Filtering by tag: bees ✕

Side view of an Asian giant hornet worker

Asian Giant Hornets in Washington State

The news media are reporting that the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) has been found in Washington state. This hornet lives up to its name because the queens are more than 2" long while the…

Overturned and stacked beehive boxes and frames beside intact beehives on muddy ground

How to Protect Your Beehives From Mosquito Spraying Following a Hurricane

How beekeepers can minimize the effects on their hives The devil is in the details, most of which are under the purview of local officials, but here are some things you can do to try and avoid any…

Honeybee collecting pollen on a white strawberry flower

Studying Strawberry Pollination

Our laboratory is excited to begin a new project aimed at answering several questions about pollination ecology in strawberries.These questions are: What insects pollinate commercially grown…

a: cluster of white bell-shaped blueberry flowers on leafy stem; b: close-up of bell-shaped blueberry flowers

Flowers Impact Bee Foraging in Blueberries

Just in time for Pollinator Week, I wanted to share another update on our work on pollinators in blueberries. While grad student Shelley Rogers and technician Kevin Littlejohn were collecting data on…

Hand holding cut plant stem with two round holes visible; 07/07/2010

A Surprising Cause of Holes in Pruned Canes

Several years ago, I posted information on NC Small Fruit & Specialty Crop IPM blog about the many "boring" insects that can attack blackberries and raspberries. In that post, I included two…

Cluster of small white, bell-shaped flowers and buds on a slender branch against blurred sky

Which Bees Are the "Best" Blueberry Pollinators

This is the second in short series of posts on blueberry pollination.A diverse group of bees pollinate blueberries in North Carolina. During the past three years, one the focuses of in our lab has…

Honeybee feeding inside white bell flower on thin branch; watermark @ncsmallfruitIPM

Does Bee Diversity Change How Pollinators Behave in Blueberries?

Bees are essential for blueberry pollination in addition to many other crops, and since 2009, we have conducted research to understand who the important pollinators are in North Carolina blueberries.…