The Bee Folks

USDA Beltsville Bee Lab is in my backyard. They have done soooo much for the bee industry, to increase bee health and keep honeybee products safe for the consumer.

'Cause let's 'bee' honest - you don't get rich as a beekeeper. So creating a good study to develop Integrated Pest Management that works against hive beetles, or any number of mites...... the USDA Bee Lab has the resources to perform the large-scale studies necessary to show if any given technique does (or does not) work.

How about free diseases diagnostic services? Especially when the mechanism of Colony Collapse was barely understood. (Beekeepers would lose up to 90% of their hives to a sudden collapse, which affects not just honey production but also crop pollination.) By offering the free diagnostic services, they are better able to track foulbrood (as well as other diseases), and it's resistance to antibiotics.

They study other critters, like understanding the life cycle of the hive beetle in an effort to develop a non-chemical interruption to eliminate them from the hive. (Hive beetles eat larva and leave a stinky mess in the hive. Because of the hard carapace of the hive beetle, honeybees can't remove them themselves, so prefer leaving the hive.)

They are located in an area with multiple climates, so the research they produce and sponsor can be geared towards microclimates across the US.

They are a central repository of knowledge regarding honeybee husbandry, pollination practices, etc, and routinely exchange knowledge on relevant topics with other countries in an effort to prevent or slow the flow of disease across borders.

And why are bees important?
Almonds - US is the top producer of almonds in the world. Without honeybee pollination, yields collapse by 90%.

Citrus Industry - yields increase by 30% with honeybee pollination, including fruit set and fruit size.

Onions - seed production requires honeybee pollination

Cantalope - honeybees are essential pollinators in commercial fields, and the crop collapses without them.

Buckwheat - up to 60% higher yields with honeybee pollination.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

We will be talking with our legislators and local bee groups shortly to see what sort of coordinated push we can create to prevent the closure of the Bee Lab. Stay tuned for more info.