Posted on 02/29/2020 7:05:32 AM PST by Kaslin
Several media outlets -- namely National Public Radio -- are touting a tall tale that climate change is decimating bee populations throughout North America. The (false) alarm is based on a February 7 study published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The study, however, is deeply flawed and does not change the very low likelihood of climate change seriously impacting bee populations.
After examining the study, titled “Climate change contributes to widespread declines among bumble bees across continents” -- one immediately notices that there is a key issue missing that is not discussed in the paper at all: Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In non-scientific jargon, CCD occurs when entire hives suddenly experience population crashes. CCD has been called the honeybee’s biggest enemy by scientific researchers.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says:
“There have been many theories about the cause of CCD, but the researchers who are leading the effort to find out why are now focused on these factors:
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
You mean they were fooling with us??
Noooo waayyyy…
Actually, honeybees are very sensitive and disease-prone critters. The honeybee is not native to the Americas and was only introduced with the arrival of European colonists (the Spanish were big honey consumers). We had other bees, such as “bumblebees” and smaller bees, which obviously served for doing what bees do, pollinating plants.
But the honeybee is pretty sensitive anywhere, for some reason, possibly because of the creation of honeycombs. I have spent a lot of time in Spain and in my travels, I have seen beehives everywhere, often with ingenious devices for preventing disease.
My favorite was a large, multi-armed structure on the edge of the railroad tracks in Elche or some other town near Valencia. Each “arm” had a hive at the end of it, and it was designed to rotate gently all day to keep the hives aired out, since beehives are prone to funguses and bacterial infections because they are closed, humid spaces. This revolving hive structure had been designed by an elderly local gent who seems to have spent his life watching the ways of bees. I don’t know if it’s still there, but it was a landmark. And I think his bees did well.
Some idiot sprayed Sevin on some beetles and killed the bees in half of our community garden.
- Increased losses due to the invasive varroa mite (a pest of honeybees).
- Pesticide poisoning through exposure to pesticides applied to crops or for in-hive insect or mite control.
Nice informative post, Livius,
I have a liberal/progressive friend who did her master’s field work in studying plains pollinators. She is an expert in bees.
Even as a lib, she thought the global warming theory was bunk. She agrees that bees are fragile and “hive degradation” is a well know historic problem dating back to the original domestication of honey bees. Her best answer? “No one knows.”
I thought the loss of bees had to do with pesticides.
Yes - they leave out factors like varroa and hive beetles.
I have hives in three locations and have lost several this winter. One of my locations is down a road where I haven’t been able to drive due to all the rain we’ve had so I hope they are okay.
The Honeybee decline is the result of the massive agricultural use of insecticides, namely the newer generations of low dose, systemic and very persistent insecticides such as Imadicloprid.
It’s the cell towers.
Insecticides used to control other bugs are having an effect on bees. We need more species-specific products that won’t harm unintended critters.
I once saw a governmental scientific RFP (Request-for-Proposal) that stated proposals would still be considered even if they didn’t include the effect of climate change (hint, hint).
Make up a bunch of crap. Who can prove it wrong amyway!
This months NatGeo has a big article on bees.
EXCELLENT pictures!!
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