Cranberry growers see red over mite

A teeny, eight-legged bloodsucking parasite that has wiped out much of the country's honeybee population has regional cranberry growers on edge. The fear is that there may not be enough bees to pollinate their bogs, and so sharply reduce their harvest.

The varroa mite has cut the bee population in many states, including Massachusetts, roughly in half. Experts say the mite has grown resistant to federally approved pesticides. Coupled with this spring's unseasonably cold weather, the mite's toll has some beekeepers reporting the greatest losses in bees they've experienced in years.

The bee crisis is of particular concern to growers in Plymouth County, home to 12,000 of the state's 14,000 acres of commercial cranberry bogs. And bees are essential to ensure that the cranberry flower, which hangs upside down like a crane (hence the name), gets fertilized and bears fruit.

''We are very concerned about this mite," said Lydia Mathias. She and her husband, Barry, own a 15-acre cranberry bog in Kingston. ''If they destroy the bees, we won't have any crops."

David Mendes, a Dartmouth-based commercial beekeeper whose bees help fertilize some 200 cranberry bogs throughout the state, said he lost between 30 and 40 percent of his hives over the winter, primarily because of the mite. ''It's like your kids are suffering and there is nothing you can do about it," he said.

Ted Shylovsky, recording secretary for the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association, said one beekeeper reported losing 900 out of his 1,000 hives this winter, and others put their losses at 80 percent or more. A healthy hive can contain between 40,000 and 60,000 bees.

The association estimates that thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars worth of honey will not be produced this year, and cites growing concern about potential losses for fruit and vegetable farmers who depend on honeybees to pollinate their crops during the late spring and early summer.

The US Department of Agriculture estimates the annual benefit nationally of bee pollination at $15 billion. The honeybee helps pollinate more than 100 crops. Even area gardeners may find their cucumbers are not as big or their tomatoes not as plentiful this spring, said Shylovsky, a Sudbury beekeeper who estimated that his bees help fertilize dozens of local gardens.

''It isn't just the honey that is of value," he said. ''Without good pollination, all these local gardens might not produce nice fruit."

The varroa mite attaches itself to an adult bee, or burrows its way into the cocoon-like cells of developing bees, and lays its eggs, specialists say. Both the adults and the emerging mites feed on the bees.

Mark F. Feldlaufer, research leader in the bee laboratory at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Md., said fighting the mite is a constant problem because any pesticide treatment must kill only the mite, not the bee. And it can't contaminate the honey, which will be eaten by humans.

It takes between one and two hives to pollinate an acre of crop, according to the University of Massachusetts Extension Service, an Amherst-based agricultural support program.

Many local bog owners, after hearing of California growers' problems with the mites, ordered truckloads of beehives well in advance to help with the pollination this spring. Mendes, despite his losses, said he is assuring clients that he will have enough bees to pollinate their crops. He transports some 7,000 to 8,000 migratory beehives a year on flatbed track trailers from Florida to New England for the blueberry and cranberry blossoming season.

''We're still 30 to 40 percent losses, but that is success now," said Mendes, who even sent bees to California to ease the demand. ''People are happy with that. You're above average compared to others who have lost 90 percent."

Carolyn DeMoranville, director of the UMass Cranberry Experiment Station in Wareham, said it's too early to tell how the depleted bee population will affect crops.

''There is no question that the problem is getting worse," she said. ''The potential is there for this to become a big issue. It's going to depend on how all this plays out, and whether there are enough bees to go around."

Franco Ordonez can be reached at fordonez@globe.com.