In the United States alone, some 20 to 40 percent of all honeybee colonies have died in recent years, usually in massive numbers known as colony collapses. Until now, people have only been guessing at the cause of the collapse, which have ranged from genetically modified food to pesticide overuse. Either way, bees have been dying, and until recently, nobody knew why. Now, thanks to the combined efforts of bee researcher Jerry Bromenshenk at the University of Montana-Missoula and the United States Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, the cause of colony collapse might have been uncovered.
The culprits are twofold: what’s been killing bees is a combination of fungus and viruses, working together (somehow) for maximum bee body counts. “It’s chicken and egg in a sense — we don’t know which came first,” said Dr. Bromenshenk about the virus-fungus combination. “They’re co-factors, that’s all we can say at the moment. They’re both present in all these collapsed colonies.”
As for the all-star team-up in the name of saving bees, it’s expected to continue. Dr. Bromenshenk and his team provide the bees and expertise in bee autopsies and protein extraction, and the Army will provide the expertize on viral agents and detecting them in the environment and in samples of bee mush.
Tags: bees, etymologists, honeybees, honey bees, bee research, colony collapse, fungus and viruses combine to kill honey bees, colony collapse causes discovered, unusual animals, joint research, Jerry Bromenshenk, University of Montana-Missoula, United States Army, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center
