The Many Probable Causes Of Honey Bee Colony Collapse Syndrome

The Many Probable Causes Of Honey Bee Colony Collapse Syndrome

Beekeepers have always suffered losses of their honey bees but in the olden times those losses were limited and the beekeeper was always able to ascertain the cause, usually a bacteria, mite or some other fungus and take appropriate action. Not so with colony collapse disorder, (sometimes called colony collapse syndrome or colony collapse disease). With colony collapse disorder more bees are dying faster with no prominent reason and because only the queen and a few workers are left alive the colony dies.

The disappearing honeybees is still a mystery. As yet there has been no firm hard information to point to any one cause for their cessation of life. This has led to the hypothesis that there is more than one cause to colony collapse disorder (CCD). Possible causes are:

Genetically modified crops

An experiment carried out by a beekeeper, John McDonald, seems to suggest that genetically modified crops could be the cause of colony collapse syndrome. He placed eight bee colonies in a place where the domesticated bees would have no association with genetically modified crops and an equal number of domesticated bee hives on farms that grew genetically modified crops. At the end of the season in October the results of the honey collecting of both sets of honey bees was examined. The results between the two sets of bee colonies were very distinctive.

The eight non-GMO honey bee colonies produced 150 pounds of honey, per bee hive, in the over-wintering brood supers. Plus, between them, the eight colonies produced 200 pounds of extra honey. The farm honey bees, on the other hand, had produced no extra honey and had not even filled the over-wintering brood supers. These farm bees will require feeding in order to carry through the winter.

Pesticides

The pesticide believed to be the main culprit in causing colony collapse disorder is nicotine-based Clothianidin, an insecticide in the neonicotinoid family. In Germany investigators found that 99 percent of dead bees had high levels of Clothianidin in their bodies. As a result the 7 pesticides in the neonicotinoid family have been provisionally unallowed.

In the US imidacloprid seems to be the pesticide causing the most colony collapse syndrome. For example in North Dakota one third of colonies died after imidacloprid was used on rapeseed.

Cell phones

Is the electromagnetic radiation given off by cell phones interfering with the bee's navigating system thus preventing the honey bees from working-out their way back to the hive. Some fact-finding carried out by Dr Jochen Kuhn shows that bees do not like going back to their hives when a cell phone is placed near the hive. If bees are trying to dodge mobile phone radiation then this could answer why they are getting lost and incapable of finding their way home.

Foodstuffs

Honey bees normally use natural material like pollen, sap, nectar, or other botanical materials, for fabricating into honey. When beekeepers remove this honey, which the honey bees would normally eat over winter, and replace it with High Fructose Corn Syrup a natural raw food is being replaced with a highly processed dead foodstuff. High Fructose Corn Syrup is lacking in the many minerals and vitamins found in honey so the honeybees are forced to eat inferior sustenance which results in their poor health and diminished immune systems.

So what is the cause of bee colony collapse disorder. Probably a combination of all of the above though GMOs, and the neonicotinoid pesticides, seem to be the main factors which has caused the dramatic increase in bees disappearing.

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