The Wake

Overworked, underappreciated and now under attack. In the past few months, European honeybees, responsible for pollinating many crucial crops as well as producing honey and wax have been rapidly disappearing, oftentimes vacating entire hives.

Unbeknownst to most, many aspects of our day-to-day lives are dependent on the work of these bees. Anyone familiar with the food pyramid knows the importance of foodstuffs like fruits and vegetables, of which many require honeybees for pollination. European honeybees also pollinate countless varieties of flowers. AP Science Writer, Seth Borenstein additionally points out that cattle feed on alfalfa, a plant pollinated by honeybees. All of this information contributes to the fact that if the honeybee disappearances continue, it could theoretically also reduce much of the meat available for the human diet, in addition to the countless varieties of produce and nuts.

First reported in November of 2006, this rash of bee die-offs has been observed across the United States as well as in pLiterary of Europe, Brazil and Canada. Defined by bee expert Dennis van Engelsdorp, who first coined the name for this occurrence as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the disappearances are characterized by “sudden colony death” with only the queen and a small brood remaining.

While there have been large-scale die-offs in the past, 25% of bee colonies in the United States have been lost in the past few months alone. This is five times the normal loss during winter.

A cause for CCD has not yet been determined, though many hypotheses are circulating, ranging from outlandish gossip to those based in significant amounts of research. Cell phone tower radiation, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) such as BT corn, suburban sprawl, parasites, malnutrition, stress, pesticide use and lack of genetic diversity are just a few of the ideas that have been brought to the foreground. Other studies, which included bee autopsies, have identified bees with reduced immune systems that show symptoms similar to humans with cancer. Many of these suspected causes are anthropogenic, meaning the disorder may have been induced by human activity.

In a podcast released in January of this year by Penn State University, Senior Extension Agent and Honeybee Specialist Maryann Frazier discussed the early findings and hypotheses for causes of CCD. While Frazier stated that information concerning the disorder in northern states was still hard to determine, this has not prevented Minnesotans from taking action.

Marla Spivak, a researcher and bee expert at the University of Minnesota, teaches several classes, both academic and public, dealing exclusively with bees. In addition to her research and teaching, Spivak spoke at a recent meeting of the Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association (MHBA).

“We are really lucky to have access to the U of M,” said President Kris Miller, in reference to the amount of information and interaction with scientists and researchers available to the MHBA. Having Spivak as a guest speaker has only been one aspect of the MHBA’s discussion of CCD. While a few members have had bee disappearances consistent with other reports of the disorder, Miller says it is hard to say whether or not CCD is what truly affected these bees.

“It’s kind of a garbage term,” said Miller, explaining that the moniker of Colony Collapse Disorder has become a catch-all for bee disappearances. This will likely remain the case until a cause can be determined. “It’s hard to say if members have been affected until you really know what is going on,” said Miller.

With so much of CCD still largely unknown, both Spivak and Miller emphasize the importance of simply being proactive, their efforts focused mainly on education and keeping bees healthy. In terms of prevention, “there’s nothing you can really do except practice the best management,” said Miller.

With the warmer weather reaching the Midwest, it will soon become evident to what extent our bees have been affected. While the predicted long-term results of CCD have tended toward the apocalyptic, Miller states that the best thing beekeepers can do is to take things one step at a time. If it turns out that our colonies have joined the mass exodus, Miller remains realistic. “You cry a little bit and hope you can buy some more bees.”

The Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association meets the second Tuesday of every month on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota. For more information you can visit . For information on the courses offered at the U of M related to topics in this article visit .