Bees are dying

[FinallyRetired]

Guess killer bees are yesterday's news, now the worry is they are dying.

"A mysterious disorder that has killed millions of bees could cause $75 billion in economic losses in the U.S., Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said. The malady, known as Colony Collapse Disorder, already threatens $14.6 billion in pollinated crops in the U.S., Johanns said today in a speech at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's main office in Washington."

Bloomberg.com: U.S.

 

[Brat]

This has been going on for at least 6 months. Ag research folks are trying to figure it out. After the problem with the pet food they are including the stuff that bee keepers use to augment the bee hive diet.

So far nothing concrete.

 

[Goonie]

We've had FAR less honey bees around our gardens this year. In past years there were oodles of them buzzing from flower to flower all over the place. You couldn't hardly look at a flower without seeing a bee on it. But not so this year!

It's sad! Especially since we all depend on them for pollination of fruits, veggies, and, of course, flowers. I hope it's a short term problem that can be resolved!

 

[Bigritchie]

GM crops

 

[ERD50]

Wasn't there a bee problem the past few years - is this a different problem?

I thought the last one was a mite that was killing off bees.

-ERD50

 

[Nords]

I thought the last one was a mite that was killing off bees.

That's the one. It's sweeping through the islands too.

However the occasional bee still manages to find my hyperallergic spouse...

 

[bssc]

My mother is convinced that it is cell phones. I had to ask how bees used cell phones but it appears to be that she believes that people using cell phones cause the colonies to collapse.

 

[FinallyRetired]

My mother is convinced that it is cell phones. I had to ask how bees used cell phones but it appears to be that she believes that people using cell phones cause the colonies to collapse.

That's as good as any other theory I've heard. Or maybe the bees are just fed up with working their little butts off all day just to have the Man come and take their honey. Some of them are escaping and forming their own hidden communes where they stash their honey. Here is one of them:

Las Vegas Now - Breaking News, Local News, Weather, Traffic, Streaming Video, Classifieds, Blogs - Las Vegas Woman Attacked By Swarm of Bees

 

[Martha]

I had a client that was a bee keeper on a large scale. He moved hives around the US to pollinate crops. He lost his entire business through colony collapse of a large number of his colonies. Scientists are not sure yet what is causing the problem. It might be mites. It might be something else. It might be a combination of factors.

It is also interesting that the honey bees that are used for pollinating crops are not native to the US, but from Europe.

 

[Goonie]

Las Vegas Now - Breaking News, Local News, Weather, Traffic, Streaming Video, Classifieds, Blogs - Las Vegas Woman Attacked By Swarm of Bees

Along a similar line, we had a HUGE wasp nest hanging from a branch in a tree over our front sidewalk. Instead of using 'foam', I gave the little buggers a lesson in kryogenics. I used a CO2 fire extinguisher and froze their little [-]*sses[/-] butts off!

We've had to have bee-keepers come in a couple of times to relocate a swarm of bees (they were outside, but in an inconvenient area). However, I try to never kill any bees.....relocate maybe.....but not kill.

Wasps on the other hand, though they are beneficial in the garden, will get 'done-in' if they're where they will be a problem to humans (a.k.a. - ME!).

 

[TromboneAl]

I've heard that this problem could be a bigger threat than terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and global warming. Oh, I forgot SARS, drug-resistant TB, and the bird flu.

 

[Khan]

With previous problems (such as mites) beekeepers would open a hive and find dead bees. With Colony Collapse Disorder, beekeepers are opening hives and finding just a few bees; it seems they are flying out and not returning.

My personal opinion is that there is no one cause: multiple stresses increasing over the years and a hard winter just pushed them over the edge.

 

[TromboneAl]

Almonds, apples, avocados, blueberries, cantaloupes, cherries, cranberries, cucumbers, sunflowers, watermelon and many other crops all rely on honey bees for pollination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that about one-third of the human diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants and that the honey bee is responsible for 80 percent of this pollination.

A 2000 Cornell University study concluded that the direct value of honey bee pollination to U.S. agriculture is more than $14.6 billion.

 

[TromboneAl]

I'm not responsible for the above post weirdness -- software bug?

 

[Webzter]

Peak Oil, CCD, housing bubble, high P/E's... it's a great time to be a pessimist!

Seriously, though, this one worries me the most.

 

[FinallyRetired]

I'm not responsible for the above post weirdness -- software bug?

I had a weird bug the other day too, a link to the Boston Globe opened up to the Washington Post. Maybe it's global warming.

 

[ERD50]

I've heard that this problem could be a bigger threat than terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and global warming. Oh, I forgot SARS, drug-resistant TB, and the bird flu.

T-Al, I think you should start a POLL, which is the biggest threat?

-ERD50

 

[TromboneAl]

Which is the biggest threat:

o Terrorism
o Nuclear Proliferation
o Global Warming
o SARS
o Drug-resistant TB
o Bird Flu
o The 15-minute Edit Limit

 

[ERD50]

No, no, no T-Al, first you create the POLL, and THEN we (well, I) complain that you left out the 'right' choices.

-ERD50

 

[tryan]

I am contributing ... just sprayed a hornets nest last night.

 

[Khan]

Is there any way to transfer CCD to ants?
-Leiningen

 

[bpp3]

Interesting. Hadn't heard of this. No dead bees around the hive, they just up and move one day.

Sounds like there is something very specific to which they have developed an adverse reaction. I bet they are all out partying it up in the woods or something, in line with SoonToRetire's suggestion.

Be interesting to find out what it turns out to be.

 

[Brat]

Interesting. Hadn't heard of this. No dead bees around the hive, they just up and move one day.

Sounds like there is something very specific to which they have developed an adverse reaction. I bet they are all out partying it up in the woods or something, in line with SoonToRetire's suggestion. ...

That is what has everyone stumped. No bee bodies!

It is not like you can attach something to those wee wings and follow their flights.

Wasps are attracted to protein, bees to flowering plants.

 

[whitestick]

NEWS FLASH! Scientists are pursuing potential cause of CCD in bee colonies. It seems that word has slipped out about FIRE from the early-retirement.org and many bees are discovering RE. Having had an exposure to the Fire Calculator, they are discovering that they have enough put away in m-honey, that they are now able to RE and leave for other pursuits.... (more news to follow)

 

[BUM]

No bee bodies!

Catchy.

Al, can you set that to music?

No bee bodies, no be bodies, NO be bodies...