Research closes in on hive disorder

An affliction that has plagued North American honeybees for the last five years may not be so mysterious any more due to research led by a University of Montana professor who spoke Friday to a gathering of beekeepers in Kalispell.

The research, published this week on an online scientific journal, reveals dual pathogens that could be the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder. The work received national and international media attention.

“Despite the headlines, I wouldn’t say we’ve found the cause of CCD, but we’ve found some really compelling evidence,” UM biology research professor Jerry Bromenshenk told about 50 people attending a convention of the Montana State Beekeepers Association.

Bromenshenk said the research does not conclusively prove the cause, but it did expose an entirely unexpected and complex iridescent virus along with a fungal pathogen called Nosema ceranae.

The two pathogens were identified by a highly sophisticated mass spectrometer at a U.S. Army lab in Maryland. The instrument was used to analyze samples collected from honeybee hives that were afflicted by colony collapse over the last few years.

Bromenshenk said the pathogens could combine to make bees sick in a manner that would be similar to having “stomach flu and food poisoning all at once.”

The cause of Colony Collapse Disorder has perplexed beekeepers and researchers since it first showed up around 2005.

Kalispell-area beekeeper Gene Speelman lost about half of his hives as he prepared to move them to California orchards in fall 2005.

“I thought I had some really nice beehives and over half of them disappeared that fall and winter,” said Speelman, whose father was the Flathead Valley’s first commercial beekeeper.

Speelman said colony collapses seemed to be most prevalent in western states at first, but the problem gradually spread to the east, with consequences for agricultural producers in many areas because of declining plant pollination.

“The almond growers are totally dependent on” beekeeping operations, Speelman said. “There is no other insect that will do the job on an almond blossom than a honeybee.”

Speelman said he continued to see colony collapses and eventually sold his beekeeping business. Now he’s getting back into beekeeping as a hobby.

Bromenshenk said most viruses found in bees and other insects are a single-strand RNA variety. But the iridescent virus that was discovered is a much larger and more complex DNA design.

It is similar to a virus that was detected in India 20 years ago and one that is found in moths.

It was so unfamiliar to the team of researchers associated with Bromenshenk that they ended up consulting with other scientists, most notably Trevor Williams, whom Bromenshenk describes as the leading worldwide expert on iridescent viruses.

Bromenshenk said the discovery of the iridescent virus has shifted CCD research in a new direction that could lead to remedies.

“If you know the culprit, then you can start to work on it,” he said.

But for now, Bromenshenk said the only help he can offer beekeepers is a well-documented observation of the conditions in which CCD seems to occur.

“Both of these pathogens thrive in cool, damp conditions and they don’t do so well where it’s warm and dry,” he said.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.