The Bees And The Trees- Challenges To Hawaii's Bees

Do you know that 1/3 of all the food you eat is pollinated by bees? The decimation of bee colonies is a threat to food production in Hawaii.

In Hawaii we do not have the disappearance of bees (Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD), but we now have the devastating and aptly named varroa destructor, commonly known as the varroa mite.

The varroa mite is a parasite that attacks honey bee adults, larvae, and pupae. The varroa mite has been know to destroy up to 90% of wild hives and beekeepers can easily lose all or a majority of their managed hives.

Until recently, Hawaii and Australia were the only remaining varroa free places in the world. The varroa mite was found on Oahu in 2007, unfortunately this did not result in quick and aggressive action by the private or government sector. As a result, the mite has now been found in hives on the Big Island.

The beekeeping industry in Hawaii is a $4 million per year industry, with the majority of that being on the Big Island. Hawaii's beekeepers produce both honey and queen bees. But Hawaii's beekeeping industry affects a much larger industry.

The Kona Coast of Hawaii produces approx. 400,000 varroa free queens per year, or 20% of the nation's needs. Each queen bee heads up a colony of about 45,000 pollinating foragers that fly and pollinate about 8,000 acres around its hive.

Hawaii's queen producers supply many of the nation's largest beekeepers with mite-free queens whose colonies pollinate the food crops in North America.

Not Just a Honey Problem, It is a Food Problem

The varroa mite is not just a beekeeper's problem, it is a food production problem that will affect commercial farms as well as the backyard gardener. The State Department of Agriculture estimates that Hawaii's agricultural industry will lose $42 - $62 million from the loss of feral bees.

When wild honey bees no longer pollinate crops, farmers will have to hire managed bee colonies to sustain production, if managed hives are available. Since there is a ban on importation of bees to Hawaii, if the bees die out replenishing managed hives may present an unanticipated problem.

Pollinated-dependent crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers and melons will experience losses in both quality and quantity. Bees also assist in pollinating coffee, macadamia nuts, citrus, avocado, and guava.

The loss of wild hives will likely mean lower production and quality in farms and private gardens and fruit trees.