The Epidemiology of Bee Colony Collapse

Posted on July 1, 2008 by mikethemadbiologist

Consider this a public service announcement. The NY Times has a very good op-ed piece explaining how mathematical epidemiology can be used to better understand bee colony collapse. The good news is (right now anyway) that it doesn’t look like all of the colonies will die off.

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2 Responses to The Epidemiology of Bee Colony Collapse

  1. Rogue Epidemiologist says:
    July 1, 2008 at 6:25 pm

    Well, it’s bees, so it’s technically an epizootic. But nit-picking aside, it’s sad ’cause I do luvs me some honey in my coffee. DNRTA, did they find an etiological agent for colony collapse?

  2. RBH says:
    July 6, 2008 at 1:19 am

    Apropos of this story, I saw a swarm of honeybees moving into new digs just two days ago. It’s the first swarm (and damn near the first honeybees) I’ve seen in years, and I live out in the country with a fair number of apple trees. Years ago one could stand under the apple trees and bathe in the hum of hundreds of honeybees; lately if I see two or three in a tree in bloom it’s out of the ordinary. The swarm was an encouraging sight.

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