An international team of scientists, including ARC Future Fellow, Dr Andrew Barron (Macquarie University), believe they may have worked out why bee colonies globally have been collapsing. Colony Collapse Disorder is a significant international problem as there is concern that declining honey bee populations will harm successful crop pollination. In Australia, the contribution of honey bees to crop production is estimated at $5 billion per annum. Pathogens, pesticides, and nutritional deficits have previously been identified as stressors linked to Colony Collapse Disorder, but it was a mystery why bee colonies sometimes collapsed so rapidly, leaving bee keepers with an empty hive box. The study used radio tracking to follow thousands of bees throughout their entire lives to map their accelerated decline. The researchers found that bees reacted to stress by starting to forage when young, but the young precocious foragers did not cope well with having grown up too fast. “Bee colonies contain a precise balance of bees specialised in the different roles the society needs. If that balance is upset by young bees starting to forage early, sometimes the colony cannot cope,” said Dr Barron.
Media issued by Macquarie University
