Via CNN: Mysterious honeybee killer could make dinner bland. Key quote:
The top suspects are a parasite, an unknown virus, some kind of bacteria, pesticides, or a one-two combination of the top four, with one weakening the honeybee and the second killing it.A quick experiment with some of the devastated hives makes pesticides seem less likely. In the recent experiment, Pettis and colleagues irradiated some hard-hit hives and reintroduced new bee colonies. More bees thrived in the irradiated hives than in the non-irradiated ones, pointing toward some kind of disease or parasite that was killed by radiation.
The parasite hypothesis has history and some new findings to give it a boost: A mite practically wiped out the wild honeybee in the U.S. in the 1990s. And another new one-celled parasitic fungus was found last week in a tiny sample of dead bees by University of California San Francisco molecular biologist Joe DeRisi, who isolated the human SARS virus.
However, Pettis and others said while the parasite nosema ceranae may be a factor, it cannot be the sole cause. The fungus has been seen before, sometimes in colonies that were healthy.
Then there was this curious twist …
Too dependent on honeybees?
Recently, scientists have begun to wonder if mankind is too dependent on honeybees. The scientific warning signs came in two reports last October.
I have just written a few articles about various aspects of the Honeybee crisis which you might find of interest – for example: http://insects.suite101.com/article.cfm/bee_crisis
Craig: Is it only the managed hives which are affected? I don’t seem to have fewer bees in the garden. I couldn’t find anything in these articles mentioning this but perhaps no one is counting the wild bee population.
I can’t decide if I have less bees in my garden or if I’m just 1) Perceiving that because I know the story, 2) Looking for them too early since I don’t have much blooming that would attract them right now anyway, or 3) All of the above. Besides that, it’s been so cold here that I wouldn’t imagine we’d be a hotbed of bee activity at this point in any given season. They seem to move so slowly in the cooler temps.