Reality Check

Over the course of the past couple of years, honey bees in the United States, particularly the western US regions have suffered massive losses to something they are calling “Colony Collapse” and was perhaps formerly known as “Fall Dwindle Disease”.

In the past history of bees, if this has occurred it has been in small regions. Now it is occurring across the US. At present at least twenty-two states have been affected. Honey bees are not native to the United States, and were introduced here in the early days of the Colonies.

“Honey-bees are responsible for approximately one third of the United States crop pollination including such species as: peaches, soybeans, apples, pears, pumpkins, cucumbers, cherries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. [1]

According to the above quoted article, this is believed to be a contagious disease.

During the months of October, November, and December 2006, an alarming number of honeybee colonies began to die along the East Coast of the United States. West Coast beekeepers are also beginning to report unprecedented losses. This phenomenon, without a recognizable underlying cause, has been tentatively been termed “Fall Dwindle Disease,” and threatens the pollination industry and production of commercial honey in the United States. This has become a highly significant yet poorly understood problem for beekeepers. States like Pennsylvania can ill afford these heavy losses; the number of managed colonies is less than one half of what it was 25 years ago. Many beekeepers are openly wondering if the industry can survive. There are serious concerns that losses are so great that there will not be enough bees to rebuild colony numbers in order service pollination needs and to maintain economic viability in these beekeeping operations. [2]

While the exact mechanisms of CCD are unknown, pathogens, pesticides or mite associations are suspected as causative agents. One study group is doing autopsies on bees. [3]

Now, let’s interject a bit of skeptical speculation into the mix. If I were a bad guy, say a foreign state bent on the destruction of the United States and I wanted to bring down the US without firing a shot, how could I do it. Easy, study my enemy and know their weaknesses. Let us say our foreign power figured out a way to destroy bees, without firing a shot. What would be the result?

In the United States, a very large portion of all pollination occurs from honey bees. That number is roughly 80% of the of all insect crop pollination is accomplished by honeybees, instead of other insect species. If you suddenly eliminated bees somehow, the cross pollination of many species, including, but especially apple trees and many other fruit trees would cease. Those crops would not yield as much the following year and perhaps nothing the next year. So, supplies of food drop drastically.

Prices increase. A large strain on the economy may be the result.

The United States is one of the largest producers of food in the world, and we export a great majority of that food. Fortunately, bees aren’t the method of pollinization for wheat and similar grains. But they certainly support orchards of fruit. Especially oranges, apples and similar trees. Most plants that produce fruit, produce flowers where the bees drink nectar for their honey production, and rub off pollen, moving from flower to flower, depositing some of that pollen on other plants. Thus, cross pollination occurs. For fruit to be produced, the flower must be pollinated in this manner. Sometimes the wind can do it, but most plants are successfully touched by bees throughout their cycle, thus ensuring pollination.

If this process stopped, fruit and many other types of food production would be drastically curtailed.

Ok, let’s do our speculation a step further. What if somehow, say the Russians could introduce into the United States, legally, and effectively a bee that contained nothing at all, but over time send sick bees, or bees infected with something that would rapidly spread throughout the US, as bees do?

In 2004 or so, the US Agriculture introduced to the United States a specially bred bee, that was highly resistant to a specific type of mite, called the varrao. These bees under went testing and were quarantined, tested and so forth. I personally don’t know, and haven’t been able to figure out the process on how foreign species are introduced to the US through the USDA, but if there are ANY holes in the process, what happens if some bad bees get through? What if it were planned?

Yes, this is a conspiracy theory. Yes, it is speculation. Is it true? I highly doubt it but its a probable scenario. I’m not a proponent of such things as conspiracy theories, but I will say this much. You must think like a bad guy, to fight a bad guy. We need to investigate this completely and of course rule out foul play, but I certainly would not put it past the Russians at all.

[1] Alarm sounded over US honey bee die-off; Wikinews, http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Alarm_sounded_over_US_honey_bee_die-off
[2] Wednesday Edition: Colony Collapse — The Death of Bees, http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=118658
[3] Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), http://www.ento.psu.edu/MAAREC/pressReleases/FallDwindleUpdate0107.pdf

http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=180423
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=150884

Side note: Here’s a letter from a Bee Keeper. It was written to a site called UrbanSurvival.Com and mentions the Russian Bees. I can’t say that I put a lot of stock in the site necessarily, but I certainly think that someone who has seen this first hand and knows the introduction of these bees was perhaps related could be at least considered a source.

http://www.urbansurvival.com/lastweek.htm
Bee Story

The collapse of bee colonies has something to do with Russia? Well, here’s an email to ponder from a bee-keeping reader:

“Hello George, Just a comment on the honey bee problems in the US.

I agree that genetically modified plant-life may be causing many problems for the bee population.

There is also another possible cause that non-beekeepers probably wouldn’t know about.

Over the years the honey bee population in the US has been greatly reduced due to attacks of Tracheal mites, Varroa mites, and Hive beetles.

Two years ago, in an effort to replenish the bee supply, the government introduced a program to give away “Russian” honeybees.

In the US, most beekeepers keep “Italian” honeybees. The “Russian” bees were supposed to be more resistant to the Varroa mites.

The original deal was that selected beekeepers would receive (free-of-charge) 2 packages of “Russian” bees and 2 hives. In exchange the beekeepers agreed to not sell the hives for 3 years and to allow regular inspections by government officials.

Due to an overwhelming response by beekeepers the deal was later changed to 1 hive of “Russian” and 1 hive of “Italian” bees.

I did not take part in the program but I did keep watch on the results in my state.

Within the first year (2005) all 250 hives of “Russian” bees that were introduced into this state were dead.

I personally know two beekeepers who took part in the program. By the end to 2006, one had lost 43 hives to “Colony Collapse”, the other had lost 200 hives (his entire operation) to “Colony Collapse”

I don’t know if there is a connection or just a horrible coincidence but perhaps the plants aren’t the only things being “modified”.

Safe Journey,”

Bee safe, Ure self.