Coalition Empowering Growers and Beekeepers to Support Honey Bee Health

With the fall harvest nearly at an end, it’s a fitting time to consider the essential role honey bees play in our food production. From pumpkins to honey and almonds to apples, honey bees make one in three bites of our food possible.

The Honey Bee Health Coalition is making important progress supporting honey bee health and the critical role pollinators play in our everyday lives. The Coalition is continuing to work on a number of initiatives in our priority areas of Crop Pest Control, Hive Management, Forage and Nutrition, and Communications and Outreach.

Be sure to check our Varroa Guide, Bee Understanding Project Documentary, MP3 symposium resources, Incident Reporting guide, and more in the “Tools and Resources” section of our website.

Varroa Guide Updates

Since its release, the Coalition’s Tools for Varroa Management has given beekeepers the tools they need to measure Varroa mite infestations in their hives and select appropriate control methods.

The Varroa guide, which has been downloaded more than 5,500 times since its release, has been updated with continued refinements and details. Based on our expert review committee of beekeepers, the Coalition recently released the 4th edition of the guide.

Building Bridges & Partnerships

The Coalition also co-hosted a joint reception with the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) on the evening of October 18 that honored those working on the front lines of promoting honey bee health.

Bee Informed Partnership

In time for Thanksgiving and the holiday season, the Bee Informed Partnership (BIP), the most trusted source of data on the health of honey bees in the United States, launched a campaign this week to raise public awareness of the vital roles that honey bees and beekeepers play in pollinating and producing many of the foods we love — especially at this time of year.

Through this multimedia campaign, the public will learn more about where their food comes from and can take action to help improve the ability of beekeepers to manage the health of their honey bees. By participating in the campaign, the public will get to play a direct role in helping save the bees and save Thanksgiving.

Here are three things you can do to take action and help BIP reach their goal:

1. Donate to the campaign! Click here to see the campaign: http://igg.me/at/beetechteams
2. Share the campaign link with your employees, customers, subscribers, and other networks to help spread the word
3. Visit beeinformed.org to learn more about their important work and how you can get involved.