CATCH THE BUZZ : 16 Grants to Address Declining Pollinator Health.
WASHINGTON, March 13, 2018 -The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a nonprofit established through bipartisan congressional support in the 2014 Farm Bill, today announced 16 grants totaling $7 million for research to address declining pollinator health, an ongoing threat to agricultural productivity in the United States. The FFAR awards are matched by more than 50 companies, universities, organizations and individuals for a total investment of $14.3 million toward research and technology development.
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- Last Updated: 26 March 2018 26 March 2018
CATCH THE BUZZ: Why Do Bees Sting?
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- Last Updated: 21 March 2018 21 March 2018
What's bugging our bees?
There are approximately 20,000 bee species in the world and 1,600 species in California. Despite this diversity, honey bees are still arguably the most important managed pollinator, and this brief overview willfocus on issues plaguing this charismatic insect. However, many of the same stressors are certainly affecting other pollinator populations. In agriculture, honey bees are used for pollinating numerous food plants that make our diets more exciting and nutritious, including many fruits, vegetables and nuts, and they are a crucial contributor to healthy ecosystems.
However, beekeepers in the past decade have been reporting annual honey bee colony losses that have reached 45%, which is more than double the acceptable loss deemed by beekeepers.
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- Last Updated: 19 March 2018 19 March 2018
Effects of oxalic acid on honey bee larval development
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- Last Updated: 19 March 2018 19 March 2018
CATCH THE BUZZ : Sick Bees Eat Healthier.
In the study, published recently in the journal Microbial Ecology, the researchers first gave groups of bees different kinds of pollen. They found that sick bees, and not healthy bees, lived longer when they had access to the pollen that was more nutritious, even though it also increased the number of parasites found in their gut.
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- Last Updated: 14 March 2018 14 March 2018
How Honey Bee Gut Bacteria Help to Digest Their Pollen-rich Diet
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- Last Updated: 14 March 2018 14 March 2018