Who wants a Bee Report sticker?
I have to admit: working on the Bee Report is one of my favorite things to do in the long list of things I aspire to get done throughout the week. Staying on top of all the interesting and important news related to the world of bees, and bringing it all together in a single place to make it easier for others to find, is a challenging and exciting task. I certainly enjoy doing it, but the feedback and appreciation I get from all of you definitely makes it worth the effort. Thanks so much for your support!
One thing I want to do over the next few months is expand the number of people who enjoy and follow the Bee Report. And I could use your help with this! Don't worry: there's something in it for you – more than just my continued gratitude.
I have Bee Report stickers! Here's how you can get one to slap on your laptop, your water bottle, your camera case, your skateboard, whatever:
1. Get at least three (3) people you know, who would like the Bee Report and are not already receiving it, to sign up for the Bee Report newsletter by Thursday, October 3, 2019.
2. Have each of them go to my Mailchimp form (not the sign-up box on the website) to sign up. Make sure they put your full name and your email address in the "Who referred you" section. The form is at http://eepurl.com/c9Pkkr.
Important note: Do not sign up people without their permission; that's a legal no-no and just really poor form. Also, do not enter fake emails. If you do either of these things, no sticker for you. Boo.
3. Once you've met or surpassed the 3-person mark, I'll get in touch with you by email to arrange sending your sticker. I'm only sending these stickers to addresses in the U.S. and Canada. (Someday the Bee Report will be big enough to afford sending schwag to overseas addresses... someday, my friends...)
I'm limiting the stickers to one per person. However, if you're able to get 48 of your closet friends and colleagues to sign up for the Bee Report newsletter, I'd be happy to send a few more stickers your way. No problem at all.
All right, my friends. Let's see how much we can grow our readership in the next couple of weeks. Thanks in advance for your help! Much appreciated!
Highlight Stories
Here are a few stories that I found particularly interesting since the last newsletter. Thought you might be interested, too.
Swapping pollinators reduces species diversity
(University of Kansas) Flowers depend on bees, birds and other pollinators to reproduce, and they can adapt strategically to attract these creatures – sometimes altering their traits so dramatically that they lure an altogether new pollinator. But not all such strategies are created equal. Researchers demonstrate that abandoning one pollinator for another to realize immediate benefits could compromise a flower’s long-term survival.
Fish and Wildlife Service announces it will review petition to list Mojave poppy bee as endangered
(Center for Biological Diversity) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today it will consider Endangered Species Act protection for the Mojave poppy bee. Today’s positive finding comes in response to a petition filed in 2018 by the Center for Biological Diversity. Although it once thrived across much of the Mojave Desert, the quarter-inch-long, yellow-and-black bee is now only found in seven locations in Nevada’s Clark County. The bee is tightly linked to the survival of two rare desert poppy flowers. The bee has disappeared as those plants have declined, as well as facing ongoing threats from grazing, recreation and gypsum mining.
There’s a new group of workers spreading organic pesticide on crops: bees
(Fast Company) Bees are great at retrieving tiny cargo: their main job is to visit flowering plants in order to gather pollen and nectar for their hive. Now Bee Vectoring Technologies just received EPA approval for an organic fungicide that bees can carry directly from hive to crop. The company has used this system in commercial-size test fields to reduce gray mold on strawberries while increasing yields by at least 10%, and eliminate gray mold and the more nefarious monilinia blight in blueberries. The company projects that it can reduce pesticide use by 50 to 75 percent at conventional farms that are willing to widely adopt the new practice.
This bee gets punched by flowers for your ice cream
(KQED) VIDEO Next time you eat ice cream, thank a bee. Without them, there would be no cones, milkshakes or sundaes. Every summer, alfalfa leafcutter bees pollinate alfalfa in an intricate process that gets them thwacked by the flowers when they release the pollen that allows the plants to make seeds. And these seeds are what make it possible to grow nutritious hay for dairy cows.
Conservation
Bee-harming pesticides make migrating songbirds sick too
(CBC) White-crowned sparrows that ate a tiny dose of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid — equivalent to a just a few coated seeds and far below the lethal dose — lost their appetite, quickly lost weight at a time when they should be fattening up and delayed their migration to their breeding ground by several days. That delay could potentially reduce their success at breeding at a time when bird populations are falling across North America.
McDonald’s turns billboards into bee hotels
(Geek.com) Sweden had everyone buzzing this spring with its launch of the “world’s smallest McDonald’s” – a miniature replica of the golden arches that doubles as a beehive. Now, McDonald’s restaurants are replacing regular roadside billboards with signs that double as “bee hotels.”
Economics
Making better worker bees
(Bloomberg Businessweek) Argentine startup Beeflow says it has more than doubled its tiny workers’ pollen-carrying capacity by feeding them custom compounds. The nutrients enhance the bees’ immune systems to handle colder conditions and also increase their attraction to the particular flower the farmer wants them to pollinate – blueberries, raspberries, or the all-important almonds. The 2-year-old company tested its insect fuel this season in the fields of a major California almond farmer and on raspberry crops for Driscoll’s, America’s largest berry grower. On deck: cherries and avocados.
New tool improves beekeepers’ overwintering odds and bottom line
(USDA-ARS) This new tool calculates the probability of a managed honey bee colony surviving the winter based on two measurements: the size of colony and the percent varroa mite infestation in September. By consulting the probability table for the likelihood of a colony having a minimum of six frames of bees – the number required for a colony to be able to fulfill a pollination contract for almond growers come February – beekeepers can decide in September if it is economically worthwhile to overwinter the colony in cold storage.
Policy/Law
EPA sued again for expanding use of pesticide harmful to bees
(The Hill) Earthjustice is suing the Environmental Protection Agency over a recent decision to expand the use of sulfoxaflor, a pesticide the agency previously called “very highly toxic to bees.” This is the second such suit over the decision, following one in August from the Center for Biological Diversity.
EPA argues its blog isn’t public information, won’t change post praising its work protecting pollinators
(The Hill) The Environmental Protection Agency won’t tweak a recent blog post environmentalists say is inaccurate. The tension stems from a June post on the agency’s blog that includes apparent praise for EPA action on pesticides considered harmful to bees. The Center for Biological Diversity filed a complaint under the Information Quality Act, which can be used to demand a correction of inaccurate information from government sources. The center’s complaint came in the wake of an EPA decision in July to expand the use of sulfoxaflor, a pesticide the agency previous said was very highly toxic to bees. In response, EPA has argued that the blog post is not considered public information and, therefore, not subject to the guidelines.
Toronto now has an official bee. Here’s why that matters
(The Star) The metallic green sweat bee — Agapostemon virescens is the species name — was chosen for three reasons. One, it’s abundant: of the more than 360 wild bee species that inhabit Toronto, this one is fairly common. Two, it’s hard to miss: it looks like it’s all zhuzhed up to hit the bee version of Studio 54, or maybe the Brunswick House before it became a Rexall. And three, it lives in a condo.
Science
A new board game educates as players compete to stave off honey bee colony collapse
(Science) Could you survive a year in the life of a queen bee? A new tabletop board game challenges players to do just that, providing a surprisingly educational experience along the way. Bee Lives: We Will Only Know Summer was designed by beekeeper and librarian Matthew Shoemaker and pointedly avoids cartoonish depictions of the beloved pollinators. Its earnest attempt to portray realistic hive dynamics will delight players as they attempt to weather the challenges faced by honey bee colonies season after season.
Male honey bees inject queens with blinding toxins during sex
(University of California – Riverside) They say love is blind, but if you’re a queen honey bee it could mean true loss of sight. New research finds male honey bees inject toxins during sex that cause temporary blindness. To ensure their genes are among those that get passed on, the male bees want to discourage the queen from mating with additional partners – and if she can’t see properly, she can’t fly and encounter other male bees.
Study shows bee brains process positive and negative experiences differently
(Phys.org) Scientists have known for a long time that vertebrates handle positive and negative events differently, storing and retrieving those memories in their brains differently, as well. To find out if the same is true for invertebrates, they exposed honey bees to positive or negative events and then studied gene expression in a part of their brain known as the mushroom body.
Wildflowers near watermelon fields attract wild bees
(Times and Democrat) A Clemson University graduate student has found growing strips of wildflowers near watermelon fields can help attract pollinators, such as native insects and honey bees. During her study, Miriam “Mimi” Jenkins found most of the watermelon plant pollinators were native bees – tiny sweat bees – despite the nearby hives.
Technology
Can a digital hive keep bees alive?
(Verizon) Honey bee colonies are dying off in massive quantities. The troubling news has inspired a lot of people to help the insect population, including citizen scientists and amateur beekeepers. These new enthusiasts are bursting onto the scene without the experience and wisdom of professional beekeepers, many of whom come from families that have raised hives for generations. To make up for a lack of experience, the “newbees” are utilizing smartphone apps, Internet of Things connectivity, and data sharing to keep colonies as healthy as possible during a time when insects are battling pesticides, parasites and climate change.
Send me tips, comments, questions and ideas for collaboration.
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