Honeybees, or Apis mellifera, were brought to North America by 17th century settlers. Honeybees represent a highly organized society with various bees having specific duties. There are currently 26 recognized subspecies of the honeybee and all are in danger of extinction.
Most people don’t think twice about bees and are often mindless when spraying pesticides to kill weeds or bugs on their lawns or near their homes. Not many consider the impact that bees have on our food supply.
Over one third of our foods rely on honeybees. Did you know that one of every three bites of food comes from plants pollinated by honeybees and other pollinators? That includes apples, nuts, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, broccoli, cherries, onions and a host of other foods. Bees contribute more than $30 billion to U.S. crop production and without them; the costs of those foods would soar or cease to be sold.
Around 2006, bee’s suddenly started dying and disappearing in alarming numbers and without explanation. Scientists and experts still do not know the actual cause of what has been named Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) but a “first of its kind” study published July 24, 2013 in the jour- nal, PLOS ONE, provides some insight into “beemageddon” that is more complex than once thought.
Parasites and pathogens are considered as principal actors, in particular the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, associated viruses and the microsporidian, Nosema ceranae. But the study, by Dennis vanEngelsdorp et.al, identified a number of pesticides and fungicides that contaminate pollen collected by bees to feed the hive.
Bee expert, vanEngelsdorp is the Pennsylvania state apiarist and one of the nation’s most prominent advocates and researchers of bees. In September 2013, vanEnglesdorp told Planet Green’s Rachel Cermansky, “We know that the bees are dying from the equivalent of the flu, and so they’re getting bad virus infections. But it’s not the same flu–there are different strains and different types of viruses bees can get. CCD bees have a lot more pathogens than healthy bees do. The question is, why are these bees suddenly so susceptible to these different pathogens, and we don’t have an answer to that yet. We have to look at the various factors. It’s like heart disease in people–you don’t get heart disease from one factor, it’s a combination of factors that contribute to heart disease. So that’s what we’re trying to do now is figure out what factors combined contribute to CCD.”
“Bee Informed” is a Partnership is funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture-USDA and is an extension project aimed at decreasing the number of honeybee colonies that die in a winter season. Their most recent preliminary report, published in May 2013, said, “On average, U.S. beekeepers lost 45.1% of the colonies in their op- eration during the winter of 2012/2013. This is a 19.8 point or 78.2% increase in the average operational loss compared to the previous winter (2011/2012), which was estimated at 25.3%.
he Agriculture Research Service (ARS), USDA’s internal research agency, is leading several efforts aimed at bee health and are studying bee diseases and parasites. In conjunction with several Federal and State departments of agriculture, universities, and private companies, studies are being conducted to find causes of disease and treatments to keep the bees healthy.
The USDA reported, “The total number of managed honey bee colonies has decreased from over 5 million in the 1940s to only 2 million today. At the same time, the call for hives to provide pollination services has continued to increase.”
Because of the shortage of bees, farmers are forced to transport hives over longer distances, driving those who rent the hives to pay more than 20% above normal costs.
In addition, chemicals used for agricultural spraying of other insects and pests are toxic to honeybees. Because the bee’s forage up to several miles from the hive, they can fly into areas actively being sprayed by farmers or they can collect pollen from contaminated flowers. Foraging bees have to fly an estimated 55,000 miles to produce a pound of honey–that’s roughly 2 million flowers a honeybee must visit.
In March 2012, the Center For Food Safety (CFS) along with Beekeepers and several Public Interest Groups sued the Environmental Protective Agency (EPA) over the use of “bee toxic” pesticides that they contend are rushed to market with little public oversight.
“America’s beekeepers cannot survive for long with the toxic environment EPA has supported. Bee-toxic pesticides in dozens of widely used products, on top of many other stresses our industry faces, are killing our bees and threatening our livelihoods,” said plaintiff Steve Ellis, a Minnesota and California beekeeper. “Our country depends on bees for crop pollination and honey production. It’s time for EPA to recognize the value of bees to our food system and agricultural economy.”
The lawsuit seeks to address bee CCD and demands that the EPA protect livelihoods, rural economies and environment.
According to the CFS Press Release, “The suit comes on the heels of a challenging season for California’s almond farmers, who produce 80% of the world’s almonds. Almond growers rely on beekeepers to bring literally billions of bees from across the country to pollinate their orchards. However, many beekeepers are reporting losses of over 50% this year and the shortages have left many California almond growers without enough bees to effectively pollinate their trees.”
National Geographic’s Jennifer S. Holland’s article titled The Plight Of The Honeybee, (May 10, 2013) noted, “Last year a French study indicated that this same class of chemicals can fog honeybee brains and alter behavior. And a British study on bumblebees, a natural pollinator in decline in many places, reported neonicotinoids keep bees from supplying their hives with enough food for queen production.”
We, as a society, can do our part by planting plants that are good sources of nectar and pollen. There are several websites with lists of dozens of flowers and plants that will not only complement any garden, but will help sustain honeybees for generations to come.
Avoiding the use of pesticides during the mid day is strongly recommended because honeybees are most likely to be foraging on flowering plants.
For more information visit: www.beeinformed.org http://www.ars.usda.gov/news /docs.htm?docid =15572 http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/bee-friendly-plants
Crop Pollination Exposes Honey Bees to Pesticides
Which Alters Their Susceptibility to the Gut Pathogen Nosema ceranae (Published: July 24, 2013 DOI: 10.1371/jour- nal.pone.0070182)
Editor’s Note: Katharine Russ is an Investigative Reporter and writes for the NVR as well as City Watch. Katharine.russ@charter.net What Is Killing Our Bees?