Comments

Taylor, I spoke with an entomologist at UW Madison this morning about CCD (colony collapse disorder) and she suggested that the major theory behind its presence is a widespread virus. This virus probably originated in Australian bees, which are shipped, as complete hives, to California to promote pollination during the spring. The reason that CA and other highly agricultural states need to do this with bee hives is that the spread of agricultural industry has destroyed native plant life so extensively that there is no food for "local" hives when the crops are not in bloom. As such, there is a large industry of shipping hives. Entomologists have found a virus in many of the bees from hives affected by CCD. Potential pathogens that may be to blame include the virus Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), and the pathogen Crithidia bombi (Otterstatter MC, Thomson JD., 2008). Models for spread of epizootic spread of infection predict much of what has been seen. Great article, keep it up. - k