Due to the varroa mite, a parasite that kills or deforms honeybee larvae, approximately 90 percent of the wild bee colonies in East Texas have been eliminated, according to Dr. Rodney Holloway, extension entomologist. While the mite has nearly wiped out feral colonies, it is also decimating domesticated hives. Honeybees not only produce honey for human consumption but pollinate many important East Texas crops, including cantaloupes, cucumbers, pumpkins, pears, apples and watermelons.
Watermelons are particularly dependent upon pollination.
Each watermelon blossom requires about 1,000 grains of pollen, or about eight bee visits, to be pollinated. Just as critical, the blossom is only open during one day of the growing season. If it's not fully pollinated, the watermelon may be undersized or misshapen. Fortunately for East Texas, Apistan strips, the only chemical control for varroa mites, still rids hives of the pest. But in the Southeast United States, misuse of a related chemical has resulted in the development of a mite population resistant to the strips, Holloway said.