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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2017 Publication Date: 3/5/2017 Citation: Evans, J.D. 2017. USDA research and honey bee health. Meeting Abstract. Missouri State Beekeepers. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The USDA - Agricultural Research Service Bee Research Laboratory (BRL) is comprised of nine full-time federal employees and a team of 20+ students and collaborators from the U.S., England, Thailand, Spain, and China. The mission of the BRL is to provide innovative tools and insights for building and maintaining healthy honey bee populations. Research is focused on interactions between parasites, chemical stress and nutrition and on the defenses mounted by bees and beekeepers toward these threats. The BRL also runs the longstanding Bee Disease Diagnostic service (currently headed by Mr. Samuel Abban), an effort that both drives our disease research and benefits beekeepers. I will discuss new research insights into varroa mite control, virus control, and the identification of honey bee diseases. Hands-on demonstrations will show the BRL methods for assessing mite levels, identifying tracheal mites, counting nosema spores and diagnosing brood disease. |
