Disappearing Bees Oh No
This Is Not Good!
This disappearing bees disease which is officially referred to as colony collapse disorder (CCD), has been an issue in most countries for the last few years, however not yet has it reached Australia.
During this time, adult bees were discovered to leave the hive for work and never return. This unusual turn of events is not only a curiosity, but also greatly impacts commercial agricultural crops that rely on the bees for pollination and the production of organic honey. With over 100 different commercial crops relying on bees for plant pollination, congress and the United States Department of Agriculture awarded a total 14 million dollars to scientists assigned to research the cause of colony collapse disorder. In 2008 was there a lobby in British Parliament, who to the great relief of the BBKA, who have now realised the seriousness of this and have decided to fund the research that is needed. Worldwide governments are now beginning to get their act together and it appears that in this instance, we are all singing from the same hymn book! 
The Most Serious Event in the
lives of the Honey Bee
This is by far is the most serious event in the lives of the honey bee although another infection called Foulbrood has been around for over 100 years. This has always been treated with chemical based antibiotics and our honey bees have become immune to this. Others believe the micro-waves that are emitted from things such as mobile phones also has an impact on our little friends. Disappearing bees are not known to abandon colonies and surface elsewhere. With loyalty and hard work on behalf of the colony being intrinsic to the nature of honey bees, disappearing bees means that large populations of these very necessary insects are, in fact dying. This decreases the overall population of bees internationally and threatens the survival important food plant-based food sources. Some professional beekeepers with migratory hives have reported losing up to 90 percent of their colonies due to colony collapse disorder.
Why Are Our Bees Disappearing?
So far, no concrete explanation for disappearing bees has been discovered. However, it is suspected by many that the use of chemical pesticides may be linked to colony collapse disorder.
While this may not be an exact cause, it is suspected to increase the risk of hives being affected by colony collapse disorder. The increase in genetically modified crops has also been questioned as being a contributing cause of disappearing bees. However, at this time, investigating this possibility is now deemed to be a top priority by researchers. This reason is due largely to the fact that the symptoms of colony collapse disorder do not appear to match what would be expected in genetically modified fruits and vegetables.
What Would Happen if
Our Honey Bees Disappeared?
Imagine not having the benefits of eating honey and something as simple as an apple to eat or even an ice-cream.......and what about your clothes? No jeans and even no meat!Who wants to live on a diet of bread and rice when we don't have to! Oh yes if it wasn't for honey bees we would not have these simple pleasures we take for granted in life! Bang would go the health benefits and the just as important medical benefits of honey. Not a good place to be.
Some Further Facts About Disappearing Bees
The following is a list of characteristics that are noticeable in cases of CCD:- A sudden, intense decline of adult bees without evidence of dead bees being present in the hive
- Honey and bee bread (stored for food) not being taken by other bees
- Delayed arrival of common hive pests, such as the small hive beetle and wax moths
- Capped brood
- Remaining bees are reluctant to eat food provided for them
What Have Scientists Discovered So Far?
While trying to figure out the cause of colony collapse disorder, scientists and beekeepers have noticed another strange phenomenon surrounding cases of disappearing bees.
Remaining colonies of bees tend to suffer at a higher rate from other pathogens, including viral infections that have never been seen in bee populations before.It appears that these types of infections affect bees in a weakened state in much the same way that opportunistic infections like pneumonia can kill a person living with the AIDS virus. Because of this issue with beekeepers, it is not advisable that their hives be reused on new colonies. Comb sterilization techniques are still being investigated, but as yet there is no sure-fire way to do so. Remembering that the cause of colony collapse disorder is still largely unknown, the best safeguard for protecting unaffected colonies is to not reuse any beekeeping equipment (always buy new) and not stack hives affected by CCD with healthy hives. It is also important to realise how feeding honey bees is an intricate part of keeping bees.
Can We Help In Any Way?
We can play a part by more of us becoming beekeepers or even simply mowing the lawn less and of course planting more flowers to encourage the reproduction of bees. Below is a link to an excellent website which will keep you up to date with how the disappearing bees problem is being dealt with worldwide. 25/08/09 News Update Beekeepers have seen hive after hive fall prey to colony collapse disorder (CCD). Now insights from the honeybee genome could overthrow guesswork in the effort to diagnose the cause of the die-offs. May Berenbaum at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and her colleagues looked for genetic differences between bees from US colonies that have suffered CCD and bees that were sampled before colony collapses shot up in 2006. CCD killed off about a third of US honeybees in 2007 and 2008. The team found 65 genes that were distinctly different in CCD bees. They also discovered unusual snippets of genetic material that are typical of infection with the RNA viruses known as picorna-like viruses. They found no evidence to suggest that pesticides or bacterial infection are the primary cause of CCD. Berenbaum thinks picorna-like viruses may be the root cause, making the bees highly vulnerable to other viruses, pesticides and bacteria. This could very well solve the mystery surrounding Disappearing bees. For the full version concerning Colony Collapse Disorder please read www.newscientist.comJournal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0906970106
News Update October 2009
The latest theory which sounds very plausible concerning disappearing bees is how they are fed over the winter.It appears that many are fed with a Corn Syrup that has been heated to such a high decree it actually becomes poisonous! Why are we feeding Honey Bees Corn Syrup…….let them be and let them eat their own honey they have worked so hard to produce. There will also be updates concerning this situation on my Honey Bee Blog. Please click to read on my Nav Bar and it would be great to hear from you if you have any further questions or information.
Save Our Bees
Please write to me with your comments. I very much look forward to hearing from you.
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