Colony Collapse Disorder: An Unchecked Disaster in the Making

It used to be that the worst thing about the "birds and the bees" was telling your child about sex. Now you have to explain the facts of life about Bird Flu and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). While much is known about the cause and cure of the first problem, the same cannot be said about the second problem; a problem that may ultimately be the larger threat to the continued human habitation of our small blue planet.

The main peril from Bird Flu is the spread of Avian Influenza H5N1 to humans and the pandemic it would cause. However, there is a vaccine for this malady which, if given in a timely manner, has proven to be very effective against it.

CCD is another matter all together. So far, no one has developed a way to keep bees from abandoning their hives, which is what happens when this disorder hits a colony. It is dissimilar to Bird Flu due to the fact that science has yet to determine the cause of it.

There has been much speculation about what why CCD occurs, but so far no one thing has proven to be the reason behind it. With about one third of every American's diet coming from fruits and vegetables the source of the recent spike in CCD must be found or the world will face a potentially devastating famine in the not too far future. Although CCD has been on the increase during the last 50 years, it was not until last year that the situation became noticeably worse when colonies began disappearing at a rapid rate; some beekeepers reported losing as many as 90% of their bees in a very short time.

When CCD occurs, there is no warning and the results are shocking. A beekeeper will visit his or her bees one day and the very next day all the worker bees will be gone leaving the hive with only a queen and a clutch of young bees. The worker bees vanish without a trace.

Some of the possible causes of CCD that are being examined by entomologists the world over include:

The development of a new and deadly bee disease that has not yet been identified.

An increase in Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications whose electromagnetic fields may cause bees to become disoriented so they cannot find their way back to the hive.