Ira Kettler, a beekeeper for more than three decades and the state's bee inspeKettlector since 1992, checks bee colonies almost daily across the state, looking for evidence of colony collapse disorder and tracking outbreaks of established bee diseases such as varroa mites. He has examined many 'dead-out' hives ? hives whose colonies are extinguished, usually by winter starvation, freezing and other explainable causes. None appear to be the result of the disorder, a condition that is likely triggered by multiple factors, said Kettle, who works with the state's agricultural experiment station.

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The Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BCT) said it was a behaviour that appeared to be becoming increasingly common. Images captured by the BBC Scotland news website in a garden in Nairn, in the Highlands, show the bees visiting tree leaves covered with aphids. The secretions offer a substitute for nectar, but do not contain the protein the insects need to stay healthy. There have been warnings that bumblebee and wild bee populations around the UK are experiencing 'catastrophic declines'.

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On Thursday, Congress heard from farmers with troubled crops, from beekeepers struggling with lost hives, from frustrated researchers and even from corporate leaders worried about their own economic futures. Colony collapse disorder is characterized by a sudden decline in a bee colony's population and the inexplicable absence of dead bees. First reported in 2006, the disorder was the chief cause for the 31 percent decline in bee colonies last year. 'What seemed to be an aberration has unfortunately turned into a full-fledged crisis,' said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., chairman of the House horticulture and organic agriculture subcommittee, which convened the hearing.

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The severe drought that affected beekeepers until May and now the rains caused by weather-damaged invariably to 212 honey producers grouped in the organization 'Ch'iibal Caboob' who barely harvested 60 tons of honey and conventional, 40 organic honey, informed the president of the organization, Benito Poot Noh

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Paper prepared by Véronique Seidel, Elham Peyfoon, David G. Watson y James Fearnley

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Paper prepared by M. Navajas, A. Migeon, C. Alaux, Ml. Martin-Magniette, G. E. Robinson, J. D. Evans, S. Cros-Arteil, D. Crauser and Y. Le Conte. These results suggest that differences in behavior, rather than in the immune system, underlie Varroa tolerance in honey bees, and give an indication of the specific physiological changes found in parasitized bees. They provide a first step toward better understanding molecular pathways involved in this important host-parasite relationship.

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In the Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the Chatham County Beekeepers' Association for a very special celebration of National Pollinator Week on Saturday, June 28, from 10:00 am til 2:00 pm. This event is sponsored by Chatham Mills Development Corporation and hosted by Chatham Marketplace at The Lawn at Chatham Mills in Pittsboro.

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Beekeepers in the country are concerned about the presence of the so-called Asian wasp (Vespa velutina) which is a natural predator of the honeybee with the consequent prejudice in the work of pollination. The associations of beekeepers of Aquitaine (AADAQ) has conducted a research on the subject, which shows that before a tiny presence of these predators in the area, a total cessation of the activity of honeybees. Through traps set in Dordogne have been able to capture more than 2,000 females of this wasp, which shows the magnitude of the problem.

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Paper prepared by Agr. Enrique Martínez, Eng. Agr. Juan Pablo Renzi, Agr. Raúl Matarazzo y Tec. Enrique Schmid. All them are in the Agricultural Tecnology National Institute (INTA) EEA Hilario Ascasubi. The results show an increase in production per share of pollination by bees: Vicia (Vicia villosa Roth.) + 355%; rapeseed (Brassica napus) +292%, or buckwheat buckwheat (Buckwheat) +52%; Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) +26.3%

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Organized by the Uruguay Apicultural Society on june 28,2008

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