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In 2006, bees started disappearing abruptly in North America. Similar behavior occurred in Europe. In 2007, Taiwan suffered from disappearing bees. Hives became ghost towns. Researchers were mystified. While this behavior had happened before, it had never happened in such numbers. It was a serious problem that not only affected beekeepers, it affected farmers as well. Many crops depend on bees to pollinate them.
In the beginning, people called it dwindle disease but the name didn’t reflect its sudden nature. It happens within a week. The entire colony flees their hive and moves… elsewhere. The few bees that remain are loaded with disease. The phenomenon was finally called Colony Collapse Disorder.
What caused this? No one knows. The exact cause is murky. Scientists theorize that Colony Collapse Disorder lies in the center of a web of possible causes. Not one virus drove the bees away. It wasn’t a particular chemical in the surroundings or in their diet. It was a whole lot of small reasons that stressed and drove the bees into collapse.
They first investigated pesticide levels in the bees’ honeycombs. It had high levels of chemical residue. The pesticide most often found was used to eradicate varroa mites, a bee pest that is also a possible cause of the phenomenon. Pesticides also appear everywhere they forage for food. Bees pollinate farms and orchards that plant almond, squash, soybeans, cherries and other crops. These plants have been sprayed with insecticide to rid them of harmful insects but chemicals can’t distinguish good insects from bad insects.
Researchers also investigated a pathogen, Nosema ceranae. It spread in 1997 and it attacks the ability of bees to process food. It also weakens the bees, making them easier targets for chemicals and other infections.
The industry of raising bees also got its share of the blame. Every year the $2 billion California almond crop requires a million hives for pollination. Many bees are driven to almond farms. The journey itself stresses the bees. But their proximity to hundreds of thousands of other hives allows varroa mites and Nosema ceranae pathogens to spread more easily. Other researchers point to malnutrition. Many people who raise bees harvest all their honey and feed them high fructose corn syrup. This one food diet starves the bees of the nutrients they need.
Habitat destruction is also a probable cause of Colony Collapse Disorder. Bees can no longer count on the native weeds, clover and wildflowers it usually feeds on. The huge monocrop farms, which the bees are expected to live on, do not give enough nutritional variety. Some researchers theorize that climate change has affected the bees.
Colony Collapse Disorder has a huge economic impact. $15 billion worth of crops depend totally on bees for pollination.
What can be done? Remove the stresses affecting bees as much as possible. In other words, follow the principles of organic beekeeping. Surround the beehives in an unpolluted area. Use natural methods as much as possible. Avoid pesticides. Organic beekeeping aims to keep bees healthy. Their health not only affects our honey supply, it also affects $15 billion of our food supply.
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