WSU on the case to save honeybees

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published August 13, 2009

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Researchers at Washington State University are closing in on a mysterious killer that has the potential to disrupt the nation’s food supply.

The malady, called “colony collapse disorder,” has been decimating honeybee populations for the better part of three years.

If entomologists and other scientists at WSU are successful in identifying the culprit and a way or ways to thwart it, they will have done consumers, farmers, commercial beekeepers and the bees a tremendous service.

In the winter of 2007-08, roughly 80 percent of the bee colonies in Western Washington were wiped out by the unknown assailant.

Nationwide, the numbers are grim as well. The number of commercial bee hives in the United States has plummeted from 3.5 million in 2008 to 2.4 million this year.

Why should the public be concerned about the plight of honeybees? It’s pretty simple: About a third of what we eat comes from crops pollinated by honeybees, according to the Agricultural Research Service, which is an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

When it comes to pollinating crops, honeybees are more efficient than other bee species, so they would be sorely missed if colony collapse disorder isn’t controlled.

Fortunately, WSU researchers are making progress, thanks in large part to Yakima commercial beekeeper Eric Olson and his family, who raised $350,000 last year to help establish a diagnostic laboratory at WSU to conduct honeybee research.

“We are getting closer to understanding the possible causes of colony collapse disorder,” WSU professor of entomology Steve Sheppard said last week.

The two likely causes are chemical contamination of honeycombs and/or outbreak of a pathogen that disrupts a bee’s ability to process food.

Hives affected by colony collapse disorder showed significant accumulations of chemical residues from herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Bees raised in the contaminated hives experienced higher mortality rates than in chemical-free hives.

The research suggests beekeepers could combat the effects of chemical contamination by replacing honeycombs more frequently.

Other research is looking at a pathogen called Nosema ceranae which has been described as widespread in bee colonies ranging from California to the Northwest. There isn’t scientific consensus on whether or not this single-celled parasite has mutated into a lethal killer capable of causing CCD, but it hasn’t been ruled out, either.

Honeybee research is under way at a number of laboratories across the country. It’s encouraging to see WSU scientists in the thick of the hunt.