Honeybees buzz on: The Great Disappearing Honeybee stays put in Connecticut - so far

In one of the strangest natural phenomena in recent memory, honeybees are pulling a disappearing act in much of North America and in Europe. But, strangely, not here in Connecticut.

In fact, experts say over the last 20 years, the number of colonies kept by U.S. beekeepers has declined by half, while the wild honeybee population, dropping by an estimated 98 percent, has almost perished. And no one, including beekeeping professionals in the Northwest Corner, can speak with absolute authority on the problem.

“Nobody is really sure what it is,� said Salisbury beekeeper Peggy O’Brien. “There are so many theories.�

One factor that accounts for an alarming number of bee deaths is a simple pest — the Varroa mite. The parasite bores into the bees and infects them with a variety of maladies, including deformed wing syndrome.

But even more troubling to beekeepers and scientists is a little-understood phenomenon in which entire colonies of honeybees simply disappear. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has claimed up to 80 percent of the colonies in some areas of the United States, calling into question not only the future of honey production but the ability of a staggering number of flowering plants to bear fruit. And the disappearance of those plants could have a profound impact on food supplies.

In a survey updated in June, Bee Alert Technology, a private company serving the beekeeping industry, identified one Canadian province and 35 states, including Connecticut and most of those in the Northeast, as reporting cases of CCD.

Is corn causing bee deaths?

CCD has not yet been classified as a disease, O’Brien says, since its causes have not yet been identified. There have been all kinds of theories bandied about to explain CCD, including: the presence of new pesticides that are safer for humans but more harmful to bees; drought; stress levels; even microwave radiation emitted by power lines, cell phones and other wireless devices.

O’Brien, a member of the Backyard Beekeepers Association in Weston, Conn., currently keeps three hives on a friend’s property in Amenia. But she’s lost three other hives in as many years. Her own theory on the causes of CCD centers on the increasing prevalence of genetically modified crops, specifically corn. The bees ingest the pollen of the modified plants and become ill, or so the theory goes. In addition, many colonies are fed high fructose corn syrup, which is often derived from the same kind of corn.

But Ira Kettle, deputy entomologist with the Connecticut Agriculture Experimental Station and the state’s official beekeeper, said the theory has not gained support in the academic community.

Kettle recently attended a convention of the Eastern Apicultural Society in Newark, Del. Scientists at the convention, including the University of Delaware’s Chuck Mason, shot down the corn theory, Kettle said.

Moreover, while he did not have current figures available, Kettle said the number of Connecticut bee colonies is holding steady and that the number of registered beekeepers has actually increased over the last few years. Only a couple of CCD cases have been suspected in the state since the disorder was first identified last year, but neither has been confirmed.

“Our bees are doing fine,� Kettle surmised.

Steve Sandrey, a research technician at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, which tracks apiaries in the state, said there are 436 beekeepers and 3,161 colonies currently registered in Connecticut. He did not have figures for 2006, but said registration is up slightly over last year.

Kettle echoes the sentiments of John Baker of the Connecticut Beekeepers Association. Baker said CCD in the Northeast is most common in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where large commercial beekeepers with 8,000 to 10,000 hives apiece transport the insects, often over long distances on 18-wheelers, to pollinate select plants such as blueberries, apples, almonds and cranberries. The resulting stress can weaken the bees’ immune systems, especially when those bees spend weeks or months at a time living in hives that sit on trailers.

“They have high losses,� Baker said of the commercial keepers. “They’re losing 50 percent or more of their hives to CCD.�

Bears and the bees

Connecticut has far fewer commercial beekeepers and they tend to move their bees over shorter distances, which reduces stress, he added. Baker, who lives in Litchfield, keeps anywhere between 10 and 20 hives that produce about 400 to 500 pounds of honey per year.

Bear attacks have also been a major factor in Baker’s bee losses. After his hives were attacked, Baker put electric fencing around them.

Kathy Blackshaw lives in Sharon and has been a beekeeper for 50 years. She says most local beekeepers she knows have seen not only modest declines in their bee populations, but also in the quality of the animal.

“There are fewer bees with less vitality than they had 20 or 30 years ago,� said Blackshaw. “They don’t have the resistance they used to.�

As for CCD, Blackshaw said she has not “seen it in our area.� She has seen evidence of the mites, but noted their impact is likely to lessen now that bee experts are breeding a new bee that actually cleans itself of the mite.

Most of the beekeepers and authorities interviewed for this article scoffed at the notion that microwave radiation from cell phones and towers could be confusing the bees and causing them to abandon their hives.

“Scientists have pretty much ruled that out,� Baker said.

Radiation from mobile phones could be interfering with the bees’ navigation systems, preventing the insects from finding their way back to the hive, according to a preliminary study by scientists at Landau University in Germany. But few have found the study convincing, especially since cell phones and towers existed in great numbers in the years before CCD was first identified.

But the greatest concern is the effect the reduction in bee populations could have on crops.

“Without bees you lose a third of what you eat,� Blackshaw said.