90 per cent of colonies have been wiped out (Vancouver Island)

Vancouver Island beekeepers are reeling from the worst commercial honeybee die-off in recent memory, with some estimating almost 90 per cent of colonies have been wiped out in the last few months.

Many blame a harmful parasite called varroa mites that have become immune to some pesticides, and fear the shortage of bees could affect spring pollination.

"The amount of bees that have been lost is just phenomenal," said Sol Nowitz, a veteran commercial beekeeper who breeds bees and produces honey at the Jingle Pot Apiary in Nanaimo. "It's the biggest catastrophe to kill bees on the Island ever."

He estimates there are between 2,000 and 3,000 colonies on the Island, about a quarter of the 12,000 colonies that flourished a few years ago. In 2007, Nowitz had 275 colonies. Now left with 15, he is sold out of honey and can no longer afford to sell bees to other beekeepers.

The last major die-off was in 2007 and 2008, when some breeders lost 55 to 65 per cent of their stock. This year, however, the almost total depletion is a full-blown disaster, Nowitz said.

The mites were first discovered on the Island in 1997 and have wreaked havoc on honeybees since. They infect the bees' immune systems, making them more susceptible to viruses and deformed wings.

But Stan Reist, president of the B.C. Honey Producers Association, said a variety of factors contributed to the deaths -- including a late fall harvest that tires out the bees and the timing of pesticide treatments.

Some fear honey producers will be forced to raise prices or abandon the business altogether.

Reist said the latest crisis could cripple some Island beekeepers.

"We have had three successive years of problems and there are going to be some people who are not going to be able to rebuild," he said.

Meanwhile, in the Fraser Valley, where there are many large commercial apiaries, keepers are reporting that it looks like a stellar year for bees.

If the beekeepers in the Fraser Valley and in the B.C. Interior have been so successful this year, then it gives hope that the problem in the Cowichan Valley is isolated, said provincial apiculturist Paul van Westendorp.

Simon Fraser University bee expert Mark Winston said pesticide use, as well as farming a single type of crop are "bad for bees" because the bee may not be getting enough nutrients from only one kind of nectar or pollen.

"The residue [from pesticides] in bee colonies are showing low levels of hundreds of different compounds. It has become a toxic soup."

Bees thrive in urban areas like Vancouver because of the diversity in plant life, he said, adding that officials should look at ways to create more urban gardens.

"Reduce space for cars and increase opportunities for growing food. And bees will be much happier."

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Albert Einstein is supposed to have said:

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”

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Honey bee situation is not so sweet

8:48am Wednesday 10th June 2009

By Keith Thomson »

It’s almost a century since Rupert Brook ended a poem by asking whether there would still be honey for tea. Unfortunately that question is now very relevant.

The UK bee population fell by a third a couple of winters ago, and this means honey is now more expensive, particularly as we eat about 25,000 tonnes each year and produce just 4,000 tonnes. With each teaspoon of honey requiring the work of a dozen bees, we can do with every one of them, and this probably explains the current rash of hive rustling.

However, our domesticated European honey bee has a more vital role than just producing honey. Bees collect pollen as well as nectar, and it’s a good job, too, as around one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, mainly by bees.

Bees are essential if we want annual crops of apples, pears, plums, grapes and so on. The list includes soft fruits, like strawberries, and vegetables such as onions and broccoli, as well as essential oilseeds such as rape and linseed.

Wild bees have almost disappeared in North America and the problem is now called colony collapse disorder. US bee-keeping has been mainly for pollination rather than honey and over five billion dollars is earned annually by transporting hives to pollinate crops all over the country, from Florida to California.

There isn’t one simple reason that explains this sudden decline in bee populations, but it’s likely to be a combination of mites and viruses, pesticides, modern farming practices and stress brought on by the transfer of hives over long distances.

There is no compelling evidence that the bees are disoriented by the electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones and the case against genetically-modified crops, with their inbuilt insecticides, is not yet proven, though that could be a possibility.

Another stress for the bees is that they become active too early in the spring season with the warmer winters associated with climate change, so they are up and about before the plants are ready to flower. The resulting malnutrition in the colonies makes them prey to the other factors and they find it too difficult to work together.

It may well be that an aspect of human behaviour unwittingly interferes with the natural order and so puts at risk the vital pollination that is so important for our food supply. We need to be more mindful of the unintended consequences of our actions than we’ve been in the past.

(Telegraph & Argus)

honey bee situation remains in perilous state

Apiary study shows U.S. honey bee situation remains in perilous state

Jun 24, 2008 11:16 AM, By David BennettFarm Press Editorial Staff

In 2006, after honey bees abandoned hives in massive numbers, beekeepers began sounding an alarm that gained volume in 2007 when the mass exodus and die-off of bees picked up speed. Researchers named the mysterious malady colony collapse disorder (CCD).
“Unfortunately, beekeepers have struggled over the last few years from colonies dying from introduced parasitic mites and other things,” said Jerry Hayes, then president of the Apiary Inspectors of America from his Gainesville, Fla., office last spring. “They’re already kind of numb because of all the problems. But in (the summer of 2006), beekeepers began losing colonies for reasons that weren’t quite in line with the other problems.
“With affected hives, there are no dead or dying bees on the ground as we see with pesticide exposures or other diseases. No one can explain this behavior.”
The few bees left in CCD-hit hives appear to suffer from an immune system collapse, susceptible to bacteria and fungi that normally would cause little bother.
“That, too, is highly unusual, and we’ve been trying to find the cause for several months. It seems to indicate some sort of mass immune deficiency. There are some very smart people looking for an answer, but we still haven’t come up with something we can combat through management practices or something else. It’s quite frustrating.”
Time not a healer
With solutions to CCD in short supply, many were hoping the disorder would run out of steam and the key pollinators of U.S. crops would be back to full health in 2008. That hasn’t happened.
“The AAIA did another survey looking at CCD,” said Hayes, assistant chief of Apiary Inspection at the Florida Department of Agriculture, on May 15. “This year, there’s been an additional 36 percent loss in honey bee colonies over the winter coming into 2008.”
There has also been a shift in the region suffering most from CCD.
“East Coast beekeepers — especially Florida beekeepers who travel up and down the East Coast — took a dramatic hit in the 2006-07 period. Tens of thousands of colonies were lost.”
This year, the problem has largely moved to the West Coast. Beekeepers there “lost tens of thousands of colonies last winter.”
It seemed to have happened just before, during or after they moved bees into almond pollination in California. A lot of colonies were empty and had to be transported back to the beekeepers’ homes after almond pollination.
“These bees are being impacted by something that’s mysterious, but consistent. We just have to figure out the (offending) combination of viruses, microsporidians, chemicals and pollutants.”
Are crops already being impacted by the dearth of bees or have beekeepers been able to keep up so far?
“For the most part, they’ve been able to keep up. The good thing about honeybees is keepers can use management techniques — utilizing honeybee biology — to split healthy colonies into two. That’s one way to recover some losses. Artificial feed and other things can also build up colonies.
“If cattle or poultry (perish), it takes a long time to replace the animal and production. Honey bees are a bit different and that’s a good thing.”
But the ability to recover quickly can disguise deeper problems.
“People sometimes assume beekeepers are crying wolf about losses while there are just enough honey bees to get by. But that’s because keepers are doing what they must to survive by splitting colonies and using other management techniques.”
Asked about a rumored push to bring Mexican bees into the United States to pollinate crops, Hayes confirms such a possibility. “One of the scenarios being considered involves almond pollination. Because of increased almond acreage due to prices, beekeepers are being paid a premium to bring in their colonies. The almond industry absolutely requires honeybees to carry pollen from point A to point B.”
In the event U.S. bee numbers come up short, “Mexico — being involved in NAFTA and GATT — could petition the U.S. to allow its honey bees and keepers across the border. My guess is because of the scope and range and how lucrative almonds are, that could certainly happen.”
U.S. almond producers won’t be denied the opportunity to produce a crop. However, that could deepen U.S. beekeeper problems.
By allowing in Mexican bees, “the Africanized bee issue would gain additional concern. But it isn’t just that. There could be more pests, predators and other concerns — things that aren’t in the United States now.
“If anything like that happens, it would further weaken and, possibly decimate, the U.S. beekeeping industry.”
On the other hand, points out Hayes, such worries are all predicated on the idea “that people care where their food comes from. I think USDA already projects that some 40 percent of our vegetables will be imported by 2015, or thereabouts. And the prediction is the U.S. will be a net food importer in 50 years. If people don’t care about that, they probably won’t care about U.S. bee health either.”
Hayes stresses that the public needs to understand that commercial beekeeping — where hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of colonies are tended — is an enterprise as agricultural as raising livestock or row crops. Too often, commercial beekeeping is seen as a “bucolic activity in the backyard.”
That is a false perception. Beekeeping is hard work, not a weekend hobby.
Currently, so many products are being systemically applied to U.S. crops “that we’re pushing honey bees very hard. As a result of all the things we’ve mentioned — as well as factors we haven’t yet considered — the bees have reached a tipping point. With CCD, it appears something finally pushed them over. The bees said ‘We can’t keep this up.’ And that’s why we’re seeing these dramatic losses.”
Meanwhile, aggressive Africanized bees are moving through the lower half of the country. “They’re now in areas of Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. They’ll probably be crossing the Mississippi River in the next year, or so.
“Depending on who you believe, these bees have been responsible for three to 11 deaths in Texas. In Florida, we had the first human fatality due to them in April.”
Hayes is keen to separate the honey bees from their “killer” cousins. “We don’t want people thinking bees in the white boxes are part of the problem when they’re actually part of the solution.”
Asked to prognosticate on honey bee health, Hayes doesn’t see a dramatic improvement anytime soon. “But it could get worse if we have another invasive pest, virus or disease added to the current list.
“It’s interesting that honey prices are on the rise a little. Some keepers on the East Coast are saying if honey prices are up, there is less reason to travel west for almond pollination.”
It costs about $9,000 one-way to drive a loaded semi from Florida to California. If honey prices stay up, beekeepers “can save that transportation cost and stay afloat and keep their bees from being so stressed. That, of course, would take pollinators away from a growing almond crop. And that’s another reasons why Mexican bees could be an option.”

Imagine

Imagine hundreds of people with little feather brushes, climbing up on trees and smearing each flower with pollen.

Each person can do about 30 trees a day, bees can do about 3000 trees a day.

Just imagine a world without honey bees.

Let's take care of the bees.

savingthehoneybees@gmail.com

Silence of the BeesImpact of CCD on US Agriculture

Impact of CCD on US Agriculture

In the winter of 2006/2007, more than a quarter of the country’s 2.4 million bee colonies — accounting for tens of billions of bees — were lost to CCD, Colony Collapse Disorder. This loss is projected have an $8 billion to $12 billion effect on America’s agricultural economy, but the consequences of CCD could be far more disastrous.

The role honeybees play in our diet goes beyond honey production. These seemingly tireless creatures pollinate about one-third of crop species in the U.S. Honeybees pollinate about 100 flowering food crops including apples, nuts, broccoli, avocados, soybeans, asparagus, celery, squash and cucumbers, citrus fruit, peaches, kiwi, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, cantaloupe, melons, as well as animal-feed crops, such as the clover that’s fed to dairy cows. Essentially all flowering plants need bees to survive.

A daunting question is: If honeybee colonies were so severely affected by CCD that pollination stopped, could we lose these crops from our markets and our diets forever?Honeybees pollinate about 100 flowering crops.“We’re not there yet,” says Jeff Pettis of the USDA. Pettis says there are steps researchers and beekeepers can take to ensure that the bee population doesn’t plummet to catastrophic levels. “One measure beekeepers have been taking is to keep bees as healthy as possible — improve nutrition and reduce stress,” says Pettis. Consumers have become more demanding and expect to have fruits and vegetables available to us all year round. In order to achieve this, commercial beekeepers haul colonies of honeybees across the country so their pollination services can serve all growing seasons. The season may start with almonds in California, then move on to apples in the Northwest, cranberries in New Jersey and Maine blueberries. The constant moving about places stress on the bees. In addition, certain crops that may be in the pollination circuit, like cranberries and cucumbers, are not very nutritious for bees. To keep the bees healthy, beekeepers may need to ease up on their schedules. It may be necessary for them to retire bees for a particular season or skip some less nutritious crops entirely.

With the threat of CCD looming, researchers are starting to study how other pollinators like the larger bumble bees could step in for honeybees. “The Dutch have figured out how to use bumblebees,” says Pettis. Bumblebees share many similarities with honeybees. Both are social nesters, although the bumblebees’ society is not as highly ordered as that of honeybees. Also, bumblebees make a new nest each spring by solitary queens, who hibernate through the winter. Honeybees remain in the old nest.

“There’s nothing waiting in the wings that can replace honeybees at this time,” says Pettis, “but we can solve the problem in honeybee health.” Pettis says that by focusing on reducing stress and improving nutrition, beekeepers can limit some of the factors that potentially lead to disastrous conditions like CCD, thereby keeping bees — and our diets — healthy.

NaturePosting.

Nature-Silence of the BeesUpdate on Colony Collapse Disorder

Silence of the BeesUpdate on Colony Collapse Disorder (Oct. 2007)
It was a mystery that left scientists around the world buzzing for answers. Last year a mysterious and deadly plague silently worked its way through bee colonies, leaving millions of dead bees in its wake. The killer was coined as CCD or Colony Collapse Disorder. It had moved in suddenly and unexpectedly, and left so few clues, experts could not crack the case.

Luckily this past September, there was a big break in the case. A team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Pennsylvania State University, The Pennsylvanis State Department of Agriculture and Columbia University linked CCD with a virus imported from Australia, IAPV or Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus. Over the past three years, genetic tests on bees collected from stricken colonies around the U.S. found the virus in 96 percent of bees from hives affected by Colony Collapse Disorder.

IAPV had not historically been present in U.S. bees. In fact, it was only discovered in Israel in 2004, the same year American beekeepers started importing packaged bees from Australia. “Before that, nobody knew to look for it,” says Jeff Pettis of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Bee Research Laboratory. “As people began to look for it, it was found in China, Australia and the U.S.”

A CCD-affected hive
Though the discovery of IAPV was indeed a big break, the case of CCD was not closed. Scientists have much to learn about how IAPV affects colonies and how it may have brought on CCD.

Future studies will tell researchers if they are dealing with just one strain of the virus or if there are other strains to look for. “Discovering the IAPV was a lead but not the end of the story.

We’re looking at IAPV as a marker. It’s there. It’s present in colonies but viruses by themselves are not known to be that dangerous,” says Pettis. Pettis and other scientists believe that CCD is not caused by one single factor, but by a whole host of forces including pesticides, parasites, poor nutrition, and stress. Any of these may leave bees vulnerable to infection and make IAPV lethal. “We know all of those things have affected bees in the past,” says Pettis. “We have to look at combinations of factors.”

Researchers at Penn State University and the USDA are planning a complicated set of experiments where they stress bees in certain ways and evaluate the effect on their health. The tests will hopefully indicate whether IAPV causes CCD by itself or if it is triggered by other pathogens and stresses.

Some studies on IAPV have already brought positive news. Israeli researchers say there is a possibility that IAPV-resistant bees can be bred. A third of bees sampled in Israel have incorporated the virus into their genome. In experiments, almost 20% of these bees survived when injected with IAPV.
While the work is ongoing and answers are sought, until the government declares otherwise, the nation’s borders remain open for bees. Packaged bees are being brought in from Australia, which has yet to report cases of CCD colonies. Though researchers are still searching for answers, they are considering whether stressors that disproportionately affect U.S. bees such as pesticides, poor nutrition or pests like varroa mites might trigger the virus, making it virulent.
Last year, imports from Australia and New Zealand made up only 5 percent of the bees needed just for almond pollination (though almond pollination represents half of our need for honeybee pollination services).

Case closed? Not yet; but at least the prime suspect is now in custody. In the meantime, beekeepers must take measures to keep bees as healthy as possible. The goal now is improved nutrition, reduced stress, and better overall health for bees. Many beekeepers have been able to achieve just that. Over the summer, many experienced beekeepers had been able to build up the number of bees in the colonies over the summer. However, Diana Cox-Foster of Penn State University and a lead researcher on the team that discovered IAPV in U.S. bees says there are some reports now of CCD making a reappearance, though mainly in the colonies of less experienced beekeepers. If CDD continues, researchers like Cox-Foster are concerned that we could see major problems in honeybee numbers next Spring. She explains that beekeepers were able to restore colony numbers this year, but the weather was in our favor. Next time, we may not be that fortunate. If it strikes again, CCD could have disastrous impacts on U.S. agriculture — causing prices to soar and threatening the availability of some crops. Among the most vulnerable crops are almonds — a crop that completely depends on honeybee pollination. But foods like apples, berries and alfalfa seeds, which is fed to dairy cows and livestock, will be in peril as well. “It’s still fairly early,” says Cox-Foster. “It’s still a concern that some people will continue to have problems with CCD but the verdict is out.”

Haagen-Dazs-Help the Honey Bees

Imagine a world without honey bees

Disappearing bees threaten ice cream sellers
Premium maker Haagen-Dazs says vanishing bee colonies in the United States could mean fewer flavors and higher prices.
By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com senior writerFebruary 20 2008:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Haagen-Dazs is warning that a creature as small as a honeybee could become a big problem for the premium ice cream maker's business.
At issue are the disappearing bee colonies in the United States, a situation that continues to mystify scientists and frighten foodmakers.

That's because, according to Haagen-Dazs, one-third of the U.S. food supply - including a variety of fruits, vegetables and even nuts - depends on pollination from bees.

Haagen-Dazs, which is owned by General Mills, said bees are actually responsible for 40% of its 60 flavors - such as strawberry, toasted pecan and banana split."These are among consumers' favorite flavors," said Katty Pien, brand director with Haagen-Dazs

We use 100% all natural ingredients like strawberries, raspberries and almonds which we get from California. The bee problem could badly hurt supply from the Pacific Northwest," Pien said
Pien said Haagen-Dazs is hoping scientists get a breakthrough in this mystery soon. Otherwise, she said, the company may have to "re-examine the flavors that we currently offers our customers."

We have to ensure that we have enough supply to maintain our variety," she said.
Additionally, a supply shortage of key ingredients could push up retail prices for its products, she said.

Pien said the company is donating $250,000 to both Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, Davis to fund research into the bee colony collapse disorder (CCD).
She said Haagen-Dazs is also rushing to raise consumer awareness about the problem by launching a new flavor this spring called Vanilla Honey Bee.

"We'll use part of the sales from this flavor help the honeybees," she said.

"This is the first time that Haagen-Dazs has adopted a cause like this," said Pien. "We are taking this very, very seriously because it impacts not just our brand but the entire food industry."

See the link:

http://helpthehoneybees.com/