DATE: November 13, 2008

CONTACT: Mike Hood, 864-656-0346
mhood@clemson.edu

WRITER: Diane Palmer, 864-656-4741
spalmer@clemson.edu

South Carolina Beekeepers Association seeking research partners

CLEMSON — The South Carolina Beekeepers Association kicked off two fundraising campaigns to solicit donations for apicultural research. The “Save Our Bees” campaign will support the association’s honey bee research fund and the other is to establish a Clemson University endowment for a graduate student fellowship to conduct honey bee research.

The honey bee is responsible for pollinating almost a third of the food crops we eat. Some of the crops grown in South Carolina are apples, cantaloupes, cucumbers, squash and watermelon.  

The honey bee has had to fight for survival from tracheal mites, varroa mites, small hive beetles and now the mysterious “colony collapse disorder.” The number of honey bee colonies in the United States has declined from about 5.5 million to fewer than 2.4 million.  

“Keeping enough healthy colonies to ensure the availability of wholesome, nutritious, locally grown fruits and vegetables in South Carolina is becoming more and more difficult,” said Mike Hood, Clemson University bee specialist.

Research partners can make a tax-deductible contribution to the South Carolina Beekeepers Association's “Save Our Bees” fund, which will underwrite small research projects investigating problems facing South Carolina beekeepers.  

For more information about the research endowment to fund a Clemson University graduate student, contact Mike Hood, Clemson University, Department of Entomology, Soils and Plant Sciences, 864-656-0346 or mhood@clemson.edu.

To make a contribution to the "Save Our Bees" campaign, make a check payable to S.C. Beekeepers Association Research Fund and mail it to Don Van Borsch, S.C. Beekeepers Association Secretary/Treasurer, 407 Old Plantation Drive, West Columbia, S.C.  29172.