Status of Colony
Collapse Disorder
Carl Schroedl
Bees
Cons
Annoying Buzz
Pros
Succulent Honey
and Wax
Painful Sting
Essential
Pollination
Cons
Pros
Pollination
•Bee pollination is responsible for $15
billion in added crop value
Number of hives needed per acre
(4,000 m²) of crop pollination
Apples: 1–2
Blueberries: 4
Cantaloupe: 2–4
Cucumber 1–2
Squash: 1
Watermelon: 1–3
CCD
•History: CCD-like occurrences have been recorded
erratically since the 1800’s. The bee population
sustained by beekeepers has halved from 1945 to
2007 and natural populations dwindle.
•Symptoms: disappearance or a sharp decrease in
the number of adult honey bees present but with a
live queen and no dead honey bees in the hive.
Potential Causes of CCD
•Pesticides?
•Overcrowded Apiaries?
•Migratory Stress?
•Genetically Modified Crops?
•Varroa destructor / Israel acute paralysis virus ?
Not a Cause of CCD !
•Cellular or Cordless Phones
Now
•Losses due to CCD have so far failed to cause an
agricultural crisis
•Costs have risen for beekeepers and farmers
•The genome of the Western Honey Bee has been
recently mapped
•Research by US Dept. of Agriculture, U of M’s Bee
Lab
What you can do
•Bee aware
!
•Discourage excessive pesticide application
•Plant good nectar sources: red clover, foxglove, bee
balm, and joe-pye weed
•Contact (state) legislators, support CCD research