Apiculture Extension at Penn State

10/19/2026

10/16/2026

Super interesting research!

When a bee wants to tell its hive mates how to find a scrumptious field of flowers, it wiggles its rear end. A complicated combination of figure eight–like movements known as a waggle dance tells nearby bees what direction to fly in and how far to go. But what happens if a waggling bee is unsure of its directions?

A recent study shows that bees amplify their communication based on how certain they are that their information is true. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/honeybees-deemphasize-potential-misinformation-in-their-waggle-dances/

10/15/2026

USDA Beltsville bee lab staying open?

The order blocks the department from moving about 2,600 employees or closing affected offices while a legal challenge to its reorganization proceeds.

10/15/2026

The Apiculture Extension Educators of America organized a series of...

10/13/2026

Happy to be serving as the educator for this crew!

10/09/2026

Have you tried Apivar 2.0?

Apivar® 2.0: An update for U.S. beekeepers

Over the past several weeks, we have received reports from U.S. beekeepers describing unexpected and, in some cases, serious problems after treating colonies with Apivar® 2.0. These reports include significant losses of adult bees and, in some cases, colonies that appeared to abscond.

As your bees always come first, we want to address these reports openly and directly.

At the same time, it is important to put these reports into context. The experiences reported to us represent a limited number of cases compared with the number of colonies treated with Apivar® 2.0 since its launch in May 2025. Nevertheless, every report of an unexpected effect matters to us. We are taking each case seriously and investigating them thoroughly to identify any common factors
that may help explain what is being observed.

Apivar® 2.0 is a genuinely different formulation from the original Apivar®, with a different strip size and a different amitraz release profile. It was developed in response to feedback from beekeepers looking for improved treatment performance and ease of use. Compared with the original formulation, Apivar® 2.0 releases amitraz faster, resulting in greater mite drop during the early
weeks of treatment.

To continue reading, visit: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:e77b6e5d-b1f1-4220-9150-0154d1971cc4

10/07/2026

Check out this interesting formic acid research.

Learn how to use formic acid for varroa control and hear preliminar...

09/30/2026

We are more than thrilled that this important collaboration came out!

It totally upends the way we think about Varroa destructor genetics!

09/26/2026

We're back with Robyn Underwood, PhD to see how commercial beekeepe...

09/21/2026

Federal scientists are still scrambling to find new jobs or relocate across the country as Maryland’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center’s last days of operation approach. Even as their personal lives upend, employees are concerned that BARC’s legacy of impactful research will be left beh...