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Tag: honey bees

Honey Bee Virus Found in Mosquitoes

While analyzing genetic signatures of microbes found in mosquitoes, researchers in Canada were surprised to find black queen cell virus, a common scourge of honey bees. The mosquitoes likely acquired it while foraging for nectar at the same plants as bees, but it's unclear if mosquitoes have any role in spreading it among bees.

closeup view of corner of a hivetop incubator on top of a honey bee hive box. the incubator is a wide, shallow box about two inches tall, topped with a wood panel. in the picture, near the corner of the incubator is a hole about a half-inch in diameter, and several Osmia lignaria bees are gathered on the outside of the box near the hole.

Honey Bee Heat Warms Up Fellow Pollinators for Early-Season Blooms

An incubator that draws excess heat from a honey bee hive warms up managed Osmia lignaria bees so they can pollinate early-blooming fruit trees such as cherry, apple, and almond. A new study shows the hivetop incubators are effective, with little effect on the honey bee hive temps below.