'More Than Honey'

Abby and I had the pleasure of viewing the Swiss documentary film, 'More Than Honey' at one of our beekeeper meetings last year in December.  The film was written and directed by Markus Imhoof, and released earlier last year in September in the United States. The film takes an in-depth look at honeybee colonies in California, China, Switzerland, and Australia, while focusing primarily on Colony Collapse Disorder and other factors that have been killing many species of bees worldwide.   For those of you that aren't quite familiar with Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD, I have pulled a section from 'The Beekeeper's Bible' which gives a little bit more information:

"In November 2006, beekeeper Dave Hackenberg discovered that a large number of his hives in Florida were virtually empty of bees. The queen might be there with a small group of young workers but the majority of bees had simply disappeared. More beekeepers began to report the same phenomenon. When a colony dwindles, other bees usually rob the honey, and wax moths will often taken up residence. However, this did not seem to be happening in the affected hives. By June 2007, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) had been identified in 35 states and Puerto Rico. A working party of bee scientists throughout the country was established and work began on trying to identify the cause of CCD. In July, the Department of Agriculture confirmed that one-third of US honeybee colonies had been lost to CCD, and this increased to 36 precent in a survey conducted by the Apiary Inspectors of America in April 2008. Many possible causes have been proposed, with a number of them, including cell phone towers and genetically modified crops. Other diseases such as Nosema ceranae (a disease that interferes with the honeybees' digestive system, which shortens the bees' life) have also been thought to cause CCD. While more research is focusing on systemic pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids. The situation is ongoing.  No cause, and therefore no cure, has been found as this book goes to press.  The only thing that is certain is that CCD does not have a single cause and that if an answer is not found quickly honeybee colonies will continue to die in large numbers."

This is a terrible phenomenon that will eventually lead to food shortages and poor plant pollination if the cause is not soon identified.  Until then, beekeepers around the world are continuing to raise and keep bees in an effort to off set the dramatic loss of honeybee populations.  I am proud to be apart of this effort.  Without bees, there would be no man.

Finally, I highly recommend watching, 'More Than Honey' to get a better understanding on honeybees, the commitment and dedication given by beekeepers, and the ongoing struggles honeybees and keepers face year to year.  I posted a link below which directs you to iTunes, where you're able to either buy the movie or simply rent it for a 24 hour period.  For more information regarding the film, please visit their website, which I also provided below.  For additional information on CCD and other honeybee colony disorders, please visit 'My Resources' tab near the top of this screen for a list of informative websites.

'More Than Honey' Website

'More Than Honey' iTunes page

~Nick