—USDA acts to halt honeybee decline “” Entomologists check the status of a bee colony at the USDA Bee Research Lab in Beltsville, Md. Credit: Jay Evans/USDA Government scientists have put together a plan to investigate the significant decline in the honeybee population in at least 22 states, a puzzling development with the potential to cause billions of dollars' worth of damage to crops nationwide. "There were enough honeybees to provide pollination for U.S. agriculture this year, but beekeepers could face a serious problem next year and beyond," says Gale A. Buchanan, USDA's undersecretary for research, education, and economics. Honeybees pollinate more than 130 crops in the U.S. and add $15 billion in crop value annually, according to USDA. Recently, there has been an estimated loss of more than one-quarter of the nation's honeybees, a decrease due to what the department calls colony collapse disorder. USDA has identified four possible causes for the decline: new or reemerging pathogens, new pests or parasites, environmental or nutritional stress, or pesticides. Federal researchers plan to conduct new surveys to obtain an accurate picture of honeybee numbers and will conduct experiments to examine the potential causes of colony collapses and develop strategies for improving bee health and countering known mortality factors. /articles/85/i30/USDA-acts-halt-honeybee-decline.html 20070723 Concentrates 85 30 /magazine/85/8530.html USDA acts to halt honeybee decline con govpol environment USDA acts to halt honeybee decline Chemical & Engineering News USDA acts to halt honeybee decline USDA acts to halt honeybee decline
July 23, 2007
—Honeybees, poster insects for pollinators “” Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are one of nature’s often underappreciated heroes. While they busily go about their business of foraging, collecting pollen, and producing honey, they also serve as unwitting pollinators to help humans produce much of the food we eat.
November 20, 2017
—Tracking Toxicity In Honeybee Food “Traces of hydroxymethylfurfural that form in high-fructose corn syrup used as a food supplement imperils honeybees” High-fructose corn syrup is not just an ingredient in many human foods. Beekeepers also feed it to their pollinators to encourage colony growth or when nectar is scarce. But dehydration of fructose can lead to formation of trace amounts of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a key biomass-derived chemical that happens to be toxic to honeybees. A group of researchers has now evaluated HMF formation in stored corn syrup and its impact on bee mortality (J. Agric. Food Chem., DOI: 10.1021/jf9014526).
by Jyllian N. Kemsley | August 17, 2009
—How mimicking a bee under attack can attract pollinators “Plant sends out honeybee chemical distress signals to recruit freeloading flies” Many species rely on a little chemical con artistry for survival, but an international research team has uncovered a particularly crafty sting involving deceitful plants, kleptoparasitic flies, and honeybees.
by Matt Davenport | October 17, 2016
—Modified gut bug can protect honeybees against pests “Bee microbiome can fight mites and the viruses they spread” Honeybees play a vital role in global food production. In the US alone, the American Beekeeping Federation estimates that honeybees contribute nearly $20 billion to the value of crop production each year.
by Laura Howes | January 30, 2020
—Glyphosate disrupts honeybee gut bacteria “Weed killer’s microbiome effects could contribute to honeybee decline, researchers say” Glyphosate is among the most widely used agricultural chemicals in the world, and the companies that make it describe it as safer and more environmentally friendly than other herbicides. But a group of researchers in Texas now reports that the weed killer, sold as Roundup, could harm honeybees indirectly by disrupting the bacteria in their guts (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2018, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1803880115). The scientists think the disruption could be one contributor to the decline in honeybees observed over the past decade or so.
by Megha Satyanarayana | September 29, 2018
—Boldest Honeybees Have Bold Brains “Genomic analysis shows the molecular basis of risk-taking behavior extends to bees” The boldest foraging honeybees in the hive have dramatically different brain chemistries than their more timid counterparts, according to Gene E. Robinson and Zhengzheng S. Liang of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and colleagues.
by Elizabeth K. Wilson | March 12, 2012