Bee lovers mapping state colonies

Observers can help by going to a new Web site that lets them report sightings of wild bees

It was a short walk to find a tree of wild honeybees near Jordan Lake, but it also was a step toward something more ambitious -- a statewide map of feral bee colonies.

David Tarpy, an entomologist at N.C. State University, and Debbie Delaney, a bee researcher who works in Tarpy's lab, are collaborating with amateur beekeeper and Web developer Ronnie Bouchon of Raleigh to create a map of feral bee colonies.

Honeybees, vital to crop production, have been plagued in recent decades with parasite infestations that have wiped out many wild colonies. More recently, another still mysterious problem known as colony collapse syndrome has caused large losses in domestic bee populations.

Tarpy said wild honeybees that have managed to survive in the wild for decades or longer may offer genetic diversity to bolster the resistance of commercial honeybees.

"They may be an untapped genetic resource that we can use in the industry," Tarpy said of the feral colonies he's trying to map.

The idea of mapping bee populations came about when Bouchon, an information technology manager and hobby beekeeper, grew intrigued with the new possibilities of mapping software. He contacted Tarpy about the idea of a Web site devoted to mapping bees. Tarpy helped focus the idea on feral honeybees, noting their importance.

"If you're a beekeeper, you tend to like the little critters," Bouchon said. "Certainly bees have an important place in the environment."

Tarpy said they see tremendous potential from the scientific side as well as an educational side in the Web site that Bouchon has developed -- www.SaveTheHives.com. The Web site allows concerned citizens to report sightings of wild honeybees by clicking on the link to the feral bee project. Tarpy and Delaney are initially focusing their research within the state, and expect to use the map as a resource.

Earlier this week, Tarpy and Delaney added a siting to the map when they found a hive in a sweet gum tree in the Indian Creek Wildlife Observation Area about 20 yards from Jordan Lake. Another amateur bee enthusiast had spotted the tree and led them to it.

"This is a pretty sizable feral nest based on the flight activity," Tarpy said, estimating it at tens of thousands of bees. In the morning sunlight, honeybees ferried tiny yellow fluff balls of pollen.

As bees fly from blossom to blossom in search of nectar, they transfer pollen from plant to plant, fertilizing them to bear fruit. Some crops, such as blueberries and apples, require insect pollination.

When researchers find bees living in the woods, they have to determine if they are recent escapees from a beekeeper's hive or a hardy colony that has survived in the wild for a longer period. Delaney captured about 10 bees for later testing.

She recently received a grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture to do genetic analysis of feral bees. By studying bees from hundreds of nests, Delaney hopes to help answer questions about how genetically distinct wild bees are from commercial hives and whether feral bee populations are still in decline or are rebounding. A lot of genetic diversity among feral bee colonies, for example, might suggest a rebound.

"What we found in the past is they were genetically distinct," Delaney said. "The more samples we get, the better idea we'll have of the diversity."