Nearly one-third of all honeybee colonies have collapsed over the last couple of years, hence the phenomenon's name, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The issue involves more than just honey. As crop pollinators, honeybees provide a $15 billion value to U.S. farmers. According to Time, a new study shows that the guts of CCD-afflicted bees contain unusual fragments of ribosomal RNA. But good news: the disorder may be on a decline....
Continue reading »
Scientists trying to crack the Colony Collapse Syndrome (CCD) mystery that's killed millions of beehives worldwide, may be onto something, according to Scientific American: The growing consensus among researchers is that multiple factors such as poor nutrition and exposure to pesticides can interact to weaken colonies and make them susceptible to a virus-mediated collapse. In the case of our experiments in greenhouses, the stress of being confined to a relatively small space could have been enough to make colonies succumb to IAPV and die with CCD-like symptoms. More recent results from long-term monitoring have identified other unexpected factors for increased colony loss, including the fungicide chlorothalonil. Research is now focused on understanding how these factors relate to colony collapse....
Continue reading »
The first-ever Serious Eats-produced documentary about Colony Collapse Disorder.
Continue reading »
