Cell cultures are cells that are removed from an organism and grown apart from the body in a controlled environment. Put another way, cells in a cell culture are living and reproducing, but are grown in a lab instead of as a part of a body. Cell lines are cell cultures that come from the same genetic background, meaning all cells grown from a cell line are from the same set of original cells. Cell cultures are grown in a controlled environment, allowing researchers to conduct highly controlled studies where cells can be exposed to different factors and the response of the cells is measured.…
Year: 2013
Queens and Nosema ceranae
While I have only done it a few times, every once in a while a beekeeper will contact our lab and ask us to check a queen for Nosema spores. A couple weeks ago a beekeeper experienced unusual losses in his apiary. Since he wanted to cover all bases so to say, he also sent me a queen and a couple of workers from a dead out to examine for spores. Despite being sad about his losses, I was excited to do something out of the ordinary. For the most part, beekeepers and scientists alike are more interested in Nosema loads of worker bees. Nosema…
Trouble in Paradise: Pesticide Damage in Florida Citrus Groves
It was a tough spring in the citrus groves in Florida this year. We had a warm winter and cold spring which extended the bloom period an extra several weeks. With the devastating spread of Huanglongbing (HLB) a.k.a. citrus greening which is carried by the Asian citrus psyllid, many grove owners chose to spray certain insecticides (namely imidicloprid, a neonicotinoid class insecticide) during the bloom which is a violation of pesticide labeling. Many beekeepers (myself included) suffered extensive damage to our colonies resulting in colony death as well as a very poor honey harvest. Relationships between beekeepers and citrus grove owners in Florida have been…
Some Good Neighbor Policies for Urban Beekeepers
A few weeks ago, we had an incident at the University of Maryland involving the bees from our rooftop apiaries. A group on campus was giving away free Rita’s Italian Ice, and our bees felt inclined to participate in the event. I had a few friends send me pictures of what was going on. We have also heard that the bees have been getting into the trashcans on campus in search of soda and other “forage.” Currently, bee groups on campus are working towards having all of the campus trashcans fitted with lids that are animal-proof and insect-proof. Hopefully this will decrease the unwanted attention some…
The Basics of Moving Hives
At some point every beekeeper will need to move hives, whether it’s a beginning hobbyist bringing home their first colony or a seasoned professional moving an entire operation across the country. Here at the NorCal Bee Informed Partnership “headquarters” in Oroville, we recently relocated 4 rooftop colonies about a half mile away because some of the maintenance staff felt did not feel comfortable working on the AC units near the bees, and we wanted to avoid any issues before they happened! In this blog I would like to go through the basics of moving colonies and some lessons learned from our recent experience. Step 1:…
Why your drones are getting the boot
Drones, male bees, are not physically capable of doing work around the hive. They can’t sting, can’t collect pollen or nectar, can’t take care of the larvae, etc. They pretty much do only two things: eat and mate. Queens are produced when the weather is nice enough for them to mate, preferably over 70 and not windy. When the weather turns cold, drones are unable to perform their sole function. If there are no queens around to mate with, then drones are a suck on resources and worker bees stop rearing drones. Any drones left get booted out of the hive. In fall, it is…
Chalkbrood
Chalkbrood (Ascosphaera apis) is typically observed during the spring but symptoms can be seen throughout the year. Chalkbrood contaminates larvae when the spores are mixed with brood food. The fungus will outcompete larvae for food and eventually turn the larvae into a “chalk-like” mummy. The color of chalkbrood ranges from white to grey then starts to turn black-this is when the fungus is producing fruiting bodies. This is the most infectious stage of chalkbrood. The black looking mummies are often what you see outside on the entrance board or in front of the hive. At this point these mummies can spread spores to other colonies…
Sacbrood Virus (SBV)
SBV or Sacbrood Virus (Morator aetatulas) often appears during spring or colony buildup and causes larval death. The pupa fails to pupate and has a “shrunken head” appearance. When you see perforations in the sealed brood with the infected larvae inside, the perforation is usually choppy or jagged indicating a problem. If the SBV pupa is totally open, the capping has been completely removed by bees and the pupa is most likely greyish-yellow to brown and starting to dry out. When removed the pupa looks similar to a slipper or canoe. Infected adult bees will have decreased life spans. Symptoms: • Perforated sealed brood, pupa…
BIP Ad. November 2013
Survey Winner Announced! Scott Jaynes is our survey winner for this year. Our BIP Tech Team visited Scott in August. You can read more about the visit on our blog.
American Foulbrood (AFB)
How does AFB spread? American Foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae) is introduced to the hive by drifting bees from nearby colonies, infected equipment/tools, beekeepers and robbing. The infection begins when spores enter the hive, and then food contaminated by spores is fed to the larvae by nurse bees. Once spores are in the midgut the bacteria take over using the larvae as a source of nourishment. After the cells are sealed, death occurs. If death occurs while in the pupal stage, there may be a protruding tongue present. When there is a serious infection you can notice moisture on sealed brood as they start to sink. Sunken…