The latest big movie from well known director M. Night Shyamalan features a science teacher concerned about the plight of the bees. The film is called “The Happening” and is about a mysterious mental malady that grips the nation as thousands of people are compelled to inexplicably commit suicide.
The movie will certainly expose a many people to the plight of the bees and help to educate them about Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a mystery plague that is decimating bee hive populations across the nation and threatening the health of the nation’s food supply.
The plight of the fictional characters in the movie somewhat mirrors the plight of the bees in the real world. Both scenarios feature what appear to be perfectly normal healthy adult organisms that suddenly and without evident cause wind up dead. And both scenarios are inspiring some foreboding dread about what these deaths may indicate for the health of the larger society and/or the environment.
According to movie reviews the as yet to be released film features Mark Wahlberg as a science teacher who tries hard to inspire his students to hypothesize why the honeybees are disappearing. I think its great that Hollywood is taking notice of this crisis. It will hopefully serve to inform a group of people about this important issue that doesn’t read the science section of the newspaper.
It often takes a movie to really imprint an issue onto the consciousness of a nation. Shortly after the huge success of the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” the public as a while began to take the climate change issue much more seriously than before. The movie featured a highly fictionalized version of the natural disasters that might occur due to global warming.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Bee Deaths Occur in Strange and Mysterious Manner
Perhaps the most confounding aspect of Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the strange and mysterious manner in which the deaths have occurred. Bees that eventually die from CCD seem to be perfectly normal healthy bees from the pupa to the larva stage, all the way up to being robust productive adults. Then one day they suddenly and without evident cause die.
When CCD first struck it was sometimes described as ‘missing bee syndrome’ because the bees would leave the hive and never come back. Even their dead bodies were often never found. More recently CCD seems to affect entire hives in an alarmingly swift blow that leaves up to 70 percent of the hive dead. But so far no obvious cause has emerged, and that is highly unusual.
Researchers have a long history of dealing with various plagues and infirmaries that have struck the bee population. From viruses to parasites to fungus, managed bee hives have weathered many storms over the last century or so. But etymologists and bee keepers have always been able to keep pace with the plagues and have aggressively moved to counter every threat to the hives. CCD is proving to be a unique challenge.
Each specific threat to the hive has unique and readily identifiable features. If its bacterial in nature, the bacteria often show up in sample of bees in the larval stage. Fungus’ are discovered by testing dead bees and by taking samples of bee hives. Viruses are identified by testing dead bees and then finding a common virus. But this time no fungus can be found, no bacteria is associated with CCD, and no common virus has been identified.
I asked Jay Evans at the US Department of Agriculture’s bee research facility in Beltsville, Ohio about this issue.
“We have dealt with other diseases in bees before but we could always find some pathology, some real sign of the disease itself,” he said. “For instance, if its bacterial you actually see some bacteria samples in the larvae as they develop. With CCD this is the first time we have had really heavy bee losses without any of the usual suspects showing up or any of the signs you might expect.”
The fact that the bees that eventually succumb to CCD are strong and healthy from egg to adult is raising serious questions about the nature of CCD.
“The larvae themselves which are usually the weak link in the colony are looking very healthy to us,” said Evans. “So far it just seems to be something that effects the adult bees. Whatever it is, is not showing itself in turns of typical disease symptoms.”
When CCD first struck it was sometimes described as ‘missing bee syndrome’ because the bees would leave the hive and never come back. Even their dead bodies were often never found. More recently CCD seems to affect entire hives in an alarmingly swift blow that leaves up to 70 percent of the hive dead. But so far no obvious cause has emerged, and that is highly unusual.
Researchers have a long history of dealing with various plagues and infirmaries that have struck the bee population. From viruses to parasites to fungus, managed bee hives have weathered many storms over the last century or so. But etymologists and bee keepers have always been able to keep pace with the plagues and have aggressively moved to counter every threat to the hives. CCD is proving to be a unique challenge.
Each specific threat to the hive has unique and readily identifiable features. If its bacterial in nature, the bacteria often show up in sample of bees in the larval stage. Fungus’ are discovered by testing dead bees and by taking samples of bee hives. Viruses are identified by testing dead bees and then finding a common virus. But this time no fungus can be found, no bacteria is associated with CCD, and no common virus has been identified.
I asked Jay Evans at the US Department of Agriculture’s bee research facility in Beltsville, Ohio about this issue.
“We have dealt with other diseases in bees before but we could always find some pathology, some real sign of the disease itself,” he said. “For instance, if its bacterial you actually see some bacteria samples in the larvae as they develop. With CCD this is the first time we have had really heavy bee losses without any of the usual suspects showing up or any of the signs you might expect.”
The fact that the bees that eventually succumb to CCD are strong and healthy from egg to adult is raising serious questions about the nature of CCD.
“The larvae themselves which are usually the weak link in the colony are looking very healthy to us,” said Evans. “So far it just seems to be something that effects the adult bees. Whatever it is, is not showing itself in turns of typical disease symptoms.”
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The Bees Are Dying...Why Should I Care?
Okay, so the bees are dying, but why should you care? There are two reasons why people should care if the bees die. The first reason is concrete and immediate - Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) will affect food production and thus create higher prices on many common food items like honey, apples, almonds, cherries, and peaches. The second reason is a bit more complex - the bees dying may very well be a symptom of a much deeper and more disturbing reality. Our biosphere may be seriously ill.
I am going to discuss the first reason in this blog entry and save the second reason for later consideration. Modern agriculture is dependent on bees to pollinate fruit and other crops. The massive groves of apple and almond trees require growers to import millions of bees into the orchards at the exact right time. They hire bee keepers from around the country to bring their bees in by the truckload. These bees are released into the groves, fly from flowering bud to flowering bud in search of nectar, and as they do they carry pollen from one tree to the next. This fertilizes the buds and ensures a healthy crop. When the bees have done their job they return back to the portable hives and the bee keepers pack them up and return home.
For this critical service the growers pay the bee keepers a fee. I talked to Mary Ann Frazier about his problem. Frazier is an etymologist at Penn State University and part of the Bee Working Group whose job it is to find the root cause and a cure for CCD.
"Just two years ago growers were paying bee keepers between $35 and $45 per colony for the pollination service," she said. "Now they are paying $65 to $75 per colony.
Fewer colonies means greater demand and that translates to higher prices. So who do you think the growers pass that increased fee onto?
"The growers are not going to absorb those costs," explained Frazier. "They are going to pass those extra costs onto the consumer. That means higher food prices and possibly even shortages."
So, expect to see dramatic price increases very soon in honey, apples, almonds, all types of berries, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, and many other food items.
But that’s only part of the problem. The real crisis is even more dire. Soon there may not be enough bees to go around and when that happens we will not be looking at high prices we will be looking at empty grocery store shelves. If the bees continue to die at the rate they are now, we may go to the grocery store and find there are simply no apples or almonds or many other items to be found.
I am going to discuss the first reason in this blog entry and save the second reason for later consideration. Modern agriculture is dependent on bees to pollinate fruit and other crops. The massive groves of apple and almond trees require growers to import millions of bees into the orchards at the exact right time. They hire bee keepers from around the country to bring their bees in by the truckload. These bees are released into the groves, fly from flowering bud to flowering bud in search of nectar, and as they do they carry pollen from one tree to the next. This fertilizes the buds and ensures a healthy crop. When the bees have done their job they return back to the portable hives and the bee keepers pack them up and return home.
For this critical service the growers pay the bee keepers a fee. I talked to Mary Ann Frazier about his problem. Frazier is an etymologist at Penn State University and part of the Bee Working Group whose job it is to find the root cause and a cure for CCD.
"Just two years ago growers were paying bee keepers between $35 and $45 per colony for the pollination service," she said. "Now they are paying $65 to $75 per colony.
Fewer colonies means greater demand and that translates to higher prices. So who do you think the growers pass that increased fee onto?
"The growers are not going to absorb those costs," explained Frazier. "They are going to pass those extra costs onto the consumer. That means higher food prices and possibly even shortages."
So, expect to see dramatic price increases very soon in honey, apples, almonds, all types of berries, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, and many other food items.
But that’s only part of the problem. The real crisis is even more dire. Soon there may not be enough bees to go around and when that happens we will not be looking at high prices we will be looking at empty grocery store shelves. If the bees continue to die at the rate they are now, we may go to the grocery store and find there are simply no apples or almonds or many other items to be found.
Monday, June 9, 2008
What is Bee Colony Collapse Disorder?
Simply put Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the sudden and inexplicable deaths of up to 60% or 70% of bees in a hive. As the mysterious bee deaths mount across the country many bee keepers are going out of business, farmers face the possibility of unpollinated and unproductive crops, and shoppers will be dealing with sharply rising prices and shortages of some food items.
What makes the mounting crisis so difficult for bee experts to get a handle on is the bizarre and unusual way that CCD behaves, its unlike any other bee plague in recorded history. The bees often simply vanish without a trace, they leave the hive and never come back. There is no evidence of a bacterial or fungal infection, and while there have been many viruses found in affected hives so far there is no virus that all the crippled hives share in common.
Bees play a critical role in modern agriculture as they are responsible for pollinating many crops across the nation such as apples, almonds, berries like strawberries blueberries and cranberries, peaches, prunes, cabbage, sunflower, and even the cotton crop to name a few. If too many bees die that means these crops do not get pollinated, and that means prices rise dramatically and you may simply see many of these items disappear from the grocery store shelves.
Theories about the cause of CCD include pesticides, genetically modified crops, a new virus, breeding practices of bee keepers, and the possibility that it could a combination of all of the above.
The fact that congress has largely reneged on its promise to provide funding to help research the problem has left bee researchers with limited resources and strapped for cash and resources. This has not stopped them from forming an alliance of bee researchers in both the public and private sector that is dedicated to sleuthing out the cause of CCD and saving the hives before it is too late. This group has come to be called the Bee Working Group and consists of etymologists and bee experts in the USDA, Penn State University, Columbia University and North Carolina State.
The job the Bee Working Group has set before itself is daunting - with limited resources and funding they must solve the mystery behind the most unusual malady to strike bee populations in recorded history, create an antidote and/or fashion an action plan that resolves the crisis, and do so before the bee deaths wreak havoc on the nations food supply.
Next time: Why should you care if the bees are dying?
What makes the mounting crisis so difficult for bee experts to get a handle on is the bizarre and unusual way that CCD behaves, its unlike any other bee plague in recorded history. The bees often simply vanish without a trace, they leave the hive and never come back. There is no evidence of a bacterial or fungal infection, and while there have been many viruses found in affected hives so far there is no virus that all the crippled hives share in common.
Bees play a critical role in modern agriculture as they are responsible for pollinating many crops across the nation such as apples, almonds, berries like strawberries blueberries and cranberries, peaches, prunes, cabbage, sunflower, and even the cotton crop to name a few. If too many bees die that means these crops do not get pollinated, and that means prices rise dramatically and you may simply see many of these items disappear from the grocery store shelves.
Theories about the cause of CCD include pesticides, genetically modified crops, a new virus, breeding practices of bee keepers, and the possibility that it could a combination of all of the above.
The fact that congress has largely reneged on its promise to provide funding to help research the problem has left bee researchers with limited resources and strapped for cash and resources. This has not stopped them from forming an alliance of bee researchers in both the public and private sector that is dedicated to sleuthing out the cause of CCD and saving the hives before it is too late. This group has come to be called the Bee Working Group and consists of etymologists and bee experts in the USDA, Penn State University, Columbia University and North Carolina State.
The job the Bee Working Group has set before itself is daunting - with limited resources and funding they must solve the mystery behind the most unusual malady to strike bee populations in recorded history, create an antidote and/or fashion an action plan that resolves the crisis, and do so before the bee deaths wreak havoc on the nations food supply.
Next time: Why should you care if the bees are dying?
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