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Are bees still dying? (1 Viewer)

i have been watching all spring and have seen very few. i have all kinds of flowering plants in my yard and normally there is a frenzy of bees buzzing for nectar. i see some but few are honey bees. something is wrong. :shrug:

 
taco breath said:
i have been watching all spring and have seen very few. i have all kinds of flowering plants in my yard and normally there is a frenzy of bees buzzing for nectar. i see some but few are honey bees. something is wrong. :confused:
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Wrong? Seriously, I think it's great.:beephobe:
 
I saw a big influx a few weeks back. ABout a month later than they usually come around. I was going to post it, but thought it was maybe too :confused:

Funny thing, they seemed stupider than previous years.

They are always attracted to my pool, around the steps. And usually a few die every day in the water. This year I netted out about 20-30 a day. They also kept going up into the holes of the noodles around the pool, like they were looking for a new hive or something. Bottom line, I am glad to see them back, but still a bit concerned.

 
taco breath said:
i have been watching all spring and have seen very few. i have all kinds of flowering plants in my yard and normally there is a frenzy of bees buzzing for nectar. i see some but few are honey bees. something is wrong. :confused:
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The big ol' jar of honey in my cupboard says otherwise.
 
Somebody told me the ever increasing use of cell phones is messing with their ability to navigate, so they can't find their way back to the hive. Is that even possible, or was that a test to see how gullible I am?

 
Flying V said:
Somebody told me the ever increasing use of cell phones is messing with their ability to navigate, so they can't find their way back to the hive. Is that even possible, or was that a test to see how gullible I am?
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I've heard that idea floated in several different places, but I don't buy it. I mean, If we were talking about the cellphone jump from 1997 to 2007, maybe....but this just started happening last year, didn't it? I read a link about some Euro-fungis that was thought to be at the root of the problem. I'll try to find it.
 
Flying V said:
Somebody told me the ever increasing use of cell phones is messing with their ability to navigate, so they can't find their way back to the hive. Is that even possible, or was that a test to see how gullible I am?
Click to expand...
Study: Cell Phone Radiation Could Be Killing BeesBy Geoffrey Lean and Harriet ShawcrossThe Independent on Sunday04/16/07 8:56 AM PTA mysterious condition known as Colony Collapse Disorder is destroying bee hives around the world. Scientists are still debating the exact cause of the epidemic, but researchers at Landau University suggest that radiation from mobile phones may be at least partially to blame. Scientists found that placing mobile phones near hives causes bees to refuse to go inside.It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. Some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages as the world's harvests fail.They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world -- the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some beekeepers claimed that the phenomenon -- which started in the U.S., then spread to continental Europe -- was beginning to hit Britain as well.The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously home-loving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.Cases WorldwideColony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 percent of its commercial bee population, with 70 percent missing on the East Coast.CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. Last week John Chapple, one of London's biggest beekeepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.Other apiarists have recorded losses in Scotland, Wales and northwest England, but the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insisted: "There is absolutely no evidence of CCD in the UK."The Need for BeesThe implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM (genetically modified) crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks. German research has long shown that bees' behavior changes near power lines.Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr. Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a "hint" to a possible cause.Dr. George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the U.S. government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the 1990s, said: "I am convinced the possibility is real."The Case Against HandsetsEvidence of dangers to people from mobile phones is increasing. However, proof is still lacking, largely because many of the biggest perils, such as cancer, take decades to show up.Most research on cancer has so far proved inconclusive. However, an official Finnish study found that people who used the phones for more than 10 years were 40 percent more likely to get a brain tumor on the same side as they held the handset.Equally alarming, blue-chip Swedish research revealed that radiation from mobile phones killed off brain cells, suggesting that today's teenagers could go senile in the prime of their lives.Studies in India and the U.S. have raised the possibility that men who use mobile phones heavily have reduced sperm counts. More prosaically, doctors have identified the condition of "text thumb," a form of RSI from constant texting.Professor Sir William Stewart, who has headed two official inquiries, warned that children under eight should not use mobiles and made a series of safety recommendations, largely ignored by ministers.
 
Found it. From the LATimes about 2 munfs ago.

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-sci-bees26a...0,7437491.story

Experts may have found what's bugging the bees

A fungus that hit hives in Europe and Asia may be partly to blame for wiping out colonies across the U.S.

By Jia-Rui Chong and Thomas H. Maugh II

Times Staff Writers

April 26, 2007

A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder that is wiping out bees across the United States, UC San Francisco researchers said Wednesday.

Researchers have been struggling for months to explain the disorder, and the new findings provide the first solid evidence pointing to a potential cause.

But the results are "highly preliminary" and are from only a few hives from Le Grand in Merced County, UCSF biochemist Joe DeRisi said. "We don't want to give anybody the impression that this thing has been solved."

Other researchers said Wednesday that they too had found the fungus, a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae, in affected hives from around the country — as well as in some hives where bees had survived. Those researchers have also found two other fungi and half a dozen viruses in the dead bees.

N. ceranae is "one of many pathogens" in the bees, said entomologist Diana Cox-Foster of Pennsylvania State University. "By itself, it is probably not the culprit … but it may be one of the key players."

Cox-Foster was one of the organizers of a meeting in Washington, D.C., on Monday and Tuesday where about 60 bee researchers gathered to discuss Colony Collapse Disorder.

"We still haven't ruled out other factors, such as pesticides or inadequate food resources following a drought," she said. "There are lots of stresses that these bees are experiencing," and it may be a combination of factors that is responsible.

Historically, bee losses are not unusual. Weather, pesticide exposures and infestations by pests, such as the Varroa mite, have wiped out significant numbers of colonies in the past, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s.

But the current loss appears unprecedented. Beekeepers in 28 states, Canada and Britain have reported large losses. About a quarter of the estimated 2.4 million commercial colonies across the United States have been lost since fall, said Jerry Hayes of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gainesville.

"These are remarkable and dramatic losses," said Hayes, who is also president of the Apiary Inspectors of America.

Besides producing honey, commercial beehives are used to pollinate a third of the country's agricultural crops, including apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, cherries, strawberries and pumpkins. Ninety percent of California's almond crop is dependent on bees, and a loss of commercial hives could be devastating.

"For the most part, they just disappeared," said Florida beekeeper Dave Hackenberg, who was among the first to note the losses. "The boxes were full of honey. That was the mysterious thing. Usually other bees will rob those hives out. But nothing had happened."

Researchers now think the foraging bees are too weak to return to their hives.

DeRisi and UCSF's Don Ganem, who normally look for the causes of human diseases, were brought into the bee search by virologist Evan W. Skowronski of the U.S. Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center in Maryland.

Dr. Charles Wick of the center had used a new system of genetic analysis to identify pathogens in ground-up bee samples from California. He found several viruses, including members of a recently identified genus called iflaviruses.

It is not known whether these small, RNA-containing viruses, which infect the Varroa mite, are pathogenic to bees.

Skowronski forwarded the samples to DeRisi, who also found evidence of the viruses, along with genetic material from N. ceranae.

"There was a lot of stuff from Nosema, about 25% of the total," Skowronski said. "That meant there was more than there was bee RNA. That leads me to believe that the bee died from that particular pathogen."

If N. ceranae does play a role in Colony Collapse Disorder, there may be some hope for beekeepers.

A closely related parasite called Nosema apis, which also affects bees, can be controlled by the antibiotic fumagillin, and there is some evidence that it will work on N. ceranae as well.
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Bees are actually an important part of some ecosystems because they pollinate plants.

They'll bounce back though...bees have been around a lot longer than we have.

 
I "splashed" one out of the pool today. He looked half dead but was still moving his legs. I cupped my hands and got him on the deck. It took several minutes for him to dry his wings off and finally take flight.

Godspeed little man...godspeed.

 
RudiStein said:
I "splashed" one out of the pool today. He looked half dead but was still moving his legs. I cupped my hands and got him on the deck. It took several minutes for him to dry his wings off and finally take flight.Godspeed little man...godspeed.
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If you tweak the ending of this story a little, you could have a winner.Maybe have him sting you after you rescue him, but you forgive him and set him free, only to later discover while perusing Wikipedia that bees die after deploying their stinger.Something like that.
 
Boot to the Head! said:
RudiStein said:
I "splashed" one out of the pool today. He looked half dead but was still moving his legs. I cupped my hands and got him on the deck. It took several minutes for him to dry his wings off and finally take flight.Godspeed little man...godspeed.
Click to expand...
If you tweak the ending of this story a little, you could have a winner.Maybe have him sting you after you rescue him, but you forgive him and set him free, only to later discover while perusing Wikipedia that bees die after deploying their stinger.Something like that.
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Your knowledge of basic biology/zoology is very sad.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
RudiStein said:
I "splashed" one out of the pool today. He looked half dead but was still moving his legs. I cupped my hands and got him on the deck. It took several minutes for him to dry his wings off and finally take flight.Godspeed little man...godspeed.
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good karma.
 
RudiStein said:
I "splashed" one out of the pool today. He looked half dead but was still moving his legs. I cupped my hands and got him on the deck. It took several minutes for him to dry his wings off and finally take flight.Godspeed little man...godspeed.
Click to expand...
:topcat:
 
Flying V said:
Somebody told me the ever increasing use of cell phones is messing with their ability to navigate, so they can't find their way back to the hive. Is that even possible, or was that a test to see how gullible I am?
Click to expand...
Total BS. Cell phones all have GPS now, so the bees should have better directional ability.
 
Isn't this why we have all those illegal immigrants? Hire them to replace the them, it's about time we stuck it to those uppity bees.

 
RudiStein said:
Boot to the Head! said:
RudiStein said:
I "splashed" one out of the pool today. He looked half dead but was still moving his legs. I cupped my hands and got him on the deck. It took several minutes for him to dry his wings off and finally take flight.

Godspeed little man...godspeed.
Click to expand...
If you tweak the ending of this story a little, you could have a winner.Maybe have him sting you after you rescue him, but you forgive him and set him free, only to later discover while perusing Wikipedia that bees die after deploying their stinger.

Something like that.
Click to expand...
Your knowledge of basic biology/zoology is very sad.
Click to expand...
Why Does A Bee Die When It Stings?When a bee stings, barbs in the lance of the sting cause it to firmly stick into the victim pulling out the venom sacs and glands when the bee is shaken off. The venom sac muscles continue to pump after these organs have been torn from the dying bee. Only the female workers and the queen can sting, the queen having a smooth sting which she uses to kill other queens.

 
I've been trying to follow this phenomena as it's very interesting and my FIL is a farmer.

In a related note, I was weed wacking last night with an ipod on and was stung about 6 or 7 times before I even realized what was going on. I think the ipod slowed my reaction to the pain and it took me a second to realize what was happening. Damn ipod.

 
Boot to the Head! said:
RudiStein said:
I "splashed" one out of the pool today. He looked half dead but was still moving his legs. I cupped my hands and got him on the deck. It took several minutes for him to dry his wings off and finally take flight.Godspeed little man...godspeed.
Click to expand...
If you tweak the ending of this story a little, you could have a winner.Maybe have him sting you after you rescue him, but you forgive him and set him free, only to later discover while perusing Wikipedia that bees die after deploying their stinger.Something like that.
Click to expand...
:bag:Or, you could cut off all your hair and sell it so you can afford to buy the bee a nice gift for his hive, only to learn he sold his hive so he could buy you a comb for your beautiful hair. :fishing:
 
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