`slow No Wake' Limit Maintained At Lake 
Fish And Boat Commission 
Votes Unanimously After 
Accepting Recommendation Of 
Boating Advisory Board

All Or Nothing 
Jarrett's Fortunes At Pocono Raceway 
In The Past Year Have Been Extreme

By MARK E. JONES; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Monday, July 22, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





DALLAS TWP. -- In a meadow where honey maker James Major and his son tended
28 active bee hives last season, the July air seems hot, heavy and all too
quiet. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An electric fence, formerly strung to deter black bears from stealing sweet
treats, now loops around just three small hives from which barely a buzz
escapes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "It's pitiful," says Major, in a whisper directed at no one in particular. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Honeybees died in unprecedented numbers this winter throughout Pennsylvania
and much of the Northeast. An estimated 54 percent of the state's managed
hives were wiped out, while wild colonies fared even worse, says Maryann
Frazier, an entomologist at Penn State University. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Experts blame the losses on harsh weather and an epidemic of two types of
killer mites. "(This) will have a far-ranging impact in the next year or two,"
Frazier says. "People are already saying, `We don't see bees in our gardens,
we don't see bees in our fruit trees.' " &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Honey prices, which doubled on the wholesale level to $1 per pound, are
expected to climb even higher, she says. And farmers relying on bees to
pollinate vegetables and fruits -- including Pennsylvania's all-important
apple crop -- are scrambling to rent hives trucked in from other states. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A New York Post reporter referred to the bees' population collapse as "an
ecological mini-disaster." For consumers locally, the impact on food prices is
still uncertain. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "My guess is you're not going to see a major impact in the grocery store,
at least not yet," says Jim Steinhauer, chief apiary inspector with the state
Department of Agriculture. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The region's largest food producers, Steinhauer says, rented hives this
spring to avoid potential ruin. "If this trend (of fewer hives) would continue
for a year or two, then the commercial growers might be affected too," he
says. "But I don't want to cry wolf." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Those stung the hardest this season will be backyard and small-scale
growers without the wherewithal to import hives. Unless those growers opt to
spread pollen by hand -- using an artist's brush on each pepper blossom, for
example -- they'll be at Mother Nature's mercy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bumblebees, which are not affected by mites, can pollinate some flowers,
but they are less abundant. "Whether the bumblebee and other insects can fill
the void," says Steinhauer, "I don't know yet." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In Maine, honeybees are essential to the blueberry crop. In Massachusetts,
the cranberries. In fact, pollinated foods -- including cucumbers, onions,
alfalfa, melons, pears and plums -- account for about one-third of the human
diet, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research
Service. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Apple growers in Pennsylvania -- ranked fifth in the nation for its apple
production -- will likely see the worst damage, Frazier says. Their fruit
trees are 95 percent dependent on honeybee pollination. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Luzerne County farmer Jerry Naugle, 55, of Loyalville, predicts a 40
percent reduction in his orchard's yield. "Without the blossoms being
pollinated, they won't turn into mature fruit," he says. "A lot of apples fell
off." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Although his McIntosh apples were barely harmed, Naugle says his 200-tree
orchard will produce virtually no Cortland, Northern Spy and Red Spy apples.
His blueberry crop was almost nonexistent, he adds, due to autumn's drought
followed by poor pollination. "Usually you walk into the orchard when
blueberry blossoms are on the bushes and it's just buzzing," Naugle says.
"This year, I could walk through and only see a couple of bees." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The longer the mite problem persists, the more likely Pennsylvania's 1,700
registered beekeepers -- most of them hobbyists -- will call it quits. But
there's also encouraging news: Inspectors say levels of blood-sucking varroa
mites seem to be dropping. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meanwhile, the state is expected to apply for an "emergency use
registration" that would let beekeepers treat their colonies with formic acid,
a naturally occurring compound that repels mites. The strategy, now used in
some European nations and Canada, must be approved by a state agency and the
federal Environmental Protection Agency, Steinhauer says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To battle mites today, beekeepers like Bloomsburg area resident Jim Aucker,
40, rely on approved pesticides and kitchen-variety techniques. A mixture of
Crisco and sugar, for example, is dropped into some hives, he says. Bees then
get coated with grease, which for unknown reasons prevents the mites from
latching onto a new host. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By transporting about 150 of his 450 hives to Florida last winter, Aucker
avoided heavier bee losses. (Shipping bees south is common for mid-sized and
large honey producers.) Even so, Aucker says, "I have $2,000 tied up in buying
new queens just to replace those that died." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rather than hoarding bees, and collecting honey, Aucker leases his apiary's
hives for about $30 each to help area farmers. "I'm getting calls from all
over creation -- Weatherly, Hazleton, Northumberland, even Pittsburgh -- to
rent bees for pollination," he says. "It's a tradeoff. But I feel it's more
important for ... mankind, I guess, to make food." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Farmers also dialed the Dallas-area homes of beekeeping duo James Major,
59, and son Robert, 35. They had to explain: Sorry, but we have no bees to
rent. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We're not even going to try to rebuild until these mites are under
control," says Robert Major. "We made a decision not to (buy) bees. We're
hoping (researchers) will come up with a new medicine." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In better years, Robert Major gingerly removed bee swarms from Luzerne
County schools, homes and abandoned buildings. "Usually by this time of year,
I've had 20 calls for swarms," he says. "This year -- nothing." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He jokes that people's yards will be safer this summer. "Tell the kids to
go barefoot because they can step on 50 million clover before they encounter
one bee." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But as Pennsylvania's silent summer continues, both Robert and his father
know firsthand how devastating it could prove for beekeepers, farmers and
consumers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "People think bees are their number one enemy next to a rattlesnake," says
James Major. "But now they're going to learn the true purpose of a bee." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER PHOTOS/DON CAREY &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Robert Major, left, uses smoke to calm the bees before his father takes the
bee hive apart to check it for mites. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bees on a honeycomb from the hives of Robert Major. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/DON CAREY &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Robert Major puts a patty of Crisco and sugar into a bee hive. The
combination helps keep the mites from harming his bees. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

A Troublesome Sting Honeybee Losses Could Have Impact On Growers, Consumers