...this is an article in our local paper.  our local inspector 
(according to the article) seems to think that it's a virus (unless 
he was misrepresented, but i think not, as our club's website links 
to the article).  Ken is a fantastic beekeeper, but is the claim 
of "virus transmited via mite" a little premature?:

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20070224/NEWS/702240347/1008/NEWSREWIND

Virus ravaging bees, threatens food cycle

By Lisa D. Welsh TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
 
 
WORCESTER— A virus affecting the state’s honeybee population is being 
closely watched to see whether it will have broader implications on 
prices. 

“The bee population is being threatened and if that happens, food 
prices will skyrocket,” said Kenneth Warchol of Northbridge, the 
state apiary inspector. “Fifty percent of all food crops are 
pollinated by honeybees.” 

Mr. Warchol is federally certified to check the 20,000 honeybee hives 
in the state. In July, when hives are at their peak, 60,000 honeybees 
are contained in one hive or colony. Mr. Warchol’s primary role is to 
keep the bee population safe, and that responsibility is being 
jeopardized by a virus of unknown origins.  


It has been determined that mites transfer the virus within the 
honeybee colony by attacking honeybee larvae and young adults. Once 
the parasites make contact with the hive, they cannot be eradicated, 
he said. 

Last fall, Mr. Warchol started receiving reports of healthy, thriving 
honeybee hives dying out within one or two weeks. Over the winter, 
the bees have been dormant, sealed in their beehives. The honeybees’ 
condition won’t be known until the hives become active again by late 
next month. 

“This virus is comparable to how the black plague wiped out people in 
the Middle Ages,” Mr. Warchol said. “There were a lot of dead hives 
in the fall, and the virus spreads from one beehive to the next. Left 
unchecked, it will wipe out the population.” He added that he has 
notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

According to Mr. Warchol, there were reports of a heavy mite 
population last year and mites have been a cyclical problem for bees 
since the 1990s. 

“Last fall was the first major disappearance of entire hives,” Mr. 
Warchol said. “Researchers are trying to narrow the virus down. Big 
commercial beehives have been ravaged in Florida and Louisiana by 
this virus.” 

The last time there was a heavy mite infestation in Worcester County 
was in 1995, when 80 percent of beehives were wiped out. 

“Hopefully it’s not going to be that bad this year, but we could 
easily see 50, 60, even 70 percent of beehives totally wiped out,” 
Mr. Warchol said. “There’s a delicate balance here. Thriving crops 
are dependent upon the pollination by honeybees who seek nectar. 
Without the honeybees, without the pollination, crops will be 
sparse.” 

***********************************************************************************
* BEE-L is hosted at the State University of New York at Albany.                  *
* Please fill out the Colony Collapse Disorder survey at http://www.beesurvey.com *
***********************************************************************************