EVERY THIRD BITE
May 12, 2008: New USDA/Agricultural Research Service study shows that Colony Collapse Disorder is worse than ever
On May 12, 2008, Science Daily reported that the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Apiary Inspectors of America had released findings from a survey in which the two organizations combined to analyze how well-managed colonies survived the winter of 2007-2008. The combined survey investigated approximately 19 percent of the United States' 2.44 million colonies. The surveyed beekeepers reported a total loss of about 36 percent of their honey bee colonies, including some colonies in which all adult honey bees disappeared. This marks a 13.5 percent increase from last winter's losses. Jeff Pettis, the leader of research for the ARS Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., insists that the losses highlighted by this survey (particularly, the lost colonies in which all adult bees disappeared) demonstrate primary symptoms of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
While the Agricultural Research Service is heartily investigating the cause(s) of CCD, their research is hindered by the fact that samples have thus far only been taken from colonies in which CCD incidents have already occurred. Consequently, ARS researchers are unable to study changes in affected colonies preceding collapse. To combat these research complications, Pettis and a team of university cooperators began taking samples from volunteer migratory beekeepers every six weeks. Some of these apiaries have suffered from CCD in the past. ARS hopes that the samples obtained from this study will provide researchers with more direction in their search for the cause(s) of CCD.
By, Christina Capatides
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