 pages, soft back, £5.00 plus postage and packing. Skeps and skep making are an incredibly important part of beekeeping history and tradition so this little book is both fascinating and informative. It is intended to give the reader a brief history of skeps, to look at how they were made, used and modified before the wooden hive made them redundant and little more than a collector's toy, an historical curiosity. There is also a brief insight into how the skep has become a symbol not just of beekeeping but also of the hard work and the industriousness exemplified by the bees.
Copies can be obtained by: Visiting: www.ibrastore.org.uk, Telephoning; 02920 372409, Writing: IBRA Bookshop, 16 North Road, Cardiff, CF10 3DY

SAIL ON, HONEYBEE -Adventures in the Bee Yard

46 minute Audio CD Recording
by Doug Elliott
$15, Available at www.dougelliott.com

Amazing and sometimes hilarious things can happen when we are observing bees or working with our hives - but sometimes it's hard to convey that to folks who don't keep bees. Master storyteller, harmonica wizard, singer, and long-time beekeeper, Doug Elliott, has crafted an enchanting collection of beekeeping stories that educate, entertain and enlighten everyone - from novices to seasoned beekeepers alike.

We learn about such things as the workings of the hive and the anatomy of a bee stinger and (perhaps more importantly) what to do if you are high up in a tree and 50,000 bees fall on your head! We hear a classic story of what happened when American Bee Journal columnist Wyatt Mangum followed a bee swarm into a biker bar. We find ourselves zooming off with the honey bee queen on her scintillating and saucy nuptial flight, and we lament the sad fate of those helpless drones (who some say have a cause worth dying for).

Elliott has created a gorgeous tapestry of tales, weaving in learned commentary (from beekeeping pioneer Karl Von Frisch and naturalist/philosopher John Burroughs) with jump up (and get down) cranking music. If we are not rapt at Elliott's feet listening to his stories, we are on our own feet... boogying to the rocking blues and soulful songs about bees that he harvests from greats like Loudon Wainright III and bluesman Muddy Waters. (Did I mention that Elliott can really sing?)

Doug Elliott is one all around Renaissance guy and the world (and honey bees) are better off because of him. Make a beeline and order this CD - it belongs wherever humans gather in the name of great tales, intoxicating music, honey sweetness, and the kind of taproot perspectives on life that we all yearn for.

Debra Roberts

(Roberts is a beekeeper and founder of The Honeybee Project (thehoneybeeproject
.com), a non-profit honeybee education project for children.)

VITA LAUNCHES FREE PHOTO LIBRARY FOR BEE PRESENTERS

Anyone giving talks about bees and beekeeping can now download images for their presentation from the Vita gallery at www.vita-europe.com. Vita (Europe) Ltd, the honeybee health specialist, has developed the free resource because of the increasing demand on beekeepers to give public talks.

Already there are more than 200 images available for download and that number is expected to grow steadily. The Vita Gallery reflects the multifaceted nature of beekeeping - there are historic, scientific, and botanical images as well as pictures relating to beekeeping management and equipment, new and old.

"Beekeepers frequently ask if we can supply pictures for their presentations, so we decided to create this free image library for anyone wanting high quality digital images," explained Jeremy Owen, sales director of Vita (Europe) Ltd. "We have contributed many of our own pictures and are very grateful to Hampshire Beekeepers' Association and Mike Lambert for making many of their pictures available.

"Anyone who would like to contribute to the resource is welcome to contact us at gallery@vita-europe.com ."

The images in the Vita Gallery are mostly high resolution and suitable for download from the Internet by anyone with a broadband connection. They are categorized and searchable by keyword for ease of use. Anyone can view the images and there is a simple, free registration process for those wishing to download and use the pictures. The conditions of use are simple: the Gallery images are free to download and use in presentations, but are not to be published or used for commercial gain. Anyone with specific queries about usage should contact gallery@vita-europe.com.

November 2009 Newsnotes

Beekeepers Included in USDA Disaster Assistance Program

USDA Announces Implementation of Livestock Disaster Assistance Programs  Beginning Today, Producers May Sign Up to Participate in these Programs 

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that producers may begin applying for benefits under the provisions of the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP). These permanent disaster programs, authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, replace previous ad-hoc disaster assistance programs and are funded through the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund.
"President Obama and I are committed to meeting the needs of those producers who have suffered devastating losses from natural disasters," said Vilsack. "These programs ensure that producers who have suffered agriculture losses receive the critical disaster assistance needed to remain financially solvent and help them continue on in their operations."
LFP provides payments to eligible livestock producers who have suffered livestock grazing losses due to qualifying drought or fire. For drought, the losses must have occurred on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover or a crop planted specifically for grazing for covered livestock due to a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the specific type of grazing land in the county. For fire, LFP provides payments to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses on rangeland managed by a federal agency if the eligible livestock producer is prohibited by the federal agency from grazing the normal permitted livestock on the managed rangeland due to a qualifying fire.
Eligible livestock under LFP include beef cattle, alpacas, buffalo, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, poultry, reindeer, sheep and swine. For losses due to drought, qualifying drought ratings are determined using the U.S. Drought Monitor located at www.drought.unl.
edu/dm/monitor.html.
ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have losses due to disease, adverse weather or other conditions, including losses due to blizzards and s. ELAP assistance is for losses not covered under other Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance programs established by the 2008 Farm Bill, specifically LFP, the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE). ELAP is being implemented to fill in the gap and provide assistance under other conditions determined to be appropriate.
For both programs, producers must have suffered losses that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2008, and before Oct. 1, 2011. There is a total $100,000 limitation per crop year that applies to payments received under ELAP, LFP, LIP or SURE. For the 2008 crop year, the $100,000 limitation is per "person" as defined and determined under payment limitation rules in effect for 2008. For crop years 2009 through 2011, the $100,000 limitation applies to payments received, both directly and indirectly, by a person or legal entity. Furthermore, individuals or entities are ineligible for payment under ELAP or LFP for 2008 if their average Adjusted Gross Income for 2005, 2006 and 2007 exceeds $2.5 million. For 2009 through 2011, an average adjusted gross nonfarm income limitation of $500,000 applies and is determined using the three taxable years that precede the most immediately preceding complete taxable year (for 2009, the applicable years are 2005, 2006 and 2007).
For more information or to apply for ELAP or LFP and other USDA Farm Service Agency disaster assistance programs, please visit your FSA county office or http://www.fsa.usda.gov/.

Honey Bees Selected by ARS Toss Out Varroa Mites

Honey bees are now fighting back aggressively against Varroa mites, thanks to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) efforts to develop bees with a genetic trait that allows them to more easily find the mites and toss them out of the broodnest.
The parasitic Varroa mite attacks the honey bee by feeding on its hemolymph, which is the combination of blood and fluid inside a bee. Colonies can be weakened or killed, depending on the severity of the infestation. Most colonies eventually die from varroa infestation if left untreated.
Varroa-sensitive hygiene (VSH) is a genetic trait of the honey bee that allows it to remove mite-infested pupae from the capped brood-developing bees that are sealed inside cells of the comb with a protective layer of wax. The mites are sometimes difficult for the bees to locate, since they attack the bee brood while these developing bees are inside the capped cells.
ARS scientists at the agency's Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Unit in Baton Rouge, La., have developed honey bees with high expression of the VSH trait. Honey bees are naturally hygienic, and they often remove diseased brood from their nests. VSH is a specific form of nest cleaning focused on removing varroa-infested pupae. The VSH honey bees are quite aggressive in their pursuit of the mites. The bees gang up, chew and cut through the cap, lift out the infected brood and their mites, and discard them from the broodnest.
See this activity in the attached video link here: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/br/bees/
index.htm
This hygiene kills the frail mite offspring, which greatly reduces the lifetime reproductive output of the mother mite. The mother mite may survive the ordeal and try to reproduce in brood again, only to undergo similar treatment by the bees.
To test the varroa resistance of VSH bees, the Baton Rouge team conducted field trials using 40 colonies with varying levels of VSH. Mite population growth was significantly lower in VSH and hybrid colonies than in bee colonies without VSH. Hybrid colonies had half the VSH genes normally found in pure VSH bees, but they still retained significant varroa resistance. Simpler ways for bee breeders to measure VSH behavior in colonies were also developed in this study. (Courtesy Alfredo Flores, USDA Agricultural Research Service)

Mite Away Quick Strips Introduced

NOD Apiary Products introduced MAQS^TM - The "Mite Away Quick Strip^TM" to the world on September 16th in Montpellier France at the 41st Congress of Apimondia.
MAQS^TM is the first truly new Varroa treatment in many years. Many beekeepers have been forced by this lack of available and innovative treatments to rely on using chemical treatments that have not only been hurting their bees but contaminating wax and honey.
MAQS^TM moves a giant step forward by allowing beekeepers to not only treat DURING the honey flow BUT to target the Varroa directly were they live and breed. The MAQS^TM is a single application treatment. The treatment period is only seven days, and upon completion the spent strip can either be left in the hive for disposal by the bees or can simply be thrown into the compost. It is 100% compostable.
MAQS^TM has been shown to be exceptionally effective in Varroa under worker brood cap - while they are either being born or mating BUT doing all this without causing any significant damage to the pupating larva.
Trials have been conducted in Canada, Hawaii, Florida, Texas and three sites in Europe.
MAQS^TM is a new formulation of Formic Acid and is "Patent Pending". Each MAQS^TM strip is less than 6mm/ 1/4" thick so that it fits easily into the bee space. Each treatment consists of two strips placed either between brood chambers or on top between brood and honey supers. No additional equipment is required and excellent efficacy has been obtained in temperatures up to 33C/92F.
MAQS^TM will be available in Hawaii in October 2009 then will be available in January/February 2010 for general distribution as registrations are obtained.

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Neonicotinoids Implicated in British Study

Environmental organizations are calling for a UK neonicotinoid pesticide suspension. A comprehensive report released today by buglife reveals that the neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid damages the health and life cycle of bees.
While this is unlikely to explain Colony Collapse Disorder in the Honey bee, it could be a key contributory factor and may well be part of the cause for widespread declines in wild bee populations.
The report also exposes that the current process for approving crop pesticides is inadequate for assessing risks to bees and other wildlife.
Link to the full report: http://www.
buglife.org.uk/Resources/Buglife/1%20a%20report.pdf (Courtesy David Ashton, beeman@post.tele.dk)

New Neonicotinoid Threat

A report by Maryann Frazier, senior extension associate at Pennsylvania State University, points to a new study from Italy which suggests honey bees may be ingesting neonicotinoids at levels 1,000 times higher than that in pollen or nectar via water droplets expressed from the leaves of corn grown from the pesticide-coated seed. This  is a common source of liquid for forager bees. The concentrations in the droplets were high enough to kill bees within five minutes of consumption.
Frazier also highlights a study from North Carolina University that found the neonicotinoid Terraguard and the fungicide Procure had synergistic affects when combined, increasing the danger of the neonicotinoid to honey bees to over 1,000 times its original toxicity.
The researchers at Penn State are concerned that even sub-lethal doses of these pesticides, while not killing the bees, are impairing their behavior and suppressing their immune systems.
Their use has increased dramatically over the past few years and they are now the most widely used group of insecticides in the United States,? writes Frazier. (Courtesy David Ashton)

How Manuka Honey Helps Fight Infection

Manuka honey may kill bacteria by destroying key bacterial proteins. Dr Rowena Jenkins and colleagues from the University of Wales Institute - Cardiff investigated the mechanisms of manuka honey action and found that its anti-bacterial properties were not due solely to the sugars present in the honey. The work was presented this week (7-10 September), at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
Meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was grown in the laboratory and treated with and without manuka honey for four hours. The experiment was repeated with sugar syrup to determine if the effects seen were due to sugar content in honey alone. The bacterial cells were then broken and the proteins isolated and separated on a system that displayed each protein as an individual spot. Many fewer proteins were seen from the manuka honey-treated MRSA cells and one particular protein, FabI, seemed to be completely missing. FabI is a protein that is needed for fatty acid biosynthesis. This essential process supplies the bacteria with precursors for important cellular components such as lipopolysaccarides and its cell wall. The absence of these proteins in honey-treated cells could help explain the mode of action of manuka honey in killing MRSA.
"Manuka and other honeys have been known to have wound healing and anti-bacterial properties for some time," said Dr Jenkins, "But the way in which they act is still not known. If we can discover exactly how manuka honey inhibits MRSA, it could be used more frequently as a first-line treatment for infections with bacteria that are resistant to many currently available antibiotics."

New Research Discovers Worker Bees in 'Reproductive Class War' With Queen

Bee colonies are well known for high levels of cooperation, but new research published in Molecular Ecology demonstrates a conflict for reproduction between worker bees and their queens, leading some workers to selfishly exploit the colony for their own needs.
The study focused on Melipona scutellaris a Brazilian species of highly social stingless bees, found throughout the Atlantic rainforest. Colonies contain around 1,500 workers and are headed by one single-mated Queen.
Denise Alves, Dr. Tom Wenseleers, and their co-authors carried out a genetic study of nearly 600 males from 45 colonies to discover the parentage of the worker population. Their results showed that 22.89% of Melipona scutellaris males are sons of the workers rather than the queen, demonstrating an on-going conflict for reproduction.
"Surprisingly our results show that over 80% of the worker's sons had genotypes that were incompatible with them being the sons of the present queen," said Alves. "This demonstrates, for the first time, how workers continue this conflict by reproductively parasitizing the next-generation of the workforce for their own selfish benefit."
Worker bees are generally unable to mate, but are capable of laying unfertilized eggs which can develop into male offspring. To assure dominance over reproduction the queen often selectively eats any worker laid eggs. In some species other workers may eat the eggs of fellow workers in what is known as 'worker policing'.
Even with these barriers there is much to gain for worker bees producing their own offspring, however the benefit is entirely for the individual and can be costly for the colony overall. The team found that workers who reproduce can live as much as three times longer, meaning that reproducing workers have a life expectancy almost matching the queen herself.
This added life expectancy is thought to be because workers who reproduce do not usually carry out risky tasks such as foraging. However as worker bees who are reproducing are not working, an increase in individual workers who reproduce puts the collective production of the colony in jeopardy, hence a queen-worker conflict over the production of males ensues.
To demonstrate this conflict the team studied the genotypes of worker and queen bees from 45 colonies. If a male carried a genotype not present in either the mother queen or her mate, then it was clear the male was either the son of an invading bee or of a worker who superseded the queen.
The team found that of 576 males genotyped, 61 (10.59%) could not be assigned to the queen and were therefore definitely worker's sons. Of these 61, 14 (22.95%) were consistent with being sons of workers of the current queen, while 47 (77.05%) were derived from workers derived from a previous, superseded queen .
The team estimates 77.11% of the males were the queen's sons. 4.34% were the sons of the workers derived from the current queen and 18.54% were the sons of workers derived from a previous, superseded queen.
"These results are the first explicit demonstration that conflict over male parentage in insect societies is not just played out between the queen and workers," concludes Alves, "but shows that the conflict may also spill over from one generation of workers to the other."

All the Buzz at UC Davis: Campus Buzzway

DAVIS-The "Queen Bee Blend" of wildflowers that will be planted this fall on "The Campus Buzzway" on Bee Biology Road, University of California, Davis, is fit for a queen--not to mention her offspring.
Compliments of Häagen-Dazs, the wildflowers will be on a quarter-acre site adjacent to the soon-to-be-implemented Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, near the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. The Campus Buzzway, coordinated by the Department of Entomology and the California Center for Urban Horticulture, will begin blooming in the spring.
The Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden scheduled to open this year (mid-October), is designed to serve as a year-around food source for honey bees, raise public awareness about the plight of honey bees and encourage visitors to plant bee-friendly gardens of their own, said entomologist  Lynn Kimsey, professor and vice chair of the Department of Entomology and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology. "The Campus Buzzway will be a fabulous addition to the honey bee garden already under construction at our Bee Biology facility," Kimsey said. "Both will greatly benefit our colonies and make terrific teaching opportunities."
Dave Fujino, executive director of the California Center for Urban Horticulture,  said the Campus Buzzway will boast year-round blooms and vibrant colors.  "The Buzzway will transform an empty field into something beautiful and functional," he said. "Most importantly, the flower mix will have a positive impact on the health and wellness of our local pollinator populations."
The Queen Bee Blend is an assortment of California poppy, coreopsis (also called tickseed) and wild perennial lupine. Blue and gold are the official UC Davis colors.
The Campus Buzzway was part of a national campaign, "A World Without Bees," that Häagen-Dazs launched on college campuses in April. Students at 12 major colleges, including UC Davis, sampled the premier ice cream and voted on their favorite flower blend. The winner: the Queen Bee Blend.

Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications Specialist
Department of Entomology
396A Briggs Hall, One Shields Ave.
University of California, Davis, CA 95616

USDA Science Lab Creates Buzz With ‘The People's Garden'

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2009 - The Agricultural Marketing Service's National Science Laboratory (NSL) in Gastonia, N.C., has readily accepted Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's challenge to begin the work of creating "The People's Garden" around the world.
To advance Secretary Vilsack's call to build gardens that, in his words, "can be the general public's, government's, or business' contribution to providing healthy food, air, and water for people and communities," the NSL staff recently built a bee garden on the grounds of their testing facility in Gastonia to highlight the importance of improving pollinator populations.
Beekeeping (apiculture) is significant because the survivability of agricultural crops around the globe is greatly dependent on bee pollination. The NSL garden consists of three hives that were purchased from a nearby apiary. The hives are located in an area that provides plenty of space for the bees' flight path. Their placement also lets in plenty of sunlight throughout the day, which is vital in developing and sustaining the growth of bee favorites: plants and flowers.
"When completed, the garden will offer visiting local schools, cooperatives and other organizations a demonstration on how these kinds of gardens can be constructed to enhance healthy pollinator populations," said Robert Epstein, program deputy administrator for AMS's Science and Technology Program.
The NSL staff has been conducting testing on pesticide residues in bee and beekeeping products, such as beeswax and honey, in hopes of finding the root cause for Colony Collapse Disorder. In 2006, an inordinately large number of bees in the United States and abroad inexplicably disappeared. Pesticide residue is one of several theories that scientists are testing.
NSL is a full-service facility providing analytical testing and assisting producers in meeting international regulatory requirements, domestic purchase specifications, and imported product testing requirements. NSL - which supports USDA's commodity program areas with centralized scientific expertise - offers a full range of food and fiber product testing, including nutritional labeling and complete chemical, biomolecular and microbiological analyses.

New Frame Holders Developed

I'm sending you pictures of both frame holders I have designed. The light duty frame is $60.00 and the heavy duty is $92.00, plus shipping and handling. The light duty holds 5 frames and the heavy duty holds 9 frames. The light duty holder weighs 2 lbs. and the heavy duty one weighs 3 lbs.
This is patent pending. My full business name is Holt Arc Welding Enterprise LLC. I am the owner operator and my name is Kelley Fitzpatrick, 5167 Otisco Road, Tully, NY 13159. Phone (315) 677-7772 Email: hotarcwelding200@yahoo.com (Kelly M. Fitzpatrick)

October 2009 Newsnotes

Seattle Defendant Pleads Guilty to Importing
Tainted Chinese Honey

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Aug. 19, 2009-A Chinese citizen accused of illegally importing honey to the United States -- including one shipment tainted with antibiotics -- pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court at Seattle.
Boa Zhong Zhang was accused of rerouting shipments of Chinese honey through the Philippines to avoid importation taxes, a U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman said in a statement. In doing so, Zhang avoided paying about $3.3 million in tariffs.
Federal prosecutors assert that Zhang, a 20-year employee of a Chinese bee products company, conspired with Bellevue honey importer Chung Po Liu to import 21 honey shipments. The honey was first shipped from China to the Philippines or Thailand, where it was re-labeled and sent on to the United States.
In doing so, the Justice Department spokeswoman said, Zhang and Liu avoided 183-percent to 221-percent tariffs placed on honey imports from China. One shipment, which arrived in January 2008, is believed to have been contaminated with ciproflaxin -- an antibiotic sometimes sold under th name Cipro.
"Submission of false customs documentation in order to avoid paying tariffs defrauds not only the U.S. government, but the public who is unaware of the scheme and unwittingly purchases the products," Special Agent-in-Charge Leigh Winchell said in a statement. Winchell heads the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office of investigations in Seattle.
Tainted honey was the subject of a 2008 investigative series by former Seattle Post-Intelligencer senior correspondent Andrew Schneider. The six-part series can be found here.
Arrested May 6, Zhang pleaded to importation charges and to introducing erated food into interstate commerce. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart on Nov. 30. Zhang and Liu were indicted by the grand jury on June 4. Liu is scheduled to go on trial April 5 on related charges.
In a separate, related case, Yong Xiang Yan, the president of the Chinese honey manufacturing company for which Zhang was employed, is facing similar federal charges in a Chicago, Ill. In that case, a the Justice Department spokeswoman claimed, some of the illegally imported honey has been found to be contaminated with three different antibiotics.

Foundation Makes 3 Grants from
L'Oréal Paris Contribution

Using a $50,000 contribution received from L'Oréal Paris, the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees has made three awards to fund research in the area of colony health and nutrition.
The awards are helping fund research projects at Penn State University, University of Maryland, and University of California at Davis.
"L'Oréal Paris is grateful for the opportunity to work together with the Foundation in this endeavor," said Seemar Talwar, director of strategic philanthropy for L'Oréal Paris. "Through our development of the L'Oréal Paris Vive Pro Hydra Gloss shampoo and conditioner, containing royal jelly, we have come to learn much about the honey bee, its vital role in our world, and the unfortunate decline of bees and beekeepers nationwide."
"The issues affecting honey bee and colony health cannot be solved with one masterful stroke," said George Hansen, Foundation chairperson. "We need ongoing, varied research to help us uncover the mystery behind the plight of our honey bees. We are grateful to organizations like L'Oréal Paris for donating the resources that will allow us to fund continuing research efforts."
"The Foundation Trustees," he continued, "are confident that these three research projects will uncover useful information that will help beekeepers provide vigorous, healthy colonies to pollinate farmers' crops."
Each of the grants was for $16,000. The teams of investigators and their research projects are:

• Dr. James Tumlinson and Ms. Tracy Conklin, Center for Chemical Ecology, Department of Entomology, Penn State University - "Factors Affecting Small Hive Beetle Aggregation in Honey Bee Hives." Small Hive Beetle is a pest introduced into the United States in the past decade. Scientists are still in the stage of acquiring basic knowledge on how to deal with them. They can be quite devastating to bee colonies. At their worst, SHB are destructive enough that the actual beehives must be replaced.
• Ms. Susan Cobey and Drs. John Pollard, Claire Plante, and Michelle Flenniken, University of California at Davis -"Development of Protocols for the Safe International Exchange of Honey Bee Eggs, Utilizing Pathogen Detection, And Pathogen Elimination Technologies." Genetic diversity enhances honey bee colony fitness and survival and lessens the impact of pests and diseases. The U.S. honey bee population was initially founded upon a limited gene pool, and importations have been severely restricted for the past century. This research could lead to expanded importation of honey bee stock and increased diversity.
• Dr. Galen Dively and Ms. Josephine Johnson, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, and Dr. Jeff Pettis, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, Md. - "Assessment of Sublethal Effects of Imidacloprid on Honey Bee and Colony Health." Imidacloprid is an insecticide that has a different mode of action from traditional insecticides. Rather than the insects outright, this new class of insecticides (called neonicotinoids) disrupts the activities of the insects - including the non-target honey bees - causing them to be unable to function normally, including causing disorientation and associative learning problems.

For more information on the Foundation, contact Troy Fore, executive director, P.O. Box 1445, Jesup, GA 31598, ph. 912-427-4018, mailto:troyfore@honeybeepreservation.org.

Foundation Offering Grad Student Scholarships Again

The Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees is again offering scholarships of $2000 each to five graduate students in apiculture. This is the Foundation's fifth year to award such scholarships.
The Foundation is a charitable research and education foundation affiliated with the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF). The Foundation has benefited from a generous gift from the Glenn and Gertude Overturf estate, and it is sustained by ongoing gifts from ABF members and other supportive individuals.
The Foundation Trustees have chosen to use a portion of the grant to offer graduate student scholarships to foster professional development for young apicultural scientists. The purpose of the scholarships is to allow the recipients to attend the 2010 North American Beekeeping Conference, a joint meeting of the American Beekeeping Federation, the Canadian Honey Council, the Apiary Inspectors of America, the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists, and the American Association of Professional Apiculturists, which will be held in Orlando, Jan. 12-16. The recipients will have an opportunity to meet other researchers and beekeepers and to present their research at the meeting. The Board of Trustees looks forward to their contributions to the conference. The scholarships are available to all graduate students. Graduate students at universities outside the U.S. are invited to apply.
Applications for the scholarships will be accepted until October 30, 2009. Applicants should submit to the Board for consideration:
1. A cover letter from their advisor outlining the student's progress toward their graduate degree, tentative graduation date, and any other information about the student and their research that would help the committee "get to know" the student.
2. A curriculum vitae, or resume, not to exceed 2 pages.
3. A research proposal (not to exceed 3 pages). This proposal should outline the specific research experiments the student is conducting for their degree. The proposal should clearly state how the research will benefit bees and/or beekeeping. The proposal can describe research that the student is planning to perform, or the progress the student already has made toward that research. The proposal should begin with an introduction to the research problem, and should follow with clear goals and objectives that state the research questions and hypotheses. The student should then discuss the methods that will be used to answer their research questions, and the expected results or results to date.
Recipients will be selected in November of 2009.
Applications should be submitted electronically to:
Troy H. Fore Jr., Executive Director
Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees
Email: troyfore@honeybeepreservation.org

If you have questions or need more information about the scholarship program, contact:
Marla Spivak
Scholarship Program Coordinator
Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees
mailto:spiva001@umn.edu

Indiana Beekeepers' Association, Inc.
"To Promote Better Beekeeping Throughout Indiana"
The IBA Young Beekeepers Program
. . .Celebrating 10 Years!

 by Dave Laney

 The original Indiana Beekeepers Association Board of Directors, fully aware that no state-wide program then existed for young beekeepers, unanimously voted to start one when it held its first meeting in West Lafayette in the fall of 1998.
 Thus, a gender-blind program to stimulate interest and reward achievement in the field of beekeeping was launched. Jerry Brelage of Batesville, then vice-president of IBA, accepted the charge to design a Young Beekeepers Award Program.
 In his words, the program he was to design would, "recognize young people who are involved in beekeeping and to encourage them to continue." Further he noted that, "the long range goal is to have successful people later in life continue to be involved and be supporters of beekeeping no matter what their career." At an early awards program Brelage said, "we would hope that because of our encouragement they would become another Dr. Greg Hunt, Roy Ballard, politician or government employee."
 When it was recently noted to Brelage that his original program design has stood the test of time, with few exceptions, he modestly noted, "Yes, it looks that way."
 Along the way, Brelage picked judges whose support would add creditbility to the program. The judges included Dr. Hunt of Purdue Entomology, Ballard of Purdue Extension, and Karen Lackey of Indiana Farm Bureau, all of whom gave generously of their time in evaluating the candidates.
 Initially operating on a financial shoe-string, awards were limited. But with the generosity of a rapidly growing IBA membership, proceeds from the Indiana Bee School, and other donations, the top award has grown to a current $2,000 Savings Bond, plus lesser awards to runners-up. All candidates each year are awarded a one-year membership in IBA.
 "I think the Young Beekeeper's contest is a fantastic program," said Lisa Yowell, who currently coordinates the project. "It recognizes our young beekeepers and rewards their efforts. The prizes are generous, and a good start on a car or funds for college. For so little effort and so much reward, everyone who is elegible should enter."

2009 Indiana Honey Queen and Princess Represent
Indiana State Beekeepers Association

The 2009 Indiana Honey Queen, Lisa Schluttenhofer, and Honey Princess, Kelsey Salmon, recently participated in the Heartland Apiculture Society Conference in Oberlein, Ohio where they strated cooking with honey with American Honey Queen Diane Jurchen, attended workshops, and inspected hives in the apiary. While representing the Indiana State Beekeepers Association, Lisa and Kelsey have presented to over 3500 people in their time as queen and princess, from elementary schools to government officials.
Lisa Schluttenhofer is a sophomore at Purdue University where she is majoring in Natural Resources and Environmental Science. She was involved in the National FFA Organization and was a ten year 4-H member. Lisa has been keeping bees for seven years and enjoys hiking, being outdoors, cooking, speaking Spanish, and volunteering.
Kelsey Salmon is a sophomore at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis where she is studying Political Science. She also was a ten year 4-H member. Kelsey likes to play string bass and banjo, craft items, fish, make flower arrangements, sew, and bake.
Lisa and Kelsey are enjoying their year educating the public about honey, beekeeping, and the value of honey bees in pollination. The 2010 Indiana Honey Queen and Princess will be crowned at the Indiana State Beekeepers Assocation State Convention in October.

Pathogen Loads Higher in Bee Colonies Suffering From Colony Collapse Disorder

A higher total load of pathogens-viruses, bacteria and fungi-appears to have the strongest link with Colony Collapse Disorder found so far, according to a new study published by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university scientists.
The study was headed by Pennsylvania State University entomologist Dennis vanEngelsdorp and entomologist Jeff Pettis, geneticist Jay Evans and virologist Yanping Chen with the ARS Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. They looked at more than 200 individual variables in 91 colonies from 13 apiaries in Florida and California, where many beekeepers overwinter their honey bees. Among the factors for which the researchers screened were bacteria, mites, Nosema (protozoan parasites), numerous viruses, nutrition status and 171 pesticides. bees, wax comb, beebread (stored and processed pollen), and brood were all sampled.
No single variable was found consistently in only those honey bee colonies that had Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)-a syndrome characterized by the sudden disappearance of honey bees in a colony-that has been devastating some beekeepers in the United States and other countries.
Among the colonies that had CCD, no single pathogen among those screened had a higher prevalence. Nor was there a higher or lower prevalence of varroa mites, tracheal mites or spores from Nosema species, nor a higher total load of these parasites and pathogens. Nosema has been implicated in colony die-offs in Spain, but it has not been closely associated with CCD in the United States.
But overall, CCD colonies were co-infected with a greater number of pathogens-bacteria, microparasites like Nosema, and viruses. Overall, 55 percent of CCD colonies were infected with three or more viruses, compared to 28 percent of non-CCD colonies. The researchers also found detectable levels of residues from 50 different pesticides in all of the sampled colonies. There was no association between increased pesticide levels and CCD.
In fact, the pyrethroid insecticide Esfenvalerate, used for a wide variety of pests such as moths, flies, beetles and other insects on vegetable, fruit and nut crops, was more prevalent in the wax in non-CCD colonies. This insecticide was found in 32 percent of non-CCD colonies, compared with 5 percent of the CCD colonies.
Coumaphos, which is used to treat varroa mites in honey bees, was also found in higher levels in non-CCD colonies.
As for pathogen levels, what the study cannot show is whether the higher pathogen load was involved in the cause of CCD or was a result of CCD, according to vanEngelsdorp. Higher pathogen loads are likely to have caused CCD symptoms, but what causes the bees to become infected with so many pathogens is still not known, he added.
While the study's results don't indicate a specific cause of CCD, the results do help scientists narrow the direction of future CCD research by showing that some possible causes are less likely, added Pettis.

Genomic Study Yields Plausible Cause
of Colony Collapse Disorder

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers report this week that they have found a surprising but reliable marker of colony collapse disorder, a baffling malady that in 2007-2008 killed off more than a third of commercial honey bees in the U.S.
Their study, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to identify a single, objective molecular marker of the disorder, and to propose a data-driven hypothesis to explain the mysterious disappearance of American honey bees. The team included researchers from the University of Illinois and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
U. of I. researchers spearheaded the honey bee genome project, which was completed in October 2006, less than a month before the first reports of colony collapse disorder (CCD) began to circulate. The new study made use of the genome and a genome-based tool, the microarray, to look for differences in gene expression in the guts of healthy honey bees and in those from hives afflicted by CCD.
Such microarray analyses normally identify only active genes - those that have been transcribed into messenger RNA in the first stage of building proteins. But Reed Johnson, a University of Illinois doctoral student in entomology and first author on the study, noticed that the microarrays were turning up large quantities of fragmented ribosomal RNA (rRNA) in the bees affected by CCD. Ribosomes are the factories in which proteins are made, but Johnson observed that this rRNA contained adenosine-rich sequences not seen in normal ribosomes. Such "polyadenylation" is believed to be a sign of ribosome degradation.
"Microarrays for other organisms also contain these mysterious pieces of ribosomal RNA, for reasons that are not yet altogether clear," said entomology and neuroscience professor Gene Robinson, a co-principal investigator on the study with entomology professor and department head May Berenbaum. But comparisons of healthy bees and bees from hives afflicted with CCD showed that the fragments were present at a much higher frequency in the CCD bees, he said.
"They are overrepresented in the CCD bees, significantly overrepresented," Berenbaum said. "The one consistent indicator of CCD across samples collected at multiple times and in multiple places was the overabundance of ribosomal fragments."
When the team looked at the pathogens of healthy bees and bees from hives affected by CCD, they saw that the CCD bees suffered "more than their share" of infections with viruses that attack the ribosome, Berenbaum said. These so-called picorna-like viruses "hijack the ribosome," she said, taking over the cellular machinery to manufacture only viral proteins. The list of picorna-like viruses that afflict honey bees is long and includes Israeli acute paralysis virus, which was once suspected of being the primary cause of CCD.
Numerous suspects have been identified in the hunt for a cause of CCD, from nutritional deficiencies to exposure to genetically modified plants or pesticides. Researchers in Spain recently pointed to a parasitic fungus, Nosema ceranae, which afflicts many CCD bees in Spain.
The loss of ribosomal function would explain many of the phenomena associated with CCD, Berenbaum said.
"If your ribosome is compromised, then you can't respond to pesticides, you can't respond to fungal infections or bacteria or inadequate nutrition because the ribosome is central to the survival of any organism. You need proteins to survive," she said.
The varroa mite, which is believed to have killed off a significant number of honey bees after it was ally introduced to the U.S. in 1986, is a carrier of picorna-like viruses, and is likely a significant contributor to the high viral pathogen load that afflicts U.S. bees. The mite may act as a tipping factor leading to ribosome breakdown, the researchers said.
All of these influences, along with the practice of carting bees around the country for pollination services, are significant stressors on the bees, a heavy burden that would be amplified by a loss of ribosomal function, Robinson said. This study was supported by the USDA. Berenbaum is also an affiliate of the Institute for Genomic Biology at Illinois. Robinson directs the Neuroscience Program at Illinois and is a faculty member of IGB.

Heat Forms Potentially Harmful Substance
in High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Researchers have established the conditions that foster formation of potentially dangerous levels of a toxic substance in the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) often fed to honey bees. Their study, which appears in the current issue of ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, could also help keep the substance out of soft drinks and dozens of other human foods that contain HFCS. The substance, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), forms mainly from heating fructose.
In the new study, Blaise LeBlanc and Gillian Eggleston and colleagues note HFCS's ubiquitous usage as a sweetener in beverages and processed foods. Some commercial beekeepers also feed it to bees to increase reproduction and honey production. When exposed to warm temperatures, HFCS can form HMF and kill honey bees. Some researchers believe that HMF may be a factor in Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious disease that has killed at least one-third of the honey bee population in the United States.
The scientists measured levels of HMF in HFCS products from different manufacturers over a period of 35 days at different temperatures. As temperatures rose, levels of HMF increased steadily. Levels jumped dramatically at about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. "The data are important for commercial beekeepers, for manufacturers of HFCS, and for purposes of food storage. Because HFCS is incorporated as a sweetener in many processed foods, the data from this study are important for human health as well," the report states. It adds that studies have linked HMF to DNA damage in humans. In addition, HMF breaks down in the body to other substances potentially more harmful than HMF.

Honey-Bee Aggression Study Suggests
Nurture Alters Nature

 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new study reveals that changes in gene expression in the brain of the honey bee in response to an immediate threat have much in common with more long-term and even evolutionary differences in honey-bee aggression. The findings lend support to the idea that nurture (an organism's environment) may ultimately influence nature (its genetic inheritance).
The study, appearing this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used microarray analysis to measure changes in gene expression in the brains of European honey bees and the much more aggressive Africanized honey bees. Microarrays offer a snapshot of the thousands of genes that are activated at a given point in time. By comparing microarrays of bees in different environmental and social conditions, the researchers were able to look for patterns of gene expression that coincided with aggression.
Honey bees respond aggressively only if their hive is disturbed. But when disturbed they mount a vigorous defense - the all too familiar bee sting. The researchers observed that changes that occur in the brain of a European honey bee after it is exposed to alarm pheromone (a chemical signal that the hive is in danger) look a lot like the more gradual changes that occur over the bee's lifetime. (Old bees are more aggressive than young bees.)
Even more striking was the finding of a very similar pattern of brain gene expression in Africanized honey bees. In terms of brain gene expression, Africanized bees "look" like they were just exposed to a whiff of alarm pheromone, even though they weren't.
"Microarray analysis is revealing large-scale gene expression patterns that are giving us new insights into the relationships between genes and social behavior," said Gene Robinson, a professor of neuroscience and of entomology at the University of Illinois, who led the study. "Some of the same genes associated with aggression that vary due to heredity also vary due to environment. This shows how nature and nurture both act on the genome, which provides an alternative to the old 'nature versus nurture' dichotomy."
The new findings may begin to explain how the evolutionary diversity of behavioral traits is achieved, he said. "We suggest that the molecular processes underlying environmental effects on aggression - that is, responsiveness to alarm pheromone - could have evolved into molecular processes underlying inherited differences in aggression exhibited by Africanized honey bees and European honey bees - nurture begets nature," the authors wrote.
The study was made possible by a National Science Foundation Frontiers in Biological Research grant, led by University of Illinois medical information science professor and department head Bruce Schatz, who is also an affiliate of the Institute for Genomic Biology.
"The study is one of the most exciting to emerge yet from 'BeeSpace,' an NSF-sponsored project which is the first of its kind to use genomics and new bioinformatics on a massive scale to understand how nature and nurture influence behavior," Schatz said.

Fossil Shows First All-American Honey Bee

North America Once Had Its Own Apis Species
Instead of Today's Imports

By Susan Milius
Science News, http://www.sciencenews.org/

North America did too have a native honey bee.
A roughly 14-million-year-old fossil unearthed in Nevada preserves what's clearly a member of the honey bee, or Apis, genus, says Michael Engel of the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
The Americas have plenty of other kinds of bees, but all previously known honey bees come from Asia and Europe. Even the Apis mellifera honey bee that has pollinated crops and made honey across the Americas for several centuries arrived with European colonists some 400 years ago.
"This rewrites the history of honey bee evolution," Engel says, turning over the long-held view of Europe and Asia as the native land of all honey bees.
The newly discovered bee, found squashed and preserved in shale, no longer exists as a living species, Engel says. To a specialist's eye, it looks closest to another extinct honey bee, A. armbrusteri, known from Germany.
Engel and his colleagues christen the new North American honey bee Apis nearctica in the current, May 7, issue of Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences.
"It is indeed a big find," says David Grimaldi of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. "Completely unexpected," he says, considering all of the Eurasian fossils.
Grimaldi now compares the bees with horses. North America once had its own species, but the horses disappeared and Europeans eventually introduced theirs.
Engel says he wasn't expecting to rewrite the continent's history when he first heard the California Academy's Wojciech Pulawski describe some unidentified fossils from west-central Nevada. But when Engel first saw a photo of what Pulawski had led him to believe was an unpromising mess, he says, "I did a double take." Engel spotted a definitive pattern in a wing that just buzzes honey bee. At the top of the wing, a vein thickens toward the middle, and veins below trace three characteristic shapes, including a (sort of) horse's head and a falling-sideways blob.
The bee had come apart, but Engel revels in the honey bee traits he can see. "This thing had hairy eyes," he says. Barbs on the stinger show up too. This bee probably had to leave its stinger behind at the cost of a rip in its body, just as today's honey bees do.
Apis nearctica's honey bee ancestors may have made their way over a land bridge from Asia to traverse this great distance, Engel postulates as he reimagines the old view of honey bees. "I got to overturn some of my own stuff," he says

Susan Cobey Receives Coveted Award From Western Apicultural Society for Outstanding Service to Beekeepers

Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, has won the 2009 "Outstanding Service to Beekeeping" award from the Western Apicultural Society (WAS).
Cobey received a plaque at the organization's 31st annual conference, held recently in Healdsburg. Known world-wide for her expertise in instrumental insemination and stock improvement, she trained under Harry Laidlaw (1907-2003) of UC Davis, considered "the father of honey bee genetics."
WAS president and Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty, presented her the award, extolling her expertise, dedication and passion.
"It's a special honor to receive this award, especially since my return to California," said Cobey, who participated in the first WAS conferences. Cobey joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology in May 2007, after a career spanning 17 years as staff apiarist at the Rothenbuhler Honey Bee Laboratory, Ohio State University. Cobey developed the New World Carnolians stock, a dark race of honey bees, in the early 1980s by back-crossing collected from throughout the United States and Canada to create a more pure strain. A current focus of her research includes selecting and enhancing this stock to show increasing levels of resistance to pests and diseases.
Of her research, she says: "Over time, it has proven very productive, winter hardy, well-tempered and more resistant to pests and disease. Genetic diversity, the raw tools for selection, is critical in maintaining colony fitness and resisting pests and diseases." She is enhancing the stock, now in its 27th generation, with importation of semen from the German Carnica Association. Cobey teaches advanced beekeeping courses on queen bee rearing and queen bee insemination, drawing students from throughout the world.
WAS member and author M.E.A. "Mea" McNeil of San Anselmo nominated Cobey for the award. "In interviewing beekeepers across the country for an American Bee Journal article on the possibilities of breeding local stock, I found that many seeds planted by Sue Cobey had sprouted and flourished," McNeil said. "For example, the successful Sustainable Honeybee Program in Northern Virginia attributes its existence to encouragement from Cobey." Dan Purvis of Purvis Brothers Apiaries, Leoma, Tenn., credits Cobey's drone management program "as a valuable part of his protocol, which has now maintained untreated stock for over a decade," McNeil said.
McNeil also noted that Cobey's "obligations to UC Davis more than fill her time, but she created a special class for a group of Marin County beekeepers on ‘Survivor Stock Queen Rearing.'" "She does not proselytize about the possibilities of rearing survival stock, and she is realistic about the enormous difficulties that come with the endeavor," McNeil said. "At the same time, she has successfully mentored beekeepers who choose to take it on."
Cobey is the 28th person to receive the WAS award, and the sixth from UC Davis. Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. received the award in 1980; Robert Page in 1989; Norman Gary in 1990; Eric Mussen in 1991; and Christine Peng in 2002. Page (now with Arizona State University), Gary and Peng are all emeriti professors.
Mussen and Gary co-founded WAS in 1978 as a non-profit, educational organization designed specifically to meet the educational needs of beekeepers from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming; the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon; and the states of northern Mexico.

Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications Specialist
Department of Entomology
396A Briggs Hall,One Shields Ave.
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616

UC Davis Launches Bee Biology Website

DAVIS--A newly launched University of California Web site promises to be a one-stop site for information about honey bees and native bees, UC Davis officials said today.
The bee biology site, the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility Web site, is online at http://beebiology.ucdavis.edu/. The facility is located on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. "Our new Web site will allow us to provide information to the public about bees, answer questions, and highlight our studies and discoveries about bees and their importance in the environment," said Lynn Kimsey, professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology who is coordinating activities at the Laidlaw facility. She also directs the Bohart Museum of Entomology on campus.
The Web site includes sections on research, outreach, publications, news, events, faculty and researchers, honey bees, native bees, pollination, instruction and the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. It also includes a photo gallery, kids' zone and links to bee sources throughout the world. A special FAQ section is devoted to commonly asked questions. .
The honey bee expert team includes

Extension Apiculturist Eric Mussen, bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility; bee breeder-geneticist M. Kim Fondrk; and Häagen-Dazs postdoctoral scholar Michelle Flenniken, an insect virus researcher. The native bee team includes pollination ecologist Neal Williams, assistant professor of entomology, and native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology. "The Web site will be content rich," said communication specialist Kathy Keatley Garvey, editor, photographer and Web developer. "We'll be expanding the content to offer the most informative, up-to-date information about honey bees and other bees."
The site includes videos on honey bees and bumble bees. Of special interest is the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden east of the Laidlaw Facility on Bee Biology Road. To open to the public Oct. 16, it will provide a year-around food source for bees and other pollinators, and an educational experience for visitors who can glean information on how to plant a bee friendly garden.
Bee biologist Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. (1907-2003) was known as "the father of honey bee genetics." He grew up in the southeastern United States and worked as a beekeeper with his grandfather, Charles Quinn. They experimented with mating queen bees and controlled breeding and developed what became known as the Quinn-Laidlaw hand-mating method. Laidlaw completed his master's degree in entomology in 1934 from Louisiana State University and received his doctorate in genetics and entomology from the University of Wisconsin in 1939. Laidlaw retired as a professor of entomology in 1974, but continued his research and outreach efforts. He published his last scientific paper at age 87 and his last book at 90. In 2001, the UC Davis Bee Biology Laboratory was renamed the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.

Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications Specialist
Department of Entomology
396A Briggs Hall, One Shields Ave.
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616

Bee Sting Toxin Harnessed to Kill Tumor Cells

US scientists have isolated the toxin in bee venom and attached it to tiny nanospheres designed to target tumor cells.
These so-called 'nanobees' allow the bee toxin, melittin, to be delivered directly to the tumor so that it targets cancer cells and does not harm surrounding healthy tissue. The toxin, which is actually a small protein, is attracted to the membranes of cells, through which it forms pores so that the cells break up and are destroyed.
It is known to be an effective antibacterial and antifungal agent as it can destroy any cell it comes into contact with, as long as it is present in high enough concentrations.
Study co-author Dr. Samuel Wickline, who leads the Siteman Centre of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence at Washington University, explained: "The nanobees fly in, land on the surface of cells and deposit their cargo of melittin which rapidly merges with the target cells. "We've shown that the bee toxin gets taken into the cells where it pokes holes in their internal structures."
Publishing their findings in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the researchers revealed that their nanobees were effective in mice, which received four to five injections of nanoparticles over several days. The experimental treatment was given to mice which had been implanted with human breast cancer cells or melanoma cells to cause tumors.
Researchers found that tumor growth in mice with breast tumors slowed by nearly 25 per cent following the treatment, while the size of melanoma tumors decreased by 88 per cent compared with untreated tumors. They then added a targeting agent so that the nanobees were attracted to growing vessels around tumors. This caused the nanobees to be guided to precancerous skin lesions - which have rapidly growing vessels - where they reduced the proliferation of cancerous cells by 80 per cent.
The study also showed that by using nanoparticles rather than simply injecting melittin into the stream, the technique prevented widespread destruction of the body's healthy cells. Mice which received the treatment had normal counts and no signs of organ damage, indicating that the toxin did not cause them harm. In addition, whereas melittin is normally cleared from the mice's circulation within minutes, it was still found to be circulating 200 minutes later when secured to nanoparticles.
The researchers claim that nanobees may be useful for slowing the growth and reducing the size of tumors, as well as for preventing cancer from progressing from its early stages. Co-author Dr Paul Schlesinger, associate professor of cell biology and physiology, commented: "Cancer cells can adapt and develop resistance to many anticancer agents that alter gene function or target a cell's DNA, but it's hard for cells to find a way around the mechanism that melittin uses to kill. "Nanobees are an effective way to package the useful, but potentially ly melittin, sequestering it so that it neither harms normal cells nor gets degraded before it reaches its target."
Prof. Wickline described melittin as a "workhorse" that is very stable when attached to nanoparticles, as well as being easily and cheaply produced. "Melittin fortunately goes onto the nanoparticles very quickly and completely and remains on the nanobee until cell contact is made," he added. Nell Barrie, science information officer at Cancer Research UK, commented: "Although there's a real buzz around using nanotechnology to treat cancer, there's still a long way to go. "This research is an example of how nanoparticles could be used to deliver directly to cancer cells without harming healthy cells. But so far this work has only been done in mice, and will need to be proven to be both safe and effective in humans before it could ever be used to treat cancer." (News Release Courtesy of Cancer Research UK)

National Honey Board
Announces Availability of Nnew Recipe Brochure
Featuring Light + Fresh Honey Recipes

Firestone, Colo. - The National Honey Board (NHB) announced that it has produced a new recipe brochure for 2009 entitled "Light + Fresh Honey Recipes."
The recipe brochure, which will be available at no cost to beekeepers throughout the United States, features honey in its role of providing delicious, natural flavors to salads, natural foods, and meats when incorporated into salad dressings, marinades, and desserts. More and more Americans are eating lighter these days, as there is an ever increasing awareness of proper diet. The Light + Fresh Honey Recipe brochure has a very contemporary look, similar to popular cooking magazines.
 "We are very pleased to offer this beautiful brochure to the honey industry," said Bruce Boynton, CEO of the National Honey Board. "The brochure is a continuation of our effort to provide materials to the industry to help promote honey. With color images of the eight finished recipes, the fanfold brochure is attractive and includes the message that pure honey is natural and nothing is added to it."
The new brochures are available in packets of 25. To order the piece for a fair, farmer's market, or other special event, please contact Andrea Brening, NHB Fulfillment Coordinator at (303) 776 - 2337.
NHB conducts research, advertising and promotion programs to help maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets for honey and honey products. These programs are funded by an assessment of one cent per pound on domestic and imported honey.

Swarm Tree-of Honeybees,
Honeymoons and the Tree of Life

By Doug Elliott
Charleston, SC: Natural History Press; 2009. Paperback; 160 pages. ISBN 978-1-59629-675-6 $17.99 Available at www.dougelliott.com
The sight of a huge swarm from your best hive, teasingly dangling high up in a tree, can make a beekeeper do some crazy things. Swarm Tree begins 50 feet up in a flowering tulip poplar tree when a bee swarm falls on Doug Elliott's head. Needless to say he didn't hive that swarm. The last he saw of those bees, they were disappearing over the mountain, never to be seen again, leaving him "stunned but unstung, 50 feet off the ground."
Elliott recalls, "I was a half century old, on a threshold of sorts - a boundary between heaven and earth, somewhat desperately clinging to the branches of this tree of life. This was a good place to contemplate my own mortality. No, it would not be good to fall from here. It was also a fine setting to contemplate the miracle of nature as well as the complexity and absurdity of human endeavor-like risking my life for a swarm of stinging insects?!"
Swarm Tree is a delight, from start to finish. Even the chapter titles are inspiring. In "My Brief Career as a Migratory Beekeeper - On the Road with Half a Million Nectar - Sucking Virgins" (my absolute favorite title), Elliott recalls one of his "absurd human endeavors". He loaded his entire apiary (of ten hives) onto a trailer behind his 1966 Dodge pickup truck and hauled them to Florida to collect citrus and tupelo honey (and, as it happened, a future wife, who he was courting on this trip). Throughout these adventures, he delves deeply into the mysteries of the hive, learns to see a colony of bees as a single organism, explores the parallels between robbing bees and thieving humans, and ponders the lessons that bee society can teach us about our own society. It's all delivered with a sense of wonder and a great sense of humor. (I laughed out loud many a time while reading Swarm Tree.)
Elliott is a nationally acclaimed naturalist and consummate storyteller who has kept bees for decades. Bees are a major theme in his life and writing, but like most beekeepers, his interest in the natural world and the wonder of creation is limitless. Caught up in his spell, we follow him "on sort of a down-to-earth spiritual journey... following skunk tracks, chasing butterflies, pondering dung beetles, stalking deer, tickling trout, and picking up pawpaws." We also meet a number of colorful characters, including Georgia cops, an African American wise woman, hitchhikers, a renegade PhD, and various Appalachian mountain folks.
This book is certainly not a "how to" book of beekeeping. Elliott does cover some basics like how to deal with a bee sting and catch a swarm. But he also teaches other useful skills you might need to know, like how to catch a skunk by the tail, how to use a rhododendron leaf as a thermometer, and even how to sip nectar from tulip poplar flowers just like the bees do. In fact, Swarm Tree is more of a "why to" book, exploring and celebrating the lessons that bees can teach us, and "probing Creation, asking the deeper questions, and learning the stories that connect us all."
Elliott illustrated the text with a few photos and over fifty exquisite drawings. (I can't decide if I enjoyed the story or the illustrations more, and that happy inner debate will probably never resolve.) The whole book is gol darn gorgeous, in every way. Swarm Tree will leave many of us beekeepers chuckling as we remember our own misadventures. And even more, Elliott gifts us with the treasure trove of his refreshingly different perspectives on our relationship with these insects we love and with this incredible creation of which we are all a part.
Debra Roberts, Founder, The Honeybee Project, www.thehoneybeeproject.
com ( A non-profit honeybee education project for children.)

The Laurence Cutts
Better Beetle Blaster

When I first saw the damage caused by the small hive beetle, it made me sick to my stomach. I developed an immediate hatred for them and set about finding some way to control them. David Westervelt discovered that the CheckMite strips that we were assisting the USDA in researching for Varroa mite control would also kill the small hive beetle. I worked diligently to get a Section 18 approved and in record time. But the strips were expensive and labor intensive.
Then, Dadant came out with the West beetle trap, but it also was expensive and labor intensive. About the same time the Hood trap came out, but it also was too expensive and labor intensive. Then, the A J Beetle Eater came out of Australia, but it also was expensive and aggravating to put in the hive.
I designed what I thought was a better trap, but everyone I contacted to make it wanted more to make it than I thought it would be worth. I was hoping to sell it for less than a dollar and they all wanted two dollars or more just to mold them. A number of friends were trying to help me find a manufacturer who could make it at a more reasonable cost. One of those was Mr. Gordon Clauss, a newbee from Panama City, FL. He found a company that thought they could make them much cheaper, but using a different design and a different manufacturing process. Together we came up with the current design that is effective, uses minimal labor, does not use any poisons and costs less than a dollar in lots of 100. Gordon and I formed Bee Ranchers, LLC, and set about getting them on the market. We think they are better than anything out there. The only thing that would make them better would be an attractant. And we are working on that.
PS I am the one who came up with the name Better Beetle Blaster. If we ever decide to make one larger, I will call it the Big Bad Boy Better Beetle Blaster. Say that three times real fast. (Laurence Cutts)

ABF Meets in Orlando in 2010 Conference to
Focus on "Keeping the Hive Alive"

Atlanta, Ga. - Aug. 18, 2009 - Plans are well underway for the "Keeping the Hive Alive" 2010 North American Beekeeping Conference & Tradeshow, Jan. 12-16, in Orlando, Fla. As you might have guessed by the title, the conference will focus on topics related to maintaining healthy hives.
The conference, which will be hosted by the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF), in cooperation with several other industry-related organizations, including the Canadian Honey Council (CHC), the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA), the American Association of Professional Apiculturists (AAPA), the American Bee Research Conference (ABRC), and the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA), will bring together top industry experts to discuss topics that are imperative to beekeepers of all levels.
The conference will begin on Tuesday evening with a complimentary welcome reception for all registered attendees. Wednesday morning will kick-off with the Opening General Session followed by Shared Interest Group meetings, and then finish in the evening with the traditional Honey Queen Reception.
The expanded tradeshow will open on Wednesday afternoon and remain open during conference hours until noon on Saturday. Thursday and Friday will be dedicated to general sessions, as well as the Serious Sideliner Symposium facilitated by Dr. Larry Connor of Wicwas Press. Interactive workshops will take place on Saturday morning and the conference will conclude with the ABF Annual Banquet on Saturday evening.
The ABF Conference Committee is also finalizing plans for two optional activities. These activities are designed with "fun" in mind and will also provide great networking opportunities and a chance for beekeepers faced with the same challenges to compare notes and strategies.
The Wyndham Orlando Resort, in sunny Orlando, Fla., is the host of the 2010 conference. The Wyndham is a self-contained tropical paradise in the middle of all the excitement of Orlando's International Drive. Within walking distance, attendees will easily find great places to dine, shop and play! The conference rate is $119. Visit wyndhamorlandoresort.com for more details.
Registration rates and online registration are now available on the ABF Web site at abfnet.org. Be sure to check the ABF Web site often as additional conference details will be posted as soon as they are made available. For conference registration assistance or additional information, contact the ABF at 404.760.2875 or e-mail info@abfnet.org.
About American Beekeeping Federation
The American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) is a national organization with approximately 1,000 members that continually works in the interest of all beekeepers, large or small, and those associated with the industry to ensure the future of the honey bee.

ABF Unveils New, Enhanced Web Site

Atlanta, GA - Aug. 19, 2009-The American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) is pleased to announce the launch of the new and improved ABF Web site at abfnet.org.
The ABF has been working on a Web site design that will serve as the industry standard and is the key resource for beekeeping contacts, industry communications, and legislative news and updates. With its fresh navigation and improved functionality, the new site is focused on user friendliness for both ABF members and the public.
The enhanced Web site will now allow ABF members to log-in with an assigned username and password. This log-in feature enables members to:

• Renew their membership online and maintain an up-to-date membership profile
• Access exclusive, member-only content
• Register online for the 2010 North American Beekeeping Conference & Tradeshow, Jan. 12-16, 2010, in Orlando, Fla.

• Donate online to the ABF and the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees

The site also affords non-members the opportunity to learn more about the activities and initiatives of the ABF, as well as the online capability to join the organization in a few easy steps.
Questions regarding the site or ABF membership can be directed to Kari Freeland, ABF membership coordinator, at 404.760.2875 or via e-mail at mailto:karifreeland@abfnet.org