Honeybees: Colony Collapse Disorder

By Mary, Heather, Bob By Mary, Heather, Bob and Valerieand Valerie

“The Disappearing Honeybee”

• What does this mean?

• Why is this important?

• What can this mean for mankind?

• The sudden and unexplained loss of honeybee population is an early warning sign for coming disruptions in modern agriculture,” Mike Adams, executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center claims.

• The collapse of pollinators is merely a sign of things to come. Humans will either find a way to live in balance with the planet. Or they may ultimately face the same fate as the honeybee.”.

Oh! What is really going on with the bees…..

What does this mean?

• Complete absence of adult bees in colonies, with little or no build-up of dead bees in or around the colonies.

• Presence of food stores, both honey and beepollen: which are not immediately robbed by other bees and when attacked by hive pests such as wax moth and small hive beetle, the attack is noticeably delayed.

Why is this important?

Bees that work…or not…

What Can this Mean for Mankind?

 • They are responsible for pollination of

approximately one third of U S crop species, including such species as almonds, peaches, soybeans, apples, pears, cherries, watermelons, cucumbers and many more.

“Whatever the cause is, it may effect much more than just bees,” Dr. Stone said. “The bees may be telling us of a much larger problem.” (Dr. Ward Stone)

Most native pollinators cannot be mass-utilized as easily or as effectively as honey bees and in many instances they will not visit the plants at all. Beehives can be moved from crop to crop as needed, and the bees will visit many plants in large numbers, compensating via saturation pollination for what they lack in efficiency. The commercial viability of these crops is therefore strongly tied to the beekeeping industry.

Where will they go NOW!!!

References:

Cartoon by Alexander Perry Alexander is a Junior at Sage College of Albany.

Phaneuf, Sandra (September,2008).Importance of Honey Bees for Sustaining Life on Earth, The Informed Constituent http://www.fourthbranchofamerica.com/Importanceofbees.shtm

lColony Collapse Disorder “Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia”