This Will Be Bad.

collapse, extinction February 12th, 2007

A mysterious illness is killing tens of thousands of honeybee colonies across the country, threatening honey production, the livelihood of beekeepers and possibly crops that need bees for pollination.

Researchers are scrambling to find the cause of the ailment, called Colony Collapse Disorder.

Reports of unusual colony deaths have come from at least 22 states. Some affected commercial beekeepers - who often keep thousands of colonies - have reported losing more than 50 percent of their bees. A colony can have roughly 20,000 bees in the winter, and up to 60,000 in the summer.

“We have seen a lot of things happen in 40 years, but this is the epitome of it all,” Dave Hackenberg, of Lewisburg-based Hackenberg Apiaries, said by phone from Fort Meade, Fla., where he was working with his bees.

7 Responses to “This Will Be Bad.”

  1. LarryB Says:
    February 12th, 2007 at 5:18 am

    Scary, indeed. Bees have been having a hard time of it for some time, but this is extreme.

    Maybe they need to stop hauling colonies all over the country.

  2. phillybits Says:
    February 12th, 2007 at 1:40 pm

    This will be interesting especially for farmers who rely on bees to cross-pollinate.

    Low pollination rates coupled with poor weather conditions that have been having greater and greater effects on overall crop levels in recent years, such as with the recent frosts in California that devastated their orange crop?

    Oh boy!

  3. the lovely christina Says:
    February 12th, 2007 at 3:48 pm

    Yeah, we should have canning parties this summer, and put away for harder times ahead.

  4. Brendan Says:
    February 12th, 2007 at 5:19 pm

    Apples. Pears. Carrots (a/k/a Queen Anne’s Lace). Beans. Peas. Squash.
    Anything that requires a pollinator really.
    “canning parties THIS summer”? I think we shoulda had them LAST summer.

  5. Bookfarmer Says:
    February 12th, 2007 at 9:55 pm

    With my colonies, I have saved most by making sure that they are placed in non-GMO areas. Also wrapping the colonies in black paper in the winter, proper hive nutrition, and queen selection have given much success for my bees in Iowa.

    When they come on to your farm saying they are from the government and they are here to help you………well you know the drill….so much for social comment….AB

  6. the lovely christina Says:
    February 13th, 2007 at 1:05 am

    That is very interesting Bookfarmer. Have you personally found GMOs to be detrimental to your colonies, has there been literature published on their effects on bee hives, or do you just figure better safe than sorry?

  7. Brendan Calling - I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. » Too Little, Too Late Says:
    March 2nd, 2007 at 8:23 pm

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