PULLMAN, Wash. – Saving honey bees is easier when varroa mite infestation is reduced. WSU researchers are hoping mid-season hibernation can help in the fight against the mighty mites. Varroa mites are pests that weaken bees’ immune systems, transmit viruses and siphon off nutrients. They’re a huge factor in colony collapse around the country. “Most […]
This winter, the WSU honey bees, along with a dozen faculty, researchers, and students went to California’s Central Valley to do some research and pollinate almonds.
When Steve Sheppard arrived at Washington State University in 1996, he had a donation already lined up without any solicitation: 100 beehives. “I got a phone call from a beekeeper, Eric Olson, that I’d never heard of,” said Sheppard, who leads the WSU Department of Entomology. “It was a great welcome to the university and […]