"Zombie" Fly Parasite Killing Honeybees



My son sent me this information and I thought I would pass it onto you bee lovers. If it isn't one thing it's another that our bees have to withstand. A heap of dead bees was supposed to become food for a newly captured praying mantis. Instead, the pile ended up revealing a previously unrecognized suspect in colony collapse disorder a mysterious condition that for several years has been causing declines in U.S. honeybee populations, which are needed to pollinate many important crops. This new potential culprit is a bizarre and potentially devastating parasite fly that has been taking over the bodies of honeybees in Northern California.
The parasite fly lays eggs in a bee's abdomen. Several days later, the parasitized bee bumbles out of the hive often at night on a solo mission to nowhere. These bees often fly toward light and wind up unable to control their own bodies. After a bee dies, as many as 13 fly larvae crawl out from the bee's neck. Yikes!   
The research team plans to track bees with radio tags and video cameras to see whether willingly or getting kicked out in the middle of the night and where the flies are finding eggs. But it's still a bit of a black hole in terms of where it's actually happening. Will keep you updated when I find out more.
God Bless our bees!