News — Bee Blog

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability. 1. Celebrate Earth Day with a bee walk (Environment America, By Steven Blackledge) Earth Day—April 22nd—is a day to not only celebrate our planet but also to take part in environmental education and activism to build a greener, healthier world. And what better way to help the planet than by helping the fuzzy little critters whose hard work holds up entire ecosystems? I’m talking about bees. These humble heroes pollinate 80% of the world’s flowering plants, and there are more than...

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability. 1. "How the New Vaccine - For Bees - Works" (Sam Westreich, PhD, NewsBreak Contributor) For a tiny insect, bees are vitally important to many aspects of our daily life, even if you don’t enjoy a bit of honey in your tea. But recently, commercial honeybees have been under attack by a dangerous bacterium. This bacterium is named Paenibacillus larvae, and it causes a disease in bees known as American Foulbrood. The bacterium infects the bee larvae, growing in their guts...

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability. 1. "Students raising mason bees at Orcas School" (The Islands' Sounder) Orcas Master Gardeners Dray Longdon, Laura Walker, Tony Suruda and Nancy Forker visited the Orcas School Garden on Oct. 6 to help the 5th-grade students harvest cocoons of mason bees and prepare them for winter storage. Mason bees are native pollinators that nest in cavities. They harvested nesting tubes that have been at the school from April through October. Mason bees, along with bumble bees, are important early spring pollinators...

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability. 1. Murder hornets given new common name by entomologists (Associated Press) The invasive hornet found in Washington state that has been referred to as the Asian giant hornet or murder hornet has a new name. Washington state Department of Agriculture officials said Monday that the Entomological Society of America (ESA) has adopted “northern giant hornet” for the species Vespa mandarinia in its Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List. Continue reading... 2. Meet the Robber Fly, a predator of insects in...