U.S. honeybees disappearing from hives, not even leaving a note

CSI: My Apiary

Don't let the pharmaceutical giants get wind of this: U.S. honeybees are suffering from "colony collapse disorder." Beekeepers in 24 states say their pollinating pals are simply disappearing, with losses of 30 to 60 percent on the West Coast and, in some cases, more than 70 percent on the East Coast and in Texas. "I have never seen anything like it," says California keeper David Bradshaw. "Box after box after box are just empty. There's nobody home." Perplexed scientists are testing theories including stress, toxins, and viruses. It's not the first time bees have met a mystery fate, "but it's never been on a scale like this," says bee specialist Dennis van Engelsdorp. With bees pollinating more than $14 billion of U.S. seeds and crops a year -- every third bite we eat, according to industry buzz -- those with full hives stand to benefit. "It's supply and demand," says a keeper who expects to earn $520,000 for a month in California's almond orchards. "That's what drives the whole dang thing."

straight to the source: The New York Times, Alexei Barrionuevo, 27 Feb 2007

straight to the source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Len Barcousky, 25 Feb 2007

straight to the source: The San Diego Union-Tribune, Jim Downing, 24 Feb 2007

ADVERTISING POLICY

Comments: (9 comments)

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In wilderness is the preservation of the world

All others, pay cash. Maybe the "whole dang" system of agribusiness and factory farming has to be scrapped, before the bees are? If you follow
the links to the NY Times articles, you'll see
the same scenario occurred May 2005. I don't know
what short-term solution worked, there were
several proposed, from mixing in traits of "hygenic queens" from Russia, to mounting
strips in hives with a fungal growth that attacked the mites that may have been responsible (hope the problem-solvers accounted for any side-effects!) Every week just brings more bad news for industrial civilization...maybe Henry David T. had it right?

by Paul Kuchynskas at 12:30 PM on 27 Feb 2007

Colony Collapse Disorder - an unscientific theory.

I'm a backyard beekeeper and have been for 6 years. I'm also a dedicated organic gardener and didn't want to use any harsh chemicals in my hives, but was told that I would HAVE to, or my bees would die. So the first year, I dutifully put in acaracides to combat the deadly varroa mites. Results? My hive died out anyway. Thinking there must be a better way, I did some investigating and there is a small, but growing, group of beekeepers dedicated to doing beekeeping the natural way, the way the bees would do it if we weren't there to house 'em (and there ARE still feral bees out there, despite what you may read).
Most people do not know that their "100% pure natural honey" contains not only acaracides, but antibiotics, organophosphates ("Checkmite +") and other nasties. Natural? I think not. But I DO think that constantly "treating" bees with antibiotics, acaracides and other chemicals is what is causing this mystery collapse. Entomologists discovered that the bees had compromised immune systems. Sound familiar?

I encourage EVERYONE who wants to make sure their honey really IS natural and pure to only purchase organic honey, because that is the only way you can assure that you are getting non-contaminated honey.

Those more interested in learning about how beekeepers do it without chemicals, check out "Small Cell beekeeping", pioneered by Ed and Dee Lusby. That's how I've kept my bees for the last 5 years and I wouldn't go back to the "conventional" way. I'd rather give up beekeeping, and I LOVE keeping bees, or rather, they keep me, I suppose. Julia

by jlg7001 at 12:40 PM on 27 Feb 2007

Honeybees disappearing

I think that not only are the hives being intruded apon by hivekeepers, but there seems to be nothing natural in our farming methods either, i.e.: pesticides, and thus the bees could be "beeing" elsewhere!
Also I've overheard about the "Killer African Bees" intruding on their territories, so could this also have something to do with their moving on? Seems to be a logical theory both ways to me...maybe they just got tired of us using them as cheap slave laborers! LoL!

"The most you can do is to try to save the world from itself, forget your dreams otherwise......" MoorFairy

by DawnMarre at 1:31 PM on 06 Mar 2007

P.S. Disappearing Bees

I've also seen those "Bald-Faced Wasp's" terrorizing them lately where I live. They are actually searching and waiting for them to come into my henhouse, and then they pounce on them like they do to flies and such! Yuck!

"The most you can do is to try to save the world from itself, forget your dreams otherwise......" MoorFairy

by DawnMarre at 1:35 PM on 06 Mar 2007

Fewer Honey Bees, Lots Fewer!

We have a small backyard orchard, and this past three springs we've noticed a definite drop in our honey bee population. Of course, that drop in our honey bees also means fewer fruits on our trees and fewer flowers in our showcase garden.

We read in an online forum about replacement bees, called both Mason Bees and Orchard Bees. We found the patterns and the directions for making their hives on the web. The little wooden hives are truly no problem to construct (even for this (un)handy homemaker.

Since they're also called Orchard Bees, even though that's the name we found them listed under, I'm assuming they must also be useful to orchardists.

Our local Master Gardener center told us the bees in our area have a virus and that the hope is the virus will disappear in a few years - leaving the bees that survive immune to this particular bug. That made sense to us, but your other commenters and the article itself now make me wonder if that's a scientific conclusion or a hopeful guess. I did notice a few more honey bees last spring than I did the year before, but we're still planning on leaving our mason bee hives in place for this spring and springs to follow. Why eliminate a good thing?

I don't know any more now it seems than I did when we first started noticing the bee depletion three years ago - except that I am now able to build a hive for mason bees.

In Peace, Harmony and Unity may we find ways to work together to meet our common goal - the health of our earthly Home.

by MarchDancer at 8:36 PM on 06 Mar 2007

NPR Science Friday

I have not been following this closely, so forgive me for viewing this as new information.

The case of the disappearing honey bees was covered on NPR's Science Friday today, March 9 (second half hour of the second hour). I was surprised to learn that the case of the disappearing bees is distinct from the mite problem. Looks like our entire agricultural system is going to hell in a hand basket. It was an interesting and frightening story.

I was planning on increasing my planting of native plants essential for supporting native pollinators -- keep in mind that the honey bee we all depend on is from Europe -- just because of the mite problem, but the Science Friday program sent my brain into over-drive.

I encourage everyone with a bit of space, from those with small gardens to those with farms (even if you are not an organic farmer), to learn more about creating habitat for NATIVE pollinators. Not just bees, but other organisms as well.

A good place to start learning about this is the Wild Farm Alliance website...

http://www.wildfarmalliance.org/resources/wfapollinatorbr ...

This was brought to my attention by another Grist post and I am grateful for the information... an example of Grist's value to our community!

Gardening season is almost upon us. So is the time of year when people start thinking about native landscaping. Please consider devoting some effort toward saving our wild pollinators by providing shelter and food.

by wiscidea at 2:27 PM on 09 Mar 2007

Corn Syrup

I went online to find out what the current thinking is on the missing honeybees. I don't know much about honeybees, but I found out what they feed them: corn syrup.

In the USA, all of the corn (except the very small amount which is certified organic) is genetically altered.

ADM (Archer Daniel Midland) has the market on high-fructose corn syrup: they make it cheaper than sugar (which is produced from beets or cane using other chemical processes which, by comparison, seem benign) with a little help from their friends in Washington, DC.

ADM was fined a few years ago: the largest fine in US corporate history up to that point for price-fixing, price-fixing of HFCS futures.

It was funny to listen to NPR (National Public Radio, but more appropriately called National Petroleum Radio) at that time, to see how they would handle it. NPR gets a lot of its revenue from ADM. They mentioned it ONCE and did not go into any detail.
Of course, we already knew how pusillanimous NPR can be (witness their refusal to air comments by Mumia Abu Jamal and their cheerleading for the slaughter perpetrated by the USA in its bombings and invasion of Iraq).

ADM has been feeding the US population High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) from genetically-modified corn for about a decade now. HFCS is not a natural food: it is made by treating the juice from corn (maize) with an acid.

Corn is a grain and, as such, is not an appropriate food for most humans to begin with. The huge increase in diabetes in the USA is due to our ever higher consumption of grains, including corn, and probably aggravated by HFCS.

When you genetically modify corn, then juice it, then send it through a chemical plant - well, anything is possible after that.

The rest of the world, which still uses sugar, is watching to see what happens to us. We (and, apparently, our bees) are the guinea pigs.

By the way, genetically modified corn is the main ingredient in baby formula and pet foods, and HFCS is found in virtually ALL processed foods and ALL sweet beverages. For example, it is found in ALL drinks available at Seven-Eleven ,except for milk, orange juice - and I wouldn't bet on that - and coffee.

So, for our missing bees, we may have to thank ADM, 'supermarket to the world'.

by choppi at 1:45 PM on 06 Sep 2007

hey

thanks julia, your comment was not only informative, but it was a pleasure to read.

rip crush burn and stab all wicked and evil babylonians who hide the truth

by sloppymoose at 2:51 PM on 06 Nov 2007
[ Parent ]

UV-Broiling of Bees

I'm an ecologist, proposing full-spectrum problem-solving strategies. When conditions finally get bad enough for people to consider all solutions, then Google "Global Broiling" and check out my blog.

Increasing UV-B radiation may be responsible for the failure of the bee's immune systems. Several bee keepers I've spoken with tell me that their bees are moving their hives underneath trees, and other shaded places, which is unusual.

"Global broiling" by UV-B effects amphibian immune systems, stunts growth and causes genetic mutation. It may be that because of ozone depletion, the bees are vulnerable to similar effects.

See

The REAL Question for Davos07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edZw3hXkGJo

for a short video proposing a realistic solution.

PvH

Cannabis is an essential and unique food resource, beyond the rightful jurisdiction of any court.

by projectpeace at 6:39 PM on 11 Jan 2008

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