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Caucasian (dark-colored) bee originates from the Caucasus region that separates Europe from Asia.

Italian bee is the most common bee in the United States. Its origin: Italy.

This is one of Susan Cobey's New World Carniolan bees.The Carniolans originate from the Northern Balkans, Slovenia and Caucasian mountains.(Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The California State Beekeepers’ Association and the Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats (TEMA), are cooperating in research and exchange of bees to strengthen the honeybee populations around the world.

Susan Cobey is internationally known for her expertise in honey bee breeding and instrumental insemination. She teaches classes that draw students from throughout the world. A bee breeder and geneticist for more than 30 years, she developed and maintains the world-renowned New World Carniolan stock.

“Researchers are still collecting more samples from collapsing colonies and trying very hard to process those and previous samples to see what may be causing the problem,” said UC Davis Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, who believes that CCD is not caused by one single factor, but multiple factors, including malnutrition, pesticides, diseases, parasites and stress.

“Nearly every state in the U.S. has some to many beekeepers who are having difficulty with losses that appear to be CCD,” said Mussen, Extension apiculturist at UC Davis since 1976 and a former state and national beekeeper of the year. “Many countries are encountering similar bee losses.  Since we don't know what is causing ours, or theirs, we cannot say that the cause(s) is the same, but it is likely.”

In CCD, nearly all adult worker bees unexpectedly fly away from the hive, abandoning the stored honey, pollen, larvae and pupae. Usually they leave in less than a week, and only the queen and a few young workers remain, Mussen said.

CCD  is not a new occurrence, Mussen said. “Similar phenomena have been observed since 1869. It persisted in 1963, 1964 and 1965 and was called Spring Dwindling, Fall Collapse and Autumn Collapse. Then in 1975, it was called Disappearing Disease. But the disease wasn’t disappearing—the bees were.”

Can we surmise what the future holds for bees? “No, we cannot,” Mussen said. “We hope that this episode will just be one in a number that have occurred, and resolved themselves, in the past.”

At the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture hearing on June 26 to review the status of pollinator health and CCD, subcommittee chair Cong. Dennis Cardoza of California’s 18th District, said that the “importance of bees and other pollinators cannot be underestimated. Nearly 130 different crops—totaling over $15 billion in annual farm gate value—depend on pollination to grow.”

Testimony revealed that the lack of pollinators could further increase food prices. Said Cardoza:  “USDA desperately needs to better coordinate their research and response to this ongoing crisis, and more clearly define their needs so that Congress can adequately respond.”

“Should the CCD crisis continue unchecked, pollinated ingredients such as strawberries, cherries and almonds could become scarce or too expensive to obtain, forcing us to evaluate whether we can continue offering popular flavors that depend on pollinated ingredients because of higher production costs,” Pien said.

Those interested in making online donations to UC Davis to help save the honey bees can access the UC Davis Department of Entomology Web page. Or, checks may be made out to “UC Regents” and mailed to the UC Davis Department of Entomology, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616.

University of California Davis bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey and Steve Sheppard, a professor and apiculturist at Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., are investigating several races of the Western or European honey bee (Apis mellifera), which European settlers brought to America in 1622.
 
The Cobey-Sheppard research team has received semen from the Italian bee, shipped from Italy; the Carniolan bee, from Germany; and the Caucasian bee, from the Caucasus region of Eurasia. The Italian bee is a honey-colored bee that's the most common honey bee in the United States. The Carniolan and the Caucasian bees are darker in color.
 
The semen from the three races will be used to inseminate queens that will be kept in an APHIS-approved quarantine until determined safe to release, Cobey said. APHIS, the Animal and Plant Protection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is charged with protecting and promoting U.S. agricultural health.

Monoculture Doesn't Work with Insects, Either!

"As well as enhancing genetic diversity, known to increase fitness in honey bees, we're hoping this will result in an increased level of resistance to the exotic and introduced pests and diseases of our honey bees," Cobey said.
 
America's beekeepers reported losing 36.1 percent of their bees over the last year, up from 32 percent the previous year. The survey, commissioned by the Apiary Inspectors of America, showed that the beekeepers attributed 29 percent of the recent loss to colony collapse disorder, in which bees mysteriously abandon their hives.
 

The declining bee population crisis is particularly troubling, Cobey said, because bees pollinate about one-third of the food we eat, including fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

 
The bee research is funded by the California State Beekeepers' Association and the Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats (TEMA), founded in 1992.
 
Cobey will be in Turkey Aug. 1 to 14 to participate in the TEMA Bee Project. "One aspect of this is the preservation of Turkey's native Caucasian honey bee," she said.
 
The UC Davis geneticist will teach a honey bee instrumental insemination class, Aug. 16 to 19 at the Middle East Technical University, Department of Biology, Ankara, Turkey.
 
Cobey is internationally known for her expertise in honey bee breeding and instrumental insemination. She teaches classes that draw students from throughout the world. A bee breeder and geneticist for more than 30 years, she developed and maintains the world-renowned New World Carniolan stock.
 
At their request, Cobey will confer with officials on native bee races at the Bee Selection and Artificial Insemination Center at Camili of Artvin Province. The Camili region of six villages is where apiculturists discovered pure Caucasian bees thought to be extinct. They then began queen bee breeding, selection work and artificial insemination. The center officials seek Cobey's impressions and advice in connection with their work.
 
A "bee safari" is also planned to look at the five native races of honey bees in Turkey.
 
Prior to heading for Turkey, Cobey will guest-lecture at the Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Association summer course, July 21-26 in Gormanston, Ireland.
 
Those interested in making online donations to UC Davis to help save the honey bees can go to the UC Davis Department of Entomology Web page, http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/news/howtodonatetobeebiology.html. Or, checks may be made out to "UC Regents" and mailed to the UC Davis Department of Entomology, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616.

Susan Cobey with queen bee cells. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Not only do women suffer the most from global problems, such as the current crisis arising from the surge in food prices, but they can also contribute the most to its solutions, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said.

Ms. Migiro pointed out that the world is faced with an “unprecedented” rise of food prices, plunging many developing countries into a crisis that threatens to thwart efforts to achieve the global anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Highlighting some of the effects of the crisis, Ms. Migiro noted that families that do not have enough to eat are being forced to make terrible choices, such as deciding between food or medicine, or choosing whether to send their children to school or to the fields where they might earn money to help the family.

“And it’s women who are hit the hardest,” she said. “The development emergency engulfing whole communities is taking its heaviest toll on women.”

The crisis offers an opportunity to re-invest in agriculture in Africa.

“Helping African farmers can have a decisive impact on women’s lives,” Ms. Migiro said, noting that for the most part it is women – who make up 80 per cent of Africa’s farmers – that are out there under the hot sun, tending the fields and harvesting crops.

“But the same women hit hardest by the food crisis are ready to hit back,” she added, stressing that with the right support, they can move their communities from subsistence farming to commercial farming and even industry. This is crucial not only for the continent but for the world, which is just not producing as much food as it consumes.

“We need to do much more… to empower women. Women can drive the Green Revolution in Africa. They hold the key to breaking out of the food crisis; to educating the young; to peace, progress and prosperity,” the Deputy Secretary-General stated.

SOURCE: UN.org

Growers of fresh produce on the Central Coast of California currently face conflicting demands regarding measures to protect food safety and those to protect environmental quality. To explore the extent of conflicting pressures and identify the range of possible impacts on the environment, California Agriculture conducted a survey of Central Coast irrigated-row-crop growers during spring 2007.

The results indicate that growers are experiencing a clear conflict, and some are incurring economic hardships because their practices to protect the environment have resulted in the rejection of crops by buyers.


These actions could affect large areas of land on the Central Coast and, as indicated by growers, they are likely to increase over time.
 
The Central Coast contains some of the greatest biodiversity of any temperate region in the world. At its heart is the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the largest marine sanctuary in the United States, and the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.

While the Central Coast houses many natural resources, according to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (CCRWQCB), it also has some of the most polluted waters in California. The Pajaro River and Elkhorn Slough are listed as impaired for sediment and nutrients under California’s 2002 Section 303(d) of the 1972 Clean Water Act. The Salinas River is 303(d)-listed as impaired for sediment, nutrients, pesticides and pathogens.

In response, the CCRWQCB adopted a Conditional Waiver Program in 2005, which requires growers to enroll in the program, attend water quality training sessions, adopt farm water-quality management plans, complete management practice checklists and participate in water quality monitoring (Cal EPA 2007).

An important aspect of these efforts is the adoption of conservation practices, which aim to improve and protect water quality, prevent soil erosion, reduce the use of agricultural chemicals and protect wildlife. Vegetation on and around farmland is a key component, including vegetated field borders, grassed waterways, riparian buffers and constructed wetlands.

For the past decade, the Central Coast farming community has been proactively working with resource agencies to develop and implement voluntary conservation practices to improve water quality and reduce water consumption through the adoption and implementation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s Agricultural and Rural Lands Plan (MBNMS 1999). Adoption of these practices has now become a key component for compliance with the CCRWQCB’s Conditional Waiver Program.

Despite an intensive investigation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) have not been able to conclusively determine the specific causes of the spinach outbreak (CDHS/ FDA 2007).

In early 2007, with oversight by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), produce industry representatives developed the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement (see www.caleafygreens.ca.gov). More than 100 handlers (companies that move fresh produce products from growers to retail and food-service buyers) are signatories. Representing more than 99% of the leafy greens production in California, they are obligated to handle leafy green produce only from growers who adhere to the best management practices detailed in the Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Production and Harvest of Lettuce and Leafy Greens, known as the “Metrics” (see www.caleafygreens.ca.gov). The Metrics were developed and continue to be updated through a process involving the produce industry, government agencies, natural resource organizations and scientists.

In addition to the Metrics, many companies and retailers who handle or sell leafy greens have developed their own company-specific food safety requirements, which also affect farm management practices. Because growers often sell their crops to multiple buyers, most now must meet at least one if not several different sets of requirements. In addition, field interpretations of the Metrics and company-specific guidelines vary.

Specific measures stated or implied in the Metrics and company-specific requirements may potentially conflict with efforts to improve and protect water quality and support wildlife habitat.

Eight percent (8.0%) of growers reported that their crops had been rejected based on the presence of practices to improve water quality or wildlife habitat on the farm. Some of the explanations shared by respondents included:

• Lost $17,500 worth of crop due to deer tracks.
• 1 acre of romaine lettuce rejected due to proximity to horse pen.
• 23 acres of head lettuce and 2 acres of mixed lettuce rejected due to contact with Salinas River floodwater.
• Crop rejected due to potential frog habitat.
• Portions of fields rejected by processor if frogs, tadpoles, snails, mice or other small animals were found.
• Harvest stopped due to the presence of frogs and tadpoles in creek.
• Crop rejected due to deer intrusion.
• Crops planted for processor near trees needed a buffer of 100 to 150 feet.

Some 88.9% of the survey respondents indicated that they had adopted at least one measure to actively discourage or eliminate wildlife from cropped areas

Wildlife exclusion. Some 88.9% of the survey respondents indicated that they had adopted at least one measure to actively discourage or eliminate wildlife from cropped areas

Conservation practice abandonment. Approximately 15% of all growers surveyed indicated that they had removed or discontinued the use of previously adopted conservation practices in response to suggestions made by auditors or buyers due to food safety concerns.

The survey results illustrate that growers are in the middle of a clear conflict between current food safety standards and continued efforts to address water quality and environmental concerns on the Central Coast.  

The process and standards for protecting food safety in leafy greens on the Central Coast of California set a precedent that will certainly be modeled for other crops and growing regions nationwide.  

M. Beretti is Program Director, Resource Conservation District of Monterey County, Salinas; and D. Stuart is Doctoral Candidate, Department of Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz.

READ the Rest of the Story, SOURCE:  California Agriculture

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