There are varying perspectives on whether the honeybee is actually in danger, or whether this is over-exaggeration. I tend to think the truth on that lies somewhere in the middle.

What is known is that there is such a thing as Colony Collapse. Sudden die-off of entire hives, with no known cause.

Now, sudden death in a colony can happen for a number of KNOWN reasons, so the alarm has come from die-offs from which they have no diagnosis. Apparently this phenomenon increased for a number of years, and then plateaued off.

Honeybees breed fairly quickly, and they recover from disasters fairly rapidly. Hive losses are replaced rapidly, and the bees continue to multiply each year in spite of this new threat.

The concern of many people is that the threat will grow again. It may, depending on some of the possible factors involved.

There is a lot of speculation regarding the cause of Colony Collapse. I have some theories of my own, based on some logical factors which are not acknowledged within the commercial ag community.

I think the salvation of the honeybee lies in backyard hives. They are better protected from major threats, because they forage in diverse areas, and not on commercial crops so much.

Various causes have been proposed, including pesticides, disease, and a few others.

I feel the most overlooked potential cause may be GMO crops. Specifically those with BT genetics - a pesticidal genetic element.

Genetically, those genes are in every cell of the plant. This means that any foods made from them are similarly contaminated. The pollen, nectar, stalks, corn, silk, roots, everything has those genes, and hence that pesticidal element to it.

Now, commercial beekeepers - and many backyard beekeepers - use supplemental feedings to get larger amounts of honey from their bees. The supplemental feedings may be either cane sugar, or corn syrup (diluted).

Commercial beekeepers invariably use corn syrup. It is less costly than cane sugar. If crops to pollinate are not readily available, then bees are fed more corn syrup.

This sets up a cycle of abuse for the bee - and is none too good for people either!

• First, the bee gets nectar from BT crops (and crops that have been sprayed with pesticides, but there is greater danger in the crops which contain pesticides IN the plant material). That nectar is concentrated in the honey the bee makes.
• Second, the bee gets fed corn syrup through the winter - from which it also makes more honey. The bee is first FED by sugars which are likely to have BT effects, and secondly CONCENTRATES those elements into more honey.
• Third, if the bee consumes any of their own honey, it is filled with concentrated pesticidal effects.

Combine that with pesticide residues on plants, and other chemical effects from artificial feedings, and the bee has had to develop a great deal of resistance in relatively few years.

It also means that YOUR honey is likely contaminated with this kind of pesticidal residues. Organic does not mean anything, bees are independent spirits. There is really no such thing as organic honey, because even if a hive is set in fields that are organically maintained, it is unlikely that the countryside around would be maintained for a sufficient radius to guarantee that the nectar all gathered is organic.

Since honey is a concentrated product (concentrated by the bees), any residues in it are also concentrated.

So how are backyard hives better? Unless your home is sitting in the middle of commercial farmland, it is unlikely that your bees will be exposed to a high concentration of GMOs, and the general pesticide levels are likely to be lower than from commercial crops, since your bees will forage from many yards, and many kinds of blossoming plants.

Backyard beehives are not only valuable in helping preserve healthy honeybees, they are also helpful in producing healthier honey!

By reducing the total amount of supplemental feedings for your bees - leave them a little more honey for the winter - and by encouraging good bee-friendly plants in your yard and fields, and encouraging your neighbors to offer the same, you'll help preserve bees and be able to supply your family with a healthier honey than you'd be able to buy.

It is doubtful that we are witnessing the endangerment of the honeybee, but the fact that there is such a thing as Colony Collapse Disorder (and that it is prevalent enough to be named) tells us that something about how we are farming NEEDS to change.

The easiest place to change it is in your own backyard.