Bees are back as scientists uncover cause of colony collapse disorder
Mark Pitcher of Babe’s Honey, looks at a queen cup through a magnifying glass.
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Updated: July 20, 2009 5:46 PM
By the time it started to make headlines three years ago, colony collapse disorder had already wiped out thousands of hives across North America and Europe.
Beekeepers and biologists were confounded as to a possible cause. Theories ranged from man-made disruptions, like cell phone radiation or pesticides, to natural causes such as solar flares, parasites or viruses.
“We’re slowly putting all the pieces together ... it has nothing to do with your cell phone,” said Mark Pitcher, president of Babe’s Honey and Saanich’s biggest beekeeper.
While the science isn’t completely settled, it’s increasingly pointing to a single-celled parasite, Nosema ceranae, as the prime cause, Pitcher explained. “What it basically does is it causes bees to get immune-deficiency disorder. So it’s actually causing the bees to almost get a version of HIV.”
Once the bees immune systems are compromised, they become susceptible to dying from a wide range of causes, Pitcher suggests, including chemicals once used to protect the bees from other parasites.
With that in mind, Babe’s is in the middle of a $250,000 makeover to get rid of any trace of chemicals. Every single wooden hive box the company owns -- 35,000 -- are being sand-blasted, fire-scorched and repainted with canola-based paints.
The honeycomb inside, built up with years of wax residue that could contain unknown chemicals, is being removed, melted down and composted. Even the plastic frames that held the comb in place are being replaced with wood to prevent mould and mildew.
The cost is significant: $2.50 out of the price of every $14 kilo of honey the company sells, Pitcher said. And Babe’s is contributing another $2.50 per kilo to fund research at Washington State University into the why colonies collapse.
It’s also meant changing where the company sets its bees loose to pollinate farm crops. Babe’s is now only working with farmers who don’t use herbicides or pesticides. It’s the same for loggers who must let Babe’s know what chemicals are used on the forest. In both cases, it’s meant ending some long-standing relationships.
Another innovation is a small lab used to breed better queens under controlled conditions. Though it’s still early days since Babe’s introduced some of the measures, Pitcher’s confident his hives have turned a corner.
“Our colonies are healthy,” he said. “We are noticing we have varroa (a mite that attacks beehives and was once the speculated cause of colony collapse disorder, or CCD). We haven’t treated for it and our bees are controlling it themselves.”
Despite all the mystery that surrounded its emergence, Pitcher suggests the answers needed in the fight against CCD turned out to be obvious.
“Everytime your kids got a cold, would you give them an antibiotic? Would you allow your youth to be raised in a totally ridiculous slum environment? No. So why did we, as beekeepers, become slum landlords?”
kvass@vicnews.com
Find out more
• Babe’s Honey opens its doors to the public this weekend, July 25 and July 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Beekeepers will talk about colony collapse disorder and give tours of the honey plant at 334 Walton Pl.
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