In May 2009, NATURE Online asked Dennis van Engelsdorp, Pennsylvania’s acting state beekeeper, to comment on recent developments in the investigation into Colony Collapse Disorder. Here’s what he had to say. Check back later in May for a new report detailing colony losses in the U.S. for this past winter.
Q: A new study by Spanish researchers, published in the February ’09 edition of the Environmental Microbiology Reports journal, suggests that the fungus Nosema ceranae had been isolated as the cause of colony collapse in two affected beekeeper colonies in Spain. Is this fungus responsible for the Colony Collapse Disorder in the U.S.?
A: Absolutely not. We identified Nosema ceranae right from the beginning, and right away it was clear that Nosema ceranae could not, on its own, explain losses CCD losses in America. I don’t know about Spain, but there are [scientists and beekeepers] in Europe who have had high losses who are saying it’s not Nosema ceranae. What we do know is that the description of mortality described in these papers isn’t the same as Colony Collapse Disorder. I think what’s happening is that CCD has caught people’s attention and so now everything that is a colony dying is “Colony Collapse Disorder.” And that’s not true. Colony Collapse Disorder is a very defined set of traits: a rapid loss of the adult population and no dead bees in the bee yard or in the bee colonies, and that’s certainly not what this research described. We also know that in America, not all colonies have Nosema ceranae — colonies have a lot of viruses. So instead of having one or two viruses, they’ll have five or six viruses. We think they have something like the flu, and this flu is simply wiping through. The question is “Why suddenly are the bees so susceptible to all of these other pathogens — including Nosema ceranae but certainly not limited to Nosema ceranae.
What kind of reception is the study having with experts in Spain and Europe right now?
I work with the American group and we were at the first conference they put together to try to figure out [the causes of] Colony Collapse Disorder. We said, “well, we don’t think it’s this because half the colonies that have CCD don’t have any Nosema ceranae.” It just seems like it’s a distraction, and it’s unfortunate because surely there are people in Spain, and in America, who have a problem with Nosema ceranae, and it’s very treatable. And our recommendation is to treat for Nosema ceranae because it is another stress, and if you reduce stress you’re probably going to help your bees out. But this “Oh we found the solution” sort of dilutes the pressure that exists to make sure we have the funding and resources we need to solve this problem. And we really do need to solve this problem.
Are there any other recent developments regarding CCD in North America since we last spoke in June 2008?
We have discovered a condition we’re calling entombed pollen, where there are high levels of fungicide in some pollen that might be associated with mortality. Certainly most of the colonies that are dying are not dying from CCD. Most of them are dying from poor queen quality, which is something that’s surprising.
Could you explain what you mean by “poor queen quality”?
Every colony has a queen, and what we’re finding is that those queens are dying. And if a colony is unable to successfully replace them, or if the beekeeper is unable to identify that there’s a problem with the queen and buy a new queen to replace her, the colony dies.
Also, we’re finding that beekeepers tend to have better success keeping their colonies alive by keeping colonies as healthy as possible and by aggressively treating disease and keeping colonies well nourished.
An updated development happening in California relates to almonds. You may remember from your Silence of the Bees film that normally half the colonies in the country are needed to pollinate the almond crop. Demand for almonds was expected to grow through 2012, and there was an expectation that there wouldn’t be enough bee colonies in the country to pollinate the almonds. With the drought in California, it appears that they are now plowing under some of the older almond orchards. That has taken some of the pressure off, and we aren’t seeing some of the pollinator shortages we expected.
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thats bad yo
This may seem like a long-shot…has the spectral quality of the sun changed such that the bee’s navigational behavior is compromised? Don’t honey-bees use the sun to orient themselves to their environment. If so, are they leaving their hives and just getting lost.
I think scientist are looking in the wrong place. It’s something you can’t see. I propose that the silence of the bees is due to a change in the earths magnetic field.
HAARP may also have an affect on the bees navigation.
Pollution, pesticides, globalization has pushed them over the edge. The culprit is us humans. Human birth control and demanding respect for the earth will work if science can ever convince the religious.
Studies (D. Goulson, J.C. Stout) have been done to determine the methods used by bees for navigation back to their hives with the data strongly suggesting the use of landmarks, including the sun’s position in the sky, being more likely than the use of magnetic fields. These conclusions are supported by many studies (Von Frisch, K. Gardner) that relate the bee’s ‘waggle dance’ to the sun’s azimuth with respect to the hive and the food source. Similarly, no research has indicated any direct effects on bees from ambient electromagnetic energy, whether from cellular phones or power lines, these propositions being purely speculative. More likely root causes of CCD are widespread and varied exposures to pesticides and fungicides which, in conjunction with several strong viral pathogens, compromise the effectiveness of bee immune systems.
Being a beekeeper myself, the comment #5 is nonsense. Pesticides, parasites and poor nutrition are the major factors in CCD. Without human intervention, honey bees would have been extinct yrs ago when varroa swept the earth. “Demanding respect for the earth”…..”globalization has pushed them over the edge”…..Well should we all abandon technology as we know it and return to the stone age?
I believe the timing coincides with the introduction of GM (genetically-modified) crops into wide use around the world. I’m sure many will dismiss this possibility out of hand, but I’d like to see some research which either proves or disproves this hypothesis. It is possible that either the GM crops are affecting the immune or digestive systems of the bees, or the increased use of RoundUp and other pesticides (used on RoundUp-resistant GM crops) could be the cause–
At #8.
Very interesting point. With the new codex being implemented in late 2009 all grown foods nutritional value will be greatly diminished. For an example the nectarines grown in the okanagan valley in BC have much more colorful flesh than those from california. Meaning more nutrients of course. The ones from California are no doubt GM. Like the lady on the episode said… death by a thousand cuts not only for bees, but for humans too. Somebody doesn’t want us well fed.
I doubt that GM (genetically modified) crops have anything to do with it. If you remember from the 2007 show, in the Hunan(?) province of China, the ENTIRE bee population in that area completely disappeared some 10 years ago. They are now pollinating their ENTIRE pear crop by human hand now. I seriously doubt that their bees were killed off by GM produce.
I agree that pecticides are a problem, but what about these remote places in the world that was mentioned in the “Silence of the Bees” production? They are no where near any pecticides or poisons, yet CCD is found in these places as well. The magnetic field idea in #3 seems to be a strong idea if these facts mentioned above are true.
Roundup is an herbicide. Has there been a connection to bee or other insect toxicity?
#5 is a typical secular humanist that wants to blame everything on our existence. So maybe #5 should go jump off a bridge. Look, they have found all sorts of insecticides in the pollen in the hives. Which is a negative, but they didn’t say at what threshold. There is a certain ‘acceptable’ level of these products. However, responsible use of pesticides is imperative. I somehow think there is a piece of the puzzle we haven’t found yet. I’m a grower and know the importance of responsible spraying. I think malnutrition, systemic poisons, and fungal/viral parasites are all contributing to the decline, however there has to be one primary contributive factor in their bizarre disappearance. Why haven’t they tagged these little buggers, and watch the pattern of where they fly, vs. natural flight patterns??? Anybody?? Where’s the research on that?
I live in the Northeast corner of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan – partly forest and partly agricultural. In my unscientific observations I have found a total absence of honeybees for the last several years. Instead, I see a small version of the Bumblebee becoming more common. This Summer however, I am again seeing some honeybees. An adaptation to whatever was causing their decline?
I live in central Maine, and I, too, have begun seeing a few honeybees this year after a couple of years of no honeybees at all. Oddly enough, they didn’t arrive for the fruit trees’ blooming, but are now showing up on the milkweed blossoms. I’d be curious to know if others are seeing them, and if anyone is checking to see if there’s an adaptation going on in their immune systems or something. Although, since they’re so rare right now, I’d rather just know they’re around than have someone slicing and dicing them to get answers! As for the “smaller version of the bumblebee” mention by #14, we’re seeing that here as well, but this year they’ve been pretty scarce as well.
Monsanto created Genetically Modified Plants to replace insecticides at with that they killed bad and good insects among them bees.The nectar and the pollen of these GMplants are killing the bees and it seems that the obviuos is not being investigated. Plus those GMFoods are also harmful to human beings…
Living in CA I can tell you that the loss of bees has those whose livelihoods depend on good crop production severely worried. It seems to me to be a combination of factors: compromised immune systems, virus, pesticides. The most important thing is to continue to bring National attention to the problem and support funding for continued study into this serious epidemic. Enough about the Swine flu pandemic, it’s time the regular news played up the bee collapse pandemic!!
For what it’s worth, I haven’t seen any moths flying around my back porch light at night for the last 10 years at least. Nor have I had to clean bugs off the windshield of my car it seems forever. I live in southern Maine. When I was growing up bugs in the light beam at night seemed like you were driving in a now storm. Its not only the bees that are being affected.
I live in NC and I also am convinced (its purely subjective) that there are more honeybees here this year, and they appear healthy.
Having honey bees “suddenly” appear or disappear from year to year is probably the movement of the local beekeepers in your area. Bees can fly 3-5 miles from the hive to find a source of food. If there are no readily available forage crops for the bees the beekeeper has probably moved them to another location. There are vitually no wild Eruopean honey bees anymore due to varroa.
I have a new appreciation for bees
And #13 is a what a nonsecular, nonhumanist. Bugger off #13 with the labels as #5’s comments are spot on. I too am a farmer and I will personally testify that it’s mankind who is to blame. We have killed off all of Mother Nature’s natural pollinators, which is why the Honey bee, not native to the US, is so critical for the production of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Honey bees like the now the mass die-off of bats due to White Nose syndrome is like the canary in the coal mine that our environment is sick and dieing and so will we. Keep sticking your head in the sand #13.
I live in northeast Indiana. I have several large vegetable gardens and many flower beds and “wildflower” areas. I love to observe all aspects of plant life. It seems to me that there are many more honey bees this year than in the past 5 or 6. I saw 2 swarms this spring. I haven’t seen them for years. May just be coincidence but I am hopeful.
Perhaps it’s time to start making little changes at ground level. Not just on mass comeercial products. Example, stop using pesticides in your own backyard, plant pollen heavy varietities of plant life and not just one variety either. My family makes a point of not killing any pollenators what so ever instead we try and teach our children and other about the importance of insects of all types. In our area my fruit plants have had a massive growth this years and a bountiful harves of fruits hanging from the trees vs last year where we barely had any. I will keep an eye out for changesover the next few years and we are going to be in contact with our local honey hives to see whatelse we can do to perpetuate the health of the bees. Small steps but hopefully in the right direction. I also think that it isn’t so bad to have a lawn full of dandelions…
#22…..Tell me, what are we going to do when the world population reaches 10 billion….15….20….which will probably happen in my lifetime??
Science and technology have enabled a few to feed many. I for one, like having my food grown here in the US. Hopefully one day, scientists can create chemicals that can control pests and diseases that do not harm other organisms and the environment.
#23….go take a drive around your area……there is probably a “yard” of bee hives within flying distance of your home. It will take those bees 1 million “flights” to individual flowers to make 1 pound of honey….busy as a bee!!! BTW, my bees produced 1.3 million lbs of honey last year…..now multiply that by 1 million…..WOW…..a lot of flights to flowers!!
I live in the Pacific Northwest where honey bees are NOT indigenous. I see a couple a day, but I see plenty of the almost 500 other species of bees that ARE indigenous. Guess what, they all pollinate! Truth is, if farmers would set aside enough space for native bee habitats, their crops wouldn’t need honey bees in the first place. Human kind’s manufactured imbalance is failing and mother nature is laughing.
I live in Orange (Piedmont area) Virginia near Charlottesville. Yes, Honeybees are finally more noticable…particularly on the white clover, Bee Balm (Bergamot) and vegetables. I DO NOT use pesticides, chemicals nor any vegetation altering products on my lawn or plants. I have fruit, berry, nut and flowering trees as well as herbs, berries, vegetables and lots of flowering plants. Knowing how precious these little creatures are I watch for them each spring and rejoice at the sight of them, though their numbers are still sadly few. I value Honey (a tasty health food) as much as the pollenization they provide. Food growers need to somehow be more organic (or rather get back to it) and stop genetically and chemically assaulting and altering our food.
No worries, the feds will bail out the bees
Intelligence has put us atop the food chain. Arrogance keeps us there.
Love the #27 comment, however, CCD has been found even with organic bee keeping and bees that pollinate areas using organic farming practices. So sad. I surely hope the recovery is soon and vigorous with whatever factors are causing CCD!
After just watching the “Silence of the Bees”(2007) documentary once again two years later it seem that the syndrome that is happening to the bees is a manifestation of what is happening to much of our ecosystem; only in this situation the bees are a “red flag” indicator. Since the 1960s, the push for ever-greater crop yields by increasingly commercially-owned agricultural interests has “stressed” the “total” environment to a point of exhaustion or chronic-stress. In short; the bees are tired/overworked, exposed to insecticides, striving to seek out diminishing sources of Pollen because of over-population into what were once rural/natural growing areas. In the stated Almond-growing-cut back scenario in California the stress for pollinators has diminished; in an indirect manner the bees have been “saved” because they don’t have to work in such pressing environments. Think about it, if a human being were put in such a situation they would strike for better wages and working conditions, the bees, by contrast, do not complain and are summarily taken advantage of by the agricultural interests. This is not my “proof” of a single-cause theory but rather an “enlightened” perception which, if you put in all of the contributing factors previously mentioned, make “sense.” Note, I am an engineer/critical thinker by training, not a scientist, but in my opinion it is the species Homo Sapiens which needs to cut back on its’ population through Zero Population Growth for the next 100 years in order to win this any many other societal “battles.”
Lets face it all forms of extinction of insects to birds and animals has been do to man. Only we have wiped out so much in nature.We are born killers of this planet and all that it has.PERIOD
THE PROBLEM: The only creature with the ability to destroy the planet is and in a gelogical blink of an eye.
Here’s another angle to consider/research with the death from a thousand cuts angle. So far agriculutural GM plants have been mentioned as malnurishing bees. Well I have heard several theories that wild plants are now doing the same. As far as I have heard, wildflowers have become less scented, significantly. Meaning it just adds one more stress for bees, flowers are harder to find. If this theory is true, I don’t think it would be a large leap to assume that there is lessening nutritional value in these flowers pollen.
As a side note, taking pock shots at typical secular folks, or religiouse folks only adds a degraded and maliciouse argument to a situation that needs solutions. Nock it off!
I am a beekeeper and have to say that beekeepers and this system of agriculture we have going on now is the problem. We have this situation where half of the bees in the USA are trucked to California each year from as far away as Florida and Minnesota for almond pollination, so if any new bee disease arises it is immediately transmitted to the entire continent as these bees move back home after almonds are pollinated. Now we ship bees, royal jelly, and pollen from all over the world to support this system, so if there is any new disease in the world it gets distributed to the nation during almond pollination. And it is stressful to bees every time you move them. Second, beekeepers are running a commercial operation and cannot afford to lose half their bees while they select for bee stock resistant to disease, so they treat their bees with all sorts of chemicals that accumulate and remain in the wax comb from which they are slowly and constantly released to the bees as another stressor. Third, beekeepers requeen every year, in order to have vigorous bee production, using queens from a small number of queen producers so any resistant colonies that may show up in the beeyard are not propagated. Forth, bee keepers feed their bees all manner of artificial pollen patties and corn syrup so that large quantities of bees are ready for almond pollination in February when the bees would normally still be in cluster. Fifth, we have ever increasing use of new pesticides without adequate consideration for what effects this may have on bees.
Chris sums up the ‘usual suspects’ well.
Interested parties are encouraged to read “What’s Killing American Honey Bees?” in Plos Biology:
http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050168
And “Colony Collapse Disorder: A Descriptive Study”
Also in Plos Biology:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0006481
Chris may well have discerned the ’scene of the crime,’ if not the criminals when he wrote:
“Now we ship bees, royal jelly, and pollen from all over the world to support this system, so if there is any new disease in the world it gets distributed to the nation during almond pollination.” Half of the commercial [non-feral] bees in the US are sent to pollinate almond trees…in the same time frame and narrow geographic area.
Causal Factors?
[1]Stresses associated with travel
[2]Protein/nutritional deficiency due to inherent deficiencies in nutritional quality of almond pollen
[3]Lessening genetic diversity due to diminished number of Queen-mating feral bees
[4]New strains of parasites/bacterias
[5]Impact of insecticides/man-made pathogens
[6]Queens/bee stock developing genetic mutations/losing immunity to new viruses/bacteria
The answer will not be found inside one set of the above brackets [?]…Rather, in an admixture of many bracketed suspects, many intertwined factors.
I just had a choice of purchasing “clover honey” (costco) or “flower honey from bulgaria” (from a ethnic food store). This time I decided to try something different and over concern regarding the clover source I purchased the flower honey. About 15 years ago, the los angeles hyperion sewage treatment plant was required to cease dumping solids offshore. the waste, often containing heavy metals (from chrome plating operations) and inactivated pathogenic virus’, was classified as unsuitable for food production. the 2 outlets for the material they found were sod growers (marathon in oxnard) and shipping it to central california where they could use it to grow clover as eventual food for beef and dairy cattle! (covered in latimes.com). I know our local cattle (chino?) consume a lot of clover because due to incomplete composting, a bag of manure always germinates a lot of clover plants. granted, there are many causes for ccd and that there may be many different causes for other geographies, but has anyone explored a possible link to clover production utilizing class B sewage sludge?
fwiw: I have some familiarity with what finds it’s way into the treatment plants having worked at a small chemical plant 35+ years ago. then it was legal to dispose of many things so long as it was diluted sufficiently. the lab always had water jet powered aspirators to run the vacuum filtering flasks so a continuous flow of dilutive water was never lacking.
i am sick of people always blaming humans for everything enough already. the reason they are dying might be increased by us but come on we are humans and we need to live or are we suppose to leave in a bubble. i refuse to.
They are very sensitive chaps and cannot handle exposure to microwaves. The EMR generated by the ever increasing cellphone towers is killing them and it’s working on us too.
#5 wow…strange
#8 Dead on, along with many other man made factors, I’m sure. It would seem that every single time we consider ourselves greater than [we] should, our arrogance bites us in the backside. Man’s silly attempts at ‘improvements’ on that which was already perfect are just the distorted reflection of our arrogance. “Considering themselves wise, they became as fools.” Indeed, we are reaping what we have sown. It isn’t like we weren’t warned though, huh?
I don’t think it coincidental that we are seeing an explosion of auto immune issues in humans. The toxic chemical cocktail’s that all living things are systematically exposed to are having a devastating impact. I’m a firm believer in being a good steward of all that we have been entrusted with, but some of the more ‘fringe’ arguments will only lead to ‘fringe’, ineffective methods and measures of intervention. We shouldn’t trade one wrong ideology for another. This is about the content of our character. Getting back to the basics and simply doing the right thing because it’s the right thing. Tossing out ridiculous assumptions and accusations will only lead to division and will ultimately create an atmosphere that is heated and angry, and be even more toxic than even the environment we have created. We should all be able and willing to ‘reason’ together in a respectful tone without offending others. I find it ironic that the same humanistic arrogance that got us in the situation we’re in, touts itself as the answer to all the problems we face.
I live in the South West. I have only seen about 5 honey bees this year. I also notices a decrease in other flying insects. In the summers, our street lights are usually swarmed with insects at night. Last year, I noticed that there were fewer insects located around the porch light, but this year I can count them on two hands. Why are we loosing so many of these insects? I think that it could be linked to cell phone radiation. Just a guess! It is the one thing in the last 10 years that has changed dramatically. Could it be that those invisible signals are damaging to the delicate systems of flying insects?
Has anyone asked a bird expert if the “sudden” onset of CCD corresponds to a resurgence of bird populations? I have never heard anyone consider the possibility of preditory birds or bats feeding on bees as a simple explanation.
Yes Sven is right. I think the videos should tell the story of how native North American bees have been shown to be more effective pollinators of cranberries, squash, melons, etc. But only at farms that have some natural habitat for native bee nesting! We can survive the extinction of the introduced honey bee here in north america if we diversify our farms and protect-create native bee habitat.
Also, how can anyone say Genetically Modificed crops can’t be a cause? Most of the modifications have to do with pesticide and herbicide tolerance – so there is a strong link to more nast chemicals in GM fields.