Issues
The western honey bee as a species is very sensitive to environmental changes. From foreign organisms to chemicals the western honey bees are very easily stressed by change. The consequences of this stress can range from a decrease in the efficiency of honey production to the collapse of the entire colony. Eventually the colonies can become so disturbed that the collapse becomes chronic. We refer to this chronic collapse as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
The western honey bee is perhaps the most endangered species of honey bee. Over the past few decades we in the United States of America have observed a significant and disturbing decrease in the volume of western honey bee. All species react to environmental changes and it is quite common for species to have seemingly random decreases in population. However the western honey bee colonies, most of which are under the control and care of professional bee keepers, are dying with alarming and dangerous velocity. Such dramatic fluctuations are not unexpected and thus not without a measure of control. Several methods have been designed to assist in increasing the population; but currently there are no such methods that can be applied on the commercial scale we see today. CCD is not as of yet fully understood (See Colony Collapse Disorder below) but by raising awareness to this environmental issue we may successfully join forces to conquer CCD and mitigate the effects of loosing the western honey bee as a species.
The western honey bee is perhaps the most endangered species of honey bee. Over the past few decades we in the United States of America have observed a significant and disturbing decrease in the volume of western honey bee. All species react to environmental changes and it is quite common for species to have seemingly random decreases in population. However the western honey bee colonies, most of which are under the control and care of professional bee keepers, are dying with alarming and dangerous velocity. Such dramatic fluctuations are not unexpected and thus not without a measure of control. Several methods have been designed to assist in increasing the population; but currently there are no such methods that can be applied on the commercial scale we see today. CCD is not as of yet fully understood (See Colony Collapse Disorder below) but by raising awareness to this environmental issue we may successfully join forces to conquer CCD and mitigate the effects of loosing the western honey bee as a species.