Consumers step up to help honeybees

University Park, Pa. -- With the nation's production of fresh fruits and vegetables being threatened by the mysterious disappearance of honeybees, several companies and their consumers have stepped up to support honeybee research and education about the malady, known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
 
Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences' Entomology Department has taken a major role in finding a solution to the decline of the nation's honeybees and other pollinators, which are critical to the production of $15 billion worth of crops in the United States. Whole Foods Market, the world's largest retailer of natural and organic foods, announced recently that honeybee research at Penn State will be a recipient of the company's register donation coupon program located at various stores in the Northeast. According to Bonnie Frechette, marketing team leader at Whole Foods, customers will be able choose a denomination to donate to honeybee research in the College of Agricultural Sciences as an add-on to their grocery bill, which will appear on their receipt for tax purposes.

"Recently, I came across Haagen-Dazs' four-page magazine spread promoting its 'Help Save the Honey Bees' campaign. It depicted a map of U.S. and all the crops affected by CCD," says Frechette. "Then I went online to learn more and decided I had to do something. This is an issue that affects each and every one of us and using the register donation coupon program is a great way to raise both awareness and much needed funds for research."

Each month at Whole Foods participating stores feature a nonprofit organization at check out which customers can donate to. Several stores in the Northeast will be featuring the honeybee donation coupons at various times this spring and summer. "So far, we've had really positive responses from customers, so we would like to expand the campaign to even more stores," Frechette explained.

In addition, Haagen-Dazs has announced a gift of $150,000 toward honeybee-related programs in the College of Agricultural Sciences as part of their campaign. Haagen-Dazs also will contribute $100,000 to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis. The donations are part of the company's "Haagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees" consumer education campaign aimed at generating awareness among ice cream lovers about the dire situation facing managed and wild pollinators and what can be done to help.

Diana Cox-Foster, professor of entomology and co-chair of a national working group of CCD researchers, said Haagen-Dazs' contribution as well as individual donations that they've received will allow Penn State to purchase equipment that will enable faster processing of samples and aid in the molecular detection and identification of viruses, pesticides and other substances potentially harmful to honeybees and other pollinators. "The gift will also support training of graduate and undergraduate students by providing small grants for student research on bee-related topics," says Cox-Foster. "With these grants, students will be able to expand the scope of their projects beyond what otherwise would have been possible."

Haagen-Dazs also announced the launch of a new flavor of ice cream this spring, Vanilla Honey Bee, which is being featured at Whole Foods. A portion of proceeds from sales of the new flavor, as well as from all honeybee-affected flavors in the brand's product line -- indicated by special labeling on the package -- will go toward helping honeybees.

CCD was first discovered in November 2006 after a Pennsylvania beekeeper reported that more than 50 percent of his bee colonies he was overwintering in Florida had collapsed, meaning that the tens of thousands of bees that were supposed to be in each hive had simply disappeared. "Since then, beekeepers from all over the country have been reporting unprecedented losses," says Maryann Frazier, apiculture extension associate in entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences. According to Frazier, symptoms of CCD include the sudden reduction or disappearance of the adult bee population without evidence of dead bees. "The hive will contain brood pollen and honey, with little evidence of robbing, wax moth or small hive beetle attack."

Researchers from Penn State, other universities, government agencies and other institutions formed the CCD working group to determine what factors are responsible for these unprecedented colony losses. The cause of CCD is still largely a mystery, but researchers recently discovered a strong correlation between CCD and the presence of Israeli acute paralysis virus in the bees. Other factors such as a compromised immune system, poor nutrition, parasites, chemical contamination and other viruses and diseases continue to be investigated. Researchers have collected samples in several states and are conducting bee autopsies and chemical and genetic analysis, but a definitive answer for CCD could still be months away.

For more information on honeybee research at Penn State, visit  http://www.ento.psu.edu/HoneyBeeResearch.html.

Established in 1963, Penn State's Department of Entomology has grown into a well-balanced department providing undergraduate education, graduate student training and extension outreach education focusing on both domestic and international issues. Twenty faculty and more than 30 graduate students work on a variety of research topics providing insights into insect ecology, behavior and molecular biology as well as integrated pest management. The department is part of Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. For more information about solving insect problems, descriptions of research and education programs or admission to the graduate program, visit the department's Web site at http://www.ento.psu.edu/ or call the department at (814) 865-1895.