15 Trainees from 15 different countries studied bees in Malta last week under the supervision of Denis Michez, Nico Vereecken, Stuart Roberts, Achick Dorchin and host and teacher Mario Balzan.   While very successful, unfortunately, this was also the last training school within the Super-B project.      

  Deadline STSM's: 31 July 2017! Short-term scientific missions (STSM's) are exchange visits between researchers involved in a COST Action, allowing scientists to visit an institution or laboratory in another COST country. They are aimed at fostering collaboration, sharing new techniques and infrastructure that may not be available in other participants' institutions or laboratories. STSM are intended ... show more

A new project is looking for four Graduate Scientists (for Ph-D intership) and one Post-Doctoral Scientist to participate to a project on "Conservation of pollinator diversity for enhanced climate change resilience" within ICARDA Biodiversity and Integrated Gene Management Program. This project shall integrate Farming with Alternative Pollinators (FAP) approach in the MENA-region. The position is based at ICARDA&r... show more

Super-B organized a Training School in Cyprus in March. This was an European Bee Course where 20 students (from 16 different countries) learned to recognize and identify different bee species. The course was organized by Denis Michez with help of Menelaos Stavrinides and Androulla Varnava from Cyprus. Trainers of this course were Denis himself, Nico Vereecken, Stuart Roberts and Achick Dorchin.   Group photo of the participants at... show more

A Post-Doctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) is required to work on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded project "POLLIVAL: assessing market and nonmarket values of pollination services in Ireland" led by Professor Jane Stout in School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin. The position is available for up to 2 years, with a start date of 1st January 2017.   Qualifications PhD in Ecosyst... show more

The following text is taken from this BBC Environment web page, author: Helen Briggs International scientists are calling for action to "future-proof" the prosperity of pollinating insects, birds and mammals. They say agricultural expansion, new pesticides and emerging viruses present the biggest risks in coming decades. And the bats that pollinate plants in tropical and desert climates need legal protection, they re... show more

Super-B is holding two full-day workshops, the first ever Super-B Conference and the MC meeting to discuss new plans for the last grant period of Super-B. The events will take place on 5 & 6 September 2016 in Cluj, Romania. Programme   September 5th9.30-10.00h. Registration (10 EUR fee for every day you want to have lunch) WG1&3 Workshop on Ecological Focus Areas for Pollinators ... show more

Short-term scientific missions (STSM's) are exchange visits between researchers involved in a COST Action, allowing scientists to visit an institution or laboratory in another COST country. They are aimed at fostering collaboration, sharing new techniques and infrastructure that may not be available in other participants' institutions or laboratories. STSM are intended especially for young researchers.  Application f... show more

A new article published in PLOS ONE takes pollination ecology as a case study to discuss good and bad practises in analyising ecological data. Abstract: Studies in ecology are often describing observed variations in a certain ecological phenomenon by use of environmental explanatory variables. A common problem is that the numerical nature of the ecological phenomenon does not always fit the assumptions underlying traditional statistica... show more

The workshop Policies for Sustainable Pollination in Europe was a key step in the dissemination work programme for Super-B. Two policy areas were identified to focus on: the Common Agricultural Policy and the European Union Biodiversity Strategy (Biodiversity 2020). Specific actions are planned to help SuperB inform these policies with timely and relevant evidence. Full report from the meeting, available here.  

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) is seeking proposals for research related to improving the health of honey bees. Proposals should focus on research to manage, suppress, and eradicate Varroa mites, small hive beetles, and other pests, pathogens, and diseases contributing to colony losses. Summaries of previously funded projects can be found at http://pollinator.org/honeybee_health.htm. Review and selection of proposals... show more

The international course "BEES AND POLLINATION" (not COST related) is an in-depth study of the relationship between bees and flowering plants. The course will take place from 16 until 26 August 2016 at the Universidad Nacional (UNA) in Costa Rica.   Students will carry out observations in the field and in the lab on flower biology and bee behaviour. In addition to the pollination function of bees we wil... show more

On the 17th September 2015 Ireland joined a small number of countries in Europe who have developed a strategy to address pollinator decline and protect pollination service. Sixty-eight governmental and non-governmental organisations have agreed a shared Plan that identifies 81 actions to make Ireland pollinator friendly. Thhe Plan is available to view and download here.

The second annual Super-B meeting in Paola, Malta was a resounding success. It is clear that Super-B is stimulating many new collaborations and activities, within and beyond Europe. You could say it is generating a buzz among pollinator scientists and stakeholders. Great progress was made in Malta by all the Working Groups, including a workshop on apple pollination now planned by Working Groups 1 and 2, fantastic progress on a European sur... show more

At the end of the project's 5 year research programme STEP published the "Climatic Risk and Distribution Atlas of European Bumblebees" and a Final STEP Brochure, featuring the project's case studies and key findings. The atlas, published as a special issue of the open access journal BioRisk, breaks new ground in assessing the risks of climate change for European bumblebees. Climate change has been identified as one of the... show more

The Pollinator Partnership announces its signature initiative, Pollinator Week, which has reached significant new milestones in 2015.  Established in 2007, Pollinator Week has grown exponentially in scope each year with this year U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, proclaiming June 15-23 as Pollinator Week.  In an unprecedented act of vision and solidarity, ALL 50 state governors... show more

New chance to meet and discuss Super-B issues! On 4, 5, 6 November 2015, Mario Balzan (MC Member Malta) is hosting this year's MC meeting and WG sessions. Super-B members will be informed about these upcoming meetings through email, before the Summer!  

Thanks to all those who attended the Super-B policy workshop on Tuesday 3 March. We had a productive day, with hard work and some intense discussions. Luckily, we also managed to have some fun at the end. The main policy opportunities discussed were the Common Agricultural Policy (evaluation and reform) and the European Biodiversity 2020 Strategy. There are clear opportunities for SuperB to feed into these policies. We will follow up with deta... show more

The Super-B policy workshop - Policies for Sustainable Pollination in Europe - will take place on Tuesday 3 March 2015, in Brussels. In preparation, we are looking for suggestions of forthcoming policy opportunities to support pollination in urban and rural environments. During the day, we will consider how and when Super-B should present relevant evidence to inform these policies. If you are aware of policy opportunities between... show more

Super-B project is organising a Training School 'Methods for Pathogen Detection in non-Apis pollinators’, which will take place from March 2 to March 6 in Halle, Germany.  Those who want to participate in the training school should contact Super-B at super-b@naturalis.nl.The deadline for registration is February 2!Only 20 people can participate and will receive reimbursement. If more than 20 people are interested in particip... show more