Is a Virus Behind the Honey Bee Deaths? WASHINGTON, DC (Associated Press) -

A novel genetic technique -- combined with some old-fashioned statistics -- may have helped scientists figure out what's been killing billions of honeybees.

Scientists have identified Israeli acute paralysis virus as the latest potential culprit in the widespread deaths of worker bees, a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder.

But they now have to infect honeybees with the newfound virus to see if it's indeed a killer.

However, some experts stress that parasitic mites, pesticides and poor nutrition all remain in the lineup of suspects, as does the stress of travel.

Studies of honeybees from decimated colonies turned up traces of the virus nearly every time, and bees untouched by the phenomenon were virtually free of it.

Details of the study appear this week in Science Express, the online edition of the journal Science.


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