Bee, Bee, be my little baby

[houseisland]

A scary one if you understand the implications:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/n...6400179.stm?ls

[street1]

See,our problem is most farms today are flattened.Nothing left
20% of the land needs to be left natural with trees and brush etc..
just like mother nature intended.

Bees grow naturally and pollinate crops.The natural habitat is destroyed
and then...............................IMDO you lose!

[houseisland]

In Ferrit's back yard ... 90% mortality rate for bee hives this year.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-col...-bees-die.html


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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

[Ferrit]

Indeed its very bad here I saw very few last summer.
Now that was both a blessing and a curse.
Very few Yellow Jackets were around so almost no one
got stung, but there was a serious shortage of honey bees
all around the yard for pollinating.
But also now that its mentioned
Bumble Bees were very scarce as well.

[houseisland]

I went out and bought some mason bees for my garden. They are sleeping in their cocoons in the vegetable crisper in my fridge. When the weather gets better, I will take them out into my yard.

http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/apiculture/.../506_osmia.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_bee

http://www.beediverse.com/

If you have fruit or vegetables in your garden, you might stop by a local shop and see if they stock bees.

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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

[slgrieb]

Seems like these 2 links pretty much clear up the mystery. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...angeredspecies
http://www.bellis.info/Site_3/Blog/E..._CONFIDOR.html

[Niclo Iste]

I have seen the results of the disorientation of the bees up close. I had a couple of times where I just saw a bee land or more so tumble to the ground and then watch them wander aimlessly for hours where they landed just crawling around falling off of things they climb on.
I find the population drop very troublesome and hope they find a solution fast. If it is the pesticides and their residuals causing it I doubt there will be fast enough action to get the offending sources removed or even limited in a soon enough time frame. It makes me wonder why we never thought that kiling everything that bothers us may be bad. Unless we intend to replenish somethings population we shouldn't be considering how to destroy large amounts of them. I'd go on a further rant but I have to run. Maybe I'll pick up on it later.

[houseisland]

I forgot about this related thread: http://forums.windrivers.com/showthread.php?t=80656

The problem is probably multi-vectored.

The collapse of hives seems to be stress related.

On Vancouver Island, the stress seems to have impaired the bees' abilities to deal with infections introduced by tracheal mites. The bees' immune systems are compromised.

So what causes the stress? Well the current thought pattern seems to be...

Strange weather patterns - warm weather last year led to an extended foraging season and a late hibernation.

Mono crop agriculture - the bees do not get a varied enough diet for the maintenance of good health.

Movement of hives - hives are contracted to farmers for pollination work.

Pesticides - See SL's post above.

Edit: Over-harvesting of honey - big demand, reduced supply (failed hives), higher production costs (replacement of hives), etc. - push the bees harder. Apiariasts need to eat, too.

Bee worried.



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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

[Guts3d]

I am worried, the list of foods that would disappear if the humble bumblebee died out is too darn long!

[houseisland]

General info about bee species: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee


Osmia ribifloris - blue orchard mason bees, the species in cocoons in the vegetable crisper in my fridge.

Highly recommended read:


Bernd Heinrich: Bumblebee Economics

A fascinating book about bumblebees - very engaging


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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

[houseisland]

BBC: 'Bee rustlers' sting Japanese apiarists

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8655685.stm

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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

[houseisland]

My mason bees have hatched, by the way, and are busily reproducing and filling up the little bee house with the next generation.

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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

[houseisland]

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_a...t/10159361.stm


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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!