The Western honey bee, Apis mellifera, is native to Europe, Africa and Western Asia. Honey bees are social insects with a hierarchy of structured roles within a colony that include: Queen, drones and worker bees.

The Western Honey bee plays a key role in the human and natural world as a pollinator. The main diet of the honey bee consists of flower nectar and pollen. Field bees, the older population of worker bees, collect the nectar and pollen from

Since 1947 beekeepers have seen colony numbers decline by almost 60 percent, from 6 million to a mere 2.5 million in 2007 (Congress, 2007). Between 1989 and 2001, when the Varroa destructor mite infestations of hives were significantly affecting the national domestic stock, analysts were concerned that if the rate of decline remained consistent all managed U.S. colonies would cease to exist by 2035 (Congress, 2007). An emerging epidemic has recently been plaguing the already declining managed bee populations. In the fall of 2006 David Hackenberg, a 42 year veteran of the migratory beekeeping industry, reported a sudden and unexpected loss of 90 percent of his 3,000 hives. In a study conducted that first year, beekeepers reported losses ranging between 30 and 90 percent (Cox-Foster et al., 2006). By the spring of 2007, 31 percent of all U.S. managed hives had died or disappeared (vanEnglesdorp et al., 2008). The following year saw no improvement, with a loss of 35 percent of all U.S. hives (AIA, 2008). America is not the only place experiencing recent and significant declines. Europe, the Middle East, Taiwan, and Australia all have seen similar occurrences of widespread population loss.

Sean Hamelman Johnson State College April 17, 2009

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is characterized by sudden and rapid die-off of the adult worker bee population. Symptomatic precursors to the event usually involve signs of stress within a colony and can be seen up to two months before the event. Hives often have several frames of capped brood, signifying the relative strength of the hive before the onset of CCD. The remaining population consists of a healthy, yet insufficient work force of newly emerged worker bees. Often there are no dead bees found in the immediate vicinity of the hive. No significant damage by wax moth, small hive beetle, or the Varroa mite is noticed, and there is an avoidance by other colonies of honey bees to rob the ample honey stores of the affected colony.

Domestic Honey Bee Stock and Colony Collapse Disorder

While the cause of CCD is, as of yet, still unknown, there are several theories that range from plausible to unlikely.

•Varroa destructor mite: Unlikely•Genetically Modified Crops: Unlikely•Disturbances in electromagnetic fields: Unlikely•Neonicotinoids: Plausible• Chemical Accumlation: Plausible•Nosema ceranae: Plausible•Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV): Very likely

Through metagenomic and observational studies, scientists noted that while IAPV seems to be exclusive to hives that have experienced CCD, there apear to be random combinations of ailments that each colony suffers from during the disorder. More than likely there are stressors in their environment that are immunosuppressing the field bees. Due to comparativle lack of disease-fighting immunity genes, honey bees are particularly vulnerable to pathogens and toxins.

The pollination provided by bees is, in some cases, essential to the agricultural industry. The domestic stock of Western honey bee in the U.S. is responsible for pollinating an estimated $15 billion worth of food crops annually (Congress, 2007). Crops like nuts, alfalfa, apples, cantaloupes, cranberries, pumpkins, and sunflowers all require pollination by honey bees (USDA, 2008). The extent of pollination is directly related to the yield that a crop can produce and, in many cases, growers depend on the presence of honey bees as the primary pollinators. The California almond industry, worth $2.2 billion annually, depends entirely on the migratory operations of beekeepers around America to pollinate their 420,000 acres of crop every spring. They require 1.3 million of the existing 2.4 million American managed hives for crop fertilization and that need is projected to grow to 2.1 million by 2012 (USDA, 2008).

The crops that require pollination make up about 90 of the plants that are regularly consumed in the American diet. One mouthful in three of the foods commonly eaten directly or indirectly depends on the pollination of honey bees (USDA, 2004). Without the presence of a honey bee population agricultural output will suffer as well as the availability of many foods that constitute the normal American diet. While the overall benefits of the Western honey bee are difficult to quantify, the loss of feral and domestic populations will surely denote an associated collapse in both the commercial and natural world.

ReferencesAIA (Apiary Inspectors of America), 2008. National honey bee loss survey. Retrieved on March 4 2009 from

http://beealert.blackfoot.net/~beealert/UpdatedSurveyResults.pdf.Congress (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture), 2007. Colony collapse disorder and pollinator decline. Retrieved on March 2, 2009 from

http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ocga/testimony/Colony_Collapse_Disorder_and_Pollinator_Decline.asp.Cox-Foster, D., D. vanEnglesdorp, M. Frazier, N. Ostiguy, and J. Hayes, 2006. Investigations into the causes of the sudden and alarming colony losses

experienced by beekeepers in the fall of 2006. Retrieved on March 3, 2009 from http://fl-dpi.com/plantinsp/apiary/fall_dwindle_report.pdf.USDA (United States Department of Agriculture, 2004. Bee benefits to agriculture. Retrieved on March 20, 2009 from

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/mar04/form0304.pdf.USDA (United States Department of Agriculture, 2008. Insects, bees and entomology. Retrieved on March 28, 2009 from

http://riley.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=8&tax_level=2&tax_subject=10&want_id=1322&topic_id=1006&placement_default=0. VanEnglesdorp, D., 2008. A survey of honey bee colony losses in the U.S., fall 2007 to spring 2008. Plos One 3: 3-6.

plants as far as six miles away from the hive. As the honey bee is foraging for pollen from

a plant’s anther, much of it sticks to her hairy body. Since she will generally visit plants of the same species, the pollen is likely to rub

off on another plant’s stigma which results in fertilization of the flower. This cross-

pollination transfer of pollen is crucial for many species of plants that are unable

perform self-fertilization.

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5 U.S. Surveyed Honey Bee ColoniesData Not AvailableProjected U.S. Honey Bee ColoniesProjected U.S. Honey Bee Colonies

Years

ManagedHoney Bee

Colonies (Millions)

(United States Department of Agriculture 2008)

Apis Mellifera Colony Collapse Disorder Agricultural Pollination

Pollination

Population Decline Influential Agents

2007-2008 Survey

Producers and Consumers

Grapes

Strawberries

Peanuts

Soybeans

Cotton

Oranges

Peaches

Apples

Blueberries (Cultivated)

Almonds

Grapes Strawberries Peanuts Soybeans Cotton Oranges Peaches ApplesBlueberries (Cultivated) Almonds

% Polinated (Bees) 1 2 2 5 16 27 48 90 90 100

% Polinated (Other Insects) 9 18 8 5 4 3 12 10 10 0

% Pollinated (Other) 90 80 90 90 80 70 40 0 0 0

(United States Department of Agriculture 2008)