Investigator finds 'Colony Collapse Disorder' in UK

Since my story "Beekeepers all abuzz about mysterious syndrome" appeared in The Lawton Constitution on March 25, I've been keeping a close eye on stories about the disappearing bees and what could be behind the so-called "Colony Collapse Disorder." So far, here in Oklahoma, not many hives have been affected. Still, some in Southeast Oklahoma opened up hives to find all the bees simply gone.

Well, Linda Moulton Howe at EarthFiles.com (she's investigated all manner of unusual phenomena) reports the following:
In addition to the United States and Canada, in Europe at least nine countries are now reporting massive disappearances of honey bees – similar to the Colony Collapse Disorder that has affected American beekeepers since the fall of 2006. The European countries reporting bee disappearances are:
1) Spain
2) Poland
3) Greece
4) Croatia
5) Switzerland
6) Italy
7) Portugal
8) Germany
9) England.
To everyone’s surprise, in the U. K. where genetically modified crops have been resisted and beekeeping is on a smaller scale with less pesticide use than in the United States, honey beekeepers in London who opened hives the end of March found at least half of their hives empty.
--END--

Howe continues with interviews with John Chapple the Chairman of the London Beekeeping Association. Chapple said he and fellow beekeepers in Greater London are perplexed by the disappearance of all the bees and estimates that half of the approximately 9,000 hives in the London area have disappeared.

Read the interview here.

And as for beekeepers here in Oklahoma? Well, the rumblings at the Oklahoma State Beekeepers Association is that pesticides and GMO's are most likely at the root of the problem. Agri-giant Monsanto was muttered as well among some at the meeting. Methinks they may be on to something.