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  The futures of climate modeling We reflect on the current state of climate modeling and the future divergent paths that have been proposed for a step change that leverages different tools. We review the history of successful Earth system predictions across timescales, highlighting how multiple tools and steps were involved. We argue that the past is prologue for climate modeling and that embracing a variety of tools and methodologies is key to achieving convergent paths for meaningful progress. Where we are today In the mid-20th century, with the combined advances in computing and numerical modeling, the first general circulation models of the atmosphere came into being. These models quickly advanced following two strands: one devoted to global weather prediction on short timescales and one devoted to simulation and prediction of the longer-term climate. The latter played an influential role in the 1960’s in verifying that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions warm the climate -...

  Microplastics comprehensive review: Impact on honey bee, occurrence in honey and health risk evaluation Microplastics (MPs), as an environmental contaminant, pose a significant risk to both animal and human health through the food and water supply chains. Honey, widely recognised as a safe and health‐oriented food product, may become compromised if its production process involves non‐biodegradable MPs. This study was conducted as a systematic review, using comprehensive searches of PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect to investigate the effects of MP on honey bee and human health, and the potential route and main species and composition of MP contamination in honey. This review highlights the impacts of MPs on honey bee health, including mortality, sucrose response, sucrose habituation, olfactory learning, memory recall, colony performance, body size and growth, gut microbiota and viral infection. From a mechanistic perspective, MPs can disrupt the equilibrium of the gut microbiota, ...

Australia faces ecological shift as varroa mite threatens honeybee population The spread of the deadly varroa mite across Australia poses a major threat to both honeybee populations and native ecosystems, according to a study published on Tuesday. While much of the concern has focused on the impact on agriculture and beekeeping, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney warn that the decline of feral European honeybees could have complex consequences for native plants and pollinators, creating both risks and opportunities. First detected in 2022, the varroa mite devastates honeybee colonies by feeding on their bodily fluids and spreading disease. Once established, it typically leads to the collapse of feral honeybee populations within a few years, said the study published in the Australian Journal of Botany. With Australia home to some of the world's highest densities of feral honeybees, their decline could reshape pollination networks across the country, th...

  European honeybee decline could mean native bees retake Australia Plant ecologists are having a fresh look at the impact of the varroa mite which might change the relationships between bees and local native vegetation. The introduced European honeybee, although feral, is well established across Australia. Varroa mite, a European honeybee parasite, poses a threat to the feral honeybee population on which much of our agriculture and bee-keeping industries depend. Native bees cannot host mites, due to their different biology. Opportunities and challenges brought about by the European honeybee and the mite are discussed in a just published review by UNSW researchers, in the  Australian Journal of Botany ,  by CSIRO Publishing. Teddybear bee (Amegilla bombiformis) flying towards Salvia flower (cv. Black and Blue) to collect nectar and pollen. Wauchope, New South Wales, Australia. (Photo by Auscape/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Varroa mites have 8 legs and are rela...

  Book explores story of honeybee pioneer Author JM Laird is launching her new book at one of east Auckland’s oldest churches. The writer is celebrating the release of her book, entitled  Miss Bumby’s Mission , with an event staged on March 15 at the historic St John’s church in East Tamaki, which was built by Mary Bumby and her husband in 1859. The book is published by Northern Bee Books (UK) and will be publicly released in April with a retail price of $35. It’s described as a “fascinating historical novel based on the real-life Mary Bumby, the first person to successfully bring honeybees to New Zealand”. In 1838, when Mary Bumby’s brother John decided to travel from England to be a missionary in New Zealand, she went with him. She took two hives of live bees on their arduous six-month sea voyage. The book tells, in her own words, how both Mary Bumby and her skeps of bees survived the incredible adventure. When they landed in the Hokianga, she became New Zealand’s first...

  Getting started with Beekeeping in Michigan Have you wondered if beekeeping is right for you? Have you considered keeping honey bees to produce your own, local honey? Honey bees are awe-inspiring, but keeping them healthy takes a lot of learning and hard work. Before you get started, find out what costs, time, and effort are required. Learn what beekeepers do and where they can go for education, resources, and support. The 2025 MI Ag Ideas to Grow With conference was held virtually, February 24 - March 7, 2024. This two-week program encompassed many aspects of the agricultural industry and offered a full array of educational sessions for farmers and homeowners interested in food production and other agricultural endeavors. More information can be found at:  https://www.canr.msu.edu/miagideas/.

  Irish Honey Bee Under Threat Of Extinction The Irish native honey bee is under threat of extinction. Their existential future was the focus of last weekend's Irish Honey Bee Society's annual conference in Athlone.   Killucan small commercial beekeeper Tom McDonnell, believes if honeybees mate with bees imported into the country, it will affect the native species in Ireland.  He says hybridisation will cause a range of issues for beekeepers: 

  It Takes a Swarm: Help Rebuild a Bear-ravaged Beehive Across the 800 or so acres of UCF’s natural lands, the bees are not only buzzing in the trees, but also in four official beehives and a half-hive “nucleus” managed by the UCF Arboretum and Sustainability Initiatives. There used to be more beehives on the east side of the arboretum’s natural lands. Those areas comprise a variety of ecosystems — scrubby and wet flatwoods, and dome and strand swamps — that are unique and protected from development but not from the area’s natural predators. One of those predators, the Florida black bear, wreaked havoc on a beehive there in 2023. UCF Arboretum beehive destroyed by bears in 2023. The marauding animal likely took advantage of the natural habitat with its lack of people, lighting and machinery, and was just doing what bears do, says  Jennifer Elliott ’04 ’09MS , director of the UCF Arboretum and Sustainability Initiatives. Plus, she says, a black bear’s sense of smell can easily ...

  What do pesticides do to bumble bee brains over time? Pesticides, widely used to protect crops from pests, often unintentionally harm pollinators like bumble bees. The new  study , published in  BMC Biology , investigated the effects of three common pesticides - acetamiprid, clothianidin, and sulfoxaflor - on the brains of bumble bees.    By analysing gene activity in both healthy and pesticide-exposed bumble bee brains, researchers from Queen Mary University of London and Imperial College London uncovered startling insights into how these chemicals alter brain function. The findings reveal a striking difference between short-term, high-level exposure (acute) and long-term, low-level exposure (chronic), shedding new light on the hidden danger pesticides pose to these crucial pollinators.   The results show that bees’ responses to these chemicals depend mainly on how they are exposed, rather than the type of pesticide. Acute exposure triggers a surge in st...

  Indonesian fishermen sue Bumble Bee and say the canned tuna giant knew of abuse in its supply chain Lawyers representing four Indonesian fishermen who say they were beaten and trapped on vessels that were part of the global supply chain that provided tuna to Bumble Bee Seafoods filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the canned seafood giant. It is believed to be the first such case of forced labor at sea brought against a U.S. seafood company, the men’s lawyer, Agnieszka Fryszman, said. U.S. companies that benefit from forced labor and undercut other businesses need to be held accountable, Fryszman said. “What you see is really devastating,” she said. The lawsuit accuses the company headquartered in San Diego of violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The law allows foreigners who suffered from human trafficking to sue U.S. businesses that knew or should have known that they were profiting from forced labor. Bumble Bee said in an email to The Associated Press that it does no...

  New Bee Collection at MSU Preserves Vital Data for Future Research This January, a new collection consisting of nearly 8,000 bees has been contributed to  The A.J. Cook Arthropod Research Collection  (ARC) by Dr. Rufus Isaacs and his lab. The A.J. Cook ARC, was founded by Professor Albert J. Cook in 1867, and it now contains about 1.5 million preserved arthropod specimens collected from all over the world,  representing approximately 35,000 different species. Data about the species in the collection, such as their identification, origins, and dates of collection, helps researchers understand the distribution and range of various species and monitor endangered species. Isaacs’ lab has spent the last 20 years conducting research to support pest management in Michigan berry crops, but when Julianna Wilson first joined the lab, bees weren’t the research focus . Their shift toward pollinator research began as part of a USDA-funded project examining the impact of pest ma...

  Don’t worry, ‘bee’ happy It’s that time of year. Spring is about to begin and the pollinating insects crucial to food production are already hard at work. UF/IFAS says more than 300 native species of bees buzz in Florida, 29 of which are only found in the Sunshine State. Though these native pollinators play a crucial role in the state’s agricultural production, Florida’s honey industry, fueled by the non-native, naturalized honey bee, ranks in the top five in the nation. Myron Beachy, president of the Nassau County Beekeepers Association, works year-round to manage his honey bee colonies. Beachy said without the honey bees, the native bee species would keep up with pollinating, but they all have their preferences. “One thing that fascinates me is in the years that I’ve had bees on our property, every single year, the things the bees work come back double the following year,” Beachy said. “Before I had bees here, there weren’t a lot of wildflowers … there was a handful around but ...

Trump officials decimate climate protections and consider axeing key greenhouse gas finding Trump officials decimate climate protections and consider axeing key greenhouse gas finding EPA takes aim at almost every major pollution rule in what environmentalists call act of ‘malice toward the planet’ Oliver Milman Wed 12 Mar 2025 22.59 GMT Donald Trump ’s administration is to reconsider the official finding that greenhouse gases are harmful to public health, a move that threatens to rip apart the foundation of the US’s climate laws, amid a stunning barrage of actions to weaken or repeal a host of pollution limits upon power plants, cars and waterways. Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an extraordinary cavalcade of pollution rule rollbacks on Wednesday, led by the announcement it would potentially scrap a landmark 2009 finding by the US government that planet-heating gases, such carbon dioxide, pose a threat to human health. The so-called endangerment finding , which...