Colony Collapse Disorder Agricultural Pollination
Apis Mellifera
The Western honey bee, Apis mellifera, is
native to Europe, Africa and Western Asia.
Honey bees are social insects with a hierarchy
of structured roles within a colony that include:
Queen, drones and worker bees.
Pollination
The Western Honey bee plays a key role in the human and
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is characterized by sudden
natural world as a pollinator. The main diet of the honey bee
and rapid die-off of the adult worker bee population.
consists of flower nectar and pollen. Field bees, the older The pollination provided by bees is, in some cases, essential
Symptomatic precursors to the event usually involve signs of
population of worker bees, collect the nectar and pollen from to the agricultural industry. The domestic stock of Western
plants as far as six miles away from the hive. stress within a colony and can be seen up to two months before honey bee in the U.S. is responsible for pollinating an
As the honey bee is foraging for pollen from the event. Hives often have several frames of capped estimated $15 billion worth of food crops annually
a plant’s anther, much of it sticks to her hairy brood, signifying the relative strength of the hive before the (Congress, 2007). Crops like
body. Since she will generally visit plants of onset of CCD. The remaining population consists of a nuts, alfalfa, apples, cantaloupes, cranberries, pumpkins, and
the same species, the pollen is likely to rub healthy, yet insufficient work force of newly emerged worker sunflowers all require pollination by honey bees (USDA, 2008).
off on another plant’s stigma which results bees. Often there are no dead bees found in the immediate The extent of pollination is directly related to the yield that a
in fertilization of the flower. This cross- vicinity of the hive. No significant damage by wax moth, small crop can produce and, in many cases, growers depend on the
pollination transfer of pollen is crucial for hive beetle, or the Varroa mite is noticed, and there is an presence of honey bees as the primary pollinators. The
many species of plants that are unable avoidance by other colonies of honey bees to rob the ample California almond industry, worth $2.2 billion
perform self-fertilization. honey stores of the affected colony. annually, depends entirely on the migratory operations of
Influential Agents beekeepers around America to pollinate their 420,000 acres of
Population Decline crop every spring. They require 1.3 million of the existing 2.4
million American managed hives for crop fertilization and that
While the cause of CCD is, as of yet, still unknown, there are
5 U.S. Surveyed Honey Bee Colonies
need is projected to grow to 2.1 million by 2012 (USDA, 2008).
several theories that range from plausible to unlikely.
Data Not Available
4
• Varroa destructor mite: Unlikely
Projected U.S. Honey Bee Colonies
Managed 3
Producers and Consumers
Honey Bee
• Genetically Modified Crops: Unlikely
Colonies 2
• Disturbances in electromagnetic fields: Unlikely
(Millions) 1
• Neonicotinoids: Plausible
0
The crops that require pollination make up about 90 of the
• Chemical Accumlation: Plausible plants that are regularly consumed in the American diet. One
(United States Department of Agriculture 2008)
Years
• Nosema ceranae: Plausible mouthful in three of the foods commonly eaten directly or
Since 1947 beekeepers have seen colony numbers decline by
• Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV): Very likely indirectly depends on the pollination of honey bees
almost 60 percent, from 6 million to a mere 2.5 million in 2007
Through metagenomic and observational studies, scientists (USDA, 2004). Without the presence of a honey bee
(Congress, 2007). Between 1989 and 2001, when the Varroa
noted that while IAPV seems to be exclusive to hives that have population agricultural output will suffer as well as the
destructor mite infestations of hives were significantly
experienced CCD, there apear to be random combinations of availability of many foods that constitute the normal American
affecting the national domestic stock, analysts were concerned
ailments that each colony suffers from during the disorder. diet. While the overall benefits of the Western honey bee are
that if the rate of decline remained consistent all managed U.S.
More than likely there are stressors in their environment that difficult to quantify, the loss of feral and domestic populations
colonies would cease to exist by 2035 (Congress, 2007). An
are immunosuppressing the field bees. Due to comparativle will surely denote an associated collapse in both the
emerging epidemic has recently been plaguing the already
lack of disease-fighting immunity genes, honey bees are commercial and natural world.
declining managed bee populations. In the fall of 2006 David
particularly vulnerable to pathogens and toxins.
Hackenberg, a 42 year veteran of the migratory beekeeping
2007-2008 Survey
industry, reported a sudden and unexpected loss of 90 percent
of his 3,000 hives. In a study conducted that first References
year, beekeepers reported losses ranging between 30 and 90 AIA (Apiary Inspectors of America), 2008. National honey bee loss survey. Retrieved on March 4 2009 from
http://beealert.blackfoot.net/~beealert/UpdatedSurveyResults.pdf.
Congress (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture), 2007. Colony collapse disorder and pollinator decline. Retrieved on March 2, 2009 from
percent (Cox-Foster et al., 2006). By the spring of 2007, 31 http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ocga/testimony/Colony_Collapse_Disorder_and_Pollinator_Decline.asp.
Cox-Foster, D., D. vanEnglesdorp, M. Frazier, N. Ostiguy, and J. Hayes, 2006. Investigations into the causes of the sudden and alarming colony losses
percent of all U.S. managed hives had died or disappeared experienced by beekeepers in the fall of 2006. Retrieved on March 3, 2009 from http://fl-dpi.com/plantinsp/apiary/fall_dwindle_report.pdf.
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture, 2004. Bee benefits to agriculture. Retrieved on March 20, 2009 from
(vanEnglesdorp et al., 2008). The following year saw no http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/mar04/form0304.pdf.
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture, 2008. Insects, bees and entomology. Retrieved on March 28, 2009 from
http://riley.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=8&tax_level=2&tax_subject=10&want_id=1322&topic_id=1006&placement_default=0.
improvement, with a loss of 35 percent of all U.S. hives VanEnglesdorp, D., 2008. A survey of honey bee colony losses in the U.S., fall 2007 to spring 2008. Plos One 3: 3-6.
(AIA, 2008). America is not the only place experiencing recent
and significant declines. Europe, the Middle East, Taiwan, and
Australia all have seen similar occurrences of widespread
Sean Hamelman Johnson State College April 17, 2009
population loss.

Almonds
Blueberries (Cultivated)
Apples
Peaches
Oranges
Cotton
Soybeans
Peanuts
Strawberries
Grapes
Blueberries
Grapes Strawberries Peanuts Soybeans Cotton Oranges Peaches Apples Almonds
(Cultivated)
% Polinated (Bees) 1 2 2 5 16 27 48 90 90 100
% Polinated (Other Insects) 9 18 8 5 4 3 12 10 10 0
% Pollinated (Other) 90 80 90 90 80 70 40 0 0 0
(United States Department of Agriculture 2008)