The decline of the Honeybee in the US
The honey bee is a subset of bees in the genus Apis, it is black and yellow in colour and is no longer than an inch in size. They are distinguished by the production and the storage of honey and construction of perennial, colonial hives out of wax. The insect’s habitat is mainly meadows, woods and gardens; the bee usually makes its nest in hollow trees. The habitats are advantageous for the bees due to the growth of flowering plants in that area.
Figure 1
The Honeybee seems to have originated in South and South East Asia. It was later introduced to other regions such as Europe and has colonised there since. A condition called Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD, has dwindled the population of Honeybees in Europe. The continent has 13 million less managed honeybee colonies than would be needed to pollinate all its crops, which is equivalent to 7 billion individual bees. Over the past few years honeybees have experience substantial declines; there had been 27 species of bees in the UK, however 3 of these species are now extinct and many of the 27 are under threat of extinction.
Signs of Colony Collapse Disorder
In a collapsed colony there is a complete absence of adult bees, with very little or no build-up of dead bees in and around the hive. A colony cannot sustain without adult worker bees, hence the entire colony will be wiped out and the hive is abandoned. A colony affected by CCD will usually have the presence of capped brood, as well as food stored, both honey and bee pollen. The presence of the Queen is also checked, if the hive was Queen-less, then that was the cause of the collapse not CCD.
Figure 2
According to the USDA, in 2007 the US had approximately 25 Million hives, which has significantly declined in the past 3 decades. The above graph outlines the population decline from 1979 to 2009. There is a steep decline from 1979 to 1999; from 4.2 to 2.7 million; which is a 36% decrease. A further decrease of 0.3 million from 1999 to 2009 is shown by the
Figure 1
The Honeybee seems to have originated in South and South East Asia. It was later introduced to other regions such as Europe and has colonised there since. A condition called Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD, has dwindled the population of Honeybees in Europe. The continent has 13 million less managed honeybee colonies than would be needed to pollinate all its crops, which is equivalent to 7 billion individual bees. Over the past few years honeybees have experience substantial declines; there had been 27 species of bees in the UK, however 3 of these species are now extinct and many of the 27 are under threat of extinction.
Signs of Colony Collapse Disorder
In a collapsed colony there is a complete absence of adult bees, with very little or no build-up of dead bees in and around the hive. A colony cannot sustain without adult worker bees, hence the entire colony will be wiped out and the hive is abandoned. A colony affected by CCD will usually have the presence of capped brood, as well as food stored, both honey and bee pollen. The presence of the Queen is also checked, if the hive was Queen-less, then that was the cause of the collapse not CCD.
Figure 2
According to the USDA, in 2007 the US had approximately 25 Million hives, which has significantly declined in the past 3 decades. The above graph outlines the population decline from 1979 to 2009. There is a steep decline from 1979 to 1999; from 4.2 to 2.7 million; which is a 36% decrease. A further decrease of 0.3 million from 1999 to 2009 is shown by the