Penn State researchers aim to use communication technologies to spread revolutionary beekeeping techniques.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - While honey bee populations dwindle across the globe, Penn State researchers aim to use communication technologies to spread revolutionary beekeeping techniques that will help offset the effects of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). CCD is an epidemic that started making headlines in 2006 when beekeepers began reporting unusual losses of 30-90 percent of their hives. Even before this phenomenon gained international attention, the number of domesticated honey bee colonies in Pennsylvania dropped from 80,000 to 30,000 in just 20 years. These sizable losses decreased the in-state production of honey by more than 2 million pounds annually - and if the trend continues, it could threaten the stability of $60 million worth of Pennsylvania's bee-dependent agriculture. Christina Grozinger, associate professor of entomology at Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, is just one of the many local beekeeping experts creating solutions to CCD. Recently, Grozinger and her colleagues shared their methods in the annual Queen Rearing Workshop at the Arthropod Research Facility.
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