Holistic Health and Alternative Medicine - EARTHCLINIC.COM

Cures for the Mysterious Honeybee Die-Off

2/12/2007: Truly alarmed, we sent the following article to our Bangkok independent health contributor, Ted, for comment:

Mystery ailment strikes honeybees - Yahoo! News. Ted responded:' "Yes, there is an easy way to kill the "alarmingly high number of foreign fungi, bacteria and other organisms" on dead bees without killing the bees. Just use relatively mild ozonation on the beehives. Most ozonators these days are quite cheap and you can adjust the amount accordingly. It won't kill the bees, but it will at least kill a lot of those foreign fungi and bacteria first. Small organisms die first. If mites are at issue, being in the fields in which the bees pollinate, consider that the mites are now insecticidal resistant. Weak orange oil in detergent or a simple borax and peroxide as usual, should get rid of the mites, over a large field for a couple of hours. It should be rinsed with water before the bees have a chance to pollinate, therefore not harming the bees. Of course, this is my own way of dealing with them, I am sure other people will have better ideas. As to why, there is an unusual numbers of fungi and bacteria, look no further than acid rain. It is acidic in nature and tends to promote bacteria and fungus. A simple way is to use a relatively alkaline solution to spray the premises, thus suppressing such growth. One simple remedy is (hee hee), baking soda mixed with water!

Perhaps, ten years from now honeybees, at least in most of the U.S., may face extinction, not really because of the disease, but something we usually overlook as species are increasingly facing extinction -- the issue of global warming. Basically, most parasites, tiny bacteria, viruses, cannot live in colder weather and this provides the bees with natural protection. But as global warming ensues, at least in the last 20 years and accelerating, opportunistic bacterium will get worse. There was a chart I remember as ice glaciers go down precipitously that the new bacteria and parasites rises dramatically during the same period. That chart came from the video of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth, and I think it was done quite well in explaining how the rate of diseases expands as temperature now no longer protects natural species from diseases. Therefore, a simple cure for honeybees is to go to cooler temperatures and "refrigerate" beehives, or use temperature as a natural protection. A much easier way, of course, is to relocate the beehives to colder temperatures that will be protective of the bees' immune systems, thereby preventing them from being overwhelmed with opportunistic viruses, mites, and nano-bacteria. Ted"

7/27/2007: Linda forwards Ted the following article:

Subject: Asian Parasite Killing Western Bees - Scientist
SPAIN: July 19, 2007
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2007 00:43:50 0000
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/43163/story.htm

Asian Parasite Killing Western Bees - Scientist SPAIN: July 19, 2007 MADRID - A parasite common in Asian bees has spread to Europe and the Americas and is behind the mass disappearance of honeybees in many countries, says a Spanish scientist who has been studying the phenomenon for years. The culprit is a microscopic parasite called nosema ceranae said Mariano Higes, who leads a team of researchers at a government-funded apiculture centre in Guadalajara, the province east of Madrid that is the heartland of Spain's honey industry. He and his colleagues have analysed thousands of samples from stricken hives in many countries. "We started in 2000 with the hypothesis that it was pesticides, but soon ruled it out," he told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. Pesticide traces were present only in a tiny proportion of samples and bee colonies were also dying in areas many miles from cultivated land, he said. They then ruled out the varroa mite, which is easy to see and which was not present in most of the affected hives. For a long time Higes and his colleagues thought a parasite called nosema apis, common in wet weather, was killing the bees. "We saw the spores, but the symptoms were very different and it was happening in dry weather too." Then he decided to sequence the parasite's DNA and discovered it was an Asian variant, nosema ceranae. Asian honeybees are less vulnerable to it, but it can kill European bees in a matter of days in laboratory conditions. "Nosema ceranae is far more dangerous and lives in heat and cold. A hive can become infected in two months and the whole colony can collapse in six to 18 months," said Higes, whose team has published a number of papers on the subject. "We've no doubt at all it's nosema ceranae and we think 50 percent of Spanish hives are infected," he said. Spain, with 2.3 million hives, is home to a quarter of the European Union's bees. His team have also identified this parasite in bees from Austria, Slovenia and other parts of Eastern Europe and assume it has invaded from Asia over a number of years. Now it seems to have crossed the Atlantic and is present in Canada and Argentina, he said. The Spanish researchers have not tested samples from the United States, where bees have also gone missing. Treatment for nosema ceranae is effective and cheap -- 1 euro (US$1.4) a hive twice a year -- but beekeepers first have to be convinced the parasite is the problem. Another theory points a finger at mobile phone aerials, but Higes notes bees use the angle of the sun to navigate and not electromagnetic frequencies. Other elements, such as drought or misapplied treatments, may play a part in lowering bees' resistance, but Higes is convinced the Asian parasite is the chief assassin.

Story by Julia Hayley
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

Ted replies, "Thanks for the forward! I will investigate the Asian parasites as to the possible cause of Western Bees extincition.

What is unusual is Thailand, which is also an Asian country and other countries around here are relatively resistant to "Asian parasites" and honey bees around in this area are doing quite fine.

It would be quite possible to change the honeybees species or at least through breeding introduce asian honeybees more resistant to the parasites.

A relatively weak solution of borax might remotely reduce the parasites infestation since most bees seem to be relatively resistant to a weak solution of borax for insect control. Of course, I haven't done experiments on that, but I do know bees don't get killed easily with borax, but parasites and mites seem to be peculiarly more sensitive, especially the mites and parasites' eggs.

Ted"

DISCLAIMER
Our readers offer information and opinions on Earth Clinic, not as a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your physician, pharmacist, or health care provider before taking any home remedies or supplements or following any treatment suggested by anyone on this site. Only your health care provider, personal physician, or pharmacist can provide you with advice on what is safe and effective for your unique needs or diagnose your particular medical history.