- Honey Bee Decline
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Yikes! So What Are We Going to Do About This?!?
Scientists are making a concerted effort to identify causes and solutions to colony collapse disorder. The video above reports on a groundbreaking new medicine developed to combat Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus and this infographic gives a detailed, visual description on how the medicine works on a cellular level.
Varroa mites have also been identified as a contributing cause of CCD. These mites weaken bees' immune systems and leave them susceptible to other pathogens. Recently, scientists have developed the varroa mite equivalent of a sticky mouse trap. Using semiochemicals, the traps can lure varroa mites to a sticky doom.
This piece reports on a large, three-day gathering of beekeepers in North Carolina which concentrated on natural beekeeping practices. This emphasizes the control of bee diseases and and pests without the use of chemicals and pesticides.
Here, PBS suggests ways in which the ordinary citizen can help with the problem of disappearing bees. One way is to become a backyard (or urban) beekeeper as it could help reinvigorate a dying hobby and can strengthen the bee gene pool by adding a healthy population of local bees into the mix.
