The movie "Vanishing of the Bees" was made in 2007, a year after commercial beekeepers Dave Hackenberg and Dave Mendes reported a phenomena that was later to be known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Little has changed in the five years since the making of this movie. Last winter losses were down by 5% in North America but short term statistics reveal little. Better results from a single winter could simply be weather related. There has been no single identification of the problem or a solution. Since 2007 Scientists have discovered that Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus is present in most hives that have succumbed to Colony Collapse Disorder but that it is not the only problem. Also, prior to the onset of CCD neonicotinoid pesticides became the popular choice for farmers and since have been identified as one of the possible causes of CCD. Most believe it is a combination of problems such as viruses, pests (Varroa), reduced genetic diversification and systemic neonicotinoid pesticides. I believe that bees are the "Canary in the Coal Mine" for planet earth and that their weak immune system makes them the prime indicator species for major problems such as industrial agriculture (artificial chemical dependant monoculture) and human biological interference (Increasing the size of honey bees 100 years ago for greater honey yield and the worldwide spread of the varroa mite). A step in the right direction would be a change in our agricultural system that would reduce our dependencies on chemicals and return us to a more natural, healthy state. Please support your local, organic farmer and beekeeper.
*Vanishing of the Bees Study Guide for teachers here.
The term "Killer Bees" refers to Africanized bees which were originally produced by cross-breeding European bees (Apis mellifera) with African bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) which are a sub-species of the European or Western honey bee and are native to central and southern Africa. In 1956, to produce the "perfect" honey bee for tropical Brazil, 26 African Tanganyikan queen bees were imported to Brazil and bred with European drones. Queen excluders were put on the entrances of the hives to prevent introduction of these African queen bees into the Brazilian environment. In 1957 a replacement beekeeper unknowingly removed the queen excluders releasing the African queens and starting the migration of the Africanized bees through the western hemisphere. Here is some additional information on Africanized bees provided by the University of California (Africanized Bees). The maps below show the yearly migration of the Africanized bees.
I draw an analogy between the phenomena of the "Killer Bee" and the movie "Jaws". The movie inspired an unfounded paranoia of entering any water even that not inhabited by sharks. Myself, having worked and lived in bear country and swum with sharks for years pride myself in possessing a sense of calm and objectivity when dealing with potentially dangerous situations. Nevertheless I recall hearing the unforgettable music from the movie "Jaws" every time I encountered a shark in the water after that. The reality is that while sharks and "killer bees" do pose a threat it is important to put it into perspective and not create an exaggerated paranoia. The city of Hidalgo, Texas where the first Africanized bees in the U.S. were identified built a larger than life statue of the "Killer bee" on wheels which is still brought out for festivals and parades. In reality driving a car and riding a bike are far more dangerous. It is important to note that beekeepers in Central and South America are presently using Africanized bees. While they do produce a higher yield of honey they replace the native bees (Stingless Bees of the Maya) and do not pollinate all of the native plants.
The distinguishing features of the Africanized bee are: Swarms more frequently (smaller swarms up to 10 times a year potentially inhabiting smaller cavities); more likely to migrate as a response to seasonal dearth (In many parts of Africa their ancestors migrated annually due to extreme seasonal drought - Queen of the Savannah is a great movie about the ordeals of the African bee); more likely to abscond (entire colony leaves) in response to stress; more aggressive defensiveness when in a resting swarm; more likely to inhabit ground nests than European bees; greater area and more aggressive defense of hive; proportionally more guard bees; more bees act in defense of a hive and do so for a greater distance (i.e. several hundred bees to a disturbance 40 meters away and may follow for a quarter of a mile); The Africanized bee has also shown a greater propensity to be aggressive to darker colours such as darker coloured dogs suggesting a link to it's greatest enemy in Africa, the dark coloured honey badger; has difficulty surviving longs periods without forage (i.e. long, dry summer periods or cold winters). Here is a research article on the DNA of Africanized bees (DNA of Africanized Bees).
1985 Africanized Bee Alert
The Africanized bee's sting is no more venomous than the European bee and like the European bee it can only sting once. They respond to disturbances faster, in greater numbers and for farther distances. The prescribed defense is to retreat quickly (covering your head) to the shelter of a building or automobile. The undesireable, aggressive traits appear to be passed by the Africanized drones so many American beekeepers are counter attacking the migration of the Africanized bees by drone-flooding or raising an inordinate number of European drones to ensure a majority European mating. Other defence measures include frequent requeening to remove any Africanized queens and extermination of wild bee nests. However, most scientists believe that the northward migration is unpreventable and that with time the Africanized bees will adapt to periods of dearth or cold. They have adapted to and inhabit colder areas at the foot hills of the Andes Mountains in South America. While there is no way to predict their arrival in Canada one deterrent is the antiquated and bizarre Canadian bee import restrictions (We can import bees from New Zealand, Australia and Chile - Canadian bee import regualtions) that make the movement of bees from the U.S. to Canada impractical. This is why most of our imported bees in Vancouver come from New Zealand.
It is autumn and for many of us beekeepers it is time to watch for wasps. Wasps leave their nests this time of year and go out and forage. While some will occasionally enjoy nectar they are primarily insectivores and will kill your bees and attempt to enter the hives. For strong colonies this is not usually a problem but as a counter measure beekeepers often use entrance reducers and wasp traps. All of our wasps will die this winter except for the new, mated queens. This year I have identified 6 species of wasps in my garden: Vespula pensylvanica (western yellowjacket-Queen); Potter Wasp; Polistes dominula- European paper wasp; Male Vespula germanica (German Wasp - Yellowjacket); Dolichovespula maculata (bald-faced hornet) and the beautiful green eyed Bembicini (Bembix) or Sand wasp. While I have observed a smaller yellow wasp and a similar sized Blackjacket wasp I have not made positive identification. I have seen the western yellowjackets killing the odd bee in front of the hives but no sign of any attempted entry. Last year I witnessed the girls mass attack of a large bald-faced hornet trying to enter the hive. It was very violent as the wasp attempted to fly away with a few of the girls attached.
We are still in our Indian summer with beautiful days, active, foraging bees and lots of flowers still available. Soon it will be time to prepare the hives for winter, extract some honey and wax up my skis.
Today is the first day of Autumn and we are entering a period of time we like to call Indian Summer. It is perhaps my favorite time of year with lots of sunshine and cooler temperatures (16-18 Celsius or 60-65 Fahrenheit). In the morning there is a cool, freshness in the air that is missing in the heat of summer. Though the days are shorter there is still a wide variety of blossoms for our bees to forage on. While I love this time of year there is also a certain sadness at the passing of another year. Birds are heading south to winter and the leaves are starting to turn colour. We savour this time of year in the north country, hoping to enjoy every last drop of life before the arrival of winter. It's like the passing of an old friend.
INDIAN SUMMER
These
are the days when birds come back,
A very
few, a bird or two,
To
take a backward look.
These
are the days when skies put on
The
old, old sophistries of June, -
A blue
and gold mistake.
Oh,
fraud that cannot cheat the bee,
Almost
thy plausibility
Induces
my belief,
Till
ranks of seeds their witness bear,
And
softly through the altered air
Hurries
a timid leaf!
Oh,
sacrament of summer days,
Oh,
last communion in the haze,
Permit
a child to join,
Thy
sacred emblems to partake,
Thy
consecrated bread to break,
Taste
thine immortal wine!
Emily
Dickinson [1830-1886]
Bombus on a Japanese Anemone
In the spring and summer there are periods of foraging dominated by large quantities of specific blossoms like cherry, plum, apple, raspberry, black locust and blackberry. Though the time of high pollen collection of singular blossoms is over there is still a wide variety of individual flowers available. Some of the flowers that enticed the girls today were Borage, Calendula, Anemone, Coneflower, Strawberry, Blackberry, Cucumber, Zucchini, Bee balm, Bugbane, Aster, Clematis, Honeysuckle, Lupine, Sunflower, Hydrainga (normal and oak leaf), Scarlet runner beans, Sunflower, Sedum, Rudbeckia, Mallow, Hollyhock, Tomato, Malva, Kafir Lily, Mint, Shoofly, Cardoon (artichoke), Cosmos and Lavender. I am presently working on adding photos of all these plants to my Bee Plants pages.
Unidentified Bombus on Cosmos (not Kramer)
I was determined to improve my photographic skills this year and felt I had moderate success. Any failings on the quality of my photos I prefer to blame on my camera (it can't defend itself). So I apologize in advance for the poor performance of my camera ( I am often heard chastising my equipment "Bad camera"). I have noticed that mid day, summer light is too bright and produces a glare. Earlier morning and dusk provide more interesting highlights. Also, wind is an enemy of those photographing flowers and insects. In a web post I made last year Beeutiful Bee Photography I discussed a few of my favourite bee photographers. Biologist Zachery Huang (Beetography) has beautiful bee photography and Eric Tourneret (The Bee Photographer) has done many amazing photographic studies of the relationship between bees and humans. I have been particularly enthralled with the traditional cultural relationships like the "Honey Hunters of Nepal" and the "Stingless Honey Bee of the Maya".
Left Bombus Mixtus (Male) and right Bombus Caliginosus or Bombus Vosnesenskii on sunflower
I also made an effort to identify native bees and insects that resemble bees. I was amazed at the variety of insects that called our garden home. Due to the incredible number of insect species (Over 450 species of native bees in British Columbia) I could not have identified the insects without the aid of BugGuide. BugGuide is a website hosted by Iowa State University department of Entomology which allows you and I to submit photos to be identified by volunteer experts. Despite the poor performance of my camera ("Bad camera") they do an amazing job of identifying what I would have no hope of identifying accurately.
Very large unidentified Bombus enjoying Japanese Anemone Native Insects from our Garden
Today I harvested rhubarb (I sweeten with honey), potatoes, chives, blackberries, raspberries, apples, cucumbers and zucchini (Zucchini Blues) from my garden. The weather forecast is for continued sunshine for the next two weeks. Hopefully our Indian Summer will last well into October. Hope springs eternal.
Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never Is, but always To be blest: The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come.
Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man
Hazel enjoying a sedum
Indian Summer
The flowers' scent spiraling in the autumn air,
Beckons closer to warmth before coolness there,
The greenery makes us gasp with hidden delight,
The sun overhead embraces softly, glinting bright,
Ahhhh! Zucchini blossoms. The Girls enjoying an Indian Summer Music by Eva Cassidy (l963-l996) My favourite singer
The girls were bringing in lots of orange or was it gold pollen today. "Fields Of Gold" You'll remember me when the west wind moves Upon the fields of barley You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky As we walk in the fields of gold So she took her love For to gaze awhile Upon the fields of barley In his arms she fell as her hair came down Among the fields of gold Will you stay with me, will you be my love Among the fields of barley We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky As we lie in the fields of gold See the west wind move like a lover so Upon the fields of barley Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth Among the fields of gold I never made promises lightly And there have been some that I've broken But I swear in the days still left We'll walk in the fields of gold We'll walk in the fields of gold Many years have passed since those summer days Among the fields of barley See the children run as the sun goes down Among the fields of gold You'll remember me when the west wind moves Upon the fields of barley You can tell the sun in his jealous sky When we walked in the fields of gold When we walked in the fields of gold When we walked in the fields of gold
The arrival of Colony Collapse Disorder in 2006 coincided with the mass distribution of the new neonicotinoid systemic pesticides by the large agrochemical corporations. Most believe that there are several contributing factors to CCD including pests (Varroa), diseases and monoculture industrial farming but that the one new factor in the equation is the introduction of the neonicotinoids. Countless studies have been carried out throughout the world proving the lethal and sub lethal effects of systemic pesticides resulting in the banning of these pesticides in several European countries (Insecticides and Bees and Pesticide banned in France). Beekeepers in Canada have also been adversely effected by the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (Pesticide suspect in Bee Deaths and Neonicotinoids kill Bees in Ontario) which are also used in consumer products (Dog and cat flea treatment, garden insecticides...) but no action has been taken by the Canadian government.
In the United States a petition against the use of the neonicotinoid pesticide Clothianidin (Ban this Pesticide) accompanied by studies proving the lethal effects of the product was signed by hundreds of thousands of people, submitted to and rejected by the EPA. The problem in North America is that the political power is completely controlled by the agrochemical companies through campaign contributions and lobbying. Many of the upper management of both the EPA and FDA are appointed from similar positions with major agrochemical corporations (Genetic Roulette). An obvious conflict of interest. They have created an agricultural system which is completely dependant on the agrochemical products like the neonicotinoid coated genetically modified seeds which once introduced cannot be removed from the environment (Millions Against Monsanto ). The unique system within the United States allows the agrochemical companies to release new products to the market with a "Conditional Release" without any substantial testing of the product. The substantial testing is to be carried out by the agrochemical company (conflict of interest) and submitted to the EPA within a period of time. What are the chances of a company making millions from the sale of a product submitting studies which show the lethal and sub lethal effects on bees and the environment. The modus operandi is similar to that used by the Tobacco industry for decades denying the lethal effects of cigarettes.
Until September 25th the EPA is accepting comments regarding the petition to ban the neonicotinoid pesticide Clothianidin. There is only two actions we can take to safeguard our bees. The first is if you happen to have an extra billion dollars (I'm a little short) in your pocket you could buy off the top ranking American politicians or EPA management or secondly submit a comment to the EPA voicing your opposal to the use of systemic neonicotinoid pesticides here. Please keep the language in your comments civil (i.e. Replace low life, greedy, scum sucking, corrupt purveyors of death with "To whom it may concern"). "Great acts are made up of small deeds" (Lao Tzu, founder of Taoism). Go to Beyond Pesticides for more information on submitting a comment to the EPA.
For further information on the effects of systemic neonicotinoid pesticides on bees go to the "Insecticides and Bees" section of our Beekeepers' Library. We also have several movies in the Video section of our website on this subject including "Bee Deaths in France", "Who killed the Honey Bee" and "The World according to Monsanto". Also a good book on the subject of neonicotinoids can be read and downloaded here.
Like many of our species of native bees, bats are endangered. Due to disease, a negative image of bats and a loss of habitat many species of bats are struggling to survive. It's always interesting to me to see how important every member of an ecosystem is to every other part of that ecosystem. When one part of that ecosystem is removed all suffer. Bats help bees by nocturnal consumption of insects which reduces the amount of required pesticide used by commercial farmers. The same pesticides which are killing our bees right now. Bats pollinate in tropical areas of the world and in North American deserts it is an essential pollinator of specific desert plants. Bat Conservation International is a great bat information resource and is working hard to conserve the world's bats. At the Bat Conservation International website you can learn about bats, learn how to install a Bat House (here) or adopt a bat (here). The United Nations has declared 2011-2012 International Year of the Bat and Bat Conservation International a "Founding Partner".
Chase Community Giving is awarding grants to conservation organizations. To help support bats through Bat Conservation International go to the Chase Community Giving page on Facebook.
1. Go to the Chase Community Giving page on Facebook, enter Bat Conservation
International on “Search Charities”, then click Vote. (You can earn an extra
vote by sharing through Facebook, Twitter, or emailing the link—if someone
clicks on your link and votes, you get an extra vote!) or
2. Go to www.chasegiving.com, click on "Vote Now", search for Bat
Conservation International, and then click Vote. (You must be a Chase
customer to vote at this website.)
You can vote both ways, giving BCI double the votes! Voting closes September 19th.
Following the voting phase, Chase will donate a total of $5 million to the
196 charities who received the most votes. Awards will be distributed as
follows:
$250,000 to the charity receiving the most votes
$100,000 to the first 10
runners-up
$50,000 to the next 35 runners-up
$20,000 to the next 50
runners-up
$10,000 to the final 100 runners-up
BCI is currently in 90th place. The top-ranked charity has 13,500 votes. If
all our members and Facebook fans take one minute and vote, BCI could take the
lead and win $250,000. Every vote counts, so please vote today!
On Tuesday, September 18th from 7-8:30 p.m. join in the free live webcast from Bracken Bat Cave in Texas. For information on the webcast go to BatsLive. Millions of Mexican free-tailed bats live in this cave from March to October which is one of the largest concentrations of mammals on earth. Should be fun. Have you hugged a bat today?
On Wednesday, September 19th from 9-10 am (EDT) Ohio State University will be presenting it's next Beekeeping Webinar on
marketing for beekeepers. To join this free webinar on September 19th, follow the link and log in as a guest at about 8:55: Login or Ipad link Login
Each of the series of beekeeping webinars presented by Ohio State University are recorded and available at the OSU BeeLab website here or also in our Beekeepers' Library here. The OSU BeeLab website is a great resource for beekeepers. As far as I know these are the first beekeeping webinars ever presented and have found them to be very interesting and informative. I presently do not personally profit from the sale of honey but do sell half of my honey to raise money for a community garden. I have found that it would be difficult for me to produce enough honey to supply the present demand for local honey from organically raised bees. Therefore, presently I have no need for marketing skills. However, should I at sometime in the future increase the scale of my operation these marketing skills would come in handy. Incidentally, I don't believe anyone can claim to produce organic honey. With bees foraging 8 km (5 miles) or more it would be difficult to state that your bees were not exposed to any toxins (pesticides, herbicides, fungicides ...) within that foraging area. Enjoy the webinar.
A photo by Eric Tourneret of the stingless Trigona honey bees kept in traditional earthen pots
There are about 800 species of stingless bees (Meliponines) that can be found in tropical regions of the world (Tropical America, Australia, Africa and Southeast Asia). In fact stingless bees do have stingers but they are so small that they are ineffective and instead defend their colony by biting. The stingless bee bite is similar to a mosquito bite. The stingless bees will nest in open tree cavities, rock crevices or underground openings.
The stingless bees (Melipona Beecheii and Melipona Yucatanica) in Central America have been kept by the Mayan people for thousands of years and are part of their traditional religious ceremonies. The bees are kept like family pets in log hives or pots passed down from generation to generation. The future of the Mayan stingless bee is bleak due to deforestation and the introduction of the Africanized honey bee which produces a far greater yield of honey. A significant problem is that the Africanized honey bee does not pollinate many of the native trees and shrubs which as a result are declining. The number of traditional Mayan beekeepers has reduced drastically with elderly men and women being the last of their kind.
Eric Tourneret is an amazing photographer who has studied the relationship between different cultures and bees including the Mexican stingless bee (The Bee Photographer). Part of this study involves the efforts to increase traditional stingless beekeeping along with the fair trade initiative (Fairtrade in Mexico) both of which I feel are very important issues. The group "Schools for Chiapas" is also working to promote traditional stingless beekeeping with educators, students and communities. The video below shows the traditional Melipona bee ceremony known as Un-hanli-cab in Yucatan, Mexico.
Native stingless bees have been kept by cultures throughout the world and the video below is of an Australian native stingless beekeeper.
There are many species of stingless bees in the Amazon and they also play an important part in the environment as pollinators. 34 species of stingless bees have been identified in the Amazon region of which 9 were considered domesticated by the locals. Below is a video by Eric Tourneret in his continuing study of the relationship between bees and people entitled "The Amazing Stingless Bees of the Amazon".
The University of California Davis is the leading agricultural research institute in the United States and their "Good Life Garden" is an organic mixture of fruits, vegetables and flowers which just happens to be my favourite form of landscaping.
In my research of beekeeping I have found that Canadian Universities provide no access to learning to the public but that American Universities have amazing information resources available to us beekeepers. To highlight a few, the University of Georgia has the "A year in the life of an apiary" video series which is very informative. The Extension Program is an amazingly thorough resource for beekeepers. My favourite is the Ohio State University Bees and Pollination website which includes a wealth of information including their Beekeeping Webinar series. The recorded versions of their beekeeping webinars are available on their website or our Beekeepers' Library.
U.C. Davis University is part of the Bee Health Extension Program and produce a beekeeping newsletter which I find very helpful as a beekeeper. This is the July/August newsletter and includes surveys on bee diseases and the effects of commercially applied insecticides on honey bees. The surveys though revealing would be dismissed by scientists, the agro-chemical companies and the EPA as lacking any substantiated proof. The mandatory studies provided by the agro-chemical companies to receive acceptance from the EPA are always brief in time scale and limited in scope. The problem I have with the short term studies on the effects of insecticides like the neonicotinoids is simple. If you smoke a cigarette you will not die and if you smoke for a month you will not die or probably feel any dire effects (I smoked in the past). The effects are long term exposure to the toxic element which may not become evident until long after the exposure to the smoke or in the case of the bees, insecticides. The beeswax in the hive is a permanent receptor of all the environmental toxins and the accumulative effects may not appear for years. A single grain of honey pollen taken from an apiary in France surrounded by commercial farms was found to contain over 30 different fungicides, herbicides and insecticides.
July/August 2012
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An environmental consulting firm tried to contact as many
beekeeping organizations and beekeepers as possible to convince them to
contribute information. PRI recently
released the results of the first survey for beekeepers to peruse. The report
was written in five sections: (1) Survey Results (2) Crops and Pesticide-
related Bee Kills (3) Economic Impacts and Bee-Kill Investigations (4)
Additional Comments and (5) Descriptions of Methods Used. I will mention only some
of the findings from the summary pages and specific crops pages. To read the
entire report, use this link: http://pesticideresearch.com/site/?page_id=24.
Bee-Kill Survey on Acute Bee
Kills
Limited response to their formal bee kill report
solicitation prompted the US EPA Pesticide Program Dialog Committee (PPDC) to
enlist the services of the Pesticide Research Institute (PRI) to tease out some
information dealing with the topic. The authors carefully explained that these
reported losses were from high impact, immediate deaths caused by acute
exposure, not losses that might have resulted from long-term
exposure to sublethal doses of pesticides. PPDC assembled a PPDC Pollinator
Workgroup that designed the survey and suggested how to best contact the
beekeepers. Members of the committee included
commercial beekeepers Darren Cox, Jeff Anderson, Rick Smith, Bret Adee, and
Steven Coy. The beekeepers reviewed the data, as did external reviewer Erik
Johansen, from the Washington State Department of Agriculture, and Iain Kelly
of Bayer Crop Science. A total of 365 non-commercial beekeepers
submitted data covering 2,597 colonies. Only 62 commercial operators (50 or
more colonies) responded, but they reported on 244,171 colonies. Commercial
beekeepers reported bee kills more often than
non-commercial beekeepers, as would be expected. Commercial beekeepers also
reported longer term, abnormal bee mortality that was not clearly related to an
acute bee kill. Sixty-eight percent of the non- commercial beekeepers reported
no notable bee kills, while only 12 percent of the commercial beekeepers
reported no problems. Commercial beekeepers felt that 76 percent of their bee
kills were due to pesticide applications to crops that their bees were not
pollinating. Seventy-four percent of the losses were attributed to corn or
other crops that did not require bee pollination. Non- commercial beekeeper
felt that their losses originated mostly on golf courses, landscape areas and
roadside weeds, but 24 percent cited pesticide use on crops not dependent on
bee pollination.
The authors of the report split out the data in
three different ways, but I am going to
provide details only on the commercial crops that were most dangerous to
pollinate. The commercial beekeepers listed the following visited plant sources
in descending order of what the bees visited: non-ag weeds (about 76 percent);
ag weeds (about 73 percent); corn (about 65 percent); alfalfa hay (about 63
percent); almonds (about 55 percent); apples and pears, urban plants, soybeans,
cherries, sunflowers, melons, blueberries, summer squash, peaches,
winter squash, caneberries, citrus, cotton, specialty crops, cucumbers, alfalfa
seed, canola, cranberries, walnuts, and other nuts. Asked in a different way,
“What percentage of the total number of colonies ever foraged on the following
crops?” almonds bested ag weeds (46 to 45 percent) with the rest staying in
just about the same ranking as the previous data. When asked what crops were likely to result in
bee kills “occasionally” or “frequently,” cotton led the pack with 70 percent
likelihood of problems. Corn followed, at about 54 percent. Next down the list
were melons at 37 percent, which was quite similar to citrus, almonds, alfalfa
seed, and soybeans. Slightly better (about 35 percent problems) were alfalfa hay, ag weeds,
cucumbers and sunflowers. The list trickled down from there to practically no
total exposures on nuts and cranberries. Asked, again, in a different way, cranberries
suddenly became the worst of the bunch. Those who reported going to cranberries related that around 92 percent of the
time, their bees were badly damaged or killed. Alfalfa hay was next, with about
87 percent. Soybeans and other nuts were next at about 75 percent. Half of the
remainder of the list tallied above 50 percent likelihood
of bee kills. Only peaches, apples and pears, cherries and caneberries were
“safer” at 5 to 15 percent. Another way the authors analyzed the data was by
bee kills per acre of crop pollinated. Cranberries still led the pack with
about 24 colonies killed for every acre pollinated. Second was winter squash,
but quite a bit better (13 colonies lost per acre). Melons lost about seven
hives per acre, cucumbers and alfalfa seed about five colonies per acre; summer
squash, other nuts,
and caneberries about four per acre; berries and walnuts at three colonies per
acre; and with peaches, cherries, almonds, sunflowers, citrus, canola and
apples and pears practically no colonies were lost per acre. Next the data switched over to commercial
beekeepers’ noticeable bee problems in the field. Researchers ranked the signs
of intoxication as “Frequently,” “Occasionally,” “Rarely” and “Never.” “Dead
and Dying Bees in Front of Hive” totaled 64 percent occasional or frequently,
with
32 percent stating rarely or never. Four percent did not answer. “Rapid
Substantial Drops in Hive Population, Including Loss of Entire Hive” totaled 52
percent occasionally or frequently, and 48 percent reporting rarely
or never. Finally, Dead Bees with Extended Proboscis (tongue) totaled 46
percent occasionally or frequently and 47 percent rarely or never. Seven
percent did not respond. Only 39 percent of non-commercial beekeepers
noted dead and dying bees around their hives occasionally or frequent- ly. Even
fewer (32 percent) noted rapid drops in hive populations. And, dead bees with
extended probosci were seen only 11 percent of the time. When asked to describe the “contributing factors”
to their acute kills, some of the previously mentioned factors were reiterated,
but some new ones were given, also. Pesticides on blooming crops not being
pollinated 75 percent commercial and 22
percent non-commercial. Pesticide use on non-pollination-dependent crops 74
percent commercial and 24 percent non- commercial. Pesticides used on
comercially pollinated crops 52 percent commercial and seven percent
non-commercial. Exposure to seed coating dusts 37 percent commercial and 20 percent non-commercial.
Exposure to contaminated water 32 percent commercial and 15 percent
non-commercial. Exposure to mosquito control products and “other” pesticides
were problematic to just under 30 percent of the commercial operators, but
scored about 15 percent for the non-commercial beekeepers. In only one
category did the non-commercial folks report exposure levels more frequently
than the commercial beekeepers, non-ag use on landscaped areas, golf courses,
roadsides, etc. 29 percent to 21 percent. Both groups reported about seven
percent of their exposures were in forests. Only seven beekeepers thought that
their bees were acutely affected by neonicotinoid chemicals and all were non-commercial. Although the report meandered from the acute
poisoning theme, a couple of survey questions dealt with abnormal bee mortality
not thought to be due to immediate toxic effects. Beekeepers who thought that
they saw such effects less than five percent of the time totaled 20 percent of the commercial
operators and 46 percent of the non-commercial folks. About 22 percent of the
commercial and 18 percent of the non- commercial operators observed abnormal
colony mortality in five to 20 percent of their hives. Twenty-eight percent of
the commercial operators and 15 percent of the non-commercial folks felt that 20-40 percent of
their colonies died for abnormal reasons. Equal percentages of large-scale and
small- scale beekeepers (about 12 percent) attributed 40-60 percent of their
colony losses to abnormal causes. And, for those losing more than 60 percent of their colonies to unknown
causes, 18 percent of commercial operators and 10 percent of non-commercial
operators reported those substantial losses. Twice as many (16 versus 8)
non-commercial beekeepers reported queen problems as did commercial operators
(but that is 16 out of
365 ((4.4 percent)) versus 8 out of 62 ((12.9 percent)) by the commercial
operators). Failure to build up rapidly was reported by 11 (3 percent) of the
small-scale operators, while 6 (10 percent) of the commercial operators filed
that complaint. The commercial beekeepers seemed to have worse control over
“hive pests:” 13 (3. 5 percent) small scale operators reported problems, while
four (six percent) of the commercial operators had difficulties. I believe that the take-home message is that
honey bees can become exposed to lethal doses of pesticides despite where their
apiaries are located. However, such exposures are more likely to occur in
agricultural environments. It also appears that very few growers who rent bees
for crop pollination poison their bees on-site. But when the bees are not
on-site, honey bee-toxic products are frequently used in commercial
agriculture.
It
is difficult for bees, in those settings, to avoid lethal exposures from time
to time.
APHIS Disease/Pest Survey – 2011-2012
I mentioned a few times that a number of surveys
were being conducted on beekeeping across the country and that you should
participate. It all seemed a little nebulous at the time, but now the data is
being reported.
Through the combined efforts of the University of
Maryland, USDA APHIS, USDA ARS, and California Cooperative Extension, a report
was released: “2011-2012
National Honey Bee Pests and Diseases Survey Report.” This is important because
the national surveys are what will be used to allow or disallow imports of live
honey bees from other countries into the U.S. Additionally, the data gives us a
much better picture of what our disease and mite populations are like. You may
examine this complete report at the following web site: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/honey_bees/downloads/2010-2011-Limited_Survey_Report.pdf.
The report begins with an executive summary,
which assures us that we have not found any Tropilaelaps
mites, Apis cerana, or Slow Bee
Paralysis Virus (SBPV) in our sampled bees. Tropilaelaps
is an Asian mite that is very small and looks like a quick- moving,
whitish dot on the combs. When you put them into a vial of clean alcohol, they
are a very dark gray. Apis cerana is a
native Asian honey bee that currently seems to have become well entrenched in
Austral- ia. Slow Bee Paralysis Virus has been found to have at least two
different strains and has been isolated from samples of bees from England and
Switzerland. There also are documents suggesting that SBPV has been identified
in Fiji, Western Samoa, and Australia. The Australians firmly believe that the
virus is not in their country. Not surprisingly, SBPV has been documented to be
transmitted by Varroa destructor.
These results come from an ever-
increasing data base that reflects findings from bees collected in 34 U.S.
states: AL, AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, MD, MI, MN, MT, NE,
NY, NM, NH, NJ, NC, ND, OH, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV and WI. Some samples
still are being collected and more are still being analyzed. When completed,
the analysis will cover 875 representative apiaries containing 7,000 colonies.
As the data ac- cumulates, it is being posted, with timely updates, on the web
site: www.beinformed.org, operated by the Bee Informed Partnership. “Survey Kits” were distributed to theDepartments of Agriculture in each cooperating
state in June of 2011. The 2012 kits were sent in April and May. The details of
how the samples were collected and processed can be found in various protocols
linked internally in the report. Not all known honey bee viruses were targets of
the “new, high-performance chemistry” used this year to identify them. Acute
Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV), De- formed Wing Virus (DWV), Israeli Acute
Paralysis Virus (IAPV), Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV), Black Queen Cell
Virus (BQCV), Slow Bee Paralysis virus (SBPV), Nosema
ceranae and Nosema apis were tar-
gets. Subsamples were sent to other labs for Nosema
spore counts, Varroa mite load
de- terminations, and possible Apis cerana.
A few pollen samples were collected for pesticide residue analysis at the USDA
AMS food
lab in Gastonia, NC. For me, it is easiest to look at the graphs to
see the major results. Nosema (not by
species) was fairly prevalent during the first three years of the survey
(2009-2011). The respective average U.S. infection levels were about 86 percent
in 2009, 50 percent, and 58 percent the next two years. Interes- tingly, spore
loads averaged 800,000; 430,000;
and 580,000 respectively. When that data is broken out in more detail, the
monthly prevalence still shows the trend toward higher counts early in the
season, backing off in the summer and picking up again in the winter. A similar
monthly breakdown showed that spore loads very infrequently were above one
million spores per bee, the level at which we (Furgala and Mussen) suggested
that Nosema apis be treated with
fumagillin. There also is a very interesting figure (#16) in the report dealing
with Nosema spore counts and positive Nosema counts based on molecular methods.
There are publications explaining how much more sensitive the molecular methods
are compared to microscopy. But, the figure shows
that microscopic examination deter- mined spores of undetermined species in 0.57 percent of the samples, while polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) detected only 0.01 percent of Nosema apis and 0.08 percent of Nosema
ceranae in the same samples. (Edi- tor’s Note: perhaps they intended to
have the decimal point two digits to the right.) The Varroa mite
data is very disconcerting. The percentage of samples of adult honey bees in
which mites were found totaled 88, 92, and 91, respectively, from 2009, 2010, and 2011. Worse yet, the average mite
load per 100 adult bees has increased over those three years from 2.5, to 4.2, to 5.3. Most of the sampled colonies should
have had at least 20,000 bees in them. So, the mite loads must have been
between 500 and 1,600 mites per colony. The more we learn about the
relationships between Varroa mites and
virus diseases, the more we should try to find ways in which to keep the mite
loads as low as possible. The current monthly Varroa
prevalence data shows only a bit of a depression in mite numbers in
November through January. Otherwise, practically all the sample bees came with
mites. As we have seen in many previous studies, the average monthly mite load
per 100 bees starts lowest in January and increases slowly
through August, then increases quickly go- ing into winter. That timing is
coincidental with many of the late season colony losses that have become so
vexing.
What about the viruses that Varroa vectors? In the three survey years,
Deformed Wing Virus was by far the most common, found in 78 to 90 percent of
the bees samp- led. Since not much Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus was found during
the first two years, the target was switched to Black Queen Cell Virus. In the
2011 samples, BQCV occurred
in about 67 percent of the bees sampled. The somewhat feared, quick- killing
viruses Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, Acute Bee Paralysis Virus, and Kashmir
Bee Virus were not that prevalent, remaining mostly below 20 percent on
average. By month, depending upon the year, DWV seems to build from January to
June, and then
sometimes becomes less prevalent the next half of the season. ABPV is
consistent- ly most prevalent (50 percent) in December. In 2011 it remains
quite prevalent from December through April. But, in 2010 and 2012
it was considerably subdued from January through November. The two years
analyzed so far for BQCV demonstrates that it remained prevalent (50 percent of
the bees or more) all year and was most prevalent in April and May (reaching
100 percent) and at or above 60 percent in every month other than July. If high
virus prevalence is related to unexplained colony losses, then DWV
and
BQCV would be the two leading candidates as potential problem causers. The pollen pesticide residue samples were rather
limited in number, and the results do not closely reflect the larger data set
that was published a while back. The fun- gicides, herbicides, and insecticides
are grouped, then presented in alphabetical order
of their chemical names. The only fungicide to be found in ppm (7.060) residues
was tetrahydrophthalimide, a breakdown product of captan. The next largest
fungicide residue was fenbuconazole (335 ppb) found in Indar®
and carbendazim (233 ppb) which used to
come from Benomyl®.
The herbicides were relatively low in residues.
The two insecticides that stuck out like a sore thumb were coumaphos, one
sample of which was 1.110 ppm in pollen, and thymol, which was 39.700 ppm in
one pollen sample. Imidacloprid was found in 9 of 99 samples at levels between
3.5 and 216 ppb. Since the oral LD50 for adult
honey bees is around 192 ppb, some of the pollen could have been directly toxic
to the bees consuming it in the hive. I would strongly suggest that you take the time
to peruse this document. The more you know, the more persuasive your arguments
can be.
Nosema
Counts and Controls from Canada
If you have wondered about where, and how many
bees, to sample for Nosema spore counts,
researchers in Canada tried to resolve those issues. They took samples of 30, 60, and 90 bees from the brood nest, the
outer honey frames, and the bottom of the inner cover of naturally infected
colonies. In April, the brood nest and inner cover sample
counts were similar and less than those from the outer honey frame samples. As
the season progressed (May), the brood nest bees’ spore counts remained low.
The inner cover bees began to have higher counts, but the outer honey frame
bees had the highest counts. When they completed the analyses, the researchers
determined that the brood nest counts were always the lowest, the inner cover
counts seemed to represent the mathematical aver- age of the brood nest and
outer honey frame bees, which always had the highest counts. For those of you
who pay attention to these things, the error bars for the means of the counts
on the graphs were quite small for brood nest bees, a bit larger for inner
cover bees, but were really lengthy with honey comb bees. This suggests that
although the oldest bees were most apt to contain spores, their variation in
countable spore numbers was quite considerable. The researchers decided that
the inner cover samples best represented the colony average and will use them
in further studies, similar to the sampling method used by Furgala and Mussen
in the 1970s. In a separate study, 60 New Zealand packages were
installed in equipment containing 192 full-depth Langstroth drawn combs that
had been previously sprayed with Nosema ceranae
spores at the rate of 451
million spores per hive body. Eleven sets of contaminated combs were treated as
follows: (1) acetic acid fumigation (2) heat treatment (3) irradiation and (4)
contaminated, only. A twelfth set of combs (5) were neither contaminated nor
treated (controls). Molecular tests determined that the bees had only
Nosema apis in them in May, even the
colonies that had been inoculated previously with N.
ceranae spore suspensions. In June some residual N. apis remained in the fumigated, irradiated and inoculated
colonies, but nearly all the colonies demonstrated mixed infections favoring N. ceranae. In October, infection levels were
low, but N. apis became pre- dominant,
again. In August, most of the treatments still had fairly low levels of Nosema spore counts, except the irradiated
combs, where levels of infection with N. apis were
more than 90 percent. Related to mortality, after 16 months of no
further treatments, 17 percent of the non-inoculated control colonies perished.
Forty-two percent of the colonies that were simply inoculated, or when the
combs were heat-treated, had died. Fumigation was a bit better, with about 33
percent mortality. But, none of the colonies in the irradiated treat- ment
died. It appears that the irradiation treatment may have compromised some other
microbes that were harming the bees. The lab researchers were very busy and ran some
studies on the mode of action of fumagillin, some analogs of
fumagillin, and carbendazim (major breakdown product of Benomyl®) on Nosema control with caged bees. Briefly, caged bees were fed
solutions containing ten million spores per ml of syrup for 48 hours. Then they
were fed sugar solutions containing 0, 0.04. 0.4, or 4 mmol concentrations of
fumagillin (only 0.04 mmol, since it works at that level), carbendazim and
three fumagillin analogs. The carbendazim treatments did little to reduce spore
counts, so it was discounted. (I wonder, however. This is the same lab that
decades ago told Dr. Furgala and me that we missed the boat with our Benomyl treatments.
We saw spores and gave up on Benomyl. They told us that Benomyl-treated bees
produced only non-viable spores. It is surprising that nothing is
said about that in this study.) The fumagillin analog, that has an aspirin
attached to it, proved quite effective in reducing spore counts and will be
studied further. The last question studied was: “Which is better,
spring or fall treatment of Nosema with
fumagillin?” Thirty-six naturally infected colonies were divided into three
groups: (1) 97.5 mg fumagillin in 250 ml drench (2) 97.5 mg fumagillin in 2
liters of feeder syrup or (3) 2 liters of non- medicated feeder syrup. They
were fed twice, a week apart, at those doses. A graph shows the spore counts
for bees in the various treatment groups. Things looked pretty similar at the
beginning. The spore counts went down a bit, then rose a bit, similar to the
findings of Dr. Zachary Huang and his lab at Michigan State University. But, the unmedicated bees had spore counts that
rose to five million spores per bee in October and 20 million spores per bee in
December and February, after a bit of a tapering off in January (10 million).
The drench treatment resulted in moderate control, with levels around seven
million spores
per bee in February. The stored syrup treatment showed the lowest levels of
spores per bee, about four million in February. The spring feeding data is not
presented. The researchers stated that the results were pretty similar: highest
counts in untreated bees, lower counts in drenched bees, and best results with
stored syrup feeding treatments. These research results were not extracted from
research publications, but from the August, 2012 (Vol. 25 #3) edition of “Hive
Lights,” the periodical published by the Canadian Honey Council. The
organization has given me permission to republish their information with
appropriate references. In this case, the title of the
research
project is: “Integrated Management
of
Nosema and Detection of Antibiotic
Eric
Mussen Entomology UC Davis
Davis, CA 95616
Residues.”
This progress report was submitted by Abdullah Ibrahim, Andony P. Melathopoulos
and Stephen F. Pernal. They work for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Box 29,
Beaverlodge, Alberta, Canada T0H
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