[Pil-pc-oceania] Dissapearing Bees and setting up a hive

[Mitra Ardron]

I don't really know anything about bees, but the 
following two posts appeared on another list I'm 
on.

It gives  a different take on the Bee problem, 
which I haven't see here. They say the cause 
could be  a fungus,  interestingly the original 
post says that other stresses may be influencing 
the impact.

- Mitra



From: EEkid at aol.com
Date: April 28, 2007 6:33:18 PM EDT
Subject: Re: [IP] Its a fungus, not cell phones 
causing Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

Dave,

Being a beekeeper, I found the cell phone stories fairly amusing.  
Considering that this problem has been documented 
for at least 100 years, cell phones obviously are 
not the cause.  According to bee publications in 
my collection, which date from the 1800's, 
"Disappearing Disease" as it was called then, has 
existed since at least the 1890's.

When I read the first reports and they stated 
that hives using a treatment called Fumagilin-B 
were not affected, I immediately suspected 
Nosema. Also considering that a particularly 
nasty strain of Nosema was being reported to have 
decimated hives in Europe, I assumed it had made 
its way to the America.  As soon as I read this, 
I placed an order for Fumagilin-B to beat the 
rush which is sure to occur.

In a recent research report, a group of 
researchers have taken comb from affected hives 
and added them to healthy hives.  Shortly after, 
they too were affected.  They then irradiated 
affected comb and placed it in healthy hives and 
those hives did NOT experience colony collapse 
disorder.  It is clearly a pathogen  The good 
news is that there already appears to be an 
effective treatment available on the market.

While the damage to the US bee industry is 
substantial and it will take some time to 
recover, this isn't the end of the world.  The 
bee industry will get past this major bump in the 
road.  Considering all the other factors which 
affect beekeepers, such as Africanized Honeybees, 
Varroa mites, American foul brood, etc., it's 
amazing the large apiaries are still in business.

If your readers would like to stay abreast of the 
issue they can visit the following site for 
updates.

Check the MAAREC website http://maarec.cas.psu.edu for updates on this issue

Jerry


In a message dated 4/28/2007 4:03:29 A.M. Eastern 
Daylight Time, dave at farber.net writes:
Begin forwarded message:

From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger at ibd.com>
Date: April 27, 2007 5:28:55 PM EDT
Subject: Its a fungus, not cell phones causing Bee Colony Collapse
Disorder

Experts may have found what's bugging the bees

A fungus that hit hives in Europe and Asia may be partly to blame for
wiping out colonies across the U.S.
By Jia-Rui Chong and Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writers April
26, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-sci-bees26apr26,0,7437491.story?
track=mostviewed-storylevel

A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and
Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known
as Colony Collapse Disorder that is wiping out bees across the United
States, UC San Francisco researchers said Wednesday.

Researchers have been struggling for months to explain the disorder,
and the new findings provide the first solid evidence pointing to a
potential cause.

But the results are "highly preliminary" and are from only a few
hives from Le Grand in Merced County, UCSF biochemist Joe DeRisi
said. "We don't want to give anybody the impression that this thing
has been solved."

Other researchers said Wednesday that they too had found the fungus,
a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae, in affected hives
from around the country - as well as in some hives where bees had
survived. Those researchers have also found two other fungi and half
a dozen viruses in the dead bees.

N. ceranae is "one of many pathogens" in the bees, said entomologist
Diana Cox-Foster of Pennsylvania State University. "By itself, it is
probably not the culprit Š but it may be one of the key players."

Cox-Foster was one of the organizers of a meeting in Washington,
D.C., on Monday and Tuesday where about 60 bee researchers gathered
to discuss Colony Collapse Disorder.

"We still haven't ruled out other factors, such as pesticides or
inadequate food resources following a drought," she said. "There are
lots of stresses that these bees are experiencing," and it may be a
combination of factors that is responsible.

Historically, bee losses are not unusual. Weather, pesticide
exposures and infestations by pests, such as the Varroa mite, have
wiped out significant numbers of colonies in the past, particularly
in the 1960s and 1970s.

But the current loss appears unprecedented. Beekeepers in 28 states,
Canada and Britain have reported large losses. About a quarter of the
estimated 2.4 million commercial colonies across the United States
have been lost since fall, said Jerry Hayes of the Florida Department
of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gainesville.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: pil-pc-oceania-bounces at lists.permacultureinternational.org
>There has been a lot of postings on the permaculture ibiblio list on
>disappearing bee populations and CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) - worth
>checking the archives if you want further info.
>  The mobile phone theory has been debunked, as has the GMO corn
>theories. Fingers seem to be pointing more at farm chemicals,
>particularly systemic pesticides, and the coctails of chemicals poured
>into hoves to control the varroa mite. Australia is mite-free and we
>need to make sure we keep it that way. Last week the mite appeared in
>Hawaii. Countries experiencing CCD inclide 9 European countries, USA,
>Canada and now reports off CCD are coming from Brazil. Honey bees
>directly pollinate over 60% of the planets 1,500 food crops
>
>Robyn Francis


-- 
Mitra Ardron:  Natural Innovation  & Zelfo Australia
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skype: mitra_earth

Life is a Mystery to be Lived, not a Problem to be Solved