Dear Subscribers,
An important event is in the works for beekeepers:
March 30, 2012, the Bee Informed Partnership (BIP) has initiated
its 2012 colony loss survey, which runs only until April 20, 2012. A
recent webinar summarizes the reason why all beekeepers should be aware
of this important event and participate.
Hear the full webinar at: http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/downloads/27Mar12_BeeInformedPartnership.wmv
The Bee Informed Partnership (BIP) is based on the following assumptions:
1. Beekeepers are currently faced with unprecedented complex problems
2. Beekeepers have the solutions in their current management practices
3. "Nobody listens to anybody," but may react to
results from other beekeepers in the field
Last years winter loss survey results show:
25% lost 14% of operation
25% lost 53% of colonies
A stated goal is how to get those in latter group to loose fewer colonies.
Informed decisions are needed about management practices: specifically multiple
factors; it is possible combine a number of databases to see trends.
USDA/ARSsurvey for 30 years (info being put into BIP database)
Hive tracks http://hivetracks.com
Honey bee net http://honeybeenet.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Look at results of last year's survey at Bee Informed Partnership http://beeinformed.org/2012/03/bee-informed-national-management-survey-2010-2011/:
1000 respondents: Results being released continuously.
The BIP is based on human epidemiology modeling: from wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology
"Examples of organizations that use population-based health
management that leverage the work and results of epidemiological
practice include Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control, Health Canada
Tobacco Control Programs, Rick Hansen Foundation, Canadian Tobacco
Control Research Initiative. Each of these organizations use a
population-based health management framework called Life at Risk
that combines epidemiological quantitative analysis with
demographics, health agency operational research and economics to
perform economic Impacts of Disease Simulations: Measurement of the
future potential impact of disease upon private sector disposable
income impacts (wages, corporate profits, private health care costs)
and public sector disposable income impacts (personal income tax,
corporate income tax, consumption taxes, publicly funded health care
costs)."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Based on an epidemiological model, the bottom line for BIP is not
to look at specific causes and effects, but to measure effect of
products or management
tactics only on colony survivability.
Confidentiality kept in the BIP survey: a medical epidemiologist is
involved -- encrypted system. Participants can remain anonymous, but
can link with their e-mail address on if requested. The BIP goes to to
great lengths to protect folks.
Only summed data are released, not individual results.
Need a large number 300-400 colonies per state; now have about 200
monofactoral being reported; but exciting part is to have enough to analyse multifactorial
potential by having at least 300 respondents needed per state; the
more the better.
Detailed results from last years survey:
1. from last years survey; What products to control varroa- only 39%
of beekeepers used varroa control products; those that used the
product lost 25% less bees
2. What was fed:frames of honey lost more colonies than other
carbohydrates
3. Those using small hive beetle traps lost fewer colonies; more
pronounced in northern states
4. Those replacing dead colonies; those storing equipment lost more
colonies than those immediately resusing equipment
5. Those using packages lost more colonies
6 Where bees are kept; near cranberries, corn, etc.
This year's survey: March 30 for three weeks only (ends April 20,
2012); annual management and winter loss survey - once a year; a
better way to obtain data than a continuous survey.
90% will participate in the poll after attending webinar! Only 34%
responded last year.
Five years of funding is expected to get BIP up an running; after that needs to
be self-sustaining in funding. Will also partner with tecnical transfer teams to collect data; started
in California, moving to midwest and then east in subsequent years.
Project Apis Mellifera (PAM) http://www.projectapism.org/
(donate button) the preferred research partner leader
One can add their address to mailing list and sign up to participate at
beeinformed.org/. If you have any questions before or after you
participate in the survey, you can contact phone: 443.296.2470 or
email: askbeeinformed@gmail.com.
Now has 400 contacts will send an article for web site and
newsletter for those signing up.
Sincerely,
Malcolm T. Sanford
beeactor@apisenterprises.com
http://apis.shorturl.com
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