Bee Research
Send Bee Samples For Analysis
| How to Submit Samples |
Submission of Samples for Diagnosis:
General Instructions
- Beekeepers, bee businesses, and regulatory officials may submit samples.
- Samples are accepted from the United States and its territories; samples are NOT accepted from other countries.
- Include a short description of the problem along with your name, address, phone number or e-mail address.
How to Send Adult Honey Bees
- Send at least 100 bees and if possible, select bees that are dying or that died recently. Decayed bees are not satisfactory for examination.
- Bees should be placed in and soaked with 70% ethyl, methyl, or isopropyl alcohol as soon as possible after collection and packed in leak-proof containers.
- USPS, UPS, and FedEx do no accept shipments containing alcohol. Just prior to mailing samples, pour off all excess alcohol to meet shipping requirements.
- Do NOT send bees dry (without alcohol).
How to send brood samples
- A comb sample should be at least 2 x 2 inches and contain as much of the dead or discolored brood as possible. NO HONEY SHOULD BE PRESENT IN THE SAMPLE.
- The comb can be sent in a paper bag or loosely wrapped in a paper towel, newspaper, etc. and sent in a heavy cardboard box. AVOID wrappings such as plastic, aluminum foil, waxed paper, tin, glass, etc. because they promote decomposition and the growth of mold.
- If a comb cannot be sent, the probe used to examine a diseased larva in the cell may contain enough material for tests. The probe can be wrapped in paper and sent to the laboratory in an envelope.
Learn About Our IRB Bee Venom Research Study
Featured Research
Genomic study explores evolution of gentle 'killer bees' in Puerto Rico
Does a remote Brazilian island hold the key to Varroa tolerance?
Gentle Africanized bees on an oceanic island - NCBI
Genomic study explores evolution of gentle ‘killer bees’ in Puerto Rico
The cost of defense in social insects: insights from the honey bee
Rivera‐Marchand, B., Giray, T., & Guzmán‐Novoa, E. (2008). The cost of defense in social insects: insights from the honey bee. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 129(1), 1-10.
Gentle Africanized bees on an oceanic island
Rivera‐Marchand, B., Oskay, D., & Giray, T. (2012). Gentle Africanized bees on an oceanic island. Evolutionary Applications, 5(7), 746-756.
Genetic structure of the gentle Africanized honey bee population (gAHB) in Puerto Rico
Galindo-Cardona, A., Acevedo-Gonzalez, J. P., Rivera-Marchand, B., & Giray, T. (2013). Genetic structure of the gentle Africanized honey bee population (gAHB) in Puerto Rico. BMC genetics, 14(1), 65.
A soft selective sweep during rapid evolution of gentle behaviour in an Africanized honeybee
Avalos, A., Pan, H., Li, C., Acevedo-Gonzalez, J. P., Rendon, G., Fields, C. J., ... & Zhang, G. (2017). A soft selective sweep during rapid evolution of gentle behaviour in an Africanized honeybee. Nature communications, 8(1), 1-9.
Colonization history and population differentiation of the Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) in Puerto Rico
Acevedo‐Gonzalez, J. P., Galindo‐Cardona, A., Avalos, A., Whitfield, C. W., Rodriguez, D. M., Uribe‐Rubio, J. L., & Giray, T. (2019). Colonization history and population differentiation of the Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) in Puerto Rico. Ecology and evolution, 9(19), 10895-10902.
2019-2020 Honey Bee Colony Losses in the United States: Preliminary Results
Selina Bruckner1, Nathalie Steinhauer2, Jonathan Engelsma3, Anne Marie Fauvel2, Kelly Kulhanek2, Eric Malcolm2, Annette Meredith2, Meghan Milbrath4, Elina L. Niño5, Juliana Rangel6, Karen Rennich2, Daniel Reynolds2, Ramesh Sagili7, Jennifer Tsuruda8, Dennis vanEngelsdorp2, S. Dan Aurell6, Michaela Wilson8, Geoffrey Williams11Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL; 2Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD; 3School of Computing and Information Systems, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI; 4Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; 5Department of Entomology & Nematology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA; 6Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX; 7Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR; 8Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. Corresponding authors: szb0130@auburn.edu (S.B.) & nsteinha@umd.edu (N.S.)