C.R. Laine Furniture announced that it has been hand-crafting custom upholstery in North Carolina since 1958. In 2008, they became the first company to achieve AHFA’s Sustainable by Design third-party certification.
At the upcoming High Point show, its showroom is located in the IHFC Building | Space H-1004 will spotlight the use of honey as a classic nature-inspired “eco” color while drawing attention to the unexplainable die-off of our nation’s honey bees.
Chairs in honey comb fabrics nestled under a full size tree dripping with fabric honey bees and burlap bee hives are one of the many displays on tap. “Color and patterns are connected to nature,” comment Holly Blalock, C.R. Laine’s Creative Director. “We want retailers to be inspired to create their own displays devoted to color trends and world-friendly initiatives.”
About Colony Collapse Disorder : Honey Bees Under Threat Color and Patterns Connected to Nature
“Design and color tones are not conjured up in a crystal ball—they are the result of much observation of the surrounding natural world as well as the influences that will impact the world of the future.” - Leatrice (Lee) Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute
The number of managed honey bee colonies has dropped from 5.9 million in the 1940s to 4.3 million in 1985 to only 2.5 million today.
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the name given to the alarming die-off of honey bee colonies across the country, was first reported in the Fall of 2006. Since then beekeepers around the US have reported the death of hundreds of thousands of honey bees without cause. Otherwise strong colonies are being devastated with the loss of their entire workforce in a matter of a few weeks or even a few days. Should this trend continue, honey bees could cease to exist in the US by 2035 forever changing our circle of life.
Not only are honey bees the only insect that produces food for humans, the honey bee pollination is responsible for more than $15 billion in value to about 130 crops, particularly specialty crops like berries, nuts, fruits and vegetables. One mouthful in three of our diet directly or indirectly benefits from honey bee pollination.
Unfortunately, the general health of honey bee colonies has been declining since the 1980s. With the introduction of new pathogens and pests, particularly the spread into the US of Varroa and tracheal mites, new major stresses have been created for honey bees. At the same time, the call for hives to supply pollination services has continued to climb causing honey bee colonies to be trucked farther and more often than ever before, which also stresses the bees.
Many commercial migratory beekeepers have lost as high as 90% of their colonies and surviving colonies are often so weak they are not viable for pollination or honey production. Although much attention is being given to this situation, it is not yet clear what is causing the die-off.
A CCD hive will have very little or no adult honey bees present but with a live healthy queen and no dead bees. Often there is still honey and brood (immature bees) present. It’s as if the mature worker bees disappear only to die without their queen and colony.
A group of researchers, apiculture extension specialists and government officials from a number of different institutions across the country have come together to work on this problem and share information with beekeepers and the public. This group is called the CCD Working Group.
Four broad classes of potential causes being studied by the CCDWG include; pathogens, parasites, environmental stresses (including pesticides), and management stresses (including migratory stress and nutrition problems from nectar or pollen insufficiency). Many feel a complex perfect storm of stresses may be unexpectedly suppressing the immune system of colonies and causing their collapse.
If honey bees are indicators of the state of our environment, we should take note. Consider your air emissions and water pollutants. If required, do not use pesticides indiscriminately, especially do not to use pesticides at mid-day when honey bees are most likely to be out foraging for nectar. Also, plant good nectar sources such as red clover, foxglove, bee balm, and joe pye weed.
To date, there is no evidence that CCD affects honey. The impact of CCD appears to be limited to adult bees.
For answers to frequently asked questions about colony collapse disorder, visit: www.ars.usda.gov/is/br/ccd
A copy of the CCD Action Plan can be found at:
www.ars.usda.gov/is/br/ccd/ccd_actionplan.pdf
Information on reducing risk to pollinators from pesticides can be found at: www.nappc.org