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Alive & KickingColony Collapse Disorder and Our Food Supply |
In spite of all of the benefits honeybees bring to mankind, they are in real trouble today and are greatly in need of rescue by the combined efforts of beekeepers and scientists.
I was given a late spring swarm with a population of about 5,000 bees this July.
Much of the nectar season remained; the bees went right to work, judging by their flight to and from the hive.
Within a few days, honeycomb was being drawn and eggs and brood were seen.
Then—in the middle September, well before frost— the hive population simply vanished. No dead bees were seen in the hive or in front of the hive.
This vanishing of a bee hive population is a relatively recent problem and is known as Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. This colony behavior has been present in the United States since 2006 and, in some regions, has occurred in about one-third of what appear to be thriving colonies, even in the hands of professional beekeepers.
We have in our region a company that manages 8,000 hives. Their income is dependent not on the honey they produce but on renting their hives to agricultural interests to use in crop pollination.
These rented hives follow the flowers, beginning with the almond crop in California, then to the fruit orchards of Washington state, thence to the Dakotas and then back to Idaho by November—all by truck.
A similar pattern occurs on the East Coast.
Most American crops originally brought over from Europe (everything from apples to cucumbers) require bee pollination because our native bees, such as bumblebees, are not present in great enough numbers to do the job.
Honey bees are also originally from Europe: they were first imported in 1621 for the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. The early settlers understood the importance of bee pollination for food crops. One-third of all our food crops require bee pollination, without which our crop production would be drastically reduced. The present U.S. crop value dependent on bees is estimated at 15 billion dollars annually.
Investigations are underway to find the cause and seek a cure for Colony Collapse Disorder. Some of these factors being checked include environmental changes, parasites, inbreeding of bee stocks, genetic factors, genetically modifi ed crops, pesticides, pre-planting chemical seed coatings, bee nutrition, electromagnetic radiation, beekeeping methods, etc.
The complexity of the problem is greatly increased when we realize it may not be only one of the above factors, but a combination of several factors that cause colony collapse.
Scientists in many parts of the world are working on the problem because the importance of honey bees to our food supply is not in dispute.
The bees I lost this year seemed unusually docile; in fact, I saw yellow jacket wasps enter the hive unchallenged.
I’m not sure I saw that phenomenon 30 years ago when I was more actively involved with beekeeping.
I also recall the day long ago when I took on 14 stings.
Perhaps my recent colony was too docile for its own good!
Colony collapse must be more complex than personality, but what could be more complex than bee personality? As scientists and beekeepers race to solve the mystery of why bee colonies are disappearing, the concerned citizen can do his or her part by following the directions on the use of pesticides or by pursuing an organic approach to gardening and the raising of personal food supplies.
For more information on Colony Collapse Disorder, visit www.Wikipedia.com, which provided some excellent background for this column. Guest columnist John Cooke taught high school biology for 30 years and is pleased to share his insights with our readers.