How concerned are you about the world wide decline of honey bees?

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   davenmidtownposted 13 years ago

   A Science magazine last month had an article that talked about the world wide decline of the honey bee.  The article went on to talk about how the French were tagging bees with micro processors to help study bees.  It was an interesting article.  Consider that 75 percent of the food the humans consume is directly related to bees and other pollinators... how concerned should we be?

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      kerrygposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I'm very concerned - even have a few hubs discussing the problem and some counter-measures you can take to help bees.

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         davenmidtownposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I have a bee habitat... because I like to study them.  but in all the time I have been studying these bees I have only seen two traditional bumblebees.  I have seen a handful of the black carpenter bees and a lot of honey bees... Even the smaller native bees have been down in numbers.  Part of that is attributed to a decrease in native plants... but the bumblebees seem to be dying off from disease.

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      Dave Mathewsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Since bees are required for the pollenation of many plants for the plants reproduction ability including fruits and vegetables also pharma-productive plants I would be greatly concerned.

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      manlypoetrymanposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I don't get what all the "buzz' is about?

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   homesteadboundposted 13 years ago

   Anytime a species is greatly reduced or eliminated there is great reason to be concerned. The ecosystem is a little less balanced than it was before its decline. And whatever is impacting it is probably impacting other things.
   And a pollinator of the food supply is very important. Not only to our food supply but to the animals' food supply  also. It will eventually have some kind of domino effect.

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   davenmidtownposted 13 years ago

   What kind of local issues do you either of you attribute to declining bees in your areas or globally?  Are there measure that people can take to protect bees in their communities?

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      homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      In my area, I think two of the problems are Africanized bees killing off honey bees, and the use of pesticides. I go organic personally.

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      kerrygposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      In my local area, I think it's mostly pesticide use and too many monocultures. In the country, it's all corn and soybeans as far as you can see, and in the towns, it's all lawns, lawns, lawns with maybe a blue spruce or Norway maple here and there. Lately there's been a bit of a craze for Russian sage and catmint in this area because they're so drought-resistant, which probably helps a bit (I know the bees loooove my catmint), but it's not enough to make a real difference.

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         homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Corn just doesn't need bees for pollunation does it?

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            kerrygposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            No, it's wind pollinated.

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               homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               yep.

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   knolyourselfposted 13 years ago

   Pesticides and or genetically modified plants?

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      davenmidtownposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      genetically modified plants really scare me.  I am just not sure what people are thinking about when they start messing with the genetic structure of things...

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         homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Don't they use human DNA for those modifications?

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   Hollie Thomasposted 13 years ago

   I think we should be very concerned about the decline of bees. As things stand, the human race pretty much relies on them for food crops in terms of pollination, but also, as the worlds population is growing so is our demand for even more food. We need them.

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      davenmidtownposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      It is even worse then that.  Food that we eat that is not directly attributed to pollination is going to be affected.  Beef, etc relay on pollinated crops such as  alfalfa.  Without pollinators I think we would starve to death.

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   Hollie Thomasposted 13 years ago

   Imogen French also wrote a hub about how we can attract bees into our garden. It's excellent.

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      davenmidtownposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Her hub is awesome!  I always plant a few attractions for pollinators.  They help a great deal.

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   earnestshubposted 13 years ago

   There was an emergency a few years back in North America with a lack of bees. Australia and other countries assisted with supply of bees to ensure a proper harvest.
   I think it is a major concern.

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      homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I hadn't heard about that, that's pretty cool.

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   davenmidtownposted 13 years ago

   That is true... farmers used to think a bee is just a bee... but imported bumblebees caused a huge outbreak of disease that has decimated native bumblebees to the point of near extinction.  I think the structure of how we Americans farm.. has an impact as well.  The decline now is... world wide.

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      earnestshubposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I did not realise it was a problem with methodology, the story I remember was of some sort of fungus or micro organism that was wiping them out, but I have seen nothing indicating it was caused by farming methods. Interesting.

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   klarawieckposted 13 years ago

   They're all hanging out in my backyard. I've got millions of them, along with butterflies.

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    davenmidtownposted 13 years ago

    when farm land takes over natural landscaping... the native plants die off or are removed.  Many native bees have evolved along with the plants.  Without the native plants they can not adapt fast enough to survive.  When we as humans decided we want to plant 20 acres of tomatoes it impacts the native bees.  Farming also impacts survival of the fittest in a sense.. so weaker strains of bees are now affected by molds and bacteria.  Also the introduction of newer disease into populations that have no immunity causes a die off in both the native species and the imported species.  Add to that the freaky weather that is at least being experienced in the United States and even more disparate situations develop for bees.

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    davenmidtownposted 13 years ago

    what kind of bees are they?  is there a bee farm nearby?

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    Dolores Monetposted 13 years ago

    Our American honey bees are not native. Wonder about the impact of genetically altered plants that have a built in pesticide that may kill off any insects and not just target pests.

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    Greek Oneposted 13 years ago

    This year, of the 6 fruit trees in my backyard, NONE produced ANY fruit at all.

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    davenmidtownposted 13 years ago

    I think with genetically re engineered plants the pesticide works on insects that eat the plant.  I can only imagine what it does to us.  The problem with crops like corn and soybeans is that they do not require specific pollination.   Wild bee populations evolved with native plants and as such they have specific plant requirements.  they can not adapt quickly and they die off.  There is a very fragile balance that should be maintained within all ecosystems.  As we farm more land... right or wrong... we disturb the natural ecosystems.  Without native bees and other hymenoptera, such as wasps and ants, plant predators and pests increase and the crop is effected or then sprayed with toxins that kill off the pollinating bees.   I know in my own garden this year, crop production was down at least 25%  Part of that decline can be attributed to the weather.  Part of the decline may also be attributed to an increased flowering plant selection nearby.

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