News and Letters

Thursday, 2 October 2025

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News and Letters

News and Letters

Mānuka Honey Ruling New Zealand vs Australia

News and Letters

Honey producers in New Zealand have lost the fight with Australian producers to trademark the term mānuka. The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has ruled the term manuka honey cannot be registered as a certification trademark in...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

‘Liquid Gold’: Beekeeping Documentary Wins an Emmy

News and Letters

It really was Liquid Gold. The University of Alabama’s Center for Public Television and Radio in the US, in collaboration with WVUA 23, won an Emmy for their short documentary about WVUA 23’s Chief Meteorologist, Richard Scott, and his...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Working together to protect Victoria’s honey bees

News and Letters

We all have a role to play in effective bee biosecurity. In recognition of this, Agriculture Victoria partners with recreational beekeepers and industry to conduct surveillance and preparedness for outbreaks of exotic pests - in particular the...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

National Honey Bee Genetics Program rolls on

News and Letters

The Plan Bee breeding research colonies at NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Tocal College have been euthanased after falling under a Varroa mite eradication zone. Plan Bee, Australia’s national honey bee genetic improvement program has had...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Beekeepers throw support behind genetic improvement

News and Letters

Around 94% of Australian beekeepers see value in a national honey bee genetic improvement program, such as Plan Bee. That’s according to a survey of 109 beekeepers recently conducted by the University of Sydney and the New South Wales Department...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Bird-proof vegetable and fruit trees

News and Letters

Dear Dr Anna, I need to bird-proof my vegetable and fruit trees with net, but don’t want to exclude bees. Please tell me the best size of mesh holes that bees can fit through, or alternatively a good bee-friendly, bird-proof netting! *Deb Dear...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Drunk Bees

News and Letters

Dear Dr Anna, I am not a beekeeper, but in the last two weeks honey bees have been dying in our backyard. The bees are buzzing around in our grevillea tree, and we have a paved backyard. Every day I sweep them up, usually 20 or 30 dead bees, and the...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Adulterated Beeswax

News and Letters

*This is from a March 2018 issue* For some time now AHBIC has been concerned that beeswax being imported into Australia may be adulterated and may contain chemical residues. AHBIC obtained some beeswax blocks, originating from Malaysia, being sold...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Effect on global economy of each additional ton of carbon dioxide emitted

News and Letters

New research overturns the idea that the short-term benefits of increased global emissions of CO2 on plant growth would benefit agriculture. Instead, the latest estimates show climate change has an overall negative effect on agriculture. Researchers...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Puerto Rico’s African honey bees have been selected to be gentle, and are already Varroa resistant

News and Letters

A genomic study of Puerto Rico’s Africanised honey bees has found out why they are more docile than other so-called killer bees – and are far less susceptible to Varroa mite. University of Illinois post-doctoral researcher Arian Avalos, says the...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

AFB Detection?

News and Letters

I recently asked at a meeting what the timeline would be for a hive with AFB, from initial infection to time of death of the colony. Nobody could provide a conclusive answer. Perhaps an article discussing how long it takes for AFB to become...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Lotmaria passim?

News and Letters

My question is about the newly found bee pathogen, Lotmaria passim. The information that is on the internet is very scarce and only describes it from an academic point of view, listing different techniques that are used to discover it. I would like...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

Manky Old Wax?

News and Letters

I have wondered what to do with the manky old wax that I have cut out of frames, and patches of brood in the lobes of the comb that I have taken out of someone’s wall. I have wondered if I should burn this grubby old stuff or put it in the compost...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

50% Macadamia Yield Increase Could Be Achieved by Alternating Varieties in Rows and Increasing Pollinators

News and Letters

Hort Innovation, Plant & Food Research, and the Australian Macadamia Society (AMS) researchers conducted a trial in a Bundaberg orchard which investigated pollination impacts on four different nut varieties. The trials showed that, when...

By The ABK Team

News and Letters

The Key to a More Accurate Camera in Phones, Drones, And Robots May Lie in the Brain of the Honey Bee

News and Letters

Researchers from RMIT University, Monash University, the University of Melbourne and Deakin University have discovered a new mechanism in the bug’s brain for processing colour information that could be used for digital cameras. “For a digital...

By The ABK Team

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