Research Key in Unraveling Mystery of Disappearing Bees

It is amazing how fast a huge government bureaucracy can respond when it wants to. Indeed, in a space of two short weeks, the United State government just recently proposed, composed, and passed a financial services bailout bill. The bill provides 750 billion dollars to bail out Wall Street.

Of course, the government had to react quickly because a lack of regulation and government oversight allowed a problem to escalate for many years into a financial crisis. I thought of the bailout bill and I wondered about the government's response to the current mystery of the disappearing honey bee, called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD.

CCD is unique since it leaves bee hives with a queen bee, a few newly-hatched adults, and plenty of food, while all of the worker bees responsible for crop pollination simply disappear. In response to this agricultural crisis, this year’s Farm Bill authorized several programs focused on pollinator-related issues. The Farm Bill included the development and protection of pollinator habitats in conservation programs.

In addition, the Bill identified pollinator protection as high priority research and covered bees and honey production in agriculture disaster assistance programs. It also required the USDA to report annually on the progress made in addressing colony losses.

Indeed, the problem of CCD continues to escalate. A few months ago, a panel of experts told a House Agriculture subcommittee that the U.S commercial honey bee industry lost a record 36 percent of its colonies in 2008. In 2007, the industry lost 31% of its colonies due to the mysterious illness that threatens the future of beekeeping and the health of a variety of important crops.

Almonds bloom in California in February each calendar year. Several months before the first bloom, beekeepers move their bees to California to feed and prepare for almond pollination. In the last two years, as early as December, the problem of Colony Collapse Disorder in California has begun to appear. Soon, we will see if Colony Collapse Disorder continues to be a problem for American agriculture next year.

The American honey bee industry is valued at more than $15 billion, with over 90 different crops dependent on honey bee pollination to grow. So, much of this country’s diet, the affordability of basic food staples, and our national health is at risk.

Unfortunately, it is a risk that lacked a sense of government urgency in June in the Hearing To Investigate Progress On CCD, held by the Subcommittee on Horticulture And Organic Agriculture in Washington, D.C..

Consider the oral testimony of David Mendes, Vice President of the American Beekeeping Federation, from his appearance at that June meeting (as reported in the American Beekeeping Federation Newsletter). “I spoke to the need for more sampling inside our hives of pollen, bees, and honey to identify what pathogens our bees are exposed to.”

Mendes continued: “ I shared my experience of collecting samples from my hives as part of a project organized by Penn State and the CCD Working Group. I specifically voiced my frustration that the efforts put into collecting samples (18 hives sampled 7 times from March 2007 to January 2008) have produced very little useful information because the majority of the samples still have not been analyzed in the lab. They sit in storage due to a lack of funding.”

The reason for CCD may be systemic pesticides or simply a bee virus, but a cause still remains unclear. The key to solving the mystery of the disappearing honey bee is money. Government funding is necessary to provide the research to determine the cause of CCD before beekeepers are ruined and flowering crops in need of pollination just disappear.

Certainly, Colony Collapse Disorder is a crisis that, if left unresolved, will eventually require a huge agricultural and beekeeper industry bailout by the United States Congress. However, unlike the recent Wall Street bailout that used taxpayer dollars, a compromise of our diet and health will add human suffering to the high monetary cost.