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The secret death of bees
The Houston Chronicle ^ | May 11, 2007

Posted on 05/12/2007 10:36:36 AM PDT by Clintonfatigued

Bees are big business. They are crucial to pollination of $14 billion in food crops and a third of the food we eat. If bees have a problem, we all have a problem. And bees have a big problem.

The chief apiary inspector for the state of Texas calls it "a hell of a problem." As many as a quarter of the nation's commercially kept bees went missing last year, presumed dead, in a phenomenon now called colony collapse disorder. Inspector Paul Jackson said it is as much a mystery in Texas as it is in 24 other states and half a dozen nations. He said it happens overnight without warning signs of distress and with no evidence left behind. The bees simply disappear.

Jackson has yet to find a pattern in this worrisome phenomenon. One beekeeper may lose 5,000 hives in a day's time while another down the road 10 miles loses none. In Texas, as elsewhere, it is the large commercial colonies that are most affected.

A threat of this magnitude to such a fundamental element in food production prompted congressional hearings last week. A specially appointed, nationwide task force of scientists will conduct research to try to pinpoint the cause and find solutions.

Pollination is the name of the game. Beekeepers in Texas and several other states send thousands of hives to pollinate crops around the country, moving them from state to state and crop to crop. Texas hives are deployed as many as four or five times a year, carried about the country on 18-wheeler trucks.

This constant mobility has been cited as a possible cause for the disappearing hives. The resulting stress depresses bees' immune systems, making bees vulnerable to a host of diseases and parasites.

(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bees; foodchain; foodsupply; honey; honeybees; sunspots
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To: Clintonfatigued

“And their road food diet of high fructose corn syrup has been compared to a human diet restricted to soft drinks.”

This is akin to feeding hummingbirds sugar water and then wondering why they die.


21 posted on 05/12/2007 10:54:41 AM PDT by Bobibutu
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To: HereInTheHeartland

"You got that right, Mandrake"

22 posted on 05/12/2007 10:55:53 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: MNJohnnie

Your ignorance, as usual, is monumental. (Read post #20 for guidance).


23 posted on 05/12/2007 10:58:16 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: MNJohnnie
No it is not a “real concern”.

Do you know anybody involved in agriculture?

24 posted on 05/12/2007 10:59:39 AM PDT by Hugin (Mecca delenda est.)
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To: I see my hands

“Large bee losses are not unheard of. They have been reported at several points in the past century.”

That is true. However, this loss of bees is higher than in the past.


25 posted on 05/12/2007 10:59:41 AM PDT by Clintonfatigued (If the GOP were to stop worshiping Free Trade as if it were a religion, they'd win every election)
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To: Clintonfatigued; Blogger; P-Marlowe; blue-duncan

My brother, a long-time bee keeper, says it is no mystery.

He says that genetically engineered crops are the culprit and cites studies showing that certain wasps are killed by GE Corn.

His suspicion, which has not been studied, is that GE Corn is killing the bees. The pollen, or whatever, is poisonous to them.

GE Corn producers will not be entirely happy about discovering they are exposed in a huge liability. Nor will they be thrilled to discover that releasing GE products is having a greatly feared effect on the environment.

A really smart trial lawyer would jump on this with both feet and see if the suspicions of many beekeepers is true.


26 posted on 05/12/2007 11:00:26 AM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain And Proud of It! Those who support the troops will pray for them to WIN!)
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To: Hugin

About two or three years ago, there was one of those periodic terrorist ‘boasts’ that they had hatched some diabolical revenge upon the west, which had been started.

The claim was that even if we were to discover it, there would be nothing which could be done to stop the destruction.

For some reason, it seemed almost credible, even while seeming at the same time like more of the usual fundamentalist hate.

Bin Laden has been I believe, involved in the business of honey production (via honeybees) for some time. As such, one would think there’s some signficant understanding of their lifecycles exposed there.

Could terrorists have somehow sabotaged our honeybees?


27 posted on 05/12/2007 11:00:33 AM PDT by Cringing Negativism Network (Mr. President: PARDON NACHO AND JOSE!)
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To: Clintonfatigued
"That is true. However, this loss of bees is higher than in the past"

How much higher?


28 posted on 05/12/2007 11:01:57 AM PDT by I see my hands (_8(|)
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To: Wuli
Do flowering-plant crops - fruit orchards - depend on bees, or do fruit trees make their fruit whether or not bees pollinate their flowers?

A few fruit trees are considered 'self pollinating'. Others need pollen from other trees or flowers to make the best fruit. Some even have a male/female arrangement where fruit won't form unless the flowers of the female fruit bearing plant is pollinated by a male plant. Also, bees are not the only pollinating insects:

Pollen and Pollination

29 posted on 05/12/2007 11:02:41 AM PDT by MamaTexan (History is ~rarely~ both accurate AND politically correct!)
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To: MNJohnnie
I agree. The article did say that commercial hives were the most hard hit because they transport the little buggers around the country. Although here in philly there are no bees. i can’t grow a tomato plant as a result. But the city is a harsh environment for a lot of things. even people.
30 posted on 05/12/2007 11:03:23 AM PDT by kvanbrunt2
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To: Clintonfatigued
Apis Shrugged, ping 2.
31 posted on 05/12/2007 11:04:36 AM PDT by Graymatter (FREDeralist)
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To: MNJohnnie

If domestic bees are dying it is safe to assume that wild bees are as well.


32 posted on 05/12/2007 11:08:43 AM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER (THE SECOND AMENDMENT, A MATTER OF FACT, NOT A MATTER OF OPINION)
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To: MNJohnnie
No it is not a “real concern”

"No, muy, muy mal."

33 posted on 05/12/2007 11:09:01 AM PDT by LdSentinal
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To: Wuli
What FOOD crops are dependent on bees? I thought most food crops are grown from seeds. Do flowering-plant crops - fruit orchards - depend on bees, or do fruit trees make their fruit whether or not bees pollinate their flowers?

Wow, I've started this reply 6 times, and now can safely, honestly and without sarcasm ask: You live in town, don't you? Most flowering plants are polinated by bees, birds and wind. The bees are very important...but I don't hear anyone talking about the wild bees, just the commercial ones. I've seen plenty this spring, which means I'll have some apples, pears, and peaches.

As someone else (yeah homeschoolers!) has said, commercial bees improve the pollination rate greatly. What this means is that there will be less fruit, not that there will be no fruit.

34 posted on 05/12/2007 11:09:05 AM PDT by blu (All grammar and punctuation rules are *OFF* for the "24" thread.)
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To: xzins

Did you just say that a lawsuit is the way to get to the truth? Please tell me that was a joke(not a particularly good one) so I can avoid losing all respect for your intellect.


35 posted on 05/12/2007 11:09:27 AM PDT by Uriah_lost ("build bridges where you can - but draw lines where you must." -Fred D Thompson)
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To: Clintonfatigued
They must not be paying attention, 'cause I saw a bunch of them on the bushes in my front flowerbed.

Maybe the bees are hiding from liberals......

36 posted on 05/12/2007 11:09:39 AM PDT by Maigrey (My tagline is roasting over an open fire, and global warming is nipping at your nose...)
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To: american_ranger

“I’ll beekeeping a close eye on this problem.”

LOL@ You win a gold star as the first I’ve seen to come up with that punificant rejoinder.


37 posted on 05/12/2007 11:10:09 AM PDT by jocon307 (The Silent Majority - silent no longer)
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To: kvanbrunt2

Where did you get that idea, kvan?

The easy way to “pollinate” your tomato blossoms is to gently shake your plant. Some use an electric toothbrush to do it.

Tomato blossoms will not set fruit if the temp is over 90 degrees, or under 50 degrees. Days when the temps are high is probably more likely your problem than bees. Tomato plants do not need bees for pollination.


38 posted on 05/12/2007 11:11:56 AM PDT by jacquej
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To: Clintonfatigued
Texas hives are deployed as many as four or five times a year, carried about the country on 18-wheeler trucks.

Now THAT is a car accident I wouldn't want to be near.

39 posted on 05/12/2007 11:12:06 AM PDT by fanfan ("We don't start fights my friends, but we finish them, and never leave until our work is done."PMSH)
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To: american_ranger
I'll beekeeping a close eye on this problem.

Beehave yourself.

40 posted on 05/12/2007 11:13:48 AM PDT by TexasNative2000 (Is this tagline governed by McCain-Feingold?)
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