Monday, April 20, 2009
Buzz buzz buzz again
Commercial beehives in this part of the country have recovered from the "Colony Collapse Disorder" that killed about half of them last year.
The "Disorder" spawned lots of speculation. Now the agronomists and entomologists have commonsensically decided that there wasn't a "Disorder" at all. There are various problems affecting domesticated bees in various places. Some have parasitic mites, some have pathogens, others were mishandled. None of the problems are new or unique, they just happened to peak together in the last few years.
The problem in this corner of the country was a sporidian microbe that infected the bee's intestinal tract. This year the bees appear to have gained an immunity, or perhaps the more susceptible types died off leaving the stronger ones. Darwin.
The "Disorder" spawned lots of speculation. Now the agronomists and entomologists have commonsensically decided that there wasn't a "Disorder" at all. There are various problems affecting domesticated bees in various places. Some have parasitic mites, some have pathogens, others were mishandled. None of the problems are new or unique, they just happened to peak together in the last few years.
The problem in this corner of the country was a sporidian microbe that infected the bee's intestinal tract. This year the bees appear to have gained an immunity, or perhaps the more susceptible types died off leaving the stronger ones. Darwin.
Labels: bee
¶ 8:49 PM
