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Apples are one of the 21 main crops that utilize pesticide spraying, according to a study by the Economic Research Service and USDA
Pesticides in the Field: What Do We Really Know?
- Apr 09, 2019
- By Robert Anderson
- In Bee Health, Pesticides, Research
- 0 Comments
New research on the impacts of neonicotinoid pesticides on bee health has given us important insight into the exact problems that can arise when bees are exposed to these chemicals. However, most of this research has been done in a laboratory setting and has not resulted in any concrete solutions…
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How Do Neonicotinoids Affect Bees?
- Mar 06, 2019
- By Robert Anderson
- In Bee Health, Pesticides
- 0 Comments
Neonicotinoid pesticides have become a divisive issue in recent years. On one side, pesticide advocates have emphasized it’s lack of lethal effects compared to other classes of chemicals. On the other, many papers have come out in the past decade linking neonicotinoids to a slew of health problems. Pesticides and…
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More Than Just Pollinators: Honey Bees in Medicine
- Feb 13, 2019
- By Anthony Zunino
- In Bee Health
- 0 Comments
Although an unfamiliar term to most, “zootherapy”, the use of animals for medicinal purposes, has been a defining component of health and wellness traditions for the greater part of human history. In the modern era, development of advanced biotechnology and pharmaceuticals have mostly replaced this once common form of treatment.…
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Open Source Honey Bees
- Feb 06, 2019
- By Dylan Garcie
- In Bee Health, Conservation
- 0 Comments
Genetically modified (GMO) bees could be the long sought answer to the honey bee health crisis, but should they be? With bee populations struggling all across the globe due to a multitude of factors, there is a large demand for potential solutions. Some are looking at genetically modified bees as…
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Getting the Kids into Saving the Bees
- Nov 09, 2018
- By Urban Beekeeping Laboratory
- In Bee Health, Guest Bloggers
- 0 Comments
Guest blog post by Eileen Guest. Convincing my kids to care about bees wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I try to engage with my boys when we go outside to play. However, I constantly find myself being drawn to my garden to pull one more weed…
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Bees in Danger if They Live Near Farms Using Airborne Pesticide Clothianidin
- Aug 25, 2017
- By Tyler Lew
- In Bee Health, Organic, Pesticides, Research
- 0 Comments
In the American agricultural industry, pesticides are often liberally applied to crops in order to help keep common pests away. One group of pesticide compounds called neonicotinoids is highly toxic to honeybees. They were first introduced in the 1980s by the chemical company Bayer, and as of 2008 comprise a…
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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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Nosema’s Impact on Honeybee Colony Health
- Jan 27, 2017
- By Becky Cohn
- In Bee Health, Research
- 0 Comments
Honeybees are essential to our food supply as a major pollinator species. Unfortunately, colony health is threatened by many factors including pesticides, diseases, and mites. Among these threats is the fungus Nosema ceranae. If a honeybee eats the spores of this fungus, it will reproduce inside the cells of the…
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DNA from Honey and What it Tells Us
- Jan 13, 2017
- By Andrew Bradley
- In Bee Health, Conservation, Research
- 0 Comments
HoneyDNA is a service offered by The Best Bees Company that shows you what plants make up your raw honey. It all starts with a small sample of honey straight from the hive (or your favorite jar). The DNA from pollen-proteins in the honey is extracted and multiplied using a…