The buzz on mysterious honey bee deaths

by Kris   ⋅   May 4, 2007   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

Honeybees are dying and noone knows why. Beekeepers are baffled and scientists are speculating, but there is no solution in sight. Even with UCSF molecular biologist who isolated the SARS virus Joe DeRisi on the job. Recent tests have almost ruled out pesticides. The cause could be a parasite, virus, bacteria. According to one concerned citizen, the “Bee rapture” must’ve summoned the bees to Heaven, another blames Kevin Federline.

The striped winged single stingers are key pollinators for the nation’s produce, nut and grain crops. Without them, we can kiss our “food pyramid” goodbye. Because it ain’t just fruits and vegetables. Without honey bees, alfalfa-lovin’ cattle could starve, unless desperate factory farms revamp cow cannibalization with bovine byproducts which brought us the lovely Mad Cow disease.

Presently in Hawai’i, teeny tiny mites are attacking bees and are some of the same little buggers that destroyed many continental U.S. hives in the 80s and the wild honeybee in the 90s. The varroa jacobsoni mites are small but brutal, feeding on bees’ larvae and later, their blood. The tracheal mite which punctures tracheal walls to suck blood also helped bring down bees back then. Hawaiian farmers rely on the honeybees to pollinate Hawai’i’s coveted macadamia nuts and coffee.

One of my dad’s buddies had a few personal “hobby” hives (fresh honey and chewing on honeycombs yay!) and even though an open hive is a source of fear for most people, I have always loved bees and feel lucky to have been exposed to them as a youngin to witness how amazing and amazingly fragile their community really is.

Recently, scientists realized how fragile a single honeybee is. In addition to their sole defense attack doubling as their demise, the insect lacks the normal ability to fight toxins and diseases. Germ spreaders such as the fruitfly or mosquito possess twice the amount of immunity genes.

Previously the honeybee’s rapid decline had been dubbed the Colony Collapse Disorder. It happens suddenly and can wipe out entire healthy hives within days. It also occurred in Brazil, Canada, and Europe. But because this new phenomenon is such an enigma, it may warrant a new classification. Bee expert Jerry Bromenshenk said similar bee losses occurred in the 60s and 70s and he’s not overly concerned, but if it did become irreparable.. just imagine an America without apple pie or hamburgers.

It’s clear that we’ve taken our silent friend the honeybee for granted.