Status of Colony Collapse Disorder Carl Schroedl

Bees ConsPros Annoying BuzzSucculent Honey and Wax Painful StingEssential Pollination Pros Cons

Pollination Bee pollination is responsible for $15 billion in added crop value Number of hives needed per acre (4,000 m²) of crop pollination Apples: 1–2 Blueberries: 4 Cantaloupe: 2–4 Cucumber 1–2 Squash: 1 Watermelon: 1–3

CCD History: CCD-like occurrences have been recorded erratically since the 1800’s. The bee population sustained by beekeepers has halved from 1945 to 2007 and natural populations dwindle. Symptoms: disappearance or a sharp decrease in the number of adult honey bees present but with a live queen and no dead honey bees in the hive.

Potential Causes of CCD Pesticides? Overcrowded Apiaries? Migratory Stress? Genetically Modified Crops? Varroa destructor / Israel acute paralysis virus ?

Not a Cause of CCD ! Cellular or Cordless Phones

Now Losses due to CCD have so far failed to cause an agricultural crisis Costs have risen for beekeepers and farmers The genome of the Western Honey Bee has been recently mapped Research by US Dept. of Agriculture, U of M’s Bee Lab

What you can do Bee aware ! Discourage excessive pesticide application Plant good nectar sources: red clover, foxglove, bee balm, and joe-pye weed Contact (state) legislators, support CCD research