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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/opinion/02berenbaum.html?ex=1173502800&en=33ba4a574f52fcc0&ei=5070&emc=eta1">http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/opinion/02berenbaum.html?ex=1173502800&en=33ba4a574f52fcc0&ei=5070&emc=eta1</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;text-transform:uppercase'>Op-Ed Contributor<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</NYT_KICKER>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:7.5pt'><font size=6 color=black
face=Georgia><span style='font-size:22.0pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black'><NYT_HEADLINE type=" " version="1.0">Losing
Their Buzz <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</NYT_HEADLINE>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=gray face=Arial><span style='font-size:
9.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:gray'>By MAY R. BERENBAUM <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</NYT_BYLINE>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=gray face=Arial><span style='font-size:
9.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:gray'>Published: March 2, 2007<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><!--NYT_INLINE_IMAGE_POSITION1 --><NYT_TEXT>Urbana</span></font></st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">Ill.</st1:State></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Frank Stockton</span></font><font size=4 face=Georgia><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Georgia'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><a name=secondParagraph></a><font size=2
face=Georgia><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>WHEN <st1:place
w:st="on">Hollywood</st1:place> filmmakers want to heighten the tension of an
insect fear film, they just arrange for millions of killer bees to appear out
of nowhere to threaten a vulnerable group of people — over the years,
these have included children in a school bus, celebrants at a Mardi Gras parade
and people living near a nuclear power plant. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>But people from all demographic groups across the
country are facing a much more frightening real-life situation: the
disappearance of millions of bees. This winter, in more than 20 states,
beekeepers have noticed that their honeybees have mysteriously vanished,
leaving behind no clues as to their whereabouts. There are no tell-tale dead
bodies either inside colonies or out in front of hives, where bees typically
deposit corpses of dead nestmates. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>What’s more, the afflicted colonies tend to
be full of honey, pollen and larvae, as if all of the workers in the nest
precipitously decamped on some prearranged signal. Beekeepers are up in arms
— last month, leaders in the business met with research scientists and
government officials in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Florida</st1:place></st1:State>
to figure out why the bees are disappearing and how to stop the losses. Nobody
had any answers.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>That beekeepers are alarmed over this situation is
understandable, but, just as in the movies, the public may not recognize the
magnitude of the threat that these mysterious events present. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>A decline in the numbers of Apis melllifera, the
world’s most widely distributed semi-domesticated insect, doesn’t
just mean a shortage of honey for toast and tea. In fact, the economic value of
honey, wax and other bee products is trivial in comparison with the
honeybee’s services as a pollinator. More than 90 crops in <st1:place
w:st="on">North America</st1:place> rely on honeybees to transport pollen from
flower to flower, effecting fertilization and allowing production of fruit and
seed. The amazing versatility of the species is worth an estimated $14 billion
a year to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>
economy.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>Approximately one-third of the typical
American’s diet (primarily the healthiest part) is directly or indirectly
the result of honey bee pollination. Production of almonds in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>, a $2 billion enterprise, is
almost entirely dependent on honey bees. Every year beekeepers transport
millions of bees around the country to meet the ever-growing need for
pollination services for almonds, apples, blueberries, peaches and other crops.
This year it is possible that there won’t be enough bees to meet the demand
for pollinators. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>Theories abound as to potential causes of what is
being called colony collapse disorder. As a social species living in close
quarters at high densities — the average hive contains upwards of 30,000
insects — honeybees are prone to a staggering diversity of fungal,
bacterial and viral diseases. In the 1980s, honeybee numbers plummeted when two
species of parasitic mites appeared, wiping out most populations of wild bees
and placing more pressure on managed colonies. This latest drop in numbers may
be the consequence of a new infection, or of several diseases simultaneously,
leading to a fatally compromised immune system. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>It is also possible that severe stress brought on
by crowding, inadequate nutrition or even the combined effects of prophylactic
antibiotics and miticides sprayed by beekeepers to ward off infections may be a
factor. Another, particularly sad, possibility is that accidental exposure to a
new pesticide may cause non-lethal behavioral changes that interfere with the
ability of honeybees to orient and navigate; brain-damaged foraging bees may
simply get lost on their way home and starve to death away from the hive. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>Irrespective of its causes, however, this drop
comes at a critical time, with demand for pollination services rocketing
upward. Even in a high-tech age when the human capacity to improve upon nature
seems limitless, there is no satisfactory substitute for the honeybee. Thus
it’s astonishing that beekeeping remains largely unimproved by
technological advances relative to just about every other form of animal
husbandry. The basic design of honey bee housing is essentially unchanged since
L. L. Langstroth patented his movable frame hive in 1852; artificial
insemination of queens, the last significant technological advance in
beekeeping, was introduced early in the 20th century. The 21st century holds
great promise for innovation. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>Last October, an international consortium of
scientists announced the publication of the sequence of the entire honey bee
genome. Among the benefits of knowing the full gene inventory is that it has
allowed the construction of a whole-genome microarray — essentially a
microscope slide dotted with genetic material — here at the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Illinois</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>Microarray analysis is a powerful tool for
examining differences among a very large number of genes rapidly and
efficiently; it’s the basis for new diagnostic tools, for example, for
clinical evaluation of many forms of cancer. For bees, microarray analysis of
differences between healthy and afflicted bees may reveal the causes and
provide insights for developing a cure. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>The real key to dealing with colony collapse
disorder, however, is understanding the extent of the problem, which may prove
to be more of a challenge than figuring out its origins. Although Americans are
in general good at counting things of value, we’ve done an absolutely
appalling job at counting our bees and other pollinators. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>In October, I served as chair of a committee for
the National Research Council, the research arm of the National Academy of
Sciences, on the status of pollinators in <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place>.
Among the clearest conclusions of our report was that Americans do not keep
track of pollinators, even the one on which much of our agriculture depends.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>For example, the Department of Agriculture’s
statistics service has kept records of honeybee colonies managed by beekeepers
since 1947, but the annual survey monitors only colonies used in honey
production. Colonies used exclusively for pollination are not included, nor do
surveys take into account the fact that some honey-producing colonies travel.
The Agriculture Department also doesn’t track bees kept by small-scale
beekeepers with fewer than five colonies. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>No current survey monitors colony health or
variability in bee numbers over the season, a critical variable for assessing
population dynamics as well as economic effects of fluctuations. Although the
Agriculture Department surveys beekeeping operations every five years using
criteria that address some of these issues, five years between surveys provides
ample time for irreparable damage to occur before a problem can be recognized. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>Conspicuous among the recommendations from the
National Research Council committee was a call for the department to make
annual bee assessments, with winter losses monitored, general health assessed
and pollination services quantified. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>Moreover, no system is in place to monitor feral
bees — those that escape from managed colonies yet contribute critical
pollination services to both wild plants and farms. We need long-term
monitoring of feral honeybees along with other pollinators if we are to
understand the true magnitude of pollination services essential for a healthy
agricultural economy. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>We count our pigs, our cows and our chickens (even
before they hatch). The Agriculture Department, amid concerns about infectious
disease and agro-terrorism, has even proposed establishing a national animal
identification system, under which it could trace the origin of any animal in
the food chain within 48 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><font size=2 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Georgia'>Yet honeybees, which contribute to our food chain
in many more ways than any other animal species (and whose pollination makes
available the alfalfa and clover processed into hay to feed beef and dairy
cattle), are disappearing without a trace at a rate we can’t even measure
accurately. Such obliviousness with respect to a precious resource in crisis
might play well in a bad science fiction movie, but it’s truly alarming
to see it in real life.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><NYT_AUTHOR_ID><i><font size=2 face=Georgia><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia;font-style:italic'>May R.
Berenbaum, head of the department of entomology at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Illinois</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>,
is the author of “Buzzwords: A Scientist Muses on Sex, Bugs and Rock
’n’ Roll.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p style='line-height:18.0pt'><i><font size=2 face=Georgia><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia;font-style:italic'><img border=0
width=190 height=1224 id="_x0000_i1043" src="cid:image001.jpg@01C75CAA.34CFFC70"><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#004000" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#004000'>Jennifer Tsang<br>
<a href="http://coevolution.org">Coevolution Institute</a><br>
<st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">423 Washington St.</st1:address></st1:Street>
5th Fl.<br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">CA</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94111-2339</st1:PostalCode></st1:place><br>
T: 415.362.1137</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#004000" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#004000'>F: 415.362.3070</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#004000" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#004000'><a
href="http://www.nappc.org">www.nappc.org</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#004000" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#004000'><a
href="http://www.pollinator.org">www.pollinator.org</a></span></font><font
color="#004000"><span style='color:#004000'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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