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Nash Krywka
Ms. Findley
Eng-1060
10/8/2014
Humans’ Role in Destroying Honey Bees
America’s honey bee population alone creates roughly $15 billion in crop value per year,
and 30% of the food that is consumed has direct ties to pollination from honey bees (Voeller and
Nieh para. 5). In the last 70 years, the number of honey bee colonies kept by humans has
dropped from 5 million, down to 2.5 million (Grossman pg.1). Between the years 2006 and 2011
there was an annual loss of 33%, with at least one third of these due to Colony Collapse Disorder
or CCD. Colony Collapse Disorder is the surging number of disappearances of worker bees in
European honey bee colonies. The USDA states in Honey Bees and Colony Collapse Disorder
that CCD leaves behind such evidence as the lone presence of the queen and the desertion of
food and the capped brood which makes instances of CCD uniquely dismaying. If a hive dies
without a queen, or by lack of food, other disorders can be blamed like the infestation of tracheal
mites, Varroa mites, or starvation due to poor hive conditions. The vanishing act most often
occurs in the early spring by the bees, which has given the collapse the nicknames May Disease
and Spring Dwindling. Vast amounts of evidence points to humans being the leading cause of
this disorder. The use of chemicals in bee colonies or in surrounding areas later found in wax of
the bees, poor hive management and bee keeping practices, and the lack of genetic diversity
caused by a small gene pool used to breed bees can prove that humans are pushing colonies to
the edge, making them weaker and more susceptible to the unidentified virus leading to this
collapse.
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One common speculation about the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder is that there is an
unknown virus circulating from hive to hive. This could be true, as a weakened hive would be
more at risk for collapse. However, there are conspiracies that point towards the inability to
identify a cause to colony collapse disorder. These are easily disregarded though, as everything
has a reason, and science is capable of solving this problem through data analysis. The most
common, and also highly preposterous statement made about CCD is that humans are not
impacting the honey bee’s risk of CCD or creating the overall cause. This statement is put out by
corporations such as Bayer, who lead the market in the production of pesticides. Bayer has gone
as far to say that in studies testing the relation between pesticides made by Bayer being used on
bee colonies that the levels of pesticides used on the hives were “extremely high.” Those similar
to Bayer desire their corporation’s success more than the wellbeing of the honey bee population,
which directly impacts human’s wellbeing as well. Evidence shows the reason to believe humans
cause or impact CCD, and these statements made by pesticide producers should be thrown away,
while the corporations should be reprimanded. Human’s impact on the bees can be proven via
data showing the common human mistakes increasing the risk of CCD such as chemical use,
poor hive management from handlers, and lack of genetic diversity caused by breeders.
The use of unnecessary pesticides on vegetation in our farmlands has major evidence
pointing to the increased risk for an unhealthy colony. If not total CCD or death of the population
due to other disorders, these impacted colonies often have less protein found in their food leading
to an unhealthy hive. Pathogens such as Nosema Apis and pesticide levels from the commonly
used miticides found in wax from CCD infected hives have skyrocketed, pointing to the
introduction of these chemicals from an external source. The use of Neonicotinoids on plants and
the use of miticides by keepers in their hive to disperse and kill unwanted mites have unhealthy
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correlations to a hive’s health, and point to these high pathogen levels determined by wax protein
studies. (Colony Collapse Disorder: A Descriptive Study paragraph 10)
Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides similar to nicotine. These insecticides were
designed in the 1980s and 90s by companies like Bayer CropScience, Shell, and Syngenta. The
EFSA states in paragraph 7 in their press release "EFSA Identifies Risks to Bees from
Neonicotinoids" that Neonicotinoids show less toxicity levels in mammals and birds, eliminating
the risk of thinned eggshells of birds and the sickening of mammals that ingest the insecticide.
However, bird populations have later been compromised by the drop in insect population caused
directly by neonicotinoids like imidacloprid, the leading neonicotinoid worldwide. Colony
Collapse Disorder Progress Report states that while Neonicotinoids were intended to have
lower toxicity levels for unintended insects, this has proven to be wrong as there is a heavily
suggested toxicity level to honey bees and some other beneficial pollinators who come in contact
with the chemical (22). It is well known now that the chemicals thiamethoxam and clothianidin
induce tremors in bees, convulsions, and lack of coordination when moving. The two chemicals
also show presence in dead bees during a 2012 study done by the European Food Safety
Authority or EFSA. Since then, this chemical use has been banned on vegetation that bees collect
from. This, however, does not prove to be affective because of situations like corn. While bees
do not pollinate corn, they often inspect the corn for pollen, which contaminates the bee. As the
EFSA stated in a Press release, “The only risk assessment that could be completed was for maize
treated with thiamethoxam. In this case, field studies show an acute effect on honey bees
exposed to the substance through guttation fluid”(EFSA paragraph 2). This impact on the honey
bee itself is a major reason that neonicotinoids should be limited in usage, along with their effect
on other insect populations, and birds. While these do not have a direct connection to CCD in
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honey bees, any factor impairing the bees causes stress and degradation of protein levels in the
food supplies of the bees. Paragraph 10 in Colony Collapse Disorder: A Descriptive Study that
“… whole-bee protein levels can serve as an indirect measure of developmental stress.” When
food supplies become scarce enough that the bees can no longer feed themselves, they could
possibly leave. Any stressor to the honey bee should be stopped in hopes of creating healthier
hives and lowering the risk of CCD.
Miticides which are a form of spray pesticide focused towards Varroa mites have been
used by bee keepers since the 1980s and are intended to help with the removal of small mites
known as Varroa mites. These mites infect the trachea of bees and weaken them, sometimes
spreading viruses such as the Deformed Wing Virus which leads to the bees having crippled
wings. Miticides such as Acaricide are often reported to have been used by keepers in a colony
when CCD has been reported, but not always. This means no single miticide can be blamed for
the rise of CCD, but can potentially weaken a bee’s system and entire hives increasing their risk
for CCD. Hives that have Varroa mites, which is common in the 21st century, can be treated in a
number of ways. A simple solution having little to no negative side effects on the bees is coating
the hive in powdered sugar, and the installation of a mite screen. When the bees in a hive are
coated lightly in powdered sugar, the mites lose the ability to cling to the bees, and fall to the
bottom of the hive. If a mite screen is installed, the mites cannot enter back into the hive and die,
leaving the bees to clean the powdered sugar off, which is no problem for a creature that solely
consumes sugar. Another treatment being worked on for the removal of Varroa mites is the use
of food additives to fight off mites. It is said in Honey Bees and Colony Collapse Disorder that
“ARS determined that the food additive 2-heptanone and beta plant acids can be highly effective
in controlling Varroa mite populations in bee colonies.” The completion of this technique could
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bring another effective and quick treatment for the removal of Varroa mites. Both the infestation
of mites and improper treatment can be tied to CCD, like stated in ‘Colony Collapse Disorder: a
descriptive study’: “Since the late 1980s, U.S. beekeepers have been using miticides within their
beehives to control parasitic mites (primarily Varroa mites). A diverse range of pesticides, both
grower- and beekeeper-applied, have been detected in hive matrices, and these products are
known to adversely affect colony health” (Mullin paragraph 12). This evidence helps show that
the introduction of outside contaminants can be harmful enough to the bees to push them into
CCD. While it is not a direct correlation, any destructor of bee health can be a factor in the cause
of CCD.
Both neonicotinoids and miticides, as shown above, unintentionally weaken hives,
leading to lowered food production and health of bees. Any small changes like this in the hive
can be a factor that increases the risk of CCD as shown by the abundance of external chemicals
found in hives that have fallen due to CCD. Humans are the only contributor to the amount of
these chemicals found in hives, and have the ability to use different methods of pest control.
Poor hive management possibly weakening the bee’s immune systems is another factor to
blame in the overwhelming uprising of CCD. The management of a hive can push bees to
produce, or hinder their production of brood and food supplies. One of the examples of poor hive
management often seen in today’s commercial bee hives is the unnecessary movement and
disturbance of beehives. The other is the malnutrition of hives caused by keepers.
The poor bee keeping practice becoming popular in the far eastern and western United
States is the transportation of bee colonies to pollinate different farms. This has become a
business where farmers need pollinators for their production of fruits, vegetables, or nuts, and
have to rely on renting bees from a supplier. The bees then stay at the farm during pollination
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time, and continue north to the next farm as the season goes on. There are already direct
correlations between hive transportation and the increased risk of brood mortality in the hive. An
increase in brood mortality leads to higher necessary output of larvae by the queen, which leads
to a more stressed queen. Bees have stress the same way humans do, and as the queen becomes
more stressed, so do workers, putting more load on everyone in the hive. It is stated in Colony
Collapse Disorder Progress Report that “ARS researchers and the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture provided the first documented evidence that transportation stresses honey bee
colonies. During colony transport from California to Florida, brood nest temperatures dropped 23°C and brood losses of migratory colonies were ten times greater than for colonies remaining in
California”(24). This is an immense amount of harm caused to a colony as a whole, and while it
does not point directly to Colony collapse in a hive, it certainly raises the likelihood by
weakening their immune systems via stress. While bees are in this transportation, they are often
given supplemental food to help them survive. This food comes in multiple ways, two of them
being high fructose corn syrup or HFCS and supplementary proteins. The proteins have been
found to increase the overall strength of the hive and help them defend against Varroa mites. Bee
owners still choose to use HFCS on bees because it is an easy and cheap food source. However,
the feeding of high fructose corn syrup, especially when improperly stored, can harm the bees
immensely. When HFCS is stored improperly in trucks, the sugar can heat up and break down
into an organic chemical Hydroxymethylfurfural, which has a direct link between feeding and a
drop in bee health (Flynn). These additions to stress that bees already deal with obviously
impacts the colonies negatively and show that the buildup of external stressors and insecticides
lowers their immune system leading to a form of immunodeficiency. This deficiency is the most
likely cause of CCD in the cases seen so far as the hives observed moving across the states are
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losing brood magnitudes faster than other hives. While not all of these hives are getting CCD,
this could be because they are not yet infected with a virus that causes CCD in weakened hives.
The chance of a strong, healthy hive getting CCD is nothing compared to these hives losing four
times as much brood as a healthy hive.
Malnutrition of a hive is another large factor that humans overlook when taking care of
their hives. As seen in the transportation of a hive, nutrition of the bees is directly related to their
stress levels and an increase in hunger and lack of nutrition would lead to stressed bees. Hives
are trucked all over America, and before a hive is moved from one farm to the next, the honey is
extracted from the hive slides by the owners for the market. The owners of these hives care a lot
about turning a profit, which means taking as much honey as possible, leaving the bees with little
food. If the bee’s run out of honey stored in the hive, they will be fed HFCS which does not
contain the necessary proteins for the bees, leading to malnourishment and an increase in stress
in the bees.
The final solidly researched human impact on honey bees is the absolute lack of genetic
diversity in honey bees caused by breeding of what is considered to be a desired bee. A lack of
genetic diversity in honey bees can cause a lack of immunity to different viruses and pathogens,
and a lack of diversity that leads to the inability to fight off pests that destroy a hive.
Different honey bee colonies across the world have bees with different moods, hive
patterns, and most importantly resistances to pathogens and pesticides. These different hives
react differently when presented a hindrance. Hives can react poorly, while some react
exceptionally better, ARS researchers state that “Colonies from certain geographic locations
showed greater genetic immunity to pathogens than others” (Honey Bees and Colony Collapse
Disorder pg. 16) which means that introducing this gene into the population keepers use would
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help the bees and lead to fewer pathogens and less stress. If this gene that promotes better
resistance was introduced, the amount of stress in hives could drop, while if the gene is not
incorporated into hives it will be wasted. The limited genetic diversity in hives in the world is
caused directly by breeders using the same strain of bee because it is what is believed to be best.
While this strain of bee may be docile and produce copious amounts of honey, resistance to
foreign hindrances is impaired. The introduction of higher strength immunity bees into the
breeding cycle would lower the amount of stress in a bee colony, which would then lead to a
lower risk of CCD in the colonies. A lower amount of viruses in a hive would be beneficial, and
since ARS Researchers state that “Researchers found that the greatest predictor of CCD was the
total virus load on a given colony” (Honey Bees and Colony Collapse Disorder pg.16) this would
possibly make the CCD rate plummet.