Duration: 07/01/2007 to 07/01/2009

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

Honey bees provide essential pollination services to US fruit and vegetable growers, adding $8-10 billion annually to farm income. About 2 million colonies are rented by growers each year to service over 50 crops. Almonds alone require 1.3 million colonies and are predicted to require 2.12 million by 2012, a number nearly equal to the number of colonies presently in the US. Increasing demand comes at a time when beekeepers are operating in crisis mode. The supply of healthy colonies is volatile as parasitic mites and the rigors of migratory beekeeping continue to cause catastrophic die-offs. Pesticide resistance and a lack of viable, industry-based honey bee breeding programs contribute to these losses. The problems associated with mites and other factors affecting honey bees are outlined in a 2007 report of the NAS-NRC, Status of Pollinators in North America.

The winter of 2006/07 witnessed another major die-off, and while many of the deaths are due to parasitic mites, a large number of colonies exhibited symptoms inconsistent with mites or any known disorder. Migratory beekeepers trucking bees over great distances have been especially hard hit. This suggests yet another problem has beset an already beleaguered industry. This new syndrome has been named Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). A list of possible causes for CCD includes new pesticides and pesticide use patterns, nutritional deficits associated with monocultures, loss of immunity to pathogens and exotic pathogens.

A meeting with national participation was held at ARS headquarters in Beltsville, MD in April 2007 to discuss colony health and CCD. Participants, including members of NCDC-210, concluded that there is an urgent need to develop viable solutions to the problems afflicting honey bees in order to ensure the sustainability of the nations food supply. The American Association of Professional Apiculturalists (AAPA), the NCDC-210 committee, and the prior NCR-202 committee have been addressing issues of honey bee colony health. Due to the scope of the current problems, NCDC-210 wishes to work with AAPA to invite national participation. We propose that NCDC-210 reorganize as a NC-500 research coordinating committee to address the serious problems affecting US agriculture.

Types of Activities

The purpose of this committee will be to coordinate research that is relevant to honey bee colony health. We are seeking participation of personnel with expertise in honey bee nutrition, toxicology, parasitology, pathology, breeding and integrated pest management.
Research and extension personnel will meet annually to discuss coordination and will form subgroups that will coordinate or collaborate on research throughout the year. Extension personnel will coordinate in technology transfer and adoption of research findings by beekeepers.

METHODS:

• 
  1) Research will be conducted with standard sampling regimes to measure mite populations within bee hives to ascertain the population level at which it is necessary to begin control measures. If appropriate personnel can be identified, research will also be conducted on how the use of alternative control measures affect the decision on time to treat.
  
• 
  2) The committee will draft a best practices recommendation for beekeepers for control of Varroa mites.
  
• 
  3) Researchers will coordinate their efforts geographically and methodologically in sampling for detecting parasites and pathogens in hives and bees. Pathogen identification in bees will be aided by molecular techniques (e.g. massively parallel DNA sequencing, bioinformatics and PCR). Causative relationships will be evaluated in part by correlating the presence of various biotic agents and colony symptoms over time.
  
• 
  4) Surveys will be conducted to determine levels of environmental chemicals in pollen, nectar and within bee hives. Studies will be conducted to determine effects of chronic, sub-lethal doses at concentrations found in the environmental surveys.
  
• 
  5) Studies will attempt to correlate management practices and climate with the incidence of colony collapse. Nutrition will be studied using various diets and observing physiological effects on bees.
  
• 
  6) Meta-analysis of other studies, and discussion at annual meetings will help to determine how biotic and abiotic factors interact to cause colony collapse.
  
• 
  7) Research and extension will be coordinated through national participation at the annual meeting.
  
• 
  8) Efforts will be made to develop breeding programs that produce stock that can be shown to have increased tolerance to Varroa mites and disease as compared to stock currently available either in university research programs or within the beekeeping industry. Extension efforts will be focused towards technology transfer to queen breeders to adopt practices that will make breeding economically sustainable.

Objectives

1. To determine region-specific economic thresholds for parasitic mites (including the development of standardized sampling methodology) to enable beekeepers to minimize economic damage due to reduced honey production and colony survival.
   
2. To develop and recommend to beekeepers best practices for varroa mite control based on currently available methods and strategies for mite management,
   
3. To evaluate the role and causative mechanisms of parasitic mites and pathogens such as viruses, protozoa and bacteria in colony deaths.
   
4. To determine the effects of environmental chemicals and miticides on colony health.
   
5. To determine how environmental factors, including nutrition, climate and management practices affect colony health.
   
6. To determine the effects of interactions among various factors affecting colony health.
   
7. To coordinate research and extension efforts related to colony health.
   
8. To facilitate, through research and extension activities, the development of industry-based honey bee stock selection, maintenance and production programs that demonstrably incorporate traits that confer resistance to pests, parasites and pathogens.
   

Expected Outputs, Outcomes and/or Impacts

Publications:
- Economic thresholds for mite treatments
- Best Practices extension manual for integrated management of parasitic mites
- Standard sampling regimes for parasitic mites
- Surveys of incidence and coincidence of pathogens and parasites of honey bees.
- Surveys of environmental contaminants in the field and in colonies and correlations with colony health
- Effects of sub-lethal doses of environmental contaminants on bees at ambient concentrations.
- Reports of annual meetings.
-Reports on breeding programs that reduce parasite and pathogen impact.

Other expected outcomes:
This is only a two-year project but the expectation is that it will build a foundation for coordination of research efforts involving colony health and significant progress towards the following expected outcomes and impacts.

1) Increased beekeeper awareness and adoption of best practices to maintain colony health by controlling Varroa mites without excessive use of pesticide.

2) Increased knowledge of pathogen identities and levels within bee hives.

3) Increased understanding of causative agents involved in the colony collapses.

4) Demonstrable progress towards developing more resistance to Varroa mites and pathogens in breeding stocks of bees.

5) Leverage of increased funding for research of colony health issues.

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Literature Cited

NAS-NRC Report, 2007. Status of Pollinators in North America

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

AR, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, MA, ME, MI, MN, MS, ND, NE, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, WA

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

Beltsville Area, Emeritus Collaborator, Kentucky State University, Southern Plains Area, USDA-ARS/Florida