Straits Times 28 Jun 08;
Insects dying at alarming rate, threatening crops which need them for pollination
WASHINGTON - TOO much rain. Too little rain. Competition from biofuels. Now, dying and disappearing honey bees have been added to the list of factors threatening to push up food prices.
'No bees, no crops,' was the blunt message that North Carolina farmer Robert Edwards and others had for US lawmakers at a hearing here on Thursday.
Bees are not just important for the production of honey. About three-quarters of flowering plants rely on the insects and other pollinators such as birds to help them reproduce.
Bee pollination alone is responsible for US$15 billion (S$20.5 billion) annually in crop value in the United States.
They are especially critical to those who grow almonds, citrus fruits, apples, pears and cucumbers - plants that are not self-pollinating.
But bee numbers are declining fast in the US and Europe. In 2006, US beekeepers began reporting losing 30 per cent to 90 per cent of their hives. This phenomenon has become known as Colony Collapse Disorder.
Beekeepers have lost 36 per cent of their managed colonies this year. It was 31 per cent last year.
'If there are no bees, there is no way for our nation's farmers to continue to grow the high-quality, nutritious food our country relies on,' said congressman Dennis Cardoza of California, chairman of the horticulture and organic agriculture panel. 'This is a crisis we cannot afford to ignore.'
Food prices have gone up 83 per cent in three years, according to the World Bank.
Mr Edwards said he had to cut his cucumber acreage in half because of the lack of bees available for rent.
Another farmer, Mr Edward Flanagan, who grows blueberries in Milbridge, Maine, said he could be forced to increase prices tenfold or go out of business without the beekeeping industry.
'Every one of those berries owes its existence to the crazy, neurotic dancing of a honey bee from flower to flower,' he said.
The cause of the disorder remains unknown. Pesticides, viruses, parasites and even cellphone interference with bee navigation have been blamed for the collapse of hives.
Other possible causes include the combination of immune-suppressing stresses such as poor nutrition or contaminated water supplies.
Ice cream-maker Haagen-Dazs and natural personal care products company Burt's Bees have pledged money for research.
The problem affects about 40 per cent of Haagen-Dazs' 73 flavours, including banana split and chocolate peanut butter, because ingredients such as almonds, cherries and strawberries rely on honey bees for pollination.
Ms Katty Pien, brand director for Haagen-Dazs, said those ingredients could become too scarce or expensive if bees keep dying.
Last week, an Australian parliamentary report called for greater protection of the country's honey bees from foreign invaders that could potentially wipe out their population.
Australia is a major supplier of queen and hive bees to North America, Japan and the Middle East, cashing in on its standing as the only country not to suffer from a deadly bee mite known as the varroa destructor.
But the varroa mite has been found in bees in neighbouring Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, raising new fears that it could soon breach Australian borders.
The mite has hit hives around the world, with devastating effect on pollination industries.
The Australian Parliament's primary industries committee found that bees add up to A$6 billion (S$7.8 billion) a year to the value of agriculture and horticulture, and were crucial for 35 key crops and stock feed such as clover.
Ms Una Robertson, past president of the Scottish Beekeepers Association, told the Evening News: 'Einstein said that without bees, the world would starve in four years. Certainly, if you haven't got any bees, there's no honey crop and no external pollination either. We produce 5 tonnes of honey a year in the UK, but the pollination services they provide are worth £166 million (S$450 million).
'The total contribution by bees to the economy, including profits made from the sales of food, is up to £1 billion.
'So no holly berries at Christmas, no raspberries in summer - all sorts depend on the bees.'
ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS
Viruses, mites and even cellphones fingered as bee-killers
Straits Times 28 Jun 08;
VARIOUS culprits have been blamed for the dramatic drop in bee numbers worldwide, including a mysterious phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder, in which entire bee populations desert their hives never to return.
They include:
# Viruses: These include the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, discovered in 2004, in which bees become 'frozen', and they die. Hives infected with it were also hit by a second killer, the Kashmiri Bee Virus.
# Varroa mites: These bee parasites first found in Java a century ago have since spread to the United States and other countries.
They suck the blood of bees, and have become immune to pesticides.
# Pesticides: Nicotine-based pesticides, which act on the central nervous system, are another key suspect.
Germany and France have banned some of them following a sharp spike in bee deaths.
# Cellphones: German researchers suspect that radiation from mobile phones could be interfering with the insects' navigation systems, preventing them from returning to the hive.
Previous studies have shown that the behaviour of bees changes near power lines.
NEW SCIENTIST, THE ECONOMIST
