Penn Sate Bee Research
Since last fall, beekeepers in more
than 35 states, including Pennsylvania, have lost tens of thousands of
honey bee colonies. This crisis has now been called “Colony Collapse
Disorder.” University faculty researchers, state regulatory officials,
cooperative extension educators, and industry representatives are
working to identify the cause or causes of Colony Collapse Disorder
andto develop management strategies and recommendations for beekeepers.
Participating organizations include Penn State, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, the agriculture departments in Pennsylvania and Florida,
UC Davis, and the University of Montana.
"For instance, the
state's (Pennsylvania) $45 million apple crop, the fourth largest in
the country, is completely dependent on insects for pollination, and 90
percent of that pollination comes from honey bees," says Frazier, a
researcher at Penn Sate.
Recently, scientists have thought that
the problem has come from cell phones. They have investigated the
varroa mite or the Israeli Virus might be the cause. Now many
researchers think that the problem is coming from neonicotinioid. This
relatively new class of insecticides impacts the central nervous system
of insects. The main neonicotinioids that is affecting the bees is
"Imidacloprid". This chemical affects the bee’s memory and brain
metabolism. Out of the 81 samples that Penn State researchers took, 49%
of them contained Imidacloprid. Imidacloprid is a chemical manufactured
by Bayers Crop Science Division, and found in Confidor, Merit, Admire,
Ledgend, Pravado, Encore, Goucho, and Premise.