Friday, September 07, 2007

more on the decline of the bees

the bbc science and nature news online reports the latest on the mysterious plague that has more than decimated the honeybees of north america:

"A virus has emerged as a strong suspect in the hunt for the mystery disease killing off North American honeybees. Genetic research showed that Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) turned up regularly in hives affected by Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Over the last three years, between 50% and 90% of commercial bee colonies in the US have been affected by CCD."

my first response was WHAT? what are they blaming on israel now? i was relieved to find the following further down the page:

"As its name would suggest, IAPV was first identified in Israel, but the symptoms it produces in bees there are quite different. Whether this is down to a small genetic difference in the virus between continents, or whether IAPV is acting in concert with different environmental factors, is an open question"

i love bees, and am fascinated by this continuing story. it is not the kind of subject matter that usually gets much bandwidth in my cyberworld. the bbc reporter concludes his piece with a suggestion regarding why there is more interest in this issue nowadays:

"With commercial honeybees worth an estimated $14bn to US agriculture, the political pressure on scientists to come up with some answers is considerable."

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