Fresh Clips: Colony Collapse Disorder Update

Enlarge Image Image Gallery

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

In 2006, beekeepers in the United States (and other parts of the world) noticed a dramatic decline in honey bee populations, a phenomenon now known as “colony collapse disorder.” The problem affects more than local beekeepers’ profits. Acting as an invisible but critical link to our food supply, bees pollinate about $15 billion worth of U.S. seeds and crops annually, according to a Cornell University study, including more than one-third of our nation’s food supply. In fact, most of our vitamin- and mineral-rich food—including berries, almonds and fruits—would disappear without bees.

Researchers have considered many possible causes for the decline, citing everything from global warming to bee memory loss to bee malnutrition. Recently, scientists have targeted the varroa mite, a parasite that spreads viruses to bees. Jay Evans, Ph.D., a research scientist for the USDA Research Service, hopes to identify the specific viruses the mites transmit so better diagnoses and treatments can be developed.

According to Ross Conrad, author of Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2007), the industrialization of agriculture is the largest single cause of the decline. “We’re destroying our life-support system,” Conrad says. “We have to learn how to work with nature in a partnership instead of trying to dominate it in order to conform it to our own desires and wills.” Conrad links bee disappearance to a combination of factors associated with industrialization: the use of pesticides, antibiotics, long-distance travel, poor diet, genetically engineered crops, large monoculture farms, the changing climate, inbreeding and stress.

What can we do? First, avoid using pesticides, Evans says. Also, although about 1 million blossoms are needed for bees to make a small amount of honey, feeding your local bees with fresh herbs is a positive step. Conrad suggests planting bee-friendly forage, such as mint, cilantro, coriander, thyme and rosemary, in your garden. To keep your local bees healthy, you also can feed bees honey, the preferred food for bees, or herbs, such as chamomile, thyme and red clover, made into a tea and mixed with sugar syrup.

Don’t be afraid of your neighborhood bees—instead, learn to value them. Rather than destroy their nests, create a solitary box for them to set up home. (Visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard/wildhab.html for more information.) Remove them only if they’ve become a true nuisance by contacting a local beekeeper.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print