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Iowa Honey Producers Association |
The Buzz Newsletter July 2007 |
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Costly mystery: Disappearing bee colonies cut into $15 billion value to crops By ARLENE MANNLEIN - H&R Staff Writer DECATUR - Colony Collapse Disorder - the literal disappearance of millions of honeybees - is ripe for speculation because "it's such an amazing occurrence," said Gene Robinson. "When winter kill occurs (in a bee colony), there is a slow dwindling of the population," said Robinson, the G. William Arends professor of integrative biology at the University of Illinois. "If there is a death in the colony, you see the dead bees present. "One of the symptoms of Colony Collapse Disorder is there are no bees," he said. "Something has put them over the edge." The death of honeybees in such large numbers is a concern for all parts of agriculture because of the bees' role in the pollination process. Pollination is responsible $15 billion in added
crop value, particularly for specialty crops such as almonds,
various nuts, berries, fruits and vegetables, according to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. Almond production alone, Robinson said, uses more than half the managed colonies. The bee industry is facing difficulty meeting
pollination demand in almonds, according to the Agricultural Research
Service; yet, Robinson said, almond acreage is increasing. "On one hand, we as a society should not
be panic-stricken (about Colony Collapse Disorder), but we should
be very vigilant and concerned towards the well-being of honeybees,"
Haller said. First reported in late fall, Colony Collapse Disorder now is recorded across the country. "We have no confirmed cases of Colony Collapse Disorder entering Illinois," said Steve Chard, apiary inspection supervisor with the Illinois Department of Agriculture. "We've reached that conclusion through our regular inspections of our colonies." While inspectors have investigated reports in Illinois of what might have been the disorder, said Chard, what has been found are the more typical kinds of problems and diseases beekeepers experience. However, a National Honey Bee Loss Survey, reported by Bee Alert Technology Inc., includes Illinois as one of 35 states with Colony Collapse Disorder loss as of June 1. Responses to the survey, according to Jerry Bromenshenk, president and chief operating officer of Bee Alert, are voluntary and can remain anonymous. And, said Bromenshenk, that anonymity may account for the reporting difference, since some beekeepers may choose not to report losses to the state for business reasons. The June statistics, he continued, are based upon more than 600 responses, and include some physical inspections of colonies. A similar kind of honeybee die-off has happened at least eight times in the past, said Phil Nixon, University of Illinois Extension entomologist. One event happened in the 1960s to beekeepers in Louisiana and Texas, said Bromenshenk, and another hit a larger area in 1975. "Each decade seems to have a 'disappearing' disappearing disease," he added. "The challenge is, 'What is it?' " Haller said. Several factors have been suspected, Robinson said, and the cause could be a combination of them. Those suspected causes, according to the Agricultural Research Service, range from pesticides to viruses to bacteria and fungi and even stress associated with the movement of bees for long distances for pollination. That doesn't include the speculation about cell phone towers - not on the research agenda, Robinson said - nor even a sort of "Bee Rapture." The answer is being sought by the Colony Collapse Disorder Working Group, which includes Penn State University, the Agricultural Research Service Beltsville (Md.) Bee Laboratory and the University of Illinois. Robinson, who spearheaded efforts to sequence the honeybee genome; and May Berenbaum, professor and head of the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois, are among the researchers. Having the honeybee genome sequenced means there may be new tools available to solve this problem, Robinson said. In particular, a gene chip has been designed to monitor the activities of all genes in the genome. "With that chip, we can look for abnormal patterns of gene activity," Robinson said. The diagnostic tools available with Robinson's work and the virus testing also available are among the biggest differences between this current disappearing event and any in the past, added Bromenshenk. Arlene Mannlein can be reached at amannlein@herald-review.com or at 421-6976. This article was originally published in
the Herald & Review [Decatur, IL] at www.herald-review.com ___
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