What is the link between cell phones and bee loss?

Some scientists claim that the radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' life cycle, and is part of the reason for the decline in bee populations.

Great Sunflower Project to track bee population

Scientists report that since bees like sunflowers, there is a way that citizens can plant sunflowers and then track the bees that visit them.
Here's the official link

New York Times sets up a topics/trending page on bees

I'll also put this link along the side of the web page, but here's the NY Times' new Bees page

Cause(s) found to colony collapse disorder?

A new, peer-reviewed study suggests that there are a couple of causes of colony collapse disorder: a fungus and a virus. In short, overwork and poor nutrition, as bees emerge from winter, provide pathways for the two to cause fatal damage.
The new results were released at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

NY guide to urban honey

Here's New York magazine's guide to urban honey in the Big Apple. It has bees 101, hives 101 and even a story on honey tasting. Looks great!

Interest in honey, bees up in Tennessee/Alabama region

Here's an article about honey and bees from a paper that coveres Alabama and parts of Tennessee. One interesting fact within the article: Poplars did not produce much nectar last year, which means beekeepers did not get much dark honey from poplars.

Chef David Guas: Q&A from A Food Coma

Here is my Q&A with chef David Guas, who recently was on the Today Show, talking up some honey recipes.

Beyond The Hive: Agriculture exports up in Wisconsin (honey among them)

Honey is among the export products that helped lead to an 18 percent increase in agricultural exports over the previous year.

Daily Green reports on 'Honest Honey' campaign

Here's a report from the Daily Green about the new effort to let people know about unscrupulous honey packagers.

Survey: People feel deceived about their honey

A new survey by the National Honey Board shows that people feel deceived and outraged about their honey.
But please tell the folks at SaveTheHoneybear.com that the link doesn't work.

Beyond the Hive competition

As part of a celebration of biodiversity, designers in London are invited to participate in a competition to design five-star hotels for insects.

Beyond The Hive: US releases chemical usage on wheat in 2009

Here's the link to the report by the National Agricultural Statistics Service about chemical use on the 2009 wheat crop.
Here is the NASS' report on methodology.

Northern Ireland runs short of honey

Officials are encouraging people to help revive beekeeping because of the shortages of honey.

Wall Street Journal reports on bees' problems

The paper has a feature on the new John Q. and Jane Q. beekeepers.

'Father of modern beekeeping' honored in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's historic commission has honored Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth, the so-called "father of modern beekeeping," because of his patented beehives, gets a state marker in Philadelphia.

Honey loss in India

Destruction of trees important to honeybees in India has led the government to begin an awareness campaign to save what's left.

A honey of a murder case

A honey producer was murdered by a rival in Australia. True crimes, honey version.

Honey production up in Yemen

While the numbers are worth examining further, officials in Yemen report that beekeeping, bee populations and honey production are up.

Honey as an economic development tool

India is using agriculture, including honey production, as a tool of economic development, to help people work and to fight against Maoist insurgents.

Is there a link between some insecticides and declining bee population?

Some experts speculate that a new type of insecticide that coats plants could be harming bees.
On a perhaps related note, the USDA will report on wheat production and chemical use on Wednesday, May, 19, 2010. More to come here, as warrants.

Drought impacts bees in Ethiopia

A drought has forced bees into valleys in Ethiopia; as they search for flowers, their white honey has turned yellow.

Watch the trailer for "Vanishing of the Bees"

Here's the trailer for the film, due out this summer

New Jersey's chief beekeeper

From Rowan University's online journalism class, a feature on NJ's chief beekeeper

The search for local honey in Baltimore

I pass this on, in hopes that someone will have answers: A locavore in the Baltimore area is looking for local honey, hopefully something a little less expensive than what he/she is currently paying.

Store-brand honey

Barely visible on the Shop-Rite brand bottle of honey is the country of origin information: It is a product of U.S., Canada, Argentina, and India.
What's troubling here is what we know about "Indian" honey - that it very well could be Chinese honey relabeled to avoid scrutiny and fair tariffs. And we know that some Chinese has been tainted with antibiotics, from a severe bacterial infection of hives several years ago.
I still endorse the practice of buying local honey. You don't know where those generic store-brands have been.

Maine expert weighs in on colony collapse, etc.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. It almost seems as if the interviewer is trying to steer the expert into saying there's no problem with bees, but while the guy hints that maybe there is some "Chicken Little" mentality at work, he also notes how unsustainable industrial farming is. He does focus on the larger issue of biodiversity. What I think we need to be cautious about is removing honeybees from that biodiverse population. It doesn't have to be a zero-sum game, where all the bees die for the sake of allowing other pollinators to practice their work.

New documentary due out this summer: "Vanishing of the Bees"

A new documentary will look at the struggles of the world's bee populations.

The White House garden

This feature story about the White House garden includes this tidbit:

The patch of lawn includes a beehive tended by a carpenter who has worked at the White House for more than two decades and tends bees on the side. The hive has produced 134 pounds of honey so far, and Obama packaged some of it as gifts to the spouses of the world leaders who attended the G20 summit in Pittsburgh last year.

The honey also has found its way into the White House kitchen. Chefs have used it for honey cupcakes and honey vinaigrette salad dressing.

Honey from a stingless bee

Here's an article about a scientist who has studied stingless bees in Kenya, and has tapped their honey. It's said to be sweeter than our ordinary honey.

More on beekeeping, this time from Colorado

This is an earth-friendly column from a publication in Colorado about the importance of bees and beekeeping.

Texas A&M lab can conduct tests to ID country of origin

A scientist at a lab at Texas A&M University can analyze the DNA of the pollen in honey to determine its country of origin.
Melissopalynology is the process Vaughn Bryant undertakes to analyze the pollen and ID where it came from.
The Houston Chronicle has a feature, too.

More on the Honest Honey campaign

AOL senior public health correspondent Andrew Schneider reports on the new Honest Honey campaign. Says Jill Clark, president of Dutch Gold Honey in Lancaster, Pa.:

"When honey is imported illegally, no one can be confident of its true source and quality. Some products are not 100 percent honey and have other quality issues."

The wider world: It's National Honey Week in England

England's Honey Association notes that it's National Honey Week!
Here's a story about Liverpool beekeepers, noting the significance of the week.

Honest Honey campaign begins

A group of marketers and importers has created a new campaign to point out the threat of illegal honey entering the U.S. markets.
The campaign's Honest Honey website is here:

Beetle is a new threat to Hawaii's bees, honey production

It's only about a quarter-inch long, but the small hive beetle is a big threat.

Wild Turkey American Honey Bourbon and B. Nektar Orange Blossom Mead

Found a single-serve bottle of this at the liquor store checkout yesterday, while buying some of this: B. Nektar's Orange Blossom mead. Nice thing about the mead is that it has a little bee indicator strip that shows you whether it is sweet or dry.