Those who go to the store and wade through the collection of fruits and vegetables may not get what the buzz is all about. Why all the fuss over honeybees?
For former organic farmer Michael Shacker, who relied on the prolific insects to pollinate his crops, their ongoing demise was more than just a curiosity.Â
Although he had given up farming in the 1970s and turned to computer software programming as a way to support his family, his interest in agriculture never waned. When the phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder started affecting the American farmer, Shacker delved into researching the problem, which he traced to the use of pesticides. Shacker is not the only one who believes that certain pesticides have contributed to colony collapse. (Other factors, including the wholesale shipping of bees from site to site via disorienting truck rides, have been cited as suspects, as well.)
According to Shacker”™s daughter, Melissa, her father had just “put the finishing touches on his book when he thought he was having symptoms of a heart attack. He ascribed it to stress, trying to get the book done, dealing with the bureaucracy of pesticide producers who claimed CCD couldn”™t possibly have occurred because of their products.”
It turned out that Shacker didn”™t have a heart attack, but his blood pressure was off kilter.
“Dad didn”™t have much faith in Western medicine,” said Melissa. His wife rushed him to the emergency room, only to learn he had an aortic dissection. “During emergency surgery to repair the tear, my dad suffered a stroke.”Doctors managed to save his life, but the stroke has debilitated him. It was déjà vu for his wife, Barbara, who knew what the family was in for: her own father had a stroke at the age of 45, and she had to help him re-learn basic functions: to speak, read, write and walk. For daughter, Melissa, her father”™s stroke meant it was  time to put college on hold  and help out the family.
While Barbara Shacker spends her free time helping her husband regain the use of his right side, speech and cognitive learning, Melissa has become the spokesperson for “A Spring Without Bees.”
“Dad had the stroke in April and the book was published in June,” Melissa said. “But now with his illness, I took on the task of getting the word out and publicizing his work.”
Shacker joined the ranks of other researchers and scientists who point to the use Imindalyoprid, manufactured by Bayer Cropscience, as the culprit behind CCD. “It”™s been studied in France extensively, according to Dad,” said Melissa. “But because pesticides are so expensive, many farmers continue to use it because this is not something you throw away.”
Said Shaker”™s 20-year-old daughter, “If my father”™s research is right, and he hoped it would be validated by others who are trying to discover the cause of CCD, it could be a turning point in getting farmers to switch over to less lethal methods of protecting crops. My father”™s hope is that we eventually return to organic gardening and find natural solutions to pests, not rely on chemicals to do the work for us.”
Right now, however, Shacker faces his own fight, learning to regain his cognitive speech, comprehension skills and regain the use of his right side, getting  back what he nearly lost due to the “silent killer” ”“ high blood pressure.Â
“Right now,” said Melissa, “my mom has stopped everything to be by my father”™s side. He worked so long and so hard on this book, so I hope word gets out that it”™s available.”
Melissa hopes “A Spring Without Bees” will reveal how important honeybees are when it comes to contributing to the fruits and vegetables we”™ve come to expect on our tables.
