- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Mussen has been named the recipient of the 2013 Alexander Hodson Graduate Alumni Award from the University of Minnesota. He will receive the award at a ceremony on Thursday, May 30 in the Cargill Building on the St. Paul campus.
A native of Schenectady, N.Y., Mussen received his bachelor’s degree in entomology from the University of Massachusetts (after turning down an offer to play football at Harvard) and then received his master’s degree and doctorate in entomology from the University of Minnesota in 1969 and 1975, respectively.
His doctoral research focused on the epidemiology of a viral disease of larval honey bees, sacbrood virus. "During those studies I also was involved in studies concerning sunflower pollination and control of a microsporidian parasite of honey bees, Nosema apis," Mussen recalled. "Now a new species of Nosema has displaced N. apis and is even more difficult to keep subdued."
“Given this foundation, he was confronted with many new challenges regarding honey bee health and pollination concerns when he arrived at UC Davis in 1976,” said William Hutchison, professor and head of the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota. “Some 37 years later, he is still actively ‘tackling’ these new challenges--mites, diseases, and Africanized honey bees, to name a few--to enhance the pollination success of California's diverse agricultural cropping systems, with considerable emphasis on almonds. In brief, he is in demand, and he continues to be the primary source for objective information on honey bee health, and pollination in California.”
Professors H.C. Chiang and Basil Furgala supervised his graduate work.
"I am basically all pro-bee,” Mussen told the American Bee Journal in a two-part feature story published in the September of 2011. “Whatever I can do for bees, I do it...It doesn’t matter whether there is one hive in the backyard or 15,000 colonies. Bees are bees and the bees’ needs are the bees’ needs.”
As a child, “my only concern was what if, by the time I went to college and became an entomologist, everything we wanted to know about insects was known,” Mussen told writer Mea McNeil for the American Bee Journal series.
"When he enrolled in graduate school, the only research opening was in the Basil Furgala lab," McNeil wrote. "Furgala, who researched bee viruses, took him to the apiary, grabbed a bee and let it sting him to make sure he could work there."
Mussen's nomination packet included the following comments:
- "Eric is without a doubt the epitome of a State Extension Specialist."
- "Without a doubt, Dr. Mussen is the premier authority on bees and pollination in California, and is one of the top beekeeping authorities nationwide."
- "He is a treasure to the beekeeping industry... he is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to honey bees."
- "He is a trusted information source."
Mussen, with four other colleagues, comprised the UC Davis Bee Team that won the 2013 team award from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America.
Mussen educates the beekeeping industry and general public with his bimonthly newsletter, from the UC Apiaries, which he launched in 1976. Since 1976, he has also written Bee Briefs, addressing such issues as diseases, pesticides and swarms. Both publications are on the UC Davis Department of Entomology.
"With the decline of the honey bee population and the increase of the mysterious colony collapse disorder, his expertise is now more highly sought than ever,” Godfrey pointed out. “Any threat to honey bees is a threat to agriculture and a cause for his concern and a desire to assist. He is the only Extension Apiculturist in the UC system and in many regards, functions as the Extension entomologist for apiculture in the western U.S. and indeed, much of the country.”
Mussen is a five-time president of the Western Apicultural Society, an organization he helped found in 1977. He was a founder and alternated between president and secretary/treasurer of the American Association of Professional Apiculturists for many years. He's delivered the keynote addresses at the California State Beekeepers’ Association (CSBA) and at the American Honey Producers’ Association conventions. In addition, he provides leadership roles in the CSBA, the California Bee Breeders’ Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, American Honey Producers’ Association, National Honey Board, American Beekeeping Federation, and the Northern California Entomology Society, among others.
Mussen, who is the UC Davis representative to the California State Apiary Board, offers input to the Department of Pesticide Regulation, particularly with the pesticide registration group
Mussen works closely with Cooperation Extension, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, the California Farm Bureau Federation, researchers in the UC system, researchers at the USDA/ARS honey bee laboratories at Beltsville, Md; Baton Rouge, La.; Tucson, Ariz., Weslaco, Texas, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, among others.
Mussen serves on various committees and task forces of state and national organizations, reviews numerous manuscripts for journals; reviews annual research proposals to the California State Beekeepers’ Association, the Almond Board of California, and the National Honey Board; reviews Small Business Innovation Research applications at the federal level; and is requested to comment on promotion evaluations for university and USDA researchers.
Highly sought by the news media for his expertise on bees, Mussen has appeared on the Lehrer Hour, BBC, Good Morning America, and quoted in the New York Times, National Public Radio, Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times, among others.
He was nominated by Marla Spivak, Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Apiculture (former recipient of the award), and Gary Reuter, apiculture technician, both with the University of Minnesota. Faculty and staff from UC Davis contributed to the nomination package.
The award memorializes Alexander C. Hodson, Department Head from 1960-1974 who died on March 13, 1966 at the age of 89. Hodson, born in Reading, Mass., received his master’s degree in 1931 and his doctorate in 1935 from the University of Minnesota. The Hodson Graduate Alumni Award was established in 1998 to recognize and honor outstanding alumni of the Department of Entomology.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
DAVIS--“The Bee Team” at the University of California, Davis, has won a major award.
Five faculty members from the Department of Entomology received the coveted team award from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America (PBESA), for their collaborative work specializing in honey bees, wild bees and pollination issues through research, education and outreach. Their service to UC Davis spans 116 years.
The “Bee Team” is comprised of Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen; systematist/hymenopterist Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology who coordinated the development and installation of a landmark bee friendly garden; and native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology; pollination ecologist Neal Williams, assistant professor of entomology who specializes in pollination and bee biology; and biologist/apiculturist Brian Johnson, assistant professor of entomology who specializes in bee communication, bee behavior and bee health.
PBESA represents 11 states, seven U.S. territories, and parts of Canada and Mexico.
Thorp, who retired from the university in 1994, continues to work full-time on behalf of the bees, and has tallied 49 years of service to UC Davis. Mussen, who will retire in June of 2014, has provided 37 years of service; Kimsey, 24; Williams, 4 and Johnson, 2.
“The collaborative team exceptionally serves the university, the state, the nation, and indeed the world, in research, education and public service,” wrote nominator Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. “The Bee Team is really the ‘A’ team; no other university in the country has this one-of-a-kind expertise about managed bees, wild bees, pollination, bee health, bee identification, and bee preservation. Honey bee health is especially crucial. Since 2006 when the colony collapse disorder surfaced, we as a nation have been losing one-third of our bees annually. Some beekeepers are reporting 50 to 100 percent winter losses. The importance of bees cannot be underestimated: one-third of the food we eat is pollinated by bees.”
Among those lending support to The Bee Team through letters were Mary Delany, interim chair of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; AnnMaria de Grassi, director of federal policy, California Farm Bureau Federation; Christi Heintz, executive director of Project Apis m. and the Almond Board of California Task Force Liaison; and Mace Vaughn, pollinator conservation program director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
About each team member:
Mussen, considered by his peers as one of the most respected and influential professional apiculturists in the nation, was named the California Beekeeper of the Year in 2006, won the American Association of Professional Apiculturists’ Award of Excellence in Extension Apiculture in 2007, and in 2008 he received the Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America. He received the statewide Pedro Ilic Outstanding Agricultural Educator Award in 2010.
Mussen is a five-time president of the Western Apicultural Society, an organization he helped found in 1977. He's delivered the keynote addresses at the California State Beekeepers’ Association (CSBA) and at the American Honey Producers’ Association conventions. In addition, he provides leadership roles in the CSBA, the California Bee Breeders’ Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, American Honey Producers’ Association, National Honey Board, American Beekeeping Federation, American Association of Professional Apiculturists, and the Northern California Entomology Society, among others.
Mussen periodically speaks to some 20 beekeeping organizations a year, taking time from his busy schedule (often on the weekends and evenings) to travel to all parts of California and beyond. Mussen also coordinates the honey-tasting event at the annual UC Davis Picnic Day, where he encourages patrons to sample honey and ask questions.
“He is just as open to answering a question about Nosema to a beginning beekeeper or responding to a child’s question about queen bees as he is to helping a commercial beekeeper with 15,000 hives, or engaging in intricate scientific research,” colleague and entomology Extension specialist Larry Godfrey said.
Mussen, who is the UC Davis representative to the California State Apiary Board, offers input to the Department of Pesticide Regulation, particularly with the pesticide registration group. Lately he assisted U.S. beekeepers in writing letters to receive compensation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their CCD (colony collapse disorder) bee losses.
Mussen works closely with Cooperation Extension, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, the California Farm Bureau Federation, researchers in the UC system, researchers at the USDA/ARS honey bee laboratories at Beltsville, Md; Baton Rouge, La.; Tucson, Ariz., Weslaco, Texas, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, among others.
Mussen serves on various committees and task forces of state and national organizations, reviews numerous manuscripts for journals; reviews annual research proposals to the California State Beekeepers’ Association, the Almond Board of California, and the National Honey Board; reviews Small Business Innovation Research applications at the federal level; and is requested to comment on promotion evaluations for university and USDA researchers.
Said Gene Brandi, legislative chairman of the California State Beekeepers’ Association: “Dr. Mussen’s service as a member of the California State Beekeepers’ Association is legendary. Any time the industry has needed Eric’s expertise at a meeting, at an industry or government hearing, to compile industry data, to write an article for a variety of publications, or for any reason whatsoever, he has always been ready, willing and more than able to accomplish the task.”
Recently, Mussen and “Bee Team” member Brian Johnson conducted experiments to determine the effects of feeding bees on a blend of sucrose syrup and high fructose corn syrup. They studied the effects of feeding colonies high doses of antibiotics, simultaneously. They are sampling bees from apparently healthy and declining colonies to see if viruses may be to blame for the dwindling bee population. And they hope to look at the use of various essential oils to reduce virus loads in honey bee colony populations.
As the former interim chair of the Department of Entomology, Kimsey spearheaded the rebuilding of the bee biology program and keyed the establishment, installation and development of the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden on Bee Biology Road. A groundbreaking ceremony took place in 2009 and a grand celebration opening on Sept. 11, 2010. The garden also serves as a demonstration garden and a research garden. The key goals of the garden are to provide bees with a year-around food source, to raise public awareness about the plight of honey bees and to encourage visitors to plant bee-friendly gardens of their own.
Kimsey also fulfilled a major role in the rebuilding of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Biology lab. Those involved, as well as the beekeeping industry, praised her leadership, insight and determination. In this process, she reached out to industry leaders and gained their support.
In the development and establishment of the haven, Kimsey “motivated students, volunteers and donors to bring the garden to fruition, creating a demonstration to create an awareness of the diversity of pollinators and their role in the ecology of plants to benefit agriculture, urban landscapes and the enjoyment of the general public for generations to come,” said bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey.
Said Dora Sera Bailey, former director of consumer communications for Häagen-Dazs who worked with Kimsey: “The Häagen-Dazs brand is very proud and grateful for its long and strong relationship with UC Davis. It is a relationship that has come to full flower in the last several years, largely due to the vision, spirit of cooperation and commitment of Lynn Kimsey.”
- Under what contexts can native pollinators provide sufficient pollination for different crop? The answer to this question helps alleviate the stress placed on honey bees and also informs ways to more sustainably manage agricultural systems to promote biodiversity and production.
- How can we enhance habitat and diversify agricultural systems to promote managed and wild bees?
- Do pollinators interact in ways to increase the overall effectiveness of crop pollination?
This work has been carried out in agro-ecosystems in California’s Central Valley and in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A continuing goal is to provide practical information that can be used to improve the long-term stability of pollination for agriculture in California, as well as promote pollinator conservation and management. Williams’ work in the East and West has helped form the base for NCRS planting guidelines to enhance pollinators in agriculture. Williams is also studying how habitat restoration affects pollinator communities and pollination. He has ongoing research with Sacramento River Project (Nature Conservancy/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) to determine whether native pollinator species and the service they provide are restored along with the vegetation that is the target of restoration.
Williams was part of an international research team that found that honey bees are more effective at pollinating almonds when other species of bees are present. The groundbreaking research was published earlier this year in the Proceedings of the Royal Society. The research, which took place in California’s almond orchards in Yolo, Colusa and Stanislaus counties, is especially important because it increases the pollination effectiveness of honey bees as demand for their pollination service grows. When blue orchard bees and wild bees are foraging in almonds with honey bees, the behavior of honey bees changes, resulting in more effective crop pollination, they found.
“My research program spans a tremendous diversity of fundamental and applied areas in pollination and bee biology,” Williams says. “It is linked by a common goal to understand mechanisms from individual to landscape scales that affect pollinator communities, populations and pollination function. One major research area in our lab is working to identify native plant materials to support managed and wild bee species in order to bolster their health, their populations and achieve greater stability of pollination in agricultural landscapes.”
“Although other colleagues in our region investigate the importance of habitat for bees, we are unique in developing methods to identify best plants for bees and then applying these methods to select the plants. Our approach involves extensive field data, original computational modeling, and controlled experimental testing. An exciting extension of this work is testing the performance of the resulting native plant mixes in real landscape. To this end we are working with over 20 different growers and landowners around the state of California and a variety of different crop types from orchard to row crop. We have helped to determine best practice for planting bee habitat, protocols for monitoring pollinator use and developed widely methods for assessing pollinator’s contribution to pollination service. We recognize the value of simultaneously supporting managed bees, such as Apis mellifera and Osmia lignaria, as well as promoting populations of diverse wild bee species. Thus, our efforts target different suites of pollinators. It is through the integration of different species in different contexts that we can achieve greater sustainable pollination. In another project we are directly quantifying the importance of diverse pollinators to promote pollination. We have shown that the presence of wild species increases the pollination effectiveness of honey bees on almond. The result offers great promise for augmenting pollination of this challenging crop.”
“Training of students at all levels is key components of my program,” says Williams, who has 26 students working in his lab. “I integrate multiple undergraduates into my own projects and in addition host those working with graduate students in the lab. I am also actively engaged in outreach/extension education with growers, beekeepers, conservation organizations, county and state agencies and the public to promote biodiversity conservation and work to enhance pollination in natural and agricultural systems. We have led training sessions about native pollinators for NRCS and others in multiple seasons, hosted the most recent meeting of the Orchard Bee Association, contributed to farmer field days, provided master gardener sessions on native pollinators and developed outreach materials. Our latest project is developing a list of region specific native plants to support honey bees and wild pollinators, this effort involves collaboration with others on the Bee Team and beyond. “
Williams is an important part of the USDA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) meetings. He is co-project director of Aspire Project: Augmenting Specialty Crop Pollination Through Integrated Research and Education for Bees, a coordinated agricultural project funded by SCRI. Williams serves as the project leader for habitat enhancement for bees and as a co-leader of a project seeking alternative managed bees for almonds.
Last year he was one of the featured speakers at the International Symposium on Pollinator Conservation in Fukuoka, Japan. His talk on “Bee Life History and Resource Distributions Determine Population and Community Responses to Agricultural Landscape Change” explored agricultural landscape change and the role of bee life history in predicting and understanding responses of bee communities.
Thorp is skilled in insect classification, general entomology, natural history of insects, field entomology, California insect diversity and pollination ecology. He is a member of 10 professional societies including the International Society of Hymenopterists. He is the regional co-chair of the North America section of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bumblebee Specialist Group. IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization.
Thorp is deeply engrossed in identifying bees for research projects, including that of UC Berkeley conservation biologist Claire Kremen, a McArthur Fellow studying wild bees. Overall, he has identified more than 170,000 bees since his retirement in 1994, usually averaging at least 10,000 a year. He is also heavily involved with research, education and public outreach activities at the Bohart Museum, with Department of Entomology and other entities.
Thorp does research at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. He has monitored the bee population since it was an open field. Over the last three years, Robbin has identified more than 80 species of bees—and counting--in the garden alone; these include bumble bees, carpenter bees and sweat bees.
An authority on Western bumble bees, Thorp delivered a talk on “Western North America Bumble Bees in Peril” to the Smithsonian in June 2009. His bumble bee research and his drive to save bees from extinction are two of his projects known nationally and internationally. He is the world authority on Franklin’s bumble bee, a bee feared extinct and known to habitat a small area in southern Oregon and northern California. He teamed with the Xerces Society to successfully fight a battle to include the bee on the threatened and endangered species list. He is now working to “save the bees” found in the Midwest and East Coast.
Thorp was honored for his work when he received the 2010-2011 Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professorship, a high honor for UC Davis retired faculty. He delivers many talks, both scientific and for the lay audience, on wild bees and pollinator habitat. In addition to threatened or endangered bumble bees, his expertise includes vernal pool bees.
Johnson works closely with the California State Beekeepers Association (statewide, California has 500,000 colonies) and just received a CSBA grant to study “Testing Feeding Methods for Maximizing the Growth and Health of Honey Bee Colonies.” He is involved in graduate teaching/advising and undergraduate lab teaching. He is teaching a UC Davis graduate seminar on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and just completed teaching a course on honey bee communication for a freshman seminar. Johnson presented a talk on honey bee communication at the inaugural event of the UC Davis Honey and Pollinator Center; a lecture on “The Study of Social Insects” to the UC Davis Animal Behavior Core Graduate Group; a seminar at Howard University, Washington D.C. on the “Organization and Evolution of Honey Bee Societies”; and a talk on “Task Allocation in Middle-Age Honey Bees.” He also addressed the California Department of Food and Agriculture on “Roles of Self-Organization in Collective Decision Making” and discussed “Future Research Directions at UC Davis” at a CSBA meeting.
Sept. 23, 2011
DAVIS--“I am basically all pro-bee. Whatever I can do for bees, I do it.”
So says Cooperative Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the University of California, Davis in a two-part cover story in the American Bee Journal (ABJ).
Mussen, a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty since 1976, definitely knows his bees, said author and master beekeeper M.E.A. (“Mea”) McNeil of San Anselmo.
McNeil describes Mussen by what he does: “lecturing to bee clubs and university classes, doing media interviews, writing and editing science articles, participating in hands-on studies, organizing conferences, submitting pesticide label recommendations, writing a newsletter and responding to questions from the public and professionals.”
Mussen, who received his bachelor's degree in entomology from the University of Massachusetts, and his master's degree and doctorate from the University of Minnesota, credits his grandfather with sparking his interest in insects, McNeil recounts. His grandfather, a self-taught naturalist, would take his young grandson to the woods to point out flora and fauna.
As a child, “my only concern was what if, by the time I went to college and became an entomologist, everything we wanted to know about insects was known,” Mussen told McNeil.
When he enrolled in graduate school, the only research opening was in the Basil Furgala lab. Furgala, who researched bee viruses, took him to the apiary, “grabbed a bee" and let it sting him to make sure he would work there,” McNeil wrote.
Mussen's passion for bees is well expressed in the ABJ article. “It doesn't matter whether there is one hive in the backyard or 15,000 colonies,” Mussen told her. “Bees are bees and the bees' needs are the bees' needs.”
Of the ABJ feature, Mussen said Sept. 23: “I am honored to have been selected by Mea as someone worthy of being featured in a national publication. It always is pleasant to receive a pat on the back.”
ABJ, established in 1861 by Samuel Wagner, has been published continuously since that time, except for a brief period during the Civil War. It is now published by Dadant and Sons and ranks as the oldest English language beekeeping publication in the world. It draws its readership from hobby and commercial beekeepers, bee supply dealers, queen breeders, package-bee shippers, honey packers, and entomologists.
Mussen, considered by his peers as one of the most respected and influential professional apiculturists in the nation, was named the California Beekeeper of the Year in 2006, won the American Association of Professional Apiculturists' Award of Excellence in Extension Apiculture in 2007, and in 2008 he received the Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America. He received the statewide Pedro Ilic Outstanding Agricultural Educator Award in 2010.
Mussen educates the beekeeping industry and general public with his bimonthly newsletter, from the UC Apiaries, which he launched in 1976. Since 1976, he has also written Bee Briefs, addressing such issues as diseases, pesticides and swarms. Both publications are on the UC Davis Department of Entomology Web site.
“Eric is a worldwide authority on honey bees, but no problem is too small and no question too involved for him to answer,” said Extension specialist Larry Godfrey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, who nominated Mussen for the Pedro Illic award. “He devotes his research and extension activities to the improvement of honey bee health and honey bee colony management practices. Eric helps growers, consumers, UC Farm Advisors, agricultural commissioners, scientists, beekeepers, researchers, pesticide regulators, 4-H'ers, and state and national agricultural and apicultural organizations. He ignites their interest in maintaining the health of bees, cultivates their friendship, and generously gives of his time and intellect.”
With the decline of the honey bee population and the increase of the mysterious colony collapse disorder, his expertise is now more highly sought than ever,” Godfrey pointed out. “Any threat to honey bees is a threat to agriculture and a cause for his concern and a desire to assist. He is the only Extension Apiculturist in the UC system and in many regards, functions as the Extension entomologist for apiculture in the western U.S. and indeed, much of the country.”
Mussen is a five-time president of the Western Apicultural Society, an organization he helped found in 1977. He's delivered the keynote addresses at the California State Beekeepers' Association (CSBA) and at the American Honey Producers' Association conventions. In addition, he provides leadership roles in the CSBA, the California Bee Breeders' Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, American Honey Producers' Association, National Honey Board, American Beekeeping Federation, American Association of Professional Apiculturists, and the Northern California Entomology Society, among others.
Mussen periodically speaks to some 20 beekeeping organizations a year, taking time from his busy schedule (often on the weekends and evenings) to travel to all parts of California and beyond. Mussen also mans the honey-tasting table at the annual UC Davis Picnic Day, where he encourages patrons to sample honey and ask questions. He displayed an observation hive at the 2008, 2009 and 2011 Dixon May Fair, where he answered questions from fairgoers.
“He is just as open to answering a question about Nosema to a beginning beekeeper or responding to a child's question about queen bees as he is to helping a commercial beekeeper with 15,000 hives, or engaging in intricate scientific research,” Godfrey said.
Mussen, who is the UC Davis representative to the California State Apiary Board, offers input to the Department of Pesticide Regulation, particularly with the pesticide registration group. Lately he assisted U.S. beekeepers in writing letters to receive compensation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their CCD (colony collapse disorder) bee losses.
Mussen works closely with Cooperation Extension, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, the California Farm Bureau Federation, researchers in the UC system, researchers at the USDA/ARS honey bee laboratories at Beltsville, Md; Baton Rouge, La.; Tucson, Ariz., Weslaco, Texas, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, among others.
Mussen serves on various committees and task forces of state and national organizations, reviews numerous manuscripts for journals; reviews annual research proposals to the California State Beekeepers' Association, the Almond Board of California, and the National Honey Board; reviews Small Business Innovation Research applications at the federal level; and is requested to comment on promotion evaluations for university and USDA researchers.
For the last 10 years, Mussen has been in charge of the California State 4-H Bee Essay Contest, disseminating guidelines, collecting entries and chairing the judging. The state winner advances to national competition. This year's California winner, Rachel Ricchiuto, 14, of Gold River, won the national award.
A popular bee spokesperson, Mussen has been interviewed by the BBC, Lehrer Hour, Associated Press, National Public Radio, Good Morning America, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, KGO Radio, Boston Globe and scores of other media. Two of his videos on bee health appear on the UC Davis Department of Entomology Web site and the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. An hour-long video on colony collapse disorder is on the national eXtension Web site.
(Editor's Note: Below are the links to the ABJ articles (authorized by ABJ editor Joe Graham and author M.E.A. McNeil and used with their permission)
August publication from American Bee Journal (PDF)
September publication from American Bee Journal (PDF)
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Mussen, considered by his peers as one of the most respected and influential professional apiculturists in the nation, will receive the award March 1 at the California Small Farm Conference in San Diego. It is one of two annual awards memorializing Ilic, a Fresno County small-scale farm advisor who died in 1994. The other award, for outstanding grower, goes to Jay Ruskey of Calimoya Exotic Fruits of Goleta, Santa Barbara County. The company, which Ruskey founded in 1991, grows and markets California cherimoyas and other exotic fruits.
Mussen and Ilic worked together as members of the Small Farm Work Group in serving the statewide agricultural community, said nominators Larry Godfrey, Extension specialist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology, and Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the department.
“They were alike in many ways: their dedication, enthusiasm, high energy, friendliness, their commitment to small-scale and family farming, and the easy-going way they imparted information on a diversity of projects, solving a multitude of problems—and sometimes at a moment's notice,” Godfrey said.
Mussen educates the beekeeping industry and general public with his bimonthly newsletter, from the UC Apiaries, which he launched in 1976. Since 1976, he has also written Bee Briefs, addressing such issues as diseases, pesticides and swarms. Both publications are on the UC Davis Department of Entomology Web site.
“Eric is a worldwide authority on honey bees, but no problem is too small and no question too involved for him to answer,” Godfrey said. “He devotes his research and extension activities to the improvement of honey bee health and honey bee colony management practices. Eric helps growers, consumers, UC Farm Advisors, agricultural commissioners, scientists, beekeepers, researchers, pesticide regulators, 4-H'ers, and state and national agricultural and apicultural organizations. He ignites their interest in maintaining the health of bees, cultivates their friendship, and generously gives of his time and intellect.”
With the decline of the honey bee population and the increase of the mysterious colony collapse disorder, his expertise is now more highly sought than ever,” Godfrey pointed out. “Any threat to honey bees is a threat to agriculture and a cause for his concern and a desire to assist. He is the only Extension Apiculturist in the UC system and in many regards, functions as the Extension entomologist for apiculture in the western U.S. and indeed, much of the country.”
Mussen was named the California Beekeeper of the Year in 2006, won the American Association of Professional Apiculturists' Award of Excellence in Extension Apiculture in 2007, and in 2008 he received the Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America.
In 2009, Mussen served as president of the Western Apicultural Society, an organization he helped found in 1977. He delivered the keynote addresses at the 2009 California State Beekeepers' Association (CSBA) and the 2009 American Honey Producers' Association conventions. In addition, he provides leadership roles in the CSBA, the California Bee Breeders' Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, American Honey Producers' Association, National Honey Board, American Beekeeping Federation, American Association of Professional Apiculturists, and the Northern California Entomology Society, among others.
“Yet he is just as open to answering a question about Nosema to a beginning beekeeper or responding to a child's question about queen bees as he is to helping a commercial beekeeper with 15,000 hives, or engaging in intricate scientific research,” Godfrey said.
Mussen periodically speaks to some 20 beekeeping organizations a year, taking time from his busy schedule (often on the weekends and evenings) to travel to all parts of California and beyond, the nominators said. Mussen also mans the honey-tasting table at the annual UC Davis Picnic Day, where he encourages patrons to sample honey and ask questions. He displayed an observation hive at the 2008 and 2009 Dixon May Fair, where he answered questions from fairgoers.
Mussen, who is the UC Davis representative to the California State Apiary Board, offers input to the Department of Pesticide Regulation, particularly with the pesticide registration group. Lately he assisted U.S. beekeepers in writing letters to receive compensation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their CCD (colony collapse disorder) bee losses.
Mussen works closely with Cooperation Extension, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, the California Farm Bureau Federation, researchers in the UC system, researchers at the USDA/ARS honey bee laboratories at Beltsville, Md; Baton Rouge, La.; Tucson, AZ; Weslaco, Texas, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, among others.
Mussen serves on various committees and task forces of state and national organizations, reviews numerous manuscripts for journals; reviews annual research proposals to the California State Beekeepers' Association, the Almond Board of California, and the National Honey Board; reviews Small Business Innovation Research applications at the federal level; and is requested to comment on promotion evaluations for university and USDA researchers.
For the last 10 years, Mussen has been in charge of the California State 4-H Bee Essay Contest, disseminating guidelines, collecting entries and chairing the judging. The state winner advances to national competition.
Mussen was also lauded for his work with the news media. He has been interviewed by the BBC, Lehrer Hour, Associated Press, National Public Radio, Good Morning America, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, KGO Radio, Boston Globe and scores of other media. Two of his videos on bee health appear on the UC Davis Department of Entomology Web site and Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. An hour-long video on colony collapse disorder is on the national eXtension Web site.
Ilic, a native of Chile and a 1964 graduate of the University of Chile, came to the United States in 1965 on a California Farm Bureau scholarship and worked as a farm laborer. He continued his education at California State University, Fresno. He joined the UC Cooperative Extension in 1976 as a small-farms advisor. He died at age 50 in Fresno County.
The Pedro Ilic Awards single out individuals who carry on Ilic's work. According to the award criteria, each honoree
- envisions what can be done and has the imagination, energy, and intellect to translate that vision into a successful activity
- is part of the solution, not of the problem; critical in thinking, but constructive in approach
- is an advocate and risk taker
- is an effective teacher, instills self-esteem in others and constantly encourages others;
- is a dedicated professional who believes in his or her work
- has determination, exuberance, high energy, and genuine friendliness for all people, with the conviction that the smallest is as important as the biggest
- has high personal and family values.
The California Small Farm Conference, set Feb. 28-March 2, is an educational conference that includes on-farm tours, focused workshops, general educational sessions and opportunities for peer networking.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Mussen identified malnutrition, parasitic mites, infectious microbes and insecticide contamination as among the possible culprits. It's a complex issue, he said, but one thing is certain: “It seems unlikely that we will find a specific, new and different reason for why bees are dying.”
Colony collapse disorder (CCD), a phenomenon where bees mysteriously abandon their hives, is not a new occurrence, said Mussen, the Extension Apiculturist at UC Davis since 1976.
“Similar phenomena have been observed since 1869,” he said. “It persisted in 1963, 1964 and 1965 and was called Spring Dwindling, Fall Collapse and Autumn Collapse. Then in 1975, it was called Disappearing Disease.”
“But the disease wasn't what was disappearing,” Mussen quipped. “The bees were."
Massive bee die-off also occurred during the winter of 2004-05, but only those who read bee journals knew about it, Mussen told the crowd in the campus Activities Recreation Center. The latest die-off caught the attention of the national media last fall when a Pennsylvania beekeeper asked researchers at Pennsylvania State University to look at samples of his dying bees in Pennsylvania and Florida. “The local media picked up the story and the rest is history, including yours truly on the Lehrer Hour.”
One-third of America's honey bees vanished this past year due to the mysterious CCD, characterized by almost total hive abandonment. Nearly all adult worker bees unexpectedly fly away from the hive, abandoning the stored honey, pollen, larvae and pupae. Usually they leave in less than a week, and only the queen and a few young workers remain, Mussen said.
Honey bees normally do not abandon their brood, he said. “Nurse bees” continually feed the young, which increase 1,000-fold in size in six days.
“That's like an 8-pound baby weighing 4 tons in six days,” Mussen said.
“The real reason bees are important is that we rely on them for crop pollination,“ he said. Commercial honey bees pollinate about 90 of the country's crops, valued at $15 billion.
“One third of our U.S. diet depends on honey bees,” Mussen said. “If bees produce fruits and vegetables somewhere else, do we (Americans) want to be as dependent on food as we are on oil?”
Bees are especially crucial to California's 600,000 acres of almonds, he said. To pollinate the almonds, growers need 1.2 million bee hives, “but California doesn't have 1.2 million bee hives, so they have to be trucked here.”
That, he said, can add to the bee stress.
Mussen linked malnutrition as a key factor in CCD. Honey bee nutrition is “weather dependent,” he said. “The best-fed bees are the healthiest, while malnourished bees are less resistant.”
Malnutrition and climate-linked issues include: Did local weather events affect pollen-producing plants negatively?
- Was there a lack of bloom (nectar and pollen) due to lack of rain or too much heat?
- Was there reduced access to flowers due to excess rain?
- Did cold nights interfere with meiosis that led to “sterile” or “non-viable” pollens?
- Do these types of pollen contain the usual proteins, vitamins, minerals and lipids required by the bees?
Mussen said that many regions in the United States experienced significant drought in 2006. “The U.S. honey crop was off 11 percent, one of the lowest on record. The California crop was off 30 percent; North and South Dakota crops were off nearly 15 and 40 percent respectively.”
If there's malnutrition in August and September, that adversely affects the winter bees, he said. A mix of quality pollens is required to rear healthy winter bees.
Unlike the California definition based on amount of water in the reservoirs, the beekeepers' definition of drought is: Is there enough soil moisture to keep the flowers growing? "This year there was not,” Mussen said.
Malnourished bees are more susceptible to disease, predators and insecticides, he pointed out. The Varroa destructor mites, introduced here in 1987 from the Asian bee (Apis cerana), spread across the country in five years, killing the American bee (Apis mellifera), known as the European bee.
Compared to fruit flies and mosquitoes, “bees have a limited immune system; they're pretty anemic,” he said.
Another problem: “Varroa mites have become resistant to most legal chemical controls that used to keep them in check.”
Mussen cast suspicion on several viruses as CCD factors: the Kashmir bee virus, acute bee paralysis virus, deformed wing virus, black queen cell virus and the Israel acute paralysis virus.
“Honey bees have about 20 known viruses, most of which can cause disease,” he said. Some viruses remain latent, just like chicken pox in humans, which can show up as shingles later in life.
USDA scientists found the Israeli acute paralysis virus, in nearly all of the CCD colonies they tested, but none in the control group. In addition, they found the Kashmir bee virus in all the CCD colonies tested.
Also found in all the CCD colonies tested were the infectious microbes Nosea ceranae and Nosema apis. N. ceranae, a relatively new fungal disease of American honey bees, was imported from the Asian honey bee, Apis cerana. N. apis, its American counterpart, has been around for at least a century.
A favorite suspect among the beekeepers is neonicotinoids, chemicals designed to mimic the toxic effects of a neurotoxin from the tobacco family. The nicotine-like insecticide kills fleas on cats and dogs, and is used as a seed treatment and in side dressing and foliar spray applications.
“The insecticides enter various plant tissues and become distributed, systemically, throughout the plant,” he said. “Nicotine is so toxic to humans that if you put a drop of pure nicotine on your finger, you're dead.”
Neonicotinoids have been formulated to be nearly non-toxic to mammals, birds, and fish but remain extremely toxic to invertebrates.
Laboratory studies showed that miniscule doses of neonicotinoids increased the rate of learning in bees, but at high doses, bees failed to respond to training.
“It wasn't memory loss; it was intoxication,” Mussen said. “They were drunk.”
Another suspect: Gaucho® (imidacloprid), used as a seed treatment on sunflowers. Beekeepers claimed that when bees visited sunflowers, they never returned to their hives; “they lost their memory.” France and Spain banned imidacloprid, but “bees are still failing in their hives,” Mussen noted.
Mussen said no scientific documentation exists to blame imidacloprid for the bee die-off. A study found only 5 parts per billion maximum in the nectar of sunflowers and canola, he said. The Bayer fact sheet indicates that the insecticide is toxic to honey bees at 192 ppb.
Among the more “quirky” explanations for CCD: cell phone usage, alien encounters, honey bee “rapture” (where hive populations “ascend to that big honeycomb in the sky en masse”); and chemtrails, aircraft-released vapors.
“Some thought chemtrails was a military-industrial complex plan to kill all children and old people — and got the bees and birds by mistake,” Mussen said.
Mussen said he hopes that the current fascination with honey bees will lead to more research and more research funding.
(Editor's Note: This also appeared on the UC Davis website. Noted entomologist May Berenbaum was initially scheduled to speak. )