What’s killing the bees?
April 8, 2015
From: Bangor Daily News
By John O’Meara, Special to the BDN
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The image of bees starving and dying throughout Maine can’t just be blamed on our tough winter, however.
Another culprit is a parasitic mite that feeds on the bodily fluids of bees. Although the reddish mites appear tiny to the naked eye, they would be equivalent to a fist-sized creature sucking a human’s blood, according to Jadczak.
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Not only do mites kill their hosts, they also carry viruses that make the bees sick. And even if the mites are killed, the viruses carried by the mites might kill the hive weeks later. Jadczak has seen some beeyards in Maine with 80 percent losses.
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