# Honey Bees & Colony Collapse Disorder



## MSM Hobbes

In case anyone has not heard of this, a potentially significant ecological & financial disaster is in the makings. Honey bees are dying in a so far unexplainable manner.
Although die offs have happened multiple times in the past, this particular occurrence has the makings of a more major impact.
Its amazing how many different plants, fruits, industries, etc. are dependent upon something so 'simple' as a bee.
Guess better stock up on my supply of mead...  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6438373.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder
http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/2004/5-3-2004/neonic.html
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/hort/news/hortmatt/2003/17hrt03a4.htm
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/08/Floridian/One_beekeeper_s_chaos.shtml
http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070304/070311-8.htm



> It is officially called Colony Collapse Disorder, but a more pithy way of describing it would be Vanishing Bee Syndrome.
> 
> All over America, beekeepers are opening up their hives in preparation for the spring pollination season, only to find that their bees are dead or have disappeared. Nobody, so far, knows why.
> 
> The sad mystery surrounding the humble honeybee - which is a vital component in $14bn-worth of US agriculture - is beginning to worry even the highest strata of the political class in Washington.
> 
> "It's not just affecting the beekeepers, it's affecting the farmers that produce the food, and in the end it's going to affect the consumer," he added, sighing deeply.


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## Blackmirror

Thats very sad


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## lotuseclat79

I just discovered (yesterday) a new finding on the heneybee crisis - checkout post #1560 in the Random subforum thread on Science and Space where we have been posting about it for some time at: http://forums.techguy.org/random-discussion/167924-science-space-thread-104.html and follow the link to the article.

-- Tom


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## LuckyStrike

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?

My first suspicion would have been something like disease or parasites, my second suspicion would be that it might be a consequence of growing use of genetically engineered crops and the designer herbicides and pesticides that those crops are genetically engineered to tolerate. For example round-up ready soybeans and corn. However since the most notable dies offs have been near the coasts rather than in the corn and soybean belts, and since the phenomenon has spread to other countries, genetic engineering would not seem to be the culprit.


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## Gabriel

lotuseclat79 said:


> I just discovered (yesterday) a new finding on the heneybee crisis - checkout post #1560 in the Random subforum thread on Science and Space where we have been posting about it for some time at: http://forums.techguy.org/random-discussion/167924-science-space-thread-104.html and follow the link to the article.
> 
> -- Tom


 Oh, and don't forget to read Lotuses April Fools answer for their dissapearance in the Science and Space Thread....Post #1433 and #1435    
Had me going


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## MSM Hobbes

lotuseclat79 - yea, as a contributer to that thread, have seen it.  Have posted bits about bees here and there too in other threads. However, felt that such a potentially serious situation needed its own thread - to help drive the importance and significance of this to more people. Alarmist, no. But, if there is something that should be, could be, can be done, sooner than later, and would like to see calm, cool, intelligent discussion and then action by those that can help in this.

"If the bee disappeared off the face of the globe, then man would only have four years left to live." - Albert Einstein

http://www.heyokamagazine.com/HEYOKA.7.BEES.htm



> Across America, millions of honey bees are abandoning their hives and flying off to die, leaving beekeepers facing ruin and US agriculture under threat. And to date, no one knows why. Michael McCarthy reports
> Published: 01 March 2007. The Independent
> 
> It has echoes of a murder mystery in polite society. There could hardly be a more sedate and unruffled world than beekeeping, but the beekeepers of the United States have suddenly encountered affliction, calamity and death on a massive scale. And they have not got a clue why it is happening.
> 
> Across the country, from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific, honey bee colonies have started to die off, abruptly and decisively. Millions of bees are abandoning their hives and flying off to die (they cannot survive as a colony without the queen, who is always left behind).
> 
> Some beekeepers, especially those with big portable apiaries, or bee farms, which are used for large-scale pollination of fruit and vegetable crops, are facing commercial ruin - and there is a growing threat that America's agriculture may be struck a mortal blow by the loss of the pollinators. Yet scientists investigating the problem have no idea what is causing it.
> 
> The phenomenon is recent, dating back to autumn, when beekeepers along the east coast of the US started to notice the die-offs. It was given the name of fall dwindle disease, but now it has been renamed to reflect better its dramatic nature, and is known as colony collapse disorder.
> 
> It is swift in its effect. Over the course of a week the majority of the bees in an affected colony will flee the hive and disappear, going off to die elsewhere. The few remaining insects are then found to be enormously diseased - they have a "tremendous pathogen load", the scientists say. But why? No one yet knows.
> 
> The condition has been recorded in at least 24 states. It is having a major effect on the mobile apiaries which are transported across the US to pollinate large-scale crops, such as oranges in Florida or almonds in California. Some have lost up to 90 per cent of their bees. A reliable estimate of the true extent of the problem will not be possible for another month or so, until winter comes to an end and the hibernating bee colonies in the northern American states wake up. But scientists are very worried, not least because, as there is no obvious cause for the disease as yet, there is no way of tackling it.
> 
> "We are extremely alarmed," said Diana Cox-Foster, the professor of Entomology at Penn States University and one of the leading members of a specially convened colony-collapse disorder working group. "It is one of the most alarming insect diseases ever to hit the US and it has the potential to devastate the US beekeeping industry. In some ways it may be to the insect world what foot-and-mouth disease was to livestock in England."
> 
> Most of the pollination for more than 90 commercial crops grown throughout the United States is provided byApis mellifera, the honey bee, and the value from the pollination to agricultural output in the country is estimated at $14.6bn (£8bn) annually. Growers rent about 1.5 million colonies each year to pollinate crops - a colony usually being the group of bees in a hive.


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## Izme

Interesting stuff Hobbster...I have been watching this as well and at last count they figured a loss of at least 8 billion bee's...and the reason eludes us.


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## lotuseclat79

Gabriel said:


> Oh, and don't forget to read Lotuses April Fools answer for their dissapearance in the Science and Space Thread....Post #1433 and #1435
> Had me going


Hi Gabriel,

It had me going as well! 

Somehow, I have the hope that the bees just hightailed it to somewhere safe due to the so-called global warming trend. It seems to me that they instinctively know when there is a threat to the colony and potentially saw that to stay in the hive location was to incur a bigger disaster due to the disease. The only way we will know for sure is that the crops, plants, flowers, trees, etc. get pollenated this year. That's my hope anyway! I prefer to remain an optimist even though it looks like it may be a huge downward hit in our food supply.

-- Tom


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## ekim68

I agree Hobbes. This needs a thread of its own. But, there are a few good articles in the other thread that Tom mentioned. But, as an aside, we have a small town near us that had
success, at least a little, lately with bees. I'll try to find a link....


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## Izme

You people need to believe our own Government...there is no climate change aka global warming


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## combsdon

izme said:


> You people need to believe our own Government...there is no climate change aka global warming





PHP:




....well thank goodness............


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## Izme

combsdon said:


> PHP:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ....well thank goodness............


did you take one of those conservative pills?


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## Gabriel

Bumblebee populations also are being affected, maybe with a different problem, but noetheless endangered

http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...9_RTRUKOC_0_US-BRITAIN-BUMBLEBEES.xml&src=rss


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## MSM Hobbes

ekim68 said:


> I agree Hobbes. This needs a thread of its own. But, there are a few good articles in the other thread that Tom mentioned. But, as an aside, we have a small town near us that had success, at least a little, lately with bees. I'll try to find a link....


Feel free to place that info/links into this thread too, if so desire. 

Any success, esp. if can be repeated in other locales, that is :up:


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## Knotbored

Cherry tree, plumb tree and flowering cherry, 3 magnolia trees all bloomed fully last week, not one bee in site. Will let you know if any fruit develops later.
It has been cool, but usually bees come out whenever it gets above 50, which it has several days.


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## Izme

I think we should all just go about our business and forget about all of this stuff...listen to the people that say that there is no global warming..be complacent..buy big rigs and live it up...keep the oil revenue coming in..forget about any dangers at all...It's just a ploy by the libs 

leave it in the hands of our Government to take any action..then bend over and kiss your hiney goodbye when it all comes tumbling down...hey what happened to our Government? "oh they went deep into the earth to ride this out"


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## ekim68

_Researchers link fungus to bee losses in U.S._

A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder that is now wiping out bees across the U.S., University of California, San Francisco researchers said Wednesday.

Researchers have been struggling for months without success to explain the disorder, and the new findings represent the first solid evidence pointing to a potential cause.

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-bees26apr26,0,896792.story?coll=la-home-headlines


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## Izme

ekim68 said:


> _Researchers link fungus to bee losses in U.S._
> 
> A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder that is now wiping out bees across the U.S., University of California, San Francisco researchers said Wednesday.
> 
> Researchers have been struggling for months without success to explain the disorder, and the new findings represent the first solid evidence pointing to a potential cause.
> 
> http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-bees26apr26,0,896792.story?coll=la-home-headlines


Thanks Ekim! :up:

remarkable and dramatic losses indeed


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## lotuseclat79

What's it mean?
Article here.

The honeybees are dying. Ohio beekeepers are reporting a 72 percent loss of colonies between September and March. Is it an agricultural calamity waiting to happen, or just a cyclical blip?

Note: In the article, the microsporidian, Nosema ceranae, a small, unicellular parasite that mainly affects Apis cerana, or the Asiatic honey bee is cited. And that raises the question (in my mind at least) about whether infected Asian honey bees that may have intermingled with many hives around the U.S., and in Europe are at the center of this disaster?

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Destructive mite threatens Hawaii bees
Article here.

A tiny mite, varroa destructor, that has devastated mainland honeybee populations showed up in Honolulu hives for the first time this month and has now been confirmed in bee colonies across Oahu.










-- Tom


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## ekim68

And in Taiwan....

_Taiwan stung by millions of missing bees_

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's bee farmers are feeling the sting of lost business and possible crop danger after millions of the honey-making, plant-pollinating insects vanished during volatile weather, media and experts said on Thursday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTP16248120070426


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## ekim68

Bees Vanish, and Scientists Race for Reasons

"So far, known enemies of the bee world, like the varroa mite, on their own at least, do not appear to be responsible for the unusually high losses.

Genetic testing at Columbia University has revealed the presence of multiple micro-organisms in bees from hives or colonies that are in decline, suggesting that something is weakening their immune system. The researchers have found some fungi in the affected bees that are found in humans whose immune systems have been suppressed by the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or cancer.

That is extremely unusual, Dr. Cox-Foster said."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/science/24bees.html?em&ex=1177732800&en=798f1147a52302bc&ei=5087


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## Mulderator

My opinion? Its the radio waves the government is using to control our thoughts. These have been proven to have a detrimental effect on both bees and liberals.


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## ekim68

Mulder said:


> My opinion? Its the radio waves the government is using to control our thoughts. These have been proven to have a detrimental effect on both bees and liberals.


So, can we get some head phones to block it out? I don't want any governmental in my thoughts....Although, I don't know about the bees.....


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## Mulderator

ekim68 said:


> So, can we get some head phones to block it out? I don't want any governmental in my thoughts....Although, I don't know about the bees.....


Head phones won't work--you have to cover the upper cerebrum area completely. Here--this will work:


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## lotuseclat79

Experts may have found what's bugging the bees
Article here.

A fungus that hit hives in Europe and Asia may be partly to blame for wiping out colonies across the U.S.

The fungus, a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae, in affected hives from around the country - as well as in some hives where bees had survived. Those researchers have also found two other fungi and half a dozen viruses in the dead bees.

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Scientists Identify Pathogens That May Be Causing Global Honey-Bee Deaths
Article here.

Researchers have identified potential culprits behind the wide-spread catastrophic death of honey bees around North America and Europe.

A team of scientists from Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and University of California San Francisco identified both *a virus and a parasite* that are likely behind the recent sudden die-off of honey-bee colonies.

-- Tom


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## lizard

North America should expect losses close to $trillions.
Obviously, this is a disaster and it certainly 'won't be good for the economy'. 
Like Climate Change though, doing something decisive, effective, and immediate about it might also be 'uneconomical'.

As long as the economy is good...so is everything else.  

Will the recession bee this summer?  

Anyone notice if it is affecting those pesky African killer bees, or are they just thriving?


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## ekim68

More info on the bees.

*Colony Collapse Disorder*

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/ColonyCollapseDisorder.html

Even a survey.

http://www.beesurvey.com/


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## Bush Lady

It's funny you know, but my dad past away in '92, and he was already saying that it seems like the bees are dissappearing. He noticed that there were not as many bees on the cucumber plants in the garden.


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## Gabriel

I have not seen one bee yet this year


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## ekim68

You know Gabriel, I haven't seen any either...But I haven't really been looking...I'll start tomorrow...


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## eggplant43

Strictly opinion:

Could this be the canary in the mine?

I have been an organic gardener for over 50 years, so I'm opinionated, but here's my take. BTW, I know nothing about bees.

First, in the last century we have created an absolute chemical soup of an environment. A combination of increased population, increased mobility, increased use of hydrocarbons, and a general huge increase of chemicals in our everyday life. Consider your local supermarket, all the things that come as an aerosol, all the preservatives, additives, modifiers, OTC drugs, plastic, and so much more. And who knows anything about the interactions between these diverse elements.

Then look at the changes in agriculture, the huge increase in mono culture, the use of powerful chemicals to control growth, insects, and to feed the plants. All of these things have artifically introduced to replace the natural balances in nature in the name of productivity.

I believe everything mentioned above are stressors to the bees. I see the losses to the fungus, mites, etc. not as the problem, but as a symptom of a much larger problem that no one seems to be addressing.

Time will tell.


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## ekim68

Well said eggplant43. I, too, think it's a combination of all things.


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## Mr. Bigglesworth

Whether bioengineered crops have contributed to the loss of honeybees or not, what I have been thinking recently is that we maybe need bioengineered superbees. Of course we probably also need to pin-point what is causing the trouble among the bees first. And hopefully the new bees won't turn out to require human blood to survive or something! :^) Mr. B.


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## Gabriel

We had a bee in our house today. I got him out without hurting him (actually her). i also saw new bee boxes in some of the orange and vegetable fields


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## ekim68

Gabriel said:


> We had a bee in our house today. I got him out without hurting him (actually her). i also saw new bee boxes in some of the orange and vegetable fields


Good news...:up:


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## telecom69

If you want to attract bees to your garden I suggest you grow some Cotoneaster Horizontalis its so easy to grow and you can grow it from seed or as young plants from your garden centres,its a shrub and does need some room over time,you can let it grow flat or even train it to grow up a wall....this shrub is a magnet for some reason to bees it gets covered by them,so only grow it if you like bees ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/233.shtml


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## Gabriel

Thanks telecom.

My most memorable time with bees was one summer in Meyer Az., a bunch of bees came in our store and were all over one of the windows. Some were very weary. 
They were drones, and we don't know if they were kicked out of their hive, or lost chasing a Queen Bee. 
You could touch them, they were so docile. And they were so soft and weightless feeling. They were flying everywhere, and touching my cheeks (kinda tickled), and a few got in my hair. I was careful not to hurt them getting them out of my hair.


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## ekim68

_No ORGANIC Bee losses - Bees Immune Systems Damaged_

Several thoughts and links....Into the article:

"I'm on an organic beekeeping list of about 1,000 people, mostly Americans, and no one in the organic beekeeping world, including commercial beekeepers, is reporting colony collapse on this list. The problem with the big commercial guys is that they put pesticides in their hives to fumigate for varroa mites, and they feed antibiotics to the bees. They also haul the hives by truck all over the place to make more money with pollination services, which stresses the colonies."

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chr...ic_bee_losses_bees_immune_systems_damaged.htm


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## Gabriel

Very interesting Ekim


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## ekim68

Well at least someone's working on it..

_Professor Helps Develop Techniques To Reduce Threat Against Honeybees_

Bees swarm through the smoke as Professor James Amrine attempts to hook a pollen trap to one of the 20 beehives used for research at West Virginia University. Amrine, not wearing any protective garb, picks up the small, metal firepot and blows more smoke through a nozzle into one of the stacked, wooden boxes placed near the tree line. The smoke is designed to keep the bees from attacking. It causes them to gorge themselves with honey - a survival instinct in case they must vacate the hive and recreate it elsewhere.............

"But the honeybees are part of an ongoing research project at WVU that promises to put the University on the map in the world of apiculture (beekeeping) and aid the honeybees' declining populations from what scientists are calling Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)."

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/P...s_To_Reduce_Threat_Against_Honeybees_999.html


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## ekim68

_Many causes blamed for honeybee die-off_

(06-01) 04:00 PDT Hilmar, Merced County -- A team of entomologists and other scientists studying the alarming die-off of honeybees across the country is expected to report that there are multiple causes of the deaths, called colony collapse disorder. The finding compounds a crisis for growers of crops dependent on pollination, a Central Valley congressman said Thursday.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/01/BUGQ2Q5AAI22.DTL


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## ekim68

More info...,

*Mysterious deaths of bees take broad toll*

_As scientists try to explain why colonies are vanishing, worried beekeepers and farmers add up their losses._

The dead bees under Dennis vanEngelsdorp's microscope were like none he had ever seen before.

He had expected to see mites or amoebas, perennial pests of bees. Instead, he found internal organs swollen with debris and strangely blackened. The bees' intestinal tracts were scarred, and their rectums were abnormally full of what appeared to be partly digested pollen. Dark marks on the sting glands were telltale signs of infection.

"The more you looked, the more you found," said VanEngelsdorp, the acting apiarist for the state of Pennsylvania. "Each thing was a surprise."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...es10jun10,0,4460235.story?coll=la-home-center


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## lotuseclat79

Thanks for the update ekim68!

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Weather Said to Blame for Bee Die-Off (MD only)
Article here.

Maryland beekeepers have lost 45 percent of their bees since last year - but the death toll is likely attributable to weather, not a national trend of mysterious die-offs, Maryland's top bee inspector said Wednesday.

-- Tom


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## ekim68

Some more news here, today:

_Scientists examine cause of bee die-off_

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Scientists investigating a mysterious ailment that killed many of the nation's honeybees are concentrating on pesticides and a new pathogen as possible culprits, and some beekeepers are already trying to keep their colonies away from pesticide-exposed fields.

After months of study, researchers are finding it difficult to tie the die-off to any single factor, said Maryann Frazier, a senior extension associate in Penn State University's entomology department.

"Two things right now ... that are really keeping us focused are the pathogen and the role of pesticides," Frazier said.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501AP_Dying_Bees.html


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## Izme

ekim68 said:


> Some more news here, today:
> 
> _Scientists examine cause of bee die-off_
> 
> LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Scientists investigating a mysterious ailment that killed many of the nation's honeybees are concentrating on pesticides and a new pathogen as possible culprits, and some beekeepers are already trying to keep their colonies away from pesticide-exposed fields.
> 
> After months of study, researchers are finding it difficult to tie the die-off to any single factor, said Maryann Frazier, a senior extension associate in Penn State University's entomology department.
> 
> "Two things right now ... that are really keeping us focused are the pathogen and the role of pesticides," Frazier said.
> 
> http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501AP_Dying_Bees.html


Here's the thing, when new chemicals and enhancements are introduced into our produce-plantlife-livestock etc...bad things can happen.....we will surely see many more tragic events from such things as genetic enhancement etc...especially when there are little _real_ safeguards in this and we will only know it's adverse effects when it does massive damage and our ecosystem and it's consumers. just one really bad mistake could bring the whole planet to the brink of destruction, trial by error in this just doesn't wash with me.

the end result could be very devastating


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## ekim68

Thank goodness we have this venue to discuss it...Why isn't this important in the MSM?


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## lotuseclat79

Hi ekim68,

MSM?

-- Tom


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## valis

mainstream media, I suppose.


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## lotuseclat79

Thanks valis - haven't finished my 2nd tankard of coffee yet - I always say I'm not responsible for anything before 10AM! 

-- Tom


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## valis

heh.....got me beat by a good two hours!


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## lotuseclat79

Bee Not Afraid: Why the disappearance of the honeybees isn't the end of the world.
Slate article here.



> "...in real life honeybees have been virtually extinct in North America for more than 10 years..."


-- Tom


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## Gabriel

Thanks Lotus, that is very interesting. In a way our beekeepers and farms are like bee zoos


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## Gabriel

Sometimes I feel very vulnerable that everything as I have known it is changing so fast


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## LANMaster

lotuseclat79 said:


> Weather Said to Blame for Bee Die-Off (MD only)
> Article here.
> 
> Maryland beekeepers have lost 45 percent of their bees since last year - but the death toll is likely attributable to weather, not a national trend of mysterious die-offs, Maryland's top bee inspector said Wednesday.
> 
> -- Tom


Your double post deserves a double response. 

Sorry to disappoint you ..... I know how much you wantied the reason to be climate change. 



> MADRID - A parasite common in Asian bees has spread to Europe and the Americas and is behind the mass disappearance of honeybees in many countries, says a Spanish scientist who has been studying the phenomenon for years.
> 
> The culprit is a microscopic parasite called nosema ceranae said Mariano Higes, who leads a team of researchers at a government-funded apiculture centre in Guadalajara, the province east of Madrid that is the heartland of Spain's honey industry.


http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/43163/story.htm


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## lotuseclat79

HI LAN,

What double post? You replied about a month after the fact!

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

So, when is the Madrid finding (microscopic parasite called nosema ceranae) going to be confirmed in the U.S.

The article says that until U.S. beekeepers are convinced that is the problem ehy won't take the step, cheap at $1.4 twice a hive/year to implment the antidote.

-- Tom


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## ekim68

More gardens, more gardens.......

*Bumblebees Make Bee Line For Gardens, National Bumblebee Nest Survey Finds*

Science Daily  Britain's gardens are vital habitats for nesting bumblebees, new research has found. The results come from the National Bumblebee Nest Survey, which are published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, and the findings will help conservationists understand -- and hopefully address -- the factors responsible for declining bumblebee populations.

During the National Bumblebee Nest Survey, more than 700 volunteers surveyed their own gardens plus one of six different countryside habitats for bumblebee nests. They found that gardens contain the highest densities of bumblebee nests (36 nests per ha), followed by hedgerows, fence lines and woodland edges (20-37 nests/ha). Nest densities were lower in woodland and grassland (11-15 nests/ha). Until now, little has been known about which habitats are best for bumblebee nests.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070723095226.htm


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## lotuseclat79

Are the Bees Dying off Because They're Too Busy?
Article here.

Are bees dying because factory farms are "overworking" them? California bee farmers who let their hives take it easy find their colonies are thriving.

-- Tom


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## [email protected]

Im not sure whos all trackign things on this but i had heard a few other things lately...

http://etalaat.net/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2247&Itemid=1

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/09/2001230.htm


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## pierjean

I found it disturbing that bee swarms are destroyed by thousands when discovered in the wild. 
when people find a nest in they yard they call the exteminator who will destroy them by fear of being the so called African (killer) bees. There is NO WAY to stop them anyway, they reproduce so fast that there is NO WAY to stop them anyway !!!
We just have to learn how to live with them. and learn how to keep safe. 
very soon they will replace the more docile Italian or European race.

After all they are also honey bees and they do pollinate flowers. they are only more defensive around their nest. Although being more touchy they can still be closely monitored by Beekeepers. Beehive may be made to avoid swarming in the wild. African queens can be replaced to reduce aggressiveness.
But the easy way out is to kill all swarms, regardless of origin regardless of the consequences..
Ignorance and fear is the cause. Educate people is the solution


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## lotuseclat79

As bees go missing, a $9.3B crisis lurks
Article here.

The mysterious disappearance of millions of bees is fueling fears of an agricultural disaster.

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

(New) Virus may be cause of US honeybee deaths.

Scientific sleuths have a new suspect for what's been killing billions of honeybees: a virus previously unknown in the United States.

-- Tom


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## [email protected]

ooo good up date! Thanks!


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## lotuseclat79

Bee researchers close in on Colony Collapse Disorder
Article here.

Across the nation, beekeepers have seen hive after hive succumb to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD); a team of entomologists and infectious disease researchers now report a strong correlation between the occupancy of CCD and a virus, Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IVAP).









Honey bees on hive frame. Credit: Penn State

-- Tom


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## lotuseclat79

Progress on 'collapsing' beehives
Article (2 pages) here.

Some warned of crop disaster when honeybees started to disappear. Crops didn't fail, but farmers and beekeepers aren't out of danger yet.









At work: Honeybee lands on an almond blossom.
Casey Christie/The Bakersfield Californian/AP

-- Tom


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## Shadow Bea

Good Article!:up:

.


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## ekim68

*Greek experts look out for lost honey bees*

ATHENS, Greece, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Greek experts have expressed concern for the unexplained disappearance of large quantities of honey bees.

Greek scientists are watching out for Colony Collapse Disorder, which refers to the mysteriously abrupt departure of worker bees from their hives, Kathimerini reported Saturday.

"We are on the alert. If CCD appears in Greece, the consequences could be massive," Agricultural University of Athens Professor, Paschalis Harizanis said.

The European Union relies on Greece, one of the world's biggest bee settlements, to produce 14,000 tons of honey each year. The country is the European Union's third-top producer of honey.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2008/01/26/greek_experts_look_out_for_lost_honey_bees/6247/


----------



## lotuseclat79

Colony Collapse Disorder: Researchers Work To Control Varroa Mites, Increase Longevity Of Queen Bees (dated February 16, 2008)
Article here.

In response to a fast-spreading syndrome called colony collapse disorder (CCD) that's striking honey bees nationwide, scientists at Agricultural Research Service (ARS) bee laboratories across the country are pooling their expertise.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Honey Bees Give Clues on Virus Spread
Article here.

To find the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, a team of scientists mashed up honeybees from stricken hives as well as normal ones. Using a new method called metagenomics, they searched the honeybee purée for the DNA of parasites. In September, they announced that they found the DNA of a particular virus in 25 of 30 sick colonies. Only 1 out of 21 healthy hives had it.

The virus, known as Israeli acute paralytic virus, was already known to make bees sick.

It turns out that the mystery is not yet solved due to complicating factors described in the article.

-- Tom


----------



## Gabriel

Oh Gees, Too sad


----------



## lotuseclat79

The question I have is why they assume that when bees go off out of the hive that they do it to die?

Over this last year, 2007, did the crops most affected not produce up to snuff? Why isn't it the case where the bees just move out of the hive in order to survive and start up a new hive in the wild - which have not been found or tested for the disease?

I'd like to see a study that tells the impact on our crops as the fallout of the disease - haven't seen any to date.

-- Tom


----------



## pierjean

What puzzles me is that people are panicking when they see a swarm of bees. swarming bees do not sting. they are full of honey and their primary goal is to save the honey for survival of the colony. if they sting they die, and the honey is loss, they carry each 2 days of honey supply for the new nest. beside this, they cannot even sting because they cannot bend to do it, having their belly full.

nevertheless, by fear, people call the exterminators who kills them. africanized or not.leave Leave them in peace and respect their nest they will leave you alone. Bees are life. kill them and we all die..Africanized bees are just bees, only more defensive. attack their nest or be a threat they will get you! you would do the same to protect your family.. Bees do not attack without reason so respect them, love them, protect them without them you'll die too. africanized bees reproduce fast so may be they are the solution to this problem. it is a matter of life or death - for us.


----------



## johnnyburst79

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/thehappening/large_trailer.html


----------



## ekim68

*Brit apiarists demand £8m to save honeybees*

British apiarists are demanding the government stump £8m for a research project aimed at saving the nation's honeybees from extinction - something they say will happen within 10 years if cash is not found to investigate "new treatments and drugs" for ailing populations.

Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeeping Association, explained: "Beekeeping is still reeling from the varroa mite, which carries a number of viruses and which devastated thousands of hives across the country when it reached Britain 10 years ago. Now there is a real danger that colony collapse disease - which has wiped out 80 per cent of bees in parts of the US - will appear in this country. Unless we develop effective protection, there could then be massive losses of bees across the country."

Colony collapse disease, aka Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), has manifested itself Stateside as colonies' older bees died, "leaving behind the queen and young workers not yet ready to forage for pollen and nectar and insufficient in number to maintain the colony".

The cause is unknown, and various theories point to harmful pesticides, increased solar radiation, falling queen fertility, unauthorised bee treatments, mobile phone mast radiation or the the single-celled fungus Nosema ceranae.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/10/apiarists_demand_funding/


----------



## lotuseclat79

ekim68 said:


> *Brit apiarists demand £8m to save honeybees*
> 
> British apiarists are demanding the government stump £8m for a research project aimed at saving the nation's honeybees from extinction - something they say will happen within 10 years if cash is not found to investigate "new treatments and drugs" for ailing populations.
> 
> Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeeping Association, explained: "Beekeeping is still reeling from the varroa mite, which carries a number of viruses and which devastated thousands of hives across the country when it reached Britain 10 years ago. Now there is a real danger that colony collapse disease - which has wiped out 80 per cent of bees in parts of the US - will appear in this country. Unless we develop effective protection, there could then be massive losses of bees across the country."
> 
> Colony collapse disease, aka Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), has manifested itself Stateside as colonies' older bees died, "leaving behind the queen and young workers not yet ready to forage for pollen and nectar and insufficient in number to maintain the colony".
> 
> The cause is unknown, and various theories point to harmful pesticides, increased solar radiation, falling queen fertility, unauthorised bee treatments, mobile phone mast radiation or the the single-celled fungus Nosema ceranae.
> 
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/10/apiarists_demand_funding/


Hi ekin68,

Call me a skeptic, but of all of the bees that have left, it appears that the standard assumption is that they died. No one has ever found them. So, how is it that they died without proof?

If production figures of all of the crops that occur due to pollination from bees are audited - what is the tally? If the production figures are roughly equivalent then the bees must be out there pollinating, and if they are down then where did the bees go, and where are the dead ones? There is more than just a disease mystery here!

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Good questions, Tom...And don't forget the advances made in air pollution for the last 20 or 30 years. Something about the cases of asthma nowadays compared to before. The air and the earth are changing right now...As an aside, I grew some corn about 10 years ago and I rubbed the plants together to pollinate. 
I just wish I had more bees...


----------



## lotuseclat79

Hi ekim68,

All I can say is that you must be psychic: I saw a news report on CBS last night that pollution may be the cause of bees disappearing due to its effect on the smell of flowers.
Study: Flowers Losing Smell

Spring's bloom may not smell so sweet anymore, as pollutants from power plants and automobiles destroy flowers' aromas, a new study suggests.

The finding could help explain why some pollinators, particularly bees, are declining in certain parts of the world.

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

More on this:

Midway through the article....

"Scents that could travel for more than half a mile in the 1800s now probably travel less than about 600 feet, according to Jose D. Fuentes, professor of environmental sciences at the university and a co-author of the study.

"This makes it increasingly difficult for pollinators to locate the flowers," Fuentes said. "

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4660586&page=1


----------



## ekim68

*Wet springs threaten Scottish bees*

EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 24 (UPI) -- Wet spring weather in Scotland has reduced the sex drive of queen bees and threatens the future of the country's hives.

Alan Teale, vice president of the Scottish Beekeepers Association, told The Scotsman that the past two years have been bad for bee reproduction.

"The appalling summer last year was one of the worst in living memory for bees and that was followed by this cold and windy spring, and the bees haven't been able to get out of the hive and do their usual spring activities, like gather pollen and nectar," he said.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2008/05/24/wet_springs_threaten_scottish_bees/8135/


----------



## lotuseclat79

Honey Bee Losses Continue To Rise In U.S.
Article here.

Colony Collapse Disorder, diseases, parasitic mites and other stressors continue to take a devastating toll on U.S. honey bee populations, but Pennsylvania beekeepers on average fared better than their counterparts nationally during this past winter, according to apiculture experts in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Pesticides: Germany bans chemicals linked to honeybee devastation*

Germany has banned a family of pesticides that are blamed for the deaths of millions of honeybees. The German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has suspended the registration for eight pesticide seed treatment products used in rapeseed oil and sweetcorn.

The move follows reports from German beekeepers in the Baden-Württemberg region that two thirds of their bees died earlier this month following the application of a pesticide called clothianidin.

"It's a real bee emergency," said Manfred Hederer, president of the German Professional Beekeepers' Association. "50-60% of the bees have died on average and some beekeepers have lost all their hives."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/23/wildlife.endangeredspecies/print


----------



## lotuseclat79

Whatever Happened to Whatever Happened to the Bees?
Article here.

Guardian article A World Without Bees.

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Thanks Tom. The is the news everyone needs to see. I wonder if we dress the bees in bikinis if more people would take notice....


----------



## lotuseclat79

The $19 Billion Question: What Happens to Your Food When Beekeepers Go Out of Business? (and They Are)
Article here.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

New bee checklist lets scientists link important information about all bee species.

In time for National Pollinator Week, June 22 through June 28, biologists have completed an online effort to compile a world checklist of bees. They have identified nearly 19,500 bee species worldwide, about 2,000 more than previously estimated. There is a current crisis known as "colony collapse disorder," an unexplained phenomenon that is wiping out colonies of honey bees throughout the United States. This has highlighted the need for more information about bee species and their interactions with the plants they pollinate.

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*"Greenhouse" bees spread disease to wild bees*

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Disease spread to wild bees from commercially bred bees used for pollination in agriculture greenhouses may be playing a role in the mysterious decline in North American bee populations, researchers said on Tuesday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN2232266420080723


----------



## lotuseclat79

More on: Commercial bees spreading disease to wild pollinating bees.

Bees provide crucial pollination service to numerous crops and up to a third of the human diet comes from plants pollinated by insects. However, pollinating bees are suffering widespread declines in North America and scientists warn that this could have serious implications for agriculture and food supply. While the cause of these declines has largely been a mystery, new research reveals an alarming spread of disease from commercial bees to wild pollinators.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Fungus Foot Baths Could Save Bees.

One of the biggest world wide threats to honey bees, the varroa mite, could soon be about to meet its nemesis. Researchers at the University of Warwick are examining naturally occurring fungi that kill the varroa mite. They are also exploring a range of ways to deliver the killer fungus throughout the hives from bee fungal foot baths to powder sprays.









Varroa on bee pupae. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Warwick)

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Fungus Foot Baths Could Save Bees.

One of the biggest world wide threats to honey bees, the varroa mite, could soon be about to meet its nemesis. Researchers at the University of Warwick are examining naturally occurring fungi that kill the varroa mite. They are also exploring a range of ways to deliver the killer fungus throughout the hives from bee fungal foot baths to powder sprays.









Varroa on bee pupae. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Warwick)

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Saving our bees: Ecologists assess the impact of people on pollinators.

Most of the world's plant species rely on animals to transfer their pollen to other plants. The undisputed queen of these animal pollinators is the bee, made up of about 30,000 species worldwide, whose daily flights aid in the reproduction of more than half of the world's flowering plants. In recent years, however, an unprecedented and unexplained decline in bee populations across the U.S. and Europe has placed the health of ecosystems and the sustainability of crops in peril.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

The Disappearance of Bees.

The unexplained bee disappearance known as Colony Collapse Disorder, CCD, is a problem that affects more than just honey producers. It may not seem like it, but bees play a big role in ice cream making. The domino-like process begins with the pollination of seeds for hay in order to feed the dairy producing cows for this internationally beloved dessert.

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Honeybee deaths reaching crisis point*

Britain's honeybees have suffered catastrophic losses this year, according to a survey of the nation's beekeepers, contributing to a shortage of honey and putting at risk the pollination of fruits and vegetables.

The survey by the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) revealed that nearly one in three of the UK's 240,000 honeybee hives did not survive this winter and spring.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/12/conservation.wildlife1


----------



## Knotbored

I live in a very rural area and usually have many honey bees. Earlier this spring and summer I saw only a few, but bumble bees (huge bees) and mason bees (tiny fly-sized bees) were thicker then usual-and seemed to pick up the pace.
Last week (mid-august) for the first time a normal number of honey bees were swarming the flowers and flowering berries. I don't know if thats an indication the sickness is being cured, or if some farmer just brought in new hives.


----------



## ekim68

*EPA sued for info honeybee deaths*

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The Natural Resources Defense Council alleges the pesticide clothianidin is responsible for mysterious deaths in U.S. honey bee colonies.

The NRDC has filed a lawsuit accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of withholding evidence of a link between the Bayer CropScience pesticide and colony collapse disorder.

"Recently approved pesticides have been implicated in massive bee die-offs and are the focus of increasing scientific scrutiny," said NRDC Senior Attorney Aaron Colangelo said in a statement. "EPA should be evaluating the risks to bees before approving new pesticides, but now refuses to tell the public what it knows."

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/08/28/EPA_sued_for_info_honeybee_deaths/UPI-85491219953925/


----------



## eggplant43

In the real world; I'm a gardener. I love to grow cucumbers. At this point, I've harvested one cucumber from my garden, and there is one more maturing. This is an Armenian cucumber. I have many lemon cucumber plants, just covered with flowers, not a single cucumber. This despite the fact that I've been gardening successfully for over 50 years, and garden organically exclusively. Now the squash plants, right next to the cucumbers are as prolific as usual. I attribute this to blossom size. I've got lots of bumblebees, but really haven't seen many honeybees.

My barber, who knows everyone in this rural community says gardeners just aren't having much luck this year.


----------



## lotuseclat79

Busy and valuable: Bees are worth $220bln a year (in Europe).

Bees and other pollinating insects are worth 153 billion euros (220 billion dollars) a year, thanks to their help in growing fruit, vegetables, oil crops, coffee, cocao and spices, a French study has found.

The research coincides with mounting concern in Europe and the United States about devastating losses to bee colonies.
If bees were wiped out, the impact for the consumer would be between 190 billion and 310 billion euros (273 and 446 billion dollars), expressed in higher prices as a result of lower production, the study says.

These estimates do not take into account indirect environmental impacts deriving from bee extinction.

-- Tom


----------



## Bush Lady

Bruce was talking about not having much success with his cucumbers. I have had average amount of cucumbers for the number of plants I put in. I have noticed that there aren't so many bees around. 

This with the bees has been deteriorating for years already. My dad past-away in ' 92, and he was saying that the bees seem to be disappearing.


----------



## lotuseclat79

Agriculture unaffected by pollinator declines by Anna Petherick

*Global crop yields have not suffered even though key insect populations have shrunk.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Building Better Bees.

*A UC Davis researcher known for her honey bee line "New World Carniolans" has crossed her bees with their Old World counterparts to enhance their positive characteristics.*

"The bees are very gentle, very hygienic and very productive, and hopefully will confer increased resistance to pests and disease," said UC Davis bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey.

The Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) is a subspecies of the Western honey bee. The subspecies, which originated in Slovenia, is the second most popular among California beekeepers, after another Western honey bee subspecies, the Italian honey bee.

UC Cooperative Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of UC Davis said genetic research of honey bees is critical for the bee industry.

"Although we spend a considerable amount of time trying to find short-term fixes to our honey bee disease and pest control problems, in the long run, the genetic solution of resistant stocks will be a better solution," Mussen said.

-- Tom :up:


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## lotuseclat79

Honeybees still at risk.

*Bees still suffering from colony collapse disorder*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

U.S. Beekeepers Have More Bees Than Anytime in 3 Years.

*So can we quit worrying about Colony Collapse Disorder? Well, not quite ... Also see Amazing Wildlife Photos*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

'No proof' of bee killer theory.

*Scientists say there is no proof that a mysterious disease blamed for the deaths of billions of bees actually exists, the BBC has been told.*



> "It's probably not a unique event in beekeeping to have large numbers of colonies die" Frank Eischen
> US Department of Agriculture


-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Here's something in my area. Every bit helps...:up:

*Annual honeybee giveaway draws biggest crowd yet*

Eugene's GloryBee Foods distributes 500 boxes loaded with bees in a effort to promote amateur beekeeping.

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/sevendays/11693677-35/story.csp


----------



## ekim68

*Cure For Honey Bee Colony Collapse?*

ScienceDaily (Apr. 14, 2009) - For the first time, scientists have isolated the parasite Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) from professional apiaries suffering from honey bee colony depopulation syndrome. They then went on to treat the infection with complete success.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090414084627.htm


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## ekim68

*Pesticides indicted in bee deaths*

_Agriculture officials have renewed their scrutiny of the world's best-selling pest-killer as they try to solve the mysterious collapse of the nation's hives._



> Beekeepers have singled out imidacloprid and its chemical cousin clothianidin, also produced by Bayer CropScience, as a cause of bee die-offs around the world for over a decade. More recently, the same products have been blamed by American beekeepers, who claim the product is a cause of colony collapse disorder, which has cost many commercial U.S. beekeepers at least a third of their bees since 2006, and threatens the reliability of the world's food supply.
> 
> Scientists have started to turn their attention to both products, which are receiving new scrutiny in the U.S., due to a disclosure in December 2007 by Bayer CropScience itself. Bayer scientists found imidacloprid in the nectar and pollen of flowering trees and shrubs at concentrations high enough to kill a honeybee in minutes. The disclosure recently set in motion product reviews by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the EPA. The tests are scheduled to wrap up in 2014, though environmentalists, including the Sierra Club, are petitioning the EPA to speed up the work.


http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2009/05/18/bees_pesticides/


----------



## CADude12

Now, my father was just stung by his bees this week, put him in the hospital for a day... he didn't wear his suit... now, it's a fine and lovely suit he has, made to protect a person from just such a predicament. But, fools rush in where beekeepers fear to tread... Smoke em, Dad, smoke em till they're dizzy little busy bees...


----------



## ekim68

Actually, there's a thing to that 'smoke em thing'...


----------



## CADude12

Indeed, I have helped my father on several occasions in the past, and I've always worn my bee suit, and we've always smoked them really good.... especially when going after the honey. He was just impetuous... and they didn't appreciate his fooling with the hive lid. Funny, I've been stung before, and nothing but a little swelling happened where they nailed me, but he was stung just a few times, and he passed out. Go figure.


----------



## ekim68

Well I hope your Dad is doing well, and I have a few friends who are allergic to bees, and I've seen some of the results...They're always on the defensive...But, as an aside.

I have an old friend who used to be a 'tree feller'....That is, a person who worked in the logging business and was the one who actually cut down the trees...He told me stories about what he called 'Honey Trees'....That is, trees in the forest that had big-time bee hives in the trunks of trees...He and his partners would seek them out and bring big garbage bags and get the honey before the tree was taken away...He said at one time they would get 10 to 15 gallons of honey from a pocket in a tree...


----------



## CADude12

My father is OK... they pumped him with benadryl, and he was fine the next day.

We took the honey the last two years, and I got stung a couple of times, he didn't. I guess that's because I pulled the frames out. Well, maybe I have to do it for him all the time, if he's allergic, or has become so, I don't want him fooling around with them. I've been thinking about it... it's just a silly hobby for him anyway. 

Last two years, we got about 20 gallons of honey each year. (Three hives). That's a lot. I still have some jars of last year's honey in the kitchen.


----------



## ekim68

Not a bad idea to continue the success, no matter how small...:up: Good knowledge to pass on...


----------



## CADude12

My father gives it away... we don't have a lot of family in the area but the bot-zillions of friends and church folk who get their jar or two. We used a neighbors centrifuge last year, and two of the hives went to a dusty, dry death from October to March. I think these new bees are more aggressive. I remember putting the nucs in the hives, and they were swirling around more than in the past.

Of course, my gutless brother wold never help my father, being stung just wasn't for him. And my sister, I can forgive her, after all, she's young... so it's up to me. And, I will pass it on to my children, or their grandfather will. Keep a supply of benadryl handy....


----------



## ekim68

Wow, CA, I didn't know you had such close contact...Well done...Share the knowledge, eh? :up: (Not everyone takes it up, but some do..:up: )


----------



## CADude12

Just my father's hobby (he's 50), and I, as a son, help him, because my brother would not, and my mother and sister could not. It's all his thing. I'd never keep bees as a hobby. I ride my motorcycle, and hang out with those old dudes, with gray hair, bald heads, and big mustaches, who ride Harleys, and wear shirts that always say "Sturgis 1980 something".


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## ekim68

CADude12 said:


> Just my father's hobby (he's 50), and I, as a son, help him, because my brother would not, and my mother and sister could not. It's all his thing. I'd never keep bees as a hobby. I ride my motorcycle, and hang out with those old dudes, with gray hair, bald heads, and big mustaches, who ride Harleys, and wear shirts that always say "Sturgis 1980 something".


You can do both, and you're quite good at it, so don't resist it...Go with the flow..


----------



## lotuseclat79

1 in 3 U.S. Bees Died This Winter.

*That's good news, in terms of colony collapse disorder -- but still very bad news for beekeepers. Also see our DIY backyard beekeeping guide.*

-- Tom


----------



## CADude12

lotuseclat79 said:


> 1 in 3 U.S. Bees Died This Winter.
> 
> *That's good news, in terms of colony collapse disorder -- but still very bad news for beekeepers. Also see our DIY backyard beekeeping guide.*
> 
> -- Tom


My father's bees did seem to drop in numbers between the end of the season last year, and this year. That's why he got two more hives. So, now he has three hives, two are strong, but one family is kind of weak. And now, it's falling to me, because I'm not collapsing when I get stung, to take care of them. So any advice would be great. We live in a very dry and sunny climate, where winter = wet/rain, and summer = warm/sun. My father took the honey back in November... anyway, that could go on for a post and bust...


----------



## ekim68

A lot of people around here are putting the hives under trees...The heat and UV is reduced if that will help...


----------



## lotuseclat79

Bee-killing parasite genome sequenced.

*Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have sequenced the genome of a parasite that can kill honey bees. Nosema ceranae is one of many pathogens suspected of contributing to the current bee population decline, termed colony collapse disorder (CCD). Researchers describe the parasite's genome in a study published June 5 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

As an aside Tom, that article came out today on USAToday...It's cool to see the news, before the news...:up:


----------



## CADude12

I checked on my father's bees yesterday... one hive was really strong, another was OK, and the third was weak. It's funny becuase they line up like that Strong - OK - Weak, left to right. 

I'm hoping the strong hive isn't going to swarm. I looked for new queens in their royal jelly pouches, but didn't see any.

After my father's episode with the stings, he's not allowed to go near the hives. Supposedly, there is a shot he can get that might help reduce his reaction to being stung... we'll see.


----------



## Knotbored

I have a lot of flowers and several fruit trees but continue to see very few honeybees.
But it seems mason bees (tiny fly-like bees) have filled in the void, as well as the big bumble bees. I set out a couple drilled blocks of wood to help attract the mason bees, but they haven't yet taken to those, I guess they find homes in holes in the forest trees.


----------



## lotuseclat79

Bee Colony Collapse Disorder: New Bait Lures Varroa Mite To Its Doom.

*Varroa mites could literally be walking into a trap-thanks to a new attractant developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Gainesville, Fla.*









Deadly parasitic Varroa mite on the back of a honey bee. Scientists have developed a new bait that may help control varroa mites, the top pest of honey bees. (Credit: Scott Bauer)

-- Tom


----------



## CADude12

lotuseclat79 said:


> Bee Colony Collapse Disorder: New Bait Lures Varroa Mite To Its Doom.
> 
> *Varroa mites could literally be walking into a trapthanks to a new attractant developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Gainesville, Fla.*
> 
> -- Tom





> ...using sticky boards and natural chemical attractants called semiochemicals.


 :up: Just hope not too many bees get stuck there by accident as well...


----------



## lotuseclat79

Honeybees sterilise their hives.

*Honeybees sterilise their hives with antimicrobial resin, scientists have discovered.*









Bees thrive in a clean colony









Honeybees store propolis inside their hives









Propolis is a mixture of resins and wax

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

New Israeli vaccine could save bees from devastating disorder.

*An Israeli company has developed a revolutionary new drug that could solve the problem of Colony Collapse Disorder, the disturbing syndrome that has been wiping out bee communities and threatening agricultural production all over the world.*

-- Tom


----------



## bedoo

I found one, you can go to www.BurtsBees.com , (Burts Bees is a place that makes beauty products from honey), and if you go to the bottom of the page you will see a place for the chapstick, something like 'save your lips and save the bees, click on that and then there is a page where you can "fight colony collaps disorder" on the right. Also if you google "save our bees" you will find a lot of neat sites. Good luck, plant bee friendly heirloom flowers, and thanx on behalf of the bees!


----------



## lotuseclat79

New clue found to disappearing honey bees.

*Researchers have a new clue to the collapse of honey bee colonies across the country - damage to the bees' internal "factories" that produce proteins. Theories about the cause of bee colony collapse have included viruses, mites, pesticides and fungi.

The new study of sick bees disclosed fragments of ribosomal RNA in their gut, an indication of damage to the ribosomes, which make proteins necessary for life, according to a study in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

RNA, which is made from DNA, is central to protein production.*

Genomic Study Yields Plausible Cause Of Colony Collapse Disorder.

*Researchers report this week that they have found a surprising but reliable marker of colony collapse disorder, a baffling malady that in 2007-2008 killed off more than a third of commercial honey bees in the U.S.*









Bees in CCD hives have unusually high levels of ribosomal fragments, a symptom of infection with multiple picorna-like viruses, the researchers found. (Credit: L. Brian Stauffer, University of Illinois News Bureau)

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

3 Deadly Crops for Bees.

*Pesticides used to grow three key U.S. crops are killing bees ... but beekeepers are learning how to keep their bees safe, through better nutrition and abstinence from foraging on the affected farms.*

-- Tom


----------



## Firejay

Hello Tom,

Thanks for keeping this thread updated. I find it quite interesting and informative. :up:


----------



## MSM Hobbes

Couple good article/resources here:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09239/993449-58.stm
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news...May-Be-Cause-of-Colony-Collapse-Disorder.html


----------



## ekim68

Thanks MSM, good articles...:up:

Just a reminder:

http://forums.techguy.org/announcements/834244-new-signature-limitations.html


----------



## lotuseclat79

Sex life may hold key to honeybee survival.

*The number and diversity of male partners a queen honeybee has could help to protect her children from disease, say University of Leeds scientists, who are investigating possible causes of the widespread increase in bee deaths seen around the world.*









Honeybees (queen marked). Image: Dr Bill Hughes

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Life Without Bumblebees? It's Not Just Honeybees That Are Mysteriously Dying.

*Not only do bumblebees pollinate about 15 percent of our food crops (valued at $3 billion), they also occupy a critical role as native pollinators.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Where in the World Are the Honey Bees?.

*Colony collapse disorder continues to be blamed for disappearing pollinators.*



> Not surprisingly perhaps, organic beekeepers have not experienced CCD, leading to speculation that overall greener management practices could be the answer even if direct causes are not determined.


-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Bees Fight Back Against Colony Collapse Disorder: Some Honey Bees Toss Out Varroa Mites.

*Honey bees are now fighting back aggressively against Varroa mites, thanks to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) efforts to develop bees with a genetic trait that allows them to more easily find the mites and toss them out of the broodnest.*









ARS researchers have developed honey bees that more aggressively deal with varroa mites, a parasite that is one of the major problems damaging honey bees today. (Credit: Photo by Stephen Ausmus)

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

The truth about the disappearing honeybees.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

As bees continue to die off, suspicion turns to chemically coated seeds and other factors.

*Colony collapse disorder (CCD) has a variety of suspected causes: pesticides, varroa mites, viruses, stress from shipping hives long distances to pollinate crops - or some combination. CCD typically affects commercial hives and generally not those kept by hobbyists. But some researchers and environmentalists are focusing again on pesticides as the key culprit.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

No one villain behind honey-bee colony collapse.

*Many factors may interact to bring on mysterious disorder*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Bee Colony Collapse May Have Several Causes.

*When suspiciously large numbers of honeybee colonies started collapsing in late 2006, the search began to find the culprit behind the mysterious deaths. Now it seems a whole web of problems may be causing what's known as colony collapse disorder.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Starting a Beekeeper's Garden.

*Thinking about spring gardening, in the dead of winter.*

The first few paragraphs summarize the current status of Colony Collapse Disorder.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Bee decline linked to falling biodiversity.

*The decline of honeybees seen in many countries may be caused by reduced plant diversity, research suggests.*



> Bees fed pollen from a range of plants showed signs of having a healthier immune system than those eating pollen from a single type, scientists found.
> 
> Writing in the journal Biology Letters, the French team says that bees need a fully functional immune system in order to sterilise food for the colony.
> 
> Other research has shown that bees and wild flowers are declining in step.


-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Survey: Honeybee Colony Collapse Losses Declining (3 web pages).

*Survey finds fewer beekeepers reporting colony collapse disorder die-offs in honeybees*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

The Cost of Colony Collapse Disorder, as You've Never Seen it Calculated Before.

*The cost of colony collapse disorder adds up for beekeepers, putting many out of business. Here's how the costs add up.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

This link was in that article Tom.

http://www.beeculture.com/

Good links, and books, on that site...:up:


----------



## lotuseclat79

It's Official: 2009 Was the Worst Honey Crop on Record.

*Prices were up 50 cents a pound for consumers ... but only 2 cents a pound for beekeepers.*

-- Tom


----------



## itsjusme

We havent had many bees here for quite a few years now, if it werent for the bumblebees , carpenter bees, and wasps we wouldnt have much in the garden at all. Spring is trying to pop out but it`s still chilly nights and cool days, BUT , i`ve been seeing some honeybees scrounging around for something to eat which is unusual considering the cold we`ve had and the fact i`ve hardly seen any bees at all for the past 7 or 8 years, even in the middle of the summer when the honeysuckles and everything else are blooming like crazy. One thing i`ve noticed this year too, is the pine trees are going to have a bumper crop of cones this year. There are more blooms than i can ever remember and the pollen is so thick it`s like fog some days. The bees i`m seeing seem to be collecting pollen off everything it sticks to, even the leaves on the ground. Maybe thats natures cure for the bees , extra pollen from the pines? I hope so, been a long time since we had a really good garden.


----------



## lotuseclat79

M.I.A: Bees.

*Without bees, it's kind of game over. They're doing more than you think.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*The buzz biz: Saving the bees*



> New York City just recently lifted a longtime ban on beekeeping, making hundreds of local beekeepers happy -- and legal. In L.A., where no such ban exists, the urban bee-keeping community has been growing exponentially, in large part due to the efforts of one Kirk Anderson, a longtime beekeeper and a man who does not suffer fools gladly.
> 
> Anderson's philosophy is simple: "We call ourselves the Backwards Beekeepers 'cause we do everything ***-backwards, compared to everybody else. Everyone else is treating their hives, using chemicals. But we keep no dope bees."
> 
> And this "no dope" beekeeping is spreading like wildfire. The Back- wards Beekeepers, which once boasted exactly three members -- Anderson and acolytes Amy Seidenwurm and Russell Bates -- now holds monthly meetings for more than 260 aspiring beekeepers.


http://www.thisisbrandx.com/2010/03/the-buzz-biz-saving-the-bees.html


----------



## lotuseclat79

Bee Killer Still at Large; New Evidence Makes Pesticides a Prime Suspect.

*This spring, many beekeepers across America opened their hives and found ruin within. At a time when they should have been buzzing with activity, the hives were half-empty, with most adult bees having flown off to die. A new federal survey indicates that 2010 has been the worst year so far for bee deaths. Another study suggests that pesticides might be to blame for the mass wipeout of adult honeybees.*

-- Tom


----------



## Gabriel

I believe page 36 of this PDF file, under ecological impact.......you would think they would have considered the effect on hives, especially after knowing and publishing the data...

http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/factsheets/spirotetramat.pdf


----------



## lotuseclat79

As honeybee colonies collapse, can native bees handle pollination?.

*With colony collapse disorder continuing to plague commercial beekeepers in many parts of the country, University of Wisconsin-Madison experts are studying whether native pollinators can supply the insect pollination needed to form many fruits.*









The bumblebee, shown here visiting a flowering native milkweed plant, is one of about 400 native pollinators, mainly solitary bees, which are active in Wisconsin. Entomologists at UW-Madison say preserving habitat in prairies and savannas can sustain native bee populations and help pollination, even if colony collapse disorder continues to damage honeybee hives. Photo: courtesy Hannah Gaines

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

What's Being Done to Study Honey Bee Health.

*Several studies are underway to help better understand what's wrong with bees. Here's an overview.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

One-Third of All Honeybees Died Last Winter, and That's Not Even The Worst News.

*Colony Collapse Disorder is still alive and well ... even if U.S. bees are not, according to the fourth annual depressing survey of honeybees.*

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

*Isle of Mann bees to aid Britain*

DOUGLAS, Isle of Man, May 14 (UPI) -- The Isle of Mann is sending 12 healthy queen bees to England to see if they can rejuvenate a bee population decimated by colony collapse, officials said.

The queens were to be delivered to beekeepers in Birmingham and Stockport in a test to determine if they repopulate hives infected by disease and harsh weather conditions, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Bee colonies on the Isle of Mann have been spared the disease seen elsewhere because of a 1987 ban on importing foreign bees, island bee inspector Harry Owens told the BBC.

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/05/14/Isle-of-Mann-bees-to-aid-Britain/UPI-89361273850809/


----------



## lotuseclat79

Are honey bees being killed off by chemically coated crop seeds?.

*A class of insecticide that is applied to seeds and taken up into plant tissue may be responsible for much of the widespread decline in honeybee populations, increasing numbers of researchers and environmentalists are suggesting.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Colony Collapse Disorder: Cause Discovered?.

*A new study claims to have identified the cause (causes, really) of colony collapse disorder, the mysterious bee disease that is still killing honey bees.*



> The USDA announced on May 25th that preliminary evidence suggests two pathogens, that, when working in concert, can lead to the decline in a honey bee colony now called Colony Collapse Disorder.
> 
> This tandem attack has been suggested previously, both here and in other reports, but this is the first report to make it past scientific peer review. A Montana researcher has also been steering this research through what seems to be a desert of common sense in the traditional academic media, who seem to be hooked on the Israeli virus suspected some time ago as the leading cause of colony collapse disorder.


-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Honeybee death mystery deepens.

*Colony collapse disorder linked to mix of fungal and viral infections*









U.S. bee colonies began to be infected with the fungus Nosema ceranae a few years before bee numbers began dropping.Credit: Jay Evans/USDA-ARS

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Are Cell Phones Killing Bees and Threatening Our Food Supply?.

*Varroa mites, pesticides, fungicides, malnutrition, environmental stresses-these are some of the theories scientists suggest as the root cause for colony collapse disorder (CCD), the inexplicable global bee epidemic first reported in 2006. Add cell phone radiation to that list, say researchers in India.*



> "Previous work in this area has indicated it is not a real factor," Tim Lovett, of the British Beekeepers Association, told The Telelegraph. "At the moment we think it is more likely to be a combination of factors including disease, pesticides and habitat loss."


-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Pesticides linked to bee decline, say green groups.

*Government and retailers are under pressure to impose a ban on sale of pesticides linked to bee population decline following new research which groups call a 'growing body of evidence'*

-- Tom


----------



## steppenwolf

ive seen some yellow light bulb that keeps away incests

could the new cfl bulbs be driving away bees?


----------



## ekim68

This problem has been coming about way before cfl bulbs, but they could be a contributing factor, albeit on a smaller scale I would think, because the bee disorder is world wide...


----------



## lotuseclat79

New Honeybee Breed Key to Combating Colony Collapse Disorder.

*A British beekeeper has been working on creating a new strain of honeybee resistant to the varroa mite, a prime suspect in colony collapse disorder (CCD), and it looks like he's hit a high note after 18 years of careful observation and selective breeding. Ron Hoskins found that bees in one of his hives figured out what a great idea mutual grooming can be -- they learned to clean the mites off one another. Hoping that this learned behavior is hereditary, he spread the genes of bees from this colony to his other hives. It worked. Now, combating CCD could be linked in no small part to how quickly the new strain of bee spreads across the country.*

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery.



> *A fungus tag-teaming with a virus have apparently interacted to cause the problem, according to a paper by Army scientists in Maryland and bee experts in Montana in the online science journal PLoS One.*


Essentially, the bees have a virus and when that is exposed to a parasite (fungus) the CCD happens. The bees can be treated for the parasite (fungus) to prevent CCD from happening. I saw a report on the news just this week which mentioned this - so, in view of this article I combined the two fungus (from article) and parasite (from TV report).

-- Tom :up: :up:


----------



## lotuseclat79

Bee mystery not over yet.

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

7 (Yes, 7) Causes of Colony Collapse Disorder.



> *Research into the honey bee malady has taught us a lot about bees. We might not know exactly what causes colony collapse disorder, but we now understand seven key maladies that may be contributing.*


-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

More info on that Bayer seed treatment....



> Remember the case of the leaked document showing that the EPA's own scientists are concerned about a pesticide it approved that might harm fragile honeybee populations?
> 
> Well, it turns that the EPA isn't the only government agency whose researchers are worried about neonicotinoid pesticides. USDA researchers also have good evidence that these nicotine-derived chemicals, marketed by German agrichemical giant Bayer, could be playing a part in Colony Collapse Disorder-the mysterious massive honeybee die-offs that United States and Europe have been experiencing in recent years. So why on earth are they still in use on million of acres of American farmland?


Here


----------



## lotuseclat79

Major Paper Repeats Bogus Einstein Bee Quote.



> *Nonetheless, the loss of bees through colony collapse disorder has serious consequences for plants, wildlife and -- yes -- human survival*
> 
> That old urban legend about Einstein and the bees has won fresh buzz, with Britain's Daily Telegraph currently repeating it like fact. As we discussed back in 2007, there's a lot of reason to be concerned about declining bees, but not because of something falsely attributed to Einstein.


-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Just got back from a customer's business and she said that honey bees represent only about 5% of the insects that pollinate the plants in her nursery.

http://www.doakcreeknursery.com/

Her mission for the nursery is to be totally organic and she's almost there. One of the main reasons for going all organic is because it gives the native insects better living conditions and therefore better pollination...
(She told me a lot the insect names but I mostly just remember butterfly.. )


----------



## lotuseclat79

$15 Billion Bee Murder Mystery Deepens.

-- Tom


----------



## katonca

ekim68 said:


> Just got back from a customer's business and she said that honey bees represent only about 5% of the insects that pollinate the plants in her nursery.
> 
> http://www.doakcreeknursery.com/
> 
> Her mission for the nursery is to be totally organic and she's almost there. One of the main reasons for going all organic is because it gives the native insects better living conditions and therefore better pollination...
> (She told me a lot the insect names but I mostly just remember butterfly.. )


There's some good news :up:


----------



## lotuseclat79

Are bees really dying out?.



> *Over the past four years, there has been an unexplained collapse of honey bee numbers worldwide. This demise has the potential to wreak havoc on agriculture, as bees are vital pollinators of food crops. And worryingly, bees may also be indicators of the declining health of our planet.*


-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Study says cell phones are killing honey bees



> According to researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, honeybees are confused by the electromagnetic signals coming out of cell phones. The study found that the presence of cell phone signals increased bee activity, causing accidental swarming as the bees struggled to communicate above the noise.





> This research, while not entirely new, points to only one of many possible causes for the massive bee die offs that have occurred in recent years.


----------



## lotuseclat79

Hi Mike,

The only problem with the study is that there is no conspiracy whatsoever to plant working cell phones in bee hives to directly affect the bees which would result in colony collapse disorder - all over the world. Granted the electromagnetic effects may be a contributing factor, but I find it difficult to believe that it would be the main reason all around the world.

-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

Hi Tom,

The article doesn't present itself as the main reason, just another one. Seems there are lots of different ways the bees have been impacted...

(As this thread has demonstrated... )


----------



## lotuseclat79

What's Behind the Mysterious Death and Disappearance of Honey Bees and What Impact is this Having on the Globe's Ecosystem (w/2 videos: 16:29, 20:04).

-- Tom


----------



## lotuseclat79

Study finds new bee viruses, offers baseline to study colony collapse.



> *A 10-month study of healthy honey bees by University of California, San Francisco scientists has identified four new viruses that infect bees, while revealing that each of the viruses or bacteria previously linked to colony collapse is present in healthy hives as well.*


-- Tom


----------



## steppenwolf

id rather have an apple ,than an apple computer or wireless ipod or be around zombies on them all day scrolling and typing


----------



## lotuseclat79

What the Winter Loss Survey Tells Us About Colony Collapse Disorder (And it ain't pretty.).



> *...the USDA has released the results of their latest winter loss survey.*
> ...
> A paper just out from the University of California in San Francisco provided another big window on what's wrong with our bees by cataloging all the viruses (nearly 30, including 4 never seen before) bees have, and, interestingly, that the problems bees have with all these beasties seems to be cyclical... perhaps more like us getting colds in the winter than we would like to believe. You can find that paper here, and it makes for very, very interesting reading.


-- Tom


----------



## steppenwolf

maybe its bovine growth hormone


----------



## lotuseclat79

Honey bee mystery protein is a freight train for health and lifespan.



> *Why are bee colonies worldwide suffering mysterious deaths? A unique study describes a single bee protein that can promote bee health and solve a major economic challenge.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Researchers at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and the University of Bergen have studied the molecular structure of vitellogenin and made new discoveries. Credit: Christofer Bang


-- Tom


----------



## ekim68

In search of a better bee



> On a farm on the outskirts of Frederick, Kelly Rausch and Adam Finkelstein crack open a wooden beehive whose design dates to the 19th century. Inside, they point out a superbee they have made for the 21st century.
> 
> In two months, the carefully bred queen bee has built a large, productive colony that knows how to cluster against the cold and fill the winter larder with honey.
> 
> More important, her bees have sought out and destroyed a sneaky parasitic mite that feeds on their baby sisters.


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> The latest in a string of explanations for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) ,a phenomenon that has decimated worldwide populations of honeybees, is a finding that parasitic flies are attacking bees and turning them into zombies. Published in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE , the study by scientists from San Francisco State University and others reveals that after the flies attack the bees and lay eggs in their abdomens, the bees then abandon their hives and congregate around light en masse, Walking Dead-style. When they finally do die, their bodies then become cocoons from which up to 13 fly larvae emerge about a week later.


http://inhabitat.com/researchers-find-that-parasitic-flies-are-turning-bees-into-zombies/


----------



## ekim68

Insecticides linked to honeybee die-offs



> WASHINGTON, March 15 (UPI) -- Die-offs of honeybees critical for pollinating food crops -- part of so-called colony collapse disorder -- is linked to an insecticide, a U.S. journal reports.
> 
> Researchers from the University of Padua in Italy writing in the journal Environmental Science & Technology say the springtime die-offs have been linked to technology used to plant corn coated with insecticides.
> 
> In some parts of Europe where farmers use the technology to plant seeds coated with so-called neonicotinoid insecticides, widespread deaths of honeybees have been reported since the introduction of the technique in the late 1990s, they said.
> 
> Such insecticides are among the most widely used in the world, popular because they kill insects by paralyzing nerves but have lower toxicity for other animals.


----------



## Skivvywaver

I don't post much anymore but I have never gone 2+ years without posting. Hope Hobbes is OK.


----------



## ekim68

As Swarms Startle New York, Officer on Bee Beat Stays Busy



> This spring in New York City, clumps of homeless bees have turned up, often in inconvenient public places, at nearly double the rate of past years. A warm winter followed by an early spring, experts say, has created optimal breeding conditions. That may have caught some beekeepers off guard, especially those who have taken up the practice in recent years.


(Although annoying, maybe some good news on bees for a change...:up: )


----------



## valis

and it is continuing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/s...d-alarm-on-malady.html?hp&pagewanted=all&_r=0


----------



## ekim68

You beat me to it, Tim.....Right now in my area there are beekeepers petitioning the County to limit certain types of pesticides while spraying for roadside weeds and brush and the County Commissioners are actually listening and trying different methods... :up:


----------



## valis

yeah, generally anything bees OR bakersfield catches my eye (had family down there until about 98 or so), and this topic is something that bothers me greatly. To say the least.


----------



## valis

Hey, Mike, let me know how the petition plays out. Is there an online version?


----------



## ekim68

Hmm....I was looking around and as usual found my memory lacking, because it was the City and not the County. Also another petition was started in a couple of local stores. I'll grab those links and post them when I get back from my calls.


----------



## valis

thanks, backwards mike.......anything we can do to help, reckon we should.....


----------



## ekim68

Here you go Tim....The first is the article of the City looking for alternatives, and the second is the petition to local stores...

City tries to find pesticide substitute



> Eugene city government will try to cut the use of a pesticide suspected of killing honeybees.
> 
> At the request of bee*keepers and environmentalists, the city will seek to find an alternative to the neonicoti*noid pesticide it has used to kill bugs on downtown flowers. City officials also have asked the contracted manager of municipally owned Laurelwood Golf Course to find a substitute for the pesticide.




Petition by
Oregon Sustainable Beekeepers


----------



## valis

thanks, Mike, I"ll pass those around down here as well.


----------



## ekim68

Seems like we're not the only Country to use chemicals to kill bees....

Ban pesticides linked to bee deaths, say MPs



> Members of the Commons Environmental Audit Committee are calling for a moratorium on the use of sprays containing neonicotinoids.
> 
> Britain has refused to back an EU ban on these chemicals saying their impact on bees is unclear.
> 
> But MPs say this is an "extraordinarily complacent" approach.


----------



## ekim68

And more on the previous post...

Bee deaths: EU to ban neonicotinoid pesticides



> The European Commission will restrict the use of pesticides linked to bee deaths by researchers, despite a split among EU states on the issue.


----------



## valis

http://weather.yahoo.com/feds-many-causes-dramatic-bee-disappearance-152605922.html



> The multiple causes make it harder to do something about what's called colony collapse disorder, experts say. The disorder has caused as much as *one-third of the nation's bees to just disappear each winter since 2006.*


yeesh.


----------



## ekim68

Hive mind: Talking with the man who may save Europe's bees 



> Bumblebee biologist Dave Goulson might be the pesticide industry's worst enemy - and therefore a bee's best friend. A professor at Scotland's University of Stirling, he was part of the team whose 2012 Science paper called out the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides, which pose a considerable threat to fauna large and small. They've proven especially lethal to bees.
> 
> Exposure to the chemicals reduces the production of queen bees and thus reduces a colony's chances of surviving the winter (queens are the only bees alive in that season, and they birth a new team of workers when spring arrives). Bumblebees, like honeybees, are critically important to modern agriculture, pollinating everything from canola to watermelon, but their population throughout most of the world has plummeted in recent years.


----------



## ekim68

Worldwide Honey Bee Collapse: A Lesson In Ecology



> We know what is killing the bees. Worldwide Bee Colony Collapse is not as big a mystery as the chemical companies claim. The systemic nature of the problem makes it complex, but not impenetrable. Scientists know that bees are dying from a variety of factors-pesticides, drought, habitat destruction, nutrition deficit, air pollution, global warming and so forth. The causes of collapse merge and synergize, but we know that humanity is the perpetrator, and that the two most prominent causes appear to be pesticides and habitat loss.


----------



## hewee

30% Of What You Eat Is Thanks To This Tiny Insect!



> "If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live." - Albert Einstein


----------



## ekim68

Honey bee losses double in a year due to poor winter



> This winter's losses of honey bee colonies were the worst since records began six years ago, according to a survey carried out by the British Beekeepers Association.
> 
> It says more than a third of hives did not survive the cold, wet conditions.
> 
> All regions of England saw dramatic declines with the numbers lost more than double the previous 12 months.


----------



## ekim68

This is what your supermarket would look like if all the bees died off



> From bee-killing companies pretending to love bees to researchers frantically trying to create a disease-resistant superbee, it's been kind of a rough week for bees, who have already been having a rough couple of years due to dying off left and right. But why should you care? It's not like bees are delivering your mail or making you dinner or sewing your clothes, Cinderella-style.


----------



## ekim68

Huge bee die-off in Oregon parking lot blamed on insecticide spraying



> National Pollinator Week began grimly Sunday when tens of thousands of dead bumblebees, honeybees, ladybugs, and other insects were discovered blanketing a shopping plaza's parking lot just off Interstate 5 in Wilsonville, Ore.
> 
> Bumblebees were the species hardest hit, with an estimated 25,000 dead and 150 colonies lost outside a Target store. "They were literally falling out of the trees," said Rich Hatfield, a conservation biologist with the nonprofit Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. "To our knowledge this is one of the largest documented bumblebee deaths in the Western U.S. It was heartbreaking to watch."


----------



## valis

got a buddy of mine in Wilsonville; he was the co-owner of my golf shop.....


----------



## ekim68

More on that: 

Chemicals



> The bees were still dying on Wednesday. Yellow-faced bees fell from the trees, twitching on their backs or wandering in tight circles on the asphalt. Some honeybees and ladybugs were also found dead. A few dead bumblebees even clung to linden flowers, while hundreds littered the lot.


----------



## mtzlplex

For what it`s worth, I`m in central Indiana, and in the first 3 months of this summer, I have seen more honey bees than I have in the last 3 years total.


----------



## ekim68

Well that's encouraging Isaac...:up: I suppose there are some areas better off than others...:up:


----------



## mtzlplex

ekim68 said:


> Well that's encouraging Isaac...:up: I suppose there are some areas better off than others...:up:


After it being so many years since I had seen any bees at all(maybe a couple of bees here and there), I had completely forgotten about why they used to come to my backyard in the first place years ago. It is my 70 ft tall American Basswood tree. Yesterday, I went into my backyard, and was completely in shock at what I was seeing. The Basswood tree was completely covered in bees, and this is a large tree. It was beautiful to see. I guess the pollen from this tree is highly regarded by the bees, and makes into a high quality honey. Thought I`d throw in a couple of pics, not a very good camera so they are average.


----------



## franca

mtzlplex said:


> After it being so many years since I had seen any bees at all(maybe a couple of bees here and there), I had completely forgotten about why they used to come to my backyard in the first place years ago. It is my 70 ft tall American Basswood tree. Yesterday, I went into my backyard, and was completely in shock at what I was seeing. The Basswood tree was completely covered in bees, and this is a large tree. It was beautiful to see. I guess the pollen from this tree is highly regarded by the bees, and makes into a high quality honey. Thought I`d throw in a couple of pics, not a very good camera so they are average.


Nice pics


----------



## valis

follow up on Mike's story......

http://gawker.com/tens-of-thousands-of-bees-found-dead-in-oregon-parking-549732449


----------



## valis

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/...ees-died-in-Ontario-Do-you-want-to-guess-how#

37 million.........wow.......


----------



## ekim68

I'll second that Tim....Wow...37 million....This thread has been around a while, 2007, and back on page two there was mention of chemicals being involved....How long until pesticide companies are held accountable?


----------



## valis

hopefully before we follow the bees down the path to extinction.


----------



## hewee

Not just the bees but also people.

1974 UN World Food Conference Set Stage for "Food as a Weapon"

King Corn
http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=nvMxIEgbsIo

Are Your Corn Flakes Killing You? New Study Shows More Evidence of GMO Toxicity

No wonder why I have stomach problems eating honey nut cheerios.

They feed the bees corn syrup.


----------



## ekim68

E.U. bans another bee-killing insecticide 



> Bees of America, please don't take this the wrong way, but it might be time to buzz off to Europe.
> 
> The European Union will limit the use of yet another bee-endangering insecticide, part of its efforts to protect pollinators from agricultural poisons.
> 
> The use of fipronil, a nerve agent produced by German company BASF and widely applied by farmers to kill insect pests, will be outlawed on corn and sunflower seeds and fields across Europe.


----------



## hewee

http://gizadeathstar.com/2013/07/ru...eculations-on-the-wider-geopolitical-context/

And this should make anyone wake up

RUSSIA Suggests that WAR May Be Necessary To Stop MONSANTO

We got to stop all this crazy toxic killing or we will not have any food.


----------



## ekim68

Bees' foraging for flowers 'hampered by diesel exhaust'



> Honeybees' ability to find flowers could be hampered by a chemical in diesel exhaust, say scientists.
> 
> Tests showed that exhaust degraded some floral scent chemicals the bees "home in on" when they are foraging.
> 
> The study, published in Scientific Reports, also revealed that a specific group of chemicals found in diesel exhaust, known as NOx, diminished the insects' response to floral scents.


----------



## ekim68

A new suspect in bee deaths: the US government



> As scientists race to pinpoint the cause of the global collapse of honey bee populations that pollinate a third of the world's crops, environmental groups have indentified one culprit: US authorities who continue to approve pesticides implicated in the apian apocalypse.
> 
> Case in point: The US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) conditional approval in May of sulfoxaflor, a type of agricultural pesticide known as a neonicotinoid. The European Union has banned neonicotinoids for two years in response to scientific studies linking their use to the sudden death of entire beehives, a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).


----------



## ekim68

Scientists glue sensors to 5,000 bees in a bid to better understand them



> Scientists are worried about bees. More specifically, they are worried about Colony Collapse Disorder, rapidly declining bee populations, and exactly what is causing this to happen. Most recently scientists have discovered that a mix of pesticides and fungicides can suppress a bee's immune system, meaning they are much more susceptible to infection leading to death.
> 
> There's still a lot to learn about bees, though, which is difficult when you consider their size, the fact they fly everywhere very quickly, and it's not easy to pick out just a few bees to track from a large colony. So scientists at the University of Tasmania working with CSIRO have decided to go big and use the latest sensor technology to help them better understand the behavior of thousands of bees.


----------



## ekim68

Plant STD linked to honeybee collapse



> It's time to have a little talk about the flowers and the bees.
> 
> Major crops including soybeans and tobacco can suffer from a crippling malady called tobacco ringspot virus. The disease is spread through sex, which in the plant kingdom involves the freaky use of vibrating creatures: bees. Honeybees and other pollinators carry infected pollen from one plant to the other and, in doing so, can spread the virus, which is also called TRSV.
> 
> What's really freaky is that scientists have discovered that bees can become infected with the ringspot virus of the plants upon which they feed. The researchers report in the journal mBio that the unusual inter-kingdom host-species jump could be linked to colony collapse disorder.


----------



## hewee

Maybe Smart Meters are also killing Bee's from what this lady says.






I know we got bee's around here because they go all over my truck and I hate it.

But the Meters are bad still.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=smart meter killing&sm=3


----------



## valis

eggplant43 said:


> http://inhabitat.com/researchers-find-that-parasitic-flies-are-turning-bees-into-zombies/


And now it's on the East Coast......this is getting weird....

http://gma.yahoo.com/39-zombie-39-bees-surface-northeast-163249116--abc-news-tech.html


----------



## ekim68

Save the bees by refrigerating them



> Mason bees aren't your typical honeybees or bumblebees - they don't sting, they're not particularly social, and females make individual nests in tubes. Also, they're great pollinators.
> 
> Problem is, they're delicate little critters, and what with all this climate change, they can get confused about when to emerge from hibernation and get to pollinating. If they come out during the first warm snap, there won't be any flowers for them, and they'll die.
> 
> So, beekeepers take their nests and keep them cool until it's really, truly warm out. How? They keep them in the refrigerator.


----------



## ekim68

GMOs Are Killing the Bees, Butterflies, Birds and . . . ?



> We need bees in order to grow food, or at least some of it. Yet the food-GMO food, drenched in neonics-we are growing is killing the bees.


----------



## hewee

ekim68 said:


> GMOs Are Killing the Bees, Butterflies, Birds and . . . ?


And they say it's safe for Humans where everything else is dead.


----------



## ekim68

Bumblebees infected with honeybee diseases



> The beleaguered bumblebee faces a new threat, scientists say.
> 
> Researchers have found that two diseases harboured by honeybees are spilling over into wild bumblebees.
> 
> Insects infected with deformed wing virus and a fungal parasite called Nosema ceranae were found across England, Scotland and Wales.


----------



## ekim68

Northern Europe hit by most bee deaths - EU study



> A new study covering 17 EU countries says that far more honeybees are dying in the UK and other parts of northern Europe than in Mediterranean countries.
> 
> The European Commission says it is Europe's most comprehensive study so far of bee colony deaths.
> 
> Winter mortality was especially high for bees in Belgium (33.6%) and the UK (29%) in 2012-13. But in spring-summer 2013 France was highest with 13.6%.


----------



## ekim68

Beyond Honeybees: Now Wild Bees and Butterflies May Be in Trouble



> By now you probably know about the plight of America's honeybees: the collapsed colonies and dying hives, threatening pollination services to crops and the future of a much-beloved insect.
> 
> But it's not just honeybees that are in trouble. Many wild pollinators-thousands of species of bees and butterflies and moths-are also threatened. Their decline would affect not only our food supply, but our landscapes, too. Most honeybees live in commercially managed agricultural colonies; wild pollinators are caretakers of our everyday surroundings.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Beyond Honeybees: Now Wild Bees and Butterflies May Be in Trouble


----------



## ekim68

Study strengthens link between neonicotinoids and collapse of honey bee colonies



> Boston, MA - Two widely used neonicotinoids-a class of insecticide-appear to significantly harm honey bee colonies over the winter, particularly during colder winters, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). The study replicated a 2012 finding from the same research group that found a link between low doses of imidacloprid and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), in which bees abandon their hives over the winter and eventually die. The new study also found that low doses of a second neonicotinoid, clothianidin, had the same negative effect.


----------



## ekim68

A good read...:up:

Put a bee on it: Portland "bee dork" makes hives with pollinators in mind



> Matt Reed is driving through Portland, Ore., with 20,000 bees in the back of his truck. This morning, someone tipped him off to a swarm of wild bees and he set off to catch them. He does this a lot this time of year, when wild swarms start to come out in the spring. Tomorrow morning he'll move them to one of the hives he keeps in a local community garden.
> 
> Reed's hives aren't the usual stacks of white, blocky drawers, however. He builds "top bar" hives. Pared down, locally sourced-and-built, and often standing on stilts, they're designed to mimic how bees build hives naturally. They're in line with Portland's trademark artisanal-everything lifestyle, but - or maybe because of that - beekeepers from New York to Nebraska want them.


----------



## poochee

*Obamas Try to Save the Bees and Butterflies*
By Steven Dennis	
Posted at 3:50 p.m. on June 9

*VIDEO*



> Will President Barack Obama save the honeybees and monarch butterflies? He - and First Lady Michelle Obama - apparently want to try.
> 
> The White House convened a group of bee and butterfly experts in April for thoughts on saving the creatures critical to the environment - and advocates expect the Obama administration to announce an action plan for pollinators this month, timed to coincide with National Pollinator Week, which begins next Monday.


http://blogs.rollcall.com/white-house/honey-bees-butterflies-pollinators-obama-policy/?dcz=


----------



## ekim68

June 16-22 is National Pollinator Week, and what better way to celebrate than by inviting pollinators to your own backyard?



> Want to invite pollinators to your garden? Try this awesome DIY beehive made with mason jars!


----------



## ekim68

Everything we know about neonic pesticides is awful 



> Neonicotinoid pesticides are great at killing insect pests, which helps to explain the dramatic rise in their use during the past 20 years. They're popular because they are systemic pesticides - they don't just get sprayed onto plant surfaces. They can be applied to seeds, roots, and soil, becoming incorporated into a growing plant, turning it into poison for any bugs that might munch upon it.
> 
> But using neonics to control pests is like using a hand grenade to thwart a bank robbery.


----------



## ekim68

How Your Bee-Friendly Garden May Actually Be Killing Bees



> Even as they try to help the bees, people may inadvertently poison them by planting pesticide-laden plants purchased from big-box garden centers, suggests a new report.
> 
> More than half of ostensibly bee-friendly plants sampled at 18 Home Depot, Lowe's and Walmart garden centers in the U.S. and Canada contained high levels of neonicotinoids, which are considered highly toxic to bees, butterflies and other insect pollinators.
> 
> Even when they don't kill pollinators outright, neonicotinoids can impair their immune systems and sense of navigation, potentially turning gardens and backyards into flowery traps.


----------



## ekim68

Four Ways to Build a Bee-Friendly Neighborhood



> If you're thinking about setting up your own beehives, there are a few problems that can come up. One of the most common among urban beekeepers is resistance from neighbors-the folks next door may be afraid of your bees, or they may be in the habit of regularly dousing their yards with pesticides.
> 
> As beekeeper Lindsay Williamson of North Carolina wrote on her blog at MotherEarthNews.com, "When I first got into beekeeping, I worried a lot about neighbors and how they might react. Being a beginner, I worried that the bees might give them a reason to get upset."


----------



## ekim68

Bee-Killing Pesticides Found in Midwest Rivers



> Pesticides linked to declining bee and bird populations have been found in streams across the upper Midwest, raising yet more concerns about these chemicals' environmental effects.
> 
> Researchers from the United States Geological Survey tested waters at nine sites in Iowa and Nebraska. They found neonicotinoids in each, frequently at levels that may harm insects and the life that depends on them.


----------



## hewee

Bee's are dieing and they say *may* harm insects and the life that depends on them. Should say *IS*.

But they alive around here because they leave there "waste droppings" on all the cars and it damages the paint.
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/31/autos/hy-wheels31

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/beepoo1.htm

No one around here knew what it was till I told them. I found out in 1981 when working on new homes next to where they were farming and any time we was at the edge by the farm you got the spots.

Maybe I need some Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters.
http://birdingturkey.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/blue-cheeked-bee-eaters/


----------



## ekim68

Saving America's honeybees



> With a workforce of billions, they contribute more than $15bn (£9bn) to the US economy each year - but as populations decline, can the humble honeybee be saved?





> In a sign of how seriously this is being taken, in June, President Obama launched a taskforce to protect the honeybee. The White House is investing $50m into research and action to stem the decline, improve habitats and promote better education around the issue.


----------



## ekim68

Sick honeybees may be nursed by doctors



> They are among the most industrious creatures on the planet, but honeybees still struggle when they're ill. Once a disease takes hold inside a hive, the bees can become sluggish and disorientated, and many may die.
> 
> Now it seems honeybees may have a way of helping to keep their workforce healthy - by employing bees that feed "medicinal honey" to other members of the hive.
> 
> A group of worker bees called "nurse bees", if they are infected with a parasite, selectively eat honey that has a high antibiotic activity, according to Silvio Erler of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Halle, Germany and his colleagues.


----------



## ekim68

More problems for bees: we've wiped out their favorite plants



> Bees are disappearing-that much is certain. What's unclear is why. Pathogens and pesticides have been posited as potential causes, as has the loss of bees' preferred floral resources. This last reason has intuitive appeal: wildflowers are disappearing because of agriculture, and bees rely on the pollen and nectar in flowers, so the loss of flowers should be causing the loss of bees.
> 
> But a demonstration of this seemingly simple idea has been hard to come by. Different species of bees rely on different plants-the bee species that are disappearing have never been analyzed in terms of taste for the plants that are disappearing to see if they match up. And, once the bees or plants are gone, it's hard to figure out what relationship (if any) they might have had. Pesky details.
> 
> Researchers in the Netherlands have gotten around this problem by examining museum specimens of bees to figure out which bees like which flowers. *They've demonstrated that the bee species that have declined are in fact those that like the pollen from flower species that have also declined.*


----------



## ekim68

Nicotine and caffeine can protect bees against parasites



> Cigarettes cause cancer, among a wide range of other deadly maladies. And too much coffee can encourage anxiety and insomnia. But for bees, a new study finds, a little bit of nicotine and caffeine might be the best way to ward off intestinal parasites.
> 
> Some toxins can, when consumed in small amounts, offer health benefits to humans and animals. The Researchers at the University of Massachusetts and Dartmouth College recently found this to be the case for bees.
> 
> As part of the new study, entomologists at the two schools exposed nests of eastern bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) to the intestinal parasite (Crithidia bombi). The researcher then fed the pollinators nectars laced with different naturally occurring toxins.
> 
> The toxins, including nicotine and caffeine, were derived from plants which rely on the chemicals to deter predators. Substances produced by plants as a method of defense against herbivores are known as secondary metabolites.
> 
> Some of the toxic nectar reduced infection levels by as much as 81 percent among the treated bumblebees.


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## valis

woo hoo, I'm safe from crithidia Bombi!


----------



## brettmurray

My Mum and my Bro both keep bees. they are doing ok, but they say that in america the colony collapse is worse. 
In China they were forced to hand pollinate and found that PEOLE were 30% more efficient than the bees!

https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/5193-Decline-of-bees-forces-China-s-apple-farmers-to-pollinate-by-hand


----------



## ekim68

Flower-friendly farms 'boost bee populations'



> Planting farmland with strips of flowers can boost the number of wild bumblebees, a study has confirmed.
> 
> Not only does it attract foraging bees, but it also encourages nesting, say researchers at University of Sussex.
> 
> In past decades, many bumblebee species have declined, due to a number of factors, including intensive farming.
> 
> The study, published in Molecular Ecology, suggest farms given funding to improve the environment can increase the size of wild bumblebee populations.


----------



## valis

a rather novel idea.......http://io9.com/whats-the-easiest-way-to-move-millions-of-bees-a-bee-f-1693267782


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## ekim68

A Sharp Spike in Honeybee Deaths Deepens a Worrisome Trend



> A prolonged and mysterious die-off of the nation's honeybees, a trend worrisome both to beekeepers and to farmers who depend on the insects to pollinate their crops, apparently worsened last year.
> 
> In an annual survey released on Wednesday by the Bee Informed Partnership, a consortium of universities and research laboratories, about 5,000 beekeepers reported losing 42.1 percent of their colonies in the 12-month period that ended in April. That is well above the 34.2 percent loss reported for the same period in 2013 and 2014, and it is the second-highest loss recorded since year-round surveys began in 2010.


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## valis

ratcheting up to 50%. Nope, I don't like it.


----------



## ekim68

Bees are dying off  but theres a surprisingly simple, completely uncontroversial way to save them 



> The simplest way, if you want to conserve bees, the most obvious thing and the least controversial thing, everyone can agree, it would be nice to have more flowers. You dont upset too many people when you say that. But its true. And also going back to these other things, the pesticides and the diseases they suffer from, theyre probably better able to cope with being poisoned or infected if theyve got lots of food. The same is true of people; obviously we all know if youre unwell, its important to have healthy food and so on, because that helps build your strength and immunity. So creating areas with flowers is a really good way to help them.


----------



## ekim68

Oslo Builds World's First Bee Highway



> Bees are essential for food production, but around the world, populations have been declining for years. Norways latest bid to back its fuzzy insectoid friends? The worlds very first bee highway, naturally.
> 
> We are constantly reshaping our environment to meet our needs, forgetting that other species also live in it, Agnes Lyche Melvaer, head of an Oslo-based environmental group supporting urban bees, told The Guardian. To correct that we need to return places to them to live and feed.
> 
> It wont look like any highway youre familiar with, but Norway hopes this collection of flower-laden rooftops will become a corridor that provides pollinating insects safe passage through the city, with rest stops along the way that offer food and shelter. The initiativea cooperation between state bodies, companies, and private homeownersis being built piecemeal, with new highway partners simply jumping in and adding their rooftops to the mix. The website polli.no contains a growing, interactive map of the entire route:


----------



## valis

well, this is, while not unexpected, a most certainly unwelcome facet of this:

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6244/177.full


----------



## ekim68

Honey bee queens highly vulnerable to two neonicotinoid insecticides




> Throughout the northern hemisphere, beekeepers have struggled to maintain adequate numbers of honey bee colonies for crop pollination and honey production due to dramatic increases in colony deaths each year. Recent surveys of beekeepers suggest that poor queen health is an important reason for these losses, but why queen health is now being affected is not understood.


----------



## ekim68

Neonicotinoid Pesticides Turn Bumblebees Into Poor Pollinators




> Neonicotinoid pesticides have been blamed for declines in bee populations worldwide. The chemicals don't kill bees, instead neonicotinoids impair the insects' abilities to learn, navigate, forage for nectar, and reproduce, according to studies published over the past several years.
> 
> Now, researchers report that bees exposed to the pesticides also become less effective pollinators for crops (_Nature_ 2015, DOI: 10.1038/nature16167).
> 
> The study is the first to demonstrate that neonicotinoids can decrease the quality of a food crop by affecting bee pollination, says Maj Rundlöf of Lund University, who was not involved in the work. "This is a strong indication that farmers, particularly those growing insect-pollinated crops, should consider both the gains and the costs of pesticide use when selecting a pest management strategy."


----------



## ekim68

Bees, Butterflies May Go Way of the Dinosaur



> Don't care much about birds and bees going extinct? OK, but you may have to forgo popular foods (like blueberries, apples, and coffee) that depend on creatures that pollinate plants, the _Christian Science Monitor_ reports. According to a UN scientific report approved by 124 nations, the coming extinction of pollinators such as butterflies and bees could undermine hundreds of billions in world food crops. "We are in a period of decline and there are going to be increasing consequences," says lead report author Simon Potts. With one in six vertebrate pollinators (like hummingbirds) and two in five invertebrate pollinators (like bees) going extinct, the report says, $235 billion to $577 billion in world food crops are at risk. Some 35% of world crop production depends on pollinators, the _New York Times_ reports.


----------



## ekim68

Maryland to Become First State to Ban Bee-Killing Pesticides for Consumer Use




> In an effort to curb its plummeting honeybee population, Maryland is about to become the first state in the nation to pass strict restrictions on neonicotinoids for consumer use.


----------



## ekim68

Bees are Caffeine addicted - Inglewood Health




> Researchers in United Kingdom have found that certain plants actually produce caffeine to attract bees and help in pollination.
> 
> Scientists at the University of Sussex said they thought the plants produce the caffeine in their nectar to fool bees into thinking it contains more sugar than it actually does. The insects will repeatedly visit those flowers, helping the plants maximize pollination.


----------



## ekim68

Plan bee: Minnesota sets broad limits on chemicals blamed for bee decline



> Minnesota's governor on Friday ordered the broadest restrictions yet in a US state on the use of agricultural pesticides that have been blamed for hurting bees, fuelling concerns that farmers there will not be able to protect crops from insects.
> 
> Governor Mark Dayton issued an executive order that requires farmers to verify they face "an imminent threat of significant crop loss" before using the chemicals, called neonicotinoids.


----------



## ekim68

Threat to honeybees as Asian hornet's arrival on UK mainland confirmed



> The Asian hornet's long-feared arrival on the UK mainland has been confirmed, government scientists have said, with ecologists warning of dire consequences for honeybees if the species is not swiftly eliminated.
> 
> The hornets eat honeybees and have become widespread in central and southern France, prompting warnings in recent years that they could arrive in the UK via potted plants from France.


----------



## ekim68

Believe it or not, the bees are doing just fine



> You've probably heard the bad news by now that bees were recently added to the endangered species list for the first time. But if you're part of the 60 percent of people who share stories without actually reading them, you might have missed an important detail: namely, that the newly endangered bees are a handful of relatively obscure species who live only in Hawaii.
> 
> The bees you're more familiar with - the ones that buzz around your yard dipping into flowers, making honey, pollinating crops and generally keeping the world's food supply from collapsing? Those bees are doing just fine, according to data released by the USDA this year.
> 
> In 2015, there were 2.66 million commercial honey-producing bee colonies in the United States. That's down slightly from the 2.74 million colonies in 2014, which represented a two-decade high. The number of commercial bee colonies is still significantly higher than it was in 2006, when colony collapse disorder - the mass die-offs that began afflicting U.S. honeybee colonies - was first documented.


----------



## ekim68

347 Native Bee Species 'Spiraling Toward Extinction'



> In the first comprehensive review of the more than 4,000 native bee species in North America and Hawaii, the Center for Biological Diversity has found that more than half the species with sufficient data to assess are declining. Nearly one in four is imperiled and at increasing risk of extinction.


----------



## ekim68

A third of the nation's honeybee colonies died last year. Why you should care



> America's beekeepers watched as a third of the country's honeybee colonies were lost over the last year, part of a decade-long die-off experts said may threaten our food supply.
> 
> The annual survey of roughly 5,000 beekeepers showed the 33% dip from April 2016 to April 2017. The decrease is small compared to the survey's previous 10 years, when the decrease hovered at roughly 40%. From 2012 to 2013, nearly half of the nation's colonies died.


----------



## ekim68

Large-scale study 'shows neonic pesticides harm bees'



> The most extensive study to date on neonicotinoid pesticides concludes that they harm both honeybees and wild bees.
> 
> Researchers said that exposure to the chemicals left honeybee hives less likely to survive over winter, while bumblebees and solitary bees produced fewer queens.
> 
> The study spanned 2,000 hectares across the UK, Germany and Hungary and was set up to establish the "real-world" impacts of the pesticides.


----------



## ekim68

Bees Are Bouncing Back From Colony Collapse Disorder



> The number of U.S. honeybees, a critical component to agricultural production, rose in 2017 from a year earlier, and deaths of the insects attributed to a mysterious malady that's affected hives in North America and Europe declined, according a U.S. Department of Agriculture honeybee health survey released Tuesday.
> 
> The number of commercial U.S. honeybee colonies rose 3 percent to 2.89 million as of April 1, 2017 compared with a year earlier, the Agriculture Department reported.


----------



## ekim68

Pesticides that pose threat to humans and bees found in honey



> Three-quarters of the honey produced around the world contains nerve agent pesticides that can harm bees and pose a potential health hazard to humans, a study has shown.
> 
> Scientists who tested 198 honey samples from every continent except Antarctica discovered that 75 per cent were laced with at least one of the neonicotinoid chemicals.
> 
> More than two-fifths contained two or more varieties of the pesticides and 10 per cent held residues from four or five.


----------



## ekim68

Pesticides, poor nutrition deadly one-two combo for honey bees



> Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Lack of nutrition and exposure to pesticides are a deadly combination for honey bees, new research shows.
> 
> For the first time, scientists quantified the effects of the one-two punch on bee mortality. They published their findings this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study's results showed bee mortality increased 50 percent when the two threats were combined.


----------



## ekim68

Strongest evidence yet that neonicotinoids are killing bees



> There can be little doubt now that the world's most widely used insecticides are bad for bees. Two new studies add to the mountain of evidence that neonicotinoids are harmful to pollinators, and add to the pressure for Europe, at least, to introduce a full ban.
> 
> The European Union has had a temporary moratorium on using three major neonicotinoids on bee-attractive crops since 2013, though farmers can apply for emergency authorisation to keep using them. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is due to publish an assessment in November on whether to make the ban permanent, and legislators are already discussing whether to extend it to cover all uses outside greenhouses.


----------



## ekim68

EU-Wide Ban on Bee-Harming Pesticides Likely After Major Review



> The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded in a new assessment that "most uses" of three widely used neonicotinoids-imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam-pose a risk to wild bees and honeybees, which play a crucial role in pollination across the globe.
> 
> The conclusion, based on analysis of more than 1,500 studies, will likely prompt a total ban on the pesticides from all fields across the European Union when the issue comes to a vote next month, the Guardian reported.


----------



## ekim68

And thus:


EU bans use of three neonicotinoid insecticides blamed for bee decline



> April 27 (UPI) -- After an extensive scientific review and intense debate, the European Commission, a legislative body of the European Union, voted on Friday to ban three neonicotinoid insecticides blamed for killing both wild bees and honeybees.
> 
> Farmers and gardeners in Europe will no longer be able to spray the pesticides clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametheoxam outdoors.


----------



## ekim68

Probiotics help bees fight colony collapse disorder



> A wealth of research suggests it is rarely a single factor that explains a decline in bee health. Instead, several stressors combine to increase mortality rates. Still, studies have revealed a correlation between nosemosis and colony collapse disorder, the crisis causing the decline of honey bee populations all over the world.
> 
> In a new study, researchers found probiotics can help prevent and treat nosemosis.


----------



## ekim68

Sunflower pollen protects bees from disease, study finds



> Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Great access to sunflowers and their pollen could help keep vulnerable bee populations pathogen-free.
> 
> In experiments carried out by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, scientists found bees fed sunflower pollen enjoyed lower rates of infection by two common pathogens.


----------



## ekim68

Can listening to bees help save them - and us?



> Can artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning help save the world's bees? That's the hope of scientists who are scrambling to reverse the dramatic declines in bee populations.
> 
> Bees are in trouble, but we're not quite sure why.
> 
> It could be the overuse of insecticides; air pollution; warming temperatures; the varroa destructor mite; or even interference from electromagnetic radiation.
> 
> Or it could be a combination of all these factors. But until we have more data, we won't know for sure.
> 
> So the World Bee Project and IT firm Oracle are creating a global network of AI "smart hives" to give scientists real-time data into the relationships between bees and their environments.


----------



## ekim68

Bees Are Facing Yet Another Existential Threat



> When Coy spotted the withering weeds, he realized why hives that produced 100 pounds of honey three summers ago now were managing barely half that: Dicamba probably had destroyed his bees' food.
> 
> In October, the US Environmental Protection Agency extended its approval of the weed killer for use on genetically modified soybeans and cotton, mostly in the South and Midwest, for two more years. At the time, the EPA said: "We expect there will be no adverse impacts to bees or other pollinators."
> 
> But scientists warned the EPA years ago that dicamba would drift off fields and kill weeds that are vital to honeybees. The consequences of the EPA's decisions now are rippling through the food system.


----------



## ekim68

Giant bee species, feared extinct, found alive and well in Indonesia



> Animals are dying off at a pretty alarming rate, with some studies suggesting the world is entering a sixth major extinction event. But now, in a rare piece of good news from that field, researchers from Australia, Canada and the US have rediscovered Wallace's giant bee, an insect that hasn't been seen in almost 40 years.


----------



## ekim68

U.S. beekeepers lost over 40 percent of colonies last year, highest winter losses ever recorded



> Beekeepers across the United States lost 40.7 percent of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019, according to preliminary results of the latest annual nationwide survey conducted by the University of Maryland-led nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership. The survey results indicate winter losses of 37.7 percent, which is the highest winter loss reported since the survey began 13 years ago and 8.9 percentage points higher than the survey average.


----------



## ekim68

A New Study Reveals Just How Toxic a Bee's World Has Become



> You can thank pollinating insects for one of every three bites of food you take. But as you may have heard, these bugs are in trouble: Since 2006, around 30 percent of US honeybee hives have died off each year, about double the previous loss rate. Honeybee populations are holding steady because honeybees are essentially winged livestock, so they benefit from management by beekeepers who scramble to maintain populations by splitting healthy hives. Bumblebees and other wild pollinators don't have such caretakers, and their populations are dropping.
> 
> The best science suggests that a complex web of threats-including exposure to pesticides, loss of foraging habitat, and parasites-is attacking pollinator health. A new study published Tuesday in the journal _PLOS One _found that one of those factors, a class of chemicals called neonicotinoids, has seen a dramatic expansion since 2004. As a result, bees and other pollinators have encountered landscapes increasingly loaded with harmful pesticides.


----------



## ekim68

'Rewilding:' One California man's mission to save honey bees



> SEBASTOPOL, Calif. (Reuters) - The staggering decline of honey bee colonies has alarmed experts across the United States, but an unconventional apiculturist in California thinks he has found a way to save them.
> 
> Michael Thiele has championed an approach he calls the "rewilding" of honeybees, allowing them to live as they did for millions of years - in natural log hives high above the ground.


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## ekim68

How to support your local bees in your own backyard



> UNLESS YOU'VE BEEN wearing noise-cancelling headphones while living under an extremely large rock on a distant planet, you've probably heard something about the recent decline of bee populations. The hubbub is completely justifiable, because bees are essential to the health and diversity of our entire ecosystem, not to mention their crucial role as crop pollinators.


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## ekim68

Engineered bacteria immunize bees against cause of colony collapse



> The world is losing huge numbers of honeybees to colony collapse disorder (CCD), which has devastating implications for global ecosystems and agriculture. But now, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have engineered bacteria that can help bees fend off two of the main causes of CCD.
> 
> The two problems in question are Varroa mites and deformed wing virus. Varroa mites are tiny parasites that cling to the backs of bees and feed off their fat stores, severely weakening the host. Get enough of them together and they can devastate a honeybee colony.


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## ekim68

The Bee Is Declared The Most Important Living Being On The Planet



> Its sting hurts a lot, but if they were to disappear, it would hurt much more.
> 
> The Earthwatch Institute concluded in the last debate of the Royal Geographical Society of London, that bees are the most important living being on the planet, however, scientists have also made an announcement: Bees have already entered into extinction risk.
> 
> Bees around the world have disappeared up to 90% according to recent studies, the reasons are different depending on the region, but among the main reasons are massive deforestation, lack of safe places for nests, lack of flowers, use uncontrolled pesticides, changes in soil, among others.


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## ekim68

Why bees are finally getting a break 



> Lockdowns have put a number of insect-harming practices on hold, creating a friendlier world for wild bees - and conservationists hope some of these changes could be here to stay.


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## ekim68

More flowers and pollinator diversity could help protect bees from parasites



> Having more flowers and maintaining diverse bee communities could help reduce the spread of bee parasites, according to a new study.


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## ekim68

Dramatic decline found in Western bumblebee populations



> SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A federal review of existing data unveils an alarming trend for the western bumblebee population, which has seen its numbers dwindle by as much as 93% in the last two decades.


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## ekim68

How smart tech could help save the world's honey bees



> Now, technology startups are developing smart devices that give beekeepers access to detailed information about the state of their hives, aiming to reduce losses and improve bee health.
> Among them is Ireland's ApisProtect, which has just launched a sensor that alerts beekeepers if there is a problem in their hives.


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## ekim68

Ten ways to ensure bees benefit from the solar power boom



> Researchers assessing the impact of solar energy development across Europe have come up with ten ways in which the expansion of solar can be shaped to ensure pollinators benefit.
> 
> Space-hungry solar photovoltaic (PV) is set to dominate future global electricity supply, but with careful decision making, efforts to secure clean energy need not come at the expense of biodiversity-particularly pollinators which are in sharp decline.


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## ekim68

American bumblebees have disappeared from these 8 states. Now they could face extinction.



> Dwindling populations of the American bumblebee and their complete disappearance from eight states has led to a call for the bee to be placed under the Endangered Species Act before they face extinction.
> 
> Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Idaho, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Oregon each have zero or close to zero American bumblebees left, according to a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity and Bombus Pollinators Association of Law Students.


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## valis

Well....THAT aint good...


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## ekim68

New chemical could help protect honeybee colonies from parasitic mites



> It is believed that parasitic varroa mites may be one of the main causes of colony collapse disorder, which is decimating honeybee colonies around the world. There may be hope, however, as a new chemical has been found to eradicate the mites without harming the bees.


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## RT

ekim68 said:


> American bumblebees have disappeared from these 8 states. Now they could face extinction.


Pissed me off when the exterminator came around my work area, just doing his job...was outside for a smoke and a bumblebee flew near us. No threat at all.
He sprayed it saying "He's dead but doesn't know it."

But...but .. you shouldn't kill pollinators! 
I said...he didn't care, just bugs to him.


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## ekim68

Study suggests fertilizers may hamper bees' ability to identify flowers



> A number of studies have already shown that synthetic chemicals can harm the bees that are vital to the pollination of plants. New research now additionally indicates that fertilizers may disrupt bees' ability to identify flowers, reducing the likelihood of the insects landing on them.


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## ekim68

Puzzling study finds bee lifespans are now 50% shorter than 50 years ago



> Striking research from a pair of entomologists at the University of Maryland suggests the lifespan of honey bees kept in controlled laboratory conditions is 50% shorter than what was seen in the 1970s. The researchers hypothesize genetic changes in bees may be responsible for the shorter lifespans.


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## ekim68

Uncle Sam OKs vaccine that protects honeybees against hive-destroying bacterium



> Dalan Animal Health – a biotech company based in Athens, Georgia, focusing on insects – hopes to help ease at least one of those threats with a vaccine against American foulbrood which was granted a conditional license by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) yesterday.
> 
> American foulbrood is devastating to hives. Caused by the spore-forming bacterium _Paenibacillus larvae_, brood are infected through their food (royal jelly), killing them at pre-pupal or pupal stage.


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