honey bees

Grower organizations representing a variety of crops are disappointed with the EPA’s draft biological evaluation for several neonicotinoid products. The groups representing farmers across the country said that failure to consider real-world usage data in the analysis conducted as part of the Endangered Species Act could limit growers’ ability to protect their crops from pests, protect their liveli

The USDA released its report on honeybee colonies earlier this week, and the number were encouraging when it comes to the total number of colonies as well as colony losses. "The January one honeybee colonies is up 2%." That's compared to January 1st of 2020 at just over 2 ...

Photo: WSDA The Asian Giant is not native to the Pacific Northwest, so what have they been eating for the past couple of years. Scientists studied the frass, or fecal matter, of Asian giant hornet larvae and determined the invasive species ate many things that were expects, such as paper wasps and honeybees ...

A collaborative effort between the USDA and the Washington state Department of Agriculture lead to the recent breakthrough regarding the threat of Asian Giant Hornets, also known as the Murder Hornets, in the northwest corner of the state. Anne LeBrun of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said they were more than happy to lend technical support to the WSDA ...

Last week, the Washington state Department of Agriculture and the USDA confirmed a fourth Asian giant hornet was recently found in the northwest corner of the state. The queen hornet was reportedly stepped on by a Bellingham resident June 6th, roughly 20 miles from where the first two hornets were discovered in December ...

In December 2019, the Washington State Department of Agriculture put out a warning after Asian Giant hornets were discovered in the northwest corner of the state. But those insects have gained national and international fame recently after they were given the title Murder Hornet ...

In early March, Washington State University celebrated the grand opening of its new Honey Bee & Pollinator Research, Extension and Education Facility in Othello. WSU Honey Bee scientist Steve Sheppard said this facility will benefit their years of existing research in Pullman, and allow for research expansion, such as developing in field methods when it comes to colony health. ...

A national survey says commercial bee keepers reported losing 41% of their colonies last year.  But, experts are quick to point out that the number of wild bees are also declining.  Partly, according to Gary Crawford, because we humans don’t provide enough food for our bee friends.       ...

Researchers at Washington State University plan to advance their study of refrigeration to fight varroa mites that harm honey bees, thanks to two new grants.  Brandon Hopkins, assistant research professor at WSU’s Department of Entomology, said the local bee keeper and tree fruit industry pushed to have this research changed from an observational study to one that is more in depth.   “... Read Mor

Thanks to a recent $1 million donation, researchers at Washington State University can continue efforts to help the honey bee remain strong and active.  The WSU Honey Bee and Pollinator Research Facility in Pullman recently received the gift from Ken and Sue Christianson.  Ke...