Honey Bees

We rely on honey bees for one-third of our food supply, so when honey bees are in danger, we’re all in danger. The facts in this section will help you educate others on what’s happening with our honey bees.

Honey bee colonies are disappearing at an alarming rate.

Disappearing Bees: Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)     

In the spring of 2007, news agencies began to report on a disturbing phenomenon in the bee population. According to reports, beekeepers were visiting their hives to discover that their bees had disappeared. Sometimes, the queen and a few newly-hatched bees were all that remained. The beekeepers found no evidence of predators that feed on bees, like wasps and mammals that like honey. They also didn't see a lot of dead bees or evidence of bee diseases like chalkbrood or foulbrood, which attack the developing bee larvae, or of any of the species of mites that attack developing or fully grown bees. Based on this evidence, it seemed unlikely that the bees had gotten sick and died. On the other hand, many beekeepers reported that moths, animals and other bees steered clear of the newly-empty nests, at least for a few days. This usually happens when bees die because of disease or chemical contamination.

Many of the news reports were alarming. They described beekeepers losing more than half of their bees and explained the importance of honeybees in the pollination of food crops. Some articles implied that the disappearance of the bees would lead to widespread starvation. Others quoted Albert Einstein as saying that humans would follow within four years if bees became extinct.