04/17/07 Depending on the Bee

Depending on the bee. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. This is the time of year that fruit trees blossom over the entire northwest. In fact that blossom and its accompanying bee population is critical to the pollination process but this year, the bee populations have been drastically reduced due to an unknown threat. Dean Cannon works with Tate's Honey Farm near Spokane. Like everyone else, they are scratching their heads. CANNON: They're studying it right now. Got a bunch of universities and Pullman but there's no conclusions of anything. There's just a lot of speculation from sun spots, from cell phone towers  you name it. They've got all sorts of theories. Cannon is talking about the mystery of disappearing bees. Dramatic numbers of bees are missing this year from hives all over the U.S. and no one knows why. CANNON: More than likely a combination of things&there are so many. Mites, trachea mites, veroa mites, the chemicals they've been using to control the mites. There's been in record from the 1800's and even before that  this has happened before. According to Cannon most beekeepers depend on the honey production but many also supply orchardists with bees to help pollinate the trees. CANNON: It's getting to a point now like the almonds, they're importing bees from Australia to be pollinating and they can only come in  Australia and Hawaii are one of the few countries who are allowed because they are so isolated the mites haven't gotten to them yet. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.