Lewisburg beekeeper Dave Hackenberg and others in the trenches have their own opinions about what is going on with regard to colony collapse disorder (CCD) and recent, dramatic losses of honeybees. Hackenberg doesn't mince words. "Our scientists are working their heads off on a little bit of nothing. All we're doing here is slowly reinventing the wheel of what Europe has already figured out." Find out what France and Germany have done to combat CCD in this final segment of Research Penn State's three-part, in-depth look at Penn State's efforts toward understanding the complex and alarming loss of honeybees. (more)
To solve a murder mystery with millions of victims and no smoking gun requires CSI-style teamwork, or as Dennis vanEngelsdorp likes to say "a coordinated effort that takes a page from the beehive, where all the individuals play a role to make the hive successful." Penn State's entomology department, long recognized for its strengths in disease research and chemical analysis, has emerged as a leader in honeybee and colony collapse disorder research nationwide. Research Penn State takes an in-depth look into the department's efforts toward understanding the complex and alarming loss of honeybees. This is part two of a three-part series. (more)
While the words "endangered species" typically call to mind photogenic tigers, pandas or whales, an estimated 80 percent of all known animal species on Earth are insects, and their extinction often goes unremarked. A recent study notes that hundreds of thousands of insects could be lost in the next 50 years and that the loss of "keystone" insect species -- those on which many other species depend -- could be particularly detrimental for ecosystems and people. Apis mellifera, the western honeybee, is the very essence of a keystone insect. Research Penn State takes an in-depth look at Penn State's efforts toward understanding the complex and alarming loss of honeybees. This is part one of a three-part series. (more)
Honey bees industriously bring pollen and nectar to the hive, but along with the bounty comes a wide variety of pesticides, according to Penn State researchers. Add the outside assault to the pesticides already in the waxy structure of the hive, and bee researchers see a problem difficult to evaluate and correct. However, an innovative approach may mitigate at least some beeswax contamination. (more)
Discovering how honeybees and other social insects behave and interact with one another will be the focus of a new faculty member's research in the Department of Entomology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Christina Grozinger, currently an assistant professor in insect genomics at North Carolina State University, will be joining the department in December, bringing with her a wealth of expertise in the field of insect genomics. Genomics is an emerging science that allows researchers to study thousands of genes (their sequence, expression, function) simultaneously. Grozinger's research focuses on genomic analysis of chemical communication in honeybees and other social insect species. Chemical communication in honeybees is important for many aspects of colony organization and necessary for having healthy and productive colonies. (more)
Colony Collapse Disorder, diseases, parasitic mites and other stressors continue to take a devastating toll on U.S. honey bee populations, but Pennsylvania beekeepers on average fared better than their counterparts nationally during this past winter, according to apiculture experts in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. (more)
The Farm Bill making its way through Congress has much to offer Pennsylvania agriculture, but much more needs to be done in the future, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey told students during a visit to Penn State's University Park campus Wednesday (March 26). Casey spoke to an auditorium full of students during a session of AgriBusiness Management 101. He noted that the Farm Bill now being negotiated has several provisions that are key for Pennsylvania, including a specialty crops subtitle, changes to crop insurance programs that will benefit the state's producers, and a fruit and vegetable snack program for school children that will enhance nutrition while benefiting growers. (more)
Across the nation, beekeepers have seen hive after hive succumb to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD); a team of entomologists and infectious disease researchers, including Diana Cox-Foster and her team, now report a strong correlation between the occupancy of CCD and a virus, Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IVAP). "We have not proven a causal relationship between any infectious agent and CCD," the researchers report in the Sept. 6 issue of Science Express online. However, they note that the prevalence of IAPV genetic material in bees suffering from CCD, the timing of the outbreaks and the geographical circumstances "indicate that IAPV is a significant marker for CCD."
