[Pollinator] Winston-Salem Journal - CCD Coverage

[Ladadams at aol.com]

Thursday, March 29, 2007
Bees: Talk to deal with woes of hives

By Tim Hambrick
SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL
 
Beekeeping is hard work- no matter if it is a hobby, a business or a 
combination of both. The rewards can be enjoyable - profitability and jars of good 
honey are just some of the benefits that beekeepers in the United States enjoy. 
However, beekeeping, like any other agricultural enterprise, has its fair 
share of perils. It seems that beekeepers have had more than their fair share of 
peril in the last 10 years. 
Tracheal mites devastated much of the bee population until beekeepers learned 
how to deal with this pest. 
Next in line was the Varroa mite. This parasite lived on the outside of the 
bee, draining life out of the individual bee, and, eventually, the hive. 
Between the tracheal mite and the Varroa mite, most of the wild population of 
bees has been decimated. Still, the beekeeper has learned how to manage and 
make ends meet. 
Loss of the wild bee population places a strain on agriculture, especially on 
fruit and vegetable production. Bees are necessary for pollination and fruit 
set on such crops as strawberries and squash and cucumbers. 
Honeybees aren’t the only bees that pollinate, but they are easy to raise and 
they are easy to work with. They produce other useful items such as honey and 
beeswax, just to name a couple. In North Carolina, honeybee products and 
services they provide are worth more than $80 million. 
Late in 2006 and continuing into 2007, a new problem is emerging that has 
beekeepers across the United States worried. It is called Colony Collapse 
Disorder, and it can be devastating. 
To date, it’s not known if this problem is a true disease; experts haven’t 
determined a causal agent - hence, it is called a disorder. The vast majority 
of the bees in the hive tend just to disappear without a trace, from a hive 
that appeared to be healthy and functioning normally. 
That’s where the “collapse” part of the name comes in. Some beekeepers in 
northern parts of the United States report 60 percent to 90 percent loss of 
hives. 
It takes a lot of money to replace hives. That also means that a large number 
of hives twill not be available in the pollination market for fruit and 
vegetable farmers to use on the 2007 crop. 
The N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Forsyth County wants to educate 
beekeepers about Colony Collapse Disorder. Beekeepers need to know who has been 
affected by this problem and who hasn’t. 
Beekeepers need to know what affected beekeepers do and don’t have in common. 
Beekeepers also need to know what they might be able to do to protect both 
their investment and their bees from this malady. 
The extension service will sponsor at 6 p.m. today a discussion on Colony 
Collapse Disorder. Richard Fell, an apiculturist with the Virginia Cooperative 
Extension Service, and Don Hopkins, the state bee inspector with the N.C. 
Department of Agriculture, will lead this discussion. 
If you are a beekeeper, register for this meeting by calling 703-2850. Come 
get the latest information on another in a long line of problems the American 
beekeeper is facing. 
■ Tim Hambrick is an agricultural extension agent in Forsyth County.

 
Laurie Davies Adams
Executive Director
Coevolution Institute
423 Washington St. 5th
San Francisco, CA 94111
415 362 1137
LDA at coevolution.org
_http://www.coevolution.org/_ (http://www.coevolution.org/) 
_http://www.pollinator.org/_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 
_http://www.nappc.org/_ (http://www.nappc.org/) 

Bee Ready for National Pollinator Week:  June 24-30, 2007.  Contact us 
for more information at www.pollinator.org 

Our future flies on the wings of pollinators.



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