More commercial bee colonies lost

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http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/05/06/disappearing.bees.ap/index.htmlMore commercial bee colonies lostSAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- A survey of bee health releasedTuesday revealed a grim picture, with 36.1 percent of the nation'scommercially managed hives lost since last year.art.bee.gi.jpgBees are dying at unsustainable levels, the president of the ApiaryInspectors of America says.Last year's survey commissioned by the Apiary Inspectors of Americafound losses of about 32 percent.As beekeepers travel with their hives this spring to pollinate cropsaround the country, it's clear the insects are buckling under theweight of new diseases, pesticide drift and old enemies like theparasitic varroa mite, said Dennis vanEngelsdorp, president of the group.This is the second year the association has measured colony deathsacross the country. This means there aren't enough numbers to show atrend, but clearly bees are dying at unsustainable levels and thesituation is not improving, said vanEngelsdorp, also a bee expert withthe Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture."For two years in a row, we've sustained a substantial loss," he said."That's an astonishing number. Imagine if one out of every three cows,or one out of every three chickens, were dying. That would raise a lotof alarm."The survey included 327 operators who account for 19 percent of thecountry's approximately 2.44 million commercially managed beehives.The data is being prepared for submission to a journal.About 29 percent of the deaths were due to colony collapse disorder, amysterious disease that causes adult bees to abandon their hives.Beekeepers who saw CCD in their hives were much more likely to havemajor losses than those who didn't."What's frightening about CCD is that it's not predictable orunderstood," vanEngelsdorp said.On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff announcedthat the state would pour an additional $20,400 into research atPennsylvania State University looking for the causes of CCD. Thisraises emergency funds dedicated to investigating the disease to $86,000.The issue also has attracted federal grants and funding from companiesthat depend on honeybees, including ice-cream maker Haagen-Dazs.Because the berries, fruits and nuts that give about 28 ofHaagen-Dazs' varieties flavor depend on honeybees for pollination, thecompany is donating up to $250,000 to CCD and sustainable pollinationresearch at Penn State and the University of California, Davis.E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friendShare this on:Mixx Digg Facebook del.icio.us reddit StumbleUpon Myspace| Mixx it | ShareCopyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

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