New Food Enhances Honeybee Health, Expert Says

Impressive MegaBee(TM) research results reviewed at National Beekeeping
Conference in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeybee nutrition expert
Gordon I. Wardell will present research results on honeybee nutrition and its
relation to honeybee life expectancy today at the National Beekeeping
Conference in Sacramento, Calif. Better bee nutrition may help combat colony
collapse disorder and problems afflicting U.S. honeybees, the nation's leading
pollinators of an estimated $14 billion worth of seeds and crops annually,
according to Wardell. He is lead developer of a new food for honeybees called
MegaBee(TM), The Tucson Bee Diet.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071217/LAM009-a)
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071217/LAM009-b)
MegaBee(TM), natural pollen and several other bee foods were tested in a
Bakersfield, Calif. study conducted by USDA Agricultural Research Service
honeybee researchers, Wardell said. Completed in 2007, the study included 260
colonies of honeybees.
Findings indicated that although the foods were consumed at the same rate,
the honeybees fed MegaBee(TM) tripled their production of young bees, called
brood, in comparison to those fed conventional sugar syrup, according to
Wardell. In addition, the colonies fed MegaBee(TM) retained 30 percent more
adult bees. And, MegaBee(TM) honeybees converted 75 percent more food to
brood.
The results were presented at a meeting of California beekeepers last
year, but Wardell is the first to review the data for this week's meeting of
beekeepers from throughout the country. The National Beekeeping Conference is
the largest nationwide gathering of beekeeping professionals, honey producers,
researchers, and apiary inspectors.
As owner of S.A.F.E. R & D, LLC, Tucson, Ariz., Wardell developed
MegaBee(TM) in collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Research Service's
Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson. Wardell received funding from the
Small Business Innovation Research program of the USDA Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension Service, The Almond Board of California and
the California State Beekeepers Association.
"With the changes in agriculture and the impact that climate change is
having on nectar and pollen producing plants," Wardell said, "supplemental
food for our bees is not just recommended today, it's mandatory."
MegaBee(TM) is manufactured by Castle Dome Solutions, LLC, Yuma, Ariz., to
provide essential proteins, minerals, lipids, vitamins and carbohydrates to
honeybees.
Dadant & Sons, Inc., Hamilton, IL, distributes MegaBee(TM) through its
regional outlets and catalog and internet sales as convenient, preformed
patties, or as a powder that can be fed dry, made into patties, or fed to
honeybees as a liquid by adding it to conventional syrup mixtures.
Web resources:
MegaBee(TM) The Tucson Bee Diet:
http://megabeediet.com/index.html

Dadant & Sons:
http://www.dadant.com

USDA Agricultural Research Service Carl Hayden Bee Research Center:
http://ars.usda.gov/pwa//tuscon/chbrc

Contacts:
Cherie Gilmore, Castle Dome Solutions, LLC, Yuma, Ariz., (480) 299-9090
CGilmore@CastleDomeSolutions.com

Gordon I. Wardell, S.A.F.E. R & D, LLC, Tucson, Ariz., (520) 975-3901
GordyAW@aol.com

Dadant & Sons, Hamilton, Ill., (888) 922-1293
http://www.Dadant.com

SOURCE Castle Dome Solutions, LLC

Cherie Gilmore of Castle Dome Solutions, LLC, +1-480-299-9090,
CGilmore@CastleDomeSolutions.com; or Gordon I. Wardell, of S.A.F.E. R & D,
LLC, +1-520-975-3901, GordyAW@aol.com; or Dadant & Sons, 1-888-922-1293