Products pollinated by honey bees account for one-third of the food world-wide. The United States has 26 million managed honey bee colonies that pollinate $15 billion in crops each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Pears, apples, broccoli, carrots, onions, cherries, blueberries, pumpkins, and cabbage are all commonly used in our diets — and are just a few examples of food pollinated by honey bees.
Bees are a big business.
Scientists and researchers have been busy trying to identify why the loss of honey bees is so staggering. Their notable disappearance nationwide began in 2006 but has been declining for the last 30 years.
Oregon currently has an estimated 60,000 commercial colonies pollinating over 50 crops and bringing in an estimated $500 million annually.
According to a study by Ramesh Sagili, OSU honey bee researcher, Oregon beekeepers lost 21 percent of their colonies last year. An acceptable loss is 10 to 15 percent. The nationwide average over the last decade is a 30 percent loss.
Colony Collapse Disorder, known as the inexplicable loss of worker-bees, is linked to several factors. Without the full bee-power of worker-bees, the queen and the brood cannot survive. A healthy hive has 60,000 residents.
Varroa Mites
Arguably the biggest killer of the Western Honey Bee is the Varroa Destructor, a large external parasite that attaches to and sucks blood from the bee. As it feeds it infects the bee with disease. The infected bee returns to the hive and the mite lays eggs with the brood.
If untreated, the infestation can kill the entire hive.
"The big elephant in the room is mites. Mites are becoming resistant to the chemicals we use," said Dirk Olsen, owner of Olsen Honey Farms in Albany.
It's believed the Varroa mite was introduced to Florida by accident in 1987. The Asian Honey Bee and the parasite have a symbiotic relationship so it causes little harm. The Western Honey Bee, on the other hand, has a tragic relationship with the parasite and the mite has now spread across the nation.
Beeologics, an international firm dedicated to restoring bee health, believes that getting the mites under control will increase the health of hives in the United States by 70 percent.
Loss of Habitat
Humans have been expanding to once natural areas and have changed the landscape dramatically. Whether by building dams, creating fields for agriculture, commercial construction, or homes, we are connected to the loss of habitat for honey bees.
Monocropping, the source of only one kind of food, also has an impact to the overall health of a hive. Different pollens give the bees different essential amino acids. Honey bees will travel upwards of two miles from the hive to feed, but if the hive is in a location lacking diversity, the health of the bee declines making it more susceptible to disease.
"Bees can't fight viruses like they used to," said Olsen.
Willamette Valley honey bees, for example, have a lack of nectar available to them due to the loss of wildflowers, according to Olsen.
"For a hive to be healthy they have to eat multiple sources of pollen."
Local beekeepers such as Olsen are feeding their colonies corn syrup to combat the deficiency of nectar. Olsen has an annual budget of $250,000 in corn syrup for his 8,000 hives.
"Municipalities are getting involved now that they see the bees declining," said Olsen. "Like letting the plants grow wild along highways for the bees to have."
Pesticides
Colony Collapse Disorder has been linked to the use of pesticides, specifically those in the class of neonicotinoids. Introduced in 1992, neonicotinoids seep into the stem, leaves, flowers, and pollen of plants on which honey bees feed.
"Neonicotinoids are causing a lot of problems," said Olsen.
While the neonicotinoids may be effective for farmers, the pesticide is destructive to the immune system of the bees. It causes them to be more susceptible to disease, including reduced resistance to Varroa mites.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced they will stop using neonicotinoids in the Pacific Northwest. The EPA, however, continues to use them despite warnings of CCD from the Department of Agriculture. Instead, the EPA relabeled packaging advising against use on flowering plants or those with leaves.
In June, President Obama directed the EPA and Department of Agriculture to lead a government-wide task force to develop a strategy to combat honey bee decline.
Cell Phone Towers
In new controversial studies of the impact of cell phones to honey bees, researchers are gathering interesting data as well. Bees are sensitive to magnetic fields and are compromised by radio waves.
Swiss researcher Daniel Favre did a 2009 study placing cell phones around hives and placing hives around cell towers. His study, along with others similar, showed that honey bees are repelled by the towers and the use of phones.
It appears the radiation causes confusion and disorients the bees, leads to failed navigational skills, and results in much of the hive fleeing and not returning. Some colonies tested collapsed in as little as five days.
Favre has suggested that the placement of cell towers in the landscape may be interfering with the bee's natural ability to navigate to the hive. If this is true, the estimated 200,000 cell towers in the United States could be a contributing factor to CCD.
People may be part of the problem but we are also part of the solution.
Regardless of what one chooses to believe is effecting the honey bee, the fact is that they are disappearing at an alarming rate. When a species is dying off it's a sign that something in nature is out of balance.
Honey bees are essential to our diets and our economy.
Even a home gardener can help honey bees by being mindful of the chemicals used in their pesticides, by planting flowers and allowing wildflower growth, and by building a bee box.
"We have a history of taking care of bees for 7,000 years," said Olsen. "There is a direct relationship between us and the bees. If all the beekeepers left, I think honey bees would die off."
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