A friend of mine recently sent me an article regarding a possible breakthrough in the cause of Bee Colony Collapse (Zombie Fly Parasite Killing Honeybees, Yahoo News, January 4, 2012). Some of you may remember that back in 2009 a friend and I published a paper called Honey bee colony collapse disorder is possibly caused by a dietary pyrethrum deficiency. (See previous blog post Bee Colony Collapse and the Law of Returns from October 2009.) What’s interesting about this possible breakthrough is that it isn’t too far off from my friend Richard’s original hypothesis, that an insect or mite was preying on the bees. Interestingly, I remember seeing a show, possibly on the Discovery channel, about a similar case, some time ago, so this seems almost a little behind the times. Apparently, this insect parasite was known to affect bumblebees, but was not considered as a possible cause of BCC in honey bees.

Nevertheless, our hypothesis regarding a possible cure is still in play.