Oh, the Beemanity! What is Causing Colony Collapse Disorder?

 

Imagine a world without bees. Can you? Unfortunately, not many Americans can, as we are not aware of how much we rely on their existence. However, the stark reality is that 70 of the 100 crops that make 90% of our world food supply rely on their services. Starting to get a picture? Put simply, we would not have anywhere near enough food to survive, and the famed physicist Albert Einstein once predicted that in a world without bees, humankind would have a mere four years left to live. Sounds shocking, doesn't it? It seems like a horrendous dystopian alternate reality. Unfortunately, it could become ours, provided we do nothing to stop a phenomenon entomologists have termed "colony collapse disorder." What causes it? What can we do about it? Right now, the scientific community is still very much a long way from pinpointing the cause. There are several theories, but so far, there is no agreement as to which one is most likely the cause. What to do about the problem is also confusing. There are a number of suggestions, but none of them address the problem as a whole. At the present, we need to drastically scale back the amount of neonicotinoids we use, perhaps abandon their use altogether, find alternate means of pest control, educate ourselves about the causes, and put more research into the phenomenon.

The first step in overcoming an issue such as this is to figure out just what exactly is going on. Some, including the head of the United States Department of Agriculture's Bee Research Lab, Dr. Jeffery Pettis, think they have found a likely cause. According to a study led by Dr. Pettis, the cause is actually a combination of a widely used insecticide called imidacloprid, and pathogens. In the process of his study, Dr. Pettis gave ten hives a protein food that had been spiked with imidacloprid to levels of five parts per billion. Then, he gave another ten hives food that had been spiked to levels of 20 parts per billion with the same pesticide. A further ten hives were given food with absolutely no pesticides at all, as a control. After the hives had emerged a new generation of bees, he collected the bees, and exposed them to a fungal parasite called Nosema. Twelve days after the exposure, he killed the bees and studied the extent of their infection. What he found is certainly noteworthy: "Both of the groups that had been exposed to imidacloprid harbored an average of 700,000 parasite spores in each bee. Bees from the control colonies, by contrast, harbored fewer than 200,000 spores in their bodies".

However, a large number of researchers, such as Dr. Julian Little, a spokesperson for Bayer CropScience, are not convinced by Dr. Pettis's findings, and debate the cause and accuracy of the study. Dr. Little dismisses the study's conclusion, saying that the research isn't strictly accurate, citing the fact that "'the key issue here is that Jeff Pettis's studies were carried out in the laboratory and not the open air.' He added, 'Bee health is really important, but focusing on pesticides diverts attention away from the very real issues of bee parasites and diseases – that is where Bayer is focusing its effort'". Dr. Little has a valid point in that the direct cause of the mass deaths is likely parasite related; however, Pettis's study indicates that, while not a direct cause, the pesticides are responsible for weakening the bees' ability to fight it off.

But, it's not just the pesticide and the nosema alone that's causing the die-offs. Many beekeepers, including beekeeper and writer Ian Douglas, feel that disease, or to be more specific, a certain group of disease called the invertebrate iridescent viruses (IIV) has to be present alongside the fungal infection. Douglas reports that while IIV was found in 100% of colony collapse disorder cases, it has also been found in strong colonies. At the same time, a high correlation between nosema and IIV has been found in collapsed hives, but just nosema alone is not an indicator of a sick or collapsing hive.

Now that the world's beekeepers have this information at hand, what shall we do with it? The fact of the matter is, the cause is still very much under debate in the scientific community. Thankfully, there are a handful of options available to us. We could, of course, do nothing. However, doing nothing ends in worldwide food shortages, so that option goes flying out the window. Those questioning the validity of Pettis's study call for more research into the causes of colony collapse. Certainly, more research will not hurt, the more we know the better. But, what can we do right now, to hopefully stem the tide of bee losses? The most widely supported option on the table is find another method of pest control. Some groups, such as the National Honey Bee Advisory Board and the Beekeeping Federation, go so far as to demand an outright ban on the neonicotinoids most widely used by farmers: imidacloprid and clothianidin.

Certainly, there are a number of strong reasons for discontinuing their use, but all of the reasons for doing so should be considered as a whole. No one reason should stand out over another. Douglas has another proposal, one that the British have implemented: "The approach being taken in UK beekeeping is to raise the profile of integrated bee health management, in other words, identifying and trying to eliminate factors which reduce the health status of a colony.” Douglas decides that a far more holistic approach is necessary, stemming habitat loss, raising awareness of bee illnesses, and more research into such. Alternative methods into pest control should be implemented as a replacement to neonicotinoid-based pesticides, more effective disease management should be implemented, and more awareness be raised about what we already know about bee husbandry.

A life without bees will be a short and painful one. Inaction on finding the causes of colony collapse disorder, and inaction on taking steps to stem the losses will certainly make sure that we head towards this life. However, not all is lost, not yet. Cutting back, possibly even eradication of the use of neonicotinoids and introducing widespread use of non-chemical pest controls on agricultural fields is certainly a step in the right direction. Another step in the right direction involves more research into the phenomenon, and education of the disease aspect of colony collapse disorder, finding out what we can do to combat the spread of the diseases and fungi responsible. More research done into the project only furthers our knowledge and aids our fight against the losses. Until that day comes, however, taking the aforementioned steps is our best recourse in the battle for our bees.