April 22, 2010
By Joe Stoll
WTOL
TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - It's a bizarre mystery for bee keepers: Why are so many honeybees dying?
Photo: Walter Schulisch works with bees as a horticulturist at the University of Toledo's Stranahan Arboretum.
Whether you realize it or not, the trend is having a direct impact on all of us.
Walter Schulisch works with bees as a horticulturist at the University of Toledo's Stranahan Arboretum.
"There are three hives here and two of them are dead," Schulisch said while talking about the problem.
Ohio agriculture officials estimate nearly 70 percent of honeybees died over the winter, continuing the trend.
"The main economic impact is the lack of pollination that will decrease crop production," Schulisch said.
Schulisch says bees fly out of the colony and transfer pollen from plants to plants.
The problem is, with fewer bees, fewer crops are being pollinated and, if you reduce the amount of bushels of produce per acre and demand remains the same, the price is going to go up.
The state beekeeper who handles a five-county area including Lucas, Wood and Defiance says the creation of a systemic pesticide in pollen, bee mites and a series of harsh winters in the north may be to blame.
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