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Experts say that honey bees are being silently killed by chronic viral disease, as some have been found to be unable to fly and have a rare, greasy abdomen.
According to a report by The Dailymail, a new study has revealed that honey bees in the UK suffer from a deadly viral disease that is silently sweeping bee populations in Wales and England.
(Photo: Kai Wenzel on Unsplash)
A chronic viral disease silently kills honey bees causing strange “greasy” abs and inability to fly – will it attack us too?
The honey bee colonies found by British scientists have been infected by a viral disease called “chronic bee paralysis virus” or CBPV that increased almost 200-fold between 2007 and 2017.
Honey bee colonies are experiencing abnormal tremors, disturbing hair loss leading to a strange, shiny abdomen, and the inability to fly causes most insects to succumb to the virus.
CBPV-infected honey bees die within a week, leading to a bunch of dead bees outside of hives.
After registering in one country in 2007, new data has shown that more than 24,000 beekeepers reported that CBPV is present on their bee farms located in 45 counties in England and Wales.
The deadly virus believed to have been spread by queen bees imported from abroad can potentially threaten Britain’s honey production.
Silent murderer? Honey bees are secretly being wiped out by chronic viral disease
According to The Dailymail, researchers have reported that cases of illness caused by CBPV are becoming more frequent.
(Photo: Eric Ward on Unsplash)
A chronic viral disease silently kills honey bees causing strange “greasy” abs and inability to fly – will it attack us too?
“Our analysis clearly confirms that chronic bee paralysis has emerged in England and Wales since 2007 and that apiaries owned by professional beekeepers are at increased risk of contracting the disease,” said Giles Budge, professor at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences. A native of Newcastle University.
“We still don’t know why beekeeper colonies are at increased risk for this harmful disease, but many management practices are known to differ significantly between amateur and professional beekeepers,” he explained in the report.
The study revealed that the western honey bee, also known as Apis Mellifera, is one of the pollinator species threatened by viral disease. They are also vulnerable to parasites, intensified land use, and exposure to chemicals that put bees in a dangerous state.
The report explained that CBPV is an RNA virus that increases the mortality rate of honey bees, weakening insect pollination and honey production.
Viral disease is transmitted by infected adult bees up to six days before symptoms are identified. Since infected bees cannot be quickly confirmed by beekeepers, infected bees can infect other bees in the hive and even transmit the disease to other distant colonies.
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