Up to 40% of U.S. Bee Colonies
Decimated By Mysterious Ailment
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A mysterious disease is killing off U.S. honeybees, threatening to disrupt pollination of a range
of crops and costing beekeepers hundreds of thousands of
dollars, industry experts reported last month.
Beekeepers in 22 states have reported losses of up to 80% of their colonies in recent weeks, leaving many
unable to rent the bees to farmers of crops such as almonds
and, later in the year, apples and blueberries.
"It's unusual in terms of the widespread distribution and
severity," said Jerry Bromenshenk, a professor at the
University of Montana at Missoula and chief executive of Bee
Alert Technology, a company monitoring the problem.
Researchers from state and federal agricultural agencies have
been frustrated in their search for a cause because affected
hives are often empty except for the queen and a few bees.
The number of bees in a hive typically diminishes over a
period of days to the point where there are very few or none
left, Hackenberg said. There is no indication of where the
bees have gone or what drove them away, he said.
"The rate of loss is startling," said Jeff Pettis, a bee
researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in
Beltsville, Maryland.
Pettis said the bees may have been killed off by a
combination of factors including parasitic mites and a lack
of nectar in pollen. Scientists are also looking into whether
there is a link with significant recent bee losses in some
European countries, particularly Spain.
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