Harris, Cliff. "Honeybees May Have Lost Their 'magnetic Compasses' and Vanished." CDAPRESS.com. Coeur D'Alene Press, 4 Apr. 2011. Web. 4 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cdapress.com/content/tncms/live/cdapress.com/columns/cliff_harris/article_cdda8b4c-7358-50f2-899c-ee13a7f928ad.html>./article_cdda8b4c-7358-50f2-899c-ee13a7f928ad.html

Beneficial Insects and Other Arthropods

by W.S. Cranshaw ¹ (2/09) - ¹Colorado State University Extension entomologist and professor, bioagricultural sciences and pest management. 1/92. Revised 2/09.  Colorado State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Colorado counties cooperating.

Nuisance Wasps and Bees

A great article on the differences between, the identification of, and the beneficial attributes of bees and wasps.

by W.S. Cranshaw - Colorado State University Extension entomologist and professor, bioagricultural sciences and pest management. 4/96. Revised 2/07.  Colorado State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Colorado counties cooperating.

Publication #ENY122, Author Malcolm T. Sanford.

1. This document is ENY122, one of a series of the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Reviewed May 1, 2003. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.  Malcolm T. Sanford, professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.

 

Journal of Apicultural Research 49(1): 7-14 (2010)

By: Dennis vanEngelsdorp1,2*, Jerry Hayes Jr3, Robyn M Underwood2 and Jeffery S Pettis4
1
  Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry - Apiculture, 2301 North Cameron Street, Harrisburg,
PA 17701, USA.
2
  Department of Entomology, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
3
  Florida Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant and Apiary Inspection, Apiary Inspection Section, Division of Plant
Industry, P.O. Box 147100, Gainesville, FL 32614, USA.
4
  USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory, Bldg. 476 BARC-E, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.

 This study records the third consecutive year of high winter losses in managed honey bee colonies in the USA. Over the winter of 2008-9 an estimated 29% of all US colonies died. Operations which pollinated Californian almond orchards over the survey period had lower average osses than those which did not. Beekeepers consider normal losses to be 17.6%, and 57.9% of all responding beekeepers suffered losses greater than that which they considered to be acceptable. The proportion of operations with the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) symptom of no dead bees in the colony or apiary” decreased in this period as compared to the previous years. The proportion of colonies dying from apparently manageable conditions, however, such as starvation or a weak condition in the fall increased as compared to previous surveys.
 

vanEngelsdorp D, Hayes J, Underwood RM, Pettis J (2008) A Survey of Honey Bee Colony Losses in the U.S., Fall 2007 to Spring 2008. PLoS ONE 3(12):
e4071. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004071
 

By: Dennis vanEngelsdorp1,2*, Jerry Hayes Jr3, Robyn M Underwood2 and Jeffery S Pettis4
1
  Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry - Apiculture, 2301 North Cameron Street, Harrisburg,
PA 17701, USA.
2
  Department of Entomology, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
3
  Florida Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant and Apiary Inspection, Apiary Inspection Section, Division of Plant
Industry, P.O. Box 147100, Gainesville, FL 32614, USA.
4
  USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory, Bldg. 476 BARC-E, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.

 Honey bees are an essential component of modern agriculture. A recently recognized ailment, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), devastates colonies, leaving hives with a complete lack of bees, dead or alive. Up to now, estimates of honey bee population decline have not included losses occurring during the wintering period, thus underestimating actual colony mortality. Our survey quantifies the extent of colony losses in the United States over the winter of 2007–2008.
 

Publication by WA state Department of Agriculture - Pesticides Approved to Control or Suppress Tracheal Mites and/or Varroa Mitres in Honey Bee Colonies.

A Pacific Northwest Extension publication by Oregon State University, University of Idaho, and Washington State University.

An article on Russian Honeybees submitted by Ted Swenson.