Predicting the Effects of Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder

by Jelena Runjaic

Submitted : Fall 2013

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in the honeybee population is an increasingly growing threat both within the United States and across the world (Kaplan, 2013). In the US, honeybees pollinate one-third of all crops and perform approximately $16 billion in economic services through pollination (Beespotter). However, the ever-growing use of pesticides and other harmful substances in agricultural practices has caused the honeybee population to fall steadily over decades. The current population of US honeybee colonies is half of the population of honeybees in 1950. This project aims to collect data of the honeybee population since 1945 and utilize the data to create a graph. The utilization of this data will allow for the creation of a population curve that may be developed to predict the future honeybee population over time. This equation will then be tested using a Chi-Squared statistical test to determine its accuracy. The creation of an accurate prediction curve will allow for researchers to predict the extinction rate of US honeybee colonies and will prove vital in assuring the health of the honeybee population and the economy and people that so greatly depend upon it.

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