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Project Apis m. Blog

Thinking Outside the (Shipping) box

5/23/2018

5 Comments

 

Honey Bee Queen Research with Dr. Jeffery Pettis

Picture
Every year queen bee producers ship honey bee queens to beekeepers across the USA and Canada. Often people are surprised that bees can be mailed– by both the US Postal Service and UPS. Each box can contain hundreds of queens, and as you might imagine, that's a highly perishable shipment! Queens are vulnerable in transit, especially to temperature extremes. Studies have shown that even though the queens may arrive alive, unseen damage due to temperature exposure will result in lower colony productivity. That means less honey, poor brood patterns, premature supersedure and lower winter survival.     ​
Pick up any beekeeping textbook, and it will confirm that a queen bee may be productive for several years. Unfortunately, in recent years it is not uncommon for a queen to fail much sooner, and beekeepers report re-queening their colonies up to two times per year. This is a growing concern for many beekeepers as it results in increased inputs – the cost of replacement queens and labor, often accompanied with decreased colony productivity.

In addition to the financial consequences linked to reproductive quality, these issues raise interesting research questions about why the reproductive quality of queens and drones may be changing.

Dr. Jeffery S. Pettis, formerly at the USDA ARS in Beltsville, then working from the University of Bern in Bern, Switzerland and now back in the USA doing independent research, has been working on these  questions for several years. Recognizing the need for more research about how sperm viability in queens can affect their productivity and even their lifespan, Dr. Pettis has been studying temperature and pesticide exposure impacts on sperm viability and queen quality, colony productivity, health and success.

Along with sperm viability and colony health, Dr. Pettis has been learning and informing us about how shipping environments can affect these factors.  By placing sensors in standard packages of queen and worker bees during shipping and reading the data once the queens arrive at their destination, researchers are able to “ride along” with the bees during shipment and analyze the conditions they are exposed to.  This data is being collected not only by Dr. Pettis, but also in collaborative studies with with Dr. David Tarpy under a USDA-NIFA grant, and by Drs. Marta Guarna and Steve Pernal of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in Beaverlodge, AB. These conditions can then be recreated in a lab, to measure the impact of these temperature extremes on queens.

While this data provides valuable information to have in our knowledge bank, Dr. Pettis is also thinking  about what this means in terms of practical solutions.  Gaining the knowledge and ability to provide guidance and tools for shipping, maintenance, and management of queens is one part of the project.  By working together with shipping companies like USPS and UPS, Dr. Pettis hopes to provide education to company employees about the importance and how-to of providing optimized care for honey bees during shipping and handling.  Additionally, new shipping methods are being developed and tested in this study which provide climate and humidity-control for queen shipment boxes with the intention of mitigating damage from temperature and environmental stressors.  All this is being done with close consultation with queen breeders.

Healthier hives and healthier beekeeping businesses need healthy queen bees.  Dr. Pettis’ research exemplifies applying scientific research to a problem which is affecting honey bees and agriculture in a tangible way.  Having identified a problem which is contributing to honey bee stress, through collaboration with other researchers, and utilizing creative partnerships with shipping companies and beekeepers, Dr. Pettis is working towards finding practical solutions.  

This project administered by Project Apis m. is funded by The National Honey Board
 
Read more about PAm administered queen research here
Written by:
Sharah Yaddaw, Communications Director
Project Apis m. 
www.projectapism.org
5 Comments
Debbie Seib link
9/25/2018 12:00:54 pm

I'm trying to get a good email to contact Jeffery Pettis.

Reply
Paul Petersen
11/3/2018 05:10:00 pm

I recently met Dr Pettis at the BCHPA. I would really like further contact but failed to get any contact information as I was so anxious to depart a presentation in the Mackenzie room. I know what was being proposed as it has raged here on the island and said proposal has very little support from Beekeepers not for content but suspicions, I think the looks he was giving or was it my imagination. Show him this email. We are going after some of the money he has suggested. We are looking at wasps and their predation on hives end of season,

Would he be so kind to stay in touch, we would really appreciate it.

Paul Petersen

I know he is busy, but we’re in this for the bees not money!

Reply
Jeanne Marcello
3/26/2019 10:41:09 am

I'm an ag journalist writing a newspaper article about Michigan beekeepers who sat down with Congressman Moolenaar on March 19. They're trying to get his support on House resolution 1337. I'd like to provide Dr. Pettis with a preview, to make sure that the information I received about him is accurate. I've been unable to locate a statement to Congress authored by him that referenced neonicotinoids. I'm on deadline for March 28, 4 p.m. EST. Please pass along my contact email to him. Thank you. Sincerely, Jeanne Marcello

Reply
ANDREW SERAFIN
7/22/2019 03:50:34 pm

Dear Sir,

For 13 years I am watching the CCD. One year ago I collected graphs from Europe , USA and Canada the copy of the article/letter I would include bellow but the format of e-mail does not allow me to. Generally it seems to me the CCD is contagious and the bio-agent has to be virus. This is what you and Dennis vanEngelsdorphas express in “Colony Collapse: The Mystery of the Missing Bees | Retro Report” | The New York Times; Sep 30, 2014. I know that nobody isolated the virus, and I know that some proceedings were finally designed to investigate the bee viruses. However my suggestion would be to investigate the statistical/spacious pattern/graphs by an epidemiologist. Would you know somebody who study epidemiology questions? A conclusion of epidemiologists can save as few years before the virus will be finally isolated and examined. In a serious matter like this it is not important what the microbe is and how it works. The state of the outbreak causes the introduction of orders to stop the escalation of problems before you know what microbe is working.

PS.
BBC reporter Bill Turnbull in "What's Killing Our Bees - BBC Documentary" mentioned that Australia does not has CCD. It confirms that on top of all weakening factors we have the contagious factor – namely the CCD virus. He says in Australia there is no CCD, but in France despite ban on neonics the CCD continue. Until now Australia has no import of new bees I suppose, so the virus possibly did not get Australian shores.

Reply
Alice Whitaker link
7/1/2022 03:15:22 pm

Great shhare

Reply



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  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Project Apis m.
    • PAm Staff
    • Scientific Advisors
    • PAm Board of Directors
    • Annual Reports >
      • 2022 Annual Report
      • 2021 Annual Report
      • 2020 Annual Report
    • Contact Us
    • Join The Team
  • News
    • PAm eNewsletter
    • Project Apis m. Blog
    • Inside the Hive TV
  • Honey Bee Research
    • Honey Bee Research
    • PAm-Costco Scholars
    • Request Funding
    • RFPs
  • Seeds For Bees
    • Apply to Enroll
    • Seeds For Bees FAQs
    • Seeds For Bees For the Grower >
      • Water Requirements
      • Cover Crop Competition
      • Nitrogen Management
      • FAQs for Growers
      • Seeds for Bees Resources
      • Seeds For Bees Net 30 Agreement
    • PAm Seed Mixes >
      • PAm Pollinator Brassica Mix
      • PAm Annual Clover Mix
      • PAm Bio Build 3 Mix
      • PAm Wildflower Mix
      • Vetch-Grain Mix
      • PAm Perennial Clover Mix
    • Seeds For Bees Supporters
  • Forage
    • Forage (Home)
    • Forage Videos
  • Resources
    • Guide to Indoor Storage of Honey Bee Colonies in the USA
    • Guide to Shipping Honey Bee Queen Cells
    • Guide to Honey Bee Queen Banking
    • Best Management Practices For Beekeepers (Home) >
      • Honey Bee Nutrition
      • Varroa
      • Nosema
      • Honey Bee Equipment Management and Maintenance
      • Honey Bee Colony Management
    • Best Management Practices For Almond Growers
  • Video
  • Supporters
    • Our Supporters
    • Support Us
    • Honey Saves Hives
    • Christi Heintz Scholarship
    • Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Testimonials