Thank you to Burt's Bees for stepping up to the plate to help us out!
And thanks to the Pollinator Partnership!

 > Subject: [Pollinator] For Immediate Release: POLLINATOR PARTNERSHIP
 AND BURT'S BEES FUND RESEARCH PROPOSALS RELATED TO HONEY BEE HEALTH
 >
 > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 > POLLINATOR PARTNERSHIP AND BURT'S BEES FUND RESEARCH PROPOSALS RELATED TO
 > HONEY BEE HEALTH
 >
 > SAN FRANCISCO, CA February 26, 2008 - The critical disappearance of bees,
 > called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), is still a mysterious threat to
 honey
 > bees, the foundation of pollination services in agriculture. The
 Pollinator
 > Partnership and its North American Pollinator Protection Campaign/NAPPC (a
 > tri-national coalition dedicated to promoting the health of all
 pollinators)
 > is teaming up with bee-friendly, natural personal care company Burt's Bees
 > to address this agricultural and environmental issue.  Their most recent
 > collaboration has provided funding to five teams of scientists whose
 > collective goal is to research issues surrounding honey bee health, an
 area
 > heretofore sorely lacking funding despite media attention.
 >
 > Burt's Bees, which funded the Pollinator Partnership's creation of a task
 > force dedicated to honey bee health issues in 2007, provided funding to
 > create the grants.  Proposals were selected by members of the Honey Bee
 > Health Improvement Task Force (a list of members and more information at
 > www.pollinator.org/honeybee_health.htm).  Nineteen eligible proposals were
 > received from applicants all around North America, totaling more than
 > $200,000 in funding requests.  The caliber and diversity of the proposals
 > speak to the importance of and need for honey bee health research.  In
 > response to the program selection, John Replogle, President and CEO of
 > Burt's Bees said, "As a bee-friendly company, we know the critical role
 bees
 > play in our ecosystem.  We are proud to support this task force and
 believe
 > these projects will take the appropriate steps to improve the quality and
 > lives of bees."
 >
 > "The NAPPC Honey Bee Health Improvement Project supports first-rate
 > scientists in their search to keep honey bees healthy," said Pollinator
 > Partnership Executive Director, Laurie Adams.  The Chairs of the NAPPC
 Honey
 > Bee Health Improvement Project are Dr. Christina Grozinger, Dr. Barry
 > Thompson, and Danny Weaver, past president of the American Beekeepers
 > Federation.  Adams added, "On behalf of the Co-Chairs and the scientists
 > exploring the variables of environment, nutrition, pesticides, and stock
 > improvement, we thank Burt's Bees for their vital support."
 >
 > Honey Bee Health Improvement Co-Chair Dr. Christina Grozinger was
 impressed
 > by the quality of proposals submitted.  "These proposals are excellent
 > examples of the holistic approach that is needed to address the complex
 > challenges facing beekeepers," said Dr. Grozinger.
 >
 > Grants supporting five research proposals will be awarded, and funding is
 > actively being sought for three more.  The one-year grants cover a broad
 > range of honey bee related topics such as the effects of climate or
 > environmental variables, the effects of nutrition on honey bee physiology
 > and/or colony health, the effects of sublethal doses of pesticides
 > (including miticides) on honey bee physiology and/or colony health, and
 > genetic stock improvement.  A list of proposals that have been awarded
 > follows:
 >
 > .     "Assessment of sublethal effects of imidacloprid on honey bee and
 > colony health" (University of Maryland Foundation; Dively and Embrey)
 > .     "Diagnostic gene panel for honey bee breeding and disease
 > management" (USDA-ARS Bee Research Lab; Evans and Chen)
 > .     "Effects of miticide and Fumagilin-B on honey bee survivorship and
 > immune responses" (Acadia University; Little, Shutler, and others)
 > .     "Changes in hormonal and protein levels in honey bees that are
 > experiencing migratory transportation" (Michigan State University; Huang)
 > .     "Nutritional effects on intestinal health and longevity of honey bee
 > workers" (University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Rueppell)
 >
 > "The Honey Bee Health Task Force and NAPPC applaud the generosity and
 wisdom
 > of Burt's Bees," said Honey Bee Health Improvement Project Co-Chair Danny
 > Weaver.  "Burt's Bees has enabled funding for important studies that
 should
 > contribute to improved honey bee health and thereby ensure the delivery of
 > critical pollination services.  Unfortunately, even Burt's Bees' generous
 > initial gift is insufficient to fund all of the deserving proposals, and
 the
 > Honey Bee Health Task Force and NAPPC will continue to seek other
 > contributions to fully fund all the proposed investigations."
 >
 > The Pollinator Partnership works to promote awareness and scientific
 > understanding of pollinators; gather, organize and disseminate information
 > about pollinators; provide a forum to identify and discuss pollinator
 > issues; and promote projects, initiatives and activities that enhance
 > pollinator conservation.  For additional information about the Pollinator
 > Partnership, visit www.pollinator.org.
 >
 > ####
 > R. Thomas (Tom) Van Arsdall, Public Affairs Representative for Coevolution
 > Institute/Pollinator Partnership/NAPPC
 > For More Information, http://www.pollinator.org

****************************************************
* General Information About BEE-L is available at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm   *
****************************************************