Posted on 01/03/2011 5:29:47 PM PST by TaraP
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four previously abundant species of bumblebee are close to disappearing in the United States, researchers reported Monday in a study confirming that the agriculturally important bees are being affected worldwide.
They documented a 96 percent decline in the numbers of the four species, and said their range had shrunk by as much as 87 percent. As with honeybees, a pathogen is partly involved, but the researchers also found evidence of inbreeding caused by habitat loss.
We provide incontrovertible evidence that multiple Bombus species have experienced sharp population declines at the national level," the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, calling the findings "alarming."
"These are one of the most important pollinators of native plants," Sydney Cameron of the University of Illinois, Urbana, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.
In recent years, experts have documented a disappearance of bees in what is widely called colony collapse disorder, blamed on many factors including parasites, fungi, stress, pesticides and viruses. But most studies have focused on honeybees.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Wiki-Bee Leaks: EPA Document Shows It Knowingly Allowed Pesticide That Kills Honey Bees
Bombus Americanis, just watch out for the ones with
white faces.....or is it the other way round?
I don’t mess with either one.
Bush’s fault, no doubt....
Saw BOATLOADS of honey/bumble bees this past summer. no shortage here in upstate NY
Oh my!! Not another species falling to evil “development”? We need to get these humans off the animals’ planet RIGHT NOW and send them back where they came from.
Should we just report to the nearest Disintegration Chamber or is Obama planning to do it using the tried-and-true gas chamber and crematorium method?
This all also happened in the early 70's.
The more the things change, the more the alarmists are the same.
This article is from 2001
Saturday, 5 May, 2001, 07:46 GMT 08:46 UK
Bumblebees could face extinction
Bumblebees are disappearing at such an alarming rate in Britain that scientists are warning they could be wiped out within a few years.
DNA experts are now investigating ways to stop the insect’s decline.
They are using genetic technology to build up the first accurate picture of the diversity and health of remaining bee populations.
Three of the 19 UK species are already extinct and a further nine are on the critically endangered list.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sci/tech/1314012.stm
Without bumblebees, how will I get mead?
>>upstate NY
Upstate?!? There’s crazy (i.e. rural) people up there. They probably only count bees in NYC, Chicago, and SF and then interpolate numbers for the rest of the nation. If they need some southern data, they use Atlanta and San Diego.
“As with honeybees, a pathogen is partly involved, but the researchers also found evidence of inbreeding caused by habitat loss.”
Since when did bumblebees convert to Islam?
LOL...
Well bees are dis-appearing, birds falling from the skies, whales washing up on beaches and fish dying in the streams....
Looks like we have enough doom to keep us on our toes for months!
Actually this is a real problem. Agriculture depends on bees, without bees we don’t eat.
The EPA caused this.
Thank you. This is not a humorous situation.
Yup, back then we were going into a man-made ice age, today it's man-made global warming. Go figure, either way the decline in any species is always the Western countries (mainly America's) fault
Oh great... a new “crises du jour”...
No shortge of them here in MI, either. The small bumbles are downright agressive! I find that gasoline poured on their underground dwelling prevents them from attacking while mowing.
No it is not. We visited my son (USAF pilot out in Idaho) this summer.We were struck by how many farmers seem to have gone into the bee business. We were told that the bee population in the U.S. is having problems (not a biologist, so don’t know the details.)
We planted a garden here in fall in S.FL this year. My impression is., lots of flowers but the rate of pollination is not cool.
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