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Theories Buzz Around Bee Deaths |
Posted: Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A mysterious phenomenon dubbed "colony collapse disorder" is causing quite the buzz in the beekeeping and farming communities. Washington State University is bringing its research firepower to the look for the cause of a reported honeybee die-off. At the same time, an Oregon State University bee expert shares doubts that this syndrome represents anything out of the ordinary. Correspondent Tom Banse has more.
For 22 years, professor emeritus Mike Burgett in Corvallis has tracked commercial beekeepers who rent their hives for pollinating crops. He questions whether there's a food crisis in the making. He claims the reported bee die-offs this past winter may reflect an unfortunate combination of familiar problems, such as poor weather, drought, and tiny mites.
Burgett: "If it was a new pathogen, a new parasite, we would have found it by now. We're six months into this. There are a lot of very intelligent people in the research community looking at this. And nothing is sticking out. There's no sore thumb that says, 'Hey, I'm the guilty party.'"
Meanwhile at Washington State University, a reputable bee scientist is taking the possible honeybee disorder seriously. This summer, his research team is running fresh experiments to see if pesticide buildup in honeycombs is behind the mysterious collapse of some bee colonies
More information:
Oregon State University:
Honeybee "Colony Collapse Disorder": an Overstated Crisis
Washington State University
Honey Bee Researcher Explores Possible Link Between Pesticides and Colony Collapse Disorder
Copyright 2007 KUOW
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