Where Have All the Honeybees Gone?
It’s a startlingly fast and stealthy killer—dark, invisible and as yet unidentified. A plague of unknown origin is sweeping through honeybee hives and decimating their populations. The bees simply vanish. The lack of knowledge of the underlying cause moves it closer to becoming an extinction-level crisis.
It began on the East coast in the form of scattered hive-failures in 2002. Back then, failures were rare, relatively speaking. They’ve since furrowed foreheads as high up in the government as Congress, and have Agriculture Department employees reaching for antacids.
Richard Rys, a Massachusetts beekeeper, told the Cape Cod Times (capecodonline.com) he lost two hives during the fall of 2006. He sums up the problem best, “The hives were going great, with brood and plenty of food in there. Then one day there were just 100 bees in the hive — one day there’s 30,000 bees and then there’s 100.“
It’s fodder for the likes of an M. Night Shyamalan movie, but there’s no hint of Hollywood here. It’s very real.
The pestilence came to a head during the fall of 2006 and winter of 2007 when beekeepers began to notice sudden, massive disappearances of their hives. Thirty percent to ninety percent die-off rates were reported to the Department of Agriculture.
An arm of that agency, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), began to study the few sorry bees left in a futile attempt to diagnose the cause. Those studied were under attack by every bacteria, virus, fungus, parasite and disease known to affect apiaries. Like HIV, something was compromising the bees’ immune systems.
When I first wrote about this back in 2007, the honeybee-eradication problem was worsening. Since then, I’ve learned that bumblebee populations are being impacted, as well.
In New England, for some dairy farmers who made the switch from dairy cows to honeybees, the crisis is becoming one nightmare wrapped inside another. What they could earn from milk through their blood, sweat and tears simply couldn’t keep the lights on. Even government subsidies couldn’t keep them afloat. The middleman’s near extortionist cuts made milk too expensive in the marketplace and demand waned.
So, some of them learned about beekeeping and embraced it as their new occupations.
Throughout New England, honey, along with maple syrup, is nectar for the gods to tourists and locals alike, and hives are cheap to acquire. Three-hundred dollars will buy you a decent one. But what’s sent to market in honey jars is hardly the bulk of the economic sustenance the bees offer.
Beekeepers rent their hives to agrarian farmers to pollinate certain types of flowering trees, nuts, fruit and vegetable plants. The earnings can be lucrative.
According to the Department of Agriculture, in California alone (to which New England hives are sometimes shipped), the almond crop requires 1.3 million colonies of bees to pollinate their trees. That’s almost half of all honeybees in the nation. And demand for almonds is expected to grow. By 2010, the Department of Agriculture predicts almond growers will need 1.5 million colonies.
Various theories as to the cause of the problem are bubbling to the surface, but none is prevalent, much less provable. As is often the case in the scientific community, everybody is an expert, but they characteristically disagree with each other.
Some entomologists blame certain types of pesticides. As mysterious as the problem is the swath of the vanishings. Of five apiaries close together, only one or two may be affected, but not the others. Opponents of the pesticide theory contend that if pesticide use was to blame, it would hardly be so selective.
Some attribute the problem to stress. Often driven long distances when rented to an almond farmer, the trip stresses bees, and their immune systems can be compromised. But that doesn’t hold water either. The Agriculture Department points out that bees have been traveling long distances for years without Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) being the result.
At first, entomologists dubbed the phenomenon, “Fall Dwindle Disease.” They clung to the false hope that the winter’s harsh conditions would halt the plague’s spread. It didn’t. Natural-course containment was a non-starter.
To the disinterested, the question may be, “So what if the bees are disappearing? They’re pests at picnics.” Perhaps, but consider that honeybees—and honeybees alone–pollinate as much as $15 billion worth of the nuts, fruits and vegetables grown in this country each year. Absent that pollination, vacant produce shelves and hyperinflation pricing for certain nuts, fruits and vegetables can be the only results.
With food prices now sharply on the rise to begin with (ironically, dairy leads the way), CCD continues unabated at a particularly bad time. As more and more hives succumb, beekeepers can’t meet growing demand from produce and nut farmers.
That means lower crop yields. Lower crop yields will eventually make almonds as costly as macadamia nuts, and a five-pound bag of apples as costly as ten pounds of filet mignon.
For the ARS, this is the stuff of biblical plagues. If they and their research partners can’t identify the cause, then find a way to stop it, the humble, hard-working honeybee and bumblebee may get the next extinct check marks on the growing list of endangered species. If that happens, some of the plants and trees upon which we depend for food-supply staples could simply fold their blossoms and grow no more.
Jim Hyde
Editor
New England Getaways Guide
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Comment by Tony Marino on 28 April 2008:
This is indeed disheartening to read. I have a friend in California and she says the situation there is worsening every year. And to think as a boy I used to swat and do my very best to put an end to these blighters. Raised to hate a bee but without understanding the circle of life.
Thank you for this piece.
Tony
Comment by James H. Hyde on 1 May 2008:
Hi, Tony,
Many thanks for your reply. I, too, was a swatter, but being young and scared of getting stung makes people a bit swat happy. Unfortunately, the situation is getting worse as your friend in California reports, and scientists are stymied. They have no idea what is causing this, but it is serious and I wanted to bring it to the attention of those both inside and outside New England because it impacts us all. We already have wheat and rice shortages, two crops the bees don’t pollinate, but we can ill-afford more shortages now.
Thanks for your comment.
All the best,
Jim Hyde
Comment by bob higgins-steele on 26 May 2008:
I have noticed an eerie lack of honey bees this spring. I’ve see none at the apple trees and strawberry plants. It is very disheartening
Comment by Cheryl O'Sullivan on 13 January 2009:
I looked into your article because I just discovered a strange sight in my backyard and wanted to share it with an expert. I live in Connecticut and It is January and there is a blanket of snow in my backyard. I went outside with my dog to discover there were “dead” honey bees scattered all over the place on top of the snow!! I was curious as to how many there were so I grabbed a sled and collected them, there’s about 30! I then noticed that many of them are moving their arms a bit, so i think they’re dormant b/c of the cold( it is about 32 degrees out now) I left them out in the yard but in the sled…is this wise? Ive lived here my whole life and have NEVER seen anything like this! I have a large garden so of coarse I love the bees…do youhave any suggestions as to what is happening or how help them?
Comment by James H. Hyde on 15 January 2009:
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks so much for your post. Well done. I think you’re onto a very important find.
What you’re reporting is unique in the history of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In all cases I’ve learned about, the bees just vanish; there are no signs of even one or two bees much less the large numbers you found. Did you find them near a hive (i.e. are any of your neighbors beekeepers?) Because the bees have disappeared, there have been no reports of any of them moving their legs, and that could be highly significant.
That honeybees and bumble bees do disappear is what has made for furrowed brows at the Agricultural Research Service, with whom I would suggest you get in touch. They have a form email system here: http://www.ars.usda.gov/contactus/feedback.htm?originatingpage=http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/main.htm
Give them all of the details of your story and report the ambient temperature, which was below freezing, but nothing like the temperatures in Vermont today at minus 17 degrees. That, I am relatively certaiin, would kill just about anything not adequately protected.
If you still have the bees, keep them in a sealed jar and put duct tape around the lid so particles of whatever killed the bees can’t escape. I know the ARS will want to examine them if possible. It’s not likely that the bees would succomb to cooler temperatures, although I’m no bee expert, so it could be a causitive factor in what you found. Still, it sounds like CCD, but this time without the disappearances.
Do you live in Northern or Southern Connecticut? We used to live in Greenwich, and at last check, there hadn’t been any reports of CCD there, but we weren’t hooked up to every honey farmer either.
The ARS should be particularly interested in hearing your story inasmcuh as it is this group that is tasked with finding, first the cause, and second a plan to eradicate it.
Ironically, when I wrote the original piece, I suggested that it would make a great M. Night Shyamalan movie. A month or so ago, my wife came home with a DVD titled, “The Happening,” which begins with a teacher asking his students if they’d heard about disappearing honeybees. The movie then launches its characters into a surrealistic journey. I’m quite sure it was in production well before my article appeared, but it’s interesting that someone with his talent and prestige would use it to open the movie and a testament to his willingness to share his concerns about natural “happenings.”
The implication is that if we don’t stop destroying the planet, we could become victims of Human Collapse Disorder. I don’t want to reveal the plot for those who haven’t yet seen it, but I highly recommend it. It will give you insights well beyond CCD.
Please keep us posted on what the ARS says. If you don’t get a response, please let us know, and I’ll find out who you can contact at the Agriculture Department in Washington.
Thanks for a super, heads-up post. Good stuff.
Jim Hyde
Editor of http://www.NewEnglandTimes.com.
Comment by Julie on 2 February 2009:
I, too just discovered 3 honey bees in my snow blanketed front yard. It is Feb 2 and I know we have a honey bee hive in a shag hickory tree in the back yard. It was quite active for the last 2 years, but I was perplexed at the sight of the dead honey bees in our yard. I googled and found your website. I live in Massachusetts, apx 12 miles southwest of Boston.
Comment by Cliff Calderwood on 2 February 2009:
Thank you Julie for letting us know about this event. This is really getting a lot of people concerned. Time to involve the states I think.
Cliff
Comment by stephen hellum on 27 March 2009:
I had 3 hives brought to my house last winter. I put them behind a garden shed facing south out of the prevailing wind and wrapped them in tar paper. One hive was full of dead bees in the spring. the others showed good activity and I doubled the fruit and berry production on my small orchard, berry, and gardens. in augest the other hives seemed to just disappear. No dead bees but only a few drones in the hives. when I watched my fruit and berries during blossom I saw as many or more other bees there. could they have given a viris to my bees or driven them off?
Comment by Cliff Calderwood on 29 March 2009:
Hi Stephen,
I’ll let our resident expert – Jim Hyde – on the bee issue read your post. His sense is the states have no more clue than everybody else on what is going on with our precious New England bees.
Cliff
Comment by James H. Hyde on 30 March 2009:
You pose excellent questions. That you lost one hive with dead bees inside and then two others with only a few bees inside is indicative of Colony Collapse Disorder. In the case of the first hive, the bees couldn’t escape, and died in the hive.
The latter two hives illustrate the classic signs of Colony Collapse Disorder. The bees simply disappear and leave behind perhaps 100 bees that have been found by the Department of Agriculture to have just about every bee illness and parasite infestation known to kill bees.
It’s difficult to tell if your last two hives were driven off by the other bees. Agriculture scientists are still scratching their heads about what the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder is. As far as I know territorial conflicts have not been considered a plausible cause because the remaining bees are so infested with viruses and parasites,
Some years ago, an experiment was undertaken to breed domestic honey bees with Africanized bees (otherwise known as “killer bees”) to breed the aggressiveness out of Africanized bees. But there have not, to my knowledge, been any papers written about the outcome of that. Nor have I been privy to any of the experiment’s results.
While everything at this point is still theoretical, my theory is that the attempt to interbreed the two types of bees backfired and may have somehow compromised the immune systems of domestic honey bees. The threats posed are why they leave the hives. They’re trying to fight off infections, so they disappear and, with their normal faculties impaired are no longer able to navigate and die off over a widespread area where only a few bees may be found together, if at all.
That said, I am not an entomologist nor a bee expert, and my theory is simply one among many. We’ve just seen all too often what happens when man tries to change the natural order of things. While we have enjoyed success in interbreeding plant species, dogs, cats, etc., when we start fooling with genetics, we don’t do so well with live animals.
For instance, Dolly the sheep was widely publicized as being a great cloning success. What you haven’t heard about were the horror stories of when other sheep and mammals have been cloned. They are often born with horrendous birth defects and tend to live far shorter lives.
In your case, you’re fortunate to have other bees pollinating your crops. My suggestion to the Agriculture Department would be, don’t mess with Mother Nature. You might not like the result. If my theory about the bees is correct, the Africanized bees passed on some gene that weakened domestic bees, and the experiment to get Africanized bees to chill out was a massive failure. Colony Collapse Disorder could be the result.
Comment by stephen hellum on 18 January 2010:
update for 2009. I did not bring in any hives this year but the fruit trees were humming. the blue berries set a good crop. and the tilled plants did well. black berries had the poorest crop in years although the plants looked good. A very small bee seemed to take over. it was yellow with black striping and smaller than a house fly. Any new news?
Comment by Cliff Calderwood on 18 January 2010:
Thanks for update Stephen – I’ll check in with our resident Bee watcher – Jim Hyde – to see if he has any updates.
Cliff
Comment by C. Weitmann on 22 April 2010:
I have noticed bumblebees going into a honeybee hive both last year and this. If bumblebees are afflicted by CCD then perhaps they are the vector. If so a simple entrance screen of 3/8 in square hardware cloth would solve the problem.
Comment by James H. Hyde on 23 April 2010:
Hi Stephen, please forgive the tardiness of a reply. I’m sorry to hear you didn’t bring in any hives, but it’s not surprising. It’s hard to know if the smaller species is now playing the role honeybees once did. Nature has a way of restoring balance by whatever means. Plants can be pollinated by anything from other insects to birds, so it’s possible this smaller bee now ventures where it did not before and may be doing the job outsourced to it by mysteriously absent honeybees.
I’m familiar with the species you mention. It’s about half the size of a yellow jacket, which is a member of the wasp family, and it seems to work more quickly. It’s possible that given the size of honeybees, this smaller species was driven off, but now has the crops to itself and is doing the job, at least for the time being.
Comment by James H. Hyde on 23 April 2010:
Hi C. Weitmann. It’s good to hear from someone versed in the lexicon of virology and pathogens. For those not familiar with a “vector” it is an animal (most often an insect, such as a mosquito) that carries the disease but is not affected by it. The most famous human vector was Typhoid Mary, who had typhoid fever and infected a great many people but never suffered the symptoms of the pathogen herself.
In this context, what you are saying is that bumblebees may be carrying whatever is causing colony collapse disorder, but is immune to the symptoms.
It’s an interesting pathological concept and would make the bumblebee a good suspect as a vector, however scientists have noticed a decline in bumblebee populations, as well, and some have been observed bumblebess suffering the same symptoms. Because bumblebees aren’t hived, it’s difficult to get hard data on numbers. If you’ve seen them going into hives it’s entirely possible that they become affected by the same pathogens or parasites that are causing colony collapse disorder. Nonetheless, you question is one that provokes thought.
One type of pathogen that is now decimating the world’s frog populations is a fungus. Scientists are very alarmed about it because it has caused a steep decline in frogs almost globally.
No one knows where it comes from or how it travels from place to place, but when it reaches frogs, it’s effects are devastating. Frogs get water and oxygen through their skin. This fungus breaks down the permeable layer that allows this to take place and the frog succumbs.
Because frogs play a critical role in our econsystems and because very recent medical advances have been derived from frogs’ skin, the scientific community is extremely concerned. The population of Yellow Leg frogs in Yosemite National Park, for example, a place where they used to be abundant in huge numbers, has all but disappeared.
While that’s disturbing, there’s a fungus affecting humans that’s creeping into the U.S. and Canada. According to The Public Library of Science Pathogens (http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1000850) “The highest incidence for this disease is on Vancouver Island, Canada, where an outbreak is expanding into neighboring regions including mainland British Columbia and the United States. This outbreak is caused predominantly by C. gattii molecular type VGII, specifically VGIIa/major. In addition, a novel genotype, VGIIc, has emerged in Oregon and is now a major source of illness in the region.”
IMPORTANT: So far, doctors and epidemiologists believe that most people who inhale this fungus remain unsymptomatic.
Symptoms usually manifest anywhere between two to several months after exposure, and include coughing that lasts for weeks, chest pain (sometimes severe), shortness of breath, weight loss, nighttime sweats, headache and fever.
Of those who do show symptoms, one out of four do succumb to the fungus, but, again, I want to emphasize that there is no need for panic. Right now it is predominantly in Western Canada and Oregon.
MSNBC is reporting it’s in Oregon now, but the first case here in the U.S. occurred in 2007 in North Carolina in a HIV-free male who had traveled to Australia. It’s believed the fungus is abundant in certain species of trees there.
According to MSNBC, “The new strain known as VGIIc of the fungus Cryptococcus gattii not only targets humans but has also proven capable of infecting dogs, cats, alpacas, sheep and elk. Other strains have even infected porpoises.
“Although it can spread to mammals, it does not jump from animal to animal. Instead, people and other animals get it from inhaling spores released by samples of the fungus that infect trees.”
Doctors normally see this in transplant patients and patients suffering from HIV. So it had primarily affected those with suppressed immune systems. However, it is now affecting otherwise healthy people.
Doctors and epidemiologists stress that there’s no need for panic. If you develop symptoms, print out this page and take it to your doctor. So far most people who have inhaled this fungus remain symptom free. It is not by any means a pandemic killer, and right now it’s in Canada and Oregon.
Comment by kevin on 3 May 2010:
Hello, Last year we had lots of bees in the spring but have only seen a few this year. I’m just wondering if there are beekeepers in the area that bring their bees to gardens to pollinate. Are there any in Middlesex County?
Kevin Collins
Comment by James H. Hyde on 7 May 2010:
Hi Kevin,
I just Googled it for you. Go to the link below and you will find a map with the locations of beekeepers (some are pest control, so read the names carefully) and you should find one there. I don’t know if they will bring a hive to you or how much it might cost. It depends to some extent on how big a crop you have. If it’s for a flower bed, the cost probably isn’t worth renting a hive. Because of the scarcity of these bees, prices have gone up.
Try this link (I’d copy and paste it into your browser) and I wish you luck!
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS259&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Beekeepers+in+Middlesex,+MA&fb=1&gl=us&hq=Beekeepers&hnear=Middlesex,+MA&view=text&ei=eJLkS5_rMcT68AbPwryNDA&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=more-results&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQtQMwAA
Comment by Sam Salter on 17 June 2010:
I put my bee hive in a garage like shelter in the winter time for the bees to be warm and I provide a lot of sugar for them.
As a beekeeper you should be observing hives every 7 to 8 days generally making it the ideal time on the weekend to pass time. Hives don’t need a lot of maintaining just an hour a day between the peak seasons around May to September.
All the best!
Sam Salter
Comment by Helen @ Beekeeper on 19 July 2010:
Unfortunately, this year so far has been one of the most disapointing in terms of beekeeping. It seemed to be getting better last year, but for some reason they’ve all vanished again.
Me and other local beekeepers around my town have set up multiple bee hives and to be fair, some are doing ok. Hopefully we will see more of the little fellas in the upcoming months.
And thanks for the post, it was a great read.
Comment by James H. Hyde on 22 July 2010:
Hi, Helen,
I’m saddened to hear of your unpleasant encounter with this mysterious disorder. I can only imagine your disappointment and expectation of happier gardens this year.
When I wrote the original piece on CCD, I wrote, “It’s fodder for the likes of an M. Night Shyamalan movie, but there’s no hint of Hollywood here. It’s very real.” His movie “Happenings” came out not long after I wrote that and opens with Colony Collapse Disorder. No royalty checks yet, but one can hope.
Thanks for your kind words about the original post. Flattery will get you results. I have just checked the latest updates on CCD for you at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572
Unfortunately, although some progress is being made through the process of elimination, no one has identified the culprit or conspirators.
From the site refernced above, I found this:
“Are there any theories about what may be causing CCD?
“Case studies and questionnaires related to management practices and environmental factors have identified a few common factors shared by those beekeepers experiencing CCD, but no common environmental agents or chemicals stand out as causative. There are three major possibilities that are being looked into by researchers.
“Pesticides may be having unexpected negative effects on honey bees.
“A new parasite or pathogen may be attacking honey bees. One possible candidate being looked at is a pathogenic gut microbe called Nosema. Viruses are also suspected.
“A perfect storm of existing stresses may have unexpectedly weakened colonies leading to collapse. Stress, in general, compromises the immune system of bees (and other social insects) and may disrupt their social system, making colonies more susceptible to disease.
“These stresses could include high levels of infection by the varroa mite (a parasite that feeds on bee blood and transmits bee viruses); poor nutrition due to apiary overcrowding, pollination of crops with low nutritional value, or pollen or nectar scarcity; and exposure to limited or contaminated water supplies. Migratory stress brought about by increased needs for pollination might also be a contributing factor.”
Translation, they really just don’t know what is causing this.
Interestingly, this site made reference to this having happened before. During the 1880s, 1920s and 1960s we’ve had similar colony collapses without identification of a cause. In addition, 2000 colonies were lost in Utah in 1903 after “a hard winter and cold spring.”
“In 1995-96, Pennsylvania beekeepers lost 53 percent of their colonies without a specific identifiable cause.”
That this has happened before and the bees have come back gives one some hope for the future. Unfortunately, a new problem is affecting ecosystems on an unimaginable scale. We know what the culprit is, but have no way of stopping it.
I get ProMed, a Harvard University newsletter covering emerging diseases, and the one I got yesterday left me shuddering.
The chytrid (pronounced CHIT-rid) fungus has been decimating frog species at an alarming clip and the potential impact on the ecosystems where those species existed are endangered.
If you’ve held a frog you know it has a slimy skin. The fungus attacks that, destroying the frogs’ skin layers until the frogs succumb.
The fungus has spread so rapidly, scientists have been unable to keep up with it and frog species are becoming extinct before they’ve even been identified as a frog species.
From the latest ProMed mailing with National Geographic as the source here: <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/07/100720-amphibians-lost-species-extinct-panama-science-environment/ ,
"A 'catastrophic' epidemic has made 30 amphibian
species locally extinct in a region of Panama —
including 5 species that were lost before they
were even formally identified, a new study says.
"The species are the latest victims of the deadly
chytrid fungus, which has caused major amphibian
declines in Central and South America as well as
in Australia since the late 1980s. The fungus
infects an amphibian's skin, sloughing off the
skin's layers, and causing lethargy, weight loss,
and eventual death."
But here's the kicker from the same source: "A post-epidemic survey conducted between 2006 and 2008 showed that 25 of the 63 species had been lost. 5 of the missing species were among the 11
that were new to science."
The story, written by Christine Dell'Amore concludes: "The amphibian die-off findings appear this week [week of 19 Jul 2010] in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
For bees, there may be hope given that this is not a new phenomenon. For frogs, however, things are gim indeed. If you see frogs that look week, frail or appear to be losing weight, you should contact your state Agriculture Department immediately. No one knows where the chytrid fungus may next appear, but it could be in a pond or stream near you.