The Disappearance of the Honey Bees?

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:08 pm

I am aware of this story from work, I think its interesting and strange, you should read it and see what you think. It seems that the good old honey bee is on the way out, and it could have very serious implications for world agriculture. This is the stuff people should be thinking about, not interest rates on paper money if you ask me.

Solving the Mystery of the Vanishing Bees

From Scientific American

The mysterious ailment called colony collapse disorder has wiped out large numbers of the bees that pollinate a third of our crops. The causes turn out to be surprisingly complex, but solutions are emerging

By Diana Cox-Foster and Dennis vanEngelsdorp

Key Concepts

Millions of beehives worldwide have emptied out as honeybees mysteriously disappear, putting at risk nearly 100 crops that require pollination.

Research is pointing to a complex disease in which combinations of factors, including farming practices, make bees vulnerable to viruses.

Taking extra care with hive hygiene seems to aid prevention. And research into antiviral drugs could lead to pharmaceutical solutions.

Dave Hackenberg makes a living moving honeybees. Up and down the East Coast and often coast to coast, Hackenberg trucks his beehives from field to field to pollinate crops as diverse as Florida melons, Pennsylvania apples, Maine blueberries and California almonds.

As he has done for the past 42 years, in the fall of 2006 Hackenberg migrated with his family and his bees from their central Pennsylvania summer home to their winter locale in central Florida. The insects had just finished their pollination duties on blooming Pennsylvanian pumpkin fields and were now to catch the last of the Floridian Spanish needle nectar flow. When Hackenberg checked on his pollinators, the colonies were "boiling over" with bees, as he put it.

But when he came back a month later, he was horrified. Many of the remaining colonies had lost large numbers of workers, and only the young workers and the queen remained and seemed healthy. More than half of the 3,000 hives were completely devoid of bees. But no dead bees were in sight. "It was like a ghost town," Hackenberg said when he called us seeking an explanation for the mysterious disappearance.

We and other researchers soon formed an interdisciplinary working team that by December 2006 had described the phenomenon and later named it colony collapse disorder, or CCD. Curiously, Hackenberg's colonies stopped dying the following spring, but by that time only 800 of his original 3,000 colonies had survived. As Hackenberg spoke to colleagues around the nation, it became apparent that he was not alone.

And a survey our team conducted in the spring of 2007 revealed that a fourth of U.S. beekeepers had suffered similar losses and that more than 30 percent of all colonies had died. The next winter the die-off resumed and expanded, hitting 36 percent of U.S. beekeepers. Reports of large losses also surfaced from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe and other regions. More recent data are not available yet, but some beekeepers say they have seen their colonies collapse this winter, too.

The bee loss has raised alarms because one third of the world's agricultural production depends on the European honeybee, Apis mellifera the kind universally adopted by beekeepers in Western countries. Large, monoculture farms require intense pollination activity for short periods of the year, a role that other pollinators such as wild bees and bats cannot fill. Only A. melliferacan deploy armies of pollinators at almost any time of the year, wherever the weather is mild enough and there are flowers to visit.

Our collaboration has ruled out many potential causes for CCD and found many possible contributing factors. But no single culprit has been identified. Bees suffering from CCD tend to be infested with multiple pathogens, including a newly discovered virus, but these infections seem secondary or opportunistic much the way pneumonia kills a patient with AIDS.

The picture now emerging is of a complex condition that can be triggered by different combinations of causes. There may be no easy remedy to CCD. It may require taking better care of the environment and making long-term changes to our beekeeping and agricultural practices.

Even before colony collapse, honeybees had suffered from a number of ailments that reduced their populations. The number of managed honeybee colonies in 2006 was about 2.4 million, less than half what it was in 1949. But beekeepers could not recall seeing such dramatic winter losses as occurred in 2007 and 2008. Although CCD probably will not cause honeybees to go extinct, it could push many beekeepers out of business.

If beekeepers' skills and know-how become a rarity as a result, then even if CCD is eventually overcome, nearly 100 of our crops could be left without pollinators and large-scale production of certain crops could become impossible. We would still have corn, wheat, potatoes and rice. But many fruits and vegetables we consume routinely today such as apples, blueberries, broccoli and almonds could become the food of kings.

Mutley · Post by **Mutley** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:09 am

I haven't seen a lot of bees yet this year but the ones I HAVE seen are bloody HUGE!

They look like flying hamsters! Freakin enormous so they are! :-3

Snowfire · Post by **Snowfire** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:20 am

We have a nest of honey bees in our unused chimney. They congregate around the roof in the summer, talking about me no doubt. Not that I would but it's illegal to rid them and I'm happy for them to stay. One popped into the bedroom the other summer and stung me in my bed. Thats a cheek !

Bill Sikes · Post by **Bill Sikes** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:23 am

Mutley;1167154 wrote: I haven't seen a lot of bees yet this year but the ones I HAVE seen are bloody HUGE!-3

Queen bumble bees emerging from hibernation. Not honey bees.

Bill Sikes · Post by **Bill Sikes** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:24 am

Snowfire;1167162 wrote: We have a nest of honey bees in our unused chimney. {..} One popped into the bedroom the other summer and stung me in my bed. Thats a cheek !

Oh, right. Left afterwards?

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:31 am

Snowfire;1167162 wrote: We have a nest of honey bees in our unused chimney. They congregate around the roof in the summer, talking about me no doubt. Not that I would but it's illegal to rid them and I'm happy for them to stay. One popped into the bedroom the other summer and stung me in my bed. Thats a cheek ! I know how you feel. The bee's are always talking about me. I've had a quiet word but they told me to bzzzzzzz off :yh_rotfl

Snowfire · Post by **Snowfire** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:35 am

Bill Sikes;1167165 wrote: Oh, right. Left afterwards?

I asked him politely to leave by the nearest available exit. Actually, it was in the early hours and it flew into the upturned glass lampshade on the ceiling, buzzed around mournfully for a few minutes. We hoovered him out the next day

During the winter we often get the odd stray one pop down the chimney and dozily hop about. I get rid of those in case the grand kids get bit

Snowfire · Post by **Snowfire** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:39 am

oscar;1167169 wrote: I know how you feel. The bee's are always talking about me. I've had a quiet word but they told me to bzzzzzzz off :yh_rotfl

I've heard what they say and it aint buzzz :sneaky:

Sincerely I love to see the bees in our garden. The kids have allways been taught not to panic when they are about. A gentle wave if they get close is all you need.

Galbally, I saw a report on the telly that said beekeeping in inner city areas is on the increase. Rooftop hives can give good yields

Bill Sikes · Post by **Bill Sikes** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:00 am

Numbers overall, as far as I know, are still dropping. We don't (yet?) get CCD in the UK, but the Varroa mite has made beekeeping far more complicated than it was, and is by far the worst thing affecting bees at the moment. If you see a honey bee in your gatden, you can guarantee that there's a beekeeper not far away, else you would not see any - there are no "wild" colonies now. Any resulting from lost swarms are extremely unlikely to survive more than a year or two.

Kindle · Post by **Kindle** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:10 am

I watched a special on the bees lately. This documentary seemed to think it is the over use of hauling the beehives to pollinate acres of the same crop over and over again. Bees might do better with a variety of plants to choose from.

farmer giles · Post by **farmer giles** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:28 am

i wonder if this strange phenomenon will destroy the killer bee swarms in the states

see what a long word I used :sneaky::sneaky:

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:55 am

farmer giles;1167199 wrote: i wonder if this strange phenomenon will destroy the killer bee swarms in the states

see what a long word I used :sneaky::sneaky:Those killer bee's are innocent. They were fitted up by the police. :sneaky:

sunny104 · Post by **sunny104** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:23 am

farmer giles;1167199 wrote: i wonder if this strange phenomenon will destroy the killer bee swarms in the states

see what a long word I used :sneaky::sneaky:

bee??

:p

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:21 am

Bill Sikes;1167164 wrote: Queen bumble bees emerging from hibernation. Not honey bees.

Yes your right on that one Bill.

Snowfire, I have heard about that urban bee keeping idea, sounds interesting, I actually am constantly getting stung by the honey bees we have here in the research station so I am a bit wary of the little buggers.

Honey bees are of course normally not agressive, but we have a couple of crossed strains that have turned a bit violent.

But obviously I don't want them to die out the little buggers are useful. Its another one of that rather sad, rather strange, and alarming stories that are cropping up more frequently nowadays.

Bill Sikes · Post by **Bill Sikes** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:59 am

Galbally;1167271 wrote: I actually am constantly getting stung by the honey bees

Perhaps you're in their way. If they bash into you while on their way from A to B, they'll buzz about you to get the feel of where/how big you are, so that they won't do it next time, and may decide (e.g. if you already smell of venom, or are close enough to their colony to constitute a threat, or flap at them) to sting.

Bill Sikes · Post by **Bill Sikes** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:01 am

Galbally;1167271 wrote: (Queen bumbles at this time of year)

Could also be queen wasps, 'though it's rather early. Some people (no implication) don't know the difference!

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:28 am

Bill Sikes;1167323 wrote: Could also be queen wasps, 'though it's rather early. Some people (no implication) don't know the difference! Likely considering galbally doesn't know his arsse from his elbow :yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl