Dejections

Honey bees account for the pollination of about 1/3 of the crops in the United States. The state of California alone uses approximately 1.3 million bee colonies for their almond crop. Honey bees contribute about $15 billion in added crop value for specialty crops like berries, nuts, fruits and vegetables. However, towards the end of 2006, beekeepers began losing about 30 to 90% of their hives. Honey bees would fly away and never go back to their colonies leaving behind their queen and some immature or young bees. Researchers came up with the term Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, to identify these puzzling developments.

Although there have been no definite conclusions about the causes of CCD, there are several identified key factors that lead to it. Aside from viruses, parasites, fungus, and stress; researchers are also looking at environmental factors like pesticides and exposure to contaminated water supplies. Pesticides can form toxic levels of poison that may be harmful to these bees. Climate change has also been cited as a possible factor.

CCD is an issue that raises cautions because continuous loss of bees can mean a shortage of food sources. Honey bees are excellent and prolific pollinators. Natural and human pollination can be done on various crops, but the result would not be as good as that of those pollinated by the bees.

For now, the best thing to do would be to find ways to lessen the effects of CCD factors. Pesticides used should be minimized especially at midday when bees are busy foraging for nectar. Efforts directed towards the problem of global warming can also be a big help. Planting excellent nectar sources will also help alleviate CCD.

Until researches find the underlying cause/s of this phenomenon, we can only do so much.