The Dead Don’t Stay Dead, It Seems...
Further investigation into what happens to all those empty beehives after all the bees have died from what is believed to be Colony Collapse Disorder has turned up some interesting answers...and some more questions.
First, we quoted Dennis VanEnglesdorp incorrectly in our last entry here. We took the quote from a newspaper article that quoted him saying that those hives should be burned. Well, they were right, and not right. Dennis did advise hobby beekeepers to not use equipment if they had experienced CCD. That’s because generally hobby beekeepers don’t have many colonies and replacement costs are minimal, considering the risks involved and the work involved in getting them in shape to use again. But, he added, and wasn’t quoted, if you choose to use them, have them irradiated before reintroducing bees into them.
Other researchers too, have suggested irradiation as a preventive measure for equipment after a bout with CCD. Indeed, although early reports indicated that irradiation wasn’t effective, long-term studies have now shown that irradiated equipment will have at least a 20% increase in the amount of brood raised in that equipment.
But this is still a soft number, and beekeepers are using other means to clean out the nasties left behind...as it seems there are some when all the bees are dead. ...
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