Apiculture Commons^™

An Analysis Of The History And Current Treatment Trends Of The Parasitic Mite Varroa Destructor (Acari: Varroidae) In Maine Beekeeping, Patrick Hurley

Honors College

Varroa mites, Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae), are a parasitic mite of honey bee colonies worldwide. Varroa mites feed on both adult honey bees and developing brood, easily spread between colonies, and can kill European honey bee colonies within just a few years. Beekeepers must apply mite treatments to maintain healthy colonies. This thesis is an overview of the currently available mite treatments in the United States and how they relate to Maine Beekeeping. There are three main research components of this thesis. The first is the analysis of two surveys that Maine beekeepers completed in 2019. The second is a …

Landscape Pattern And Wild Bee Communities In Maine, Brianne Du Clos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Commercial production of lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) in Maine relies primarily on managed honeybee hives; however, naturally occurring wild bees are more efficient pollinators of the crop. Wild bees have short foraging distances and must nest near crop fields to provide pollination services. After crop bloom, the surrounding landscape must provide sufficient forage to maintain wild bee populations for the remainder of the growing season. Lowbush blueberries in Maine are produced in a mixed-use landscape with two distinct landscape contexts. Here, we document bee communities and habitat resources (nesting and floral) in power line rights-of-way and eight land …

Mr448: Bees And Their Habitats In Four New England States, Alison C. Dibble, Francis A. Drummond, Anne L. Averill, Kalyn Bickerman-Martens, Sidney C. Bosworth, Sara L. Bushman, Aaron K. Hoshide, Megan E. Leach, Kim Skyrm, Eric Venturini, Annie White

Miscellaneous Reports

Bees are crucial to pollination in unmanaged ecosystems and some crops, and their roles are increasingly understood in four states in the Northeastern U.S., abbreviated “NNE” in this paper: Maine (ME), Massachusetts (MA), New Hampshire (NH), and Vermont (VT). The four states have in common many native bee and plant species, forest types, and natural communities. They share drought events and risk of wildfire (Irland 2013). They are exposed to many of the same major storms (e.g., hurricanes, Foster 1988), pollution events (Hand et al. 2014), and effects ascribed to climate change (Hayhoe et al. 2008). Beekeeping enterprises (the western …

Rearing Queen Honey Bees: A Bullet Journal, Marianna Mead

Sweet Spot

This bullet journal documents a summer research project focused on rearing queen honey bees in Maine. Containing time logs, checklists, timelines, and pictures, this annotated journal provides information on how to rear queen honey bees. It includes details on how to make a starter hive, the dangers of disease, the benefits of queen rearing and a grafting day checklist.

The Enhancement Of Wild Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) For Pollination Security, Eric M. Venturini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The acreage of pollinator-dependent crops continues to expand across the globe. Simultaneously, honey bee hives – an annually rented commodity that growers rely on – are more expensive every year and in some cases, scarce. In response, pollinator-dependent growers seek alternative pollinators. One approach is installing bee pasture on farms, a strategy that enables systems-based farmers to become in-situ farm-scale habitat managers. This thesis first presents a review of the literature on bee pasture plantings and provides a brief overview of some methods for assessing their impacts on the pollinator community. There are three major gaps in current bee pasture …

1998 Csrees Wild Blueberry Project Results, Darrell W. Donahue, Frank A. Drummond, Alfred A. Bushway, John M. Smagula, Mary Ellen Camire, Bodhan Slabyj, Russell Hazen, Judith A. Collins, Connie S. Stubbs, David Lambert, Andrea Southworth, Walter Litten, David E. Yarborough, Timothy M. Hess, Rodney Bushway, Brian Perkins, John Jemison

Wild Blueberry Research Reports

The 1998 edition of the CSREES Wild Blueberry Project Results was prepared for the Maine Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include:

1. Separation of Maggot Infested Blueberries in the IQF Processing Line

2. Assessment of Preharvest Treatments on Wild blueberry Fruit Quality

3. Blueberries as a Natural Colorant for Breakfast Cereals

4. Factors Affecting Quality of IQF Wild Blueberries

5. Control Tactics for Wild blueberry Pest Insects

6. Biology and Ecology of Wild blueberry Pest Insects

7. Sustainable Pollination of Wild blueberry

8. …