[Pollinator] BEES: Beekeepers hope to rebuild hives destroyed by CCD

[Ladadams at aol.com]

Forwarded by Hilda Diaz-Soltero/WO/USDAFS on 06/06/2008 12:24  PM
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Subject 
>From Greenwire -- BEES: Beekeepers  
hope to rebuild hives  destroyed by  
colony collapse disorder             










This  Greenwire story was sent to you by: hdiazsoltero at fs.fed.us


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(Embedded image moved to file:  pic28624.jpg)Greenwire               
An E&E  Publishing Service 
BEES: Beekeepers hope to rebuild hives destroyed by  colony         
collapse disorder  (Monday,  June 2, 2008)                   
After colony collapse disorder decimated hives  during the past two 
summers, beekeepers are hoping to stage a rebound this  year.       
Some are raising queen bees to sell to other  keepers, who will try 
to use them to replace destroyed homes. Among them is  Clint        
Walker, a Texas beekeeper who was hurt by  colony collapse disorder 
in 2006. "I can't raise enough queens; I turn down  orders every    
day," he said.             
The causes of the disorder remain mysterious. "We don't have one    
thing we can point to; we're looking at a lot of combinations,"     
said Jeff Pettis, a researcher for the U.S. Department of     
Agriculture. "It's a combination of some primary stress  on the     
colony that could include low-level pesticide  exposure, poor       
nutrition, Varroa mites -- or  something else -- that allow         
visitors to  take advantage of a weakened host. Then we're seeing a 
secondary invader  actually kill the colony."               
While Texas beekeeping is recovering from  epidemics in 2006 and    
2007, the problem is spreading  nationally.                     
"Any beekeeper that tells you they've got the situation  figured    
out, they're lying to you. When you can't keep a hive  healthy,     
you've got problems," Walker said. "Everyone in  the industry --    
we're all wringing our hands -- because the  researchers can't      
definitely give us an answer as to  what's causing the problem."    
Many keepers carry their colonies  from one field to the next over  
the course of the season. This year,  Walker declined to do so,     
hoping the time off would  expedite their recovery.               
Bees play an important role in pollinating crops, adding  an        
estimated $15 billion in value to nut, fruit and vegetable&         
production (Bill Hanna,  Contra Costa Times, May 31). -- PR         
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Laurie Davies Adams
Executive Director
Pollinator  Partnership 
423 Washington Street, 5th floor
San Francisco, CA  94111
415-362-1137

_www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 

_www.nappc.org_ (http://www.nappc.org/) 

National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2008. 
Beecome  involved at _www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 



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