Movies | May 02, 2010 | 83 comments

Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/02/food-fear-mystery-beehives-collapse

Image
JanforGore
The evidence that honeybees are in terminal decline has emerged from the United States where, for the fourth year in a row, more than a third of colonies have failed to survive the winter.

The decline of the country's estimated 2.4 million beehives began in 2006, when a phenomenon dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD) led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies. Since then more than three million colonies in the US and billions of honeybees worldwide have died and scientists are no nearer to knowing what is causing the catastrophic fall in numbers.

The number of managed honeybee colonies in the US fell by 33.8% last winter, according to the annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the US government's Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

The collapse in the global honeybee population is a major threat to crops. It is estimated that a third of everything we eat depends upon honeybee pollination, which means that bees contribute some £26bn to the global economy.

Potential causes range from parasites, such as the bloodsucking varroa mite, to viral and bacterial infections, pesticides and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods. The disappearance of so many colonies has also been dubbed "Mary Celeste syndrome" due to the absence of dead bees in many of the empty hives.

US scientists have found 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax and pollen, lending credence to the notion that pesticides are a key problem. "We believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide exposure and other stressors are converging to kill colonies," said Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS's bee research laboratory.

A global review of honeybee deaths by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reported last week that there was no one single cause, but pointed the finger at the "irresponsible use" of pesticides that may damage bee health and make them more susceptible to diseases. Bernard Vallat, the OIE's director-general, warned: "Bees contribute to global food security, and their extinction would represent a terrible biological disaster."

Dave Hackenberg of Hackenberg Apiaries, the Pennsylvania-based commercial beekeeper who first raised the alarm about CCD, said that last year had been the worst yet for bee losses, with 62% of his 2,600 hives dying between May 2009 and April 2010. "It's getting worse," he said. "The AIA survey doesn't give you the full picture because it is only measuring losses through the winter. In the summer the bees are exposed to lots of pesticides. Farmers mix them together and no one has any idea what the effects might be."

Pettis agreed that losses in some commercial operations are running at 50% or greater. "Continued losses of this magnitude are not economically sustainable for commercial beekeepers," he said, adding that a solution may be years away. "Look at Aids, they have billions in research dollars and a causative agent and still no cure. Research takes time and beehives are complex organisms."

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83 comments // Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe

  • TheForeteller
  • CarolynJ
  • ampersand
    • +1
      ampersand  

    • The Bees Knees and Other Important Parts:
      With the exception of one highly partisan cattleman (who touted his fondness Roundup, Post, Velpar, Renovate and Oust for Ag operations) and trucks his sideline bee hives 1600 miles every year, I still haven't heard from US bee-keepers about what they feel about the origin and the extent of the CCD problem.

      I have learned that DDT is still banned in the US but that some tropical countries (South Africa for one) faced with the threat of malaria find a once a year application of DDT on the interior walls of the home to be the most effective and low-cost method to fight malaria.

      I learned that you can ask someone a point blank question twice about their direct current or past association with the substances in the case they are arguing for, (DDT in this instance) and not get a reply, but note at the same time, massive amounts of personal invective directed against others on the site for line after line and post after post.

      It is a strange world, my honeys.
      Filled to overflowing, in my mind, with quarrelsome rapacious monkeys.
      As for myself, I find it's a good thing I've gotten philosophical about the fate of all of my fellow howlers.
      How are you all holding up?

    • 2 years ago
  • csmonut
    • 0
      csmonut  

    • The B & W picture on the header reminds me of a portion of a song..."all the shapes and shades, that made the colors seen, have suddenly turned gray, and it's no longer there."

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +3
      JanforGore  
    • Image

    • http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1857287/mass_honey_bee_die_off_has_many_rea...

      I also think biodiversity loss is having a great effect on bees as well, and in agriculture that translates to monocultures. Deforesting huge tracts of land to only grow one crop season after season depletes the soil and also the amount of land needed for a diverse amount of crops to be pollinated. As also mentioned in this link, experts also believe climate change may also be having an effect on them. Warmer temperatures and wetter conditions can breed parasites and move them into areas they would normally not be found in. Whatever the causes, it is imperative we change our approach to bugs and to our way of growing food and respecting the biodiversity of this planet. One way to do that is through sustainable agriculture, permaculture, biodynamics, and organic farming.

    • 2 years ago
  • NothingIsAbsoluteTruth
    • +2
      NothingIsAbsoluteTruth  

    • when this has been aired on news i wonder how many people said" who the fuck cares about bees?" we should be very concerned because they spread pollen which "breeds" flowers. cant just have an insect like that just die off... there will be consequences

    • 2 years ago
  • Incredulous
    • +2
      Incredulous  

    • Interesting that he said look at Aids, lot of similarities, but "pesticides and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods" I think is the real elephant in the room that Congress makes only faltering attempts to deal with. When you are represented by a government that puts the wants and needs of corporate greed before all else....environment, health and humanity, then things have to get a lot worse before they get better, because Congress listens to corporations first, people, maybe second.

    • 2 years ago
  • newsrelease
    • 0
      newsrelease  

    • PESTICIDES ETC...
      COME FROM OIL, PETROLEUM...
      BUT ALSO WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF OIL, SINCE IS PART OF THE ECOSYSTEM.
      BUT IS POISON TO US AND TO ALL...

      SAVE THE PLANET GROUP

    • 2 years ago
  • 2helenahandbasket
  • EmperorThan
    • +2
      EmperorThan  

    • There used to be tons of honey bees around here when I was little. Fucking everywhere. Then from about 2002 to 2009 I didn't see a single one.

      I did see ONE this year though. May be hope in saving them yet.

    • 2 years ago
  • EmperorThan
    • +2
      EmperorThan  

    • One day when they're extinct I'll get to tell my kids what a bee sting felt like. Then I'll start crying and they'll be like "That sounds fucking awful, why are you crying that they went extinct???" lol

      "Because scientists told me I should... and we must always listen to scientists, children."

    • 2 years ago
  • diode
  • olddogdaddy
  • dirtycurty
    • 0
      dirtycurty  

    • i would have to say that due to the lack of dead bees found at the hives, that the theory that cell-phone waves are making it more difficult for bees to find their way back to their hives should be given more consideration. i'm no expert, of course, but i do think it would be interesting to see a graph that calculates the rise of cell-phone use in the u.s. vs. the rise of bee depopulation and see if there is any correlation. i would imagine someone's done that by now, but i've yet to see such a graph (and i do actually follow this story a little), and i think it's at least a theory that should be paid more attention to.

    • 2 years ago
  • treewolf39
  • Incredulous
  • ampersand
    • +3
      ampersand  

    • As this discussion thread is in two places, I'm posting this on both.
      Since the discussion has been widened to impacts of DTT, to have everyone on the same page, here are a few introductory paragraphs from Wikipedia on the subject:
      In 1962, Silent Spring by American biologist Rachel Carson was published. The book catalogued the environmental impacts of the indiscriminate spraying of DDT in the US and questioned the logic of releasing large amounts of chemicals into the environment without fully understanding their effects on ecology or human health. The book suggested that DDT and other pesticides may cause cancer and that their agricultural use was a threat to wildlife, particularly birds. Its publication was one of the signature events in the birth of the environmental movement, and resulted in a large public outcry that eventually led to DDT being banned in the US in 1972.[4] DDT was subsequently banned for agricultural use worldwide under the Stockholm Convention, but its limited use in disease vector control continues to this day and remains controversial.[5]

      Along with the passage of the Endangered Species Act, the US ban on DDT is cited by scientists as a major factor in the comeback of the bald eagle, the national bird of the United States,[6] from near-extinction in the contiguous US.[7]

    • 2 years ago
  • meddelem
    • +2
      meddelem  

    • during dire times; Americans were ordered to grow hemp.

      will Americans be ordered to grow bee colonies?

      it's definitely a white house issue.,

    • 2 years ago
  • cutee_leslie
  • inyourstory
  • Kurta
  • onechance
  • twohawks
  • Kurta
    • +3
      Kurta  

    • I certainly wouldn't rule anything out. I know a person who had raised bees for decades and she had initially lost ~80% of the population. It's rebounded to around ~40% the original population since. It seemed to start around 2002 for her and it's interesting to note that this was around the same time two of the neighboring farms went corporate. Maybe a coincidence. I don't even see bees around my yard anymore.

      I wonder it there are any studies further up the food chain finding any ill effects in bee predators like bats, birds, and amphibians. I'll see if I can find any.

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • +5
      JanforGore  
    • Image

    • http://gmo-journal.com/index.php/2009/09/24/is-bee-colony-collapse-disorder-link...

      To think this can be totally discounted as one possible cause is simply living in denial, and you are either invested in them or you work for Monsanto.

      ________

      "Despite research on the issue, the causes of CCD are still not well understood. For starters, bees must overcome ever increasing amounts of pesticides to survive. Then there are diseases. Scientists now point to honey bee’s susceptibility to viruses, carried and transmitted by varroa mites, as well as fungus, and nosema ceranae, that bring devastating disease among bees already stressed by overuse of pesticides, recent dry weather, migratory beekeeping, and pollution. One cause that has also been in the eye of some researchers is the aggressive use of transgenic crops in the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe that has exploded over the past 13 years.

      There are conflicting studies on the possible contribution of GMOs to CCD. Certainly, the overuse of pesticides and miticides has long been suspected as a major contributor and possible cause to this conundrum. A study done in University of Pennsylvania has shown that at least one pesticide was present in 100 flower and grass samples examined by researchers and in some cases the number of different pesticides reached six. Traditional pesticides are typically sprayed during periods of lowest bee activity and they have topical residual strength limited to under 2 hours, sometimes up to 4 hours. Pest-resistant GM plants, however, produce Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bio-toxin from all parts of the plant around the clock. While several studies have demonstrated that amounts of Bt proteins produced by the GM plants are not directly hazardous to bees, researchers have also shown that “a chance infestation by parasites (microsporidia) resulted in more significant damage to the Bt-fed colonies.” In other words, even sub-lethal exposure to pollen from Bt plants affect bee immunity by decreasing their ability to fight off diseases and parasites. One must wonder how years of on-going exposure may have impacted bees especially since the majority of the main four industrial crops grown in the U.S. (i.e., corn, cotton, soy and canola) are now genetically-engineered for pest-resistance.

      It is clear that CCD has the potential to wipe out honey bee colonies, thereby dramatically altering the way food is grown. It is also clear that additional research of the causes of CCD may require us to change our growing and cultivating methods. I would encourage everyone to learn more about CCD, GMOs, and global food security issues and challenges they pose to our way of life."

    • 2 years ago
  • Jake_Leonard
    • 0
      Jake_Leonard  

    • I read somewhere about how swimming pools are hitting the bee population hard. I know every single time I go out to my pool, there is at least one bee trapped by the water. Some are able to latch onto the pebble rock texture, dry off, and escape... Others, however...

    • 2 years ago
  • Dagum
    • 0
      Dagum  

    • Colony collapse disorder (CCD) will probably be in the upcoming version of the DSM, with companion pharmaceutical drug to cure stressed bees

    • 2 years ago
  • treewolf39
  • corndog67
    • -7
      corndog67  

    • But Jan, don't GMOs cause everything from athletes foot to aids? Have you linked them to nuclear weapons in North Korea, Sudden Infant Death in third world countries, and the rise in Hepatitis C cases in intravenous drug users? What about Pine Pitch Canker in Californias Pine Trees? They also caused the rollover accidents in Ford Explorers, and also the unintended acceleration problems in the latest Toyotas.

      You should sue Monsanto.

    • 2 years ago
  • ampersand
    • +4
      ampersand  

    • Another comment; isn't it odd that both the sources we've cited in this thread on bee colony collapse in the United States, are from Great Britain?

    • 2 years ago
  • NothingIsAbsoluteTruth
  • keithponder
    • +4
      keithponder  

    • My garage is stocked with food and water. People are just plain stupid to think that a food storage can't happen in America.

      Great post as usual Jan.

    • 2 years ago
  • treewolf39
  • ampersand
    • +3
      ampersand  
    • Image
    • keithponder:

      Keith and Treewolf,
      Here is a re-posting of an article from the Economist I posted last spring. The article cites the primary suspected causes of CCD in commercial honeybee operations.
      Interestingly, the article also disputes the scope of the problem as well, so it's food for thought. The Economist is a conservative (in the British sense) magazine very much in support of capitalism as a the primary engine of advancement of civilization, but they also have a long and respected reputation for getting the facts right.
      I don't have a dog in this fight so I'm not advocating either view as being holy writ; I'm just presenting this as another source which cites current field research.

      Almost instinctively, I'd suspect agricultural pesticides as well as stress for the massive and constantly relocated pollinating bee colonies. They can't be any healthier than crowded factory farm chicken. The bees are constantly exposed to radically different sites and then have only one mono-crop to engage with when are released to pollinate.
      Thankfully, for us all, the wild native bees are doing just fine.
      Native bees are 75% more efficient in pollinating plants here than the European honey bee. The European honeybee is used in commercial US agriculture because it's not picky what it pollinates, and it's lack of efficiency, is made up by its massive numbers in commercial colonies.

      http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13226733

      In recent years, there has been alarm over possible shortages of honeybees and scary stories of beekeepers finding that 30-50% of their charges have vanished over the winter. It is called colony collapse disorder (CCD), and its cause remains a mystery. In California the shortage of bees has been replaced by a glut.

      One explanation offered by both Dr Ratnieks and Mr Traynor is of a once-rare disease, possibly caused by the Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), sweeping through colonies that have already been weakened by parasites such as Nosema ceranae, a parasitic fungus from Asia. Some have suggested that N. ceranae alone might be sufficient to cause CCD, as the fungus is believed to have been widespread since 2006, when CCD first became a problem. There is also Varroa, a parasitic mite, which has been another problem in bees for some time, and which might also transmit the IAPV. But there is almost certainly a further factor causing stress on the bees—a poor diet.

      Despite the importance of the honeybee, none of this is evidence of a wide-scale pollination crisis or a threat that is specific to pollinators. No one has shown that colonies of wild bees are collapsing any more frequently than they used to. And while it is true that many species of butterflies, moths, birds, bats and other pollinators are in retreat, their problems are far more likely to mirror broader declines in biodiversity that are the result of well-known phenomena such as habitat loss and the intensification of agriculture.

      Though the idea that there is a broader and costly pollination crisis under way is entrenched (the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation is spending $28m on a report investigating it), the true picture is cloudier. In 2006 America’s National Academy of Sciences released a report on the status of pollinators in North America that concluded “for most North American pollinator species, long-term population data are lacking and knowledge of their basic ecology is incomplete.” Simply put, nobody knows. As for the managed bees of America, Dr Ratnieks says that “the imminent death of the honeybee has been reported so many times, but it has not happened and is not likely to do so”.

    • 2 years ago
  • FoosMaster
  • bombastinator
  • tenletterz
  • ampersand
    • +1
      ampersand  
    • tenletterz:

      As the research itself has indicated stress (colonies constantly on the move hundreds of miles by truck to the next site) along with the high probability that exposure to agricultural pesticides weaken the bee's immune system for the final actor/catalyst to kill the bees,
      I wasn't adding anything not already identified as a causal factor.

      If your intent is to ridicule the concerns of "some greenies" I'd say your efforts are very foolishly misplaced.
      There is a real phenomena at work here, as every report shows. There may be some difference about the scope of the problem and it's ultimate impact, but not the observed events or the serious nature of the problem.

      Your comments remind me of the folks in the DDT lobby that spent so much time trying to attack Rachel Carson rather than address the problem she so clearly identified.

      If you have children, or are concerned about the health of the environment (which is ultimately your own health, and the health of your family), I'd recommend you take a look at what seems to be your "blind side."

      Neither health or the environment should be a partisan issue.
      Stay with the science and try and lay your projected prejudices and resentments aside.

    • 2 years ago
  • tenletterz
  • ampersand
    • 0
      ampersand  
    • tenletterz:

      My bees are fine too, thank you; I don't transport them 1600 miles a year though.

      I'm a bit confused by your comment on DDT.
      You seem to be saying that the concerns about the hazards posed by DDT were "hysteria?"
      I must have misunderstood.
      What were you trying to say?

    • 2 years ago
  • tenletterz
  • JanforGore
  • ampersand
    • +2
      ampersand  
    • tenletterz:

      We are all an experiment on this earth, of course, and frankly, I think this is the most rewarding part of engaging with that diversity, hearing from folks who occupy a quite different world, or world view. Hopefully, we can gather enough information on their particular experiment to make conclusions of our own on how to best proceed.

      Tenlettterz, let's assume that you don't have any direct interest in the herbicides and pesticides. (Please let me know if you do, yes?)
      I am sincerely curious about the overall long-term effects of the herbicides and pesticides that you cite an enthusiasm for; Roundup, Post, Velpar, Renovate, and Oust.

      How do you really know your use of these chemical cocktails have had no deleterious effects on the environment around you, or your own health, or the health of your children?

      There seems to be a lot of evidence that these chemical cocktails--which are designed after all, to kill things---just aren't that healthy in contact with our own systems as well as the inter-related systems of life around us that we all ultimately depend on.

      Some of this evidence often emerges decades after we've eagerly taken up the latest new chemical cocktail--as in discovering that drinking out of warm plastic bottles can disrupt ones endocrine system, or the growing resistance to antibiotics and creation of antibiotic resistant"super bugs," or the sudden sharp rise in autism, which researchers now bluntly say has an introduced "environmental" cause.

      One could even consider the massive amounts of pharmaceutical drugs that pass unchanged through us to our water systems affect the sexual characteristics of frogs.
      (I could make a joke here about Viagra infused frogs, but we'll desist for now.)

      The point is, you seem very self-assured about all the ultimate implications of your use of these chemicals.
      I wonder if, in a year, or a decade, someone in your family may look back and say, you know, I wonder if all those things Dad was using on the crops had any effect on this?

      One thing I've learned over time is that I don't know everything.
      I've learned to be just a little more cautious about sweeping statements and grand pronouncements.
      I'd say, let's keep tabs on you, and if possible, have your family members chime in and give us a more fully rounded picture of the possible implications of your certainty.
      You may be perfectly right.
      However, I, myself, with the information I now have, must say that I doubt that.

    • 2 years ago
  • tenletterz
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  
    • tenletterz:

      Pesticides made your life brighter? What company are you shilling for? You are disgusting. I feel sorry for your children. Do you also teach them to be as rude and disgusting to people as you are here? You sound like nothing more than a politically partisan corporate whore. You like using that word so much with me, well, it goes right back on you. And there is scientific evidence to show the toxicity of pesticides (which is why many have been BANNED) but you go ahead living in your dreamworld if it makes your conscience any clearer. You aren't fooling those of us who have actually been reading your tripe here the last few days. And please, by all means, sit here all day now responding to this telling your lies while telling me to get a job.

    • 2 years ago
  • tenletterz
  • ampersand
    • +1
      ampersand  
    • tenletterz:

      Given your wholly supportive view of DDT I feel that I have to ask again, what is, or has been, your specific connection to DDT and other pesticides?
      Only once before I've encountered the same view and that came from a man who began his climb to wealth selling DDT to wine growers.
      Thankfully now, years later from that era, I don't have to worry about DTT in my wine.
      There may be other concerns, but wine grapes do fine without it.

      The key point I see here is that yes, DDT effectively did kill mosquitoes and other insects, but at what eventual cost? DDT, like electroshock therapy, might have been a rational choice to make at one time but our understanding of biology has grown tremendously since the 1940's.

      When you assert that some companies have been successful in selling DDT to some third world countries, I'm reminded that companies continued to sell DDT to the Third World long after it was banned in the U.S.
      That, and the sad fact that through corruption and ignorance the Third World, having fewer restraints and far less oversight than many developed countries, is a prime dumping ground for toxic, but still lucrative, First World practices and products.

    • 2 years ago
  • tenletterz
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  
    • tenletterz:

      LOL, as usual, I'm stupid, I had a tawdry life... blah, blah, blah... same old tired insults... code language for, I'm the one who is really as dumb as a box of rocks so I will try to hide my own ignorance by insulting someone else. FYI, DDT was banned for a good reason, it kills more than mosquitoes, it kills birds, fish, and toxifies air, water, and humans ... for GENERATIONS. Resistance was built up against it, and then you saw catastrophic environmental problems, just like we are now seeing with ROUND UP. That is the point, not your selfish tunnel vision. But then, politically partisan corporate whores don't know anything but the same preprogrammed message. Like Ampersand, I'm trying to figure out where you make your money from. Anyone who hawks the poisoning of the planet as much as you do must be getting some sort of monetary compensation.

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  
    • ampersand:

      Well. Ampersand, it was absolutely right that DDT was banned. It's poison.

      http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Actives/ddt.htm

      There are natural ways to repel mosquitoes, but of course, pesticide companies don't make $$$$$$$ by people knowing that. Eucalyptus oil, lemon oil, even Vicks vaporub I heard repels them. Of course, the most effective ways are mosquito nets, and actually working to increase the standard of living in the developing world to provide adequate shelter for people, decrease the amount of toxic stagnant water that draws them in the first place, etc. That is why people who go on and on and on about how good DDT is really do begin to sound like shills.

    • 2 years ago
  • tenletterz
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  
    • tenletterz:

      http://lives.be

      Look at the year the incidences of malaria went up and you will see it coincides with the fact that like many pesticides, resistance to DDT increased, just as what is now happening regarding ROUND UP and weeds. So you would have kept on spraying it even though mosquitoes built up a resistance to it at the actual expense of the ecosystems that support those people's lives. Real bright.

    • 2 years ago
  • artemis6
    • +1
      artemis6  
    • JanforGore:

      For mosquitoes ? "herbal Armor " totally repels 'em . It is a mix of essential oils , safe for children . Love that stuff . Neem oil mixed with water for the plants ... no need for chemicals at all . Just work in harmony with nature . Everything has a counterbalance .

    • 2 years ago
  • Incredulous
  • Incredulous
    • +1
      Incredulous  
    • tenletterz:

      "I'd also hate to run an ag operation without Roundup, Post, Velpar, Renovate and Oust."

      and herein lies the dilemma for all of us, ag operations have become dependent on chemicals that we have never known the full scope of their potential hazards.

      One of the most egregious cases of marketing without adequate knowledge of potential hazards has been the use of asbestos, but it was only the public that didn't know. Manufactures knew and they chose to ignore. Since the 1930s we have known that asbestos does not pose a possible risk, it cause CERTAIN death, maybe not right now, but once breathed in, it never comes out until it eventually kills you, and industry put it in everything from brakes to elementary school ceilings.

      We do not have a good record of protecting the health and well being of the public when it comes to our industries and the almighty dollar. The bees are no exception to our callous disregard of health and well being in favor of profits.

    • 2 years ago
  • NothingIsAbsoluteTruth
  • Incredulous
    • +1
      Incredulous  
    • tenletterz:

      yes and no. mites are predatory, which means they are going to be more prolific with a weakened host, and it is in our best interest to figure out all of the things that are weakening the host.

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • +3
      JanforGore  
    • tenletterz:

      Yes, you're a typical political ass. You see everything in the partisan political prism, which accounts for your vapidness. You actually think I am against pesticides because I am LIBERAL? That I see this as a POLITICAL ISSUE? Boy, are you ever myopic and dense. I am against pesticides because they POISON THE EARTH AND EVERYTHING LIVING ON IT ( which is what you worship) and it is unnecessary. But please, by all means don't process that, just come back and tell me I'm stupid again because it makes you feel so superior. Big man...

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • treewolf39
  • Incredulous
    • 0
      Incredulous  
    • JanforGore:

      Gates foundation is funding some very interesting inroads for controlling mosquitoes, but as with most research, there must be a way to make the results affordable to those who need it most.

    • 2 years ago
  • treewolf39
    • +1
      treewolf39  

    • I am still wondering if there may be a connection to cell phones and /or wireless radio waves. There is so much that we do not know about the ways other creatures communicate and navigate.

    • 2 years ago
  • csmonut
    • +3
      csmonut  
    • treewolf39:

      Just like the Navy denying their frequencies interfere with whale navigation, when other studies show there is a very strong possibility it does.
      Man-made radio frequencies have a potential to disrupt many things...even the frequency humans "vibrate" at, or the frequency the earth itself has.
      As for the bees...it is likely GMOs and pesticides, but it could be a combination of all these rolled into one.
      Wouldn't surprise me if the makers of GMOs already know it's their fault, and happy to see it, as it will make their crap the only thing that can be used.

    • 2 years ago
  • treewolf39
    • 0
      treewolf39  
    • csmonut:

      As wi-fi has become more accessible in my tiny coastal town, complaints of ringing or high pitched sound has risen. We laugh about it but I believe that we may be harming ourselves. Kind of like cancer rates of people who live near, or almost under, high power lines.

    • 2 years ago
  • bombastinator
  • Blind_Watchmaker
    • +1
      Blind_Watchmaker  
    • treewolf39:

      There's been some research done studying the effects of man made electromagnetic interference affecting bee's homing abilities that's revealed some very telling results...

      This site's got a whole lot of links to studies done in that area, http://www.hese-project.org/hese-uk/en/issues/emr.php?id=bees

      One study in particular jumped out at me

      > 2 beehives were unexposed and 2 beehives were exposed to a DECT phone.

      > 25 bees were selected from each beehive and released 800 meters away.

      > Unexposed beehives: 16 and 17 bees returned after respectively 28 and 32 minutes.

      > DECT-exposed ones: 6 bees returned after 38 minutes to one hive. The other hive
      remained deserted.

      >In the exposed beehives, there were 21 per cent fewer cells constructed in the hive frames after 9 days.

      Still, i don't think the population decline worldwide can be attributed to one reason, all i know is that fast action needed.

    • 2 years ago
  • treewolf39
  • treewolf39
  • artemis6
  • csmonut
    • 0
      csmonut  
    • treewolf39:

      Interesting.....I have tinnitis, and I can here the buzzing/ringing when it's reasonably quiet, so I probably wouldn't notice a sound like you write about.

      No doubt the wi-fi frequencies may be interfering with something, as so many creatures use sound and sound waves for communication and sensing.

    • 2 years ago
  • FoosMaster
    • +3
      FoosMaster  

    • The EPA and other similar organizations around the world need to get Tough on the use of pesticides, GMOs, and other forms of crop protection at the expense of wildlife before it is too late, but I fear that it may already be too late.

      The Big Money interests of the corporations responsible for this catastrophe will continue to protect their profits with bribes to politicians and agency officials until everything collapses and then they will “take the money and run”. The entire World is being destroyed by the GREED of big corporations, not just concerning this issue but many other environmental issues around the world.

      There are many ways that each of us can make a Small difference but something BIG needs to be done about the corporate greed that is destroying our planet. I really don’t know what BIG action can be done to stop this madness but Something BIG Needs to be done before it is too late, if it is not already too late.

    • 2 years ago
  • lamborghini
  • JanforGore
    • +5
      JanforGore  

    • I still contend that GMOS are one of the main culprits in colony collapse disorder. Bees cannot pollinate pesticide crops not only because of the BT and pesticides in Round Up Ready crops, but also the DNA of the alien species in them (spiders, fireflies, fish, etc.) and I believe they are picking up pesticides and the viruses injected into these crossbred monstrosities and passing them on to their colonies, and it is killing them. Of course, if that actually were discovered or at this time known to be the reason, you can be rest assured that the biotech companies involved in collusion with governments and media would be working hard to keep that secret as well.

    • 2 years ago
  • s_peak
  • csmonut
  • PressCore
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  
    • JanforGore:

      That doesn't agree with the science at all, but i suppose it isn't any worse than treewolf's idea that it must be radio waves. There are a few things that are known about colony collapse disorder. It is autoimmune in at least some fashion, and some types of bees, such as bumble bees are at least partially resistant. Both of these facts imply that GMO is unlikely to be the problem.

      That's the problem with having a be all and end all cause. As the saying goes "when you are holding a hammer every problem looks like a nail."

    • 2 years ago
  • bombastinator
  • treewolf39
  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  
    • treewolf39:

      Exactly. Just as I stated I contend it is ONE of the causes, not THE cause. And I will continue to believe that regardless of what some know it all who doesn't read comments tries to push on others without their own proof to back up what they say.

    • 2 years ago
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