A team of scientists working to solve the mysterious disappearance of American honeybees has found a strong correlation between the so-called "colony collapse disorder" and a pathogen called Israeli acute paralysis virus, or IAPV. 
A paper on the finding was published last week in the journal Science. The team screened honeybees collected from colonies infected with the collapse disorder, or CCD, and compared them with honeybees from healthy hives. They found the IAPV virus, which can be transmitted by the varroa mite, in all the samples from the CCD colonies. It was the first time the virus has been identified in the United States.
Entomologist Jeffrey Pettis of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service said the research has not proved that IAPV is a cause of colony collapse disorder. "What we have found is strictly a strong correlation of the appearance of IAPV and CCD together," he said. "We have not proven a cause-and-effect connection."
Next, the scientists plan to expose healthy beehives to IAPV and find out if the collapse disorder develops. Even if it does, they believe there may be other factors that contribute to the spread of the virus.
Billions of honeybees have perished in the United States since CCD first became apparent in the winter of 2006-2007, and some beekeepers have reported losses ranging from 30 to 90 percent of their hives. Honeybees are used to pollinate more than 130 crops in the United States worth some $15 billion. The ARS says beekeepers could face a serious problem next year in finding enough bees to pollinate their crops if no treatment can be found for CCD.
(image: ARS-USDA)
I guess I was misinformed, I thought the Africanized honey bees were kicking them out.
Posted by: Ed | October 12, 2007 at 01:39 PM