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<h1><b>Still Time to Register for the Penn State International Conference
on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy<br><br>
</b></h1>(<a href="http://www.i-newswire.com">I-Newswire</a>) June 22,
2010 - Top researchers, government officials and representatives of
organizations from around the world will present their latest findings on
honey bees and other pollinators at the inaugural International
Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy being hosted by the
Penn State Center for Pollinator Research, July 24-28, 2010, at the
University Park campus.<br><br>
Worldwide, pollinators such as honeybees, solitary bees, hummingbirds and
bats are declining due to habitat loss, diseases, pests and excessive
pesticide use. "Pollinators are essential because they are
responsible for one out of every three bites of food you eat," said
Diana Cox-Foster, Penn State professor of entomology, who will present at
the conference. "More than 80 percent of all flowering plants depend
on our pollinators for survival."<br><br>
The plight of pollinators has been highlighted in reports of Colony
Collapse Disorder, or CCD. CCD was first discovered in November 2006
after a Pennsylvania beekeeper reported that more than 50 percent of the
bee colonies he was overwintering in Florida had collapsed. Tens of
thousands of bees in each hive had simply disappeared.<br><br>
"Since then, beekeepers from all over the country have been
reporting unprecedented losses," said Maryann Frazier, apiculture
extension associate in the College of Agricultural Sciences. According to
Frazier, symptoms of CCD include the sudden reduction or disappearance of
the adult bee population without evidence of dead bees. "The hive
will contain brood, pollen and honey, with little evidence of robbing by
other bee colonies or attack by pests such as wax moth or small hive
beetle."<br><br>
Even before the discovery of CCD, pollinators were in decline. According
to Cox-Foster, four species of bumble bees are going extinct, and more
than 50 pollinator species are threatened or endangered. In addition,
wild honeybee populations have dropped 25 percent since 1990.<br><br>
The focus of the conference will be current research on the factors
influencing pollinator decline, as well as policies and practices related
to pollinator conservation. The keynote speaker will be Dr. May
Berenbaum, professor and head of the Department of Entomology at the
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Berenbaum is internationally
recognized for her research and conservation efforts related to
pollinators, including chairing the National Research Council’s Committee
on the Status of Pollinators in North America in 2007.<br><br>
In addition, a Pollinator Conservation Short Course will be offered by
the Xerces Society at the conclusion of the conference on July 29. Topics
will include the basic principles of pollinator biology, the economics of
insect pollination, recognizing native bee species and assessment of
pollinator habitat. <br><br>
The conference is being sponsored by Häagen-Dazs, the National Honey
Board, Anthropologie/Urban Outfitters, Bayer CropScience, Syngenta, the
Almond Board of California, and Penn State's Department of Entomology,
College of Agricultural Sciences, and Huck Institutes of the Life
Sciences. More information and online registration are available at
<a href="http://agsci.psu.edu/pollinator-conference" eudora="autourl">
http://agsci.psu.edu/pollinator-conference</a>. <br><br>
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*************************<br>
Scott Hoffman Black<br>
Ecologist/Entomologist<br>
Executive Director<br>
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation<br>
4828 SE Hawthorne <br>
Portland, OR 97215 <br>
Direct line (503) 449-3792<br>
sblack@xerces.org<br><br>
<i>The Xerces Society is an international, nonprofit organization that
protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their
habitat. <br>
</i> <br>
To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work, <br>
please visit
<a href="http://www.xerces.org/">www.xerces.org</a>.<br><br>
<br>
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