A project about CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder)

[JRuk]

Hello there,

My name is Joe Robertshaw - I am a graphic design student from the north of the England, UK, and have a proposal/query that i would like to try and bring to the attention of as many beekeeping practicioners, enthusiasts or specialists as I can in the short time I have during my current project.

As im sure i dont need to inform you, our eco-system is suffering from quite the Colony Collapse phenomenon at present which is having all matter of damaging effects on agriculture, worlwide pollination and of course the populus of the honey bee itself (amongst other species). My current project requires me to represent any manner of "gathered statistical information" on any subject of my choosing, into a well informed, visual representation (an infographic, in a narrative fashion) of my findings and it is in my best interest to investigate the topic of Colony Collapse Disorder

Now, though the general idea in this project is to develop my ability to transform information and statistics into a contemporary, visually appealing piece of work, more importantly to me is the message it could and by all means should communicate - it is not in my job description to make my chosen subject an entirely relevant based on a pressing issue or matter; but i feel it would be a huge mistake not to.
So, to sum up before i keep you all any further; my knowledge of CCD is very mediocre at present - beekeeping and the general state of the honey bee populus is in no way a specialist subject of mine but it doesnt take a genius to realize just how pressing a matter it really is.

So what I would require of any of you who would care to oblige me with your time, comments or opinions are your views on what is of absolute import on this subject - what do you feel are the most important pieces of information on this matter that the world should really know to raise the awareness of the general public? What should the public be informed on within this matter to really put the point across? An important thing to keep in mind if you should take interest in my proposal, is that as much as i need hard facts and information, I would contemplate clever and fascinating ways of informatively presenting this subject as to really get into the heads of my audience and inspire genuine interest in them - the general public are often difficult to enthuse on such matters so some wit and sharp thinking would go down excellently.
If i could get any of your views or opinions on the matter they would be regarded as very valuable, first hand sources of information that I would love to be able to apply to my project and present in my findings.

All comments and opinions are welcome and I thank you for your time and consideration in advance.

 

[Chris B]

Joe,
you are asking in the wrong place. CCD is not happening in the UK, on the contrary we have had a growing bee population for 5 or 6 years.
You should try a USA beekeeping forum.
Good luck

 

[MuswellMetro]

Joe,
you are asking in the wrong place. CCD is not happening in the UK, on the contrary we have had a growing bee population for 5 or 6 years.
You should try a USA beekeeping forum.
Good luck

Agree with CB, nothing known about CCD by most of us on this forum as it only occurs in USofA and none of the UK based beekeepers have seen it first hand

Anything we may think we know is purely hearsay and becasue of that we cannot sort out the wheat from the Chaff

American methods differ from the UK approach on many things such Varroa levels , various treatments , Antibiotics, Transportation to mono culture pollenation site, open feeding, Feed type and race of Bee

Remember our Apis mellifer Mellifera native bees are Native to Northern Europe and our weather but the mixed hybred race Apis Melleifra Honeybees used n American Bee yards are not indigenous to the UsofA as no honeybees existed in the USofA until imported on the colonisation of Amercia by Europeans in the 17th and 18th Centuaries

Your request about CCD shows how much the American Media influences the Briish media and public opinion but ignores local issues like planting of Rye grass meadows and subsequent loss of clover meadow wild flower pasture or other loss of natural habitate by hedge removal or multi cutting for Silage

 

[enrico]

But.....if we keep importing bees and queens from other countries eventually we will import yet another problem/disease as we did varroa, foul brood in both forms etc. when I started bee keeping it was disease free....now it is a constant battle, how about a topic on how we can prevent ccd entering this country by altering farming methods, by not altering bee keeping methods etc.
E

 

[Luminos]

Joe - there are a few forum members from the US which may be able to help you

 

[DanBee]

Agree with all that has been said so far: no CCD, danger of opinion vs. information.

Joe - talk to Norman Carreck at Sussex Uni regarding the work that COLOSS have being doing in standardising survey and research methods, and collating information on honeybee losses across Europe. They have real, reliable* data, and may welcome a project to attempt to convey elements of it visually as you suggest.

* Well, as reliable as it gets...

 

[Norfolk]

Joe,
you are asking in the wrong place. CCD is not happening in the UK, on the contrary we have had a growing bee population for 5 or 6 years.
You should try a USA beekeeping forum.
Good luck

Joe

Are you confident of that answer ?
I understand that the jury is out on that one.

"In 2010, David Aston of the British Beekeepers’ Association stated, "We still do not believe CCD (which is now better defined) is a cause of colony losses in the UK, however we are continuing to experience colony losses, many if not most of which can be explained". He feels that recent studies suggest "further evidence to the evolving picture that there are complex interactions taking place between a number of factors, pathogens, environmental, beekeeping practices and other stressors, which are causing honey bee losses described as CCD in the US"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardenin...uses-of-Colony-Collapse-Disorder-in-bees.html

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Joe,
you are asking in the wrong place. CCD is not happening in the UK, on the contrary we have had a growing bee population for 5 or 6 years.
You should try a USA beekeeping forum.
Good luck

I'm afraid media misinformation and the pursuit of sensationalism has fuelled this belief, as Chris said, if you really want to study CCD than an American forum is your best bet

 

[Chris B]

Joe

Are you confident of that answer ?
I understand that the jury is out on that one.

"In 2010, David Aston of the British Beekeepers’ Association stated, "We still do not believe CCD (which is now better defined) is a cause of colony losses in the UK, however we are continuing to experience colony losses, many if not most of which can be explained". He feels that recent studies suggest "further evidence to the evolving picture that there are complex interactions taking place between a number of factors, pathogens, environmental, beekeeping practices and other stressors, which are causing honey bee losses described as CCD in the US"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardenin...uses-of-Colony-Collapse-Disorder-in-bees.html

It will only be called CCD for as long as the Americans can't attribute it to anything specific. Yes we have winter losses here but entirely explainable. We also have summer gains as the general health of our bees is good - one of the biggest challenges for UK beekeepers is swarm control i.e. keeping the population DOWN.

 

[BeeJayBee]

There is also an EU report which states that CCD as experienced in USA has not happened in Europe. (can't find it, sorry, but I know it's online somewhere)

This doesn't mean there are no colony losses within Britain and the rest of the EU.

 

[Norfolk]

It will only be called CCD for as long as the Americans can't attribute it to anything specific. Yes we have winter losses here but entirely explainable. We also have summer gains as the general health of our bees is good - one of the biggest challenges for UK beekeepers is swarm control i.e. keeping the population DOWN.

Not sure you are correct or not tbh, it's outside my area of expertise if I'm honest.

Just an aside (not being argumentative) but surely the beeks "biggest challenge" is to the benefit of the bees themselves and therefore in the beeks long term interest.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Also the proper term for the American phenomenon is Sudden colony collapse as opposed to a colony just collapsing through disease, cold, failing queen or whatever

 

[JRuk]

To everyone who has commented so far,

You have my thanks! One thing i will address quickly is the fact that I did have some understanding of the fact that 'CCD' wasn't necessarily present in the UK or Europe but thank you for clearing that up for me, your opinions are exactly why i made this post here - I require clarity on this subject! Comments and opinions are still welcome on the topic, I have actually made submissions of this proposal on US forums so we will see what I learn there

 

[itma]

Joe, in the UK, honeybees have 3 main problems at present.

The order is not significant.

-- Dangers in the environment. Notably pesticides (including but not limited to Neonicotinoids). Beekeepers can't do much except lobby for sane approvals testing and sensible legal controls. But beekeepers don't speak with a single voice on this. And its not just honeybees that are affected.

-- Lack of forage. Our countryside provides a short-term glut of forage from some crops (like Oil Seed Rape), then almost nothing for the rest of the year. Honeybees build stores, beekeepers can relocate hives - but its a major problem for 'wild' pollinating insects (such as bumble bees) that are (likely as a consequence) in decline (both in numbers and species). We aren't as bad as California's Central Valley, but we are heading that way. Our towns and suburbs are much less of a survival challenge than the countryside. Urban beekeeping is easier than in the country.

-- "Exotic" pests. The parasite Varroa has jumped species from the Asian honeybee. It vectors viruses that would destroy colonies if left unchecked. But beekeepers can control varroa in their colonies. US commercial beekeepers may not be too good at this, relying on pesticides that the parasite has become resistant to. Varroa means that feral (unmanaged) honeybee colonies don't last long. But bad beekeepers keep trying to restock the wild!
An Asian honeybee disease, Nosema ceranae, is here, damaging colonies but stealthily without overt symptoms - and doubtless is responsible for many weakened colonies succumbing during winter. The EU has recently withdrawn the only antibiotic used against it, "good beekeeping husbandry" is our only defence.
And there are more waiting to come here. I'm not looking forward to Small Hive Beetle, for one.


In the states, they just say "CCD", shrug and import more replacement bees from Australia. Their problems are likely a combination of poor varroa control (leading to problems with more than one virus), Nosema, liberal pesticide use and humungously large-scale migratory beekeeping - trucking millions (no exaggeration) of hives to California for the Almond pollination, then back home again, even to Florida or New England. You couldn't create a better situation for spread of health problems across the nation.
"CCD" is just their way of saying "they're dead, but danged if I know why."

Here, beekeepers are mostly managing OK. (If they are prepared to learn new tricks!)
But our unmanaged natural pollinating insects are quietly fading away.

 

[Hivemaker.]

In the states, they just say "CCD", shrug and import more replacement bees from Australia.

Not anymore, been nearly four years now, but i believe we still import Australian queens into this country.

FEDERAL IMPORT ORDER
Prohibit Importation of
Adult Honey Bees (
Apis mellifera
) from
Australia
December 21, 2010
http://www.michiganbees.org/wp-cont...ralia-Honey-bee-Prohibition-FO_12-20-2010.pdf

 

[Anduril]

One thing to look at would be the management practices i.e. comb rotated out of hive to limit disease/viruses used in the UK. In USA practice appears to be working bees on old black comb this may act as a vector for disease and viruses. Not all USA beekeepers practice it. The stress of migratory beekeeping, I believe I read somewhere that 1.5 million hives are used for migratory beekeeping out of 2 million. Anyway whether hearsay it needs investigating to see who has best practice.

 

[itma]

Regarding the USA situation, anyone wanting to catch up could well begin by listening to the BBC programme "On the Trail of the American Honeybee".



The 'full version' was broadcast in two parts on the World Service

You can 'Listen Again' from the BBC website
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p018n9g6
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p018ypvc

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

'the beekeepers lsament' by Hannah Nordaus is worth a read as well I thought at the start it was going to be an apologistic defence of the American beekeeping machine, but as it went on, with the beekeeper himself - John Miller using some hard introspection it became a bit of an eye opener

 

[dpearce4]

Think the link is now working. its something I have found on the internet maybe of use to you.

http://prezi.com/gcfuligsdlhg/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

a little basic but may help. I didn't write it but had to change some of the internal links that's why it says I authored it but I didn't.