The NRDC, obviously experts on bees, has apparently added Global Warming to the list of things causing colony collapse. In fact, it tops their list. There is a short nod to the small additional problem of "parasites", you know, like mites. 

The global warming reference no doubt refers to the recent studies of solitary bees in the Rocky Mountains which showed that the flowers and the bees were out of sync, leading to failure to produce seed. 

Which has absolutely nothing whatever to do with honey bees or the honey bee life cycle, which has always adjusted itself to environmental changes. Honey bees are adapted to subzero winters, multi-year droughts, etc. In fact, some species of honey bees simply migrate if the floral conditions change.


* What’s Causing Colony Collapse Disorder

Researchers think this Colony Collapse Disorder
may be caused by a number of interwoven factors:

* Global warming, which has caused flowers to
bloom earlier or later than usual. When pollinators
come out of hibernation, the flowers that provide
the food they need to start the season have already
bloomed.

* Pesticide use on farms. Some toxic pesticides
meant to kill pests can harm the honey bees
needed for pollination. Many pesticides banned
by other countries because they harm bees are still
available in the United States.

* Habitat loss brought about by development,
abandoned farms, growing crops without leaving
habitat for wildlife, and growing gardens with
flowers that are not friendly to pollinators.

* Parasites such as harmful mites.

© Natural Resources Defense Council January 2009

For more information, please
contact Gabriela Chavarria,
Director of the NRDC Science
Center, at (202) 513-6268

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