Beekeepers all abuzz over mysterious syndrome

Here's my story on that vanishing bee syndrome I've been blogging about ...

Beekeepers all abuzz over mysterious syndrome

By Andrew Griffin
Special Correspondent
Posted: March 25, 2007
The Lawton Constitution

NORMAN — “Colony Collapse Disorder,” a mysterious syndrome that affects entire bee colonies, resulting in their disappearance and supposed death, has not hit Oklahoma as hard as other states in the nation, but wary beekeepers and those in related agricultural fields in the Sooner state are keeping a close eye on the situation.
Beekeepers and those with an interest in the apiary arts from across the state gathered in Norman for the spring meeting of the Oklahoma State Beekeepers Association and several spoke of coming across hives only to find honey and no bees. This has been a growing problem around the U.S., particularly in the Pacific Coast states, the Upper Midwest and the Northeast. The Southern Plains appear to have been spared the brunt of this situation.
And recent news reports note that Colony Collapse Disorder has not only been a serious problem in North America, but in Europe as well, where standards regarding genetically-modified organisms are far stricter.
Lawton beekeeper Eli Farley, who attended the meeting with his father E.F. Farley and fellow bee hobbyist Willie Bowser told those in attendance that in Southwest Oklahoma he hasn’t seen any problems with his hives.
“We really haven’t had much of a problem with the collapse,” Farley told the group. Earlier, Bowser told The Lawton Constitution that his bees were “doing great.”
Meanwhile, in the southeastern part of the state, Keith Amason, vice-president of the OSBA and a resident of Kiowa, southwest of McAlester, said with his bee operation, they were “having a problem with CCD or something like that.”
Another beekeeper, this one from Noble, added that he would come to a hive, find plenty of honey but no bees anywhere.
Another Noble beekeeper, Jim Bollinger, suggested that pesticide drift from encroaching housing developments may be to blame for the bee decimation.
OSBA President Kenny Hammond said he is aware that the state is working to obtain money to study Colony Collapse Disorder. He added that following the “pathetic” crop situation in 2006, during the drought, the bees couldn’t find crops and plants to pollinate and make honey. So, he wasn’t entirely surprised about this problem, because, he said, “bees lose interest” and “bees have a tendency to get lazy.”
Hammond said CCD is causing “quite a stir” in the beekeeping and honey-production world and that it’s too early to tell what is causing this vanishing bee syndrome.
“I hope they can figure out what’s going on,” Hammond said. “We may find out that this is normal. We just don’t know.”
One of the speakers, county extension agent Wes Lee, of Sulphur, gave a talk on bees and genetically modified plants.
He said that it’s too early to tell what the effect will be on bee colonies as they try and pollinate more and more genetically-modified plants.
He noted that in the Altus area, “almost 100 percent of cotton has Bt (bacillus thurigiensis) and Roundup Ready genes” provided by agri-giant Monsanto.
And this fall, Lee noted, “a lot of Roundup Ready alfalfa will be planted.” Lee reiterated that while these modifications will help plants ward off pests, it’s still unclear how and if this will adversely affect bee colonies down the road.
“The genie’s out of the bottle. You can’t put it back in,” Lee said. “Farmers depend on the technology we have.”And as for the bees? “We don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.