UC San Diego Study Offers Insight Into Bee Colony Collapse

THE GENTLE HUMMING OF THESE IS A SIGNATURE SOUND OF SUMMER. YOU MAY NOT ENJOY THEM CIRCLING YOUR PICNIC OR BARBECUE BUT WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO POLLINATE AMERICA'S CROPS THE NATIONS AGRICULTURE WOULD BE IN BIG TROUBLE. FOR ONE DECADE WE'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT THE PUZZLING PHENOMENON OF BEE COLONY COLLAPSE AND SIGNIFICANT THE DIE OFFS. A NEW STUDY OUT OF UC SAN DIEGO MAY SHED LIGHT ON ONE PIECE OF THAT PUZZLE. BECOMES AS THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES NEW EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN AMERICA'S COMMERCIAL AND FARREL B POPULATIONS. JOINING ME ARE DR. JAMES -- DR. JAMES NIEH, AT UC SAN DIEGO'S DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, IS CO-AUTHOR OF THE NEW PAPER ON HONEYBEES. DR. JAMES NIEH WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM. THANK YOU. MARK KUKECHECK IS PRESIDENT OF THE SAN DIEGO BEEKEEPING SOCIETY. HE LIVES IN BONITA AND MARK WELCOME TO THE SHOW. THANK YOU, MORNING. I'M GLAD TO BE ARE. JAMES. YOU'VE BEEN STUDYING A CERTAIN FUNGUS THAT AFFECTS THE HONEYBEE. WHAT IS THAT? IT IS A KIND OF FUNGUS THAT BELONGS IN A GROUP CALLED MICROSPORIDIAN BECAUSE IT IS SPREAD BY SPORES. THEY BE WILL EAT THE SPORT BY ACCIDENT AND IT WILL ENTER THEIR STOMACH AND INJECT THE DNA, AND PROPAGATE INSIDE THE CELLS. THIS PARTICULAR TYPE THAT INFECTS HONEYBEES IS CALLED NOSEMA. WHEN THE HONEYBEE INGESTS THE NOSEMA, WHAT DOES IT DO TO THE BE? IT CAUSES A KIND OF DYSENTERY AND IT DEPENDS ON THE EXACT SPECIES OF NOSEMA. NOT TO PUT A FINE POINT ON IT, IT CAN LEAD TO A KIND OF DIARRHEA OF THE BEES. LIKE HUMANS AFFECTED WITH THIS, IT IS NOT NECESSARILY FATAL. IN FACT, 70% OF ALL BEE COLONY'S MANAGED IN THE U.S. ACTUALLY HAVE NOSEMA AND IT IS A THING THEY ARE ROUTINELY TREATED AGAINST WITH ANTIBIOTICS, BUT IT WEAKENS THE HEALTH OF THE COLONY AND THE INDIVIDUAL BE, ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE AFFECTED BY OTHER PATHOGENS OR THEY HAVE TO DO WITH PARASITES. THE RESEARCHERS FOUND THIS FUNGUS CAN AFFECT NOT JUST GROWN BEES, THAT WAS KNOWN, BUT BEE LARVA. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT FINDING? WE HAVE A HYPOTHESIS THAT THIS DISEASE COULD AFFECT BEE LARVA. THERE'S INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS. THEY WILL TREAT THE COLONY AND ABOUT ONE MONTH OR TWO LATER, THE INFECTION COMES BACK. WHY IS THIS? IT COULD BE THEY GOT IT FROM OTHER COLONIES NOT TREATED. BEES DRIFTING AROUND, WHAT IF THERE IS A RESERVOIR OF INFECTION INSIDE THE COLONY TRUCK FOR EXAMPLE, WE KNOW THE BROOD TAKES TIME, ABOUT 21 DAYS TO DEVELOP, AND IF THEY WERE INFECTED DURING THE CRITICAL STAGE, THE BABY BEES, BEFORE THEY EMERGE, THE TREATMENT, WHICH IS SUGAR SOLUTION FED TO ADULTS WOULDN'T NECESSARILY REACH THEM AND YOU WOULD EXPECT THE COLONY TO BE INFECTED ABOUT ONE MONTH LATER. WE WERE INTRIGUED BY THE IDEA AND WANTED TO DESIGN AN EXPERIMENT THAT WOULD DIRECTLY TESTED. TO WE KNOW WHERE THIS PARTICULAR KIND OF FUNGUS IS MORE PREVALENT? IS IT REALLY SO INTRUSIVE THAT IT IS ALL OVER AND IN MANY, MANY BEE COLONY'S? YES. ORIGINALLY, THESE, THE EUROPEAN HONEYBEE WHICH WE USE FOR BEEKEEPING, WAS INFECTED BY NOSEMA. IT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR OVER 100 YEARS. THAT CAUSES DRAMATIC SIGNS OF DYSENTERY, BUT DOESN'T SEEM TO HARM THE COLONIES AS MUCH AS NOSEMA CERANAE, AN IMPORT FROM THE ASIAN HONEYBEE. DISLIKE BIRD FLU AND SOME THINGS WE GET IS PART OF GLOBALIZATION, WE ALSO GET BE DISEASE? NOW, NOSEMA CERANAE HAS RELEASED IT AND ONE OF THE REASONS IS IT'S MORE RESISTANT TO THE ANTIBIOTIC WEEK OF THE BEES. WE NOW HAVE AN EXPLANATION OF WHY THIS HAS SPREAD GLOBALLY AND SEEMS TO BE TAKING OVER FROM THE MILDER FORM OF NOSEMA. I DESCRIBED THIS FINDING AND YOU'VE WRITTEN A PAPER ON AS A PIECE OF THE PEBBLE -- PIECE OF THE PUZZLE OF SPEED DIE OFFS OCCURRING. CAN YOU TELL US WHEN THIS PROBLEM BEGAN AND WE BECAME AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF THESE DYING? PERIODICALLY, FOR SOME TIME, THERE HAVE BEEN BE DYESS TRACED TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN A MIGHT THAT LOOKS LIKE A TICK, APPEARS THAT CAME OVER, THERE WERE DRAMATIC DIE OFFS OF 30% TO 40%. IT REALLY CAME TO THE FOR AROUND 2005, 2007, WHEN COMMERCIAL BEEKEEPERS THAT MANAGE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF COLONIES NOTICED SIGNIFICANT LOSSES, 30%, 40%. WHAT THEY FOUND, THESE COLONIES HAD A QUEEN AND FOOD, BUT THERE WERE FEW BEES INSIDE. IT IS A MYSTERY, WHERE DID THE BEES GO AND THAT IS WHERE THE IDEA OF COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER AND THIS MYSTERY CAME INTO BEING AND INTO PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE CAUSES NOW? FORTUNATELY, WE HAVE MADE ADVANCES AND CAN IDENTIFY FOR GENERAL AREAS OF PROBLEMS. FIRST, WE KNOW THAT VIRUSES AND BACTERIA THINGS THAT HAVE INFECTED BEES THAT THERE ARE NEW VERSIONS COMING OUT ARE A PROBLEM. SECONDLY, WE KNOW THAT PESTICIDES -- AND I REALIZE THIS IS A CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC, BUT IT HAS BEEN WELL SHOWN THAT PESTICIDES DESIGNED TO KILL INSECTS ARE ALSO DEADLY IN CERTAIN DOSES TO INSECTS THAT BENEFIT CROPS. THE PESTICIDES CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GOOD OR BAD INSECT. THIRDLY, WE HAVE PROBLEMS LIKE NOSEMA, ANOTHER TYPE OF PATHOGEN THAT INFECTS BEES AND IS PROBLEMATIC IN THE FOURTH PIECE IS TRICKY. WE HAVE A STYLE OF AGRICULTURE IN THE U.S. THAT DEPENDS UPON A LARGE-SCALE MIGRATORY BEEKEEPING WHERE WE HAVE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF COLONIES SHOULD AROUND THE COUNTRY. IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT THE SHIPPING ITSELF IS THE PROBLEM, BUT IMAGINE THAT YOU HAVE THESE COLONIES COMING TO POLLINATE A SINGLE CROP. IF SOME ARE SICK OR HAVE PARASITES, IT'S EASY TO SEE HOW THEY WOULD EXCHANGE THIS AND SPREAD TO THE CORNERS CARRYING THESE DISEASES. THESE FACTORS HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED BY SOME AS THE PERFECT STORM AND THIS STORM HIT AROUND THE MID TO THOUSANDS AND CREATED WHAT WE NOW THINK IS A PROBLEM CALLED COLONY COLLAPSE. NOWADAYS WE PREFER TO CALL IT A PROBLEM OF HONEYBEE HEALTH. THAT MAY ASK YOU, MARK KUKECHECK, IS A TOUGH KEEPING THE BEES HEALTHY? IT IS A LOT HARDER. 20 YEARS WHY DIDN'T HAVE TO LOOK AT THE HIVES AND RIGHT NOW I HAVE TWICE AS MANY AS I REALLY NEED BECAUSE I KNOW I WILL LOSE HALF OF THEM OVER THE WINTER. 'S RACK HOW MANY BEES DO YOU KEEP? I KEEP FOUR IN MY BACKYARD. TO THE POLLINATE CROPS? THE POLLINATE UP TO 2 MILES FROM THE HIGH, MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND MY HOUSE AND EVERYWHERE AROUND ME. TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE UNHEALTHY BEES THAT YOU HAVE DEALT WITH? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE TO A BEEKEEPER? LIKE DR. NINE SAYS -- LIKE MR. NIEH SAID, I HAD A QUEEN AND ABOUT 20 BEES. I NORMALLY WOULD HAVE EXPECTED 20 OR 30,000 BEES AND THEY WERE GONE AND I'M NOT SURE WHERE THEY WENT. I DON'T SEE AN EVIDENCE OF MITE INFESTATION, THEY ARE JUST GONE. IT IS A MYSTERY AND WE DO A LOT OF TREATMENT AND TRY NOT TO DO AS MUCH CHEMICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE IT IS NOT GOOD WHEN YOU HARVEST HONEY. IF THE BEES DIED, WHERE DO THEY DIE IF THEY DON'T DIE IN THE HIVE? THIS SOME EVIDENCE THAT PESTICIDES OR DISEASES CAN CAUSE BEES TO DIE OUTSIDE. THERE IS I'M EXIT -- THE MECHANISM THAT IS ALL TOURISTIC SUICIDE IN BEES. WHEN ABE IS SICK IT WILL HAVE AN INCREASED LIKELIHOOD, TO SPEND MORE TIME OUTSIDE THE HIVE, WHICH MAKES SENSE BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT SIX BEES RETURNING AND SPREADING THE INFECTION. IF IT IS HAPPENING, THERE POISONED BY PESTICIDES, A FACT THEY SPEND MORE TIME OUTSIDE THE HIVE INCREASES THE PROBABILITY THEY DIE OUT BY THE HIVE. MODERN BEEKEEPING PRACTICES IS PART OF THE FOUR SIGNS YOU GAVE ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE CAUSES OF THE DIE OFFS. I WOULD HAVING BEES POLLINATE A SINGLE CROP OF ALMONDS, WHY WOULD IT BE A HEALTH PROBLEM FOR THE BEES? IT'S NOT REALLY A HEALTH PROBLEM. SOME STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT THEY ONLY RECEIVED ONE KIND OF POLLEN THEY DON'T HAVE A BALANCED DIET. IT MAKES THEM MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DISEASES AND OTHER THINGS. THE PROBLEM IS IN UNDER THE INTENDED OF MEETING SO MANY COLONIES. FOR EXAMPLE, I NAÏVELY ONCE THOUGHT WHY DON'T WE HAVE LOCAL BEES FOR LOCAL CROPS. THE SIZE OF THE ALMOND CROP IS SO GREAT THAT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA CAN'T SUPPORT ENOUGH BEES CAUSE ONCE THE ALMONDS HAVE BLOOMED, WHAT DO THE BEES EAT? THEY ARE NOW ON A GIGANTIC TRANSCONTINENTAL ROUTE AROUND THE UNITED STATES. THEY ARE ALWAYS ON TRUCKS WHEN THEY ARE NOT IN THE FIELD POLLINATING. MARK, WHEN YOU ARE BEES GO OUT NATURALLY ON POLLINATE, YOU DON'T TAKE THEM ON TRUCKS AND MOVE THEM TO POLLINATE ANYWHERE ELSE, IS THAT RIGHT? I'M RELYING UPON WHAT IS BLOOMING AT THE TIME AND THE GOOD NEWS, AS A BACKYARD BEEKEEPER, WE IRRIGATE IN SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOODS. IF I WAS IN THE BACKCOUNTRY WHERE THERE ISN'T SO MUCH AND THE DROUGHT HAS AFFECTED THE BEES, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT MUCH IN BLOOM, I'M DEPENDENT ON WHATEVER IS IN BLOOM. ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT THE BEES WERE NOT PART OF THE MASS MIGRATIONS OF BEES ARE AFFECTED BY THE SAME KIND OF PARASITES, THE SAME KIND OF FUNGUS THAT IS CAUSING BE DIE OFFS AMONG COMMERCIAL BEEKEEPERS? NOT REALLY. NAB, WEATHER ACTUALLY IN OUR BACKYARD ARE NOT -- WERE NOT, ARE SUSCEPTIBLE. WHEN I TALK TO COMMERCIAL GUYS, I HAVE A BETTER HONEY CROP BECAUSE WE IRRIGATE IN THE SUBURBS AND I SEE DIFFERENT FLOWERS. ONCE YOU ARE OUT THERE WITH A SINGLE CROP, THERE IS NOTHING AFTER THEY'RE GONE. JAMES NIEH, LET'S TALK ABOUT PESTICIDES. THE EUROPEAN UNION HAS AND A FORM OF PESTICIDE. ARE THESE ESPECIALLY HARMFUL TO BEES? BEEN NEO-NICOTINE ANNOYED WERE REVIEWED AS A BLESSING WHEN THEY WERE INTRODUCED. THEY TARGET THE NICOTINE RECEPTOR IN INSECT NEURONS AND YOU COULD DIP THE SEED IN THEM. AT 10 TO THE MINUS NINE LEVELS, THE AMOUNT IS ABSORBED INTO EVERY CELL AND TISSUE OF THE PLANT AND YOU WOULD NOT HAVE TO SPRAY OR TREAT THEM THEREAFTER. THE PESTICIDE IS IN THE POLLEN AND THE NECTAR, IT INTEGRAL PART OF THE PLANT. SCIENTISTS HAVE NOW FOUND, NOT SURPRISINGLY, THAT IT AFFECTS THE NERVOUS SYSTEM OF INSECTS AND HAS EFFECTS ON BEES. IN MY LAB, WE LOOK AT THE COMPLEX SOCIAL COMMUNICATION AND COGNITION THAT HONEYBEES ARE FAMOUS FOR AND WE FIND THAT THERE ARE EFFECTS. IT MAKES THEM GO CRAZY? THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS, YES. IS THERE ANY MOVE ON THE PART OF OUR GOVERNMENT TO DO WHAT THE EUROPEAN UNION DID AND TEMPORARILY BAN THE USE OF THIS PARTICULAR PESTICIDE? I THINK THERE HAS BEEN SOME DISCUSSION AND THE EPA IS CONCERNED ABOUT NEW TESTS. WHAT THEY WOULD DO, IS IF YOU GIVES THE BE A DOSE OF THIS PESTICIDE, WHAT PROPORTION DIE WITHIN 48 OR 48 -- 24 OR 48 HOURS? IF WE DID THAT FOR DRUGS THAT HUMANS CONSUME, NO ONE WOULD THINK THAT WOULD BE SUFFICIENT. NOW, WE HAVE A BATTERY OF TESTS. I WOULD ARGUE WE NEED TO DO EVEN MORE AND LOOK AT LEARNING AND MEMORY. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT HOW DOES THE BE POLLINATE? IT FINDS A FLOWER AND LEARNS THE OLDER AND THE COLOR OF THAT FLOWER AND USES THE INFORMATION. WE KNOW WHEN THEY ARE EXPOSED, THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A DECREASED ABILITY TO LEARN AND REMEMBER. THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES METHODS OF RESTORING THE HEALTH OF THE BEE POPULATION. THE HAVE BEEN SUPPORTERS OF THE PLAN AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CRITICAL. ONE OF THE FIXES IS PUTTING DIFFERENT TYPES OF LANDSCAPES ON FEDERALLY OWNED TRAFFIC MEDIANS, OTHER OPEN AREAS THAT OUR GOVERNMENT LAND BECAUSE THE SUM PEOPLE SAY, THERE'S TOO MUCH CORN AND TOO MANY LAWNS AND BEES ARE NOT GETTING THE PROPER NUTRITION OR WHATEVER YOU'D LIKE TO DESCRIBE IT AS TO KEEP THEM HEALTHY. DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD HELP? IT WOULD DEFINITELY BE HELPFUL AND NOT ONLY FOR HONEYBEES BUT THE MANY SPECIES OF NATIVE BEES THAT POLLINATE NATIVE PLANTS IN ADDITION TO CROPS IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS IDEA OF EXPANDING THE HEDGEROWS CONCEPT TO A NATIONWIDE LEVEL COULD BE QUITE HELPFUL AND NOT JUST FOR BEES, BUT IF YOU INVESTED NATIVE PLANTS AND INCREASE THE DIVERSITY OF FEDERAL LANDS, YOU COULD BE BENEFITS FOR OTHER TYPES OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS. YOU ALSO HAVE DEVELOPED SOMETHING THAT MAY PROTECT BE POPULATIONS. A VACCINE? THAT IS A FUNNY STORY. WE HAD A HARD TIME GET ACCEPTED -- GETTING ACCEPTED FOR THIS PAPER BECAUSE REVIEWERS FELT WE HADN'T SHOWN THE BEES COULD BE INFECTED AND SO WE DESIGNED A CONTROL TREATMENT WITH A SET, HOW DO YOU KNOW THE SPORES DUCOTE IN THE THE BEES WERE NOT WHAT WERE TALKING ABOUT. WE FIT -- WE FEED THE BEES DEAD SPORES. WE FOUND THAT THERE ARE STILL DEVELOPING INFECTIONS. SUBSEQUENTLY, I THOUGHT THIS IS EXACTLY HOW YOU DEVELOP A VACCINE. HAD A MASTER'S STUDENT LOOKING AND WE SAID LET'S TEST THIS. WE GAVE THE VACCINE JUST LIKE YOU WOULD TWAY YOUNG CHILD AND WHEN THE LARVAE BECAME AN ADULT BE WE DELIBERATELY INFECTED IT WITH NOSEMA AND FOUND THE VACCINATED BEES HAD A 57% LOWER LEVEL OF INFECTION AND ONLY ABOUT HALF OF THEM WERE INFECTED AS COMPARED TO THE CONTROLS. IS THIS SOMETHING YOU WILL START TO DISTRIBUTE, TO OFFER COMMERCIAL BEEKEEPERS? IT'S SOMETHING -- RIGHT NOW, WE ARE LOOKING AT WHETHER OR NOT THE VACCINE CAN BE GIVEN TO YOUNG ADULTS, AND THAT WOULD SIMPLIFY IT. UCSD HAS A PATENT AND WE ARE LOOKING FOR A CORPORATE PARTNER TO EXPAND THE STUDY AND LOOK IN GREATER DETAIL. THE MAIN THING WE LOOK AT RIGHT NOW IS PUBLISHING THE PAPER. IT WILL BE PUBLISHED IN A PUBLIC ACCESS JOURNAL SO EVERYONE WILL HAVE ACCESS TO IT AND TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WORKS. FINALLY, I WONDER HOW ALL THIS HAS AFFECTED THE WAY THAT YOU KEEP BEES? IT IS A LOT HARDER, MARINE AND THEY HAVE TO LOOK AT THEM MORE OFTEN. TO HAVE TO USE CHEMICAL TREATMENTS, WHICH I DON'T WANT TO DO IN LIGHT OF TOLD YOU BEFORE, I HAVE TO CARRY MORE HIVES AND I WOULD LIKE TO TO KEEP THEM ALIVE. IT IS A CONTINUAL PROBLEM IN THE BIGGEST THING WE TRY TO DO IS EDUCATE THE OTHER BACKYARD BEEKEEPER'S AND HOW TO MAINTAIN SURVIVABILITY OF THEIR HIVES. YOU CARRY TWO MORE THAN YOU NEED TO? HALF OF THEM WILL DIE THIS YEAR. I WANT TO THANK YOU. I'VE BEEN SPEAKING WITH DR. JAMES NIEH AND MARK KUKECHECK, PRESIDENT OF THE SAN DIEGO BEEKEEPING SOCIETY. THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MAUREEN.