and Jon Stevens
Staff writers
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
The conventional wisdom among the agricultural community is that a mysterious agent called Colony Collapse Disorder is wiping out colony after colony of honeybees in the nation, Pennsylvania included.
Experts are suggesting culprits could be a fungus, virus or a variety of microbes and pesticides. But no one has a definitive answer.
"What's so sad is that the bees are so vital to our economy," said Wayne Berg, 52, a beekeeper in West Middletown, who lost seven of his 20 hives this past winter.
Berg's story is a little different, though. His bees did not die from pesticides or some malignant microbe. They starved to death.
"Bees are very social and extremely, almost to a fault, loyal to the queen," he said.
He explained that this past winter was unusual. December was cold; January was warmer than usual, and February and April were cold again. Those weather changes created hive cluster confusion.
Bees cluster around the queen when it is cold, and when it warms to around 40 degrees, the cluster will spread out and become more active.
For Berg's bees, however, the cold snap in February proved fatal. "They immediately reclustered and consumed the honey beneath the cluster. They would not move just inches away where there was more honey and they ended up starving to death," Berg said.
How could he tell? "Because the heads of the bees were inside empty hive cells," he said.
Berg lost seven colonies, or more than 200,000 bees.
No matter what the reason, the loss can have a significant economic impact on beekeepers and farmers.
Just ask Beth and Barry Ford of Nottingham Township. The Fords have raised honeybees primarily for honey production for the past six years. This year, they looked forward to producing enough honey to finally turn a profit.
"This was supposed to be our year," she said with a laugh.
Those hopes were dashed when 74 of 75 hives succumbed to the mysterious CCD.
"Colony Collapse Disorder has hit local beekeepers hard, with many reports of hive losses this winter," said Lee Young, county extension director, Penn State Cooperative Extension. "One of the most difficult aspects of this problem is that we don't yet have a good understanding of what factors, or combination of factors, is causing these bees to die."
During the last three months of 2006, the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State University began receiving reports from commercial beekeepers in the eastern part of the United States, indicating that an alarming number of honeybees were dying.
Those reports have escalated since the beginning of 2007, when beekeepers from throughout the country reported "unprecedented losses."
Young said the problem affects more than just beekeepers. Many horticultural crops, including apples, peaches, pears, pumpkins, cucumbers and strawberries, rely on insects such as honeybees for pollination.
The demise of so many honeybees is particularly troubling to Jim Bobb, president of the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association, who said he was inundated with calls last month from orchard owners asking how they can obtain bees to help pollinate their crops.
A survey in March of a portion of beekeepers in the state reported dramatic beehive losses.
The average bee colony loss in Pennsylvania last winter, he said, hovered around 49 percent.
That colony decline could seriously affect the production of several important crops that rely on pollination services provided by commercial beekeepers.
According to the College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania produces $45 million of apples each year, making it the fourth-largest apple grower in the nation.
That crop is 90 percent dependent on pollination by honeybees. The College of Agricultural Sciences recommends growers plan ahead for pollination services.
Scott Simmons, owner of Simmons Farm in McMurray, said the commercial beekeeper he deals with during apple and peach blossom pollination time had seen his share of strife.
But the problem wasn't so severe that the beekeeper couldn't send Simmons all six beehives he requested to help pollinate his orchards.
Ironically, Simmons said he's been dealing with a different dilemma. The biting cold snaps decimated his apple orchards so badly he wondered if he would even acquire honeybees. He didn't know if it would be worth the trouble.
The six he acquired, he said, are three fewer than he normally obtains each year.
Lee Miller, county agent for Penn State Cooperative Extension in Beaver County, said certain herbicides and pesticides have been used on corn seed, beans and other crops farmers grow.
"This material becomes systemic and honeybees bring pollen back from these treated plants," Miller said.
The effects of these insecticides alter the bees' ability to return to the hive. "When young bees fly form the hive they take orientation flights so they are able to return to the precise spot where they flew from," Miller said.
"Apparently, chemicals alter the bees' navigation system and they are unable return," he said.
Meanwhile, both state and national agricultural agencies are researching Colony Collapse Disorder to find its cause. The studies, so far, Bobb said, have found no commonalties between colonies affected.
Young said despite it being a prevalent problem to local beekeepers and farmers, it's too early to panic.
"That's not to say that we are expecting any shortages of these (products) in local markets this season, but these crops do tend to produce best when honeybees and other pollinators are plentiful," she said.
Simmons said he's received literature from local agricultural resources, but the mystery behind Colony Collapse Disorder won't confront him for very long.
His orchards are being pollinated over the next few weeks. After that, the crops he grows depends on other natural resources.
"There are other ways for those crops to be pollinated," he said.
Miller has faith in the beekeepers and farmers.
"They are positive and resilient and they will work hard to replace the bees and work harder to become better managers," he said.