National Honey Board Appointees Announced

USDA has announced the five newly appointed or reappointed board members for the National Honey Board, who will each serve a three-year term beginning January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2024.

We are pleased to welcome:
Tom Sargeantson, Sunland Trading, Inc., New Canaan, CT (Importer Member, Reappointed)
Mindy Ryan Tharp, Barkman Honey, Hillsboro, KS (First Handler Member, New Appointee)
Jeff Caley, Dutch Gold Honey, Lancaster, PA (First Handler Alternate, New Appointee)
Matt Halbgewachs, Sweet River Honey, Driftwood, TX (Producer Member, New Appointee)
Darren Cox, Cox Honey of Utah, Mendon, UT (Producer Alternate, Reappointed)

The 10-member National Honey Board is composed of three first handler representatives, three importer representatives, three producer representatives, one marketing cooperative representative and their respective alternates.

We thank these new and returning members for working on behalf of the honey industry. Are you interested in serving on the National Honey Board or know someone who would be great? Please click here to apply. All board member nominations are made by qualified national organizations and selected by the USDA Secretary. For a list of current board members, click here. Please email questions to honey@nhb.org.

The good fight isn’t over yet We still need your support

The good fight isn’t over yet
We still need your support

On April 21, 2021, the American Honey Producers Association (AHPA) and Sioux Honey Association (SHA) filed petitions with the ITC and DOC for relief from dumped imports of raw honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Vietnam.  The American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) also supports the trade cases.

On May 18, 2021, the DOC published a notice initiating the investigations in the Federal Register, with estimated dumping margins of 9.75 to 49.44 percent for Argentina, 83.72 percent for Brazil, 27.02 to 88.48 percent for India, 9.49 to 92.94 percent for Ukraine, and 47.56 to 138.23 percent for Vietnam.

DOC is scheduled to issue preliminary determinations of dumping in mid-November, at which point preliminary duties will go into effect, and importers will be obligated to begin paying cash deposits at the time of importation.

On June 4, 2021 the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) unanimously determined that there is a reasonable indication that unfairly traded imports of raw honey from Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine, and Vietnam are injuring the U.S. industry producing raw honey.

Today’s unanimous decision means that the ITC will continue to investigate the injury inflicted on the U.S. raw honey producers by low-priced imports, and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) will investigate the extent to which imports from the five countries are being sold below fair value in the U.S. market.

We truly appreciate all of the donations that we have received to cover legal fees.

The good fight isn’t over yet, and we still need your support.

To donate to the Antidumping Fund, please contact
Cassie Cox: cassie@ahpanet.com
281-900-9740

Or donate on our secure website: https://www.ahpanet.com/donations-1

Millions of Alaska-bound honeybees die at Atlanta airport

Millions of Alaska-bound honeybees die at Atlanta airport
April 27, 2022 by Sabine Poux, KDLL – Kenai

Hundreds of pounds of honeybees were set to ship from the Lower 48 to beekeepers across Alaska last weekend, but died in transit when the crates carrying them were left for hours on a hot tarmac in Atlanta.

Soldotna beekeeper Sarah McElrea said the loss is devastating. She runs Sarah’s Alaska Honey and also teaches classes and coordinates shipments of bees to beekeepers around Alaska.

On Sunday, she was waiting at the Anchorage airport for a shipment of 800 pounds of bees from a distributor in Sacramento, California. It was the first of two shipments that she had ordered on behalf of more than 300 Alaskan beekeepers.

“We had a load that was going to Fairbanks, and then we had somebody else that was going to distribute from Wasilla to Talkeetna,” she said. “And then we were going to do Anchorage and the Valley. And then our second one would’ve come in the following day, and we would’ve taken that one back down to the Peninsula to fulfill the rest of our orders.”

But the plan hit a snag when the bees were pushed from the original Delta flight. Instead, the airline rerouted them to Atlanta, where they were supposed to catch a direct flight to Anchorage.

When they didn’t make that flight, McElrea really started to worry. Honeybees don’t do well in extreme heat. McElrea asked that the bees be put in a cooler.

But the next day, the airline told her some bees had escaped from their crates and so Delta put them outside.

“I really panicked when they found they had moved them outside because the pheromones that those honeybees emit are attractive to other honeybees that are native to the area,” she said.

Sure enough, outside bees gathered around the crate, so it looked like more bees were escaping.

McElrea said Delta refused to put the shipment on the plane. So she turned to the internet for help.

“I got on Facebook and made a quick post to a page that is based in Georgia,” she said.

That’s how she connected with Atlanta beekeeper Edward Morgan. He went to the airport to take a look and found most of the bees in the shipment were already dead from the heat. McElrea said it was 80 degrees in Atlanta that day.

The only thing left to do was to rescue the survivors. Morgan called in reinforcements to open the crates and save whatever individual bees were left.

Gina Galucci with the Georgia Beekeepers Association was one of the dozen-plus volunteers that beelined for the airport. She told WABE’s Emily Wu Pearson Sunday that they understood the urgency of the situation.

“This is a disaster,” Galucci said. “So while we did mobilize very, very quickly, we did that because we know they’re going to die. And so the person who bought these bees is out a whole lot of money. So we’re going to try to help support with some donations toward that.”

McElrea said these last few days have been a nightmare. She’s scrambling to patch up the mess and hasn’t slept much.

She said the beekeeping business has never been about money for her. Still, she said it’s an incalculable loss.

She said her supplier in California is going to replace the shipment, which included $48,000 worth of bees. She’s also hoping for some sort of relief from the airline, though she understands that for many airlines, people ship live animals at their own risk.

But she’s grateful for the support from the Georgia beekeepers. Some took the few survivors back to their own apiaries.

“I will forever be grateful for anything that they were able to salvage,” she said. “They just assembled quickly and efficiency and really are the heroes in this scenario.”

And while this is the first time she’s experienced such a tragedy, she said it’s not the first time she’s heard of bees dying in transit.

Distributors know how much food to put in crates so the bees can travel safely within a reasonable timeframe. But that becomes complicated when there are delays or cancellations, particularly in extreme climates.

McElrea is coordinating with beekeepers in Seattle so that if there’s a problem with the next shipment, volunteers will be ready to intervene.

Catherine Salm with Delta Air Lines’ corporate communications said in an email Tuesday the airline is aware of the incident and is working to make sure something similar does not happen again.

“We have been in contact with the customer directly to apologize for the unfortunate situation,” she said.

McElrea wants people to know they can protect these important pollinators in their own backyards. She said gardeners should plant pollinator-friendly plants and avoid spraying toxic chemicals, like RoundUp. Importantly, they shouldn’t be afraid of honeybees, which only sting when they’re in danger.

“Being educated about honeybees is the first big step I think everyone should take on that can help them to just have a better understanding of how important they are as far as pollinators,” McElrea said. “And just such a fragile part of our ecosystem that we as humans are completely dependent on for our survival.”

Now, McElrea and other beekeepers from the Kenai Peninsula are waiting on the second shipment and the replacement, set to come in later this week.
WABE journalists Matt Pearson and Emily Wu Pearson contributed photographs and interviews from Atlanta.

https://www.ktoo.org/2022/04/27/millions-of-alaska-bound-honeybees-die-atlanta/

AgCenter research examines how viruses affect honey bees’ vision

AgCenter research examines how viruses affect honey bees’ vision
Olivia McClure

From left, LSU AgCenter entomologist Daniel Swale, USDA-ARS entomologist Michael Simone-Finstrom and AgCenter entomologist Nathan Lord examine bees at the USDA-ARS Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Unit in Baton Rouge on Jan. 24, 2022. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter

BATON ROUGE, La. — Viruses are one of many factors scientists believe are contributing to the collapse of honey bee colonies. Not only do the viruses kill bees; infections also can alter their eyesight and what foods they are attracted to, leaving their colonies with inadequate nutritional content.

Armed with a recently awarded U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant, LSU AgCenter researchers are working to learn more about how viruses affect bees’ vision and whether there are ways to help them recover from infections and return to normal foraging behavior.

AgCenter entomologist Daniel Swale is working on the project with fellow entomologists Nathan Lord, of the AgCenter; Michael Simone-Finstrom, of the USDA Agricultural Research Service Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Unit in Baton Rouge; and Troy Anderson, of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The $272,717 grant will fund their research through December 2023.

The scientists are focusing on the effects of two viruses: deformed wing virus, which causes bees to grow short, stubby wings unsuitable for flying, and Israeli acute paralysis virus, which causes neurological problems such as twitching and can kill bees within 24 to 48 hours of infection. The viruses are transmitted by mites.

In infected colonies, Swale and his colleagues have noticed bees returning with unusual food choices.

“They’re bringing back different pollens and different fats when they are infected with these viruses,” he said. “It turns out that these viruses migrate to their eyes, and when the bees are infected with deformed wing virus and IAPV, we get different attractions to different colors. It shifts the spectrum of attractiveness.”

They’ve also found evidence of physiological changes in infected bees’ eyes that interfere with vision. They can’t see colors correctly and end up bringing back pollens and fats they wouldn’t normally select.

“The eyes are one of the key components to successful foraging,” Swale said.

In the grant project, he wants to find out how to enhance bees’ immune response to viruses and whether it’s possible to help infected bees maintain their vision, which also could help them continue to forage properly.

Swale has previously studied physiological channels that transport potassium ions through insects’ bodies. He said they may represent an opportunity to help bees cope with the effects of viruses. For example, therapeutic products targeting the channels potentially could be developed after additional research.

“Potassium ion channels do seem to regulate the antiviral response system as well as reduce the amount of virus that reaches the eyes,” Swale said. “It looks like if we’re able to modulate the potassium channels in the correct way, we can restore visual acuity and visual performance in these bees.”

https://www.lsuagcenter.com/articles/page1643645654417

6th Annual “Art of Queen Rearing” Workshop held at Texas A&M

Registration is now open for the 6th annual “Art of Queen Rearing” workshop, to be held at the Janice and John G. Thomas Honey Bee Facility on Saturday, 21 May, and Sunday 22 May 2022.

Head Instructor: Dr. Juliana Rangel
Invited guests: Sue Cobey, Dr. Jennifer Tsuruda (University of Tennessee), Melanie Kirby (Zia Queens, NM), Megan Mahoney (Commercial Queen Producer in Texas), and members of the Rangel Bee Lab

Registration will close on Friday, 12 May 2022 and will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis for PAID registrants. This two-day workshop is organized and delivered by the Rangel Honey Bee Lab staff, as well as special guest speakers, who will be sharing their expertise on queen rearing. As in past years, Sue Cobey will be attending the event, so there will be a demonstration on instrumental insemination of queens. Registration is $200 per person for the two-day event. Payment includes refreshments on both days, lunch on Saturday, a binder with notes, and queen rearing supplies!! Space is limited to 50 people.

We have created an online registration form for the queen rearing workshop. Please send a copy of the filled out form along with your payment to register. Unfortunately, due to TAMU rules, we cannot accept electronic or credit card payments, so you will have to fill out the form and send it via snail mail.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfZj7eaOduqpqInABjaIOJZ6jkIGQWuqz4nTqNdR7MNbNwnQ/viewform?fbclid=IwAR3oUQ_EOnwz7OOY6F_HIeUjRyS307Rw1vd871LrRCNAkhjA32GpthgRE2s

Apimondia Cancels Russia Congress

Apimondia Cancels Russia Congress

The Executive Board of Apimondia voted unanimously this week to cancel the Apimondia Congress planned for September 2022 in Ufa Russia. We condemn the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Please know that we heard all your voices during these trying days.

We are looking forward to organising a great Apimondia Congress in Santiago Chile in 2023, when beekeepers and researchers from every nation will once again be able to meet. We may organise some Symposia prior to the Congress: please follow our website for updates.

We appreciate your continued support of Apimondia.

Sincerely,

Jeff Pettis
Apimondia President
www.apimondia.org

TBA Youth Ambassador Program

Know a youth age 13-18 interested in bees and beekeeping?

The Texas Beekeepers Association now has a Youth Ambassador Program! Teens will receive training in bees and beekeeping in order to engage with their community and support a bee themed project of their choice. At the completion of the program, Ambassadors will receive a $500 scholarship.

Applications are due June 11, 2022. Apply at: https://forms.gle/TppCHWLd9hYmenkDA

Honeybee Parasites Have Record-Breaking Clinginess

Honeybee Parasites Have Record-Breaking Clinginess

By Gary Hartley | Scientific American March 2022 Issue

Small flies’ extreme clamping feet let them walk on a flying bee

To wrangle a ride on their honeybee hosts, wingless parasitic flies need a truly phenomenal grasp. Now a new study reveals how Braula coeca manages to walk around on a flying bee while exhibiting what researchers say is the highest attachment force per body weight of any land-based insect ever measured.
This force relies on the parasite’s highly adapted feet, called tarsi, which are equipped with toothed claws. Each foot has a total of 28 teeth, or claw tips, which let the parasite lock onto sparse honeybee hairs during flight.

“The claws are unique, from what we know so far. Usually insects have claws with one tip only. A few species have two to three tips. But this species possesses comblike claws with several tips and deep interstices [gaps],” says Thies Büscher, a zoologist at Germany’s Kiel University and co-lead author of a recent study in Physiological Entomology.

The claws are complemented by soft lateral ridges and “stoppers” along the foot, letting the fly swiftly break its rigid grip with a simple twisting motion and detach from the hairs as it moves—a trait likely to be intriguing to researchers working in biology-influenced design, or biomimetics. The parasite’s feet also feature pads that firmly cling to smooth surfaces, such as the wax in beehives.

“Other strongly attaching animals either secrete strong glues or anchor with structures that damage the surface,” Büscher says. “Both solutions are more or less permanent and do not allow for fast detachment and locomotion.” But because B. coeca’s grasping mechanisms are purely mechanical, they could prove useful for both terrestrial and underwater robots.

“Attachment technology is a prominent domain within biomimetic research,” says Shoshanah Jacobs, an integrative biologist at the University of Guelph in Ontario, who was not involved in the research. Jacobs agrees with Büscher on the finding’s potential value but notes that designers working on attachment problems might not readily become aware of such discoveries in insect physiology.

“Biomimetic researchers grapple with the challenges of knowledge mobilization across disciplinary silos,” Jacobs says. “When we’ve figured out how to do this better, we may very well be opening a floodgate of innovation.”

This article was originally published with the title “Science in Images” in Scientific American 326, 3, 20-21 (March 2022)
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0322-20

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/honeybee-parasites-have-record-breaking-clinginess/

The 2021-2022 Annual Loss and Management Survey Live April 1 to April 30th

The 2021-2022 Annual Loss and Management Survey Live April 1 to April 30th
Take the survey here: beeinformed.org/take-survey

New season, new survey! The Bee Informed Partnership team, in collaboration with the Auburn University Bee Lab, are enthusiastically inviting all U.S. beekeepers to take part in this year’s survey.

The Loss and Management Survey is a national effort that tracks long-term trends of U.S. honey bee colony health. The survey’s main objective is to monitor colony loss rates that beekeepers experience each year, the management actions that beekeepers take, and to compare these losses and practices among all types of beekeeping operations − from backyard hobbyists to large, multistate commercial operations.
Be part of the 10%

In previous years, about one in 10 U.S. beekeepers – and 14% of the nation’s estimated 2.6 million colonies – were represented in the survey. We hope that this year we will have even greater participation from the beekeeping community!

New focus topic for 2022

The survey focuses on a specific theme every year, which will reoccur based on a regular rotation schedule. Last year, the survey focused on “Queens and New Colonies”. This year, the focus will be “Nutrition and Environment”.
We rely on word of mouth to reach as many beekeepers as possible, so please share this announcement with your beekeeping friends!
Thanks so much for your participation and help in spreading the word!

The Bee Informed Partnership Team

The Bee Informed Partnership Annual Loss & Management Survey is now LIVE!

 

It’s time again to rally and support the beekeeping community! We are formally requesting the help of every beekeeper: you, your neighbors, your bee club and all the beekeepers you know.

The survey is open and accepting responses from April 1st to April 30th 2022. Please take a moment to submit your response to help us continue to inform about impacts to honey bee colony health.

Visit beeinformed.org/take-survey to join in the effort, learn more, and take the survey!

We rely on word of mouth to reach as many beekeepers as possible. Please share this survey announcement far and wide with your beekeeping friends and local club members!