The news has been full of stories on honeybee disappearances throughout the U.S. While no one cause for "Colony Collapse Disorder" has been identified, many ideas have been generated; and while no one has the answer yet, everyone can agree that this is an issue with far reaching implications for our species and others.

The honeybee pollinates approximately one-third of our food products, such as citrus trees, and their hives provide us with sweet honey. The contribution of honeybees cannot be underestimated, as fruit, nut and vegetable growers that require bee pollination have an economic value of $15 billion, according to a Cornell University study.

Whether the cause of this bee loss is mobile phone usage, GMO crops or pesticide use, certainly all can agree that our bees (and environment) have been ill-used by humans. According to current information, the leading culprit for the bee loss is infestations of Varroa mites, which burrow into the hives. A well-respected scientist from UC-SF found that a parasite called Nosema Ceranae was in some dead bees, and this parasite has been shown by researchers in Spain to be able to wipe out entire hives. However, the bee population is not so much dying as simply disappearing.

Cell Phones? A widely circulated report originating in the Independent, a newspaper in the UK, created a good deal of fear by reporting that cell phones can wreak havoc on bees' internal navigation systems, causing them to lose their homing instinct. Some towns in the UK are refusing to construct cell phone towers until proof can be provided that these towers do not cause harm to bees. The study cited by the Independent was conducted by a German college that had tested only 15 bees, so further inquiry is definitely required before the results of this study are accepted as fact.

Reports from the Organic Consumers Association state that bee losses are affecting commercial, and not organic, beekeepers. Commercial beekeepers breed bees to be larger than they would grow in their natural habitats and larger bees create larger holes in beehives. Some theorize that, with these larger holes, mites may more readily enter and infest the hive, which the bees will then abandon. In Minnesota, researchers at the U of M Extension Service Bee Lab think that the massive bee disappearance may be caused by many factors coming to a head for these sensitive creatures. Overuse of pesticides was called out as a death knell to pollinators in Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" 40 years ago, and we now use twice as much pesticide on our agricultural land. Combine an abused immune system with more aggressive mites and lots of "electrosmog" messing with an internal sense of direction, and you have one sick honeybee! So, what can we do to help?

Don't Panic! This is not a problem that can be solved overnight, but a good first step is to support the organic beekeepers in your area: buy their products and support them economically in their efforts to protect the earth and bees' health. Another good step is to support organizations like Heifer International, which will ship a honeybee hive to needy people in developing nations for only $30, a pittance compared to the long-term value and health benefits of a hive. In the meantime, please check out the following informative links:

http://www.organicconsumers.org
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles
http://www.bushfarms.org
http://www.heifer.org

Information courtesty of the University of Minnesota-Extension and Intelligent Nutrients, Minneapolis.

For more information on this topic or related issues you can search the thousands of archived articles on the OCA website using keywords:

Become an OCA Member! Sign up below:

First Name
Last Name
Email
Email Preference	HTML EmailText Email
Phone
Street
Street 2
City
State	Select One... Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Other
Zip
Country	United StatesAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCongoCongDemocratic Republic of theCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicIvory CoastDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGambiTheGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKoreNorthKoreSouthKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacedoniFormer Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMicronesiFederated States ofMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalQatarRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and The GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbia and MontenegroSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe