Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As much as we like to think we dominate nature, she rules, and we are dependents upon her. No more bees, no more people!
Most fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds are dependent on bees, as are crops used as cattle and pig feed. And if we can’t feed cows, we can say farewell to dairy produce. Nor is it only the food we eat that is inextricably linked to bees. The cotton plant that provides so much of what we wear also relies on bee pollination.
Honeybees sterilize their hives by coating all surfaces with propolis, a resin they produce. But the arrival of the varroa mite,
It is also believed the chemicals in pesticides interfere with the bees’ personal electrical and just as a varied diet is good for human health, it is also essential for a bee’s immune system. Unless it can feed on a variety of pollens, the bee becomes more susceptible to disease. The monoculture practices of modern farming, in which vast acreages are dedicated to one crop, are not helping matters.
So we need to do all we can to help them. A World Without Bees… No Bees = No Food = No More People… « KnowTheLies.WordPress… Alternative News From Around the World
Some perspective: there were no honey bees in North America until Europeans introduced them. The sky is not falling. Sorry. We will now resume our normal programming.
can we live without Honeybees ? yes i think so ,Honeybees did not live in Greenland until just a few decades ago and they did manage just fine
I don't live in Greenland, do you? Are you saying there are humans in Greenland that have no need for fruit, veges or dairy? If they import, then they would be in dire straits too.
Quote:
Just how important are honeybees to the human diet? Typically, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these under-appreciated workers pollinate 80 percent of our flowering crops which constitute 1/3 of everything we eat. Losing them could affect not only dietary staples such as apples, broccoli, strawberries, nuts, asparagus, blueberries and cucumbers, but may threaten our beef and dairy industries if alfalfa is not available for feed. One Cornell University study estimated that honeybees annually pollinate $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the U.S. Essentially, if honeybees disappear, they could take most of our insect pollinated plants with them, potentially reducing mankind to little more than a water diet.
Clearly the mass food production system we have become dependant on requires honey bees. I almost never see a honey bee in my home garden/orchard here in Winterville Ga. Still, the carpenter bees, mason bees, hover flies, bumble bees, and other solitary bees do a very good job of pollinating my fruits and vegetables.
Sure we could survive without the honeybee, but not without bees entirely. It's been my observation that the native bees, such as the bumblebees, have been declining the same as the honeybees.
Sure we could survive without the honeybee, but not without bees entirely. It's been my observation that the native bees, such as the bumblebees, have been declining the same as the honeybees.
Along with a wide range of butterflies. The bumblebees that came last summer were different looking - my husband said they were carpenter bees. I don't know. We seemed to have less bugs overall, even the ticks and mosquitoes numbers were noticibly absent. I don't hear or see the frogs around the ponds anymore. I am concerned.
There is a wide variety of pollinators, not just bees, and certainly not just honeybees. As someone has noted, honeybees were introduced to North America by the Europeans.
Quote:
We seemed to have less bugs overall, even the ticks and mosquitoes numbers were noticibly absent. I don't hear or see the frogs around the ponds anymore. I am concerned.
Localized phenomenon? Natural cycles? "Seemed" is of little value, lacking a well-designed scientific study by qualified persons to confirm what you think you observed there is no reason to start saying that the sky is falling.
I have plenty (more than) of skeeters, blackflies, ticks and other assorted bugs, so much so that the myriad of frogs, dragonflies, flycatchers and other bug-eating critters can't put a noticeable dent in the populations. I'd be more than happy to send all of the skeeters, ticks, blackflies, horseflies and other biting fliers to you if you'd like.
Quote:
Honeybees sterilize their hives by coating all surfaces with propolis, a resin they produce.
This is incorrect. Honeybees do *not* "sterilize" their hives by "coating all surfaces" with propolis. Propolis is formed from sap gathered from various plants and trees and is used to glue things together and/or block gaps in the hive where wind gets through. Occasionally, it will be used to coat [the corpses of] invaders and mummify them. It's a royal PITA when they glue down the top covers and hive bodies, even more when they glue the &$%#%& frames together so you can't easily pull them out to inspect them.
The hives are not 'sterile'. Diseases can and do exist, particularly Nosema, which can cause dysentery in the Winter months if not controlled with medication. Mites must be controlled as their parasitic feeding on the bees weakens their immune systems, which can make them more susceptible to disease such as Nosema. An Integrated Pest Management System is important in maintaining the overall health of the hives. Mite and disease resistant species are being bred but IPM will likely still be necessary.
Feral honeybees still exist. Wild honeybees also exist, many varied species of them, around the globe and they are doing just fine. The world is is not in danger of becoming devoid of honeybees.
More from the [incorrect] blog post that was cut and pasted:
Quote:
just as a varied diet is good for human health, it is also essential for a bee’s immune system. Unless it can feed on a variety of pollens, the bee becomes more susceptible to disease. The monoculture practices of modern farming, in which vast acreages are dedicated to one crop, are not helping matters.
This 'monoculture farming' does not restrict the diet of bees, as many colonies of bees are transported from place to place for commercial pollination purposes. When the pollination of one crop is complete they are moved to another crop so their diet is varied. The so-called 'Colony Collapse Disorder' has mainly affected commercial pollinators, and it is more likely the stress of being transported from place to place that makes them more susceptible to disease rather than deficiencies in diet.
I am a beekeeper. The sky is not falling. The world is not in danger of starvation due to a lack of bees.
If you want to worry about something that is far more concerning, worry about the various religious whackjobs fighting over whose 'god' is bigger/badder/better starting a nuclear war that will cause far more serious problems for the planet.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
and they did manage just fine
