EC 00-1564-S Bumble Boosters: A Guide To Identifying Nebraska Bumble Bee Species

Why Bumble Bees Are Important Capturing Bumble Bees Making a Reference Collection The Bee Family Tree The Bumble Bee Family Tree Bumble Bee Mimics How to Use the Identification Guide Bee Identification Guide Checklist of Nebraska Species External Morphology of Bumble Bees Glossary Additional Resources About Bumble Boosters Data Sheet for Collection Specimens For most people, pollen means allergies and bees mean stings. However, you should thank a bee, butterfly, bat, bird, or other pollinator for one out of every three bites of food you eat. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from one flower to another. It is a critical step in fruit and seed production. Some plants produce generous quantities of pollen and rely on the wind to transfer pollen. Many plant species, however, produce smaller amounts of pollen and have elaborate mechanisms to attract pollinators. There are 95 crops grown in the United States that require insect pollinators. In addition, many bee-pollinated plants provide food for wildlife, increase soil fertility, and beautify our landscapes. In an era when human activities have reduced nesting habitat and forage plants, we need to consider the impact we have on plant/pollinator relationships. Pollinators are a critical link in the ecosystems of both wild and agricultural lands and play an important role in the interconnectedness of life in general. Bumble bees are a great place to begin. They are beautiful native insects whose distribution and abundance can be nurtured by providing suitable nesting habitat and forage plants

Dr. Kenneth P. Pruess Obituary

Dr. Kenneth P. Pruess, age 84, of Lincoln, Nebraska, died 11 December 2016. Kenneth was Professor of Entomology Emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born 21 June 1932 in Troy, Indiana, to Elmer and Clara (Grass) Pruess. Kenneth graduated from Purdue University in 1954 and earned his M.S. in Entomology in 1955 and Ph.D. in 1957, both from The Ohio State University. His dissertation was titled “Studies on the Clover Root Borer, Hylastinus obscurus (Marsham).” He married Neva Currie on 15 June 1963. He worked at the University of Nebraska’s North Platte Experiment Station from 1957–1965, Entomology Department at UNL from 1965–1997, and was Entomology Department UNL Emeritus from 1997 until the time of his death, continuing his research until 8 December 2016. Throughout his career, Kenneth conducted research on a wide variety of topics. Initially, he was hired at North Platte to study the army cutworm, Euxoa auxiliaris (Grote), which was a major pest of wheat in western Nebraska. He published several studies that helped document their summer migration from the Great Plains to the Rockies. One of these he co-authored with his wife, who also had graduate training in entomology. They used binoculars to track the direction of flight at night of army cutworm moths by watching them as they flew in front of the moon. He began long-range studies of the population dynamics of rangeland grasshoppers, which continued for decades after he moved to Lincoln. He was an early adopter of using microcomputers in teaching and developed programs for computer modeling in pest management. He conducted several studies on biology and management of western corn rootworms, including a 1968–1970 study on areawide management of adult rootworms over a 16-square-mile area. His study was the first to evaluate the potential of areawide management of corn rootworms. Later, he began studies on natural history of aquatic insects, particularly focused on black flies. He used molecular techniques to study black fly taxonomy and then alfalfa weevil taxonomy. The week of his death, he was working on finalizing a manuscript on alfalfa weevil molecular taxonomy for journal submission

Dr. Kenneth P. Pruess Obituary

Dr. Kenneth P. Pruess, age 84, of Lincoln, Nebraska, died 11 December 2016. Kenneth was Professor of Entomology Emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born 21 June 1932 in Troy, Indiana, to Elmer and Clara (Grass) Pruess. Kenneth graduated from Purdue University in 1954 and earned his M.S. in Entomology in 1955 and Ph.D. in 1957, both from The Ohio State University. His dissertation was titled “Studies on the Clover Root Borer, Hylastinus obscurus (Marsham).” He married Neva Currie on 15 June 1963. He worked at the University of Nebraska’s North Platte Experiment Station from 1957–1965, Entomology Department at UNL from 1965–1997, and was Entomology Department UNL Emeritus from 1997 until the time of his death, continuing his research until 8 December 2016. Throughout his career, Kenneth conducted research on a wide variety of topics. Initially, he was hired at North Platte to study the army cutworm, Euxoa auxiliaris (Grote), which was a major pest of wheat in western Nebraska. He published several studies that helped document their summer migration from the Great Plains to the Rockies. One of these he co-authored with his wife, who also had graduate training in entomology. They used binoculars to track the direction of flight at night of army cutworm moths by watching them as they flew in front of the moon. He began long-range studies of the population dynamics of rangeland grasshoppers, which continued for decades after he moved to Lincoln. He was an early adopter of using microcomputers in teaching and developed programs for computer modeling in pest management. He conducted several studies on biology and management of western corn rootworms, including a 1968–1970 study on areawide management of adult rootworms over a 16-square-mile area. His study was the first to evaluate the potential of areawide management of corn rootworms. Later, he began studies on natural history of aquatic insects, particularly focused on black flies. He used molecular techniques to study black fly taxonomy and then alfalfa weevil taxonomy. The week of his death, he was working on finalizing a manuscript on alfalfa weevil molecular taxonomy for journal submission

G1430 Using the Sugar Roll Technique to Detect Varroa Mites in Honey Bee Colonies

Description of a rapid and efficient technique for detecting and assessing varroa mite infestations using powdered sugar to dislodge mites from bees. The varroa mite was first discovered in the United States in 1987. Globally, it is the most important pest of honey bees and it has caused extensive losses in feral and managed colonies. Once introduced, varroa mites have never been eradicated from any country or region, and beekeepers must adopt an integrated pest management strategy to protect their colonies. Early detection and assessment of infestation levels are important components of a varroa management plan. Since varroa mites feed by piercing the intersegmental membranes on the underside of the bee\u27s abdomen, they are not easily observed on bees until colonies are severely injured. Beekeepers need to use a detection technique to check their colonies for mites. In addition to detecting mites, beekeepers need to accurately assess the infestation level to determine when control measures are warranted. Topics covered include: 1) comparing inert dusts for detecting and assessing varroa mite infestations; 2) using powdered sugar to detect and assess varroa mite infestations; 3) why dust-like materials dislodge varroa mites from bees; and 4)interpreting the results of sugar roll testing

\u3ci\u3eVarroa\u3c/i\u3e mites and honey bee health: can \u3ci\u3eVarroa\u3c/i\u3e explain part of the colony losses?

Since 2006, disastrous colony losses have been reported in Europe and North America. The causes of the losses were not readily apparent and have been attributed to overwintering mortalities and to a new phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder. Most scientists agree that there is no single explanation for the extensive colony losses but that interactions between different stresses are involved. As the presence of Varroa in each colony places an important pressure on bee health, we here address the question of how Varroa contributes to the recent surge in honey bee colony losses

Mortalités et dépopulations des colonies d’abeilles aux États-Unis

Après la France et l’Europe, les États-Unis d’Amérique subissent de plein fouet les problèmes de mortalités massives d’abeilles. Un déficit d’abeilles disponibles pour la pollinisation et les résultats d’enquêtes auprès des apiculteurs attestent clairement ce phénomène très préoccupant pour l’apiculture américaine. Y a-t-il des analogies avec ce que nous avons vécu sur nos populations d’abeilles ou bien est-ce un phénomène différent ? L’état américain débloque des fonds importants pour expliquer et lutter contre ce syndrome qui détruit leur cheptel

Practitioner accounts and knowledge production: an analysis of three marketing discourses

Responding to repeated calls for marketing academicians to connect with marketing actors, we offer an empirically-sourced discourse analysis of the ways in which managers portray their practices. Focusing on the micro-discourses and narratives that marketing actors draw upon to represent their work we argue that dominant representations of marketing knowledge production present a number of critical concerns for marketing theory and marketing education. We also evidence that the often promoted idea of a need to close the gap between theory - as a dominant discourse - and practice, as a way of doing marketing, is problematic to pursue. We suggest that a more fruitful agenda resides in the development of a range of polyphonic and creative micro-discourses of management, promoting context, difference and individual meaning in marketing knowledge production

Qualitative study of perfect-fluid Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker models with a cosmological constant

The evolution of spatially homogeneous and isotropic cosmological models containing a perfect fluid with equation of state p=w\rho\ and a cosmological constant \Lambda\ is investigated for arbitrary combinations of w and \Lambda, using standard qualitative analysis borrowed from classical mechanics. This approach allows one to consider a large variety of situations, appreciating similarities and differences between models, without solving the Friedmann equation, and is suitable for an elementary course in cosmology.Comment: 13pages, 14 figure