The Real Reason Why All The Bees Have Been Dying

Honeybees have been dropping like flies for the past half decade which has been confusing the hell out of scientists for the past half decade. Was it because of cell phones? No. The real reason is way less exciting.

Apparently, military scientists and entomologists (basically bug scientists) have teamed up to discover that it’s a combination of a fungus and a virus, a sort of kick arse one-two punch that knocks bees down for the count.

They’re unsure how the combo works but it makes for a killer cocktail that does its damage in the bee’s belly (leaving scientists to think it’s nutritional). It’s been known that the fungus was part of the problem, but new software developed by the military uncovered a new DNA-based virus called N. ceranae.

What’s crazy is how these bees die:

One perverse twist of colony collapse that has compounded the difficulty of solving it is that the bees do not just die – they fly off in every direction from the hive, then die alone and dispersed.

Sort of an insect insanity. [NY Times via New Scientist]

Image via wherethebeesat

Discuss

(7 Comments)
  • [–]

    roastduck

    Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 10:02 PM

    Of course, gizmodo didn’t bother reading Fortune’s expose on this particular report:

    “What a scientist didn’t tell the New York Times about his study on bee deaths”

    http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/08/news/honey_bees_ny_times.fortune/index.htm

  • [–]

    Dominic Trinajstic

    Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 10:34 PM

    I was under the impression the Varroa Destructor mite was also playing a big role in the deaths of Bees. Australia, thankfully, hasn’t been infested with them yet, which means our Bee exporting industry is booming.

  • [–]

    Tarik

    Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 10:45 PM

    This explanation… *puts on sunglasses* … was a real buzz-kill.
    YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

  • [–]

    Julius Webster

    Monday, October 11, 2010 at 12:11 AM

    Are you aware you are republishing easily exposed corporate propaganda? The lead researcher, Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk is funded by Bayer Crop Science who make the pesticide thought to be responsible for Colony Collapse Disorder.

    Not to mention the conflict of interest..

    “Bromenshenk’s company, Bee Alert Technology, which is developing hand-held acoustic scanners that use sound to detect various bee ailments, will profit more from a finding that disease, and not pesticides, is harming bees.”

    “Bayer Crop Science, a subsidiary of the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG (BAYRY), has tangled with regulators and fended off lawsuits from angry beekeepers who allege that the pesticides have disoriented and ultimately killed their bees. The company has countered that, when used correctly, the pesticides pose little risk.

    A cheer must have gone up at Bayer on Thursday when a front-page New York Times article, under the headline “Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery,” described how a newly released study pinpoints a different cause for the die-off: “a fungus tag-teaming with a virus.” The study, written in collaboration with Army scientists at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center outside Baltimore, analyzed the proteins of afflicted bees using a new Army software system. The Bayer pesticides, however, go unmentioned.

    What the Times article did not explore — nor did the study disclose — was the relationship between the study’s lead author, Montana bee researcher Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk, and Bayer Crop Science. In recent years Bromenshenk has received a significant research grant from Bayer to study bee pollination. Indeed, before receiving the Bayer funding, Bromenshenk was lined up on the opposite side: He had signed on to serve as an expert witness for beekeepers who brought a class-action lawsuit against Bayer in 2003. He then dropped out and received the grant.

    Reporter: scientist “did not volunteer” funding sources

    Bromenshenk’s company, Bee Alert Technology, which is developing hand-held acoustic scanners that use sound to detect various bee ailments, will profit more from a finding that disease, and not pesticides, is harming bees. Two years ago Bromenshenk acknowledged as much to me when I was reporting on the possible neonicotinoid/CCD connection for Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, which folded before I completed my reporting.”

    http://news.findtarget.com/business/what_the_bee_investigator_kept_secret/

  • [–]

    olearymo

    Monday, October 11, 2010 at 9:44 AM

    They’re in the Medusa Cascade, people. It’s quite simple.

  • [–]

    Nodeity

    Monday, October 11, 2010 at 1:08 PM

    Whatever the cause, without bees were are in deep, deep, doodoo!! So they better fix it fast!!

  • [–]

    Les

    Monday, October 11, 2010 at 10:37 PM

    Well ya see…..a bee gets lonely in the hive and only one big fat girl bee to go round..
    Must be bee-aids thats a killin’ em

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