Mysterious outbreak killing millions of bees
Mysterious outbreak killing millions of bees
mongabay.com
February 14, 2007
An mysterious outbreak is causing the deaths of millions of honeybees in 22 states according to an entomologist from the University of Montana.
Jerry Bromenshenk says that Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is “causing agricultural honeybees nationwide to abandon their hives and disappear.”
“Individual beekeepers are really taking a beating,” Bromenshenk said. “A guy down in Oklahoma lost 80 percent of his 13,000 colonies in the last month. In Florida, there are a whole lot of people facing 40, 60 and 80 percent losses. That’s huge.”
 A honeybee settles onto a wildflower at Fermilab. Image courtesy of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory |
“With CCD, most adult honeybees abandon a hive and disappear, leaving the queen and a remnant of younger bees. The malady also is characterized by uncapped brood — when the cells of young bees in the pupa stage are not covered and protected by their older sisters — probably because most of the adult bees have left. Dead adult bees aren’t found near the hive; they are just gone,” explains a news release from the University of Montana.
Bromenshenk says that similar outbreaks date back as far as 1896, though the last major outbreak probably occurred in the 1960s.
“My belief is that what’s going on right now has been seen before, but we’ve never really gotten a handle on it,” he said.
Bromenshenk has formed a team from the University of Montana that will work with a group of Penn State scientists to better understand the outbreak, which could have a major impact on agricultural production in some areas.
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This article uses quotes and information from a University of Montana news release.