To expand this discussion: "And while parasites, pathogens, and habitat loss can deal blows to bee health, research increasingly points to pesticides as the primary culprit [for the severe decline of the bee population]. Source: "Honeybee problem nearing a 'critical point'", theGuardian, Jan. 13, 2012.
Thank you Quokka on that article. Very informative. Yes the fly, the two mites, pesticides, and other factors can weaken hives and cause disease. This is an ongoing investigation by the scientific community to find all the causes. I would caution all to read scientific research done by impartial Universities or other institutions. Finger pointing using non scientific based info does not help the bees. Quoting the Guardian or the National Enquirer as sources for info on these kinds of posts doesn't help. I am not a supporter of pesticides generally and remembering DDT I am guardedly optimistic the chemical companies do not want to kill the bees. If crops are not successful because of lack of pollination then pesticide companies will lose billions because of loss of sales. I have not seen anywhere that pesticides are the sole cause of colony collapse disorder. 60,000 hives are brought into down east Maine every spring to pollinate the wild Blueberry crop. Honey bees are always in the news here. Last I heard was that the disease Nosema is being scrutinized as one of the leading causes.
Saying that research increasingly points to pesticides is not the same as saying it is the only cause. Equating the Guardian with the National Enquirer is not helpful. Nor would it be equating the Wall Street Journal with the Weekly World News. The article in the Guardian quoted Purdue University, which is if anything, dominated by large corporations. There are very few independent studies made by universities anymore. Almost all research is sponsored by corporations. If they don't like what they hear, they pull the sponsorship. Then, no more research, and your career is over. That's about as fair and balanced as FOX news! What do you think think the corporations are allowing people to say? The corporations love a crisis, so that only their product, Roundup, GMO seeds, or whatever, can solve the new problem that they created. You are forever stuck having to buy from them. Even the government is afraid to regulate businesses because Big Ag will make sure their candidate loses by donating tax write off donations to fund the other guy. Bees that are weakened by pesticides, habitat loss, and other modern problems will be more susceptible to disease, predators, and parasites. We need to keep our eyes open to the possibility that pesticides might be a major factor, even if the media, corporations, universities, and government are not wanting to let us know.
John S
PDX OR
Quokka, thanks for the article. I am always fascinated by findings dealing with bees. The one thing the article doesn't address is that typically there are very few dead bees found in CCD. I've read that the bees are just gone except for a few left in the hive and they seem to be confused and aimless. I completely agree with John S and bberry that there is a multitude of issues causing CCD. I'm no expert but the lack of expertise in many areas has brought about a higher level of common sense (by learning the hard way) LOL . I would really like to have input here on how smaller scale beekeepers like myself have had with CCD. I am doing a small experiment for my own interest on two of my hives. One is a Langstroth the other a Warre. I let the bees build natural comb in empty frames (they've actually done a pretty good job of staying in the frames), I have fed them straight honey from a clean hive their first year after that I haven't fed them at all, I only open them about twice a year, harvest a modest amount of honey from them, never treat them for anything (not even powder sugar for mites) and they have been an extremely healthy and thriving hive and are on their third year. The other is a Warre that I have done the same with and they have been extremely healthy and are also three yrs old. We do live in a clean area with diverse natural pollen sorces and clean water. We're organic and most of our neighbors are, so the pesticide and herbicide issue is not to the extreme of like living near a big commercial ag producer and I never move them. I'm just wondering if anyone else has tried an experiment similar to this?
John, While the comparison may have been a little much, many of the rags are going to quote single sources and do the sensationalism thing to sell paper. Been going on a long time. Being a bee keeper and commercial wild blueberry grower I want facts not fear mongering. Colony Collapse Disorder is still going on but commercial bee keepers have adjusted their methods and have kept their hive numbers stable and increasing. Honey production has increased and was 13.5 percent greater in 2010 than in 2006. Do you think that can happen if 1/3 of all hives died out each year between 2006 and 2010? Yes there are and have been problems and each year there is some CCD. There are no shortages of bee hives to pollinate our commercial wild blueberry industry. Bee keepers are having to cope with more new problems each year. The fly story above is one. The story about all honeybees disappearing is certainly not happening and never will.
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