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Scientists discover what’s killing the bees and it’s worse than you thought

WCH

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Scientists discover what’s killing the bees and it’s worse than you thought – Quartz

As we’ve written before, the mysterious mass die-off of honey bees that pollinate $30 billion worth of crops in the US has so decimated America’s apis mellifera population that one bad winter could leave fields fallow. Now, a new study has pinpointed some of the probable causes of bee deaths and the rather scary results show that averting beemageddon will be much more difficult than previously thought.

Scientists had struggled to find the trigger for so-called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has wiped out an estimated 10 million beehives, worth $2 billion, over the past six years. Suspects have included pesticides, disease-bearing parasites and poor nutrition. But in a first-of-its-kind study published today in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists at the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture have identified a witch’s brew of pesticides and fungicides contaminating pollen that bees collect to feed their hives. The findings break new ground on why large numbers of bees are dying though they do not identify the specific cause of CCD, where an entire beehive dies at once.
 
How long before we have conservative bee death deniers?
 
Scientists discover what’s killing the bees and it’s worse than you thought – Quartz

As we’ve written before, the mysterious mass die-off of honey bees that pollinate $30 billion worth of crops in the US has so decimated America’s apis mellifera population that one bad winter could leave fields fallow. Now, a new study has pinpointed some of the probable causes of bee deaths and the rather scary results show that averting beemageddon will be much more difficult than previously thought.

Scientists had struggled to find the trigger for so-called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has wiped out an estimated 10 million beehives, worth $2 billion, over the past six years. Suspects have included pesticides, disease-bearing parasites and poor nutrition. But in a first-of-its-kind study published today in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists at the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture have identified a witch’s brew of pesticides and fungicides contaminating pollen that bees collect to feed their hives. The findings break new ground on why large numbers of bees are dying though they do not identify the specific cause of CCD, where an entire beehive dies at once.

They need to make up their mind - a year or two ago they reported the cause was a microscopic mite.

Is the parasite they reference the same thing that I'm remembering - meanng, they've found the source but are trying to figure out how to stop it?
 
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They need to make up their mind - a year or two ago they reported the cause was a microscopic mite.

Is the parasite they reference the same thing that I'm remembering - meanng, they've found the source but are trying to figure out how to stop it?

The pesticides and fungicides lower the bees' resistance to infection caused by parasites and other critters.
 
The pesticides and fungicides lower the bees' resistance to infection caused by parasites and other critters.

apparently - only certain ones do . . . it's not worse than I thought. They know the cause.
 
Well there is good news.....that the Bumble Bees are coming back and even making an appearance out West Coast.

Return of long-absent bumblebee near Seattle stirs scientific buzz.....

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A North American bumblebee species that all but vanished from about half of its natural range has re-emerged in Washington state, delighting scientists who voiced optimism the insect might eventually make a recovery in the Pacific Northwest.

Entomologists and bee enthusiasts in recent weeks have photographed several specimens of the long-absent western bumblebee - known to scientists as Bombus occidentalis - buzzing among flower blossoms in a suburban park north of Seattle.

The multiple sightings, including observations of several queens, are evidence of western bumblebee colonies in the area, although it hardly proves the species has returned in force and or that it will thrive in the region, Hatfield said.

Last year, a single western bumblebee, recognized by its distinctive white-banded bottom, was discovered by an insect enthusiast in her mother's garden in suburban Brier, Washington. It was the first sighting in Washington state west of the Cascades in well over a decade.

CAUSE OF POPULATION CRASH UNCLEAR

Bombus occidentalis is one of four wild North American bumblebee species whose populations began to plummet two decades ago, while honeybees - commercially bred for the most part - have undergone less precipitous declines, Hatfield said.

Scientists have cited a number of likely factors for bumblebee declines, including parasites, pesticides and habitat fragmentation.

Until the mid-1990s, the western bumblebee was among the most common bees in the Western United States and Canada, where it was valued as a key pollinator for tomatoes and cranberries.

It has since virtually disappeared from about half its historic range, a vast stretch of the West Coast from central California to southern British Columbia, although its population remains relatively robust in the Mountain West.

Scientists are not certain what caused North American bumblebee populations to crash.....snip~


Return of long-absent bumblebee near Seattle stirs scientific buzz
 
Bees are socialists.

Yep. I remember the great Marxbee revolution of the early 1900s where Beenin and Trotzbuzz overtook the great bee colony and installed socialism for the glory of all the worker bees.

Truthfully now...

Bees, like so many creatures in nature, are a dictatorship. Because nature is a dictatorship. The queen is the single most important element in the colony. Everyone else's life is meaningless compared to her. And even if she is a bad queen, her bees will follow her to hell and back.
 
Yep. I remember the great Marxbee revolution of the early 1900s where Beenin and Trotzbuzz overtook the great bee colony and installed socialism for the glory of all the worker bees.

Truthfully now...

Bees, like so many creatures in nature, are a dictatorship. Because nature is a dictatorship. The queen is the single most important element in the colony. Everyone else's life is meaningless compared to her. And even if she is a bad queen, her bees will follow her to hell and back.

Well if she is my Queen.....Long Live the Queen.
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While the nation's attention is fixed on royal births, hoodies, and Wiener's wiener, science is busy solving the problem that could cause the cost of food to soar and make some crops nearly impossible to grow.
 
While the nation's attention is fixed on royal births, hoodies, and Wiener's wiener, science is busy solving the problem that could cause the cost of food to soar and make some crops nearly impossible to grow.

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While the nation's attention is fixed on royal births, hoodies, and Wiener's wiener, science is busy solving the problem that could cause the cost of food to soar and make some crops nearly impossible to grow.

Yeah, did ya see they came out with Test Tube Hamburgers. But it looks like they didn't do to good on cost. It was like 250,000 pounds. :lol:
 
I've read the latest research and it's a lot more conclusive than the microscoping mite theory of several years ago. There's no doubt about it, our GMO crops that innately produce pesticide are killing the bees while the intended target has gradually built resistance to it.

This is what happens when these careless corporations continue to mess with nature and think we can get away with it, all for the sake of profit and controlling the food system. If the bees die off, we are royally screwed. Say bye bye to all the benefits of the Green Revolution.

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I've read the latest research and it's a lot more conclusive than the microscoping mite theory of several years ago. There's no doubt about it, our GMO crops that innately produce pesticide are killing the bees while the intended target has gradually built resistance to it.

This is what happens when these careless corporations continue to mess with nature and think we can get away with it, all for the sake of profit and controlling the food system. If the bees die off, we are royally screwed. Say bye bye to all the benefits of the Green Revolution.

Call me skeptical, but unless you are a PhD scientist who specializes in bees and pesticides, I dont think you've read the latest studies and if you have, you didnt understand them. You've read media reports of the studies, probably.

I see little evidence that GMO produced pesticides are having a signficiant effect, the PLOS ONE paper doesnt show that. GMO's are banned in Europe, and bees are declining as fast as in the US. That points against it.

Its fun to just spout off random stuff about things you dont understand, but it generally tends to be a bad idea.
 
Call me skeptical, but unless you are a PhD scientist who specializes in bees and pesticides, I dont think you've read the latest studies and if you have, you didnt understand them. You've read media reports of the studies, probably.

I see little evidence that GMO produced pesticides are having a signficiant effect, the PLOS ONE paper doesnt show that. GMO's are banned in Europe, and bees are declining as fast as in the US. That points against it.

Its fun to just spout off random stuff about things you dont understand, but it generally tends to be a bad idea.

Heya TG. :2wave: From the link.

But in a first-of-its-kind study published today in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists at the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture have identified a witch’s brew of pesticides and fungicides contaminating pollen that bees collect to feed their hives. The findings break new ground on why large numbers of bees are dying though they do not identify the specific cause of CCD, where an entire beehive dies at once.....snip~

What other scientists?
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Call me skeptical, but unless you are a PhD scientist who specializes in bees and pesticides, I dont think you've read the latest studies and if you have, you didnt understand them. You've read media reports of the studies, probably.

Are you a PhD specializing in bees as pesticides?

I see little evidence that GMO produced pesticides

What are "GMO produced pesticides?"

are having a signficiant effect, the PLOS ONE paper doesnt show that. GMO's are banned in Europe, and bees are declining as fast as in the US. That points against it.

GMOs are banned outright across the entire continent of Europe? Can you cite this?

Also, you do know that GMOs and pesticides are not the same thing, right?

Its fun to just spout off random stuff about things you dont understand, but it generally tends to be a bad idea.

Take your own advice then.
 
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Call me skeptical, but unless you are a PhD scientist who specializes in bees and pesticides, I dont think you've read the latest studies and if you have, you didnt understand them. You've read media reports of the studies, probably.

I see little evidence that GMO produced pesticides are having a signficiant effect, the PLOS ONE paper doesnt show that. GMO's are banned in Europe, and bees are declining as fast as in the US. That points against it.

Its fun to just spout off random stuff about things you dont understand, but it generally tends to be a bad idea.

So, Doctor, what do you see as the cause for the decline in the bee population? Hmmmm?
 
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