Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
We're working to fix a technical issue causing problems with our broadcasts. We'll have it resolved as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Honeybee Losses, Colony Collapse, And The Four 'P's

Muhammad Mahdi Karim

The Food Guys, Jon Jackson and Greg Patent, discuss the recent large-scale disappearance of European honey bees, both wild and managed.  Although the phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder probably peaked in 2007, twelve years later, honeybee losses remain high, thanks to the “four p’s”?—?poor nutrition, pesticides, pathogens and parasites.

Many of our staple crops depend on pollination by honey bees; as Jon points out, about 40% of North American agriculture needs bees to survive. Some of the possible causes: pesticides (including pesticides injected directly into hives to combat mites); mites;  fungal, bacterial and viral pests and diseases; malnutrition caused by monoculture; and beekeeping practices in the U.S., where commercially-raised bees are trucked around the country to pollinate crops.

Some simple solutions could be at hand. Biologist Mark Winston writes about a study conducted by Simon Fraser University in which farmers intentionally left some cropland uncultivated for the benefit of nesting and foraging wild bees. The results: improved crop yields and profits for the farmers.

(Broadcast: "The Food Guys," 9/14/14 and 6/2/19.  Listen weekly on the radio at 9:53 a.m. Sundays, or via podcast.)  

Beth Anne Austein has been spinning tunes on the air (The Folk Show, Dancing With Tradition, Freeforms), as well as recording, editing and mixing audio for Montana Public Radio and Montana PBS, since the Clinton Administration. She’s jockeyed faders or "fixed it in post” for The Plant Detective; Listeners Bookstall; Fieldnotes; Musicians Spotlight; The Write Question; Storycorps; Selected Shorts; Bill Raoul’s music series; orchestral and chamber concerts; lecture series; news interviews; and outside producers’ programs about topics ranging from philosophy to ticks.
Become a sustaining member for as low as $5/month
Make an annual or one-time donation to support MTPR
Pay an existing pledge or update your payment information
Related Content