Oregon State University leads study of disease threatening honeybees

A team of scientists at Oregon State University has recently received more than $4 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead a study to understand a disease threatening honey bees. The bacterial disease targets the larvae within a honeybee colony, killing them within a few days before they can emerge from their cocoons as adults. Although the disease is not new, it appears to have gotten worse in the past five years, according to Andony Melathopoulos, an associate professor in the Department of Horticulture at OSU, and the co-principal investigator of the study. The disease is of particular concern to beekeepers who travel across the country with their colonies and have noticed a rise in infections following the start of blueberry pollination in April. Melathopoulous joins us to talk about the details of the study, which will also include steps beekeepers may be able to take to protect their colonies and the multibillion-dollar industry that depends on their services.