Bumblebee Trouble

The honey bee is in serious trouble and a recent article by National Geographic explains that their cousins, the bumblebees, have contracted some trouble of their own. According to a study titled: "Disease Association Between Honeybees and Bumblebees As a Threat To Wild Pollinators", two diseases found in honey bees, Deformed Wing Virus and Nosema Ceranae, have spread to the bumblebees. These two pathogens have been referred to as a common contributor to colony collapse disorder in honey bees in both North America and Europe. Scientists in this study examined whether or not bumblebees were capable of contracting DWV (a virus) or Nosema Ceranae (a fungus) the experiment revealed that they could. The second step in the study was to examine bumblebees in 26 locations throughout Great Britain to determine whether the infections in local honey bees had crossed over to the wild bumblebee population. The results did not confirm that the honey bees were the cause of the transfer but 11 percent of the bumblebees tested did have DWV and 7 percent tested positive for Nosema Ceranae. The results of this study confirm that honey bee pollinators are not the only species of bee we need to keep an eye on. This is yet another opportunity to take action and get involved to save the bees.