To keep their colonies strong and well-nourished, beekeepers are experimenting with changes in the artificial diets they feed their bees. “Bees are generalist pollinators and benefit from a varied diet of pollen and nectar to provide diverse amino acids, which are the building blocks needed for colony growth and reproduction,” explains Frazier. “Research enables us to look at new diets that can improve bee nutrition.”

Managing hives for disease
Frazier also has begun to integrate emerging knowledge about CCD into her extension programs and classroom teaching to make sure the industry and the public have as much current and usable information as possible. One new recommendation is changing how beekeepers use and reuse combs in their hives.

Early surveys of collapsed colonies revealed that hives were heavily laden with pathogens, which could potentially re-infect new replacement colonies.

“Beekeepers used to take pride in saying they’d had a comb for 25 years,” says Frazier. “But we have found those combs to be a reservoir of disease and possibly pesticides. We’re encouraging people to not reuse comb materials over long periods.”

On a related front, college researchers are collaborating with Penn State's Radiation Science and Engineering Center to determine if and how radiation works to sanitize a hive and disrupt the collapse cycle. Preliminary results are promising.