The Decline of our Bees

Colony Collapse Disorder

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man” Albert Einstein

The Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the name used for the rapid declination of honey bees all across the world. ‘The issue was first raised in October 2006 where beekeepers in the United states recorded losses somewhere between 30-90% of their hives’. There is no known reason for why the CCD has occurred. Major contributing factors to the decrease of the Honey Bees have been broaden down into four main categories; pathogens, parasites, management stressors, environmental stressors.

-Pathogens: There is no specific pathogens that can be pointed out as the direct reason for CCD but there is a few major pathogens that account for a loss in honey bees. The pathogens are a mix of fungal, bacterial and viral diseases.

-Parasites: One of the main problems in the decline in honey bees and the infestation of bee hives is Varroa Mites the only organism responsible in the CCD.

-Management Stressors: The increase of honey bees in a certain area can bring on overcrowding of a bee hive and the migratory stress of bees being relocated to other bee hives.

-Environmental Stressors: The stress that environmental factors have on bees also can be correlated to the CCD. One of the major issues is pesticides used for protecting agricultural environment that require pollination resulting in large numbers of bees dying. Also the lack of pollen diversity and lack of pollen create environmental stress. Contaminated water also another reason for the decline in bees.

Figure 1: The decline of bee colonies since the last 1930’s

Source:  http://www.digitalbees.info/sources/J%20Ellis%202010.pdf

Here we can see a healthy bee population in figure 1, but as the years go on polloution, disease and the unknown cause of the colony collapse disorder, shows the rapid decline in colonies over time.