Posted on 03/29/2007 5:14:22 PM PDT by mmanager
I've been seeing a lot of sick and dying bees around my house the last year or so. I wonder if there is a connection?
It's been 45 years since I tended any bees, but as a kid and into my teens, I used to have 6 or 7 hives.
I can't imagine the loss of the bees.
Happens quite a lot.
I have been reading about this reduction in the bee population for about five years now. It is sometimes freaky that stuff of the Reense.com pages becomes mainstream news after a period of time. It pays to read widely, even if the sources seem wacky at times.
I've noticed that conspiracy nut-case stuff often manifests as real news from time to time as well. One can't turn the gain too far up on the BS filters.
Ha I did that didn't I? Even as I was thinking about the two words. Sorry about that I was not the bees knees.
It is real. Just keep your eyes open in the next few weeks, and you will see what I have noticed for the last 3 years.
I try to stay on top of information like this. It is a serious problem. There is worry that it is linked to bt in genetically engineered corn crop pollens, but I think the jury is still out on that. But it is serious, and not something to poopoo...Bees are more important to agriculture than a lot of people realize.
Very interesting. Thanks so much for posting.
Already happened. At least 3 weeks ago.
LOL! Now there's some grant money!
Indeed this could be a problem - many veg. crop farms and orchards on the east coast rely on bee pollination from truckloads of hives that are moved north as spring progresses. Without it, there will be a marked drop in yields (and a consequent increase in prices). I don't think the solitary bees (different species) and wasps etc. are adequate to make up the difference if hives are decimated.
Source? a beekeeping course a long time ago....
Where I'm from, we had nasty, agressive Yellowjackets that would occasionally get into the house. I used to take a spray bottle that had good power and spread and put about 3/4 of an inch of dish soap in it, and fill it the rest of the way with water. I set the stream so that there'd be a six inch dispersion at about four feet. It makes a phenomenal weapon against them. They instantly lose their mobility advantage and fall to the floor when the soap hits their wings. They're also unable to breath when covered with soapy water, so I give 'em a quick stomp- then clean up the mess.
Beats spraying poison all over the house.
The bee guy said that others who lost their bees hadn't treated their hives enough times.
I tried to get some bumble bees out of Michigan. There's a company that raised them for pollenation purposes. They work at colder temperatures than honeybees. But, since our orchards are in Wash. state, their bumble bees weren't registered for west of the Rockies. Apparently, it is because the species they are raising are not indigenous west of the Rockies.
It's not just commercial or "domesticated" bees, either; it's wild bee colonies, too.
We don't have hives, and last year & the year before we saw very few wild bees around the fruit trees & flowering bushes. Etomologists later confirmed that wild colonies were rapidly disappearing throughtout our area.
It is true, and it really is a crisis. I was talking to some guys at work about it today who had no idea.
Wow.
Look folks, this is truly a problem. It's NOT an MSM conspiracy or a hoax from global warming people. Bees are dying and that's not good.
There are more trees and we are planting tons of bradford pears and other flowering plants, so that might be why we are seeing more allergies. Plus, household cleaning products and carpets are not good for the little ones or for us. jmho
Honey never spoils,,, Stock UP! :-)
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