Bee's disappearing
 

This could have a huge effect on the farming industry.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US beekeepers have been stung in recent months by the mysterious disappearance of millions of bees threatening honey supplies as well as crops which depend on the insects for pollination.

Bee numbers on parts of the east coast and in Texas have fallen by more than 70 percent, while California has seen colonies drop by 30 to 60 percent.

According to estimates from the US Department of Agriculture, bees are vanishing across a total of 22 states, and for the time being no one really knows why.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070407...s_070407020928

Maybe somebody let loose some giant japanese hornets and they are eating the bees. :eek:

Global warming? Who knows.

They've been under a lot of pressure from mites but they think its something else maybe a pesticide that screws with their mapping.

Okay folks, everything is under control now. Scientists have devised an acronym to deal with this problem.

Between global warming, pollution, overfishing, and overbuilding, does anyone else here think we're starting the slide to extinction?:thepain:

Maybe I should start reading those 'left behind' books. Do I have to have my circumcision reversed before I buy one, though?;)

.

:D

If this keeps up, next year's fruit is going to be really slim. Bees for no one, scurvy for all!

Apparently some of the newer GMOs have built in pesticides. Spuds with BT have been around a long time and how great an idea that was for about fifteen seconds. Now we've got BT resistant caterpillars. (duh) But the good news is a bunch of CEOs were able to earn giant ass loads of coin, so all is not lost.

I am not sure if the newer pesticide enhanced GMOs may be involved or, in fact, target bees, even as collateral damage. Some Organic approved pesticides will whack bees and growers and beekeepers coordinate placement of the hives and applications of pesticide. In the case of built in pesticide this is hard.

I would be shocked if a GMO was developed and released that the makers knew was harmful to bees. Bees pollinate 1/3 of our food supply, and account for BILLIONS of dollars of food supply. E.g. fruits, grains, cukes, peppers, etc.

I would be less shocked if a GMO was released for use which wasn't adequately tested, and therefore no one knew...


riiiiiiight. /dr.evil

I see nothing in the pork bills for the bee folks, wonder how that happened?? :2cents:

They must have weak Lobby or maybe Bee Keepers are Republicans. :D

I'm waiting for the strident condemnation of the Bush administration for failing to solve this problem in a timely manner, failing to allocate enough tax dollars to reimburse farmers and others who will likely lose their collective shirts, ignoring the problem, hoping it will go away, lying about the effects of GMOs and cronies of the President raking in millions while the common people starve.

Any day now...

Well that's all true, but it could be a sting operation.

It has been noted that the suspected GMO crops have been banned from and never imported into many EU countries (Germany, etc), but those countries are also seeing declines in honeybee populations.

OUCH! That's gonna leave a mark.

Bee populations are lower in the area I live in also. It has been attributed mainly to the drought and not enough blossom which of course becomes a vicious cycle in many respects.

Lucky we've still got lots of ants and other creepy crawlies to do some of the pollenation.

Bees have had a lot of problems for several years running, now. Mites, drought, fungus...I wouldn't be surprised if it is found that bee populations have simply collapsed from the accumulated ongoing stresses, and that no single, present cause is to be found.

This is going to make it a lot harder for me to mooch free mead from my several meadmaker friends.

My father has a batch of mead on the way. Maybe I'll send you a bottle of aussie mead. ;) Dunno if it'd go through customs though.

A leading suspect for bee hive depopulation has been an insecticide that causes insects to become confused. This insecticide has been accused of causing bees to not return to the hive - which would explain so many hives without even dead bodies.

Beekeepers recently testified to Congress on this problem requesting a major funding for research. Without these facts the insecticide companies refuse to stop selling their unique product.

The usual suspects (ie mites) have been eliminated from the suspects list. This problem has been ongoing and increasing for many years now.

I knew insecticide companies had a hand in this, they are probably getting ready to unveil their new product:
"Now that the bees are all dead, try our new strain of pollination free plants. They're patented, so you need to send us 30% royalties on your annual harvest."

Cheaper to have migrant workers do it. Give them a cotton swab and make them run around the fields brushing it over all the flowers.

"Pablo?"
"Que?"
"You're not doing it right."
"..." (heavy sigh) "Buzzzzzzz~zzzzzzz, buzzzzz bzzzzzzz...."

Or we could just let them run through the fields naked.

:D

Here is an article that claims cell phone radiation may be the cause. :eyebrow:

"The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up."

link

Yes it is possible. But where are specific details on any of those studies. It sounds like Saddam's WMDs all over again.

Wifi operates at frequencies that are best for vibrating and therefore warming water. Same frequency used by microwave ovens. Can we conclude anything from this? Those authors might. The real answer: No. Can certain cell phone frequencies subvert magnetic navigation within a bee? Maybe. However we don't even know what bees use for navigation. First a study must be conducted to determine if the 'maybe' is a viable theory. Clearly that has not been done. Then more studies must follow to demonstrate the theory as fact.

Meanwhile, the article is too typical of what English and communication majors do - no technical citations - citing the isolated and rare case while ignoring other facts. I have a serious doubt about the authors' credibility since they cited other disreputable 'fears' (cell phone cause brain cancer) that are repeatedly rejected by science but are promoted by people with the same grasp of science as Cheney and George Jr.

The speculation is rather interesting - has merit. But messenger demonstrates why communication majors are little different from propaganda experts. That news article distorts what is and is not known - just like Saddam's WMDs and just like those who claim the intelligence community got the WMD thing wrong. The only wrong part was the messenger who could not put reality into perspective - ie an MBA named George Jr. Just another example of how we are supposed to learn from history.

I love the speculation: how great studies get started. The messenger completely fails to grasp the other facts: it is total speculation. The messenger also cites other junk science proclamations (cell phones cause brain cancer) to prove their point. Classic of how the naive promote urbane myths.

Our world has been bathed in RF energy of varying frequencies for decades and this is just now a problem? Unlikely.

The US also has the highest rate of honey bee decline, yet we have the lowest density of cellphone coverage when compared to European countries and Japan. It doesn't correlate.

In fairness to the author of the article he does point out the studies to see if cell phones cause brain cancer were inconclusive.
Kitsune's brings up the biggest question which the article didn't discuss. If cell phone radiation were the cause then why is it happening now and not years ago?

The answer starts by first learning underlying details. What frequencies are used for cell phones? What was using those frequencies 20 years ago?

The damning part. The authors probably have no idea and never asked - which is why English and communication majors are so easily deceived. Not because they did not know the answer. Because their education was so deficient as to not even learn they needed to ask such questions. Educations based in a grasp of reality results in one who never knows something until a grasp of underlying facts and reality is provided. Latter would then know such details are necessary.

A perfect example: Mr A sees light bulbs burn out when power is applied. Therefore that is proof that power cycling causes light bulb damage. Reality is different. Power cycling does not damage light bulbs. Hours of operation cause that destruction. But since Mr A never learned why he knows nothing by only using observation, then Mr A jumped to junk science conclusions.

Article implies same thinking: conclusions based only on observation because the authors did even ask simple questions such as which frequencies, how much power, and relationships between specific bee hive failures and cell phone service.

Most damning is that they even mentioned a brain cancer myth - which is exactly like Mr A claiming power on caused light bulb failure. Again, that is why English and communication majors are 'exampled' as how junk science gets created. Why must underlying facts and principles be learned? Where do authors even suggest or imply a grasp of how bees navigate? Only studies I saw reported that bees navigate by visually watching the sun. Why did they 'forget' to ask how bees navigate? It required then to think more like someone trained in science and reality.

Again, I still find the speculation intriguing. I wish the reporters had bothered to report relevant details rather than junk science myths about cell phones and brain tumors.

Andy? Andy? Suppers on the table...
 

.

UK scientists are positing that cell phones are interferring with the bees' navigation and therefore are responsible for the decline...
:rolleyes:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technolo...ut_people.html

I guess anything is possible, but I do find that to be a bit far fetched.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/honeybees/ The Bee Lab!
Don't spray your dandilions, let your weeds grow!

Smarter even, plant tons of flowers like we do. :p

From the Washington Post of 1 Jun 2007: