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NC508: Sustainable Solutions to Problems Affecting Honey Bee Health

Statement of Issues and Justification

Honey bees provide essential pollination services to US fruit and vegetable growers, adding $8-10 billion annually to farm income. About 2 million colonies are rented by growers each year to service over 50 crops. Almonds alone require 1.3 million colonies and are predicted to require 2.12 million by 2012, a number nearly equal to the number of colonies presently in the US. Increasing demand comes at a time when beekeepers are operating in crisis mode. The supply of healthy colonies is volatile as parasitic mites and the rigors of migratory beekeeping continue to cause catastrophic die-offs. Pesticide resistance and a lack of viable, industry-based honey bee breeding programs contribute to these losses. The problems associated with mites and other factors affecting honey bees are outlined in a 2007 report of the NAS-NRC, Status of Pollinators in North America.

The winter of 2006/07 witnessed another major die-off, and while many of the deaths are due to parasitic mites, a large number of colonies exhibited symptoms inconsistent with mites or any known disorder. Migratory beekeepers trucking bees over great distances have been especially hard hit. This suggests yet another problem has beset an already beleaguered industry. This new syndrome has been named Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). A list of possible causes for CCD includes new pesticides and pesticide use patterns, nutritional deficits associated with monocultures, loss of immunity to pathogens and exotic pathogens.

A meeting with national participation was held at ARS headquarters in Beltsville, MD in April 2007 to discuss colony health and CCD. Participants, including members of NCDC-210, concluded that there is an urgent need to develop viable solutions to the problems afflicting honey bees in order to ensure the sustainability of the nations food supply. The American Association of Professional Apiculturalists (AAPA), the NCDC-210 committee, and the prior NCR-202 committee have been addressing issues of honey bee colony health. Due to the scope of the current problems, NCDC-210 wishes to work with AAPA to invite national participation. We propose that NCDC-210 reorganize as a NC-500 research coordinating committee to address the serious problems affecting US agriculture.

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