The state of Virginia is doing its part to preserve the strength of the honeybee population in the state as the insect serves an important role in the agricultural industry, The Smith Mountain Eagle reports.
Though the U.S. Congress has not stamped approval on funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to monitor Colony Collapse Disorder, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Virginia Cooperative Extension offer beekeeping courses. Honeybees pollinate crops and concerns for the slimming population have been ongoing for about five years.
"The interest in beekeeping remains strong," apiarist Keith Tignor with VDACS told the news source. "We're seeing more and more local beekeeper associations; in fact, I helped start another one in Fluvanna County … At some of the classes we have had to turn away participants. And the number of hives seem to be stable right now."
CCD occurs when worker bees leave the hives in large numbers, which presents problems for the queen bee and the unborn bees.
Tracking down the missing bees is part of the problem as scientists are interested in knowing the exact reason why the bees abandon the hives.
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