'Zombie' Fly Hijacks Bees' Bodies And May Explain Die-Off Excerpts: FRESNO, Calif. (AP) Northern California scientists say they have found a possible explanation for a honey bee die-off that has decimated hives around the world: A parasitic fly that hijacks the bees' bodies and causes them to abandon hives. Scientists say the fly deposits its eggs into the bee's abdomen, causing the infected bee to exhibit zombie-like behavior by walking around in circles with no apparent sense of direction. The bee leaves the hive at night and dies shortly thereafter. The symptoms mirror colony collapse disorder, in which all the adult honey bees in a colony suddenly disappear. The disease is of great concern, because bees pollinate about a third of the United States' food supply. Its presence is especially alarming in California, the nation's top producer of fruits and vegetables, where bees play an essential role in the $2 billion almond industry and other crops. The latest study, published Tuesday in the science journal PLoS ONE, points to the parasitic fly as the new threat to honey bees. It's another step in ongoing research to find the cause of the disease. Researchers haven't been able to pin down an exact cause of colony collapse or find a way to prevent it. Research so far points to a combination of factors including pesticide contamination, a lack of blooms - and hence nutrition - and mites, fungi, viruses and parasites. Interaction among the parasite and multiple pathogens could be one possible factor in colony collapse, according to the latest study by researchers at San Francisco State University. It says the phorid fly, or apocephalus borealis, was found in bees from three-quarters of the 31 hives surveyed in the San Francisco Bay area. The combination of a parasite, pathogens and other stressors could cause die-off, lead investigator John Hafernik said. The parasitic fly serves as a reservoir that harbors pathogens - honey bees from parasite-infected hives tested positive for deformed wing virus and other pathogens, the study found. Hafernik stumbled onto the parasitic fly by accident. Three years ago, the biology professor looked for something to feed a praying mantis. He found some bees outside his classroom, placed them in a vial and forgot about them. When he looked at the vial a week later, he found dead bees surrounded by small fly pupae. A parasitic fly was feeding on the bees and had killed them, he said. The fly might have recently expanded its host presence from bumble bees to honey bees, Hafernik said, making it an emerging threat to agricultural pollinators. The fact that honey bees live in large colonies placed in close proximity to one another and beekeepers frequently move the hives throughout the country could lead to an explosion of the fly population, he said. The fly, which is found all over North America, could also become a threat to native bees. Hafernik plans to expand his research to other parts of the country and to study the parasite's impact on agriculture in California's Central Valley. Since it was recognized in 2006, colony collapse has destroyed colonies at a rate of about 30 percent per year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Before that, losses were about 15 percent per year from a variety of pests and diseases. read full article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-04/zombie-bee-dieoff/52381196/1?csp=obinsite ......... This is an ongoing phenomenon that has scientists worried because bees as they are an integral part of our food web. The incidents of hive disarray are growing in the country and should be a source of great concern to humans and our environment. To date there has been no certain known cause of hive collapse, or remedy for them which are happening in more places yearly. It is a continuing mystery that is also crucial to humans lives in our ongoing search for food sources.
Zombie bees!... 'Zombie Bees' Turn Up in Washington State Sep 25, 2012 - Parasite makes them fly at night before dying
Corn, wheat and soybeans don't rely on honeybees. And honeybees aren't a native species, so none of the native plants need them. It's more the specialty crops, like almonds or strawberries. Nobody will starve, but things will cost more. There doesn't seem to be a single factor, but a storm of different bad things all hitting the bees. 1. The fly 2. A fungus or virus 3. A parasitic mite 4. Whole-plant pesticides that get into the pollen. 5. Poor nutrition (lack of flowers, corn syrup as a substitute) 6. Stress (getting hauled around in a truck all day.) 7. All the honeybees being the same genetic monoculture (One thing which is _not_ a cause is cell phone radiation.) My big yard is doing pretty good. Plenty of honeybees on the fruit trees, and a good fruit crop. Which the raccoons ate most of, but that's another issue. I use pesticides sparingly, never on anything flowering. And I grow a big lawn full of clover and violets for the bees to feast on all summer long.
Bee population still declining... EU proposal to protect bees stirs hornets' nest Jan 31,`13 -- An attempt to protect Europe's bee population appears to have kicked up a hornets' nest.
Disappearing bees may be caused by multiple human influences... Insect Pollinators Face Interlocking Threats April 26, 2013 - The global decline of honey bees and other pollinating insects is caused by multiple, largely human-induced effects, according to a new study.
Honeybee losses double in the UK... Honey bee losses double in a year due to poor winter 12 June 2013 > This winter's losses of honey bee colonies were the worst since records began six years ago, according to a survey carried out by the British Beekeepers Association.
Funnel web spider venom may help save disappearing bees... Australian spiders venom might save the bees: research Thu, Jun 05, 2014 - Venom from one of the worlds most poisonous spiders might help save the worlds honeybees, providing a biopesticide that kills pests, but spares the precious pollinators, a study said yesterday.
Honeybees declining in Cambodia too... Decline of Cambodia's Honeybees Raises Concerns February 15, 2016 - Honeybees have a huge role in the ecosystems of tropical climates, but illegal logging and unsustainable honey harvesting are hurting their population. Honeybees have co-evolved with flowering plants, and their overall health is an indicator of an ecosystem's well-being.
Interesting articles on this parasite infecting bees. It sounds like this could explain what's going on here. Only a matter of time until some warmer cult member shows up and claims the Zombie fly is spreading due to global warming though. Tick tock.
Bees create quite a buzz at air force base... Nearly 20,000 Bees Swarm F-22 Raptor at Langley Air Force Base Aug 15, 2016 | Searching for a new home is never easy, even for honeybees.
Mosquito fumigation for zika kills millions of honeybees... Like its been nuked: Millions of bees dead after South Carolina sprays for Zika mosquitoes September 1,`16 - On Sunday morning, the South Carolina honey bees began to die in massive numbers.
Number of observed colonies have plummeted by about 87 percent... Rusty Patched Bumblebee Declared Endangered January 10, 2017 The rusty patched bumblebee has become the first bee species in the continental U.S. to be declared endangered after suffering a dramatic population decline over the past 20 years, federal officials said Tuesday.
Bees still dyin' in droves... 1/3 of U.S. Honeybee Colonies Died Last Year May 26, 2017 | America's beekeepers watched as a third of the country's honeybee colonies were lost over the last year, part of a decade-long die-off experts said may threaten our food supply.
Pesticide linked to weakened honeybee hives... Large study links key pesticide to weakened honeybee hives WASHINGTON — Jun 29, 2017 | A common and much-criticized pesticide dramatically weakens already vulnerable honeybee hives, according to a new massive field study in three European countries.
There are more honeybee colonies in the country today than in nearly 25 years. Honey production also shows no pattern of decline. Last year, U.S. beekeepers churned out 161 million pounds of honey.
Canada to Phase Out Crop Chemicals Linked to Bee Deaths... Canada to Phase Out Crop Chemicals Linked to Bee Deaths August 15, 2018 — The Canadian government said on Wednesday it would move to restrict use of two types of crop chemicals that have been linked to deaths of aquatic insects and bees, in a victory for environmentalists and the latest setback for companies that sell the pesticides.
