At the meeting last week, we discussed concerns about honey - as  articulated 
by at least one person on Bee-L.  So far, we've heard  questions about this 
from a relatively few people.  Its something  that needs to be addressed, but 
it is not something that the group thought  likely to prove to be a problem.  
 
I am going out on a limb here, and I will provide my own opinion  on this 
issue.  Remember, its my opinion and I may be wrong - but  I don't worry about 
consuming honey.  I'm still eating  honey.  I say this after 30 some years of 
looking at chemicals and other  things in bees, wax, and honey.  We've seen 
everything for toxic metals  like lead and cadmium to industrial chemicals like 
solvents and even some chem  warfare agents.
 
 
Disease:
If the CCD is a disease pathogen, it should be host-specific to bees and  
pose no threat to mammals or people.  Cases of a pathogen that is host  specific  
to an insect affecting higher animals are so rare as to be  almost 
non-existent. And it goes both ways.  Just as we aren't made  ill by foul brood 
bacteria; bees aren't susceptible to human anthrax.
 
That said, there is at least one soil fungi that kills grasshoppers and  when 
concentrated (by researchers trying to create a new microbial pesticide) it  
produced a chemical at levels toxic to rats.  But, that  scenario would 
normally not occur in nature. 
 
Chemicals:
If the CCD is chemical induced, then we're looking at a chemical produced  by 
a disease (e.g., fungi and aflotoxins), a chemical used on crops (e.g.,  
pesticides), a chemical from other environmental sources (e.g., pollution), or a  
chemical being used in beehives by beekeepers.  Or chemicals from any or  all 
of these sources.
 
But remember, the dose to a bee inside a hive is far different from  the dose 
to humans consuming honey, simply because we are huge in size compared  to 
bees.  The difference in dose needed to harm a human compared to  that kills 
bees usually differs by many orders of magnitude.  And  if we are talking about 
sublethal doses to bees, the affective chemical  concentration drops even more.
 
And, at this time of year, the colonies are pulled down to one or two  
stories - basically brood boxes -- any honey in those boxes isn't being  harvested.  
 
Also, except in the very worst CCD cases, we usually find a queen and young  
bees left in the box -- so they are still alive, even if most of the old  bees 
have left.  In the worst cases, a few bees and the queen are found  dead in 
the box -- but I suspect this is because the population was so  decimated that 
they just can't thermo-regulate, cover brood, etc.
 
Whether the old, vanished,  bees die of chemical poisoning or  of 
illness/exposure to the elements is unknown, but I'd lean towards the  latter 
explanation.  Our own work shows that bees respond behaviorally to  many chemicals at 
levels far below those toxic to humans, and toxic to the bees  themselves.  
Personally, I think if a chemical(s) are  involved, it/they are acting as a 
repellant, driving bees, beetles, and  moths out of the boxes.  
 
It seems to dissipate in a few weeks, and then bees are able to  re-establish 
on the combs.  If any remaining nectar or honey was toxic to  bees, it should 
continue to be toxic - but it doesn't appear to be a  continuing concern to 
the bees themselves.
 
None of this means that if a chemical is involved in the outflux of bees  
from the brood boxes, that the chemical is necessarily ending up in  honey or 
that it is toxic to either bees or people.
 
So, I'm still eating honey. Now remember, honey can harbor non-bee  related 
organisms like botulism in small amounts, which is why we don't  recommend 
honey consumption by infants or young children - their immune systems  are not 
fully developed/functional.  So, a bit of common sense  prevails.
 
Finally, even in the worst chemical contamination of honey - and we've seen  
some over the last three decades, the amount of honey consumed by a person  is 
still a small part of their total diet, and most honey is blended,  
consolidated from many hives, beeyards, and beekeepers.  All of that means  that any 
toxic material is diluted so much as to be almost non-existent.   And packers 
like Sioux Bee routinely analyze honey and will reject contaminated  product.
 
That said, hobby beekeepers with one or two hives should be smart about  
where they keep their hives.  We've seen honey and pollen from backyards  near 
smelters with high levels of toxic metals, especially in the pollen.   If you 
have hives in such a location and your brood keeps dying, don't eat the  pollen.
 
Hope this helps -- and I emphasize, its my own opinion, not that of anyone  
else.
 
Jerry
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