It seems that there's quite the crisis going on in the Beekeeping industry, one so big that the British Beekeepers' Association had to complain to Parliament for it, asking that the government do something about it - specifically, to mobilize a research program to try and figure out the diseases that are causing an absurdly large number of bee deaths in Britain (as well as all over the world). And from what we've read, there certainly seems to be enough reason for the government to step in and investigate.

So what are these diseases? There are quite a lot, but some pretty feared examples are as follows: a bacterial infection known as foulbrood, tiny parasites that feed on the bodily liquids of bees, as well as virus-carrying insects that can also invade the hive. But the one disease that the British Beekeepers Association wants the government to look into the most is Colony Collapse Disorder.

Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, is a more recent phenomenon that causes the worker bees in a colony to suddenly die off or disappear. This is attributed to a lot of things, such as stress, viruses, a combination of both, or completely different causes - but the main thing is that it pretty much causes the death of an entire colony when it springs up.

It was first spotted in the US in the autumn of 2006 and the spring of 2007, and has pretty much been on a bee colony killing spree in more than 20 states. It's suspected that CCD has already reached Europe, but not yet in Britain.

Why the hub-bub about it, though? Surely the world can survive with a honey shortage. Well, we probably can, but the deal is that bees do something else other than make honey - something much more important. That thing is called pollination, or the process of bees spreading pollen all over so that plants can get fertilized and bear foodstuffs. Without bees, much of agriculture would be impossible.

In essence, if the bees go, we won't just have a honey shortage on our hands, but rather a massive food shortage from which there is no escape. Until something is done about it, that is.

But is the government doing anything about it, though? As a matter of fact, they have already acknowledged the threats concerning all of bee-dom even before the BBKA got into the picture, and have taken some steps in order to try and combat it. Specifically, Lord Rooker outlining a long-term strategy to protect the health of honey bees in England and Wales.

This strategy includes more training for keepers to identify diseases and a campaign to persuade beekeepers to sign up to a national database. There's also the deal of a volunteer army of beekeepers, ready to be summoned in times of emergency to help bee inspectors track down and eradicate new viruses.

Of course, while the beekeepers welcome this particular idea, they still want the government to look into Colony Collapse Disorder, and find out the root cause of it. BBKA President Tim Lovett says it best:

We will keep our bees only if the Government will help us to keep them healthy. Does the Government want the nation to go without honey on their toast, not have home-grown strawberries to go with cream, and even put their own crusade for the public to eat five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables at risk? Food production is now an important issue and bees are central to it.

We note that the US government immediately invested US$ 80m into research on Colony Collapse Disorder, which has devastated their bee colonies, affecting pollination of the apple orchards, the almond and orange crops. CCD has not yet crossed the Channel from Europe, but we are urging the Government that it needs to be prepared should this happen.

Here's hoping that the government does something about CCD, or we'll have a worldwide food crisis on our hands. Updates as we get them.