Replies

I had noticed the honeybees dropping off in numbers a few years ago.

I don’t know what to do about, but I think it is a symptom of something to be concerned about.

I had noticed the honeybees dropping off in numbers a few years ago.
I don’t know what to do about, but I think it is a symptom of something to be concerned about.

Same here. When I was a kid I would see honeybees everywhere. Now I live out in the country and I can't recall seeing one for quite a while. Bumblebees (but not many). Wasps. Yellowjackets, but not a lot of honey bees.

Bees are not returning to the hive. They get lost. Why? Bees use sunlight to navigate.

Measurements of the interommatidial angle (Δφ) and facet diameter (D) of the same ommatidia in a number of insects and crustaceans with large eyes have been related to the effective intensity at which the eye functions by the following theory. The highest spatial frequency which the eye is able to reconstruct as a pattern is limited by the interommatidial angle Δφ, which is the sampling angle, because two ommatidia are required to cover each cycle of the pattern. At the same time, the absolute modulation of light in the receptors caused by the pattern depends on three interdependent factors.

(a) The theoretical minimum angular sensitivity function, which has a width of λ/D at the 50% level. The wavelength λ is taken as 0.5 Î¼m. This component is not only the limiting angular resolving power of the lens: it reduces modulation caused by all patterns, with greater loss at higher spatial frequencies. Larger lenses increase resolution and sensitivity. (b) The effective light catching area of the rhabdom. This is the angular subtense of the rhabdom area (the receptor) as seen in the outside world (i.e. subtended through the posterior nodal point of the lens), and is the equivalent of the grain size in a film.

Since we now know global warming (yep, it ties together) is due to changes in the intensity of the sun and a (+)change in energy at certain wavelenghts.

How can the bee disappearance be overlooked as positive proof that solar radiation is the (primary) cause of global warming?

Might be GMO - corn, especially.

From KeyWest: I am a beekeeper and the problem is mostly hype. Disappearing disease hits bees periodically and in some areas severely reduces the population. No one really knows what causes it but the bees come back just fine.

Almond pollination requires about a million colonies. The Almonds were pollinated. There was not a major shortage of colonies. The same for the east coast and blueberry pollination which requires about 60,000 colonies. There will be no shortage of colonies.

There is a problem but it is with the Varroa and Tracheal mites. Varroa controls have lost their effectiveness and most of the losses can be attributed to it. Tracheal has been under the radar for a long time, since it appeared to be under control. The current symptoms of the problem are almost exactly like Tracheal mites. Tracheal mites thrive when bees are confined such as winter and when bees are transported. Almost all the reports are from commercial operations where both conditions can be found.

All the losses in my State (which is no longer Fla) were from mites, but that did not stop one large operation from saying it was colony collapse, even though his bees had a high mite load before the collapse. Made the papers so more hype.

The cell phone trial was bogus since it was clear the testers did not have any knowledge of bees and how they forage.

All the usual suspects are attaching their cause to the “crisis” including anti-GMO, anti-pesticide, anti-cell phone, anti-industrialization, global warming, and people trying to make a buck out or hysteria.

The problem has been with us before and is with us now and the world did not come to an end.