At last there seems to be an answer to the honeybee disappearance mystery. In the last four years, honeybee colonies across the country have suffered inexplicable 20-40 percent total die-offs over the winter months as a result of, what scientists dubbed, the colony collapse disorder or CCD. This mysterious condition has struck widely both in the United States and Europe wiping out entire bee hives without leaving bodies and has become a major public and agricultural concern.
According to a New York Times article, Dr. Bromenshenk’s team at the University of Montana and Montana State University in Bozeman, working with the Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center northeast of Baltimore, said in their jointly written paper that they discovered the virus-fungus one-two punch in every killed colony the group studied. While neither agent alone seems able to devastate; together, the research suggests, they are 100 percent fatal.
Exactly how the virus-fungus combination kills bees remains uncertain. Many scientists have previously pointed to a perfect storm of disease, adverse climate, and pesticide contamination as the culprit behind the widespread epidemic. Additional studies are needed to determine if a combination of environmental factors plays a role and how to control the outbreaks.
Continue reading the full New York Times article.
|
|
|||
August 5th, 2010 |
 Leave a commentLast week, superweeds and GMOs were on the minds of many U.S. lawmakers. Reports continued on growing pesticide resistance. Bee colony collapse problem grows. EPA considers giving environmental justice a chance. EU approved more GM maize imports, while a GMO-Free Europe conference nears. And more. 
A 13-state survey of honey bee pests and diseases that will help USDA scientists to determine the factors that may be contributing to the decline of honey bee colonies nationwide. 
Recent research from USDA points to a correlation between a fungus and a family of viruses that may be working together to cause the Colony Collapse Disorder in honeybees. Many still believe, however, that other causes such as pesticide use in agriculture and GMOs that produce pesticides, also play a role in the collapse. The British Beekeepers’ Association is moving away from cash sponsorship deals with pesticide manufacturers after concerns that the chemicals may be harmful to bees. The Association is looking for other sources of funding. According to TimesOnline, bee numbers in Britain are down 54 per cent in 20 years. 
A new study by Penn State University found widespread and remarkably high level pesticide and other toxicant contamination of bee hives. The study sheds light on how modern day agriculture contributes to Colony Collapse Disorder. 
Barry B. Benson from the Bee Movie, might have been right after all - bees have a reason to sue humans, more than one reason. Honey bee population faces a dire reality in the United States. Since the major honey bee die-offs have started 3 years ago, some areas have seen deaths of 30-90% of bee colonies each winter. |
If you are what you eat, then aren't you a GMO?
    |
||
|
 |
|||
