[Pollinator] Updates from Project Apis m. including DeRisi Research

[Ladadams at aol.com]

    *   DeRisi  Research Results Published in June 2011 Issue of PLoS - - 
Why not use the  same detection tools that find illnesses in humans to search 
for the cause of  colony collapse disorder (CCD) in honey bees?  This is 
the very question  that Christi Heintz, executive director of Project Apis m. 
(PAm) asked Joseph  DeRisi, PhD, and his team at University of California, 
San Francisco.  So  began a partnership that joined a non-profit honey bee 
research organization  dedicated to honey bee health, a renowned molecular 
biologist and biochemist  and one of North America’s largest commercial 
beekeeping  operations.
Project Apis m. initiated and contributed towards funding  the year-long 
study which was recently published in the June 2011 issue of the  Public 
Library of Science (PLoS).  “Dr. DeRisi is tops in his field and we  convinced 
him to transfer his expertise to honey bees,” said Heintz.  When  initially 
approached, DeRisi wasn’t fully aware of the extent to which colonies  are 
transported coast-to-coast to pollinate crops and that commercial beekeepers  
were losing more than 30% of their colonies each year.  However, what  DeRisi 
did know very well is what makes us sick.  His lab at UCSF  works on the 
causes of malaria, SARS and other ills.  DeRisi is a recipient  of the 
MacArthur Award, dubbed the ‘genius’ award, given for exceptional  creativity and 
aptitude for making future advancements and important  contributions in 
their area.  Heintz remarks, “We needed nothing short of a  genius like DeRisi 
to work on CCD in honey bees”.      
What did DeRisi find in hives?  First, a baseline had  to be established.  “
We brought a quantitative view of what real migrating  populations look 
like in terms of disease,” DeRisi said.  “You can’t begin  to understand 
colony die-off without understanding what normal is.”  After  following 20 
colonies in a commercial beekeeping operation of more than 70,000  hives, DeRisi 
and his team found 27 unique viruses, including 4 viruses that  were 
previously unknown.  In addition to these viruses, were 6 species each  of bacteria 
and fungi, 4 different mites and a parasitic fly called a  phorid.  What is 
the next step?  PAm plans to further fund Dr. DeRisi  now that these pests 
and pathogens have been identified and how these findings  can be applied in 
practical terms for beekeepers.  
To read DeRisi’s full article in PLoS, _click  here_ 
(http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=szfc96bab&et=1105889191333&s=829&e=0014nfxD_PnSuqTXBNGar-h-KQ3VAYOIo
9oxQnXcq6VUkUYYSRHg199JlJDAeyWDD9l5c6Jozc08rKnGuWbQFJ81ttThgTiNhIQCCJodXWKi5
J32oh-tMPxAsVbpHNdma6lJAOOCroMr0kPiUqV2afj4e48cbWNw_v2qxwoXLLTCzEjZSHie3G98g
==) .   
·          Bee Informed Platform “BIP” Created with Help from PAm - - The 
new partnership will be led by  Dennis vanEngelsdorp, senior extension 
associate at Penn State’s College of  Agricultural Sciences.  PAm assisted 
vanEngelsdorp with the initial  organization of the BIP and PAm’s executive 
director, Christi Heintz, is on the  BIP stakeholder advisory team - both BIP’s 
and PAm’s goals are the same – to  improve honey bee health.  VanEngelsdorp 
and his team will use an  epidemiological approach to identify bee management 
practices which beekeeper’s  can employ.  “At the same time,” 
VanEngelsdorp adds, “we want to increase  the reliability of production in pollinator-d
ependent crops and increase the  profitability of pollinator-dependent 
producers.”  The five-year, $5  million program is being funded by the USDA’s 
National Institute of Food and  Agriculture.  In addition to outreach and 
education, BIP will monitor  colony health, pests, pathogens, pesticides, and 
environmental changes such as  climate change and the continuing loss of 
natural forage. An admirable goal of  the BIP will be the creation and maintenance 
of honey bee web accessible  database.  PAm is excited to be involved in 
this  partnership. 
·         Winter Losses Still Hovering  at 30% - - Honey bee colony losses 
for the  winter season remain steady.  Total losses from managed colonies 
were 30%  according to the annual survey conducted by the Apiary Inspectors of 
America  (AIA) and USDA-ARS.  This echoes past surveys done in the last 
four  years:  34% for the 2009/2010 winter, 29% for 2008/2009, 36% for 
2007/2008,  and 32% for 2006/2007.  The annual online survey, covered the period 
from  October 2010 to April 2011.  PAm’s scientific advisor, Jerry Hayes, along 
 with Dennis vanEngelsdorp and Jeff Pettis, led the preliminary survey in 
which  20% of the estimated number of beekeepers in the U.S. responded.   
Beekeepers who responded lost an average of 38.4% of their operation, much  
higher than the 13% that would be acceptable.  No industry should bear  these 
continued losses.  PAm’s research direction continues to be committed  to 
decreasing these statistics on winter honey bee  losses. 
Project Apis m. 
1750 Dayton  Rd. 
Chico, CA 95928  
  
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Visit us on  the Web at _www.ProjectApism.org_ 
(http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=szfc96bab&et=1105889191333&s=829&e=0014nfxD_PnSuohM2Srny8PGjC9aWhFpU68so_r
v60JuOvH5T19MEms3nX1biBdQryTjrDFP0itm6wxgBkdA7mnzTwItvLIZEJcuxzEohEP-6s5ibeT
BYgZbg==) 
  
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