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  With $2 million in new funding, Montana State research lab continues explorations into viruses and honeybee health With the help of two major grants from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a team in Montana State University’s  College of Agriculture  is furthering investigations of honeybee antiviral defense mechanisms with the goal of developing strategies to reduce honeybee colony deaths. According to Michelle Flenniken, a professor in MSU’s  Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology  and co-director of the university’s  Pollinator Health Center , annual honeybee colony losses have averaged roughly 38% in the U.S. in the past 15 years. Despite these losses, beekeepers in the U.S. have maintained the number of bee colonies at roughly 2.5 million by dividing one colony to make two – a process called “splitting.”  While splitting helps to offset some of the impact of colony losses, Flenniken said the core pr...

Penn State Scientists Track Honeybee Foraging Habits With QR Codes Penn State scientists have devised a creative way to learn the secrets to honeybees’ hives . Scientists attached AprilTags, tiny QR codes smaller than a pinky fingernail, to the backs of young bees to investigate their foraging habits. Robyn Allwood, a Penn State Extension educator, said more than 32,000 bees have been tagged so far. In a research paper describing the project , a team of biologists, engineers, and entomologists shared how they created a system to gather data from the honeybees at six hive locations in New York and Pennsylvania. As the bees make their way in and out of the hive, cameras containing sensors spot the bees’ QR codes. The technology helps the researchers identify individual bees and track the length and number of trips the bees make to and from their hives. “This technology is opening up opportunities for biologists to study systems in ways that weren’t previously possible, especially in re...

  Tracking 32,000 Bees with QR Codes. Turns Out, Bee Foraging Is Weirder Than You Think Honey bees are among the most cooperative and industrious creatures. Their process of collecting nectar and returning it to the hive is a remarkable example of collective decision-making involving tens of thousands of bees. Yet for all our research, there are still many mysteries about their foraging behavior—how  bees evaluate nectar quality , determine travel distances, and make collective decisions. To answer these questions, a team of researchers from Penn State University tagged over 32,000 honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) with tiny QR codes and monitored their activity for several months using an automated system. A bee with an AprilTag on its back. Image credits:  Penn State . Why (and how) you tag 32,000 bees Labeling individual bees with miniaturized QR codes is never an easy task, but it’s the best way to track thousands of bees at the same time. “Because of the large size of ho...

Fort Erie to Become a Bee-friendly Community FORT ERIE (January 29, 2025) – The Town of Fort Erie has applied to become a Bee City Community through Bee City Canada. This initiative directly aligns with the Council's dedication to environmental and climate change resiliency as identified in the Corporate Strategic Plan. By becoming a Bee City Community, Fort Erie demonstrates its commitment to environmental stewardship and the protection of pollinator populations, ensuring a vibrant and sustainable future for all. By fostering pollinator habitats, we aim to create a healthier ecosystem that benefits residents and local wildlife. Fort Erie will support pollinators through various initiatives that enhance biodiversity and promote sustainable practices. Our efforts focus on creating and maintaining pollinator-friendly habitats, including the planting of native wildflowers and the preservation of natural spaces. Through partnerships with local organizations, schools, and businesses, w...

  How US states are leading the climate fight – despite Trump’s rollbacks A s the  Trump administration  rolls back decades-old  environmental  protections and pulls Biden-era incentives for renewable energy, state-level advocates and officials are preparing to fill the void in climate action. Some state leaders are preparing to legally challenge the president’s environmental rollbacks, while others are testifying against them in Congress. Meanwhile, advocates are pushing for states to meet their ambitious climate goals using methods and technologies that don’t require federal support. “Our states, cities, businesses, and local institutions stand ready to pick up the baton of US climate leadership and do all they can – despite federal complacency – to continue the shift to a clean energy economy,” Gina McCarthy, former climate adviser to Biden and co-chair of the  America Is All In  coalition of climate-concerned states and cities, said this month. Amo...