Its a fungus, not cell phones causing Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger () ibd com>
Date: April 27, 2007 5:28:55 PM EDT
To: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>, David Farber  
<dave () farber net>
Subject: Its a fungus, not cell phones causing Bee Colony Collapse  
Disorder

Experts may have found what's bugging the bees

A fungus that hit hives in Europe and Asia may be partly to blame for  
wiping out colonies across the U.S.
By Jia-Rui Chong and Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writers April  
26, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-sci-bees26apr26,0,7437491.story? 
track=mostviewed-storylevel

A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and  
Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known  
as Colony Collapse Disorder that is wiping out bees across the United  
States, UC San Francisco researchers said Wednesday.

Researchers have been struggling for months to explain the disorder,  
and the new findings provide the first solid evidence pointing to a  
potential cause.

But the results are "highly preliminary" and are from only a few  
hives from Le Grand in Merced County, UCSF biochemist Joe DeRisi  
said. "We don't want to give anybody the impression that this thing  
has been solved."

Other researchers said Wednesday that they too had found the fungus,  
a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae, in affected hives  
from around the country — as well as in some hives where bees had  
survived. Those researchers have also found two other fungi and half  
a dozen viruses in the dead bees.

N. ceranae is "one of many pathogens" in the bees, said entomologist  
Diana Cox-Foster of Pennsylvania State University. "By itself, it is  
probably not the culprit … but it may be one of the key players."

Cox-Foster was one of the organizers of a meeting in Washington,  
D.C., on Monday and Tuesday where about 60 bee researchers gathered  
to discuss Colony Collapse Disorder.

"We still haven't ruled out other factors, such as pesticides or  
inadequate food resources following a drought," she said. "There are  
lots of stresses that these bees are experiencing," and it may be a  
combination of factors that is responsible.

Historically, bee losses are not unusual. Weather, pesticide  
exposures and infestations by pests, such as the Varroa mite, have  
wiped out significant numbers of colonies in the past, particularly  
in the 1960s and 1970s.

But the current loss appears unprecedented. Beekeepers in 28 states,  
Canada and Britain have reported large losses. About a quarter of the  
estimated 2.4 million commercial colonies across the United States  
have been lost since fall, said Jerry Hayes of the Florida Department  
of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gainesville.

<snip>

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Robert J. Berger - Internet Bandwidth Development, LLC.
Voice: 408-882-4755 eFax: +1-408-490-2868
http://www.ibd.com




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