A new study published in Entomology Today shows that neonicotinoid exposure increases Varroa Destructor in honeybee colonies. It’s a very interesting study and is reported in plain English here.
This is another great example of the kinds of powerful collaborative studies being done by young researchers all over the country. In this case teams from Georgia, Auburn, and Delaware maintained research apiaries to develop the data for this study.
They controlled pollen intake by feeding substitute and restricting intake with pollen traps. They varied the levels of neonics in the fed subsitute. Very smart study. Worth the read.
My favorite part is that many of these researchers, especially the Delaware contingent are friends of the Guild and have appeared at our meetings and events in the past.