What’s the buzz about bees?

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

As the number of honeybee hives around the world steadily declines, farmers, beekeepers and scientists are trying to spread the word about the importance of bees and pollination.

Last week was National Pollinator Week, and local beekeepers and experts hosted educational events throughout the area.

At Weaver Street Market on Thursday, onlookers viewed a bee cage and talked with experts from N.C. State University, the North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the Orange County Beekeepers’ Association.

Participants also toured the produce section of Weaver Street, while experts explained which crops are pollinated by honeybees and the effects of pollination on the state’s
economy.

“About a third of what we eat is reliant on honeybees,” said David Tarpy, an assistant professor of entomology at N.C. State and an extension apiculturist. “Without the pollination, you don’t get the food.”

According to Tarpy, the top five North Carolina crops reliant on pollination are cucumbers, apples, blueberries, melons and squash.

However, over the past 20 years, the number of hives worldwide has declined from between approximately 3.5 to 3.75 million to 2.25 to 2.5 million, Tarpy said. Scientists have not yet determined what’s causing the decline.

“My guess is it’s going to be a combination of different factors and it’s going to be hard to pin down,” Tarpy said. He added that factors including the environment, nutrition, beekeeper management practices and disease and parasites could be causing the decline in hives.

The varroa mite – a parasitic mite that can only reproduce in honeybee colonies – has been particularly harmful to bees, and hives of honeybees no longer exist in the wild, Tarpy said.

In addition, entire hives of bees have been disappearing lately – a condition known as colony collapse disorder. The cause of the disappearance is not yet known, and while bee experts have theories, the disorder is widely debated.

Crucial beekeeping
Because hives are so delicate, beekeepers are extremely important to the survival of the honeybee and pollination, Tarpy said. He encourages people to become beekeepers to help prevent the decline of the pollinator population.

Beekeeping has become more popular in the area in recent years, according to Jack Tapp, owner of Busy Bee Apiaries in Chapel Hill. Tapp, who is an engineer, said he knows beekeepers who are doctors, dentists, farmers and students.

In addition, North Carolina has the largest beekeeping association in the country, with more than 1,900 members. The association sponsors beekeeping education classes around the state. New beekeepers can get started with the help of the association and commercial beekeepers, like Tapp’s Busy Bee Apiaries.

Tapp started Busy Bee Apiaries in 1998. He now has 3,300 hives, including 1,000 dedicated to pollination and 2,300 to raise queens. In addition, Busy Bee Apiaries sells beekeeping supplies and honey.

According to Tapp, most beekeepers around here are hobbyists – meaning they keep ten or fewer hives for pollinating gardens or producing small amounts of honey. Tapp said he himself started beekeeping as a hobby.

“I grew up on a farm, and it’s hard to get that out of your blood,” he said. “We have a lot of fun with [beekeeping].”

Now Tapp takes his bees to pollinate farms across the state. Many of those farms, he said, are quite dependent on his bees and their pollination.

“A major part of our business is pollination,” he said. “We take bees to the fields, and they do their job.

“Once they’ve pollinated that crop, we take them to another crop.”

Tapp said the biggest part of their business, however, is raising queen bees, which they ship all over the country. Tapp breeds Minnesota hygienic queens, which tend to keep the hives clean and are more resistant to mites.

Even if a queen is resistant to mites, Sevin Dust – a pesticide that resembles pollen – can destroy the entire hive.

“It’s really detrimental to the beekeeping industry,” Tapp said. Because the dust looks like pollen, the bees pick it up and bring it back to their hives.

Tapp said he hasn’t seen any evidence of colony collapse disorder in his hives. He speculated that the disorder was caused by beekeepers feeding the bees too much cornstarch when the bees are unable to get protein through pollen due to drought. The imbalance in diet could have caused the disorder, Tapp said.

However, he added, “ As long as it’s working the way it is for us, we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing.”