E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Johanna James-Heinz / AP
The photo provided by amateur Illinois bee spotter Johanna James-Heinz shows a rusty-patched bumblebee, on Aug. 14, 2008, in Peoria, Ill. It is one of four types of bumblebees researchers say is in trouble.
Discuss this post
Leave a Comment:You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
As a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.
Most popular posts
older
Safety is key to private spaceflight's success
newer
Just what the world needs: 3 new cockroach species
I don't know if anybody thinks this is serious, but it is. I've been watching this bee thing because as a kid I always see bees. Now I never see any. I live in the country so it's real.
Instead of trying to pin the blame on just disease and parasites, perhaps we should take a closer look at the link to genetically modifies crops, which have been linked to Honeybee deaths, and colony collapse disorder.
Monsanto
I never see honey bees anymore here in the southeast. I see some bumblebees but not like I did as a child. We are killing the ability of Nature to take care of us and life in general on this planet...But so long as we can have our huge flat screens, who cares?
It is almost certainly not just one thing or another. GMO maybe has some effect, but the spread of disease and parasites certainly does as well. And perhaps even changes in the climate. So do you pin the blame one or the other, and which one? Or do you just recognize that a species can only take a certain amount of environmental insults, and they are getting it from all sides at the moment. The environment is very interconnected.
I've been following this subject for years now.
It astounds me that researchers have not been able to pinpoint a cause for this, given the fact they can trace hive movements via tiny chips glued to the thorax, and the fact they have hundreds to thousands of bodies to dissect in some of these cases.
I doubt it is bacterial/parasitic. There are cases where the beekeepers have released the hive that morning and almost none of them returned, they are found in a quivering ball next to a tree miles away, mostly dead. If a bacterial agent had the ability to spread that fast, they would have been wiped out years ago.
And yet they have isolated parasites and bacteria and viruses from collapsed colonies. Just because they released a hive does not mean the hive was healthy when they release it. And yes, new diseases develop all the time and initially can raise havoc with populations. Think chytrid fungus in frogs, or HIV/Aids in man.
But I agree with this - they have had a very hard time isolating a single cause, precisely because there is not a single cause. Just like there is no single cause for cancer.
Really. they are gone. Not so much the Bumble bees but the honey bees. Sad to read the Bumble bees are dieing also.
Maybe you want to pay closer attention, because its not just known pollinators. Have also been noticing a drastic decline of paper wasps. Have a Federal Backyard Wildlife area built for birds and butterflies. The last 3 years all but the tiny bees, about the size of a fly, have been scarce. Plenty of feed and water but no bigger bees.
We still see bumble bees, but last winter was a disaster. The weather was too warm all winter long, the trees that produce blossoms bloomed too early, right before an early spring frost killed off all the blossoms. There were no blooms anywhere to attract bees. This winter is more normal, so I hope the bees return.
As a child, being outdoors was my whole life, I could hardly wait for the arrival of each new day to go out and explore. Our natural world is growing smaller each day. Where I live in the Northeast, bumblebees seem plentiful still, but I hardly ever see fireflies any more and late evening skies have very few bats flying about anymore. It is sad to see the loss of our natural world.
In Oregon the most effective pollinators are Mason bees and orchard bees. As a kid we did notknow what they were, there made mud plugs in most any equipment left outside. They look more flys than a bee. The bumble bee is the only other native bee. the imported honey bee is now the leading commercial pollinator.
I occasionally captured bees in jars when I was very young. They would die. Now that I've aged I try and avoid killing any insects except mosquitos. I will not intentionally step on an ant. I think all life is precious. Naturally I probably accidentally walk on insects but not out of intent. Bumblebees are one of my favorite insects. I've never been afraid of them and know that they would only sting if harrased.
Let me see. We spray incredible amounts of pesticide and other persistent poisons into the environment, and then we are surprised when beneficial insects die out.
I am amazed that an article about the decline of bees fails to even mention pesticides. Evidence is piling up that they are a major cause, along with habitat destruction by agriculture.
Actually, farmland has decreased over time. 954.7million acres in 1997, 938.2 million acres in 2002, 922 million acres in 2007... Source: USDA Economic Research Service. So, habitat destruction is really coming from the urban sprawl. Not farmers.
US farmland acreage has decreased due to less WATER in the farming aquifers...
Nationally, water volume decreased 5 percent between 2004 & 2008. South Dakota; operators in the state applied 72 percent less water in 2008 than five years earlier. And this was PRIOR to the current drought...
If the bees die out, we starve. Face the facts. This is a very serious problem.
Janet-333165 ...... might want to look more closer to radio waves, etc. I live in an area where the newer technology is based in radio waves, A few more cell phone towers, a few more State police Radio towers, new communication devices and now electric company has installed smart meters which use radio waves also, which there is some controversy over it's safety.
Chris, that isn't much of a land usage change and it's not necessarily how much land is used. Crops make flowers which feed the bees. It's what they are spraying on the crops or breeding into the crops that is a serious problem. Urban sprawl doesn't help though and I'll give you that.
You most likely won’t see any rebuttal from companies like Monsanto who is, in my opinion, THE company to blame. Genetically modified crops, unnatural and despite the claims, HEAVILY sprayed with pesticides, is the reason for the decline of bees.
Other reasons are massive fields of only one crop (and usually GMO, at that) while bees natural ‘hunting ground’ is only about a mile.
Transporting thousands of bees routinely to pollinate one crop, causes stress; often in cold weather, for, again, one crop. If you tried to exist on only one food item, you, too, would be unhealthy and susceptible to disease.
But again, Monsanto’s genetically modified crops will eventually end up killing us all. If it isn’t the end of the bee population that pollinates ALL foods, it will be the heavier use of pesticides on those GMO crops, the actual ‘food’ grown, and the patents on foods by Monsanto which will make foods unavailable to only the very rich.
And if you don’t think that Monsanto WILL win those patents, be warned that they will as this administration has put in place many, many high ranking officials in the FDA and USDA and other high positions who are former Monsanto employees.
http://www.naturalnews.com/037310_barack_obama_monsanto_lobbyist.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/038779_farm_bill_Monsanto_public_outcry.html
Be aware and be warned.
No mention of the Honeybee Deaths Linked to Corn Insecticides???
Neonicotinoid insecticides “are among the most widely used in the world, popular because they kill insects by paralyzing nerves but have lower toxicity for other animals.” The development of this class of insecticides began with work in the 1980s...
Beekeepers immediately observed an increase in die-offs right around the time of corn planting using this particular kind of insecticide...
read article - abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/03/honeybee-deaths-linked-to-corn-insecticides/
Recently, the use of some members of this class of insecticides has been restricted in some countries due to evidence of a connection to honey-bee colony collapse disorder.[4][5]
One of the biggest sources of 'sweet' for the bumblebee has always been those huge, sweet purple clover flowers you would see in a field - or a lawn that isn't Chemlawn'd 5 times per year. Clover is such a beautiful plant and so beneficial; the bees I would see in the clover always had massive loads of pollen on their legs.
I did a report in college back in the late 80's on agricultural herbicides/pesticide use vs. urban. The results were amazing and contradicted most people's thoughts. To think of a pie chart showing total pounds (or gallons) per acre between the two, farmers (agriculture) was a 'piece of that pie, barely a sliver vs. the rest of the 'pie' for urban applications. Companies like TruGreen/Chemlawn are unscrupulous with their outrageous applications and usually done by minimally trained 'technicians.' They are told, regardless of whether or not the weather is going to be ok for application, to get out there and bang out as many lawns as they can...even if a storm is approaching - keep spraying until you have to stop...thus allowing all of that product to runoff. Or on hot weather days over 85, the chemicals can volatalize and drift, killing many non-target flowers/fields, etc.
Farmers on the other hand are very educated on their crop inputs. They calculate very carefully. Their equipment is properly calibrated and they apply only when they know the weather is going to allow for maximum results from their applications. They do this also because they are paying dearly for the chemicals to help them gain yields and they don't want runoff or non-target damage because they live right there. They have a well and usually livestock.
Bottom line, go easy when thinking of blaming farmers and look at all those large, franchise corporate Chemlawns and TruGreen companies that we'll be seeing in our neighborhoods in force here in a few short weeks. Their foaming at the mouth to get out there and lay down millions of gallons of that @!$%#!
The farmers do not control the Neonicotinoid coated seeds...
They do control the rate of Neonicotinoids used after planting...
Then you can research the US aquifers polluted with Atrazine...
It is the FARMERS, not your urban lawns that produce the MAJORITY of the environmental damage from insecticides and herbicides...
You're uneducated, biased and...an idiot who can't see the 'forest for the trees.' Get a clue and go hug a tree. Oh and be sure to make sure that Chemlawn is at your home 1st this spring to make sure you have the nicest lawn!
Agree - I don't spray my yard, I have clover, and I have honeybees & bumblebees.
Yes, it was less than a year ago that the same journal cited here (Science) published research describing the effects of Neonicotinoids on both honey bees and bumblebees. The statement that "scientists suspect a combination of disease and parasites for the dwindling of both wild and domesticated bees" is incomplete and represents a missed opportunity to really publicize the latest scientific thinking on the issue of bee decline. Scientists suspect a combination of disease and parasites for the dwindling of both wild and domesticated bees. &
@Chris and @Janet, The shift from diverse mosaics of cropland with incorporated natural areas and hedgerows to mega-monocultures likely has resulted in habitat loss... fewer feeding options and those options being only available for short periods (flowering time).
Bees are one of the most important creatures on the planet for humans. I hope we figure this out soon.
This report is a ho-hum report that should have been out years ago. The farming community has been upset at this for several years or more.
I would imagine that pesticides have been the downfall of the bees. We have bees here that look like bumblebees, but we call them wood bees, because they bore holes in the rafters of the shed. Don't know how they are capable, but they bore a perfect 3/8's hole right through a oak 2 X 4.
does any one stop to think that it is not one reason that is responsible for the dwindling pollinator number? Think of all the urbanization and then the huge expanse of lawns that people proudly display. for these small insects that depend completely on pollen adn nectar for nutrition and to rear their babies where is the nutrition? Think of you having to eat cardboard day in and day out and then do all the tasks that your brain needs to do - even simple things like finding your way back home may become impossible when you are hungry and malnourished. So the next time you decide to vote 'yes' to build a strip mall on that expanse of land where there were "weedy"plant growing - STOP. They are not WEEDY PLANTS. pollinating insects NEED them. they give them the diversity in their diet. Corn and soy bean is not enough. Dont blame everything on the farmers and their GM crops and pesticides - urbanites have equal contribution. QUit planting lawns and spending enormous amounts of water on it. Plant prairie species, wildflowers and native grasses that are much more hardy. variety is the spice of life even for the bees!!! QUit pointing fingers at the other person and see how you can make a change to help these bees. All of us can do our little bit and make change happen.