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Humans out of balance = nature out of balance
“All of the different species of bumblebees that we sampled around greenhouses showed the same pattern: really high levels of infection near greenhouses and then declining levels of infection as you moved out,” said Michael Otterstatter of the University of Toronto, one of the researchers". “All of the different species of bumblebees that we sampled around greenhouses showed the same pattern: really high levels of infectio... more
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Commercially bred bees spread disease to wild bees
"Disease spread to wild bees from commercially bred bees used for pollination in agriculture greenhouses may be playing a role in the mysterious decline in North American bee populations, researchers said on Tuesday.
Most of the parasites in the wild bumblebees were found to be at normal levels except for one intestinal parasite known as Crithidia bombi that is common in commercial bee colonies but typically absent in wild bumblebees.
The researchers found that up to half of wild bumblebees near the greenhouses were infected with this parasite.
"All of the different species of bumblebees that we sampled around greenhouses showed the same pattern: really high levels of infection near greenhouses and then declining levels of infection as you moved out," said Michael Otterstatter of the University of Toronto, one of the researchers.
"It was quite obvious that this was coming from the greenhouses and it was a general adverse effect on the bumblebees," Otterstatter added in a telephone interview." "Disease spread to wild bees from commercially bred bees used for pollination in agriculture greenhouses may be playing a role in the ... more -
Bees battle crows in the skies over Tokyo
Part of the problem is garbage – having no large landfills, Tokyo's garbage tends to sit outside until carted away, and in the interval becomes a fetid feast for the winged scavengers. It should also be mentioned that Tokyo crows aren't like the crows most of us are familiar with. Nope, these are crows on steroids, Terminator crows, Corvus Maximus as it were. They're big, mean, sport wickedly curved beaks and travel in flying wolf packs. Part of the problem is garbage – having no large landfills, Tokyo's garbage tends to sit outside until carted away, and in the interva... more
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12 Million Bees Escape After Car Crash
It must have been a driver's worst nightmare - cruising down the highway and suddenly running smack into millions of angry swarming bees.
The bees were on the loose in California after a truck in which they were being transported flipped on its side on the highway.
The California Highway Patrol said eight to 12 million of the honey bees escaped from the crates in which they were stored.
The truck was carrying over 400 beehives with 30,000 bees in each.
The bees stung police officers, fire crews, and tow truck drivers trying to corral them after the accident.
"People were being stung left and right. It was an ugly, ugly scene," one police officer said.
The great escape happened near Sacramento and the insects swarmed over an area of Highway 99.
For seven hours authorities brought in handlers who used smoke in a bid to calm the bees and coax them back into the hives.
Several beekeepers driving past the accident stopped to help the emergency services deal with the bees.
The highway had to be closed for a period.
Police did not know what caused the tractor trailer carrying the bees to flip over while entering the highway on its way to Yakima, Washington. But they said they believe the driver may have been driving too fast.
The bees had been used to pollinate crops in the San Joaquin Valley.
The honeybee is the world's premier pollinator and is invaluable to farmers for pollination.
But there has been a shortage of them in recent times because of "Colony Collapse Disorder". US beekeepers have been losing thousands of their bees, puzzling scientists. This has led to a rise in honey prices and has also threatened fruit and vegetable production.
After a seven-hour clean-up operation at Sacramento, police were unable to say how many bees remained unaccounted for. But they were not getting any calls from panicked drivers. "No news is good news," one officer said.
It must have been a driver's worst nightmare - cruising down the highway and suddenly running smack into millions of angry swarming be... more -
Sick Bees Lose Their Buzz
A study has found that, like humans, sick bees find it a lot harder to find the motivation to do daily tasks. It was also discovered that the bees can have memory trouble when ill; particularly dangerous for an insect that lives on it's memory to find the right plants and navigate a large area. This discovery could have very important implications for the effects of the infections found amongst bees in recent months, since it may be a major contributing factor in their decline. A study has found that, like humans, sick bees find it a lot harder to find the motivation to do daily tasks. It was also discovered ... more
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Bee-Boys dance crew drops dead
Sweet like honey. Tee hee!
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Bee blamed for helicopter crash
Wood County authorities said an Oklahoma man piloting a crop-dusting helicopter crashed after a bee got sucked into the cockpit and stung him.
Deputy Ted Ashbeck said the chopper was only four feet off the ground, and the pilot was unhurt when the tail rotor smashed into the ground Friday. Ashbeck said the pilot was spraying a cranberry marsh, where beehives are set up to promote pollination. As the helicopter flew above the hives, at least one bee was sucked inside.
Terry Solf, 65, of Aline, Okla., told investigators the bee stung him, diverting his attention just long enough for him to crash. No one else was aboard. Solf said he's flown helicopters for more than 30 years. Ashbeck says the chopper was "pretty banged up."
(SF Gate) Wood County authorities said an Oklahoma man piloting a crop-dusting helicopter crashed after a bee got sucked into the cockpit and st... more -
Genetically modified bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol
Unbelievably, this is not science fiction.
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Where the F@*!# are the honey bees?!
Killer bees ain't got nothin' on them.
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Truck carrying 12 M bees overturns in Canada
Honey bees all over the highway...oopth.
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Honeybee mystery
A revealing profile piece on the disappearing honeybee crisis.
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Ice Cream Dissapearing... Bees To Blame!
Could strawberry ice cream disappear from our lives? What about vanilla Swiss almond?
The folks at Häagen-Dazs are worried enough that they and others have mounted a campaign to halt the shocking decline of honey bees and other pollinators of strawberry plants, almond trees and the rest of the roughly 90 percent of terrestrial plant life that needs pollination.
Officials of the Oakland-based company told Congress today that more than 40 percent of its product's flavors, derived from fruits and nuts, depend on honeybees. Without bees, fruits and nuts cannot exist.
"How would our federal government respond if on out of every three cows was dying?" Maryann Frazier, a bee expert at the University of Pennsylvania, asked during testimony to the House subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture. Could strawberry ice cream disappear from our lives? What about vanilla Swiss almond? ... more -
Germany and France ban pesticides linked to bee deaths; geneticist urges U.S. ban
In light of recent European bans of a pesticide linked to Bee Colony
Collapse Disorder (CCD), at least one key bee expert is calling for a ban of the same pesticide in the United States. "In the United States, drastic action is needed," says Canadian geneticist Joe Cummins, explaining that U.S. farmers and beekeepers shouldn't have to wait for more evidence or for an air-tight explanation for the complex syndrome, which threatens one in every third bite of food in the United States. Now most apiarists and scientists realize that pesticides are a factor in CCD, he says.
Cummins' remarks, in an interview with GreenRightNow, come less than a month after Germany's ban of clothianidin, a pesticide commonly used to keep insects off of corn crops. Germany banned the pesticide after heaps of dead bees were found near fields of corn coated in the pesticide, and in response to scientists who report that the insecticide severely impairs, and often kills, the honeybees that corn and other crops depend on for pollination.
The German government took the extraordinary action to protect bees and other essential pollinators, stating that there is now enough compelling evidence connecting the chemical to Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in that country.
The ban also will likely fuel the European debate over genetically modified food, which involves treating crop seeds to resist harm from pesticide treatments. Critics of such modified foods say they are harming the environment, and have unknown human consequences, for little or no crop gain. Some scientists in Europe have called for their ban.
In light of recent European bans of a pesticide linked to Bee Colony ... more -
Oh dear lord! Bees! - The Something Awful Forums
I am visiting my family in Florida for the holidays. I was chillin at my sister's house when we looked out back and noticed a swarm of honeybees congregating on their swingset. There are a lot of kids around, including my sister's 3 kids. They were inside at the time, fortunately.
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Follow the link for the rest of the story. I am visiting my family in Florida for the holidays. I was chillin at my sister's house when we looked out back and noticed a swarm of... more -
United Kingdom Talk Tuesday 24th June 2008
Tuesday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show on Tues, Thurs & Sats here at Current TV.
In today's show :
I have forgotten something very important.
Buy a generator.
My base has fallen apart.
A prayer to St Anthony.
Broken glasses.
Snot.
Gardening news.
My little money holder.
Stolen.
Close your eyes and imagine ...........
Watch out for the umbrella.
Bees.
Getting your own back on an ex.
Dead slugs.
Saving a small fortune.
I need help with the trolleys.
Could I be a therapist ?
Hanging baskets.
Make it yourself.
http://unitedkingdomtalk.forums4free.org/
Email :
chris@unitedkingdomtalk.co.uk
WWW.UNITEDKINGDOMTALK.CO.UK Tuesday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show on Tues, Thurs & Sats here at Current TV. ... more -
Where Have All the Bees Gone?
Every summer I have always been annoyed by the bees and wished for their demise. Never did I think they would actually go away and our whole agricultural system would suffer. Every summer I have always been annoyed by the bees and wished for their demise. Never did I think they would actually go away and our... more
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Whatever Happened to Whatever Happened to the Bees?
"One year ago, the world was transfixed by the unexplained collapse of honeybee colonies in North America and Europe. Doom was predicted for entire sectors of global agriculture. And then we forgot about it.
Perhaps "forgot" is a bit harsh; the public's attention simply shifted, as is natural, and grocery store shelves are still stocked. But that doesn't mean Colony Collapse Disorder has gone away. On the contrary, as a recent spate of one-year-later news stories show, bee colonies suffered an unusually high winter die-off; beekeepers are scrambling to sustain colonies; and nobody's yet figured out what's killing the bees, but the causes may be many and intertwined: viruses, pesticides, stress, fungus, parasites.
Exacerbating the problem is the nature of modern beekeeping. If any lesson stuck in our collective consciousness after last summer's concerns, it's of the reliance of U.S. agriculture on commercial beekeepers and the reality of beekeeping as an industry that's no more natural than a high-density feedlot. For a description of these conditions and a nice roundup of the story until now, read this Guardian article by Alison Benjamin, co-author of A World Without Bees." "One year ago, the world was transfixed by the unexplained collapse of honeybee colonies in North America and Europe. Doom was predict... more -
Bees use dance to talk to foreign bees
Honeybees can communicate with others from far-off continents by learning to interpret their dance moves, scientists have found. The world's nine species of honeybee separated about 30m years ago and have since developed their own diverse dances, which are used like languages.
One of the most important moves is the waggle dance, which foraging honeybees use to tell workers back at the nest how far away and in which direction they will find a new source of nectar. In the dance, bees shake rapidly from side to side as they move forward, before looping around and starting again.
Honeybees can communicate with others from far-off continents by learning to interpret their dance moves, scientists have found. The w... more -
Last flight of the honeybee?
A bee-less world wouldn't just mean the end of honey - Einstein said that if the honeybee became extinct, then so would mankind. Alison Benjamin reports on a very real threat.
Man will not dominate nature. A bee-less world wouldn't just mean the end of honey - Einstein said that if the honeybee became extinct, then so would mankind. Aliso... more -
Korsakov - Flight of the bumble bee - by Alexander Dmitriev
He's got magic fingers!!
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