Community | January 04, 2011 | 61 comments

Researchers Find "Alarming" Decline In Bumblebees

source: http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/60752

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JanforGore
Four previously abundant species of bumblebee are close to disappearing in the United States, researchers reported Monday in a study confirming that the agriculturally important bees are being affected worldwide.

They documented a 96 percent decline in the numbers of the four species, and said their range had shrunk by as much as 87 percent. As with honeybees, a pathogen is partly involved, but the researchers also found evidence of inbreeding caused by habitat loss.

"We provide incontrovertible evidence that multiple Bombus species have experienced sharp population declines at the national level," the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, calling the findings "alarming."

"These are one of the most important pollinators of native plants," Sydney Cameron of the University of Illinois, Urbana, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

In recent years, experts have documented a disappearance of bees in what is widely called colony collapse disorder, blamed on many factors including parasites, fungi, stress, pesticides and viruses. But most studies have focused on honeybees.

Bumblebees are also important pollinators, Cameron said, but are far less studied. Bumblebees pollinate tomatoes, blueberries and cranberries, she noted.

"The 50 species (of bumblebees) in the United States are traditionally associated with prairies and with high alpine vegetations," she added.

"Just as important -- they land on a flower and they have this behavior called buzz pollination that enables them to cause pollen to fly off the flower."

POLLINATING TOMATOES

This is the way to pollinate tomatoes, Cameron said -- although smaller bees can accomplish the same effect if enough cluster on a single flower.

Several reports have documented the disappearance of bumblebees in Europe and Asia, but no one had done a large national study in the Americas.

Cameron's team did a three-year study of 382 sites in 40 states and also looked at more than 73,000 museum records.

"We show that the relative abundance of four species have declined by up to 96 percent and that their surveyed geographic ranges have contracted by 23 percent to 87 percent," they wrote.

While no crops are in immediate danger, the results show that experts need to pay attention, Cameron said. Pollinators such as bees and bats often have specific tongue lengths and pollination behaviors that have evolved along with the species of plants they pollinate.

Bumblebees can fly in colder weather than other species, and are key to pollinating native species in the tundra and at high elevations, Cameron said.

Genetic tests show that the four affected bumblebee species are inbred and other tests implicate a parasite called Nosema bombi, Cameron said.

"This is a wake-up call that bumblebee species are declining not only in Europe, not only in Asia, but also in North America," she said.
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61 comments // Researchers Find "Alarming" Decline In Bumblebees

  • Itsbatman_Durr
    • -2
      Itsbatman_Durr  

    • my theory is that instead of trying to save the bees, we should find why they are vanishing, and if we need to do something in their place. if nature wants the bees gone, so 'bee' it!

    • 1 year ago
  • Itsbatman_Durr
  • crownbees
    • +1
      crownbees  
    • Image

    • It's great to see media and science shifting views from "save the honeybee" to "there are actually other bees out there?"

      Incredulous has it down correctly: action is the best solution. Those of you who have yards, begin learning beyond your plants to what is pollinating them. There are over 4,000 species of bees/hornets/wasps in north america. Unfortunately the negative publicity of getting stung by a few of the aggressive ones has most people avoiding them all.

      My company is trying to help backyard gardeners be successful with raising the "mason bee", one of the simplest and non-aggresive bees out there. Native to north america, one of the most common mason bee is the Orchard Bee, which is only active in the spring.

      In a few years, as we begin to have more challenges with pollinating our orchards/crops, we'll be looking to urban/suburban gardeners for help with raising them. The NW Washington State area has already started.

      I challenge you to read what you can and look to your backyard to see what you can do yourself. Our website is a good place to begin. http://www.crownbees.com

    • 1 year ago
  • figgdimension
  • tommic
  • heathflax
    • +4
      heathflax  

    • This article is more detailed than many, and, for a short article, it makes its points well enough to get the thought process and consideration of the matter "going".
      In this commentary feedback so far, I "do" seem to notice much more on the, for lack of a better description, "shocked" or "assume-the-worst" side of things.
      From it (the article), some quotes:

      1. "no crops are in immediate danger".

      2. "50 species of bumblebees" [the studies, and their somewhat disturbing results, are for only four species]

      3. ' "ranges have contracted by 23 percent" '
      {yes, there is more to the sentence--which immediately adds, "to 87 percent"...
      but I think most are probably noticing , overwhelmingly, the 87 percent, and mostly not noticing the 23 percent at the other end of this, of how much the "ranges" have contracted (or "not greatly" relatively speaking, contracted. At the 23 percent contraction side of things, it could equally be said that at this low side of the apparently varied results, the range is actually 77 percent intact. If habitat loss alone where this latter figure applies, might happen to be more than 23 percent, then as to this part (either "some areas" or with "one of the species" , hard to guess which) there is some kind of result of bees "more" than holding their own. Holding their own, because, outside of special measures, lost habitat equals completely lost presence, lost population.

      Also of concern in the article, is the change from the introduction's figure of "96 percent " reduction in population, to , later down, a different version: "UP to 96 percent". "Up to" implies a range of figures, and so, besides a high end (96 percent), then also some (unspecified) other figure or figures, including presumably a "low end." So, this low end is, what? Only 20 percent? Only 10 percent? And wouldn't the low end figures, whatever they are, be an only fair thing to list, for balance's sake, since the high end number "is" listed?

      Reporters on involved, detailed matters, perhaps facing as well various external challenges such as those envisioned, can only do the best they can. The point is not so much to criticize their work...
      Yet we well know, that at least a little bias and slanting, however well intended it may be ('if' it's intentional) in interpretation of results, is just about inevitable.. We the consumers--in this case, the readers--and not "just" people like scientists or experts, and reporters, editors and publishers--may also tend to need to proceed with thought, cautiousness and care,

    • 1 year ago
  • toastyguy11
  • jeffreyak
  • MrMxyzptlk
  • Itsbatman_Durr
  • Itsbatman_Durr
  • JanforGore
  • Itsbatman_Durr
    • 0
      Itsbatman_Durr  
    • JanforGore:

      no its called wanting to blame humanity for everything that happens. we are part of the eco system. the eco system adjusts for us as well in the best way it can to keep it thriving. if the eco system has decided bees are no longer necessary, all the koomby ya's in the world won't save them, the same as they won't save us if the eco system decides to shrug us out of the picture. yes there are things we can do, but trying to force every line of thought and false logic back to the point where you can blame 'evil humans' is not the way.

      until obsessives on both side of the spectrum admit these things, nothing will get done about things that actually are within our domain to deal with

    • 1 year ago
  • crownbees
    • +2
      crownbees  
    • JanforGore:

      Biggest issue is globalization. We're moving bees that have evolved along with their companion pests for centuries to places where fresh pests have their day.

      honeybees of Asia learned to groom off the mites in order to survive. Not-so-wise people took these Asian bees to Europe and North America and mixed them within their hives. The mites exploded throughout both continents because these bees didn't know how to groom. Nosema and verroa are two horrible virus spread by these mites.

      Again, we should look to using native bees to solve our issues, not bring in imports that seem to do well elsewhere. Bad business.

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  
    • crownbees:

      I agree. Globalization has stretched the bee population to its limits. So we now have a limited population dealing with needing to pollinate a world far removed from what it was even fifty years ago. It simply is not sustainable, and that is actually my point in corrolating those stresses to other environmental factors such as pesticides and cross pollination of GMOs that are also foreign to them.

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
  • Itsbatman_Durr
    • +1
      Itsbatman_Durr  
    • JanforGore:

      you are so condescending to anyone who doesn't agree with you. i hate to break the news, but you don't have a monopoly on the truth or the right way. you have an opinion, same as the rest of us. sometimes your opinions make sense. other times you seem too blinded by the dogma to see the actual truth. either way, you are entitled to yours but please don't confuse them with facts, or use them to belittle others opinions

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
    • -1
      JanforGore  
    • Itsbatman_Durr:

      You called people "obsessives" simply for bringing up other factors in this. I think you have condescending covered pretty well here. And with the postings I see here on a daily basis from the same ones who only come into threads like this to belittle and insult, there is no comparison.

    • 1 year ago
  • Itsbatman_Durr
    • +1
      Itsbatman_Durr  
    • JanforGore:

      no, i didn't call anyone obsessives, i do however call those who automatically read into every story what they want to read into it to fit their personal life view, and change the crux of a story to fit their position, like those who are blaming pesticides when they were not even mentioned in the story at all as a cause obsessive, yes

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
    • -1
      JanforGore  
    • Itsbatman_Durr:

      Well gee, globalization wasn't mentioned in the article either, but I don't recall any problem with discussing that. The application of glyphosate kills all other plant life except the resistant crops. Any flowering weeds within the GMO crops, as well as those in ditches, irrigation canals, etc are all killed which also leaves bees with a less than biodiverse diet which can also effect their immune systems and make them more susceptible to parasites. A large number of researchers believe that monoculture diets are a major factor in bee decline. Therefore, in explaining why such large numbers of bees may have fallen to parasites those other factors are relevant whether "covered in the article" or not. It's not about "my personal life view" but the real factors involved and that is where I am leaving this.

    • 1 year ago
  • Itsbatman_Durr
    • -1
      Itsbatman_Durr  
    • JanforGore:

      i wasnt so much complaining about you mentioning other possible factors, so much as the way you made YOUR factors seem like they were a) part of the story, and b) the most important to the exclusion of all others, as you have done repeatedly on this site. You tend to be tunnel visioned and condescending to a fault on these boards, and I feel that sometimes your message is important enough that I would hope you would tone it down at times, especially when directed at me, so that others will see the message more and the attitude of the messenger less

    • 1 year ago
  • jeffreyak
  • artemis6
  • artemis6
    • 0
      artemis6  
    • artemis6:

      my garden was only half fertilized this year , now i know why .
      you can try fertilization with the end of a feather , it worked for me indoors with tomatoes .

    • 1 year ago
  • rondotron
  • keithponder
  • ayipis
    • -7
      ayipis  

    • is there anything that you guys puke out that does not involve some evil "white dude conspiracy shit??
      lord almighty...you guys talk like you are not part of the human race LOL..

    • 1 year ago
  • coolplanet
  • Itsbatman_Durr
  • ayipis
    • -4
      ayipis  

    • am i the only one that notices that environuts wants to save everything BUT NEVER REALLY SAVED ANYTHING..LOL as a matter of fact things get pretty complicate when get involved..

    • 1 year ago
  • projectmayhem
  • coolplanet
  • onemalefla
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  
    • onemalefla:

      Well then you must not have GMOS or pesticides on your acreage. Some people underestimate how smart animals are in trying to avoid that which harms them, unlike humans who keep making it because they think green paper makes it all better.

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
  • JanforGore
  • bailey78
    • +2
      bailey78  
    • JanforGore:

      Yep time to put the can of bug spray down learn to catch and release them back outdoors where they belong. I hate to kill little bees or wasp of any kind. Have ya noteiced how many kinds of bug spray they make? Why do we need to kill every living thing we think is of no service to us when in reality it is all so very important??

    • 1 year ago
  • Incredulous
  • ayipis
  • ayipis
  • bailey78
    • +1
      bailey78  
    • ayipis:

      Yes I am very serious. I don't joke about little bug life. I think more of little Critters and bugs than I do most people. They have a purpose most Humans are WELL just pest that destroy more than any other creature on Earth.

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
  • Itsbatman_Durr
  • bailey78
  • Itsbatman_Durr
  • bailey78
  • jj2010
    • +1
      jj2010  

    • We better open and BeeZoo? This is the things the government will turn their heads and hide their tails between their legs and do nothing about. Please prove me wrong. I wish we new how to work with our ecosystem and not against it!

    • 1 year ago
  • coolplanet
    • +5
      coolplanet  

    • This is horrible!
      When I first learned about the bee die-off five years ago I planted a bee garden all around my yard -- bee balm, lavender, thyme, echinacia, alysum, sunflower, squash, etc -- and replaced my grass lawn with clover, requiring no fertilizers or pesticides. It is beautiful and awesomely attracts swarms of honeybees, bumble bees and native mason bees.
      I leave piles of wood under trees for the native bees to nest in. I've learned that bees are doing better in suburbs than in the country where farmers use Bayer's new Bush-approved pesticides.
      My neighbors have actually complained about our "weedy" lawn, piles of wood and plants that attract so many bees. But when I explain why I'm doing it they shut up. A few have even fired ChemLawn!

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
    • +4
      JanforGore  
    • coolplanet:

      Sounds beautiful. I learned firsthand as a child how wood piles under trees attract bees. My brother and I moved some of it while playing and a whole bunch of them started chasing us. I got into the house and thought I was scott free... until I sat down. Got me right in the butt...Those were the good old days.

    • 1 year ago
  • Incredulous
    • +4
      Incredulous  
    • coolplanet:

      I live in a rural area where the only thing being harvested around me is hay. The guy doesn't fertilize the field, and I have trees surrounding my yard, and yeah, lots of piles of wood under and around them too, but that clover idea sounds like a good plan. I don't use any pesticides in my yard, organic garden, and have had plenty of bees all summer, including Bumble Bees, although my German Shepherd loves to chase them and snap at them if they come up on the deck. He takes his guard dog duties a little too seriously at times.

    • 1 year ago
  • coolplanet
    • 0
      coolplanet  
    • Incredulous:

      You give me some faith in the future.
      And the present.
      I grew up on a farm like that. But now it's been sold out to the oil frackers.
      Next time I visit I will ask them if they can light their water faucets yet.

    • 1 year ago
  • idealist
  • NiceN
    • +4
      NiceN  

    • It's a FDA approved pesticide thats killing the bees. Lets not pretend this is natural or a mystery, this is a man made dilemma.

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
  • Incredulous
    • +3
      Incredulous  

    • so I guess we can expect Monsanto to come up with plants that no longer need pollinating....what would we do without Monsanto?

      oh I dunno....maybe live well and prosper?

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
  • Eddie_Miller
  • bailey78
  • JanforGore
  • projectmayhem
  • coolplanet
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