Why can't we figure out that we are killing ourselves? A local beekeeper here in central Massachusetts says her bees are fine. They are foraging locally among wildflowers and organic farms, not being carted around the country to mono-crops full of pesticides. Also, I read that the commercial beekeepers were feeding their bees high-fructose corn syrup during their road trips. Wouldn't that be poisonous as well? Commercials bees are definitely not healthy.

the gmo bees are working out as good as the gmo foods

thank you monsanto

Boycott Bayer.

-30-

Bayer, the company that also re-invented and marketed (drum roll please...) Heroin!

Still cherries on my tree in the back yard. Normally its a race between the birds, racoons, and myself. Where are the fruit eating birds? And the racoons? And where are the bugs? Hardly a bug on the windshield of my car or scooter! Maybe we've offed ourselves and don't know it yet. Yes I do have some bees, bugs , and other insects in my .25acre. But for 25 years there has not been any pesticide, or commercial fertilizer used on it. But I've just got .25 acres. In the middle of Pacific Northwest Suburbia.

P.S. to Unforgiven, Opium was used and restructured/cooked well before Bayer came along. And if someone is ill on to death, Heroin is still an excellent pain killer.

P.S. byranD Bees are not a GM crop. Though as I understanding breeding. Honeybees have been breed just like cows or sheep for lack of aggression, or honey production. Maybe your thinking the GM crops have done damage to their DNA?

What is needed is a new genetically modified corporate bee that is resistant to pesticides, radiation, airborn particulate matter, toxic water, and is capable of being programmed to fly from location to location across the Country and feeds on carbon dioxide.

Get a low-maintenance hive in your own backyard and help stabilize our bee population:

http://www.backyardhive.com

http://www.beeguardian.org

While pesticides are certainly contributing to the trouble bees are having, the problem with high losses of bees come down to two major factors: management and land use. '
Trucking bees in the winter, when they are supposed to be in a semi-dormant state, is very harmful for the bees. During the winter I won't even tap on the side of a hive to listen for the bee's response because even a slight disturbance like this can make the difference between a weak colony surviving or dying. Of course a Southern Ontario winter is much colder than a California winter, but the same principle applies. Long distance trucking explains why so many colonies die shortly after arriving for almond pollination in January or February.
As for the rest of the die off, it is a result of greed-driven industrial style management of bees (it would be more accurate to call it boxkeeping than beekeeping). Simply put, many beekeepers try to do too much with too few bees in old contaminated equipment. Since pollinators get paid per hive, not per bee, they split one strong health colony into a few weak ones, and then act surprised when they don't make it through the winter. (I'm kind of glossing over the details here, but I could elaborate on any of these points if requested)

The main point I want to make here relates to land use issues. The person I work for currently has their bees in two different locations in Southern Ontario. Some are in Wellington County, some are in Norfolk county under pollination contracts.
In Wellington county, there is a lot of land used for pasture, which is not actively planted or harvested from. There are many patches of forest, and many wildflower meadows. Essentially there is plenty of uncultivated and unmaintained fallow land.
In Norfolk County, where the bees are currently pollinating watermelons, almost every square meter of land is planted with large mono-culture blocks of farm crops. There is no fallow land in sight, and only minimal lines of trees planted as wind breaks. Many of the crops are also heavily sprayed with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
Which bees do you think would do better? I've seen for myself that the bees in Wellington county are doing much better. They're stronger, growing faster, and more vigorous in general. And this would be the case even if all the farms in Norfolk county were not using pesticides. Why? Because pollen is the source of all the protein in a bee's diet. To get all the protein they need, bees require DIVERSE protein sources to ensure they get all their essential amino acids.
To have healthy bees, we need healthy ecosystems with a wide range of flowering plants and trees, not large monocultures.

I note that while bee populations have exhibited significant drops over the last few years, a shampoo advertised on television is said to contain the ingredient "royal jelly"! That's what's happened to the bees! They're in the shampoo!

DOOM N GLOOM

and don't forget the microscopic cameras and listening devices to spy on the 'terrists' on the way...................

CLASSACT

yeah, i wonder with all the bees disappearing, just exactly where this
'royal jelly' comes from. it's in pill form too............if you want and can afford it.

One cause could be that people afraid of Africanized bees are spraying bee colonies with insecticides wherever they find them.

Maybe oil will get too expensive to use for making pesticides.

Dallas, TX, second year in a row without a single bee spotted. No flowers, either, aside from store-bought transplants.

The giant flying cockroaches are doing just fine, though.

DEFENESTRATOR

thanks for that useful link. i'm really interested in my own hive but it all looks pretty daunting............my main concern is where do i get the bees from???? maybe a stupid question, but i know nothing about hives/beekeeping. and i live in southern europe.

They are just bees... Here in America, all we need are your basic cats and dogs, chickens and cows alive on this planet.

Maybe Obama and the regressive Democrats are killing them.

BEE KEEPER: Thank you for the highly intelligent posting. I have a friend that takes me boating in the Gulf of Mexico just off Cedar Key. There are 4 basic islands, one closed most of the year as it's a bird sanctuary. On one of them there are mangroves and we stopped the boat to LISTEN... the sound of so many buzzing bees was wonderful! We joked that like so many of us who add to CD, the bees are fed up with living on the mainland where they are treated like slave labor... so they escaped to an offshore island where they can pollinate and do their bee dances, etc to their own natural delight.

Who the hell needs bees, anyway? I only eat MEAT and POTATOES. I'm an AMERICAN. Fuck the earth. Fuck future generations, the little bastards. Fuck this incredible and astounding jewel hanging out there in space. Use it up. There IS no TOMORROW, and even if there was, SO WHAT? I WANT MINE AND I WANT IT NOW!!

Nice junk science article, but too bad for the idiot authoer of this the scientists have concluded that Varroa is most likely the cause of CCD.

kent seems angry? I'm perplexed. No last day of July.... you meen tonight is the final few hours of my not so horrible life. Whatever shall I do with these special hours? How about a joke to make everyone laugh......

I'm sorry, but this article frankly scares me. The fact that the FDA doesn't regulate toxic, DEADLY chemicals that we put into our bodies makes me shudder. And I'm afraid that this is only the beginning of a long, drawn out die-off of essential insect life, in which we _will_ be affected. We rely on insects more than we realize, as not only pollinators, but decomposers, medicines, and even their own pest control. The bees are just the beginning, and I'm appalled at the way humans treat them.

Think about this; if the pesticides are toxic to insects, and they are sprayed in mass quantity over food, usually by aerial means, in which maybe one out of every fifty pounds makes it to the target, where does the rest go? You have the one out of fifty pounds that you eat, of course, but the rest is thrown into the atmosphere, to be breathed by humans and animals. Or it ends up in a river or drinking water. Following that logic, wouldn't it be more efficient to just inject it directly to our bloodstream?

For every pesticide that is used, there is a non-toxic approach to the problem. I can think of four different anti-pest methods off the top of my head, including Wasps, Spiders, Ladybugs, Bats and, for all your little rodent friends, snakes. (rat snakes are nonpoisonous, not aggressive, and perfectly capable of keeping all manner of vermin away.)

As to the person suggesting bio-engineered bees, good idea. Maybe in a hundred years we'll come up with the indestructible bee, but until then this is what we're stuck with. And if we don't realize that they're actually quite delicate, then we're just circling the proverbial drain. If this keeps up, in less than ten years we'll be looking into a replacement for our necessary pollinators. As it is, some crops are hand-pollinated already, requiring more manpower and hours than I want to contemplate.

And to the man ranting and raving about 'American' values, meat and potatoes, consider this. What does that cow you're eating eat? Corn, grown in a farm, that, wonder of wonders, needs an insect to pollinate it. And those potatoes? Yep. Pollinated by a little six legged friend. If one domino falls, they all fall, and guess what? You're a domino too. The same is true for all people.

I'm also relieved that Defenstrator and Beekeeper Dan are being proactive. The ideas they propose are sound, but if they aren't taken up by a majority of people, it's not going to do much good. The bees are still going to disappear, and my generation, the one taking over from the current one, will be left in a wasteland. I don't want that.

So I guess I'm saying that I'd like to see more people use common sense, and human decency. And just think, if it could kill that, could it kill me? This world is the only one we get, and the Biosphere2 experiment failed spectacularly, as I've seen myself. If we ruin the planet we have now, we're not getting another one. So I ask you, is it worth it for mankind to abuse it like this? I think not.

Concerned Teen

The major concern of those in power (corporations) is not the Earth, but their bank accounts. If every toxic chemical wantonly added to our ecosphere since time began has proportionally decreased its ability to support life (first, bees', then ours), then the tipping point isnear, dontcha think? Why wasn't a PESTICIDE REGISTRY initiated at the outset, so these systemic poisons could have been regulated/outlawed? [see first sentence, above]

This is no mystery to me. WE HAVE INDUSTRIALIZED THE BEES. Hell, I wandered off into the woods to try and die after having been industrialized myself.

Concerned Teen July 30th, 2008 10:47 pm: "Corn, grown in a farm, that, wonder of wonders, needs an insect to pollinate it."

Actually corn, like the grasses (wheat etc.), is among the 10% of flowering plants that are wind pollinated.

"The giant flying cockroaches are doing just fine, though."

And one of them, John McCain, will be the next president.

To bee ...or be?

The term was chemical soup.

We bathe in it.

A ring of 100lb sacks or pesticide ringing the planet?

Our flea collar.

The bees become like fleas...

Or we do.

People report fewer common insects that they were used to seeing but where are the scientists telling us that that isn't true? Silence.

Is it just the bees?

If a flea collar is placed around the Earth ...um? Then the Earth would be wearing the fea collar and that would make us the...um ... that would be like we were ...

maybe we are huh? Gee what could all that insectide do to insects.

My fav are the neurotoxin based ones that in strong dosages is nerve gas for humans.

Um? Stop the world (you know the one with the flea collar) I want to get off...

said the flea.

He had a point.

"and don't forget the microscopic cameras and listening devices to spy on the 'terrists' on the way………………."

Oh yah, I knew I was forgetting something Coco.

I have seen wild bees this year but very few wasps and no yellow jackets or hornets which is very unusual.

Ya all want a joke?

Dogface to the rescue.

Why do Bees buzz?

You'd buzz too if you had your honey between your legs!

I've seen one honeybee so far this year. Just one. Last year I was seeing two or three a day. I've got lemon balm and catmint, both of which are invasive pests, but which the bees love, so I'm keeping them. I've got a huge catmint plant taking over my herb garden. Ordinarily, I'd pull it out, but the bees and butterflies love it, so it's staying-I'll wack it back in the late fall. On a positive note, I am seeing lots of other sorts of bees-some little bumble types, and bigger bumble types and some tensy-tiny hornet things. And I do have tomatoes and squash, for which I thank the catmint.

I'm really allergic to bees, but I'm thinking of getting a hive and putting it on the back part of my seven acres. I don't spray.

Oh, and Doom-I've got plenty of yellow jackets and wasps. Come and get some of mine!

I know the parasitic wasps are useful and they keep my tomato hornworms in check-every hornworm I see has wasp eggs on it-but they really creep me out. I'm trying to get over my spraying reflex on those things-they're the one thing I will still nuke from time to time, because they're just hateful and won't leave you alone. But I've held my hand this year.

Except for about an hour one morning, we are not seeing any specie of the 20,000 known bees in the world. No hornets, no wasps, no lady bugs, no praying mantis etc, and very few horse or house flies and no one near our land sprays either.

We are located near a million or so acres of BLM land in southern Arizona and there are millions of oak trees of several varieties and there were no nuts on the trees last year or this year and the trees had all blossomed out. Our tomatoes and squash are doing well but they don't need bees to pollinate. We also do not see any butterflies and very few birds and no bats anymore. Got lots of ants.

As the astronauts once reported. "Houston, we have a problem."

Hi ~CoCo~. Don't go to Canada, you can stay here with us and count the stars at night. Those Canucks are almost as crazy as we are. ___Almost.

I have two words for you all: Natural Farming, as in The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka, published in 1978. Mr. Fukuoka decided to work with nature instead of fighting it. He grew weeds and an entire ecosystem of insects, spiders, toads, birds -- you name it -- with his crops. He threw mud balls of vegetable seed among his mandarin orange groves and grew hardy, healthy vegetables along with his equally healthy oranges. He never tilled, he never fertilized, he never composted, he never used any chemicals at all -- not even "organic" ones. And he produced comparable or greater amounts of rice, oranges, barley and other crops per acre and of unquestionably better quality (sought out by gourmet restaurants) than those of either traditional or "chemical" farmers, with far less work. And we can do it too, meaning everyone with a little space of earth, even an abandoned lot. All it takes is a change of mind-set. I highly recommend this book!

Lots of honeybees in my Vermont garden -- lots. And wasps and yellowjackets, and various other kinds of bees. It seems like the plants are exceptionally vibrant and productive this year. I believe that where the Earth and Her offspring are genuinely loved and revered, She responds with bounty.

It is strange how the lack of inscects, including bees is so random around the world. Some report they see no bees, wasps, hornets, etc at all, and others report they have ample bees and other inscets.

There have been numerous articles here this past year about the issue and several articles about the "dramatic world-wide" decline of birds, bats, fish, toads, frogs, and butterflies, etc.

Our experiece that we can witness with our eyes is, here we have miles and miles of oak trees growing naturally, as they have for several hundreds of years here, with no pesticides, no farming at all, no chemicals being used whatsoever, and suddenly within the past two years, there are no or very few bees, hornets, wasps, ect to pollinatie the tree's blossoms.

Then others who live two thousand miles plus distant, say they have scads of bees and other inscects. Then many others who live in the northeast, from New Jersey to Maine, say they have seen no bees, etc. Strange isn't it? It's as if there is no problem at all for a few and many others see a serious problem and that is why the articles about the issue are printed.

KEM PATRICK

and thank you for your invitation. i wish it were that simple........i love counting stars.

i know what you mean about some people seeing lots of wildlife and others having scarcity of it. it's very confusing. but i'm glad some regions are rich in insects/birds etc.

i dont' know what the 'norm' is here as i've only been here 8 months but it seems to me there should be more of everything considering the greenery/flowers/plants. however, the other night my cat was very interested in a toad she found in the bushes. so there is hope. birdwise though, we are very thin on the ground according to my bird book. but i have two lovely resident crickets on my catmint plant...........

Crickets are good fish bait.

Hey KEM:

I live in Southern California. I have let my backyard go fallow for about ten years. I wish I could say I did it on purpose. NOT! I have never used any form of spray on my land in the 23 years I have lived here.

Sometime in the nineties, we were all trapped in our homes at night while several helicopters dived bombed us and sprayed our city for the notorious Mediterranean Fruit Fly. I have come to believe that this creature is just as mythical an animal as the Unicorn is.

People were leaving our city with their asthmatic children during these forays. The windows and the fixtures in the ceiling would rattle so hard that we would duck and cover. If your car was not covered...there went the paint job.

Then, a few years ago, I realized that I have not heard my summer crickets for a long time. I still do not hear crickets.

I do get some butterflies and bees. I love my birds…they bring me their babies all the time.

I have however made a deal with the ants. Please read "KINSHIP WITH ALL LIFE" – By J. Allen Boone. This philosophy has worked for the ants and I for years.

It is time I got back into my yard and do some sincere communicating. I want my yard to be a haven.

Hi ~DOGFACE~ Yes indeed, there are many man made poisons which now pollute our atmosphere and waters. What I've noticed and what is alarming, is how many life forms have suddenly disappearded within just the past TWO years.

Here's a rather humerous experience we witnessed. My retired father-in-law lived next door to a cousin of his. Dad had a show case, one acre garden. He worked his butt off with it and raised enough veggies to feed a dozen families year round.

His cousin would roto-till his one acre garden in early March and put a truck load of steer manure on it and in April he'd till that in and then plant his seeds. He never touched it again until November, except to pick the veggies. In November he'd plow it all under. The weeds were higher than his corn, it looked like it was was just an acre of weeds, nothing pretty about it. Well, he harvested enough veggies to feed two dozen families from that acre of weeds.

While dad was workng his garden daily, his cousin was either off fishing, or playing pool with his buddies at the local pub. It was funny, but it was a minor irritation for our dad. Those weeds made for great "green manure". Of course they were full of weed seeds too.

And Dogface, we have a 26 acre haven for wildlife, surrounded by thousands of acres of BLM land, two nice mountain streams snake through our land. Four years ago, we'd count 78 specie of birds and some were large flocks.

Last year, we counted 11 specie and no flocks of any. So far this year it's worse. The Javalina, fox, deer and caoti-mundi have left also, no acorns for them or for the squirrls or black bears. It is very quiet here at night now. Deathly quiet.

Why? Because it is PROFITS before people and to hell with everything else. Wonder what all these rich people are going to buy with all their money when there is nothing left to eat. Way to go! planet rapists.

Has the Bush Administration gotten ANYTHING right . . .EVER? Seriously, what have they ever been successful at besides stealing elections by hook and crook plus moving massive amounts of money into the hands of the already filthy rich?

Is there a single solitary program a thoughtful rational person can point to with pride? Is there anything the Bushites have not broken? And, if you say no more 9/11s, I have to ask how, other than pure luck or accident.

Yet, for some reason, McCain, Bush's busy bee camp follower, is actually ahead of the one viable non-Bush candidate that remains, one of the few currently in office not grossly tainted by either personal greed or incompetency to prevent the rampant greed of the Republicans and rape of our country and others. How can anyone not be embarrassed they voted Republican in the 21st Century and still find reasons not to support Obama?

There is another problem other than rotten government chemical policy that may be causing the spotty and disappearing and transplanting wildlife. According to scientists, Earth is preparing or in process of magnetic pole reversal.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/09/0909_040909_earthmagfield.html

Critters that use the magnetic currents of the planet for migration are going to get seriously loss. It will also play serious havoc with the internal systems of some wild critters.