'Zombie' Bees Caused by Parasite
Scientists in California have discovered a possible reason that caused the honey bee population to severely decline the past couple of years, they believe the bees are becoming infected with a parasite that makes them act like “zombies.”
So far the parasite, which is transferred from a fly, has only been detected in California and South Dakota. But is raising concerns due to the close relationship the honey bee has with American agriculture.
The discovery was made by chance three years ago when a professor gathered bees from outside to feed to his praying mantis. John Hafernik, professor of biology San Francisco State University, explained how he noticed the parasite: "But being an absent-minded professor, I left them in a vial on my desk and forgot about them. Then the next time I looked at the vial, there were all these fly pupae surrounding the bees," according to USA Today.
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In a short matter of time the bees began to die but, not in the usual way by laying still and curling into a ball. These bees tried to get up and move their legs but were too weak and disoriented, explained the lead author of the study, Andrew Core, a graduate student in Hafernik's lab.
"They kept stretching them out and then falling over. It really painted a picture of something like a zombie," Core said.
The parasite is raising a great deal of concern for the agriculture industry because bees pollinate about a third of the United States' food supply. The findings are especially alarming in California which is the nation's top producer of fruits and vegetables. In California bees play an essential role in various crops including the $2 billion almond industry.
Since 2006, colony collapse has destroyed bee colonies at a rate of about 30 percent per year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Before that, losses were about 15 percent per year and from a variety of pests and diseases.
