Our guest this week is Boris Baer, Professor of Entomology at UC Riverside. Boris is the recent recipient of a $900,000 grant from the University of California’s Office of the President.  He is the Principal Investigator of a four-campus network of bee researchers and engineers to boost dwindling honey bee populations working in the Center for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER).

Boris is working with a team of researchers and students looking at the interaction of nutritional supplements when bees have been exposed to pesticides, and how to harness the natural honey bee microbiome to this assault.  The research team will also be looking at the successful genomes of honey bees with influence of African genes that have developed increased resistance to the common diseases that currently plague the industry.

As part of the grant, researchers from Davis and Merced campuses are looking to develop a breeding program to produce bees better able to cope with environmental stress. A second goal is to develop medications and treatment for sick bees. A third group is coordinating efforts to develop tools beekeepers can use to better monitor what is going on inside their hives. Essentially, electronic veterinarians.

Listen today to hear all about the leading edge of practical research is taking the beekeeper of the near future!

Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:

• Center for Integrative Bee Research - https://ciber.ucr.edu
  
  
• Honey Bee Obscura Podcast - https://www.honeybeeobscura.com
• Brittney Goodrich Almond Pollination Contract Survey (You'll know where to use this when requested "Apism2021")  - https://ucdavis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3VjNePVvz9H0F6u?Source=BTP
• Build Beekeeping Equipment by Ed Simon - https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/edwin-simon/build-beekeeping-equipment/paperback/product-jjvg8n.html

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Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com

This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode! 

We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum.

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We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: [email protected]

Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com

Thank you for listening! 

Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Beekeeping Today Podcast is an audio production of Growing Planet Media, LLC