Culprit in Decline of Honeybee Population Identified

More than 130 crops in the United States are pollinated by honey bees. In 2006-2007, some beekeepers reported 30 to 90% loss of hives. The continuous decline of honeybee population and its spread in other countries would have a big impact in global food production. Fortunately, a team led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, Pennsylvania State University, and Columbia University have found an association between colony collapse disorder (CCD) in honey bees and a honey bee virus called Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), according to a paper published in the journal Science. 

A genetic screening was conducted in honey bees collected from 30 colonies with CCD and 21 colonies with no CCD from four locations in the United States. Using a new means of sequencing genetic material from healthy and unhealthy bees, an unbiased look at DNA from all the organisms can be obtained. The IAPV was found only in samples from honey bee colonies with CCD and not in non-CCD colonies. It is a dicistrovirus transmitted by the varroa mite.

The news release can be viewed at http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=1261  and the research abstract at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/114649