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Manuka Honey: What the Science Says
- Jan 29, 2019
- By Aaron Weber
- In Bee Products
- 0 Comments
Just 50 years ago scientific journals dismissed Manuka honey as a “worthless and harmful substance”. In fact, few researchers were willing to take it seriously due to a belief that honey was merely an alternative medicine. Within the past few years however, new evidence has been turning opinions. Recently, Manuka…
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Is this the new Langstroth hive?
- Aug 09, 2017
- By August Easton-Calabria
- In Around the World, Articles, Bee Health, Research
- 0 Comments
Starting the practice of beekeeping can be a daunting task, especially considering the dire state of bee populations worldwide today. Beekeepers in Johannesburg, South Africa, are facing the same declining bee populations that are being seen in the United States. Not only are South African honey bees afflicted by the…
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Genetic Tradeoffs: Some Bees Can Have it All
- Mar 23, 2017
- By Aaron Weber
- In Articles, Bee Health, Research
- 0 Comments
Recently a lot of attention has been given to breeding Varroa mite resistant honey bees. There has been concern, however, that this good-intentioned method could come with a downside. One main way honey bee workers deal with parasites is by socially grooming one-another. Researchers hope that we can create healthier…
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Monitoring Honeybees with SmartHive Tech
- Jan 18, 2017
- By Benjamin Ruzzo
- In Around the World, Articles, Conferences, Research
- 0 Comments
For many of us, computers play an important role in everyday life. From news, to entertainment, to our jobs, computers make many things easier. We’re hoping to include beekeeping on this list of computer-aided tasks. As in fields such as agriculture, forestry, and medicine, monitoring beehives with shared control techniques…
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Migratory Management of (Stressed Out) Honey Bees
- Jan 04, 2017
- By Shayla Willette
- In Articles, Bee Health, Conservation, Research
- 0 Comments
A recent article published in Nature discussed the effects of migratory management and environmental conditions on the lifespan and oxidative stress of honey bees (Apis mellifera). Migratory management is the transportation of honey bees across the country for pollination purposes in large-scale agriculture. Frequent moves such as these may cause high levels of…
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Immunity to Bacterial Infections in Honey Bees
- Dec 01, 2016
- By Peter Kilian
- In Articles, Bee Health, Research
- 0 Comments
Honey bees constantly struggle against various bacterial and fungal species. For example, Nosema species are very detrimental parasitic fungi that infect honey bees and can cause great harm to an entire colony in a very short amount of time. A hive that is heavily infected with nosema will often collapse, leading to robbing behavior by other colonies and a…
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Bumblebees Can Teach Each Other Learned Behaviors
- Nov 23, 2016
- By Catie Colliton
- In Around the World, Articles, Research
- 0 Comments
A recent study out of Queen Mary University of London shows that bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) can learn to pull a string for a reward then teach others to do the same. This suggests that that bumblebees engage in cultural transmission, a form of social learning. The Experiment In this experiment, individual bumblebees were…
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Nutrition for Bees: Preserving Honey and Pollen
- Nov 03, 2016
- By Benjamin Ruzzo
- In Articles, Bee Health, Organic, Research
- 0 Comments
Nutrition affects every aspect of an organism’s life, from behavior to evolution. For social insects, such as bees, the gathering and consumption of nutrients can be complex due to changes in the environment and their community. Bees temporarily store and protect some nutrition in their body, but it is mostly stored…
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Highest Beehive in the World
- Aug 24, 2016
- By Alexia Filice
- In Around the World, Articles
- 0 Comments
The growth of beekeeping in cities is allowing urban beekeepers to get creative with the location and height of their hives. The most common spots for urban beehives is on rooftops, including skyscrapers and office buildings. The highest hive you can find in the world is located right in New…