Sunday, December 12, 2010

Bee Colony Collapse Disorder - An Answer ??

While this area is not my forte, the bee colony collapse disease / disorder [CCD] may have an answer. If the results are true, and treatment is possible.......it will be a major breakthrough in a syndrome that has really flummoxed researchers as well as causing major problems in horticulture production over the past few years.

This text below came from Wikipedia, but I have also seen other data that supports the prognosis, and alludes to relatively simple treatment regimes.

Applying proteomics-based pathogen screening tools in 2010, researchers announced they had identified a co-infection of invertebrate iridescent virus type 6 (IIV-6) and Nosema ceranae in all CCD colonies sampled. These results, if confirmed, may finally offer an explanation for genuine cases of CCD. On the basis of this research, The New York Times reported the colony collapse mystery solved, quoting researcher Dr. Bromenshenk, a co-author of the study, "[The virus and fungus] are both present in all these collapsed colonies.”

More details on Wikipedia.