It’s an ecological mystery that is stumping scientists in Colorado and across the country: Why are our nation’s honeybees suddenly disappearing?
More than an intriguing scientific conundrum, what’s called “colony collapse disorder” has serious agricultural implications.
Honeybees pollinate an estimated $15 billion of commercial crops each year. Without the hard work of bees, farmers worry that yields of fruits, nuts and vegetables could be significantly reduced.
Bee experts are trying to figure out what is happening. Their success is important not just to beekeepers and farmers, but to consumers as well. Those beekeepers being hit the hardest are large commercial operators who travel around the country with their hives in trucks. There were about 17,000 of these operators in 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with more than 2.4 million bee colonies.
The majority of the keepers park their hives in groves and fields at key times during the growing season, and the bees do their work. Crops that are particularly reliant on honeybee pollination include almonds, apples, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, onions and squash.
The disappearance and bee die-offs were first detected late last year by commercial beekeepers along the East Coast but since have been reported in 24 states, including Colorado.
Losses of honeybee colonies are not unheard of. But this rash is different because bees are failing to return to their hives, which is uncharacteristic. And it’s unusual because of the scope of the losses.
Scientists have several theories, which include parasites and disease, poor nutrition, the stress of being trucked around, chemical contamination, a lack of genetic diversity among commercially maintained bees or a combination of factors.
The honeybee die-off has resulted in higher fees paid by growers to “rent” bees – an increase they will likely pass along to consumers. For instance, in the late 1990s, it cost $35 per colony for the bees’ services in California almond groves. In 2005, it had risen to $75, and most recently prices have escalated to $150 or more. California’s almond crop, the largest in the world, is highly dependent on the work of rented bees.
Scientists at agricultural research centers around the country are examining dead bees and working to decipher the cause of their demise. We hope for a diagnosis, and soon, to save the bee colonies that play such an important role in our natural and agricultural worlds.
