nytimes.com— That beekeepers are alarmed over this situation is understandable, but, just as in the movies, the public may not recognize the magnitude of the threat that these mysterious events present.
Mar 3, 2007View in Crawl 4
I think it's time we call in Mulder and Scully. They found the secret bee colony the Cigarette Smoking Man had to transport a virus.... they can do it again.Mulder: Why is it still so hard for you to believe, even when all the evidence suggests extraordinary phenomena?Scully: Because sometimes... looking for extreme possibilities makes you blind to the probable explanation right in front of you.
actually my woman has been finding and collecting dead bee's out on our balcony all this last year. Most of them are intact. They seemed to just fly to our balcony to die. We couldn't figure out why they were dying. They would sit there and walk in circles or just sit there and be acting dead until they were dead. Its probably something george dubbya did
Bumblebees, many other native bee species, moths, and even some birds and bats pollinate. Flowers survived before before Europeans brought honeybees here. They'll survive still.@mitrovarr: YES, thank you.@floorman: The wild bees you're thinking of are wild honeybees, not native bees.(Yes, I acutally AM an entomologist!)
The pesticide Idea is not complete crap the one in question is most likely Fipronil made by BASF. This is used to treat many insects including Termites, Ants, Roaches, Flea's (Yep you put it on Fido, Frontline). There is a very simple explanation to this pesticide. Fipronil affects all insect especially social insects. Pest Control guy comes to your home and treats around the outside with Fipronil spraying your foundation, flowers, mulch etc.. great those pesky little piss ants are going to go away, but!!! Along comes mrs. honey bee. She lands on the flowers that were just treated for the ants lalalala mmmm pollen, Now she flies back to her hive. She says hey gang I found some great flowers go check them out, but before you go taste this mmmmmm good? My point is Fipronil is spread by tropholaxis and social interaction of the insect resulting in the spread through out the colony killing the entire colony or at least half of it. The effects are slow acting so one may not notice it for a few months after the first dose. Fipronil - <a class="user" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil</a>
Yeah, but that still raises the question of "Why Now?" Probably also has to do with loss of natural foraging habitat, bees being kept as a monoculture, things like that. This might still be self-correcting, but pollination beekeeping is a hundred million dollar a year industry.
Bees also put food on your table, and not just honey. They pollinate about a third of the food you eat. Your grocery/restaurant bills would be a lot higher without them. Food exports from North America would decrease so that people in other countries would have less food and be less able to afford enough to eat. For some folks, it's likely to put them over the edge into disaster.
Hi,A note to let you know about this article, a current issue being addressed by the Earth Vision project - "Why the Bees Are Dying"Using spiritual ecology to bring environmentalism to the next level, the EV project has several current newsworthy items.To access them, visit:Current Environmental Issues (on the Earth Vision site)Thanks for your attention,Josef GrafEarth Vision + Insight21answers for the 21st Century www.evsite.net + www.insight21.net
threemagicMar 4, 2007
I think it's time we call in Mulder and Scully. They found the secret bee colony the Cigarette Smoking Man had to transport a virus.... they can do it again.Mulder: Why is it still so hard for you to believe, even when all the evidence suggests extraordinary phenomena?Scully: Because sometimes... looking for extreme possibilities makes you blind to the probable explanation right in front of you.
phantomcrawlMar 4, 2007
actually my woman has been finding and collecting dead bee's out on our balcony all this last year. Most of them are intact. They seemed to just fly to our balcony to die. We couldn't figure out why they were dying. They would sit there and walk in circles or just sit there and be acting dead until they were dead. Its probably something george dubbya did
konklariiMar 4, 2007
Bumblebees, many other native bee species, moths, and even some birds and bats pollinate. Flowers survived before before Europeans brought honeybees here. They'll survive still.@mitrovarr: YES, thank you.@floorman: The wild bees you're thinking of are wild honeybees, not native bees.(Yes, I acutally AM an entomologist!)
megatonMar 4, 2007
All the bees went home! *koff*Earthbound*koff*Or better, they're being retrofitted with an alien virus! *koff*Xfiles*koff*
wvstephensMar 4, 2007
The pesticide Idea is not complete crap the one in question is most likely Fipronil made by BASF. This is used to treat many insects including Termites, Ants, Roaches, Flea's (Yep you put it on Fido, Frontline). There is a very simple explanation to this pesticide. Fipronil affects all insect especially social insects. Pest Control guy comes to your home and treats around the outside with Fipronil spraying your foundation, flowers, mulch etc.. great those pesky little piss ants are going to go away, but!!! Along comes mrs. honey bee. She lands on the flowers that were just treated for the ants lalalala mmmm pollen, Now she flies back to her hive. She says hey gang I found some great flowers go check them out, but before you go taste this mmmmmm good? My point is Fipronil is spread by tropholaxis and social interaction of the insect resulting in the spread through out the colony killing the entire colony or at least half of it. The effects are slow acting so one may not notice it for a few months after the first dose. Fipronil - <a class="user" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil</a>
ginrummyMar 4, 2007
COME ON!
Closed AccountMar 5, 2007
This is indeed serious. There was another article on the Digg front page recently:<a class="user" href="http://digg.com/environment/Earth_Life_Threats_Alarming_Disappearance_of_Honey_Bees">http://digg.com/environment/Earth_Life_Threats_Alarming_Disappearance_of_Honey_Bees</a>There was some discussion that certain pesticides may be to blame for killing the bees, at least in part.Also see:Mid-Atlantic Apiculture: <a class="user" href="http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/index.html">http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/index.html</a>Penn State University Entomology Dept.: <a class="user" href="http://www.ento.psu.edu/">http://www.ento.psu.edu/</a>American Beekeeping Federation: <a class="user" href="http://www.abfnet.org/">http://www.abfnet.org/</a>NPR article: <a class="user" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7388742">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7388742</a>WaPo article: <a class="user" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/11/AR2007021100650_2.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/11/AR2007021100650_2.html</a>
kuzotzMar 5, 2007
yea I know my ancestors were forced here from western africa. but maybe I should flash my Seminole citizenship card in front of your face.
kuzotzMar 5, 2007
my typing sucks on a laptop. I'll stick with the good old fashion desktop..
afreytMar 8, 2007
Yeah, but that still raises the question of "Why Now?" Probably also has to do with loss of natural foraging habitat, bees being kept as a monoculture, things like that. This might still be self-correcting, but pollination beekeeping is a hundred million dollar a year industry.
luckyirishmanApr 11, 2007
Interesting thoughts on the honey bees and if that wasn't enough how about Ug99 (stem rust) that once wiped out almost 50% of the wheat crop in the US during th 1950's.<a class="user" href="http://www.aarontrade.com/commodityfuturestrading/?p=43">http://www.aarontrade.com/commodityfuturestrading/?p=43</a>RFID chips in bees. Hum.
maxxxy12Jul 11, 2007
Bees also put food on your table, and not just honey. They pollinate about a third of the food you eat. Your grocery/restaurant bills would be a lot higher without them. Food exports from North America would decrease so that people in other countries would have less food and be less able to afford enough to eat. For some folks, it's likely to put them over the edge into disaster.
josefgrafJun 8, 2008
Hi,A note to let you know about this article, a current issue being addressed by the Earth Vision project - "Why the Bees Are Dying"Using spiritual ecology to bring environmentalism to the next level, the EV project has several current newsworthy items.To access them, visit:Current Environmental Issues (on the Earth Vision site)Thanks for your attention,Josef GrafEarth Vision + Insight21answers for the 21st Century www.evsite.net + www.insight21.net