Heard what Einstein said about humans having four years to live if the bees died out? Well he didn't and we won't, say Marcelo Aizen and Lawrence Harder.
They may explain the mystery of bee disappearance in late 2006, a third of all bee colonies in North America saw their worker bees disappear. Scientists called this abnormality colony collapse disorder, or ccd. It hit hard industries dependent on honeybees, and its cause is not yet established. Everything from the Varroa mite and viruses to pesticides and malnutrition has been
Honey production is frequently promoted as a pro-poor income generation activity as it is accessible to many members of a rural community, has low start-up costs and requires little land or labour. But while apiculture (beekeeping) presents an opportunity for many African farmers, the potential to create a significant livelihood from selling honey often remains out of reach.
The mysterious ailment called colony collapse disorder has wiped out large numbers of the bees that pollinate a third of our crops. The causes turn out to be surprisingly complex, but solutions are emerging.
Fungi terminator for bee killer the buzz around declining honeybees might recede somewhat. Researchers at the University of Warwick in the uk are studying ways to deliver a naturally occurring fungi into beehives to kill the varroa mite
A creative partnership between a farmer and a scientist has resulted in the creation of a disease tolerant bee strain that promises to revive bee-keeping in south Karnataka, Goa and Kerala. The bee strain is tolerant to the dreadedviral disease, Thai Sac Brood (TSB). The bees are also much more productive and focused in producing honey. Bee-keeping in south India began flagging in 1992. TSB struck that year. It first hit the Koynadu bees in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. In the span of two years, the virus wiped out entire colonies of bees in many parts of southern India.
