ARE WE KILLING OUR BEES

DLAINA BLOXHAM
APRIL 7, 2017
Introduction
If bees were to disappear from the Earth, humankind would only survive for three or
four years. This is accredited to being said by Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, or Maurice
Maeterlinck. Whether it was one of these great scientists or a random person in a science journal,
it may not be far from the mark.
Early in 2017 the rusty patched bumblebee was put on the endangered species list. It is
the first time that a bumblebee has been granted federal protection (Gorman). What does this
mean to us? What happens if bumblebees and honeybees become extinct? Bees have the
responsibility of pollinating over one third of our farmed food. But do we really need that? Could
we survive without the service that bees are providing for us? And what is the cause of this
decline of bee population? Are we essentially killing the bees with our habits and pesticides or is
it another source that is killing them? This paper will discuss the major problems for the
honeybee and possible reasons they are dying in such large numbers.

Problem
Honey is only a small portion of what we get from bees. Honeybees and bumblebees are
responsible for pollinating crops that produce food around the world. Of the 100 crops that
account for 90 percent of the food eaten around the globe, 71 rely on bee pollination, according
to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (Strom). In 2012 the almond crops
suffered enormously due to the alarming rate that bees are disappearing. This possible extinction
is very concerning because of what this could mean to the crops that we use and needthere
would be no almond crop not to mention avocados, apples, cherries and alfalfa without
honeybees (Strom). The crops just listed are a small sampling of the 71 plants that would also
go extinct from disrupting the cycle of nature.
In the past fifty years the population of the honeybee has dropped fifty percent. Even
though it has been a long decline in that population it has only been within the last two decades
that farmers have started noticing this decline having a serious impact on the numbers in their
bee colonies (Rich). It was a little over ten years ago that Dave Hackenberg, a beekeeper, noticed
that his hives were losing bees by the thousands. He says he moved his bees from Pennsylvania
to Florida where he farmed them out to pollinate the crops there. After a month of being there he
went to check on his bees where he found that of the 3000 hives he had over half were
completely devoid of bees and the main worker bees were not healthy (Cox-Foster). This made
him investigate more closely the reason behind the disappearances. At first it was thought that it
might be the varroa mite, a mite that attaches to the bee and poisons its blood and spreads
viruses. One problem with that was there were no dead bodies, bees would fly away from the
hive and never return. As Hackenberg researched further to find the cause he discovered he was
not the only one experiencing mass exodus of bees and it wasnt isolated to a certain region of
the country. A fourth of American beekeepers had suffered similar lossesmore that 30 percent
of all colonies had died (Cox-Foster). More research has uncovered that it is not just America
that is experiencing this catastrophe; alarming results have come in from every habited continent,
this decline is noted, this experience it has been discovered among commercial and residential
and both stationary and migratory hives (Cox-Foster).
Autopsies of the bees found it was not the work of the varroa mite, instead new
discoveries were found, and the colonies seemed to have different diseases such as scar tissue in
the internal organs. Initial tests also detected some of the usual suspects in bee disease. In the gut
contents we found spores of nose-ma, single-celled fungal parasites that can
cause bee dysentery... (they) also revealed surprising levels of viral infections of various
known types.(.)In other words, the bees were all sick, but no single pathogen found in the
insects could explain the scale of the disappearance(s), each colony seemed to suffer from a
different combination of diseases (Cox-Foster). The hypothesis was that something was
attacking their immune system and causing infection and disease that healthy colonies would
normally fend off (Cox-Foster). This led, in December 2006, to the diagnosis of the epidemic
called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD (Rich).

Causes
Darren Cox, a beekeeper from Logan UT, is also one that has been affected. Our bees
are manifesting a bunch of different symptoms, Cox says, Bees are dying, but what people are
missing is that bees are also weakening (Volk). CCD was diagnosed over ten years ago yet the
cause is still fully unexplained. There are several hypothesis that are being studied, for example,
one theory that was quickly quashed, was that the rise of cell phone usage and towers affecting
the navigation of the bees. Another is genetically modified foods may be altering pollen and
changing their diet by introducing problematic new genetic plant material, and although this may
have something to do with this phenomenon it is only part of the problem (Rich).
Removing the honeybees diet is another issue that is contributing to CCD. We try to
eliminate plants that we consider weeds, dandelions, clover, and thistle, just to name a few, and
in doing so alter the honeybees food intake. As these weeds are killed with herbicides they adapt
to the chemical being used and the plant alters its biology to survive which makes it hard for bees
to digest as the herbicides build up toxins harmful to pollinators and unfortunately those
chemicals are taking a toll on the honeybees that look for food in those plants (Volk).
This brings up a more substantial hypothesis that may be agricultural chemicals,
including pesticides, fungicides and insect growth regulators.... are the main cause of the bee
decline. Much of the controversy, and concern, has centered around a particular class of
neonicotinoid pesticides, which yield billions in revenue for chemical-makers (Volk).
Neonicotinoid pesticides act similar to nicotine, according to previous research causes bees to
become disoriented and cannot find their way back to their hive (Cox-Foster). Research done by
Dennis vanEngelsdorp and his colleagues tested the effect of neonicotinoids, which are used on
corn, cotton, soybeans and many additional crops, they felt they had the answer to what was
causing CCD. A paper confirming the side effects was published in France, where
neonicotinoids have now been virtually banned. Beekeepers in America were excited that
something was going to fix this issue, yet nothing happened (Volk). Much to the dismay of
beekeepers, nothing has been done to eliminate neonicotinoids. Bret Adee, a commercial
beekeeper in Bakersfield, California, is convinced that CCD is caused by pesticides, specifically
neonicotinoids, The more you study it, the more obvious it becomes: the relationship between
the pesticides that have been sprayed everywhere over the last 10 years and whats happening to
bees, (Strom).
The beekeepers and farmers have their suspicions but the Agriculture Department does
not confirm one specific problem, There is no smoking gun, Dr. Bartuska, acting under
secretary at the Agriculture Department said. We still are trying to tease out what combination
of factors really leads to beehive health declines (Strom). Hackenberg doesnt think anything
will be fixed until politics and those who pat them are removed from scenario, the problem of
declining bee health might actually be getting worse, largely because the factor of agricultural
chemicals lies at the nexus of science, finance and politics (Volk).
Conclusion
It has been over ten years since CCD was diagnosed and we are not really any closer to
figuring out or implementing a cure for our friends the honeybees, they are still dying at
alarming rates. Unfortunately this phenomenon is gaining speed. From April 2015 to April 2016
44 percent of the commercial bee population in the United States had died (Strom). Some would
argue that it is a conspiracy between politicians and huge food corporations that use the
chemicals on crops that are poisoning our bees. Whether it is or isnt, something needs to happen
before more than just the rusty patched bumblebee is on the endangered list. If something is not
done about the causes of CCD then these precious creatures will continue to die and endangered
will quickly become extinct which will be detrimental to all.
Works Cited
Cox-Foster, Diana and Dennis vanEngelsdorp.Saving the HONEYBEE. Scientific American,
vol. 300, no. 4, Apr 2009, pp. 40-47.
Gorman, Steve. U.S. Lists a Bumble Bee Species as Endangered for First Time. Scientific
American, Jan 2017.
Rich, Alex K. and David C Morley. Point: A Threat to the Honeybee Populations is a Threat to
World Food Productions. Points of View: Honey Bee Population, Jan.2017, p. 2.
Strom, Stephanie. A Bee Mogul. The New York Times, Feb 2017. p. BU1.

Volk, Steve. BUZZKILL. Discover, vol. 38, no.2, Mar. 2017, p. 30