U.S. researchers have found a virus common to hives that suffer colony collapse disorder.
Mysterious bee deaths have been increasing over the past five years and last year were blamed for 7.5 percent of American overwintering losses. Some Canadian bee operators and honey producers have also experienced unexplained bee disappearances in the past two years.
Israeli acute paralysis virus was found to be a shared problem in many of the hives that researchers surveyed over three years. They examined the microflora of CCD-affected hives, healthy hives and imported royal jelly that is used to provide feed for hives.
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John Gilbeau of the British Columbia Honey Producers Association said putting a name to the problem is important but the cure is still the same: “Healthy bees. Proper colony management.”
Don Coxe of BMO Financial Group in Chicago said a disease or production failure in the bee industry could devastate world food supplies and agricultural industries because bees pollinate more than $18 billion worth of annual crop production in North America.
“We appear to have gotten through this year with the losses, but it causes us all to look at the role of bees in our world and evaluate decisions made that both cause the bees to fail and to cuts to research programs that provide us insight into the creatures,” he said.
Gilbeau said poor handling practices in the American industry may be one problem, but feels the most likely culprit is the overtreatment of colonies for diseases they don’t have, which results in poor natural selection in bee populations.
“Israeli acute paralysis is there and likely here, but we have to ask ourselves why it is causing losses,” he said.
“It’s likely a combination of factors that is resulting in the problem.”
Researchers have found the virus in bee packages imported into the United States from Australia, which also happens in Canada.
Jeffery Pettis of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bee Research Centre in Beltsville, Maryland, said the virus is a significant cause of CCD, which results in bees abandoning or failing to return to their hives.
“Poor nutrition, pesticides in the environment and varroa mites and other viruses. Bee stress too. It’s likely a combination of things contributing to the disorder.”
Gilbeau said all producers suffer losses but those who rely on best production practices haven’t generally experienced the problem.
