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299 comments on DrumBeat: February 12, 2008

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sunnyhenry on February 14, 2008 - 1:13am

IAPV, first described in Israel in 2002, came to national and
international attention in September when university and ARS
scientists showed a strong association between the presence of IAPV
and CCD.
ARS has begun several experiments to determine what factors may be
most involved in CCD. Combinations of four areas are being examined:
pathogens, parasites, environmental stresses, and bee management
stresses such as poor nutrition.
CCD became a matter of concern in the winter of 2006-2007 when some
beekeepers began reporting losses of 30 to 90 percent of their hives.
While colony losses are not unexpected during winter weather, the
magnitude and rapidity of loss suffered by some beekeepers was highly
unusual.
Pollination is a critical element in agriculture, since honey bees
pollinate more than 130 crops in the United States and add $15
billion in crop value annually.
There were enough honey bees to provide pollination for U.S.
agriculture this year, but beekeepers could face a serious problem
next year and beyond if CCD becomes more widespread and no treatment
is developed.
Poor nutrition is the one area that could be adressed to effect a
cure. Meaning there has to be more then one source of food , a
solution would be that in the orchard or field the grower would have
to plant rows of wild flowers so the bees would have a source of food
other then the growers cash crop.

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WNC Observer on February 14, 2008 - 10:01am

I know that CCD is not exclusively a problem of migratory hives, but they did appear to be the ones that got hit the worst. I am still wondering, too, to what extent the non-migratory hives that got hit might have been within contact range of migratory hives.

I really have serious doubts about the long-term sustainability of the whole migratory model. This goes beyond the energy costs of hauling hives around the country and hauling produce long distances, although that is a big part of it. The constant shuffle of hives around the country is about as far opposite from isolation and quarantine that one can get, which thus opens up efficient vectors for the transmission of parasites and disease (like IAPV). It is hard to believe that the constant relocation of the hives does not stress them terribly. Add to that the heavy exposure to a wide variety of pesticides (residues, at the least), the lack of variety of pollen and nectar at any one site, the heavy dosing of hives with antibiotics and chemicals, and it is really a wonder that any of the bees survive. We can't be going on doing things this way forever.

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