Latest buzz on bee colony collapse disorder: a virus, NOT a pesticide, is the problem

Posted on January 22, 2014 by admin

Bees, honeybees in particular, are crucial for our agricultural production. Pollination is basically a function of honeybees, and many fruits, vegetables and legumes are dependent upon these insects doing their job.

In the last decade, a massive decline in bee populations was detected: “Bee Colony Collapse Disorder” (BCCD) was the name given to this mysterious phenomenon, whose cause was unknown but was intensively sought. While the problem seemed to have abated somewhat after 2010, periodic declines continued, and fears of recurrent major extinctions persisted.

Some scientists and especially anti-pesticide organizations became devotees of the “pesticide theory” of BCCD and neonicotinoid pesticides were the prime suspect. These newer chemicals, “neonics” to those familiar with them, have been of increasing utility among farmers worldwide — until their use was severely restricted in the EU on the basis of suspected harm to bees. Our own regulatory and environmental agencies have been more circumspect, awaiting much better evidence of neonics’ involvement in BCCD.

Now, a new report issued by scientists affiliated with the Departments of Agriculture here and in China, and reviewed in The Scientist provides the first evidence that the bee problem in fact, stems from the tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV), not from pesticides.....To Read More....

Editor's Note:  You may wish to read my article dealing with this from 2012 entitled, Colony Collapse Disorder: Cause, All Natural.