Bee Hive disorder

'Zombie bees' found in Washington state for first time

Digital Journal, 

26 September, 2012

"According to The Seattle Times, Mark Hohn, who is described as a novice beekeeper, came home from vacation recently and found a number of dead bees on his property. It wasn't until a few days later he realized the bees had been turned into "zombie bees".



Hohn had observed the bees acting erratically and acting out of character. The bees were flying around after dark, flying in "jerky patterns", seeking out light sources, and then "flopping on the floor" before eventually dying. All of these are characteristics of a condition known as "zombie bees", which has been observed in recent years in several west-coast regions.



Discovered by San Francisco State University biologist John Hafernik in 2008, the condition is brought on by parasitic flies that land on the bees and inject their eggs into the bee's abdomen. Eventually the flies hatch and lead to the demise of the infected bee."

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