In 2006, beekeepers began reporting unsettling losses to their hives – up to 90%, in some cases. The phenomenon, called Colony Collapse Disorder, was first reported in Western honey bee colonies in North America and has since cropped up around the world. Late last year, however, bee populations seemed to be growing again, and beekeepers reported that things were going just fine – until now. CCD is appearing once again in hives on the East Coast.
In Florida, one beekeeping operation went from nearly a thousand colonies to just 50 in only three weeks – a loss of about two colonies an hour, 24 hours a day for three weeks. Samples showed that the ‘Nosema’ disease was present, but not at deadly levels.
From The Daily Green:
Initially, in colonies that were apparently healthy, samples indicated that there were usually two to four viruses present … garden variety types, the researchers said. But when the colonies began to show signs of problems, the samples indicated there were seven to nine viruses present in the bees. As the colonies continued to rapidly dwindle, virus samples showed that at the end, only one or two viruses remained … the same as were there at the beginning. So were these tiny villains the killers? Did they provide the stress that allowed others to take advantage, weaken the bees, then finish them off at the end? The Nosema disease that’s attracting attention was part of the complex … but what part? There wasn’t pesticide or nutritional stress. If, indeed, colony collapse disorder is a pathogen, this is the prime example of what it looks like. No cell phones. No pesticides. No bad food. A complex of viruses, bacteria and … and what?
Colony Collapse Disorder is still largely a mystery to scientists, but for all our our sake, let’s hope they figure out a way to stop it soon. Last year, it was reported that CCD was a threat to the world food supply and might drive up food prices. It’s easy to forget how much we depend upon bees to pollinate crops.
Link [The Daily Green]
Photo credit: Flickr user Todd Huffman
