In These New Times

Plattsburgh, New York – May 14, 2008(WCAX)

Every tree in the orchard this week looked like a big fluffy snow ball, a sight that makes apple growers very happy.

But now the growers must worry whether there are enough honey bees to pollinate every flower on every tree, if not, the season is a loss.

“This is all the pollen. The bee will collect this and travel to the next tree. If they don’t touch it, it will not pollinate. The flower will fall off and there will be no apples,” explains Nina Sullivan, who co-owns an apple orchard.

That’s why Sullivan hires beekeeper Dick Crawford to make certain there are enough bees to assure an apple crop in the fall. Others growers are doing the same.

Crawford has 300,000 bees working here. But last winter he lost half of them and doesn’t know why. Other beekeepers report similar losses. Some say it was the cold winter that did it, or bad food, or bad water.

“My personal opinion is that we are moving too many bees around the world. Moving them from one continent to another and something blooms or takes off and propagates,” says Crawford.

He believes a virus or something is triggered in the bee and a massive bee die-off occurs. Ninety-five percent of the bees in France and Greece died last year, no reason is known.

Although some research is being done in New York, many say that not enough emphasis is being put on the problem. Ninety-seven percent of the food crops we need are pollinated by bees. Without them, Crawford said there could be a crisis.

Scientists say that it will be three to five years before they have an answer. Apple growers and beekeepers say they need an answer before that.

The AIA survey was the second one the organization commissioned to gauge bee losses. It documented a trend some call Colony Collapse Disorder that has begun to alarm scientists, beekeepers and farmers across the country in recent years. Theories abound, but van-Engelsdorp believes the bulk of the loss is the result of parasitic mites that pass viruses from colony to colony.

Whatever the reason, bee population loss raises several serious concerns, he said. Bees are important to the food supply because they are primary pollinators for most agricultural crops. If it becomes too expensive to replace dead bees, van-Engelsdorp worries, too many commercial pollinators may get out of the business — and their specialized set of skills, combining beekeeping, carpentry and long-haul trucking, isn’t easily replaced.

Park, the Moore beekeeper, said pesticides and drought are affecting the bees. Jack Fowler of Fowler Honey Farm in La Vernia agrees that chemicals, combined with the stress of constant movement from farm to farm, are killing the bees.

“It’s the most devastating thing we ever went through,” said Park, whose operation produces honey but makes most of its profit as a crop pollinator, ranging from almonds in California to cantaloupes in West Texas and cucumbers in South Texas.

Park charges farmers around $150 per hive for pollination services, so losing 1,000 hives is a big deal, translating to a $150,000 loss in revenue at every farm he works each year.

Park’s operation is back up to 3,000 since 2006 but still short of the 5,000 he considers normal. As soon as the honey season is over this summer, he’ll be devoting all his resources to replace the missing bees. It’s an expensive endeavor, he explained, costing about $50 per hive in labor and equipment — that includes $16 for a queen bee — not to mention lost revenue.

“It’s probably cost me between a quarter of a million and three-quarters of a million dollars a year the past few years,” he said.

The disappearance of bees has also affected honey production, shooting prices up precisely because it’s become harder to find.

“At present across the U.S., there is almost no honey to be had,” said Fowler, of Fowler Honey Farm in La Vernia, which sells raw honey to South Texas retailers. Fowler makes his own, but also buys honey from producers throughout South Texas.

Park said the disappearance of bees has varied geographically. His hives were hit in the winter of 2006, while his father, David Park of Devine, began to find empty hives at the end of 2007. The timing may be different, Park said, but the result is the same.

“I hope the researchers get this thing figured out because we really need some help,” Park said. “Everywhere I go now people ask how the bees are doing.”

News researcher Kevin Frazzini contributed to this report.