Blue Sky Bee Supply Blog

Researchers have used bees to monitor pollution for the first time in Australia and have found significant lead levels in the insects, depending on location. The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reports the levels of metal varied depending on the history of the land. Scientists say Sydney dwelling bees are affected by former leaded gasoline emissions from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, with highest lead levels reaching 230-440 micrograms a kilogram. But 715 miles to the west in Broken Hill, where le …

April 11, 2017 by Entomology Today, By Meredith Swett WalkerThe European honey bee (Apis mellifera), shown above with a Varroa destructor mite on its thorax, can be bred, or “selected,” for mite resistance, such as in the Russian honey bee stock. However, a new study shows the Russian honey bee may still be vulnerable in areas with significant Varroa mite presence. (Photo credit: Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org)Imagine a parasite about the size of a grapefr …

Mountain-dwelling East African honey bees have distinct genetic variations compared to their savannah relatives that likely help them to survive at high altitudes. And the bees living in the mountain forests look and behave differently from their surrounding lowland counterparts, Mountain bees are larger, darker and less aggressive than savannah bees, and can fly at lower temperatures and conserve honey when flowers aren’t blooming But despite their differences, the bees are the same …

A joint collaboration between the Bee Informed Partnership, the USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory and USDA-APHIS has been established in the short term to primarily provide for free diagnostics of honey bee brood for American foul brood disease and other brood diseases. We will also offer other pest and disease diagnostics for a nominal fee. Please see https://beeinformed.org/diagnostics/ for additional information.Thank you for your patience. We realize the challenges and are very happy …

Where Food Comes From, Inc. (WFCF) (d.b.a. IMI Global, Inc.) (OTCQB: WFCF), the most trusted resource for independent, third-party verification of food production practices in North America, today announced it has acquired privately held A Bee Organic, a USDA Accredited Certification Agency. Details of the transaction, which include cash and stock, will be disclosed in SEC filings.With offices and staff in California and Vermont, A Bee Organic provides more than 125 customers with Na …