Andrew Chang

University of New Mexico

April 22nd, 2018

THE FIGHT AGAINST COLONY

COLLAPSE DISORDER
Introduction
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is an
affluent issue across the United States
of America and the demise of bees is
inevitable at the rate of mortality
which will equate to mass extinction.
Colony Collapse Disorder is the rapid
rate of bees dying within colonies
which are typically influenced outlying
factors such as pesticide usage or
infestation; but, typically the deaths of
bees can’t be categorized by only one
factor and for that reason, the solution
to CCD hasn’t been found. CCD is
affecting about 45% of United States
commercial bee farms annually,
wreaking havoc economically, and the
temporary solution to this aggressive
issue is to mass breed bees. However,
with a necessity of bees to provide for
the agricultural market is only
growing in demand and the supply is
necessary to provide for this
economical endeavor.
Beessentials was founded in 2018, and
the passion behind the conservation is
what makes this company thrive. It’s
an important mission for Beessentials
to do whatever they can to support the
growth of bees, and the dying
population of bees due CCD is a
reason to fight against this aggressive
problem. In order to help support the
foundation of growth for bees;
Beessentials wants to teach the
community the importance of
beekeeping and how to participate in
this abundant avocation in hopes of
starting more local beehives for our
community. This, in turn, will help
stunt the mass population of bees from
dying within the community and
encourage the coexistence of
humankind and bees.
Background
The first reported case of Colony
Collapse Disorder was reported in the
winter of 2006 prompting the scientific
study of the devastation. Honeybees
were introduced to the United States
during the early seventeenth century,
and since the early nineteenth
centuries there reported cases of
catastrophic collapse. CCD was never
given an official name, but was
referred as autumn collapse, May
disease, spring dwindle, disappearing
disease, and fall dwindle disease. This
condition was thought to be caused by
microorganisms, inadequate pollen,
excessive pollen, toxic honey or nectar,
pesticide contamination, severe
weather conditions, and pest
infestations (Ballaro); although the
name has changed for this disorder
the cause of CCD is still unknown.
Honeybees in the United States are a
huge economic contributor,
contributing to the production of about
90% of crops in the United States and
35% of the food worldwide, this means
honeybees equate to 15 billion dollars
in the economy (“FactSheet”).
Proposal Layout
This proposal will cover the
importance of fighting colony collapse
disorder, and the possible solution
which Beessentials can provide for
fighting against this epidemic. The
proposal itself will be divided into a
problem solution order; within the
problem section, it will focus on the
dilemma behind colony collapse
disorder and how it affects the
community. Then the proposal will
transition to a solution aspect focusing
on the possible ways Beessentials can
relieve the pressure of CCD in the
community.
THE PROBLEM WITH CCD
The rate of Colony Collapse Disorder
Ever since the first recorded case of
CCD in 2006, the annual loss of
honeybees is astonishing, diminishing
to about 40% annually. For the years
of 2016-2017 during the winter
season, 4,963 beekeepers in the
United States provided survey
responses of colony loss that these
beekeepers had faced. These 4,963
beekeepers represent about 13% of the
country’s total honey producing
companies; the response states that
21.1% of colonies were lost during the
winters of the 2016-2017 year. Which
is an estimated low compared to the
10-year average of total winter loss
rate of 28.4%; however, CCD is not
limited to the winter, CCD affects bee
colonies during April – September as
well. In which beekeepers reported
that only 33.2% of colonies were lost
during April of 2016 to March of 2017
which was the second lowest rate of
annual colony loss in the past seven
years. A record high was within the
years of 2012-2013 which reached a
record peak of 45.1% of reported
colony loss (Colony Loss 2016 – 2017).
Figure 1: Yearly loss of Bee Colonies in the United States
(Colony Loss 2016-2017)
Why This Matters to You
Colony Collapse Disorder is a
significant issue which affects the
agricultural market. With the
constant death and replacement of
honeybees, it finds its cost into the
consumer cost of consumer goods.
Honeybees in the United States
contribute to the production of about
90% of crops in the United States and
35% of the food worldwide, equating to
15 billion dollars in the economy
(“FactSheet”). This constant need for
honeybees and replacement costs the
agricultural market $2 billion
(Spector) which they offset by
increasing the prices of food. Stunting
or even reducing CCD would mean a
stark change in food prices, increasing
the spending power within the
economy.
THE SOLUTION TO CCD
A Possible Solution to Colony
Collapse Disorder
A strange occurrence: although the
honeybee population is dying off at a
rapid rate there are more honeybee
colonies in the United States today
than 25 years ago. This is due to the
country’s need and demand for
commercial pollinators being so
affluential in the economy that the
resilience of beekeepers is
outstanding. This is only possible
because of the need to rebuild hives
after CDD effects a beekeeper and
their stock, they must purchase bees
and queens which are specially bred to
sustain winters but not pollinate. The
large “consumption” of honeybees and
the need for them is what makes CDD
almost unimpactful on the overall
picture of the population (Regan). This
isn’t a long-term solution as soon the
bred honeybees will be affected; but, in
the short term, this is the best
solution available to fight off CDD
from affecting the world. It’s
important that people help develop
bee colonies and nurture a future
generation which understands the
fragility of bees, this will hopefully
end the disease known as CDD, as a
future without bees could mean no
future at all.
Beessentials Solution to CCD
With the knowledge on how to possibly
solve CCD in the community, an
important action is to foster honeybee
hives in the comfort of homes in order
to encourage community growth of the
species. Beessentials understands the
complications of building a hive in a
home with no prior knowledge is a
major problem and in order to fight
this problem, a class of avid
beekeepers in the community with
both experience and knowledge of the
topic would teach classes of
beekeeping for both beginners and
professionals. This solution like many
other solutions for CCD is not
permanent; however, this solution will
create a major positive imprint which
could be a basic plan for future
communities hoping to fight off CCD,
and start a positive global change
which will raise awareness for a
problem which affects everyone.
What Does Beessentials Need to
Start Teaching Classes
Beessentials needs an area of space in
which it can lead classes; an area
which might have the most interest
from the community. This came down
to a couple of sources, which were
narrowed down to 7000 Elena Dr. NE,
Albuquerque, NM 87113. Though this
plot is expensive, priced at about
$499,999, it was also the plot of land
that was not surrounded by
residential areas, though there are a
few houses around the plot, the layout
of this structure could be utilized to
avoid these resident’s homes. In
addition to the price of the land plot,
there would be a building cost and
equipment cost. Ranging from about
$400 for one hive and $300 for every
additional hive onward. In addition to
the beehives a community garden that
would be implemented would run
upwards of $3,750; finally, the
building itself would run a hefty price
as it would be around one acre in size
which typically costs $871,200. This in
total would be a whopping $1,376,549.
Figure 2: Costs to start a Beehive
(Carl Wenning)
Costs Vs Benefits
A literal cost analysis of the hefty
$1,376,549 price tag on a community
center leaves many with gaping
mouths; it might be a large sum to
fork over but might prove to be overall
beneficial in a community. A research
study done by Dr. Dodd showed that
communities significantly respond to
community awareness projects; the
positive impact it left after the study
in the community would be
monumental. This study was a simple
idea of whether or not people actually
respond to simple community classes
on awareness. The results
demonstrated a huge sway which
impacted a positive change for the
community, and if implementing a
class for Beessentials would have the
same effect on the community it can
bring in monetary and ethical profit
for the society (Dodd). Dr. Bennet, a
scientist from Los Lunas’s
Agricultural Science Center writes of
proposals and grants which make the
startup of a building in the
Albuquerque area possible. Both Non-
Federal and Federal grants are
discussed in the article, both
proposing the importance of the
conservation of bees (Bennet). This
would benefit in offsetting the hefty
price of land allotment; the only cost of
this would be the investment of time
and effort to create applications for
the forms needed to apply for the
grants. This is not necessarily a
problem and could easily be worked
around, and help offset the price of a
physical location to teach classes. The
need for professionals who are
passionate about teaching classes on
beekeeping; but that not really a
problem as a beekeeper association in
New Mexico filled with compassionate
and experienced beekeepers could be
reached out towards to help teach
classes about something that they are
passionate. These costs aren’t
necessarily the biggest worries besides
price, but with the inclusion of all the
benefits, the possibility that a
centralized location to teach classes
might be necessary and important.
Conclusion
Overall the importance of teaching
classes on beekeeping so that people
are aware and willing to help preserve
bees is essential. With the help and
the passion from Beessentials, it’s a
possibility that this fruitful endeavor
helps restore a populous of bees which
have died from the effects of CCD in
the community. The ethical and
economic impact that it will impart to
the community is everlasting and
important, and overall the realm of
possibility to startup and allow
Beessentials is not only attainable but
realistic, and balancing the mission to
help bees and help the community is
of major importance at Beessentials
and makes it that much easier for the
coexistence of bees and humankind.
References
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