Training bees doctors. Mealybugs spread neonics. Varroa mite lasers.
Who wants a sneak peak of our 10 days in Utah?
After a two-month break from this project (spent catching up on other projects and taking a little vacation time), I've once again thrown open the treasure chest of footage, images and sound from our fieldwork in the Grand Staircase-Escalante national monument, and begun sorting through all the jewels we gathered. Because it's time to start sharing this incredible adventure with all of you!
Last week, Olivia Carril was in Ohio leading a series of her fantastic one-day bee identification and biology workshops. Over the weekend, she was also the honored guest at a special event at Studio 35 in Columbus, screening a series of bee films and documentaries – including the trailer for our project! To back her up while she talked about the project, I put together a short teaser with footage from our ten days of fieldwork and filming in June.
After the event, Olivia shot me a text: "Just finished seeing the trailer and that little teaser on a giant screen. It looks INCREDIBLE. So excited for a documentary that highlights the little things in a big way."
This teaser is the first time anyone outside of the project team has seen our work. So here it is for you to enjoy as well.
Highlight Stories
Here are a few stories that I found particularly interesting since the previous newsletter. Thought you might be interested, too.
Call the Bee Vet
(Tufts University) Bee keepers have long relied on several antibiotics that are common in human medicine to treat hives for diseases. Such bee antibiotics were once sold over the counter, but now are available only once a veterinarian has conducted an exam to ensure they’re truly needed. The problem is that “there are not enough veterinarians who know about bees out there to help them.”
Bee Observer Cards from the Encyclopedia of Life
(Encyclopedia of Life) Observer cards from the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) are designed to develop the art and science of observing nature. Each set of cards provides key traits and techniques necessary to make accurate and useful scientific observations. Available as an eBook or printable deck. EOL includes the participation of institutions such as the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Harvard University.
This tiny insect could be delivering toxic pesticides to honey bees and other beneficial bugs
(Science) A common pesticide may be causing more collateral damage than thought. According to a new study, neonicotinoids can kill beneficial insects such as honey bees, hoverflies and parasitic wasps by contaminating honeydew, a sugar-rich liquid excreted by certain insects. This can devastate more insects across the food web than nectar contaminated with insecticides could, the research team says, because honeydew is more abundant, especially in agricultural fields.
Conservation
Rusty patched bumble bee spottings on the rise at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
(The Herald-News) Olivet Nazarene University monitors have been active for three seasons. They spotted two rusty patched bumble bees last year, and their studies year-over-year have provided information about a variety of other species of bumble bees and their life habits. Their data helps measure how the restoration work of Midewin volunteers, partners and staff is helping to bring back habitat for native Illinois prairie species. The ONU report that specifically focuses on the rusty patched bumble bee can be found here.
NYC’s High Line becomes the place to bee for vital pollinators
(CBS New York) Gardeners planted more than 200 species of flowering plants along the elevated greenway, and 30 species of bees have been found foraging on the High Line. “What we just did is provide it a suitable habitat for them to be here before they travel off to wherever they want to go next.”
New magazine focused on pollinators
(2 Million Blossoms) 2 Million Blossoms, a new quarterly magazine dedicated to protecting our pollinators, will reportedly print its first issue in January 2020. The magazine is planning to offer short and long form articles exploring how bees, birds, butterflies and bats enhance the planet.
Bugged by insects? ‘Buzz, Sting, Bite’ makes the case for 6-legged friends
(NPR) In her new book, “Buzz, Sting, Bite: Why We Need Insects”, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson writes about the dangers people face as the numbers of insects drop. The creatures play a vital role in pollinating crops, eating discarded food left behind on city streets, and feeding other animals in the food chain.
Policy/Law
Proposed pipeline dealt another setback by federal court to protect rusty patched bumble bee
(CBS19) The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday tossed out a key permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline that deals with the project’s effects on threatened or endangered species – including the rusty patched bumble bee. The court wrote that, in fast-tracking the Biological Opinion in connection to the proposed pipeline, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “appears to have lost sight of its mandate under the [Endangered Species Act]: ‘to protect and conserve endangered and threatened species and their habitats.'” The full decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals can be found here.
In July, several state-based affiliates of the environmental advocacy organization Environment America delivered petitions to their respective state governments calling for state-wide bans on the sale and use of neonicotinoids.
Environmental groups push for ban of certain pesticides to save bees in Maine
(Maine Public) Environment Maine delivered a petition of 8000 signatures to the governor’s office Wednesday, asking that Gov. Janet Mills support a statewide ban of neonicotinoids. Mills was not present to receive the petition.
NC bees are dying. Would a consumer ban on a pesticide help?
(CBS 17) The grassroots group Environment North Carolina delivered a petition with 13,452 signatures to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office, calling for a consumer ban on the sale and use of neonicotinoid pesticides. House Bill 559, also known as the Pollinator Protection Act, stalled in committee this spring.
Environmental group wants to ban a pesticide that harms bees in Texas
(KVUE) An environmental group is pushing Texas lawmakers to better protect bees. Environment Texas wants a statewide ban on a bee-killing pesticide. The group delivered more than 12,000 petitions to the state legislature Thursday. It is asking lawmakers to ban pesticides known as neonicotinoids.
Science
Pesticide widely used in US particularly harmful to bees, study finds
(The Guardian) Agriculture in the United States has become 48 times more toxic to insects over the last 25 years, largely due to neonicotinoid pesticides, according to the study. “We have not learned our lessons… There’s this fundamental recklessness and foolishness to introducing [neonics] and continuing down this path,” says Kendra Klein, an author of the study and a senior scientist at not-for-profit Friends of the Earth. The study can be found here.
Adjuvants amplify the toxicity of pesticides on honey bees
(EurekAlert/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) When applied alone, adjuvants – chemicals commonly added to pesticides to help them spread, adhere to targets, disperse appropriately, prevent drift and so on – caused no significant, immediate toxicity to honeybees. However, when the pesticide acetamiprid was mixed with adjuvants and applied to honeybees in the laboratory, the toxicity was quite significant and immediate: the mortality was significantly higher than for control groups. Additionally, flight intensity, colony intensity and pupae development continued to deteriorate long after the application comparative to the control groups.
New Xerces fact sheet takes a deeper look at fungicides and their effects on pollinators
(Xerces Society) Research has shown that some fungicides kill bees on contact. Studies have shown that some fungicides increase the toxic effects of certain insecticides. Fungicide exposure has also been linked to higher levels of parasitic and viral infections in honey bee colonies, suggesting that some fungicides may impair a bee’s ability to fight disease. The Xerces Society’s new fact sheet, “Protecting Pollinators from Pesticides: Fungicide Impacts on Pollinators”, reviews the current literature on fungicides and pollinators to help piece together potential risks and how best to respond.
Ontario woman one of the “queen bees” on Bumble Bee Watch app
(CBC) Ann Puddicombe has no formal scientific training, but she has become one of the top three contributors to Bumble Bee Watch in Canada. In addition to providing observations of bees that are rare, Puddicombe has even identified a bee that hadn’t been seen in other parts of Ontario in a decade.
Deadly stings from bees, wasps, hornets increase over last 5 years, CDC finds
(ABC 11) New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show hornets, wasps and bees have killed more people every year for the last five reported years. The new statistics show data on deaths attributed to the flying insects from 2000 to 2017. The fewest deaths, 43, occurred in 2001. The most deaths, 89, occurred in 2017. Men accounted for approximately 80 percent of all the recorded deaths. The actual CDC QuickStats on the number of deaths from hornet, wasp, and bee stings can be found here.
Technology
Lasers: a new method to control Varroa mites in honey bees?
Earlier this spring, the NY Farm Viability Institute awarded $41,000 to Combplex Inc., a Cornell University start-up that is testing the use of lasers to kill Varroa mites on honey bees as they enter their hive. “One of the most significant challenges faced by beekeepers is disease and colony loss caused by the Varroa mite and the viruses it transmits,” NYFVI states in a profile of 2019 FVI projects. “They have designed a device which uses optical recognition to identify the parasite on the bee’s body as it enters the hive. If it is present, the battery-powered device uses a high-powered laser to kill the mite.” The profile says the devices have been successful in the lab, and Combplex plans to trial the device in 150 commercial hives in New York state. According to the start-up’s website, Combplex began as an interdisciplinary research project in 2017 between two Cornell Ph.D. students.
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