EVENT ALERT: Catch the Vespa velutina webinar on September 14th at 2:00pm EST. Topics include the Vespa velutina invasion in Spain and Italy, as well as local (U.S.) updates. Register to attend live, HERE. This event will also be recorded and shared at a later date.  Detailed agenda below. ​

Salt Lake City, Utah-August 22nd 2022.
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Managed honey bees in North America continue to be under increasing pressure to meet pollination demands for our food supply. At the same time, annual colony losses are increasing- 48.2% in the US in 2022, and the natural forage which gives bees healthy nutrition and a honey crop for producers is decreasing. Colony losses are often attributed to pathogens, parasites, pesticides, hive management (queen mating, genetics, maintenance), climate, and available nutrition. United States honey production in 2022 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 126 million pounds, down 1% from 2021 .Sustainable beekeeping is dependent on maximizing outputs (colony health, colony numbers, pollination contracts, honey production, profitability) while minimizing the inputs (time, money, personnel, treatments). A sustainable beekeeping industry contributes to a more sustainable agricultural landscape through a stable supply of bees for crop pollination. Therefore, Project Apis m. (PAm) is requesting research proposals that focus on enhancing the health, survival, and productivity of honey bee colonies, which provide practical and tangible solutions to the beekeeping industry.

Project Apis m. has funded over $10 million dollars of honey bee research!  This is a very notable feat for a grassroots, beekeeper supported, beekeeper directed non-profit organization that primarily supports applied research aimed at mitigating honey bee colony losses and improving honey bee health.

​In recognition of this major milestone, Danielle Downey, Executive Director of Project Apis m., asked me to write about PAm from my perspective as a scientist and member of the scientific advisory board. This task proved more difficult that I thought since I began interacting with PAm after meeting Christi Heintz during my postdoc at UCSF almost 15 years ago! Those of you who knew Christi know that she was a passionate and highly motivated person. She helped fuel my desire to learn more about honey bees, encouraged me to always learn from expert commercial beekeepers, and helped ensure that my research directions are aimed at benefiting bees and beekeepers.

As a honey bee researcher and member of the scientific advisory team, I think major strengths of PAm include: (1) most of the funds are used to address questions and/or problems facing the beekeeping industry (i.e., practical/applied research), (2) some funding supports basic science, aimed at understanding the fundamentals of bee biology, (3) funding decisions are made by the PAm Board, which is primarily made up of commercial beekeepers, and (4) while the grant submission, review, and reporting processes are rigorous they are also streamlined to ensure funds can quickly be used to support bee research. I am a strong supporter and advocate for bee research and PAm.

Project Apis m. seeks a qualified seed supplier that can fulfill our planned seed orders for the 2023 cover crop planting season, June – December 2023 related to their sub-awarded USDA Climate-Smart Commodities Partnerships project. The selected contractor shall be responsible for providing the particular seed mixes and estimated quantities outlined below. Please read the complete RFP for supplier requirements and application instructions. 

Seed Mixes
Expected seed mixes include but are not limited to the following and contents may change on an as needed basis:
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• Pollinator Brassica - 20% Early Canola, 25% Daikon Radish, 20% Yellow Mustard, 20% White Mustard, 15% Oriental Mustard

 

• NitroBuilder – 65% Triticale, 25% Vetch, 10% Daikon Radish

 

• Perennial Carbon Mix 2 – 20% Tall Fescue, 20% Orchard Grass, 15% Siberian Wheatgrass, 15% Crested Wheatgrass, 10% Yellow Blossum Sweat Clover, 10% Alfalfa, 10% Falcata Alfalfa

 

• Annual Bee Clover – 17% Balansa Clover, 25% Persian Clover, 8% Rose Clover, 10% Crimson Clover, 25% Berseem Clover

 

• Pollinator Wildflower - 9% Lace Leaf Phacelia, 4.5% California Poppy, 1% Alyssum, 2% Birds Eye, 2% Globe Gilia, 0.5% Goldfields, 10% Wallflower, 10% Calendula, 3% Five Spot, 15% Baby’s Breath, 11% Chinese Forget-Me-Not, 15% Bachelor Buttons, 1% Yarrow, 6% Dwarf Sunflower, 6% Gum Plant, 1% Great Valley Phacelia, 3% Baby Blue Eyes

The seed provider should expect the majority of seed orders to be the Pollinator Brassica mix, with an estimated need of 16 tons in the first year. The estimated need for the Perennial Carbon Mix 2 is 4.5 tons, NitroBuilder is estimated at 8 tons, Annual Bee Clover is estimated at 5 tons, and Pollinator Wildflower is estimated at 0.5 ton in the first year.

Contractors will be selected based on how well they are able to meet the organization’s needs. Preference will be given to contractors with technical proposals that meet all requirements set forth in the RFP. Please review the complete RFP which includes application instructions.