Bee Experts Say Money Is Needed To Address Colony Collapse   3.5.08
Not everybody was pleased with our item yesterday about Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer's belief that the government was spending enough money to unlock the mystery of the honeybee crisis.

Our pal Kim Flottum, editor of the industry trade journal Bee Culture, blogged that money is the key to solving colony collapse disorder. "Does the USDA even care about the bee crisis?" he asks on his The Daily Green blog.

CBS News
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Varroa mite found outside NZ South Island controlled area   3.5.08
The varroa bee mite has been found at several apiary sites outside the controlled area in the north of the South Island.

Previously varroa infected hives existed in an area roughly 20km around Nelson, the only area in the South Island so far hit by the mites which are widespread in the North Island.
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US National Honey Board Launches Its First Baseball Honey Promotion   1.5.08
Take Me Out to the Ball Game – with Honey! This year, in a first-time promotion NHB is sharing America’s passion for baseball by sponsoring several Minor League Baseball™ teams for the 2008 season. The teams are: the Durham Bulls, Raleigh/Durham Area, N.C., (affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays); the Iowa Cubs, Des Moines, Iowa, (affiliate of the Chicago Cubs); and the Stockton Ports, Stockton, Calif., (affiliate of the Oakland A’s).
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Drought, tutu poisons honey   30.4.08
Food-safety officials have confirmed that Coromandel honey eaten by 22 people who fell ill was contaminated with high levels of a plant toxin, and tougher controls on the honey supply are now being contemplated.

The Food Safety Authority said last night that laboratory tests had confirmed the presence, as suspected, of toxins from the tutu plant in leftover comb honey supplied by people who became sick after eating the products at Easter.
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Bees Learn Thievery   30.4.08
Even the pinhead-sized brains of insects can learn new skills from their comrades - including theft.

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It seems bumblebees can discover how to "rob" flowers of nectar, scientists now reveal.


Normally bumblebees crawl into flowers to get nectar. In return for this sweet treat, blossoms coat the insects in pollen, which contains plant sperm. When these bees rendezvous with other flowers, they serve as couriers of this pollen, helping the plants breed
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Mirror Works: I'm in the honey   10.4.08
If you think your workplace is hectic you should check out Doug Isle's - his is a real hive of activity.

Actually make that 300 hives, because Doug's beekeeping business has blossomed beyond belief.

"This is a serious case of a hobby getting out of control," laughs Doug, who is one hell of a busy beekeeper.

"I started off with one hive, now it's 300. I used to spend the odd hour with the bees in my garden - now it's a 24/7, 365-days-a-year operation."
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Response to launch of DEFRA’S Bee Health Strategy Consultation
By British Beekeepers' Association   10.4.08
The British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA) welcomes the publication of DEFRA’s draft Bee Health Strategy consultation document, launched today by Lord Rooker at the Ormskirk Beekeepers Association’s apiary.

The BBKA is however concerned that despite its advice to DEFRA there are substantial short comings and omissions in the strategy

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Consultation on a draft strategy on protecting and improving the health of honey bees in England and Wales   10.4.08
This consultation aims to engage with all those with an interest in the sustainability of honey bees. The draft strategy is the result of a series of informal discussions and consultations with beekeeping associations and other stakeholders. We now want to hear from a wider range of people, particularly individual beekeepers to make sure that the strategy represents accurately their priorities.

The closing date for comments on this consultation is 29 August 2008.

Letter to consultees
List of consultees
Consultation document (PDF 300 KB)
Response form (PDF 40 KB)
Response form (Word 120 KB)
Further information
Bee health
Page published: 8 April 2008

Link is
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/bee-health/index.htm
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Smart electric devices talk like bees
  3.4.08
Honeybees in a hive cooperate to grow and survive. Their survival relies on the real-time and continuous communication of vital information between every member in the bee colony.
The technique that honey bees use to communicate information about new food sources to other bees is called the ZigBee Principle. Bees can communicate in a silent way by dancing in a zig- zag pattern. Vital information such as the location, distance, and direction of a new honey source can be shared with other bees.
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The 17th Century solution to hair loss ... a handful of dried bees, according to a rare book   3.4.08
you were losing your hair in 1655 you could rub some dried bees on your head and if you were feeling under the weather you could always drink the fermented juices of thirty vipers.

These medical treatments were the height of sophistication for 17th Century ladies and gentlemen and have been uncovered in a rare book.

Roy Logan inherited a copy of Natura Exenterata or Nature Unbowelled, which gives handy hints for preparing the ancient and unusual potions.

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