XXII CNIE - Accademia nazionale italiana di Entomologia

Public awareness
Colony collapse disorder was a major factor in bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress
for a new influx of funds for honey bee research in particular and pollinator services in
general. In fact, the 2008 Farm Bill is the first in U.S. history to include specific
language concerning pollinators and pollination. On the popular culture front,
references to colony collapse disorder have appeared in Hollywood films (“The
Happening” by M. Night Shyamalan), in prime-time television shows (“CSI”), in comic
strips (“Over the Hedge”) and in magazine, television, and Internet advertisements for
products ranging from ice cream (Haagen Dazs) to university environmental science
programs (Stony Brook Southampton). At least four popular books, including one for
children, have been published since the first reports of honey bee disappearances
(Fruitless Falls by Rowan Jacobsen, A Spring Without Bees by Michael Shacker, A
World Without Bees by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum, and Bee & Me: An
Animotion Experience by Elle J. Mcguinness). It is unlikely that public awareness about
the importance of honey bees and pollination in maintaining managed and natural plant
communities has ever been as high as it is today, and if there has been any positive
aspect of this most recent Apis-pocalypse it is that honey bees may finally be getting the
respect and admiration they deserve.
Acknowledgments:
I thank Reed Johnson and Gene Robinson for their insights into bee biology in general
and colony collapse disorder in particular. This manuscript, including much of the work
reported in it, was made possible by funding from the USDA National Research
Initiative (AG 2008-3532-18831).
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