Benjamin Nichols, an environmental biology major at Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois, has discovered the many perks of working with honeybees. In August 2017, Nichols, 23, helped to extract roughly 90 pounds’ worth of honey out of a bee hive brought to campus the year before by another student. He says his interest with pollinators…
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Given how prosperous the beekeeping industry can be, especially for small, local honey businesses, it should come as no surprise when various countries discover new ways to improve the industry and therefore boost the economy. This is especially important given the state many bee species are in worldwide. One example can be found in Pantnagar,…
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When most people imagine a typical bee, they likely picture the honey bee inside its hive or the bumblebee moving between flowers. However, there are also thousands of other bee species out there—some that are no bigger than a rice grain. While answering interview questions for the Science Friday Initiative recently, Shalene Jha, who is…
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According researchers from the University of Guelph, their new studies have shown that three neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) that are used most for flowering crops, despite the growing controversy around them, pose no danger to honeybee populations when used properly for seed treatments. Considering there are governments around the world seeking to ban the manufacture, distribution,…
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As many travelers have noticed, airports require miles of land to operate effectively and safely, but much of this land ends up being a few mile-long runways and many miles of fields untouched by cattle or other livestock, most wildlife, or crops—a lost opportunity some might say. However, there have been several airports in different…
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While it is a very rare occurrence, usually less than ten per year, every now and then someone loses their life after they were stung multiple times by bees or similarly venomous insects. However, while most people can admit to receiving bee stings in the past, few end up in the hospital afterward, but this…
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In 1958, an assembly of African killer honeybees escaped from a Brazilian breeding program and made their way to the island of Puerto Rico in 1994, likely by ship. These notably aggressive bees ousted a majority of the docile European species that already lived there, but the population eventually evened out, producing colonies of gentle…
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After he was gifted with a bee hive, wine steward Noel Patterson, who hails from Tucson, Arizona, started out as an amateur beekeeper. Once he had honed his skills, he started Dos Manos Apiaries, currently maintaining more than 40 colonies throughout his area using treatment-free, natural methods. Now, Patterson has been using his broad knowledge…
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As the world’s most famous pollinator at this point, given all of their coverage following the arrival of colony collapse disorder, honeybees are known for their effectiveness and their crucial role in agriculture production. Interestingly, however, they are surprisingly ineffective when it comes to pollinating certain crops, such as tomatoes and blueberries, that other pollinators…
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With winter quickly approaching, it’s not uncommon to hear about homeowners finding various critters holing up in their homes for warmth, shelter, and protection from predators – as well as extensive breeding to the point of infestation. However, one woman out in Omaha, Nebraska discovered a less common invader inside her home – a huge…
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When most people hear about declining honey bee populations or collapsed hives, they likely don’t imagine a truck crash being the cause. However, that’s exactly what happened in Auburn, California around 7:00 pm on Thursday November 2. That night, the semi big rig truck that was hauling dozens of box hives down the Interstate 80…
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Anybody who ever had the pleasure of seeing the hilariously bad disaster movie “The Swarm,” which featured clouds of “African killer bees” by the thousands bringing mayhem down upon America in the 1970s, likely had a slight fear of all bees as a result of that movie, once called the “ultimate B-movie” by Razzie Award…
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Over the past year, the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) has been sending this year’s American Honey Queen, Maia Jaycox, and Honey Princess, Hope Pettibon, to various locations around the country to educate the general public, kids and adults alike, about beekeeping, the current plight of honeybees, and how important their role is to agriculture and…
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Until 2010, honeybees were considered “wild animals” per New York City’s Department of Health. This meant that keeping bees within city limits was illegal, despite a handful of rogue apiarists operating anyway. However, when the city lifted the ban, it unleashed a local honey movement that has yet to show any signs of slowing down.…
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In 2006, the arrival of the unexplainable, unexpected colony collapse disorder spooked enough individuals in the United States and beyond into taking notice of the plight of honey bees and various other pollinators, such as monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, and native wild bee species. While some debated the veracity of one specific cause being the reason…
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Dr. Laura Brutscher, a honeybee researcher with a doctorate in immunology and microbiology, recently published a study in the journal Scientific Reports detailing the mechanisms honey bees use in order to fight viruses. According to Brutscher, “This project has taken a lot of patience, time, and perseverance, so it’s personally validating to know that my…
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Anyone who ever wonders where they can buy Manuka honey ultimately discovers that New Zealand is the birthplace of the now famous gourmet honey. The previously despised and fervently eliminated Manuka bush has grown from local to international success, and it’s led to many people residing in the island country to throw their hat into…
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While there has been an influx of beekeepers joining the fray to both help honeybees and make a living selling honey and other bee products, it’s safe to say that the majority of beekeepers in the industry are in their 60s or 70s. This begs the question of who’s going to take up the mantle…
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When people have headaches or feel sick, they tend to view the world differently to a degree, often developing what is called a “cognitive bias” in how they make decisions. In this instance, a person’s cognitive bias, defined as a systematic error in thought affecting the judgments and decisions people make, could lead them to…
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As we begin transitioning from warmer weather and into winter temperatures, known to be less than friendly when it comes to honeybees and their numbers, concerns from beekeepers about their colonies’ chances of survival are greater than ever. Out in Amherst, Massachusetts, several bee experts from the University of Massachusetts are contributing to the efforts…
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After the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean and the mainland United States, with Florida in particular, many people likely never suspected they would have to deal with the problem of honeybees moving into their home after evacuating and later returning. However, despite how seemingly unusual it is, both exterminators and bee removal…
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For the past ten years, Asian hornets, which are predatory insects that currently have widespread, expanding populations, have effectively invaded sections of both Europe and the Korean Peninsula. This particular type of hornet, or Vespa velutina as its scientific name designates, has been mounting quite the reputation, specifically as a rapidly proliferating species that preys…
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Inside a vacant house set for demolition in Edgartown, Massachusetts, one of the first things people could hear upon entering the abandoned residence was the sound of a faint hum, despite the lack of running electronics in the building. This is according to Geoff Gibson, who owns Gibson Landscaping—the company hired to demolish the house.…
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Most homeowners have stories about mice or even cockroaches or termites taking up residence within their home, but not many can say they’ve had honeybees in their walls. According to one such homeowner from Hillside, New Jersey, which is near Newark in North Jersey, it had become “really noisy” due to the honeybees “humming and…
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Since the citizens of New Zealand realized how much money they could bring into their economy and their own pockets through Manuka honey, the market for the rich specialty honey has exploded globally and inspired numerous people throughout the small island country to get into the beekeeping business. With millions of honeybees acquiring nectar from…
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Just as honeybees face considerable obstacles here in the U.S., bee populations all over the world, even those that are somewhat isolated by the sheer luck of geography, are facing threats to their survival. On the small European island country of Malta, which lays less than 100 miles south of the island of Sicily, their…
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Down in Dallas, Texas, word about the decline of honeybees as well as other pollinators has spread to the point that one University of Texas professor has decided to offer something toward the effort to decrease pollinator losses. This senior lecturer, Dr. Scott Rippel, who is also a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army, is…
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While hives are what most people think of when they imagine “bee habitats,” residents of St. Paul, Minnesota are bringing new meaning to the term. As a way of combating further habitat loss, as seen by Minnesota’s 400 various native bee species every year, artists from a local establishment called Public Art St. Paul are…
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As part of a yearlong tour throughout the United States, Hope Pettibon, this year’s American “Honey Princess,” came through Alaska in the past few weeks, making it the 22nd state she’s visited out of the 25 planned this year. Visiting a few schools as well as a Lions Club, Pettibon has worked to educate both…
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When most people imagine a veterinarian’s job description, they likely picture him or her treating dogs, cats, rodents, birds, or even larger animals, such as horses, cattle, or pigs. However, due to brand new regulations at the federal level, vets will soon have to grapple with a new type of “pet” – honeybees. Given the…
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After multiple years of only bad news, the United States’ Department of Agriculture recently released a new report on honeybee colonies with some positive numbers. As of April 1, 2017, U.S. commercial honeybee colonies numbered 2.89 million, which is a three percent growth from the previous year. Even better, the number of colonies lost has…
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A recent study, published back in April 2017, has taken the study of bees and brought in a twist worthy of Game of Thrones or The Tudors, finding that some species of stingless bees, specifically Scaptotrigona depilis worker bees, can become queen slayers if a hive’s queen produces sterile male offspring, at which point a…
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Last month on August 19, the U.S. held its ninth annual National Honey Bee Day, where honey bee and pollinator organizations around the country not only tried to build awareness of honey bees and educate the public, but they also planted new pollinator habitats at various public locations. In Naperville, Illinois, such an effort took…
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When a hive becomes too large to survive as it is, half the hive splits off with a new queen and becomes a swarm, which searches out new locations to call home. When this happens, the very large swarm of bees can end up in the strangest of places – sheds, tree branches, bike tubes,…
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As word spreads about the decline of honeybees and the ways in which ordinary folks like us can help, more stories keep popping up that indicate just how powerful communities can be when they come together for one purpose. This story, which comes out of Jamestown, North Dakota, revolves around two groups of people who…
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Honeybee advocates can come in all shapes and sizes—they can be celebrities, large corporations, or even just local businesses and citizens who aspire to add what they can toward a possible solution of an ongoing issue that affects us all, thanks to bees’ role in food production and agriculture. One such citizen is Maia Jaycox,…
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Just as the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan started its own apiary atop its fifth-floor roof, another building – this time in the West Side of Manhattan – has decided to defy the traditional image of a beekeeping operation by setting bee hives up on its south roof. This place is the Jacob K. Javits Convention…
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In Minnesota, a new law was passed stating how solar panel sites could provide suitable habitats for pollinators, but in the process this law also led to commercial beekeepers and solar companies working together for mutual benefit. When Governor Mark Dayton signed into law the Pollinator Friendly Solar Act last year, the legislation specified voluntary…
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While not everyone is versed in the specifics of how honeybees develop from larvae into full grown adult bees, most do know that royal jelly is what turns a larva into a queen bee rather than a simple worker bee. However, a recently published study took that knowledge even further and discovered there is actually…
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With the increased interest being shown toward honeybees and the general decline of their numbers in recent years, it’s becoming moderately common to hear about individuals and even businesses, especially restaurants, taking up beekeeping. These efforts are usually made to both help honeybees and harvest any honey the bees themselves can live without. Whether it’s…
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