Athens, Georgia
June 6, 2008
By April Sorrow, University of
Georgia
Almost half the bee colonies in
the United States died last winter. Many were the result of a
disorder that causes the colony to literally collapse. Using a
$4.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
scientists at the University of
Georgia hope to find solutions to the problem that is
killing bees in 36 states.
Almost half the bee colonies in the United States died last
winter. Many were the result of a disorder that causes the
colony to literally collapse. Using a $4.1 million grant from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, scientists at the University
of Georgia hope to find solutions to the problem that is killing
bees in 36 states.
“Our long-term goal is to restore large and diverse populations
of managed bee pollinators across the U.S. to sustain natural
and agricultural plant communities,” said Keith Delaplane, an
entomologist with the UGA College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences. Delaplane will direct the four-year
Coordinated Agriculture Project (CAP) that is part of a National
Research Initiative funded through the USDA Cooperative State
Research, Education and Extension Service.
A multidisciplinary team of researchers and extension
specialists representing 17 states will be working on the
project. The 19-member team will include specialists in
epidemiology, virology, pathology, ecology, toxicology, bee
biology, apiculture and integrated pest management.
The team will study colony collapse disorder. First identified
in November 2006, CCD expresses itself in bee colonies where
foragers have abandoned the nest. This leaves behind large
quantities of untended young bees and honey.
Normally, weakened colonies are robbed clean by neighboring
bees. When a colony is decimated by CCD the untended honey may
remain untouched.
Scientists believe a combination of factors contribute to the
phenomenon including pesticide exposure, environmental and
nutritional stresses, new or reemerging pathogens and a new
virus that targets the bees' immune systems.
“At this point it’s more forensic science than experimental
science,” Delaplane said. “We have a set of symptoms but we
don’t understand cause and effect.”
Initial research will focus on determining which of the factors
are contributing causes of CCD, either individually or in
combination.
“We are trying to look at CCD from every angle, address it with
research and deliver the knowledge to clientele groups who need
answers,” he said. “Expectations are high.”
After research is complete, the research team hopes to have some
practical answers for beekeepers and growers of crops that rely
on bees for pollination. Plans include developing best
management practice guides, breeding strains of bees with
genetic resistance to parasites and pathogens, improving the
regulatory framework for better protection against pathogens,
pests and parasites and creating Web-based distribution of
science-based information on bee health and CCD. They are also
laying the groundwork for a bee stock registry.
Honeybees pollinate about a third of the nation’s food supply
and add $15 billion annually to U.S. crops. They pollinate 130
different fruits, vegetables and nuts including almonds, apples,
avocados, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, carrots,
cherries, cucumbers, onions, peaches and soybeans.
Although they are an essential part of crop production, the
impact of the honeybee pollination on human beings is not a
matter of life or death, Delaplane said.
“More human calories are supplied by wind-pollinated cereals
like wheat and rice,” he said. “However, when economies improve
we see an increase in the consumption of meat and dairy products
and bee-pollinated fruits like melons and berries.”
A comparative example is the difference in U.S. diets and those
in countries like Sudan, he said. “That difference is largely
explained by bee-pollinated crops,” he said.
While there are other bee pollinators, honeybees are the most
prolific and easiest to manage for the large scale pollination
the agriculture industry requires. In California, the almond
crop alone needs 1.3 million bee colonies, about half of all
honey bees in the country.
The number of managed bee colonies has dropped from five million
in the 1940s to half that number today. To meet demand,
commercial beekeepers truck bees to provide pollination
services.
In addition to UGA, the institutions participating in the grant
project are Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell
University, Illinois Natural History Survey, North Carolina
State University, Kentucky State University, Michigan State
University, Penn State University, Purdue University, University
of California-Riverside, University of Maine, University of
Massachusetts, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska,
University of Tennessee, USDA ARS Weslaco, Texas and Washington
State University.
(April Sorrow is a news editor with the University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.) |
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