[tjay]

inspired by the wasp thread, here's an article regarding our bee populations in michigan and other great lake states. basically people, if we don't have bees, we have no food, and if we have no food we have no people. although the cause is not known, pollution is suspected. something to think about, on top of the millions of other things to think about

Colony Collapse Disorder - Great Lakes Wiki (http://www.greatlakeswiki.org/index.php/Colony_Collapse_Disorder - broken link)

[chiroptera]

"In China, where commercialized pollination is, there are many farms that have had to resort to the worst-case scenario: Hand Pollination. Farmhands go through orchards climbing trees, working one flower at a time."

Looking on the bright side - lots of new jobs, potentially, if CCD wipes out Michigan's honey bee population.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by tjay

inspired by the wasp thread, here's an article regarding our bee populations in michigan and other great lake states. basically people, if we don't have bees, we have no food, and if we have no food we have no people. although the cause is not known, pollution is suspected. something to think about, on top of the millions of other things to think about

Colony Collapse Disorder - Great Lakes Wiki (http://www.greatlakeswiki.org/index.php/Colony_Collapse_Disorder - broken link)

Where does it say that pollution is suspected? What I read is that the ran down all of the suspected causes and it turned out to be none of them, or some combnatoin of several possible impacts that they are nto able to test.

It seems to be concentrated aruond the great lakes. Apparently, it has something to do with the lakes. Is it happening in the south?

[tjay]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Where does it say that pollution is suspected? What I read is that the ran down all of the suspected causes and it turned out to be none of them, or some combnatoin of several possible impacts that they are nto able to test.

It seems to be concentrated aruond the great lakes. Apparently, it has something to do with the lakes. Is it happening in the south?

maybe that was in another article i read about it. may have gotten the articles confused. i'm SURE pollution and the ways of modern society have absolutely NOTHING to do with this, and affect NOTHING. i wouldn't dare make such a claim, because every action has an opposite or equal reaction, not.

if you get nothing from this thread then you don't have to read it.

[chiroptera]

It's not the Great Lakes - this is happening all over the world. I first read about it a few years ago.
Wikipedia isn't the most authoritative source but it's a start.
Colony collapse disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[tjay]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

"In China, where commercialized pollination is, there are many farms that have had to resort to the worst-case scenario: Hand Pollination. Farmhands go through orchards climbing trees, working one flower at a time."

Looking on the bright side - lots of new jobs, potentially, if CCD wipes out Michigan's honey bee population.

lol...sign me up:}

[tjay]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

It's not the Great Lakes - this is happening all over the world. I first read about it a few years ago.
Wikipedia isn't the most authoritative source but it's a start.
Colony collapse disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

i saw that too, there are tons of articles on this.....very interesting subject

[MTUCache]

Again... wikipedia, so take from it what you will:

The cause or causes of the syndrome are not yet fully understood, although many authorities attribute the problem to biotic factors such as Varroa mites and insect diseases (i.e., pathogens including Nosema apis and Israel acute paralysis virus).Other proposed causes include environmental change-related stresses, malnutrition and pesticides (e.g. neonicotinoids such as imidacloprid), and migratory beekeeping. More speculative possibilities have included both cell phone radiation and genetically modified (GM) crops with pest control characteristics, though experts say no evidence exists for either assertion. It has also been suggested that it may be due to a combination of many factors and that no single factor is the cause.

Too early to tell yet, but Al Gore may be able to relax on this one.

[tecpatl]

As a great man once said: Float like a lepidoptera, sting like a hymenoptera.........

[Cliffie]

One thing I've noticed since the European honeybees started dying off is the large variety of other pollinators stepping into the breach. Part of this is surely global warming, because for 10 years I've been seeing strange new insects every single year; but I am happy seeing that there are plenty of pollinators out there and plenty of fruit being produced. Of course this continues to be lousy news for the honey industry, but I'm not seeing less honey on the store shelves, honestly.