Empty Hives, Differing Data
July 25th, 2007 by Kishore
During our last event, Timothy spoke to all the contributing factors being investigated as a cause of CCD (colony collapse disorder), the disorder that has resulted in a 30-70% decline in bee population over the past few years.
In the May issue of Science, compares historical data with current research to provide some answers.
Pesticides
One of the most common theories is that pesticides are killing off the hives. Pesticides first arrived on the scene post WW II, but similar colony collapses have been reported back as far as 1897.
Investigation of pesticides have been focused on a nicotine based compound called neonicotinoids, introduced in 1992. In the lab, a few of these compounds were shown to inhibit navigation or even cause death at higher doses. However, these results have not been reproduced in the field and moreover there has been no spike in usage of these pesticides over the last year. France banned one compound, imidacloprid, in 1999 after many beekepers had complained. Yet after 8 years, there seems to be no effect on the hive population in France.
Pathogens
Analysis of Pennsylvania bees revealed a surprising number of pathogens in each bees. Bacteria, fungi, 4 different kinds of viruses. The researchers suspect these pathogens are being transmitted between colonies through repeated use of equipment and wax combs. The shear number of pathogens seems to indicate a suppressed immune system. However, recent research out of Maryland indicates similar viral load on many healthy bee colonies. The immune suppression theory has merits, but clearly does not explain the whole picture.
Diet
The modern farmer does not make money from honey, much more so from pollination. This shift is due to the US importing cheap honey from abroad over the past 10 years. Many bees are trucked to California’s central valley to pollinate almonds and other crops in October. This time is typically a dormant period for bees. Beekeepers wake up the hives from dormancy by dosing with high-fructose corn syrup. Beyond just the unnatural diet, some beekeepers have found contaminants in the HFCS, perhaps leading to poor health.
Travel
How does it feel when you fly across country? A little tired, prone to illness, perhaps? Bees travel upwards of 10,000 miles a year. There are theories the constant moving is introducing great stress on the hives. However, this has been happening for years, so why the CCD now?
My overall takeaway is simple: Bees are complicated. Really complicated. Our use of bees has introduced great stress: whether pathogens, pesticides, parasites, diet, or travel. More likely is that the problem is a combination of effects. A combination of effects that will not be easy to fully understand in a short period.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2007 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Bees. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 9th, 2007 at 9:27 am
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