September 6, 2007

A team led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Pennsylvania State University (PSU), and Columbia University (CU) has found an association between colony collapse disorder (CCD) in honey bees and a honey bee virus called Israeli acute paralysis virus, according to a paper published in the journal Science this week.

The team that did genetic screening of honey bees collected from 30 colonies with CCD and 21 colonies with no CCD from four locations in the United States.

What happened ?

Beginning in October 2006, some beekeepers in North America began reporting losses of 30-90 percent of their hives. While colony losses are not unexpected during winter weather, the magnitude of loss suffered by some beekeepers was highly unusual. A hive can empty and collapse in as little as a week, the beekeepers said. The disorder doesn't leave heaps of dead bees in the hives. The workers leave and presumably die far from home.

Scientists have unravelled the genetic code of the honey bee, uncovering clues about its complex social behaviour, heightened sense of smell and African origins.

The results, published in the journal Nature, makes the bee the third insect to have its genome mapped and joins the fruit fly and mosquito in the exclusive club. ¹

The Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida) was first discovered in Australia in 2002, and is now common in the Eastern States. Originally from South Africa they spread to Florida in the USA in 1998 where they caused major damage to the Apiary industry. The climate in Eastern Australia is similar to Florida, hence we have experienced similar damage by this pest.

How to recognize them:

The Adult Small Hive Beetle is aprox 6mm long and 3mm wide and vary from dark brown to almost black. Their larvae are white and grow to about 10 mm in length.

PHOENIX, Arizona: Scientists at a US weapons laboratory say they have trained bees to sniff out explosives in a project they say could have far-reaching applications for US security and the Iraq war.

Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico said they trained honey bees to stick out their proboscis, the tube they use to feed on nectar, when they smell explosives in anything from cars and roadside bombs to belts similar to those used by suicide bombers.

The bee is not one of life's shirkers. In the course of normal daily business she collects nectar and pollen to make into honey, water to drink and to cool the hive she lives in, and plant resin to patch up cracks in that home to stop it falling to bits. On top of that, as a useful by-product of this tireless activity, she pollinates the plants she visits, making her indispensable to farmers.

Industries Unite for Better Food Labelling

Agricultural industries vegetables, pork, prawns, honey bees, apples and pears united today to make sure current inadequate Country of Origin labelling laws on foods are enforced and strengthened.

"The words 'imported' on a tiny label, in illegible print on the back of a packet of food does not give the consumer enough information to make an informed decision," Mike Badcock, AUSVEG chairman said.