"Vampire" mite ravages U.S. honeybee population.

• Author: Stair, Peter
• Position: ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE - Varroa

Beekeepers in the United States lost half their bees--more than 1.25 million colonies--in early 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Unusually cool, rainy weather in the winter and spring and the spread of a new strain of mites resistant to chemical controls combined to devastate the honeybee populations.

The mites, known as Varroa, parasitically attach to adult honeybees and larvae and feed on their body fluids, disrupting the development of individual bees and sometimes destroying entire colonies. "It's the biggest crisis that has ever faced the U.S. beekeeping industry," said Laurence Cutts, president of the Florida State Beekeepers Association.

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When the Varroa first arrived from China in the mid-1980s, U.S. beekeepers were initially able to control the parasites with Apistan, a chemical insecticide. Over generations, however, the mites evolved resistance to this treatment, as well as to formic acid pesticides. Cold and wet weather further increased the bees' vulnerability to the mites.

While beekeepers have lost millions of dollars' worth of honey, the bee colonies are far more valuable for their role in crop pollination, a service valued at roughly $15 billion annually. The Western honeybee pollinates...