Miscellany of a Cheshire Cat

“Colony Collapse Disorder” (CCD) is the name provided for mass die-offs by honeybees (apis mellifera, specifically the European honeybee) across the country. Canada is starting to see similar die-offs too. Beekeepers investigate their hives only to find dead bee bodies inside, unless the remaining fraction of worker bees have started to carry them out. In some cases, the hives seem completely deserted by adult bees. The dead bees show no sign of disease or other affliction. Scientists are stumped. Beekeepers are fretful. Farmers should worry.

Beekeeping is not exactly a high-profit business to begin with and CCD will take its toll. Some beekeepers are stay-at-home beekeepers who use their bees to produce honey and don’t travel much with their hives. Other beekeepers run traveling pollination businesses - migratory beekeeping - hiring their hives out to farmers who need acres and acres of crops pollinated. Beekeepers expect approximately a 20% loss in population normal for the season but CCD is more likely to hit them with anywhere from a 30% to 80% population drop during the active season. If a keeper loses a large portion of his colony, his bees can’t cover the big farm jobs as well and the keeper faces less work and less income for the year. Even if a beekeeper does everything right, CCD can strike and take 60% of his bees at random. When a colony is weakened, it’s susceptible to takeovers by rival bees and other insects making it even harder for the hive to recover.

Scientists are still trying to figure this out. There’s no obvious cause for CCD so it’s most likely to be a combination of factors contributing to the die-off. On top of CCD, scientists and beekeepers are still wrangling with issues with parasitic mites as well. These Varroa mites can kill off entire colonies within a couple years. Other causes under suspicion include: genetically modified crops, antibiotics and miticides, pesticides, malnutrition (attributed to high fructose corn syrup), heavy travel with bees and electromagnetic radiation. In short, everyone thinks they might have a bit of a clue but no one can point to a real cause for CCD yet.

Why does this matter to us? Because the big picture is not pretty for neither planet nor pocketbook. Because those hard-working honeybees are the ones who pollinate everything from fruit trees to vegetable crops. One statistic suggests that 1 in 3 bites of food requires honeybees. A depletion in the honeybee population will result in fewer traveling hives. Fewer traveling hives may result in lower yield crops. Lower yield crops cause lower incomes for farmers and higher prices for us. Lower yield crops will also result in more importing of fruits and vegetables from farther away in the US and other countries, consuming more energy in the process of getting those fruits from tree to table.

The 1,500 species of native bees (including my favorite, the bumblebee) found in the US are not at risk at this time. However, they’ve already got jobs of their own and won’t be able to pick up much slack. The honeybee is the super-bee of pollination and the industry that has built up around it is what keeps our farmers producing successful crops which in turn keep the farmers in business. The little bee pictured here is (I’m fairly certain) one of the native bees. I actually tried to shoo it off my rose so I could take photos but it was not to be moved. Good little bee, keep up the good work!

(Sources: NPR, Wikipedia, CTV.ca)

tags: agriculture, beekeeping, bees, colony collapse disorder, environmentalism, honeybees