# Bees disappearing



## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

Honeybees Vanish, Leaving Crops and Keepers in Peril

By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
Published: February 27, 2007
VISALIA, Calif., Feb. 23 - David Bradshaw has endured countless stings during his life as a beekeeper, but he got the shock of his career when he opened his boxes last month and found half of his 100 million bees missing.

A Disappearing Act for Bees In 24 states throughout the country, beekeepers have gone through similar shocks as their bees have been disappearing inexplicably at an alarming rate, threatening not only their livelihoods but also the production of numerous crops, including California almonds, one of the nation's most profitable.

"I have never seen anything like it," Mr. Bradshaw, 50, said from an almond orchard here beginning to bloom. "Box after box after box are just empty. There's nobody home."

The sudden mysterious losses are highlighting the critical link that honeybees play in the long chain that gets fruit and vegetables to supermarkets and dinner tables across the country.

Beekeepers have fought regional bee crises before, but this is the first national affliction.

Now, in a mystery worthy of Agatha Christie, bees are flying off in search of pollen and nectar and simply never returning to their colonies. And nobody knows why. Researchers say the bees are presumably dying in the fields, perhaps becoming exhausted or simply disoriented and eventually falling victim to the cold.

As researchers scramble to find answers to the syndrome they have decided to call "colony collapse disorder," growers are becoming openly nervous about the capability of the commercial bee industry to meet the growing demand for bees to pollinate dozens of crops, from almonds to avocados to kiwis.

Along with recent stresses on the bees themselves, as well as on an industry increasingly under consolidation, some fear this disorder may force a breaking point for even large beekeepers.

A Cornell University study has estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, mostly fruits, vegetables and nuts. "Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food," said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation.

The bee losses are ranging from 30 to 60 percent on the West Coast, with some beekeepers on the East Coast and in Texas reporting losses of more than 70 percent; beekeepers consider a loss of up to 20 percent in the offseason to be normal.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

> "Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,"


Lets see one bite of potatoes three bites of venison, one bite of string beans four bites of venison. I am going to watch during the next rut and see how many bees pollinate those does.

Seriously, one of my college majors is entomology and this is a puzzle. My first thought would be pesticides, but it is to wide spread. 
Lately we have talked about erratic sun activity as related to global warming. Bees navigate using sun location. We associate everything with a reference of north while bees reference their movement with position of the sun. Perhaps their navigation is more complex than we think. Rather than a visual perception of where the sun is maybe their compound eyes detect a level of solar radiation. Perhaps we are overlooking the obvious. 
This is more serious than the average person would assume. Bees are far more important in our lives than most people imagine.


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

Must be those liberals! Or Jane? Or Gore? Or Hillary?? Or any other paranoia dreamed up by......!! Twenty years from now it will be known as the "Gohon Conspiracy!" It's purpose was to spread more misinformation on Global Warming and then blame it on the liberals as a waste of government spending and trying to subverse the business climate of America. Can you believe it! Paranoia can do that to a guy!! He was last seen hiding behind a gas mask up in Alaska!!


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Rooster we were not even getting political. You have to get over that guilt trip you obtain when you vote liberal. You could be worse things than a liberal. For example ------thinking-----thinking--------- I know there is something. 
:rollin:


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## Turner (Oct 7, 2005)

The Union finally got to the bees, they are holding out for a better contract. What will the unions ruin next?


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

I have read about this also. Sure hope it is just a phase. I like honey.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

A swarm of feral honey bees just started a hive a couple weeks ago inside the back wall of my brick house they found a little spot to get up under the deck and into the wall.

I was wondering if there is away to get rid of them without killing them.


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## DecoyDummy (May 25, 2005)

Gee Whizz ...

Wasn't it just a few years ago we were all in a frenzy about the approaching "Africanized Killer Bees?"

Everything seems to run in cylces.

Or so it seems to me.


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

Bobm said:


> A swarm of feral honey bees just started a hive a couple weeks ago inside the back wall of my brick house they found a little spot to get up under the deck and into the wall.
> 
> I was wondering if there is away to get rid of them without killing them.


A bee keeper can set up a trap for you which consists of a box with a active queen bee inside. This takes several weeks to accomplish but it is effective. If you decide to kill them you need to do it very soon before the nest gets so large you will have to tear out a wall to discard it after the bees are dead. Other wise you may have dripping honey seeping through your walls.


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

This all sounds like the beginning of a 1950's sci-fi movie. Its very spooky, when the animals start acting wacky something is going on and whatever it is, its not good.


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