There have been many mysterious honey bee regression cases in the United States, such as in the 1880s, 1920s, and 1960s, but beginning in 2006, scientists have been concerned with the rapid decline in the honey bee population (Holland). This swift decline has brought more attention to this topic, however no real action from the government has been done about the situation. Other countries such as Europe have placed a ban on certain chemicals believed to directly relate to the fall of the honey bee. As of now, the United States has not done anything about these chemicals. Bee farmers have been complaining about this situation since the beginning of the decline in 2006, when up to 90 percent of hives were lost (Holland). Bee farmers say their bees are just leaving the hive to pollinate and never returning (Holland). No matter the cause, it is clear the United States of America will be affected in negative ways if the honey bee population decreases; therefore, the U.S. government needs to take action to fix this issue.

Colony collapse disorder, also known as CCD, is the name for this speedy decline in bees. Bee farmers agree around a fifteen percent loss of hives is common throughout an average winter, but in the winter of 2012 statistics showed nearly forty-five percent of hives were lost (Holland). This forty-five percent is seventy-eight percent more than what was reported last winter (Holland). The main indicator CCD is present in a colony is generally the lack of mature bees in a hive. The hive will still have food and undeveloped bees, but oddly the adult bees seem to be missing. Farmers are not sure if they are leaving to pollinate and dying while working or just not finding their way back to the hive. There will be dead bees in the hive that are diseased but there is no trace of how the illness made it to the hive (Shwartz). An explanation as to why hives are losing all of its honey bees is mature worker bees leave to pollinate and die at an early age which causes the hive to collapse (Holland). Another interesting fact about the crumpled hives is the kleptoparasites that often enter dead hives to feed on the larva are nowhere to be found (Imhoof). All these actions puzzled together make scientists think this must be some sort of poisonous issue. Since the root cause of CCD is unclear, many people disagree on what exactly is negatively affecting the honeybee population.

Some say honey bees may just be overworked because they are constantly transported around the country to pollinate. Also, there is a theory that says cellphone towers are disorienting the honey bees making them unable to return to the hive. Those who are not educated on the topic of the bee population decline might be happy considering the stinging reputation honey bees have. What one does not realize is honey bees allow us to eat many of the foods we consume on a regular basis such as, nuts, strawberries, and avocados (Imhoof). Not only do they help produce the food we eat, but they also help produce a plant called alfalfa, which cows eat (Holland). If cows cannot eat, then they could also decline. If honey bees went extinct, the human population would not end, but we would lose many healthy food options or would have to pay more for these products due to using a more expensive method of pollination. There are multiple facts that honey bees contribute to our food sources; therefore, people should be concerned with this plummeting population. 

As mentioned before, in 2006 when bee farmers lost almost ninety percent of their hives, scientists became very interested (Holland). At first they believed pesticides were the main cause, but research kept producing conflicting information. After further research, a study actually showed low levels of pesticides can have an effect on honey bee hives (Haberman). Another study stated the chemicals have a reaction with honey bees’ brains’ which causes them to become lost (Haberman). A third study indicates that the pesticides impact bees’ ability to harvest enough food for producing new queens (Haberman). The specific pesticides in question are known as neonicotinoids (Schwartz). This chemical circulates throughout the plant which allows it to reach flowers where bees pollinate. This known systemic chemical is similar to nicotine. The leader in neonicotinoid pesticides is the company Bayer CropScience (Schwartz). Once these studies began to surface, a scientist for Bayer began trying to disprove them. An ecotoxicologist at Bayer, David Fischer, claims both of these studies were faulty because in the experiment honey bees were exposed to a copious amount of neonicotinoid and believes there would not be a negative effect on the honey bees if a proper dose was used (Zimmer). One should question the accuracy of these articles because a company is likely to post anything if it will keep their business alive. The National Institute for Agricultural Research in France conducted an experiment which they first gave honeybees sugar water laced with neonicotinoid, then took bees less than a mile away from their hive (Zimmer). Their research indicated in an unaccustomed environment the bees were thirty-one percent less likely to return home than the healthful honey bee and ten percent less likely in a familiar environment (Zimmer). This experiment shows the neonicotinoid chemical has an effect on the honey bee’s ability to return home to its hive. After finding that bees would not return home, they did a test that showed how the hive would react to this decline in bees. They found that the hive’s population would drop around two thirds more (Zimmer). These studies raised countless questions which caused additional scientists to perform their own research.

There was a similar experiment done by Dr. Goulson in which he also fed the neonicotinoid laced sugar water to fifty bee hives and fed placebo water to twenty-five hives then took the bees to a farm (Zimmer). Dr. Goulson found that all the bees in the laced sugar water hives died besides a few queen bees’ years after year. He also realized the bees that were given the sugar water with neonicotinoid produced eighty-five percent fewer queens (Zimmer). Not only does the chemical produce fewer queens, it also, according to another researcher, Dr. Pettis, lowers honey bees’ immune systems and makes them more susceptible to infections from parasitic fungi (Zimmer). Considering this extensive research refuting Bayer’s claim, many scientists believe pesticides are a bigger problem to the honeybees than they realized (Zimmer). After further research was done in 2013 the European Union placed a two-year ban on these chemicals (Haberman). Studies like these have proven pesticides have big play in the decline of honey bees, but may not be the only reason. 

Not only do the neonicotinoids have a negative effect on bees, but scientists also think there is a parasitic mite named the Varroa destructor, an Asian parasite, that could be doing all this damage (Schwartz). Scientists explain this mite tunnels into a honeybees’ brains and destroys their immune systems (Schwartz). Agriculture Department entomologist, Jeffery S. Pettis, says “Varroa destructor is a modern honeybee plague” (Haberman). Dr. vanEngelsdorp said, “The beekeepers that are treating for varroa motea lose significantly fewer colonies than beekeepers that are not treating colonies for varroa mites,” (Shwartz). Scientists believe this mite plays a big role in the decreasing bee population and studies show there has been a large amount of research hoping to find a cure. 

There are many possible causes that could trigger this lower bee population. Two of the many things are parasites and diseases. The average parasite and disease can cause some loss of bees but nothing compares to this dramatic decline we see today. As I mentioned before, scientists are interested in the parasite Varroa destructor. Although the Varroa destructor mainly infects adult bees which could explain the sudden loss of many adult bees, farmers are aware of this parasite and do not suspect this to be the problem. Scientist then considered the Tarsonemid mite, Acarapis woodi (Oldroyd). This parasite is currently scattering across the United States and is known to attacks the trachea of mature honey bees which causes them to die (Oldroyd). These symptoms make scientists think this could cause CCD. They make this assumption because Acarapis woodi was supposed to be the culprit in the Isle of Wight disease, an illness that wiped out the bee population in Great Britain in 1904 (Oldroyd). Research provides promising information that Acarapis woodi could be the reason for decline, but other scientists differ.

Although previous evidence seems promising, pathologist L. Bailey believes this connection between CCD and Acarapis woodi to be false (Oldroyd). A third parasite, a protozoan known as Nosema apis, could be causing this epidemic. Nosema apis in a parasite that targets the intestines of the adult honeybees (Oldroyd). This parasite tends to not affect the hives in great numbers but in high levels could dissipate a hive. Despite Bailey’s believes, Nosema apis is not likely to be the cause of CCD because it is apparent when this parasite is in effect (Oldroyd). Also, Nosema apis tends to infect hives every spring which makes this parasite too common. Although this strand of Nosema is common in the United States, there has been a new strand, N. cerana, which has migrated from Asia and is now spreading through the States (Oldroyd). This migrating strand has caused scientists to conjecture that it could be contributing to CCD. While there are many parasites that could be causing CCD, one still needs to look into viruses that could affect grown bees. 

There are many viruses adult bees carry that could potentially play a role in CCD, but day to day honeybees do not show any symptoms from these viruses. Although adult bees do not show symptoms, if the honey bee is exposed to harsh weather, poor nourishment, or one of the parasites I mentioned above they can very well start showing symptoms of these viruses (Oldroyd). For example, Chronic paralysis viruses can infect mature bees causing them to shake and distance themselves away from the nest to die (Oldroyd). There are many viruses as well as parasites that can affect the honeybee and could be a factor of colony collapse disorder. 

Large honey bee farmers tend to give their colossal numbers of bees with many different types of insecticides to help them live longer and stay healthy. These pesticides are used to deter parasites such as the Varroa destructor and A. tumida (Oldroyd). The Varroa destructor has been in the United States since the 1980s and is treated by farmers constantly due to the fact almost every hive is infected by this parasite (Oldroyd). Apistan, a pesticide used to treat Varroa destructor, has become useless because the parasite has become immune to the compound. After this pesticide stopped working, honeybee farmers began to implement plastic strips that enclosed a pesticide, organophosphate coumophos, but this method also became worthless (Oldroyd). Farmers began to run out of options and ended up turning to a chemical called Amitraz even though scientists do not know exactly what the symptoms this chemical can produce (Oldroyd). As farmers use more and more chemicals, a few have not been ideal for bees. There is reason to believe some of these chemicals may cause wax to collect on the hive’s combs causing the bees to be around chemical residue (Oldroyd). This chemical residue may cause the life span of the working bee to decrease. Some honeybee farmers might try to use a more natural way of preventing these viruses and parasites such as essential oils and fumigation, but sadly are not as successful (Oldroyd). If one looks at the problems that could be causing CCD from this prospective it seems like the farmers are hurting their own product. 

A unique view on this sharp decline of bees is that a lot of the bee friendly prairies are diminishing. Fourth-generation bee farmer, Zac Browning, has moved his bee farm to North Dakota from Idaho to experience these wonderful fields (Konkel). Browning says, “North Dakota is the last, best place in North America to keep bees.” (Konkel). Browning is saying this because North Dakota is the last state that has these open prairies and little human interference which tends to hurt the bees (Konkel). Also, these vast prairies keep the bees away from the pesticides used on large farms. Unfortunately, these grassy fields are diminishing quickly and there is no sign of slowing down. After the Ice Age a very large prairie formed called the Prairie Pothole Region, this region spanned from Iowa to Saskatchewan (Konkel). Sadly, many years later only a minuscule portion of this grass land remains. Also in North Dakota the grasslands are being torn apart for farms and crops such as corn and soybeans (Konkel). This has many negative effects because the bee friendly grass is gone and the pesticides are coming in with the farms. Between 2006 and 2011 a portion of North Dakota’s grassland the size of Delaware was been demolished and replaced with soybean and corn crops (Konkel). At one time it took Browning only 70 miles from his home in Jamestown to house all his bees, but now he has to go as far as 150 miles to find usable land (Konkel). After reviewing this point of view it becomes worrisome to hear how much grassland the United States is actually destroying.  

There are many things the residents and government of the United States of America can do to reverse this sharp decline in bees, but one has to care enough to try. My first example of what we can do to save the bees is to encourage the government to pass a law that prohibits the use of these pesticides that are suspected of killing the honey bees. Many other countries have passed some sort of law that bans these pesticides, so why does the United States not follow in their footsteps. Facts show that the biggest problem is the increase use of industrial agriculture, so if we reduce the use of this type of agriculture then we could see this problem reversed. A pleasing alternative to industrial agriculture could be ecological farming. Ecological farming is a healthy alternative which protects the soil, climate, and water around the crops and does not involve chemical inputs or genetic engineering that pollutes the environment (“Home”). Another option could be limiting the transportation of the bee hives around the States to provide more time for the bees to rest. The most effective solution to eliminate this severe problem is to reduce the use of chemicals and use a more natural way of farming rather than continuing to ruin the environment. 

If the day comes that the bee population has become extinct, the United States of America could suffer terrible consequences; therefor, the government and people of America need to take action. After reviewing all of the information I have come to a conclusion that something drastic needs to be done about this terrible decline. If something is not done within the next few years then America and its residents will be in deep distress. I believe after one reads the hard facts and information in this research paper they should feel motivated to take action. There are proven facts, reliable sources, and hard evidence of the bee population decreasing and Americans seem to ignoring it. It cannot just be the government; everyone needs to take action to save the bees and make America a better place.

    