As an unknown condition with no clear cause or solution, the mysterious die-off of honey bees has perplexed scientists for almost a full year.
And since last fall, the nation’s headlines have heralded the coming demise of the agriculture industry’s most important pollinators.
But as North Carolina researchers and honey bee specialists are finding out, the condition, known as Colony Collapse Disorder, has had little effect on the state’s beehives.
The disorder gives the appearance of complete abandonment of the hive. The capped brood remains alongside the food stores, and even the pests so apt to rob colonies of their honey and pollen noticeably delay their attack.
According to Don Hopkins, North Carolina’s chief apiary inspector, there have been no confirmed cases of CCD among the state’s beekeepers.
“We had some losses of course, particularly over the winter,” he said. “There was nothing that fit the new definition of CCD.”
Unfortunately for bees, there are plenty of ways to die aside from CCD.
There are the varroa mites, which parasitize baby bees and can lead to deformities and loss of hive production. There are also tracheal mites, which reproduce so quickly in bees’ breathing tubes that they suffocate the host.
And the list goes on.
Even despite CCD, first reported in the fall of 2006, there was about a 30- to 40-percent die-off of hives in the United States this year, according to assistant professor of entomology Dave Tarpy.
Tarpy, who is also an extension apiculturist for the state, said the numbers are typical of the decade, which has fluctuated between 20- and 50-percent die-off rate.
“It’s not an unusual year for die-offs,” Tarpy said.
He also pointed out that only about one-fourth of this year’s die-offs nationwide were from CCD.
According to Hopkins, the lack of cases in North Carolina has led to a different problem among those in the state new to beekeeping.
“There’s still some skepticism as to whether the condition exists,” Hopkins said.
But despite that misconception, Hopkins said the disorder is real — and it’s a concern for researchers.
A national group of honey bee experts, of which Tarpy is a part, is working together to solve the problem.
“When you’re dealing with an unknown — that’s an uncomfortable place to be when you’re a multibillion-dollar industry,” Tarpy said. “We would be negligent not to pursue this.”
Tarpy said the working group is examining three main areas that could be causing the disorder: nutritional stress, pathology and environmental contaminants. The bee lab at N.C. State is looking into the aspect of nutritional stress by measuring bees’ protein content.
“It’s not going to be a smoking gun,” Tarpy said of the research, pointing out that its main purpose is to find correlations.
In his work with beekeepers across the state, Tarpy said the biggest problem with the disorder is the unknown.
“I feel very frustrated, because I get asked a lot what to tell [beekeepers],” he said. “Right now, we don’t know.”
But they do have theories.
One of them, according to N.C. State Beekeepers Association President Charles Heatherly, is that stress created when bees are transported around the country for pollination, coupled with other factors, is causing the disorder.
Most commercial beekeepers in North Carolina usually only ship their bees inside the state. But areas like California and Florida, whose bees travel longer distances, have had confirmed cases of CCD.
“That gives us some evidence that most problems [with CCD] are with big migratory areas,” Heatherly said.
He said the honey bees in those areas often shipped cross-country three to four times a summer.
“After doing that all summer, you would probably be unhealthy and have a bad attitude,” Heatherly said.
Aside from mystery conditions, mites and other pests, beekeepers also have the drought to worry about.
Heatherly said the end of summer is normally a great time for bees to gather nectar for the winter, particulary from aster and goldenrod. But the drought means no nectar.
Even Heatherly’s own hives have taken a hit. He said one month ago, they were fine. But when he checked them a week ago: “No honey, not a drop.”
But hope is on the horizon for beekeepers. Heatherly said plants tend to make up for low bloom periods, like droughts, by coming back with even fuller blooms the next season.
He has simple advice for beekeepers.
“Chances are that next year, they’re going to have the best year ever,” Heatherly said.
Even in terms of CCD, beekeepers should expect good news. Tarpy said he’s expecting results from the work of the CCD group in the coming weeks.
The speed of the results, one year in the making, has surprised Hopkins.
“I would call it greased lightning,” Hopkins said. “In the realm of science, it’s been very fast. That’s, I think, a factor of the frustration — things take time to develop.”
