Mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder Stings Hives' Owners in Polk, Elsewhere

BOWLING GREEN - When The Ledger visited David Adams in December 2006, the beekeeper was just beginning his struggle with a puzzling affliction now known as Colony Collapse Disorder.

Adams, owner of Fort Meade-based Adams Honey & Pollination, lost nearly three quarters of his 1,000 hives that winter as adult bees vanished from seemingly healthy colonies.

Then he lost half his 2007 stock and has spent in excess of $85,000 to mitigate a problem that has eluded researchers and beekeepers nationwide.

"You can't see it until it starts happening, and then you can't do anything," Adams said last week as he tended to hives near a watermelon field in Bowling Green. "It's hard to get ahead when you're losing 50 percent."

Since the outbreaks of Colony Collapse, or CCD, were reported in the fall of 2006, cases have been documented in 36 states and parts of Europe. Researchers say they have made progress in identifying potential causes, but have yet to single out a culprit.

"We know a lot more about what kills bees, but we're still unable to put it together," said Jamie Ellis, an assistant professor of entomyology at the University of Florida. "It's really difficult to hazard a guess as to which hypotheses are the leading contenders."

Colonies with CCD may appear healthy and then succumb within weeks as adult bees mysteriously disappear and never return, leaving behind their queen and honey, Ellis said. Suspected factors include mites, viruses, pesticides, pollution, malnutrition and stress from shipping bees around the country for commercial crop pollination (a multibillion-dollar enterprise).

IMPACT ON CROPS

The spread of CCD has been troublesome because of its potential impact on the nation's crops, roughly one-third of which depend on pollination. Also at stake is Florida's $14 million honey industry - ranked third in the U.S. behind North Dakota and California - and the estimated $20 million in additional production that honeybees generate for Florida's fruit and vegetable growers, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

Jerry Hayes, the department's assistant chief of apiary inspection, said there are roughly 190 commercial beekeepers in Florida and virtually all have dealt with CCD to some extent.

Although beekeepers can divide and requeen hives to help replenish their numbers, it will be harder to do so as losses mount, Hayes said.

"The industry is still struggling. The question is, how long can they do this," he said.

"They've got one nostril above the water."

WORSENING WOES

Lotta Kay Struthers, who owns about 1,000 hives with her husband, Alden, said the arrival of CCD has only compounded ongoing problems with Varroa mites and other maladies.

"We probably requeen and rebuild a third of our hives once a year, but you can turn around and lose a lot of your hives at one time," said Struthers, of Struthers Honey near Lake Wales.

In addition to producing honey, the couple send their hives around the state to pollinate blueberry, strawberry and cantaloupe crops. Alden Struthers said it would be more profitable to ship the bees to California to pollinate almonds, but says the risks have become too great.

"I'm afraid to go. There's big money out there but I'm afraid to get my bees where everyone else's are at."

Alden Struthers is president of the local Ridge Beekeepers Association, which has about 25 members. "It's big bucks if you don't bring back a virus."

RISK DISCOURAGING

Adams, who currently owns 1,100 hives, said he would like to nearly double that figure but has incurred significant debt trying to replace bees and testing various nutritional supplements.

"If you start having massive losses it's just not going to add up," Adams said.

Honeybees and their agricultural importance have long been taken for granted, Hayes said, but CCD is changing that. He points to increased funding and concerted research efforts between state and federal agricultural departments and public universities.

Ice cream maker Hagen-Dazs has launched its own campaign to promote awareness about CCD and honeybee health; the company says more than 40 percent of its flavors are made with the aid of honeybee pollination.

"Now we have a lot of smart people looking at honeybees, so we're finding a lot of viruses, a lot of fungal problems that we didn't know were there," Hayes said. "We're getting closer, but research never goes fast enough."

[ Kyle Kennedy can be reached at kyle.kennedy@theledger.com or 863-802-7584. ]