Yesterday a press release from the Army announced several pathogens had been found to be potential culprits. Some have found evidence of a fungus; in Hawaii, the news is centering on a harmful mite, and bee colonies are now quarantined to prevent its spread. More information on current research can be found here. What’s interesting is that while most of these articles claim Colony Collapse Disorder is yet to be found in Hawaii, this article claims otherwise, and I’m going to pay attention especially since my neighbor lost 20 of his 60 hives here on the Big Island just in the past two or three months.

A friend reminded me of the importance of bees to our local coffee industry, among other crops. I can’t even begin to comprehend the disaster.

They’ve given us some honey before; it’s wonderful.  I used to have a patch of mint that flowered and the bees just took over my garden.  One time a few months ago they swarmed, coming right up our driveway next to our porch.  We all ran inside, including the dogs, at a loss as to what might have upset them.

In the evenings lately I’ve noticed there is always one lone and angry bee buzzing around our porch light rather frantically, as if it’s bound and determined to go somewhere.  With all the talk about the bees disappearing lately, I always hope it will find its way home.

The bee apocalypse is hot news right now – truly a sign of the times.  So far no one is sure what’s going on – a virus, genetically modified crops, insecticides or maybe the effect of an increase in UV radiation which bees use to navigate.  People are quoting Einstein as having said, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”

Next time I see my neighbor I will ask about the bees.  It’s important to know if they are still around, and we would miss them very much indeed if they weren’t.