Honey Bee Update
On September 7, an extraordinary coincidence inspired a "PS" to the Manual Update lesson plan on honey bees.
As the lesson plan discussed, there has been national alarm about die-offs of bees that were reported this summer by about one-fourth of commercial beekeepers. "Colony collapse disorder," as it was called, immediately became the focus of intense scientific scrutiny. At risk was a pollination service valued at between $14 and $15 billion.
On September 7, newspapers and the Internet carried exciting reports that a disease called Israeli acute paralysis virus was strongly associated with die-offs. Scientists cautioned that the virus could simply have been the tipping point for bees rendered vulnerable by parasites, mites, poor nutrition caused by drought, and the stress of travel from being shipped around the country to pollinate crops. The problem has not been solved, and research continues.
Oddly enough, the day before this news broke, the world's most renowned expert on bees, the British scientist, Eva Crane, died at the age of 95. Called "the queen bee among bee experts," she had published in 1999 her masterwork, The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting.
Dr. Crane had begun her career with a master's degree in quantum mechanics and a doctorate in nuclear physics, but her life changed in 1944 as the result of the wedding gift of a swarm of bees.
She became fascinated by the bees and went on to devote the rest of her life to their study.
One must wonder if the queen bee among bee experts was aware of colony collapse disorder in her last days and if her scientist's mind had imagined a research protocol to ascertain the cause.
As the lesson plan discussed, there has been national alarm about die-offs of bees that were reported this summer by about one-fourth of commercial beekeepers. "Colony collapse disorder," as it was called, immediately became the focus of intense scientific scrutiny. At risk was a pollination service valued at between $14 and $15 billion.
On September 7, newspapers and the Internet carried exciting reports that a disease called Israeli acute paralysis virus was strongly associated with die-offs. Scientists cautioned that the virus could simply have been the tipping point for bees rendered vulnerable by parasites, mites, poor nutrition caused by drought, and the stress of travel from being shipped around the country to pollinate crops. The problem has not been solved, and research continues.
Oddly enough, the day before this news broke, the world's most renowned expert on bees, the British scientist, Eva Crane, died at the age of 95. Called "the queen bee among bee experts," she had published in 1999 her masterwork, The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting.
Dr. Crane had begun her career with a master's degree in quantum mechanics and a doctorate in nuclear physics, but her life changed in 1944 as the result of the wedding gift of a swarm of bees.
She became fascinated by the bees and went on to devote the rest of her life to their study.
One must wonder if the queen bee among bee experts was aware of colony collapse disorder in her last days and if her scientist's mind had imagined a research protocol to ascertain the cause.
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