Colony Collapse Disorder has been a mysterious threat to honeybee populations throughout North America for several years now. Its devastating impact has been swift, leaving scientists scrambling to figure out why honeybees are rapidly dying off. For expanded background on the disappearing bees, check out an earlier Greeniacs article on this important subject.
Why are honeybees important?
Before diving into what colony collapse disorder even is, it is important to remember why honeybees are so important to ecosystems. Honeybees are fascinating and industrious specimens. For example, it was previously believed that honeybees use the sun as a compass to find their way back to their hives. New research shows, however, that even though honeybees do not have the same brain structure as mammals for making mental maps, they are still able to do so. Researchers disoriented a group of honeybees by placing them under general anesthetic for six hours so that their biological clock would be shifted and they would misinterpret the position of the sun. However, the disoriented bees were able to return to the hive with similar speed as the non-disoriented bees.1
On average, honeybees visit about 2,000 flowers each day. It is thought that they exchange information with one another about the location of flowers using movements known as a “waggle dance.”2 At an average of 2,000 flowers a day, it’s not surprising that honeybees play a crucial role in sustaining an ecosystem via pollination. In addition to keeping ecosystems alive, bees play an important role in human health. Bees pollinate at least 80% of the crops we eat; without bees, our crops would not bear fruit and we would not have sustenance. Bees also produce important medicinal food on their own, such as honey, bee pollen, and royal jelly. A bee expert, Dr. Reese Halter, put it well, stating: “the next time any one of us takes a hearty teaspoon of honey, would you believe… that a dozen bees have spent their entire foraging lives – three weeks, seven days a week working – to make that one teaspoon.”3
What is colony collapse disorder?
https://web.archive.org/web/20160404103456if_/http://www.youtube.com/embed/Zgc5w-xyQa0 iiWhen realizing how much of our food system, and the general food web, relies on honeybees’ pollination efforts, Colony Collapse Disorder becomes even more concerning. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) refers to the rapid die-off of entire hives of European honeybees. This phenomenon was first observed in the winter of 2006-2007 when beekeepers began to notice unusually high losses of bees. However, they reported that this type of die-off was unlike any that can normally occur during cold months. What the beekeepers found for the first time was that the worker bee population would suddenly die off, but there wouldn’t be very many dead bees near the colony. Although the queen bees and young bees (the brood) remained healthy and there were abundant reserves of honey and pollen, the hives could not sustain themselves without the worker bees.4 This scenario has been dubbed “Colony Collapse Disorder.”
There has been much speculation about what causes colony collapse disorder. The most likely causes include the increased population of the invasive varroa mite (which is a pest of honeybees), pesticide poisoning through exposure to crop pesticides or in-hive pesticides (used to control mite populations), poor nutrition, drought, and migratory stress.5
What is being done about colony collapse disorder?
The White House has finally taken notice of colony collapse disorder. Perhaps this is due to the fact that honeybees—as pollinators—add more than $15 billion in value to the United States agricultural industry. During the winter of 2013-14 alone, bee populations decreased 23 percent.6 In response to these losses, President Barack Obama in June 2014 announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture would be spearheading an $8 million project to create new honeybee habitat, as well as habitat for other pollinators.7 The Pollinator Health Task Force’s goal is to have a strategy by the end of 2014. Obama’s press announcement stated that the task force will be using a combination of research, public education, and public-private partnerships to counter CCD.8 In addition, farmers and ranchers in five states – Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin – will be given funding to begin building new honeybee habitat.9
Nonetheless, environmental groups do not believe this plan will be enough. They are calling for the White House to take even further action by banning certain beehive of your own at home!
