"You got that right, Mandrake"
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 ...
“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.
"You got that right, Mandrake"
Your ignorance, as usual, is monumental. (Read post #20 for guidance).
Do you know anybody involved in agriculture?
“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.
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.
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?
|
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:
If domestic bees are dying it is safe to assume that wild bees are as well.
"No, muy, muy mal."
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.
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.
Maybe the bees are hiding from liberals......
“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.
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.
Now THAT is a car accident I wouldn't want to be near.
Beehave yourself.
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.