Prunedale, Calif. - This
may sound a little nutty, but "zombie" attacks are spreading from the Bay Area to the Central Coast.
A parasitic
scuttle fly, dubbed as a "zombie fly," is attacking honeybees and taking over their
body like a zombie before a slow death.
Prunedale beekeeper Ron Flint has been rescuing
and caring for bees for three years.
But upon the new year, he started noticing
some odd behavior.
"New Years day I was barbequing. I had
flood lights on and the bees were bouncing off the flood lights," said Flint.
Flying towards the light, abandoning the
beehive, falling over and crawling in circles are all symptoms of a "zombie-like"
parasite attack.
Scientists in San Francisco said a specie of scuttle fly called "Apocephalus
Borealis" injects its larva into a honeybee.Then inside the bee the larva eats
through tissue killing the bee. Central Coast beekeepers said it's happening here.
Flint said he had about 9 boxes of healthy
bees. But in a matter of 4 months, he is down to just one bee box. He isn't the
only beekeeper in the area concerned about the zombie invasion.
"A friend called me a couple of weeks ago
and asked if I knew anything about little flies outside his hive. His bees had
died and he was witnessing a swarm of what he called gnats," said Flint.
Scientists said the parasitic fly is
contributing to the collapse of honey bee colonies. Since bees pollinate about
a third of the nation's food, and California is one of the top producers of fruits
and vegetables, local beekeepers are concerned.
"Hopefully they'll figure that one out
and figure out a way to kill these gnats without killing off my bees," said Flint.
Until then, Flint hopes his last bee box keeps buzzing.
