Dennis van Engelsdorp, the Acting State Apiarist for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, has been studying Colony Collapse Disorder and the sudden disappearance of honeybees.
In this video of a lively talk given by vanEnglesdorp at the Taste 3 food and wine conference, the “bee crusader” compares CCD to the ‘flu and explains some of the strange and mysterious discoveries about colony health that make CCD such a challenging problem — and what can and should be done about it.
He pins the decline of pollinators on what he calls “Nature Deficit Disorder” (NDD) — for which the iconic image is the sterile “green desert” of lawn that has replaced the diverse ecosystem of the meadow.
The talk is aimed at a general audience, not a bunch of beekeepers, so it’s a great introduction to honeybees, beekeeping, and colony collapse disorder… but there’s lots there for even the most experienced beekeeper to hear and enjoy.
You’d think it might be a depressing talk, but far from it — vanEngelsdorp’s own excitement about the fascinating world of pollination is contagious. In fact, we only wish that all speakers were as entertaining!
Rebecca- Great video, thank you. He is an animated speaker and I hate mowing my lawn…maybe I could put up a sign that says ‘In support of Nature – let it bee’.