...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 * ***********************************************************************************