The mysterious death of American honeybees may have been solved. Scientists suspect that the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus may be to blame for the American Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
Although the scientists behind the research cautioned that they haven’t yet cracked the case, their study provides enough curious coincidences to keep even the fictional detective (and beekeeper) Sherlock Holmes buzzing.
The economic effect of the bee disappearances goes far beyond the lost honey: In fact, the bee industry’s primary impact is felt through the crops that the insects pollinate — products that are valued at $14 billion to $20 billion annually. Since Colony Collapse Disorder first came to light last year, the malady has affected an estimated 23 percent of the nation’s beekeeping operations, with losses of up to 90 percent. Other countries are reporting mysterious bee losses as well.
The disorder is characterized by the rapid disappearance of a colony’s bees, even if there are adequate stores of food in the hive. The bees just seem to fly off into oblivion — hinting that the malady somehow affects the insects’ navigational sense or learning ability.
The Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, or IAPV — is a little-known bug that sets bees’ wings shivering and eventually causes paralysis. IAPV-afflicted bees are typically found dead outside their hives. IAPV was also detected in the Australian bees as well as two of the four Chinese royal jelly samples.
“I hope no one goes away with the idea that we’ve actually solved the problem,” Jeff Pettis of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service told reporters. “We still have a great deal of research to do to resolve why bees are dying in the U.S. and elsewhere.”
Among the questions yet to be answered:
Is IAPV really a cause, or will it turn out that vulnerability to the virus is merely a consequence of the disease?
How and when did IAPV get into the United States?
Why did the Australian bees (and even a few American bees) seem healthy even though they were carriers of the virus?
What roles are played by other bugs that were found in the bee samples, such as the Kashmir bee virus and Nosema fungi?
If the cause or causes can be definitively identified, what can be done to stop the collapse?