U of M News Wire: April 12, 2007

 
 

Bee shortage renews appreciation for hard-working insect

Bee mites (round red spots) are just one of many sources of stress on honeybees, whose numbers plummeted this winter.
 
By Deane Morrison
U of M News Wire
 
After a long trek from Minnesota in a flatbed truck, the honeybees arriving in California's Central Valley are stressed and hungry. They don't like being crammed together with lots of others of their species, yet pollinating California's almond crop requires a million colonies worth of bees. The hard labor of honeybees usually goes unnoticed and unappreciated by most Americans, but when the bees suffered steep mortality this winter--up to 80 percent of colonies lost in some beekeeping operations--the threat to the nation's food supply sent tremors through both producers and consumers.
 
"For large monocultures of crops, you have to have honeybees," says Marla Spivak, an entomologist with University of Minnesota Extension. "We rely on honeybees to do the big jobs. Without honeybees and other bees to pollinate crops, grocery shelves would have about one-third fewer fruits and vegetables, and many flowers would not set seed."
 
Honeybees aren't native to the United States, but were imported from Europe as early as 1622. Representing just a few of the 3,500 or more bee species in the Americas, they tend to pollinate a wide variety of plants and produce much more honey than other species. Their high sociability allows them to be transported long distances in large hives. Besides honeybees, the United States is home to many bees that live in the ground, as bumblebees prefer to do, or in other structures such as wood.
 
Given the honeybee's crucial importance to agriculture, scientists like Spivak are hard at work trying to improve bee health. This year's devastation is worrisome in part because its cause is still unknown. In many hives, large numbers of adult bees simply disappeared without a trace, leaving larvae and pupae but no dead bodies to be examined for disease, pesticide residues or other agents. And, unfortunately, the list of factors afflicting bees is long.
 
Like bees? Spare those dandelions
Bees must have access to a variety of plant pollens to get all the amino acids and other nutrients they need, and weeds like dandelions, creeping charlie, and roadside plants are bee favorites. So before you spray that dandelion or rip up that nameless flowering weed, consider that you may be robbing your neighborhood bees of a food source.
 
One of the biggest players is, paradoxically, civilization itself. On the one hand, civilized peoples have cultivated honeybees; but on the other, urban sprawl has turned diverse native landscapes rich in clover and alfalfa into crop monocultures, houses, and pavement, destroying many sources of pollen and nectar that bees need.
 
Another threat comes from parasitic mites, especially Varroa mites, which live on the external surfaces of both larval and adult bees. Mites, as well as bacterial and fungal diseases, spread easily among bee colonies concentrated in a small area, such as is the case during pollination season in agricultural areas.
 
A third element is pesticides, which can sicken or kill nontarget species like bees. And even pesticides aimed at bee diseases and mites are becoming less effective as the organisms develop resistance. During the winter of 2004-05, for example, a die-off of bees occurred in part because mites became resistant to a pesticide.
 
A good reason to love bumblebees
 
If you grow juicy big tomatoes, thank the bumblebees in your neighborhood. Only they can pollinate tomatoes because the tomato plant won't release its pollen unless its pollen-making anthers (the orangish cones in the middle of the flowers) are shaken. Honeybees just roll around on the flowers, but bumblebees grasp the anthers with their mouthparts and vibrate their wings, triggering a cascade of pollen.
 
Whatever killed large numbers of bees this winter is most likely a combination of things that finally pushed them over the edge. "The bees' immune systems have been compromised from a number of causes," says Spivak.
 
Yet, several factors are working in the bees' favor. New treatments reduce the risk of pests like mites or bacteria developing resistance, and people applying pesticides often choose ones that decompose quickly and have low toxicity to bees. Also, genetically modified crops have no known effects on honeybees. But, Spivak points out, "new classes of pesticides, such as those that move through plant tissue, may contribute to the stress on bees' immune and detoxification systems."
 
Along with entomologist Gary Reuter and students, Spivak focuses her research on keeping bees healthy. In her lab, she breeds bees for hygienic behavior, a mechanism of resistance against bee diseases and parasitic mites. She and her colleagues are also researching ways to bolster the immune system of bees.
 
 
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Eco tourism becoming big business in northern Minnesota

By Justin Ware
U of M News Wire
 
Brainerd-area resort owner Lynn Scharenbroich never set out to run an eco-friendly business. But after she started going in that direction to save money a few years ago, running a green business worked so well, she couldn't turn back.
 
"That became a reason why people wanted to stay here," said Scharenbroich. "It started contributing to people booking with us."
 
Scharenbroich is one of the "green" business owners who will be featured at the Univeristy of Minnesota's Sustainable Tourism Conference April 25-26 at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, 3675 Arboretum Dr, Chaska.
 
The conference will be hosted by the University of Minnesota tourism center and its organizers are excited about the topics being covered and the ideas people like Scharenbroich will bring to the discussion.
 
"Initiating, encouraging and continuing the dialogue on sustainable tourism is a natural step for us," said Ingrid Schneider, from the University of Minnesota deparment of forest resources. "The sustainable tourism opportunity is an exciting addition for both communities and consumers from which we, and future generations, can benefit."
 
The tourism conference kicks off at 1 pm, Wednesday, April 25. Lynn Scharenbroich welcomes media inquires about her "green" business any time leading up to or following the conference.
 
 
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Growing Concerns
A parenting column with Dr. Martha Erickson of the University of Minnesota

Question: My 13-year-old daughter and another girl were at a sleepover last night but got very upset when the hostess and her mother got into a huge and ugly shouting match with each other. The other guest called her mom to pick her up and my daughter went with them to finish the sleepover at their house. The problem is that no one bothered to call me and I found out when I called the first girl’s house about 11 p.m. to check in and say goodnight to my daughter. When the girl told me my daughter had left without anyone notifying me, I was furious!  When I finally reached my daughter, she said she didn’t call me because she was afraid she’d wake me up. Should I ground my daughter? If so, for how long? And should I forbid her to continue the friendship with the girl who fought with her mom? Help!
 
Answer: At 13, your daughter needs to understand that she always must let you know where she is. You need to make it clear to her that she needs to call you at any time of day or night if something happens that changes her plans. To drive home this point and relay to her the seriousness of her not calling you for permission to go to the other house, I think that grounding her for the rest of the week makes sense.
         
Beyond that, cutting off the friendship with the other girl may be too rash without knowing more about the situation, so learn more about what happened. I’d suggest you start by having your daughter tell you more about what happened. What was the nature of the argument between the mother and daughter? How does your daughter feel about her friend’s behavior? How does she feel about continuing the friendship? This must have been a stressful situation for everyone, so listen carefully and talk with your daughter about how she could have handled the situation.
         
It’s also important to communicate directly with both of the other mothers. Let them know how upset you are that your daughter was not where she said she would be. In a supportive way, let them know you understand that this was an unusual and difficult situation. Perhaps they thought your daughter had called you. Regardless, let them know that if anything like this ever happens again, you want them to contact you immediately. And assure them that you will do the same. As your daughter continues through her teen years, one of the best safeguards you can implement is ongoing communication with the parents of her friends. This is a good time to start.