Sue Bee Feeling ‘Sting’ Of Bee Colony Disorder

(From http://www.ktiv.com/News/index.php?ID=10869)

Thousands of honey bee colonies across the country are mysteriously disappearing. Researchers want to know why. And, so does a Sioux City company, that relies on honey to make money.

These worker bees have a job to do. They make the honey for their colony. But, thousands of them have moved out or died off… leaving the queen bee and baby bees behind. Researchers call it Colony Collapse Disorder. “The colonies are healthy,” says Bill Huser, VP Research & Development. “They have adequate food supply and young bees there, but adult bees are disappearing.”

The disorder wipes out the worker bees in a matter of weeks. Bad news for the world’s largest honey distributor… Sue Bee Honey. It relies on 325 beekeepers in 25 states to produce 40 million pounds of honey each year. “We depend on our members honey, obviously, to fill our packing needs,” said Mark Mammen, Executive V.P.

Some of the beekeepers who contribute to Sue Bee Honey report losses of up to 80%. And officials here say, if this trend continues, it could take a bite out of the bottom line. “If beekeepers continually have to try to replace half of their outfit over time, it’s going to put a lot of them out of business,” said Mammen.

Besides the bottles, honey bees are responsible for one third of what you eat. They grow millions of dollars worth of cash crops in the U.S. Without their buzz, there could be less food on your supermarket shelf. “The fruit that we get from our fruit trees plus some of the garden crops like cucumbers, squash and others are actually the result of flowers being pollinated by honey bees,” said Huser.

Researchers are trying to figure out what’s wrong with the worker bees. It’s a mystery that’s left the honey bee industry to feel the sting.

Culprits include parasitic mites, chemicals or viruses. While some cases of Colony Collapse Disorder have been reported in Iowa, the hardest hit states include Montana, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and California.

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