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Colony collapse worries beekeepers
By Arlene Mannlein
arlene.mannlein@lee.net
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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 for $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.

“The nature of much of our agriculture in the United States is such that a large number of honeybee colonies are needed for a short period of time,” Robinson said.

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.

“(Honeybees) very directly influence the food supply,” said Ken Haller, president of the Illinois State Beekeepers Association.

“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.

That’s the way, he added, the association leadership is looking at Colony Collapse Disorder, not only from the aspect of the financial well-being of its members but to the members’ ultimate consumers, the fruit and vegetable eating public.

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.



Colony Collapse Disorder facts

-- The disorder is characterized by the sudden, large-scale die-off of adult bees in a colony.

-- Adult honeybees are gone — literally. No dead bees are found in a hive where there may have been 40,000 to 60,000 nor on the ground beneath it.

-- Only the queen bee, a few survivors and a large brood are left with an adequate food supply available.

-- One significant aspect of the disorder is the delayed robbing of the colony by bees from other colonies or the delayed invasion by pest insects.

-- Some commercial migratory beekeepers in the country have reported losses from 50 to 90 percent.

Sources: Illinois Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service United States Department of Agriculture and the testimony of Diana Cox-Foster, Pennsylvania State University, before Congress

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Reader comments on this story - 4 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Birds usurped wrote on Jul 30, 2007 8:22 AM:

" I think the disappearance of all the frogs and now the bees is a sure sign of impending doom. Or the fact that frogs and bees go on vacation together. Who knew? "

buzzkill wrote on Jul 29, 2007 8:59 AM:

" Unknown if its related, but what the heck are the huge wasps flying around? They are the size of a small hummingbird. I've never seen any that big before. When one flew into my shop I thought a bird had gotten in. Whatever is affecting the honeybees sure isn't hurting them! "

jipsi, Speaking for North Clinton area wrote on Jul 29, 2007 8:34 AM:

" I know it's been a strange, nearly bee-less summer in MY backyard this year! I have had to resort to HAND-POLLINATING my melons, when it became clear, after 1 month and maybe a half-dozen (nature-pollinated) 'starts', that it was going to be a dismal harvest if I depended soley on bees... Last summer there were always a handful here and there per plant, it seemed.This year... nothing. I think I've seen FIVE bees ALL SEASON! "

Rotten Apples wrote on Jul 28, 2007 11:38 PM:

" Sure, blame it on the pesticides - it's always the pesticides - let's make them all illegal and watch 500 of you fight to pay $10 for a rotten apple. "
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