"God bless the military-apiological complex!"

I am fortunate that so many people I know send me links to major news stories when there is one that is right in my idiosyncratic range of obsessions (that is, most stories generally about either bees or the death of a famous old country or bluegrass artist).

Today it is this important NYTimes article about the possible cause of colony collapse disorder. Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery


The news is really that it is the viral-fungal combination that is causing the problem. The role of Nosema Cerena has been pretty widely known for awhile, but the viral addition is new. New and quite fascinating too is the role of military researchers in this.

The very best comment I received on the story was from my former colleague at Sogang University who wrote "God bless the military-apiological complex!" I wish I had coined that phrase.

This is a good place to put in a plug for you to read this interesting new book I just read, Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War. I've been trying to figure out which of my classes is suitable for this book.

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