Honey bees are vital to food production
By Diane Palmer, Clemson Extension Office

Spring is almost here and that means plants will soon be bursting into bloom and all abuzz with millions of honey bees gathering pollen and nectar for their hives.

Many food crops are heavily dependent on honey bees for pollination. About one third of our diet comes from vegetables, fruits, nuts, and forage plants that are insect pollinated and honey bees provide about 80 percent of this valuable service. Without honey bees and beekeepers to move colonies, U.S. food production would decline and costs would skyrocket.

"We should all thank the honey bee for a large portion of our food," said Mike Hood, Clemson Extension bee specialist and past- president of the American Association of Professional Apiculturists. "Honey bees are vital to the production of food."

Nationally, pollination by honey bees is estimated to be worth $14.6 billion annually. In S.C., cash farm receipts are estimated at $24 million for five commercially grown crops including apple, cantaloupe, cucumber, squash and watermelon - all dependent on honey bees for pollination. This does not include several million dollars of home garden vegetables and fruits that are produced in the state.

A couple of years ago, some commercial beekeepers began losing 80- 90 percent of their bee colonies. No obvious explanation was apparent for the problem, which came to be called "colony collapse disorder," or CCD, according to Hood.

The causes are still unknown, but beekeepers are now beginning to narrow their focus on a few possible causes.

"Surveys of the beekeepers reporting CCD are ongoing and researchers will be following some of these operations closely to monitor bee health," Hood said. "Some likely candidates for the honey bee problem have been identified, including new bee diseases or microbes, honey bee nutrition, pesticides used by beekeepers and non- beekeepers, genetically modified crops, and stress as a result of many recent maladies such as parasitic mites which were first discovered in the United States in the 1980s."

Hood noted the recent CCD issue has taken a heavy toll on many U.S. commercial beekeeping operations which had already been hit hard with higher production costs, parasitic mites, and unfair honey imports.

"Beekeepers have been dealt a heavy blow," Hood said. "We need a solid beekeeping industry to provide the essential pollination services that impact our supply of healthy and affordable food in the United States."

Most S.C. beekeepers have reported normal over wintering colony losses in the range of 20 percent this year, according to Hood.

"I'm certain that we are not immune to the CCD problem in our state, so our beekeepers need to be diligent in their bee management this year and look out for signs of colony stress," said Hood.

An estimated 2,000 beekeepers in the state manage about 25,000 honey bee colonies.

Interest in beekeeping is at an all time high in the S.C. this year, according to Hood.

"An estimated 240 new beekeepers are enrolled in introductory level short courses we offer," he said. "Short courses offered in our state through our Master Beekeeper program which is coordinated jointly by Clemson Extension and the S.C. Beekeepers Association. This will significantly augment our state's beekeeping industry."

For more information visit: www.clemson.edu/public/.