Missing Bees

The latest.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070423113425.htm

I think that's even more scary.

None of it is good news. Hope they find out fast!

why on earth are they discounting the diet & stress factor? because it seems too obvious yet scary?

Personally, I think this is a tragedy.
I have many Bumble bees but have seen only one bee so far this year. Here's a pic, gotta look closely at the top center of the picture (left of the 2 flower buds)!
BTW - I hate phones regular or cell and generally won't answer unless I know who it is and am expecting the call.

Because of the freeze around Easter this yr. when tulip poplars and other spring plants were in bloom, my hus. does not expect a large honey crop this yr. In fact, he anticipates having to feed his bees thru the coming winter to keep them alive for next yrs. spring. LIZ

I just can't help noticing that bees seemed to be doing just fine until we decided to "improve" everything. It would astound me if this didn't turn out to be something to do with genetic modification. Granted, we've been doing that for centuries (cross pollinating, grafting, etc.), but now we're messing directly with the DNA! Seems to me that redirecting DNA to include Bt is NOT going to do the bees any good. And once it's out there, nature takes it everywhere.

A few years ago a Canadian farmer's crops got GM pollen which was OF COURSE windborne. He was sued for using the GM pollen! He lost his farm! The scariest thing about the GM pollen IMHO is that, since the company that produces it (Monsanto in this case, also DuPont and numerous others) wants a continuing market, one of the characteristics they're breeding into it is that the next generation's seed will be sterile. Think about THAT spreading through all crops. OK, that is entirely alarmist, but do the people who make these decisions based on MONEY even think? At all?

Of course they think! They think about how to make more money by finding ways to control the market. (note that I did not say that this was healthy!)

I again will try to do my part no matter how insignificant by gardening organically and growing flowers to encourage the bees. Our actions as a whole can make a big difference.

As a long time subscriber to and avid reader of Organic Gardening magazine, I've read about the GM pollen problem mentioned by brigidlily. It is scary. That's why it's important to grow open pollinated varieties and save seeds. Again, every little bit helps.

At least people are becoming more aware of these issues and showing concern since the bee problem is just one of many environmental problems our affluent society faces today. In many ways--though it's hard to admit, we must accept part of the blame. Not to offend anybody, I'm just as guilty as the next guy. Yeah, awareness is a good thing. : )

There was an article in the paper this morning saying it could be a microbe that usually doesn't kill our bees but, of course, it has developed into a strain that does. They were saying it has claimed about a quarter of our hives. They weren't sure this was the cause, but it could be.

And how do microbes develop different strains? Partially by our use of pesticides, fungicides, etc.

I agree with you brigidlily, It's the most feesible explaination that my simple mind can handle. I hope they come up with some answers quick. Very scary stuff, I've been reading everything I can get my hands on, and I think they are in the same situation we are. I think most folks aren't the least bit concerned, or don't care, sad to say but I think sometimes people have to be hit upside the head with a brick before they realize anything could be wrong. You know, I don't remember seeing any bees last growing season and remembered thinking it was weird. Boy, I hope, hope hope they figure something out quick.

I happened across this article by Mike McGrath, former editor in chief of Organic Gardening magazine. He answers the question about the bee problem on his radio show, "You Bet Your Garden". Worth taking the time to read. I hope this helps alleviate some worries and concerns. (Note the gardener asking how to RID her lawn of bees!)

http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=808

More information about our native bees. There are more than 3500 species of solitary bees in North America. The article mentions that domesticated honeybees are threatened by mites and Africanized bees; though native bees are not. However, native bees are threatened by pesticides. Also, worth reading.

http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/nativebee.html

This message was edited Apr 28, 2007 7:21 AM

Walk into any big box store & what's the first thing you see ? Yes, all kinds of killers. Weed, insect & the like. They are sold to anyone, no matter if they know how to use them. Farmers are required to go to school & take tests to handle & use pesticides. There are very few farmers compared to the general public. All you ever hear is how to keep a beautiful lawn. Grass cut at 2" provides nothing for anybody.
Even here on Daves, you hear of flower lovers who have a spouse who would like to get rid of all the flowers. It is so sad.
I agree with the native bees idea. In late summer it's amazing to see all the different bees around. I like to watch the White Alyssum. They will be hundreds of bees hovering around, they are very tiny, almost hard to see.
Bernie

I was at the local hardware store, and they have something on the shelves that is GUARANTEED TO GET RID OF EVERY INSECT IN YOUR YARD!!! When will people realize that is NOT a good thing!?!?!!!! I'm there laughing and despairing at the same time. All I can do is keep my little parcel of this Earth as clean and natural as I can, and bless every bee that wants to come over and have a sip.

And teach my grandchildren, as I did my children, that, as the song says, all God's creatures have a place in the choir.

Who's the manufacture of that junk ?
We should bombard them with e-mails or something.
And I bet the dork that dreamt that up is "well" educated.

Well said brigidlily! I like that remark at the end, This thread really makes you think. I can't EVER remember using any pesticides in my garden, other than dish soap! Hard to believe but thats the truth. Not because I've always been concerned about the planet, but because I'm greedy, It's seems I've always been poor, and I'm wasn't going to spend a penny on the stuff when I could be buying more plants with the little money I had, I don't ever remember my Dad ever using the stuff. He'd say " spray some dish water on it' or 'just plant lots and lots of marigolds!" ......Paul James said on one of his shows " if you just can't control the little critters... plant extra!" I've gotten so I won't even use Mirace Gro! I hear it's not so good for th soil. But now that I am becoming more Earth conscious, the use of these products is not an option. And thanks, Greenbrain, those articles were very informative, and did calm me done a bit. A bit.................. Who would have thought, that in all my greediness, I might have actually done something good!

First kudos to CBernard for starting this thread. A worthy topic indeed! Since my last post, I've learned that the problem includes more than honeybees and wild bees. I received my new OG mag yesterday and it contains an article about protecting our pollinators: Bees Bats Hummingbirds Butterflies

The article is titled "Pollinators in Peril" and gives the stats on possible $ loss & impact on food supply due to a decline in the above pollinator populations.
We should also be concerned about hummingbirds, bats, and butterflies. Stamps commemorating National Pollinator Week will be released June 25. A photo of the stamp pictures all 4 pollinators in peril.

The article mentions honeybees and wild bees. A quote: "We must act quickly to stop this, say the authors of a recent National Academy of Sciences report on the status of pollinators in N.A." The article again states that the long-term declines in N.A. honeybee populations are mainly due to diseases, parasitic mite infestations, and establishment of Africanized bees.

The #1 cause of decline in pollinator populations is "Habitat Loss".
Other contributing causes:
2. competition from invasive/exotic species
3. global climate change
4. exposure to pesticides

The N.A. Pollinator Protection Campain (NAPPC) includes more than 90 public & private organizations cooperating to promote "Pollinator Friendly Practices" for both farmers and gardeners and lists what individual gardeners can do:
1. Grow local native plants attractive to pollinators.
2. Provide pollinators with suitable shelters and conditions for breeding.
3. Protect pollinators from pesticide contamination.

Here are some suggested links: This one I posted earlier: http://pollinator.com/
and a new one: http://www.xerces.org/
one more that you might find interesting that I'm adding: http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-65-69-680,00.html

Awareness and education are important and it looks like steps are being taken by various organizations through the media. (The NY Times article got us all talking about it.) My local tv news station is running a special about the honeybee crisis starting tomorrow night. We need to listen, learn, and take action.

This makes the following Dave's forums more appealing to me:
Organic Gardening, Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening, Indigenous Plants, Invasive Plants, Wildlife Gardening, and Xeriscape Gardening. I will be visiting these forums more often. : )

Amen, greenbrain.

I saw a "Scott's" commercial at some point over the weekend -- a lovely young couple and their 2 kids frolicking on the green expanse of lawn... and the pretty, healthy wife/mother saying... "We HATE dandelions..." sigh...

Fine. If she hates dandelions, she can send them to me (as long as she hasn't sprayed them). They are tasty in salads, especially when young, and many of the birds like them as well. Dandelion wine anyone?
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/dandelion.asp

I think that's good idea having little kids playing the nice 2,4-D sprayed lawn.
A friend of mine, who grows sweet corn & peas for the canning companies said they have outlawed any weed killer on those fields. But we can still spray on the lawns & let kids play in it. Go figure!
Bernie

Brigidlily you definitly have a better sense of humor then I do. I saw that same stuff at Lowes last year, nice BIG skid of it - RIGHT as you come in the door.........anyone know Lowes email address?

We seem to have 3 threads going on this, any chance on getting it down to one? We have Missing Bees on Garden Talk & on Beekeeping and New Theory on Bees going on the sustainable. Seems to me if we could hyperlink and keep 1 thread going, we would have everyone..........for the lack of a better phrase.........on the same page.

MQN ~ that would take the sport out of it. It is more fun to hunt these threads down.
But seriously, you may give more exposure to people who have not heard of this by having a variety of threads going?

Yes, I didn't even know there was a forum called "Sustainable".
A person wouldn't have enough hours in a day to go to all the forums.

Ah but this one might be worth a tour... http://davesgarden.com/place/f/gogreen/all/

I planted 5 Cotoneaster divaricatus in front of my screen porch some years ago after pulling out the old yew shrubs planted by the previous owner. At the time, I was looking to attract wild birds. Sunday afternoon while walking home from church, I cut through my front yard and noticed that the shrubs now covered with pink blooms were also covered with honeybees. If I hadn't been outside and paying attention, I would have missed the show.

I think I have seen two honey bees, 3 hornets and I have noticed 4 big black bumbles so far which is more than I usually see...but that is it:(

My dh asked me why I can't just send some of these bees to the folks that don't have any. I guess it sounded logical to him. Oh well.

This was published yesterday.

Please Lord, not the bees: Everything you didn't want to know about Colony Collapse
Disorder

http://www.gnn.tv/articles/3063/Please_Lord_not_the_bees

...I’m on an organic beekeeping list of about 1,000 people, mostly Americans, and no one in the organic beekeeping world, including commercial beekeepers, is reporting colony collapse on this list. The problem with the big commercial guys is that they put pesticides in their hives to fumigate for varroa mites, and they feed antibiotics to the bees. They also haul the hives by truck all over the place to make more money with pollination services, which stresses the colonies.

...Who should be surprised that the major media reports forget to tell us that the dying bees are actually hyper-bred varieties that we coax into a larger than normal body size? It sounds just like the beef industry. And, have we here a solution to the vanishing bee problem?

X

yup, my one backyard organic hive is going gangbusters.

i was puzzling over why my neighbor across the road lost 3 out of 4 hives this winter. but you know what? he backs onto miles & miles of cornfield, and who knows WHAT goes on in those fields.

his also are exposed once the corn comes down. mine is in a sunny but sheltered spot between 2 wings of my house.

X................ The Pittsburgh Trib Review ran a story today on the "missing" bees that was interesting.

Find it here: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/mostread/s_506012.html


early_bloomer

I checked out a library book on rose gardening published in 1958. I was reading about pest control and found carpenter and leaf cutter bees listed as pests. The book suggested controlling them with DDT!

I'm returning the book tomorrow with the suggestion that we purchase some environmentally friendly rose gardening books. One picture shows a man fogging his roses with some chemical wearing no mask, gloves, or any type of protection. The author claims to be a good friend of Gene Boerner and has a lot of good information, but too heavy on the chemicals.

Considering the connection between DDT usage and polio, it's a wonder anyone still wants to use that stuff!

http://www.geocities.com/harpub/ddt138.htm
http://www.geocities.com/harpub/pol_all.htm

Had a dr. appt. Friday and a woman was in their with her 15 mo. old twins. She was talking to another woman about wanting to have 5 or 6 more. I listened while they talked back and forth about having more children. Finally I piped up and told them they should consider the strain having 5 or 6 more kids apiece would put on the environment and told them about the bees disappearing and dying off. Neither of them were interested in hearing that. Told them if the bees disappeared, then shortly thereafter they and their children could disappear also. No bees, not much food. Didn't concern either of them. One even told me that she didn't care because "the govn'ment takes care of my chilluns and me". Told her she and her children would eat last because the military would get first choice of what foods there would be and gov. officials next in line. When it trickled down to her and hers, there would not be much left. Still no concern. Guess she has never been hungry because "the government", has always fed her. LIZ

LIZ They probably think alarmists like you (us) are nutcakes!

Is it horrible of me to wonder who would survive and who wouldn't should it come to a true food shortage? I want so much to get to the point that I could live for a year on what I grow, but with my tiny back yard I doubt it will happen. How I'd love to have ten acres and do it the way we used to on the farm. sigh...

If it ever did come down to survival, I guess I'd need a shotgun, too.

I've read too much Stephen King!

Not really brigid. In a true shortage people would quickly find out you have food and would certainly do anything to get at it.

This is a really good book on the survival/fall theme:
http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Iron-Gordon-R-Dickson/dp/0812533348
Fiction, but interesting and a good story.

Is it hard to keep bees? Do you have to harvest the honey? I'd like to set up a place the bees could move into. But I have no desire to harvest the honey.

Suzi

Another article.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070511210207.htm

Nope. I pretty much leave my bees alone, watch for signs of mites or viral problems. So far, none.

I don't want to harvest the honey either, and I truly believe that is what keeps my hive so darn healthy while others' are struggling.