Description

Meet bee keeper Abbot Dutton and learn how bee colony collapse disorder affects not only bee keepers but also almond growers.

Transcript

Abbott Dutton: Orin Johnson is a second-generation beekeeper. Orin Johnson: I’ve been called a bee trainer, a funny man who plays with insects. Abbott Dutton: His fascination with honeybees began at a young age watching his father tend to his bees. After trying out a few other careers, Johnson eventually took over the family business. Orin Johnson: My father used to tell me—I laugh about it a day when beekeepers talk, he tells me, when you think you know everything about bees, he said you’re just beginning to learn. Abbott Dutton: And something long-time California beekeepers are beginning to learn, why their bees are mysteriously disappearing. Almost overnight, an entire colony of honeybees has been vanishing from what appeared to be a perfectly healthy hive. The experts call it colony collapse disorder or CCD. Orin Johnson: I don’t like fighting an invisible enemy. I want a fair fight, but it gets depressing when you don’t know what to do to make them healthy. Abbott Dutton: Its estimated a quarter of the nation’s beekeepers have problems with CCD, problems that are now turning into horror stories. Orin Johnson: I know one local beekeeper just recently lost her home because she can’t pay the bills, she’s lost a large percentage of her hives two years in a row. I have a friend in the South Valley who lost 90% last year and he said, “That’s it.” He just wrapped it up, and sold what he had left—his empty equipment and gave up beekeeping. Abbott Dutton: The disease is also a concern for the state’s almond industry. Almond farmers like Jim Hudelson of Houston, California rely on honeybees to pollinate their trees, unlike other crops that could be fertilized by birds, other insects or even the wind. So how important are the bees? Jim Hudelson: The bees are very important, without the bees, cross-pollinating different varieties together, because it takes two varieties to pollinate in order to have a crop and we wouldn’t have anywhere near of what we have. Abbott Dutton: And as if that didn’t sting enough, there is another problem. California beekeepers not only have to worry about the mysterious colony collapse disorder, they also have to worry about people stealing their bees. Thieves are entering orchards in the middle of the night and stealing entire beehives. That’s costing the farmers thousands of dollars. Orin Johnson: It’s hard to know the total extent, I do know this spring, there were several thefts here in California, several around the Central Valley, some right here within probably 10 or 15 miles of where we’re sitting right now. In some cases, someone came in, loaded all the beehives onto a truck and gone. Abbott Dutton: With this swarm of problems, beekeepers have had to raise their rates. Hudelson and other growers are paying four times as much for bee pollination. So the bees did their job this year, but it’s next year is what you kind of worry about? Jim Hudelson: Yeah, always every year is different. We have rain and wind, and the cold weather when the bees don’t want to fly in, so every year is a unique year. Abbott Dutton: Johnson is scrambling to get his bees ready. Today, I get to scramble with them. Okay, going into the danger zone, huh? Orin Johnson: Yes we are. Abbott Dutton: I'm a little scared. Orin Johnson: We’re living on the edge. Abbott Dutton: The daily ritual includes carefully inspecting how the hive is developing, applying medications, and feeding the bees if necessary. They look pretty good? Orin Johnson: Well, I'm happy right now. Abbott Dutton: But it doesn’t take long before we find an unwelcome guest. Orin Johnson: Okay, there is the guy we hate, right there, a little brown spec—that’s the Varroa mite right there, it will shorten the six-week life span probably in half. That’s the critter we have to keep under control. Abbott Dutton: And that’s where scientist entered the picture. They’re busy too studying bees collected from hives throughout the state trying to solve the mysterious disease. Eric Mussen of UC Davis is one of the leading bee experts in the US. Eric Mussen: The question is why are they sick? What’s wrong with them? And we haven’t been able to put our finger in it yet. Abbott Dutton: They may not know why but they do know how. Eric Mussen: It appears the disease will start in one area and then just sort of spread through the operation and then maybe it will spread through another operation and that really suggests that there is some kind of a pathogen involved. Abbott Dutton: Similar diseases have appeared throughout history beginning in the 1800s and again in the mid-1960s and 70’s. Eric Mussen: These peculiar situations have happened before and then gone away and I guess that’s my biggest reason to be optimistic. Maybe we’re not looking for the right thing, that’s a possibility. And if that’s the case, we won’t find it. But I would guess that if it’s a pathogen, some of the people out there are going to find it. Abbott Dutton: That day can’t come soon enough for Orin Johnson who clearly continues to be fascinated by the little six-legged insect that has become such an important part of his life and his livelihood. Orin Johnson: They’re amazing creatures, one day the hive may look sick or starving and then all of a sudden a floral source for bloom with lot of nectar and pollen, which the bees need and within a week, that colony can still be miraculous things.