Posted on 01/24/2008 7:37:16 AM PST by Momaw Nadon
Honeybees will die out in Britain within a decade as virulent diseases and parasites spread through the nation's hives, experts have warned.
Whole colonies of bees are already being wiped out, with current methods of pest control unable to stop the problem.
The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) said that if the crisis continued, honeybees would disappear completely from Britain by 2018, causing "calamitous" economic and environmental problems.
It called on the Government to restart shelved research programmes and to fund new ones to try to save the insects.
Tim Lovett, the association's president, said: "The situation has become insupportable and the Government is unwilling to take steps to avoid disaster.
"We're increasingly unable to cope with threats as they arise. No bees means a huge cost to agriculture, without touching on the ecological and environmental issues. We're facing calamitous results."
Last year, more than 11 per cent of all beehives inspected were wiped out, although losses were higher in some areas.
In London, about 4,000 hives - two-thirds of the bee colonies in the capital - were estimated to have died over last winter. Of the eight colonies inspected so far this year, all have been wiped out. advertisement
The losses are being blamed on Colony Collapse Disorder, a disease that has severely affected bee populations in America and Europe, and a resistant form of Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that affects bees.
The decline in honeybees is risking the sustainability of home-grown food. They pollinate more than 90 of the flowering crops we rely on for food. They are estimated to contribute more than £1 billion a year to the national economy yet the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), spends an average of only £200,000 a year on research to protect them.
The BBKA will this week launch a campaign aimed at forcing ministers to take the plight of the bee more seriously, and to spend the £8 million over the next five years which it believes is essential to guarantee its survival.
At their annual meeting held earlier this month, the association's 11,200 members voted unanimously to condemn the Government's position.
At a showdown meeting, between Lord Rooker, the farming minister, and the BBKA last month, the minister refused to increase the spending, even though in November, he appeared to admit the severity of the threat, when he said: "If we do not do anything, the chances are that in 10 years' time we will not have any honeybees."
Mr Lovett added: "Defra has been alerted, but chooses to take no action. If nothing happens, we may not even have to wait 10 years."
Professor Francis Ratniek, a bee expert at Sheffield University, said: "If there was to be a bee collapse the effect on Britain would be huge.
"In Britain we haven't had our fair share of bee research funds and research into bee disease has decreased just as the threat to colonies is increasing. A complete die-off is a worst case scenario."
The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA)
That’s funny!
"In Britain we haven't had our fair share of bee research funds"
Gee, I wonder what's in it for him?
Bush’s fault!
WHERE ARE ALL THE DARWINISTS. This is a perfect example for the survival of the fittest. Those bees with no resistance die. Those with resistance live and fill the empty spots.
Why is it always 10 years?
Global warming is the root cause, of course.
I just used two over-used buzz words in one sentence. Wow...
Customer: In that case, give me a bee license. Shopkeeper: A license for your pet bee? Customer: Yes. Shopkeeper: Called Eric? Eric the Bee? Customer: No. Shopkeeper: No? Customer: No, Eric the Half-Bee. He had an accident. Shopkeeper: You're off your chump. Customer: Look, if you intend by that utilization of an obscure colloquiallism to imply that my sanity is not up to scratch, or indeed to deny the semi-existence of my little chum Eric the Half-Bee, I shall have to ask you to listen to this! Take it away, Eric the orchestra leader!....... A one... two.... A one.. two.. three..four... [piano intro] Half a bee, philosophically, must, ipso facto, half not be. But half the bee has got to be, vis a vis its entity - do you see? But can a bee be said to be or not to be an entire bee when half the bee is not a bee due to some ancient injury? Singing... La dee dee, 1 2 3, Eric the half a bee. A B C D E F G, Eric the half a bee. Is this retched demi-bee, half asleep upon my knee, some freak from a menagerie? No! It's Eric the half a bee. Fiddle dee dum, Fiddle dee dee, Eric the half bee. Ho ho ho, Tee hee hee, Eric the half a bee. I love this hive employee-ee-ee [with buzzing in background] bisected accidentally one summer afternoon by me I love him carnally. He loves him carnally... [together] ...semi-carnally [spoken] The end 'Cyril Connelly?' No! 'Semi-carnally' Oh! Cyril Connelly [sung softly and slowly]
Huckabees may be wiped out in 10 years..
Why in the “H” is it going to take TEN YEARS?/sarcasm
That works if there is time for the population to evolve adapt to the threat/change in environment. If the threat/change in environment is so severe that it wipes out the species before it has time to adapt, that's what "DARWINISTS" call extinction.
Does that clear it up for you?
Actually the problem lies with all those “Green” environmental-friendly earth-lovers. The “natural” pesticides used in organic farming has the side-effect of killing insects other than just the intended ones. All of the bees dying off is a result of these new methods of organic pesticide.
Why a plague on honeybees? Why not a plague on mosquitoes? Then government inaction would be seen favorably, and everyone is happy.
Any time I see the word "May" in a headline, I add "Then Again, Maybe Not" to the end of it.
Africanized bees appear to be immune. http://www.themonitor.com/onset?db=monitortx&id=864&template=article.html
That’s to give everyone time to forget about it when your prediction doesn’t happen.
It’s called the Ehrlich/Danson/Algore Gambit.
It’s also used in reverse - like when Bill Clinton took credit for the booming economy that Reagan created as the trickle down took effect during his Presidency. Nobody remembered that it started with the Reagan tax cuts. (Well, a few of us did.)
I had someone tell me the honey bee was disappearing because people like me put chemicals on their lawn so the dandelions can’t grow..Therefore, the bee can’t pollinate etc....
"You should check your hives...I think you'll find one of your bees is missing."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.