Virus May Be Cause of US Honeybee Deaths

[cali]

By ANDREW BRIDGES (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
September 06, 2007 1:04 PM EDT
WASHINGTON - Scientific sleuths have a new suspect for what's been killing billions of honeybees: a virus previously unknown in the United States.

The scientists report using a novel genetic technique and old-fashioned statistics to identify Israeli acute paralysis virus as the latest potential culprit in the widespread deaths of worker bees, a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder.

Next up are attempts to infect honeybees with the newfound virus to see if it's indeed a killer.

"At least we have a lead now we can begin to follow. We can use it as a marker and we can use it to investigate whether it does in fact cause disease," said Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, a Columbia University epidemiologist and co-author of the study. Details appear this week in Science Express, the online edition of the journal Science.

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http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20070906/46df7b40_3ca6_15526200709062125333183

[DavidDvorkin]

1. Prepare for some anti-Israel posts!

I'm joking.

I think.

[MADem]

3. I thought the same thing...maybe not here, but around the web

Some people just have to hop on that bandwagon, they can't help it.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. That's impossible.

Genetically engineered cell phones are the cause.

[IDemo]

4. Bees flying while texting n/t

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

7. ouch

soda pop through nose causes pain

[QueenOfCalifornia]

12. No....

It's bees flying with nuclear missiles under their wings.

[flashl]

5. Something really odd

I read many stories about the bees and the dire consequences to our food supply. But, what have been really confusing to me, is, I heard friends and neighbors say that they have had to call bee specialists to remove bees from their garages and the likes. So, maybe the bees are not really missing but simply did not return to their bee keepers hives?

[cali]

6. I can't imagine the experts would miss that

but oddly enough I've seen several hives in unlikely places myself.

[Disturbed]

9. Wasps seem to be plentiful.

Do they also pollinate?

[IDemo]

10. The wasps have helped save our garden

along with keeping down the aphids and elm leaf beetles.

[Blue Diadem]

11. I think some people call yellow jackets bees, I know I refer to them that way.

Not that honey bees won't take up residence in a garage etc. Right now we're dealing with yellow jackets under our aluminum siding. I refer to them as bees all the time.

[TZ]

14. Commercial hives were having the die-offs

It seems that a lot of natural hives seemed to have been relatively untouched. Now the commercial hives are the ones that do the agricultural pollination that our farms are very dependant on.

[Phx_Dem]

16. Maybe they are africanized bees

Which have to be dealt with by professionals. In my area the bumblebees and carpenter bees have taken over for the honey bees.

[tabasco]

18. I suppose it's just some liberal enviro-nut conspiracy

because your friends saw a nest.

Two observations by your friends do not negate the observations of thousands of others.

So no, it's not "really weird." No one claimed that all the bees were gone. Just a very large number. Due to the potential impact on agriculture, it's something I'm glad they're working on.

[flashl]

23. I know the difference in using anecdotal evidence

The observations were greater than two and in different parts of the country. These were honeybees.

[Bolo Boffin]

20. Hmm. Could some hives have fled the virus?

No idea if honeybees could "know" something like this, but running from a bunch of sick and dying individuals sounds like group think to me.

[wiggs]

8. If you're after gettin' the honey, hey

Then you don't go killing all the bees

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9pYwPc6UNmo

[Johonny]

13. I heard they were refusing to go into the hive

because there was a bee at the entrance of the hive checking receipts

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

21. hahahahahahahahaha!!!! Best laugh I've had all day! Thank you! :)

[The Straight Story]

15. Our healthcare system strikes again, single payer coverage for Bees!!!

:)

[tabasco]

17. I haven't seen a honeybee for a long time.

I see lots of bumblebees but no honeybees.

I live in the middle of a forest.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

19. Dear Tabasco,

Are you sure your name isn't Winnie the Pooh?

Just fact checking.....

[tabasco]

22. Hahahahahaha!!

I caught a black bear in my yard about two weeks ago digging up a yellowjacket nest.

I guess he's hard up for honeybees too.

I looked it up and it is normal for bears to eat yellowjackets too.

But I am sure they looooove the honeybees much more.

[JCMach1]

24. Good news actually... surviving hives should have some, or total immunity

populations should recover over time...