The Bee Report Podcast is live!
The Bee Report Podcast is live
Yes, I've finally done it: I've launched a Bee Report podcast!
I'm really excited to be sharing this first episode with all of you. It's an idea I've been thinking about for a while because podcasting seems like such a great medium for doing what the Bee Report does: keeping you connected to the world of bees.
Episodes will be around 30 minutes long and drop every two weeks. There will be a short news update at the beginning, highlighting some of the more interesting bee-related news from recent weeks. The main part of the show will be a conversation with an important guest about an important bee-related story.
In this first episode, I talk with Sarina Jepsen, the Endangered Species Program Director for the Xerces Society.
This past June, the California Fish and Game Commission decided to list four bumble bees as candidates for endangered species protection in the state. However, in September a coalition of agricultural interests sued to prevent the listing from going forward, claiming that insects cannot be listed under California’s endangered species act. Now the Xerces Society, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Food Safety are seeking to intervene in the lawsuit to ensure that the bumble bees receive protection.
Sarina and I discuss what this court case is all about and why it's so important.
The Bee Report Podcast is available on all major podcasting platforms – Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and so on. Give it a listen and let me know what you think. Getting your thoughts and feedback will help me make this an absolutely fantastic podcast for you to enjoy!
Thanks!
EDITORS NOTE: The next February newsletter will be coming your way from the new platform. Promise. Getting the podcast ready to share with all of you is where I needed to put my time and energy this time around.
Conservation
Bees and crop plants subjects of new 'pollination guide' for Brazil
(Phys.org/University of Freiburg) Over many years, researchers from the University of Freiburg have compiled data on the global pollination of major crop plants, above all, fruit and vegetables. Together with scientists from the Federal University of Ceará in Fortaleza, Brazil, they have analyzed the data and developed a "Pollination Guide" for Brazil. The guide is intended to give Brazilian farmers information on the importance of bees and other pollinating insects, so that they treat the habitats of wild pollinators with care.
More scientists warn about worldwide insect decline
(University of Helsinki) Humanity is pushing many ecosystems beyond recovery. As a consequence, unquantified and unquantifiable insect extinctions are happening every day. Two scientific papers by 30 experts from around the world discuss both the perils and ways to avoid further extinctions, intending to contribute towards a necessary change of attitude for humanity’s own sake.
Conservation orgs send letter to EU Commission calling for increased protection of insects
(Twitter, @MattEAShardlow) "30 NGOs write to the @EU_Commission asking for urgent & improved action to halt the decline in insects."
The full letter is here.
Virginia Tech testing bee-friendly forage for cattle
(Virginia Tech) The bees-and-beef study is seeking to integrate native wildflowers into pasture systems in a way that does not decrease cattle production, and that creates enough bloom that it helps to preserve pollinators.
Asian hornet invasion spreads to Northern Germany
(ScienceDaily/Pensoft Publishers) Known to prey on many insects, including honey bees and other beneficiary species, the Asian hornet, which had recently invaded parts of Europe, presents a serious threat to apiculture and even to ecosystems. Scientists now share concerns about this fast invader spreading to the north.
10,000 rare bees feared dead after attack at UK castle
Last year, black bee hives were introduced to Wisbech Castle in England, as part of an effort to conserve the rare critters. Now, thousands of the castle’s bees are feared dead, following an inexplicable attack by two intruders. The British black bee, also known as the dark European honey bee, is native to Britain. The subspecies was thought to have all but died out until several colonies were identified in 2012.
They survived fire and toxic fumes. So what happened next to Notre Dame's bees?
(The Guardian) The bees of Notre Dame, whose escape from the inferno seemed almost miraculous, are thriving and conserving their energy, just as they have every year since they took up residence on the sacristy roof in 2013.
Economics
Häagen-Dazs ice cream now Bee Better Certified
(Xerces Society) The Bee Better certification identifies farms and food ingredients that meet a rigorous standard for bee protection. Häagen-Dazs worked with their largest almond supplier in California to plant over six miles of flowering native shrub hedgerows, and to plant wildflowers as part of their certification process.
Alternative pollinators to help farmers as bee populations suffer in drought and bushfires
(ABC) More than 10,000 honey bee hives are estimated to have been destroyed across the Australian mainland. Researchers are now looking at native stingless bees and flies as alternatives.
Varroa mites: New guide outlines integrated pest management options
(Entomology Today) Varroa mites are responsible for heavy economic losses, caused by their infestation of beehives in almost every corner of the globe. But how did this problem start, what does this pest do, and what does the future look like for honey bees? These questions are answered in detail in a new article on the biology and management of Varroa mites.
A warm winter means headaches for beekeepers
(NPR) Winter is downtime for honey bees. They settle in their hives and rest. But this winter has been unusually warm in some places, and that's causing some major headaches for beekeepers.
Pollinator Partnership, almond group join forces
(Capital Press) A new agreement between the California Almond Board and the Pollinator Partnership aims to improve habitat for bees by increasing the number of farmers taking steps to protect pollinators, and to recognize producers for best practices.
Policy/Law
California banned chlorpyrifos from your food. Now it won’t be manufactured
(Los Angeles Times) The primary manufacturer of a pesticide banned by California and the European Union said it will no longer produce the chemical. The move comes as the market for chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to developmental disorders and is toxic to bees, shrinks rapidly — the European Union followed California’s lead in banning it, as has New York.
EPA proposing to reapprove use of neonics
(Center for Biological Diversity) Rather than banning the pesticides, the EPA is proposing a number of modest measures to limit their harm, including reductions in amounts applied to crops and restrictions on when they can be applied to blooming crops. A major scientific review published in 2019 found that a “serious reduction in pesticide usage” is key to preventing the extinction of up to 41 percent of the world’s insects within the “next few” decades. Thousands of scientific studies implicate neonics as key contributors to declining pollinator populations. The EPA’s own scientists have found that neonics pose far-reaching risks to bees, birds and aquatic invertebrates.
Xerces, Defenders, CFS seek to join lawsuit defending decision to protect four native bees in California
(Xerces Society) The Xerces Society, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Food Safety contend that the California Fish and Game Commission has clear legal authority to place insects on the state’s endangered species list. There is also strong scientific support that these four bee species meet the requirements for listing. Under the current regulatory timeline, the Commission is likely to make a final decision to place these four species on the list this year, making these bees the first invertebrate pollinators to receive such protection in California.
If bumble bees become endangered in California, farmers say it sets a ‘dangerous precedent’
(CapRadio) Last June, the California Fish and Game Commission decided to list four bees as candidates to be endangered species, writing that there was a “substantial possibility” that the bees would end up protected by the act. Their candidacy provides temporary protection. But many agricultural interests are upset over the listing, and are suing to stop the insects from joining the more than 250 species protected by the act.
Science
Bumble bee declines points to mass extinction
(The Guardian) A study suggests the likelihood of a bumble bee population surviving in any given place has declined by 30 percent in the course of a single human generation. The researchers say the rates of decline appear to be “consistent with a mass extinction”. The team used data collected over a 115-year period on 66 bumble bee species across North America and Europe to develop a model simulating “climate chaos” scenarios. They were able to see how bumble bee populations had changed over the years by comparing where the insects were now to where they used to be.
Bumble bees carry heavy loads when flying in ‘economy mode’
(University of California, Davis) Bumble bee can carry up to 80 percent of their body weight when flying. And yet they get more economical in terms of expending energy when heavily loaded – which doesn’t make any sense in terms of energetics. “This has given us an appreciation that it’s a behavior, they choose what to do. Even the same bee on a different day will pick a new way to flap its wings.”
Bumble bees prefer a low-fat diet
(TUM) In this experiment, the more fat pollen contained, the less the bumble bees consumed that pollen. Bumble bees actually accepted death over having to consume the high-fat pollen. The German researchers concluded that fat in pollen adversely affects the bumble bees’ reproductive capabilities and survival, which is why it is avoided.
Oldest evidence of modern bees found in Argentina
(National Geographic) Ancient nests confirm that bees were alive and well in Patagonia 100 million years ago, marking the oldest fossil evidence for modern bees. The nests consist of tunnels studded with grape-shaped alcoves and look almost exactly like the nests of modern halictid bees.
Fossilized insect from 100 million years ago is oldest record of primitive bee with pollen
(Oregon State University) The mid-Cretaceous fossil from Myanmar provides the first record of a primitive bee with pollen and also the first record of the beetle parasites, which continue to show up on modern bees today.
Bees prioritize their unique waggle dance to find flowers
(Royal Holloway) Researchers have developed a method to track bee-to-bee communication in honeybee hives, showing how bees have many means to learn from their nest mates about the best flowers to visit. However, they showed that bees ignored the food odors and overwhelmingly responded to the dances when looking for new flower patches.
Mite-destroying gut bacterium might help save vulnerable honey bees
(Science) Researchers are tapping an unusual ally in the fight to bring the bees back: a bacterium that lives solely in their guts. By genetically modifying the bacterium to trick the mite or a virus to destroy some of its own DNA, scientists have improved bee survival in the lab—and killed many of the mites that were parasitizing the insects.
Connecticut study reveals bees collect pollen more often from weeds than decorative flowers
(Hartford Courant) Honey bees collect a surprising amount of pollen from plants like goldenrod, poison ivy, clover and ragweed. "Perhaps the lesson to be learned is that honeybees have a much wider range of flowers they enjoy than we humans do."
Study shows bees boost Brazil’s forest restoration
(SciDev.Net) Some of the most important tree species for the restoration and conservation of tropical forests rely heavily on bees as transporters of pollen. That’s why conserving these declining insects should be a priority in forest restoration projects, according to a study by Brazilian scientists.
Wasps' gut microbes help them – and their offspring – survive pesticides
(ScienceDaily/Cell Press) Exposure to the widely used pesticide atrazine leads to heritable changes in the gut microbiome of wasps. Additionally, the altered microbiome confers atrazine resistance, which is inherited across successive generations not exposed to the pesticide. Even though these wasps are not natural crop pollinators, the study could have broad implications. Notably, bacterial atrazine-metabolizing genes are also present in wild bee populations exposed to the pesticide.
Technology
Precision pollination research in sunflowers shows promise
(Duluth News Tribune) Early results of Bee Innovative's research in North Dakota sunflower fields show the potential for increased quality of seeds and, as a result, increased income to farmers. The company's BeeDar tracks the movement of bees as they pollinate a field; if part of the field isn’t being pollinated, bees can be moved in to service that portion. Bee Innovative is looking to establish a U.S. company later in 2020 and North Dakota is a front-runner.
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