Bee Spells Trouble

A mysterious ailment of honeybees threatens a trillion-dollar industry and an essential source of nutrition

8226;Bees the world over have been dying from a mysterious syndrome termed colony-collapse disorder, or CCD. US beekeepers lost 35 per cent of their hives this winter, after losing 30 per cent the previous year. Similar but less well-publicised losses have occurred in countries as far-flung as Canada, Brazil, India and China, and throughout Europe.

8226;A recent survey of wild-bee populations in Belgium and France found that 25 per cent of species have declined in the last 30 years. Several species of bumblebees common in the United States as recently as 1990 have disappeared. In Britain, the British Beekeepers Association has warned that honeybees could disappear entirely from the island by 2018, along with 165 million pounds worth of apples, pears, canola and other crops they pollinate.

8226;Most crops 8212; 87 of the world8217;s 115 most important ones 8212; require pollination to develop fruits, nuts and seeds, says agroecologist Alexandra-Maria Klein at Germany8217;s University of Gottingen. Those crops account for about 1 trillion of the approximately 3 trillion in annual sales of agricultural produce worldwide. They also provide 35 per cent of the calories consumed by humans each year, and most of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

8226;Every blueberry, cherry, apple, grapefruit, avocado, squash, cucumber, macadamia nut and almond depends on the ministrations of a bee for its existence. Even lettuce and broccoli need insect pollination to produce seed for the following year8217;s supply.

8226;Colony-collapse disorder is characterised by the sudden collapse of a full-strength hive in a matter of weeks, with adults leaving the hive and not returning, until the hive is deserted.

8226;No one knows what causes it. US researchers believe anbsp;disease called Israeli acute paralysis virus is responsible; Spanish researchers suspect a fungus called Nosema.

8226;Many beekeepers around the world blame Imidacloprid 8212; the best-selling pesticide in the world. Others possible malefactors 8212; cell phones to genetically modified crops. The leading theory is that colony collapse is caused by a combination of viruses, pesticides, the parasitic varroa mite, drought and stress triggered by commercial colonies8217; overwork and poor nutrition.

Story continues below this ad

8226;The meta-culprit is the shift to large-scale agriculture. The growth of massive industrial farms has put most crops out of the reach of wild insects. The European honeybee is the only pollinator that adapted for dense living in tree hollows, making it the only bee that comes in convenient boxes of 50,000 that can be trucked from crop to crop. Wild insects like the bumble bee are declining worldwide due to loss of habitat and increased pesticide use.

8226;Beekeepers are scrambling to keep the world in fruits and vegetables. 8220;We can8217;t stand another bug or virus or pest,8221; says Mark Brady, president of the American Honey Producers Association. 8220;Right now the industry is like crystal. It8217;s that fragile. One slip and it will shatter.8221;