Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Additional findings soon came to light, but they, too were not the answer. From
these, three main symbols of modern agriculture practice came to bear.
Pesticides
Samples of remaining brood, beeswax, pollen, and honey had been taken from colon-
ies attacked by CCD. A multitude of agricultural pesticides were found in almost every
sample. The most common were those used to control varroa mites. As many as 40 oth-
er agricultural pesticides were identified in varying amounts. These honey bee homes,
it seemed, were cesspools of poison.
Also, bees and brood were examined for pathogen loads. Here, too, bees were found
with multiple pathogens.
CCD's Chain of Events
1. The oldest bees succumbed to an opportunistic virus, and left the hive to die.
2. Younger bees were recruited from the guards and older house bees to replace the
foragers.
3. They, too, were infected with a virus, probably from contact with the older bees,
and also perished outside the hive.
4. Meanwhile, a healthy and productive queen produced eggs and thus brood at an
alarming rate to replace the missing bees.
6. The result was a hive with brood, a productive queen, but no older bees (only
very, very young bees) to care for the young and the queen.
7. These bees were incapable of this task and the colony would perish.
This USDA photo shows the very few bees remaining in this colony left to care for all of
this brood. This colony, and thousands and thousands of others, was doomed.
