Science Friday: Colony Collapse Disorder

by Tyler Suchman on April 17, 2009

beePollen.jpg
Reader H. sends the following from Science Digest – “Cure For Honey Bee Colony Collapse?“…

For the first time, scientists have isolated the parasite Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) from professional apiaries suffering from honey bee colony depopulation syndrome. They then went on to treat the infection with complete success.

And more from Ars Technica

A new study published in the journal Environmental Microbiology Reports may clarify things, as a team of Spanish researchers report the cause of the colony collapse disorder, and also suggest a cure. The researchers isolated the parasitic fungi Nosema ceranae from a pair of Spanish apiaries, while finding none of the other proposed causes—Varroa destructor, IAPV, or pesticides. With the identification of the invading pathogen, the team treated other diseased colonies with fumagillin—an antibiotic—and observed a complete recovery of the colony.

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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Leigh April 17, 2009 at 2:56 pm

This is really exciting news!
I have friends at Penn State who’ve been working frantically on trying to find out why this has been happening, and who hadn’t been having much success.
Thanks for passing the word along, Tyler, and Reader H!
Best,
Leigh

Reply

gimaha April 17, 2009 at 5:37 pm

Thanks, Tyler! It’s good to know that there is a possible cure to the problem.

Reply

judy k April 19, 2009 at 1:35 pm

Thanks, Tyler! I’ll pass this on to my beekeeper friend, who I hope had heard the news….

Reply

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