|
Bees!
Mar 4, 2007 5:09:16 GMT -5
Post by Skunky on Mar 4, 2007 5:09:16 GMT -5
|
|
|
Bees!
Mar 27, 2007 23:58:22 GMT -5
Post by Willy Wonka on Mar 27, 2007 23:58:22 GMT -5
Invisible Bees!!!!!
*Swipes hands around eyes making strange movements kinda looking like Chamillionaires Dance Video*
|
|
|
Bees!
Apr 1, 2007 20:30:27 GMT -5
Post by Skunky on Apr 1, 2007 20:30:27 GMT -5
Apparently, there was a story on Digg the other day about bees dying somewhere. Pretty crazy!
|
|
|
Bees!
Apr 1, 2007 20:47:02 GMT -5
Post by Willy Wonka on Apr 1, 2007 20:47:02 GMT -5
Good...Not to partial to bees! I'm kinda allergic...
|
|
|
Bees!
Apr 5, 2007 22:35:33 GMT -5
Post by kingofrod on Apr 5, 2007 22:35:33 GMT -5
I'm more afeared of dem mud daubers! Get outta here waspers!
|
|
|
Bees!
Apr 9, 2007 5:03:21 GMT -5
Post by Willy Wonka on Apr 9, 2007 5:03:21 GMT -5
I'm in the general belief anything that's harmful to me must die . Not neccessarily afraid of it...I just don't like surprises!!!
|
|
ME
Junior Member
Posts: 68
|
Bees!
Apr 16, 2007 5:11:21 GMT -5
Post by ME on Apr 16, 2007 5:11:21 GMT -5
As they say, Bob's your uncle.
Cell Phones Are Dangerous…To Bees! Those waves of radiation emitting from your cell phone have been linked to everything from cancer and brain cell death to infertility. Now, a new (and controversial, as these things go) report links cell phone radiation to crop failure - as a result of the "radiation from mobile phones…interfering with bees' navigation systems." The effect of the bees' subsequent inability to go about their happy pollinating ways has been theorized to be the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD.
CCD occurs when the bee colony suddenly up and disappears, leaving just the Queen and some eggs and immature workers in the hive. The mass exodus may be linked to cell phone radiation causing the bees to loss their way and die far from the hive. Without a bee hive, crops that depend on pollination are left barren and unable to carry on. Huge crop die-offs could be a real threat to human existence, so it's kinda scary.
The US has seen 60-70% of its bee population disappear as of last Autumn. Even England, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece have reported mysterious abandonments of bee hives.
But fear not (yet, at least), the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK has insisted that there is no evidence of CCD. It's almost impossible to nail down the effects of cell phone use, so take that with a grain of salt. And, just to be safe, try to limit your cell phone blabbing until we know, for sure, what the dangers are.
|
|
ME
Junior Member
Posts: 68
|
Bees!
May 13, 2007 20:20:43 GMT -5
Post by ME on May 13, 2007 20:20:43 GMT -5
Yet another theory:
Bee Colony Collapse Disorder: Could It Be Parasites, Pathogens Or Pesticides? Science Daily — Scientists are working hard to understand the sources of a staggering decline in honeybees in as many as 27 U.S. states and countries in Europe and Asia this winter, said Cornell associate professor of entomology Nicholas Calderone.
In the United States, half a million to a million colonies out of a total 2.4 million colonies have died this winter. Both tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi) and varroa mites (Varroa destructor) have threatened the bee industry since the 1980s, causing similar catastrophic die-offs to bee populations in the winters of 1995-96 and 2000-01. The mites feed on U.S. honeybees and act as a vector for a number of bee viruses, though varroa mites are especially deadly. While many bees this year exhibit symptoms of mite damage, about 25 percent of the deaths this year cannot be attributed to mites or any other known honeybee pest, Calderone said.
Finding the cause of the problem is vital for U.S. agriculture. Many fruit, vegetable and seed crops, worth between $8 billion and $12 billion each year, rely on honeybees for pollination. "Just like in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster," Calderone said, "there are a lot of conflicting and inaccurate reports" circulating in the media. "What we do know is that there are an awful lot of dead bees. We are looking for patterns."
Genetically modified foods, mites, pathogens, pesticides and electromagnetic radiation from cell phones have all been proposed as possible causes of the bees' demise. But, Calderone said, the actual causes are unknown at this time.
A number of studies suggest that a protozoan, a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae , may be playing a role. The protozoan infects the midgut of honeybees. Some beekeepers have noted that treating bee boxes with gamma rays used for food irradiation has allowed healthy hives to return to the boxes, leading to speculation that a pathogen like Nosema could be involved in the some bee deaths this year, Calderone said.
Another possible culprit is a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, which has been widely detected on pollen at low concentrations in other countries experiencing die-offs. At certain levels these insecticides may impair the bees' abilities to learn, leading some scientists to believe exposed bees may leave the hive and get lost. "The studies don't seem to indicate that the doses they [the bees] are encountering are having any detectable effect on foraging behavior," though more research is needed, said Calderone.
As yet, there is little evidence that insecticides or electromagnetic radiation have led to bee deaths, Calderone added.
But, he said, even if the cause of the new deaths were "cured tomorrow, we would still be operating in crisis mode due to mite damage."
Miticides have been used to combat mites, though over time the mites develop resistance, requiring constant development of new chemicals. Also, miticides can only be used at certain times of the year because if used during a nectar flow, they can contaminate the honey crop. There is also evidence that miticides can accumulate in the bees' wax combs to levels that could be harmful to the bees themselves.
At present, research experiment stations at land-grant universities like Cornell are putting together funding plans for research to investigate the cause of this year's bee declines. Also, the federal government is considering allotting tens of millions of dollars for long-term competitive grants for programs that target honeybees' overall health.
Calderone himself will spend this summer traveling throughout the Northeast to the ranges of migratory honeybees to collect samples of pollen from honeybee colonies being used for pollination of blueberries, cranberries and vine crops to screen for pollen nutrient levels, mites, Nosema, neonicotinoids and other pesticides.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Cornell University.
|
|