http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-adsci-bees10jun10,0,672658.story?coll=la-news-
science
The most in depth article I've seen on CCD for some time. It contains the now standard overblown
statements on the scope of the problem, like
"The puzzling phenomenon, known as Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, has been reported in 35
states, five Canadian provinces and several European countries."
Earth to all journalists come in over... have any of you ever talked to any bee researchers or
government Apiary people in the EU or Canada? I'm amazed that this myth continues to live on
based on a single bogus CNN report a couple of months ago.
Aside from that glaring piece of misinformation the article also contains some more informed
background info I have not seen in print yet.
"One of the unusual features of the disorder is that the predators of abandoned beehives, such as
hive beetles and wax moths, refuse to venture into infected hives for weeks or longer.
"It's as if there is something repellent or toxic about the colony," said Hayes, the Florida inspector.
To test this idea, VanEngelsdorp and Pettis set up 200 beehive boxes with new, healthy bees from
Australia and placed them in the care of Hackenberg.
Fifty of the hives were irradiated to kill potential pathogens. Fifty were fumigated with
concentrated acetic acid, a hive cleanser commonly used in Canada. Fifty were filled with honey
frames that had been taken from Hackenberg's colonies before the collapse, and the last 50 were
hives that had been abandoned that winter.
When VanEngelsdorp visited the colonies at the beginning of May, bees in the untouched hive
were clearly struggling, filling only about a quarter of a frame. Bees living on the reused
honeycomb were alive but not thriving. A hive that had been fumigated with acetic acid was better.
When he popped open an irradiated hive, bees were crawling everywhere. "This does imply there is
something biological," he said"
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