Zombie bees invade Washington state

Kathy Plonka AP

A bee makes its rounds in a flower garden in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on Monday.

Kathy Plonka AP

A bee makes its rounds in a flower garden in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on Monday.

SEATTLE (AP) -- The infection is as grim as it sounds: "Zombie bees" have a parasite that causes them to fly at night and lurch around erratically until they die.

And experts say the condition has crept into Washington state.

"I joke with my kids that the zombie apocalypse is starting at my house," said Mark Hohn, a novice beekeeper who spotted the infected insects at his suburban Seattle home.

Hohn returned from vacation a few weeks ago to find many of his bees either dead or flying in jerky patterns and then flopping on the floor.

He remembered hearing about zombie bees, so he collected several of the corpses and popped them into a plastic bag. About a week later, the Kent man had evidence his bees were infected: the pupae of parasitic flies.

"Curiosity got the better of me," Hohn said.

The zombie bees were the first to be confirmed in Washington state, The Seattle Times reported.

San Francisco State University biologist John Hafernik first discovered zombie bees in California in 2008.

Hafernik now uses a website to recruit citizen scientists like Hohn to track the infection across the country. Observers also have found zombie bees in Oregon and South Dakota.

The infection is another threat to bees that are needed to pollinate crops. Hives have been failing in recent years due to a mysterious ailment called colony collapse disorder, in which all the adult honey bees in a colony suddenly die.

The life cycle of the fly that infects zombie bees is reminiscent of the movie "Alien," the newspaper reported. A small adult female lands on the back of a honeybee and injects eggs into the bee's abdomen. The eggs hatch into maggots.

"They basically eat the insides out of the bee," Hafernik said.

After consuming their host, the maggots pupate, forming a hard outer shell that looks like a fat, brown grain of rice. That's what Hohn found in the plastic bag with the dead bees. Adult flies emerge in three to four weeks.

There's no evidence yet that the parasitic fly is a major player in the bees' decline, but it does seem the pest is targeting new hosts, said Steve Sheppard, chairman of the entomology department at Washington State University.

"It may occur a lot more widely than we think," he said.

That's what Hafernik hopes to find out with his website, zombeewatch.org. The site offers simple instructions for collecting suspect bees, watching for signs of parasites and reporting the results.

Once more people start looking, the number of sightings will probably climb, Hohn said.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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Zombie bees invade Washington state

Kathy Plonka AP

A bee makes its rounds in a flower garden in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on Monday.

Kathy Plonka AP

A bee makes its rounds in a flower garden in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on Monday.

SEATTLE (AP) -- The infection is as grim as it sounds: "Zombie bees" have a parasite that causes them to fly at night and lurch around erratically until they die.

And experts say the condition has crept into Washington state.

"I joke with my kids that the zombie apocalypse is starting at my house," said Mark Hohn, a novice beekeeper who spotted the infected insects at his suburban Seattle home.

Hohn returned from vacation a few weeks ago to find many of his bees either dead or flying in jerky patterns and then flopping on the floor.

He remembered hearing about zombie bees, so he collected several of the corpses and popped them into a plastic bag. About a week later, the Kent man had evidence his bees were infected: the pupae of parasitic flies.

"Curiosity got the better of me," Hohn said.

The zombie bees were the first to be confirmed in Washington state, The Seattle Times reported.

San Francisco State University biologist John Hafernik first discovered zombie bees in California in 2008.

Hafernik now uses a website to recruit citizen scientists like Hohn to track the infection across the country. Observers also have found zombie bees in Oregon and South Dakota.

The infection is another threat to bees that are needed to pollinate crops. Hives have been failing in recent years due to a mysterious ailment called colony collapse disorder, in which all the adult honey bees in a colony suddenly die.

The life cycle of the fly that infects zombie bees is reminiscent of the movie "Alien," the newspaper reported. A small adult female lands on the back of a honeybee and injects eggs into the bee's abdomen. The eggs hatch into maggots.

"They basically eat the insides out of the bee," Hafernik said.

After consuming their host, the maggots pupate, forming a hard outer shell that looks like a fat, brown grain of rice. That's what Hohn found in the plastic bag with the dead bees. Adult flies emerge in three to four weeks.

There's no evidence yet that the parasitic fly is a major player in the bees' decline, but it does seem the pest is targeting new hosts, said Steve Sheppard, chairman of the entomology department at Washington State University.

"It may occur a lot more widely than we think," he said.

That's what Hafernik hopes to find out with his website, zombeewatch.org. The site offers simple instructions for collecting suspect bees, watching for signs of parasites and reporting the results.

Once more people start looking, the number of sightings will probably climb, Hohn said.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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Lightning Delays Washington Monument Rappel (ContributorNetwork)

Engineers began rappelling down the sides of the Washington Monument today as part of an inspection team looking over possible damage to the structure. When the weather forecast turned to possible lightning and thunderstorms in the area, the Associated Press reports the first-of-its-kind operation had to be put on hold.

The obelisk was damaged when a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Virginia in late August 2011. The shaking was felt in Washington and numerous cracks formed on the outer facade of the monument. Although the entire structure is sound and the monument isn't going to collapse, the National Park Service has closed the tourist attraction indefinitely until repairs can be made.

Rain from late summer storms and from Hurricane Irene seeped into the structure through the cracks. The reason for the rappelling team is to ascertain how many cracks are up and down the 555 foot-tall structure. After the initial inspection, teams will begin filling in cracks with caulk to weather proof the building once again. The largest crack is four feet long and an inch wide. Daylight can be seen through some cracks.

Rappelling in less-than-ideal weather conditions can be dangerous. Lightning is a factor because there are lightning rods on the Washington Monument. Even rain can be hazardous as the engineers may slip on the slick marble that is on the outside of the obelisk.

Even dressing appropriately for the weather is also a must. If it gets too cold while a climber is unable to move very quickly, he or she can suffer from hypothermia. Although it won't be as big of deal in warmer months, hypothermia can become a factor if temperatures cool suddenly.

Overly windy conditions may also spell trouble for climbers. Although the ropes are secured at the very top of the Washington Monument, winds can make it difficult for the climbers to stay still and do their work. If they are halfway down the tall structure it may be awhile before they can ascend into the hatch from which they came. The other option is to descend to the bottom to safety on the ground.

Rappelling down the Washington Monument is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will likely not happen again for another 150 years if at all. All precautions will have to be taken in weird weather so the climbers are safe while they do their jobs.

If all goes well, the Washington Monument will reopen in mid-October.

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