California's almond orchards alone require 1.5 million hives to pollinate then, and yield over two billion dollars worth of almonds. Credit Debra L. Lewis
An endangered occupation
“Things don’t just happen to one species in isolation,” notes Frazier. “People are beginning to look at bees and their decline as an example of what we are doing to our environment. To some degree, the honey bees could be seen as an indicator species telling us what’s out there and what pollinators are being exposed to, as well as being a potential canary in the coal mine, if you will.”
“What I can say fairly confidently,” she continues, “is that the bees will get by, but the beekeepers may not. When large numbers of bees are lost, they bounce back over time. But we don’t have that many commercial beekeepers in this country and many of them are on the brink of financial disaster. If we lose them, we lose the ability to pollinate our commercial agriculture corps.”
Says vanEngelsdorp, “In a way, beekeepers are the last nomadic farmers in America. They tend to be family businesses, passed from father to son. And it’s hard to see these hardworking people scared by these huge, unexplained losses.”
“Imagine that you’re a dairy farmer,” Hackenberg explains, “and you go out one morning and find 60 or 70 percent of your cows are dead. So you replace them but two weeks from now, 50 percent of those are dead. You can’t go on that way.”
In the last two years, CCD has driven winter mortality rates to new highs in America’s 2.4 million beehives and made deep cuts in the number of beekeepers still working. Without federal support, says Frazier, the profession faces an almost insurmountable challenge. “The big grain farmers have support. They have crop insurance to help them through a few bad years. I would like to seem some similar support for our commercial beekeepers.”
Ice-cream, wildflowers and public education
Cox-Foster feels that people are beginning to realize that honey bees are the unsung heroes of the food chain. “It’s clear that many people didn’t appreciate what it took to get their food on the table,” she says. “Now we’re becoming aware that if we knock out the pollinators with these migratory beekeepers, you basically limit the foundation under a lot of our vegetable and fruit production.”
The people at Haagen-Dazs have taken note, citing that 40 percent of their ice cream incorporates “bee-dependent” (a term they’ve coined) ingredients, such as raspberries, peaches, and almonds. As part of their “Haagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees” consumer education campaign, the company has given $150,000 to Penn State’s Honey bee and Pollinator Research Program.
Whole Foods Market, the country’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods, has also targeted Penn State’s entomology department as a recipient of its cash register donation coupon program.
Penn State has been chosen as the recipient of personal donations as well. Elizabeth Schetman, a seventeen year old from Brooklyn, New York, singlehandedly raised over $5,000. “I wanted to support CCD research in particular,” she explains, “and after a bit of online research decided that Penn State was where I should donate the money I would raise. Their efforts led by Dr. Diana Cox-Foster definitely stood out.”
With the Haagen-Dazs contribution, among others, Penn State will purchase two expensive pieces of equipment that will enable faster processing of samples, and will also provide small grants for student research on bee-related topics. In addition, notes Frazier—the head of apiculture extension programs—some funds will go to Pennsylvania’s Master Gardeners program, to help each county’s group develop pollinator-friendly demonstration gardens and certification guidelines throughout the state. (It is important to think of plants—including so-called weeds such as dandelions and clover—as food sources for bird and butterflies, she explains, adding that native plants that have evolved to grow in your region are best for pollinators. What looks very lush to us—manicured lawns and gardens—is actually a desert for bees and other pollinators. “We’re actually starving them with these landscapes.”)
Despite all that is wrong, is there reason to hope? “Yes, very much so,” says Frazier. “Big agriculture is not going to easily change, but we’re beginning to see people become interested in locally grown, locally consumed food, with less pesticide. I think there’s a tremendous move in the direction of sustainable agriculture, and the bee situation is only going to help push this forward.”
Diana Cox-Foster, Ph.D., professor of entomology in the Department of Entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, is also co-chair of the Colony Collapse Disorder Working Group. She can be reached at dxc12@psu.edu.
Maryann Frazier, M.Ag., is a senior extension associate in the Department of Entomology and can be reached at mxt15@psu.edu.
David Hackenberg is owner of Hackenberg Apiaries, has served as President of the American Beekeeping Federation, and currently sits on the National Honey Board. He can be reached at buffybee@dejazzd.com.
Dennis vanEngelsdorp, Masters in Apiculture, is the state apiarist for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and a senior extension associate in Penn State’s Department of Entomology. He can be reached at dennis.vanengelsdorp@gmail.com.
