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View Full Version : More than 40 percent of bee hives died in past year



PolWatch
05-13-2015, 05:45 PM
This trend is being seen across the nation. Yes, the beekeepers can revive their business by starting new hives but how long until that is not enough? Bees are not just honey for your waffles. They are major pollinators of food crops.

'WASHINGTON (AP) — More than two out of five American honeybee colonies died in the past year, and surprisingly the worst die-off was in the summer, according to a federal survey.


Since April 2014, beekeepers lost 42.1 percent of their colonies, the second highest loss rate in nine years, according to an annual survey conducted by a bee partnership that includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"What we're seeing with this bee problem is just a loud signal that there's some bad things happening with our agro-ecosystems," said study co-author Keith Delaplane at the University of Georgia. "We just happen to notice it with the honeybee because they are so easy to count."

http://news.yahoo.com/survey-more-40-percent-bee-hives-died-past-131525197.html

Common
05-13-2015, 05:50 PM
I was reading about this a couple of weeks ago, seems they dont know exactly why yet

PolWatch
05-13-2015, 05:51 PM
no, they don't. That is part of what makes it so frightening. If they had a reason, there would be a better chance of correcting the problem.

Peter1469
05-13-2015, 06:04 PM
Here is one explanation. (http://www.globalresearch.ca/death-of-the-bees-genetically-modified-crops-and-the-decline-of-bee-colonies-in-north-america/25950)


There are many reasons given to the decline in Bees, but one argument that matters most is the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and "Terminator Seeds" that are presently being endorsed by governments and forcefully utilized as our primary agricultural needs of survival. I will argue what is publicized and covered by the media is in actuality masking the real forces at work, namely the impact of genetically modified seeds on the reproduction of bee colonies across North America

Genetically modified seeds are produced and distributed by powerful biotech conglomerates. The latter manipulate government agricultural policy with a view to supporting their agenda of dominance in the agricultural industry. American conglomerates such as Monsanto, Pioneer Hybrid and others, have created seeds that reproduce only under certain conditions, often linked to the use of their own brands of fertilizer and/or insecticide.

The genetic modification of the plant leads to the concurrent genetic modification of the flower pollen. When the flower pollen becomes genetically modified or sterile, the bees will potentially go malnourished and die of illness due to the lack of nutrients and the interruption of the digestive capacity of what they feed on through the summer and over the winter hibernation process.

PolWatch
05-13-2015, 06:35 PM
I have not seen that article. I have been reading more along the lines of insecticides producing the problems....the modified crops would make more sense than poison. I may have misunderstood the article but I came away with the feeling that this is a planned side effect to keep their seeds, etc. under their control.

Polecat
05-13-2015, 06:51 PM
I would credit a portion of it to cold weather. The rest is the spooky part.

PolWatch
05-13-2015, 06:57 PM
I would credit a portion of it to cold weather. The rest is the spooky part.

That is one of the problems....they expected more in cold weather....but:

What shocked the entomologists is that is the first time they've noticed bees dying more in the summer than the winter, said vanEngelsdorp said. The survey found beekeepers lost 27.4 percent of their colonies this summer. That's up from 19.8 percent the previous summer.

GrassrootsConservative
05-13-2015, 07:03 PM
First bees now bee hives.

What's next? Honey depopulation?

The sky is falling!! The sky is falling!! Doom and gloom!!

Dr. Who
05-13-2015, 07:04 PM
no, they don't. That is part of what makes it so frightening. If they had a reason, there would be a better chance of correcting the problem.
My money is on GMO crops.

Dr. Who
05-13-2015, 07:06 PM
First bees now bee hives. What's next? Honey depopulation? The sky is falling!! The sky is falling!! Doom and gloom!!You do realize that if all of the bees die, we will starve? Without pollination, plants will die off, there will be no crops, and we won't be able to feed livestock etc?

GrassrootsConservative
05-13-2015, 07:09 PM
Well maybe if our government had any money we could try and fix it. I'm not going to worry any more. Spent far too much time worrying and trying to convince idiots as it is.

Polecat
05-13-2015, 07:09 PM
That is one of the problems....they expected more in cold weather....but:

What shocked the entomologists is that is the first time they've noticed bees dying more in the summer than the winter, said vanEngelsdorp said. The survey found beekeepers lost 27.4 percent of their colonies this summer. That's up from 19.8 percent the previous summer.

Last time I heard it was a fungus that the bees were getting over taken by. The mystery is why is this fungus so lethal now. It is not new to the bees. They used to tolerate it.

Polecat
05-13-2015, 07:11 PM
You do realize that if all of the bees die, we will starve? Without pollination, plants will die off, there will be no crops, and we won't be able to feed livestock etc?

That is a bit alarmist. There are plenty of crops that do not require bees for pollination. But fruits and vegetables would be in short supply.

Dr. Who
05-13-2015, 07:20 PM
That is a bit alarmist. There are plenty of crops that do not require bees for pollination. But fruits and vegetables would be in short supply.
OK, we won't starve, we will just get sick from lack of vitamins. However, I believe in the butterfly effect. The die off of flowering plants will create a cascade effect that will cause a massive die off of all manner of fauna, which will in turn affect flora ad infinitum. There are certain lynch pin creatures on the planet, that fulfill essential roles in maintaining the most fundamental environmental functions. Bees are one of them.

Peter1469
05-13-2015, 07:42 PM
A guy at my work is an amateur bee keeper. Bees don't live long and reproduce like rabbits, so the die offs are concerning, they are not an emergency. So long as we have a lot of citizen geek bee keepers, the bees will be around, even if they die off in the millions!

Dr. Who
05-13-2015, 08:13 PM
A guy at my work is an amateur bee keeper. Bees don't live long and reproduce like rabbits, so the die offs are concerning, they are not an emergency. So long as we have a lot of citizen geek bee keepers, the bees will be around, even if they die off in the millions!
It depends on what's killing them off. If this is just the pointy end of the wedge, then we have much to worry about. If it is in fact a natural cycle, no problem.

Peter1469
05-13-2015, 08:15 PM
It depends on what's killing them off. If this is just the pointy end of the wedge, then we have much to worry about. If it is in fact a natural cycle, no problem.

I don't think it is a natural cycle. I think the GMOs and the insecticides are messing with them.

Based on what my bee keeper colleague says, so long not all bees are "deployed" to spread pollen, it is very easy to take a few and make many more bees.

PolWatch
05-13-2015, 08:15 PM
Interfere with mother nature at your own peril. They can recover now...but what if the trend continues? 10 years? 20 years? Not a problem I will have to face but those who believe in SHTF scenarios should be concerned about their ability to grow crops for their survival. Who knows what mutations could take place? :shocked:

https://sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=JN.t5Q3%2b%2bT%2fjWqp6icZ99izsg&pid=15.1&P=0

Dr. Who
05-13-2015, 08:25 PM
I don't think it is a natural cycle. I think the GMOs and the insecticides are messing with them.

Based on what my bee keeper colleague says, so long not all bees are "deployed" to spread pollen, it is very easy to take a few and make many more bees.
The problem is that the more that the GMOs and insecticides kill off the wild bee population, the more that the wild plants and indigenous creatures will be affected. We do not survive apart from nature - what happens in nature even affects weather (see algae blooms). If wildlife becomes too unbalanced and the creatures that keep the insect population in check become affected, then we could have plagues of insects that destroy all crops.

PattyHill
05-13-2015, 08:36 PM
You do realize that if all of the bees die, we will starve? Without pollination, plants will die off, there will be no crops, and we won't be able to feed livestock etc?


Maybe we can hire illegal immigrants to pollinate all the plants..

Peter1469
05-13-2015, 08:47 PM
The problem is that the more that the GMOs and insecticides kill off the wild bee population, the more that the wild plants and indigenous creatures will be affected. We do not survive apart from nature - what happens in nature even affects weather (see algae blooms). If wildlife becomes too unbalanced and the creatures that keep the insect population in check become affected, then we could have plagues of insects that destroy all crops.

The only point that I have so far as bees go is based of what I am told- they are extremely easy to raise and have expand in numbers.

I am the one who brought up the GMOs and pesticides as a bee killer.

Dr. Who
05-13-2015, 08:55 PM
The only point that I have so far as bees go is based of what I am told- they are extremely easy to raise and have expand in numbers.

I am the one who brought up the GMOs and pesticides as a bee killer.
I also mentioned GMOs (before my previous response) since it seems to be tied to the death of bees. The problem is that domestically raised bees are a mere fraction of the bee population.

Peter1469
05-13-2015, 09:19 PM
I also mentioned GMOs (before my previous response) since it seems to be tied to the death of bees. The problem is that domestically raised bees are a mere fraction of the bee population.

Correct. My point is we can raise the bees we need.

But I also want to get rid of the GMOs. At least in the US. Test them in Africa for 2-3 decades so we know for sure that they are safe.

Dr. Who
05-13-2015, 09:26 PM
Correct. My point is we can raise the bees we need.

But I also want to get rid of the GMOs. At least in the US. Test them in Africa for 2-3 decades so we know for sure that they are safe.
I can't see why they should be inflicted upon Africans. They are not disposable people nor the guinea pigs of the planet. That's what big pharma does. Dumps untried drugs on people who don't have governments with all that hateful legislation to protect them. Heck, if some people had their way and eliminated all such legislation in America, Americans too could be the guinea pigs of the world.

Peter1469
05-13-2015, 09:27 PM
I can't see why they should be inflicted upon Africans. They are not disposable people nor the guinea pigs of the planet. That's what big pharma does. Dumps untried drugs on people who don't have governments with all that hateful legislation to protect them. Heck, if some people had their way and eliminated all such legislation in America, Americans too could be the guinea pigs of the world.

Keep the GMOs out of America until long term scientific experiments prove that they are safe.

Dr. Who
05-13-2015, 09:34 PM
Keep the GMOs out of America until long term scientific experiments prove that they are safe.
That's better. Thank you.

PattyHill
05-14-2015, 08:00 AM
Keep the GMOs out of America until long term scientific experiments prove that they are safe.

I get really torn on this issue. We've been genetically modifying plants for thousands of years; it's what we do.

but some of the things they do - like making plants resistant to round up or making the seeds infertile - makes me nervous.

On the other hand, getting more drought resistant plants could stave off a lot of famine.

So I don't reject GMO just because it's GMO. But I agree testing is important.

I think the bee die off is more likely due to the pesticide that's been being used - neonicotinoid - or something like it. But if we can use more pesticides due to plants being engineered to resist them, that could also be a factor.

Hope we find out soon. We absolutely need our bees

PolWatch
05-14-2015, 08:22 AM
I have been leaning toward the newer types of pesticides causing the problems with the bees. I have not done much reading on the GMO's and their effects on beneficial insects....I suspect there is little to no information on that subject. The developers would not want anyone to think that their insect resistant plants could harm the beneficial insects.

Our untested attempts to mess with mother nature have a history of unintended consequences/failure. The introduction of kudzu to this nation is the first one that comes to mind.

PattyHill
05-14-2015, 08:27 AM
I have been leaning toward the newer types of pesticides causing the problems with the bees. I have not done much reading on the GMO's and their effects on beneficial insects....I suspect there is little to no information on that subject. The developers would not want anyone to think that their insect resistant plants could harm the beneficial insects.

Our untested attempts to mess with mother nature have a history of unintended consequences/failure. The introduction of kudzu to this nation is the first one that comes to mind.

Now THAT is an understatement! yes, we all know many examples. Sigh. And we just keep stumbling along, trying stuff first, testing it later.

Peter1469
05-14-2015, 08:42 AM
I get really torn on this issue. We've been genetically modifying plants for thousands of years; it's what we do.

but some of the things they do - like making plants resistant to round up or making the seeds infertile - makes me nervous.

On the other hand, getting more drought resistant plants could stave off a lot of famine.

So I don't reject GMO just because it's GMO. But I agree testing is important.

I think the bee die off is more likely due to the pesticide that's been being used - neonicotinoid - or something like it. But if we can use more pesticides due to plants being engineered to resist them, that could also be a factor.

Hope we find out soon. We absolutely need our bees

We have not been genetically modifying plants / animals for thousands of years. Not in the sense the term is used today. Putting insecticide plants inside cells is not = to cross breeding for a specific trait.

GMO crops and neonicotinoids are linked (http://www.panna.org/blog/ge-corn-sick-honey-bees-whats-link)by the fact that GMO crops use much more pesticides.


Corn is far from the only crop treated by neonicotinoids, but it is the largest use of arable land in North America, and honey bees rely on corn as a major protein source. At least 94% of the 92 million acres of corn (http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/USDA%20Acreage%202011.pdf) planted across the U.S. this year will have been treated with either clothianidin or thiamethoxam (another neonicotinoid (http://www.panna.org/bees)).


As we head into peak corn planting season throughout the U.S. Midwest, bees will once again “get it from all sides (http://www.panna.org/blog/banner-week-bee-science-zombie-flies-poisonous-planter-exhaust)” as they:


fly through clothianidin-contaminated planter dust;
gather clothianidin-laced corn pollen, which will then be fed to emerging larva;
gather water from acutely toxic, pesticide-laced guttation droplets; and/or
gather pollen and nectar from nearby fields where forage sources such as dandelions have taken up these persistent chemicals from soil that’s been contaminated year on year since clothianidin’s widespread introduction into corn cultivation in 2003.