In this episode of the Agroinnovations Podcast I speak with Maryann Frazier, Senior Extension Associate at Pennsylvania State University and an expert on colony collapse disorder (CCD) in bees. This alarming phenomenon has captured the attention of media throughout the country.
In this interview, Maryann takes us through the brief but intense history of CCD, and gives us a concise interpretation of where the scientific evidence to date is leading us. Her conclusions show us that bees themselves are forcing us to reexamine our relationships with agriculture, nature, and land.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
6 responses to “Episode #31: Colony Collapse Disorder in 2008”
Great podcast! The topic was discussed in great detail, and i hope that she does come back for a second discussion in a year or so.
One question i have is this: After CCD, is the queen left in the hive, or does she fly away and die too? I understand that the queen only flies typically once in her life (to mate), and then ordinarily does not leave the hive again. So if the cause of CCD really is a new virus and/or pesticide load, she should remain in the hive after the rest of the colony flies off and dies. Any ideas here?
Queens will leave the hive to mate but they will also leave with a reproductive swarm. In the case of CCD, often the queen does remain in the hive with a handful of young bees.
ive listened to this podcast. im a student in highschool and for a speech credit, this is the topic ive chosen to speak about. ive been doing alot of research and watching and listening to alot of podcasts. this podcast really has helped me alot.
the only qualm i have is that i cant download it. help? it would mean alot to me.
Frank,
I would like to listen to this podcast. When I download or listen online I only get the first 5 seconds. Have you removed your older podcasts? Can I access this one in some other way?
Crinia
Everything seems to be working again Frank. I can now download or listen online. Thanks Crinia
This is a very interesting interview. I work with bees in New Orleans Lousiana. We have been working very hard to provide homes for ferel bee colonies in the area. I feel ferel bee populations are the key to maintaining the genetic diversity in bee populations that will help our world’s bees cope with the effects of colony colapse.
When we relocate these ferel bees (found primarily in houses still vacant since Hurrican Katrina) they tend to build comb faster than their domesticated counterparts. They also build comb with more complexity of design.
This relates also to wild farming which I enjoyed hearing about this last week. Thanks again for your great work Frank!