Fewer Honey Bees Hurts Haagen-Daz
May 8, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO –- The number of commercially managed honey bee hives in the nation dropped 36.1 percent since last year, falling victim to new diseases, pesticide drift and parasites, according to the Apiary Inspectors of America, who promote better beekeeping conditions in North America.
This is the second year the association has measured colony death across the country. Last year’s survey found a 32 percent loss of hives. Those unsustainable levels are not improving, according to Dennis van Engelsdorp, president of the organization responsible for the survey.
"For two years in a row, we've sustained a substantial loss," van Engelsdorp said. "That's an astonishing number. Imagine if one out of every three cows, or one out of every three chickens, were dying. That would raise a lot of alarm."
The survey included 327 operators who account for 19 percent of the country's approximately 2.44 million commercially managed bee hives. About 29 percent of the deaths were due to Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious disease that causes adult bees to abandon their hives.
"What's frightening about CCD is that it's not predictable or understood," van Engelsdorp said.
Pennsylvania's Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff announced yesterday that the state would pour an additional $20,400 into research at Pennsylvania State University looking for the causes of CCD. This raises emergency funds dedicated to investigating the disease to $86,000.
The issue also has attracted federal grants and funding from companies that depend on honey bees, including ice-cream maker Haagen-Dazs. The berries, fruits and nuts that give about 28 of Haagen-Daazs' varieties flavor depend on honey bees for pollination, thus the company is donating up to $250,000 to CCD and sustainable pollination research at Penn State and the University of California, Davis.
Farmers estimate that nearly one third of the nation’s food is pollinated by bees. With colonies in rapid decline, there is concern about the need for alternative pollination options.
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Several different opinions were offered. Apparently one expert said large numbers of bees are transported to different crops to pollinate them and this is causing stress on the bees.
The bees are leaving the hive so you have a hive with honey and a queen. The colony cannot survive without the queen so the bees that go MIA most surely die.
It also mentions that these vacated hives are not touched by killer bees or predators for 2 weeks after this happens. In the past the dead bees would be found in the hives or lying close by outside of the hives. They did not fly off in a mass exodus to die and the article says the ones left behind are heavily diseased which causes them to suspect problems with the immune systems.
Pesticides, of course, were a possible cause named along with cell phones (tower signals may be disorienting the bees), genetically modified crops and diet to name a few.
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/07/05/02/where_did_all_the_bees_go__amp_what_does_it_mean_for_us_the_mysterious_mass_disappearance_of_bees.htm
(You'll have to cut and paste).
I do hate dandelions and I pick the flowers so they don't go to seed but I have noticed a lot of the flowers have a bee around them. I leave those alone. Can never get them all but I guess I'll leave more of them alone. That certainly won't be hard to do! Perhaps I'll put in a little dandelion garden for them.
This is certainly scary and the impact is huge! I hope they figure this one out soon!!
BTW, honey is the only food that does not spoil. Just had to add that. LOL
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http://friendsofanimals.org/actionline/fall-2004/is-honey-vegan.html
This is from the website:
"Honey is usually taken from the hive in the spring and fall. In the fall, beekeepers replace honey with white sugar syrup — a poor substitute for the bees’ natural food supply — or kill off the colonies to avoid maintaining the hives throughout the winter."
Here's how you can help:
http://www.bees-online.com/HowToHelpOurHoneyBees.html
www.helpthehoneybees.com
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I find it strange that the govt has only contributed $80,000?! This is a total crisis..... I can't believe the feds aren't pumping way more into it, considering the millions they spend on trivial things
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I saw one report that said it may have something to do with pollution. The chemical markers that the bees use to find their way back to the hive are getting messed up.
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The big picture is rather frightening....
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