Bees experiencing the Rapture; honey-lovers alarmed
- Thread starter GeoffP
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I understand that bees are not native to North America anyway, they were introduced by the first European settlers.
Incorrect. There were plenty of native bees here. It's just that a species was later brought in from Italy because they were much eaiser to handle and were more productive.
Also incorrect. The other pollinators (wasps, yellowjackets, bumblebees, various flies) are simply not up to the task. Primarily because it isn't in their nature to exist in such large numbers. And that's why hundreds of beekeepers have made their living tranporting their hives around the country - especially to California and Florida - at blossom time. All the others combined cannot do the job.
Bees weren't even brought here to polllinate, since they didn't understand pollination at the time, they brought them for honey. Lucky for them, too, since they depended on them for growing fruit trees and such, many of which are not native to the Americas. I just read this in National Geographic, in an article about Jamestown.
Correct. And it isn't just fruit trees. With a few exceptions - like corn and alfalfa and certain peas, they pollinate practically everything we eat.
The introduction of domestic honeybees depleted the populations of native pollinators - without honeybees, there would be lots more of them. We have been driving the solitary bees and bumblebees and pollinating flies, wasps, butterflies, moths (especially), etc to very low population levels - even extinction.
And without honeybee competition, insecticides, and other artificial reductions of population, they would be able to pollinate our fruit trees etc.
We have no native honeybees.
This disorder is aflicting European bee colonies as well, apparently.
New forms of agriculture, such as the industrial chem-based monocultural style we have adopted recently, usually take a long time to get shaken of bugs. The problems tend to sneak up, and become suddenly severe (Irish potato famine). It may be that this kind of bee abuse doesn't work in the long run.
And without honeybee competition, insecticides, and other artificial reductions of population, they would be able to pollinate our fruit trees etc.
We have no native honeybees.
This disorder is aflicting European bee colonies as well, apparently.
New forms of agriculture, such as the industrial chem-based monocultural style we have adopted recently, usually take a long time to get shaken of bugs. The problems tend to sneak up, and become suddenly severe (Irish potato famine). It may be that this kind of bee abuse doesn't work in the long run.
Careful.
Although much of what you say is true, it's also very misleading overall. First, a minor correction, moths (of which you say "especially") aren't effective as pollinators because they are only active at night when most blossoms are closed.Now to the greater issue: none of your native pollinators have ever been numerous enough to be effective on the scale of American agriculture. Remember that we've not only fed our population but a large percentage of the world at different times. And as one good example, there has never been enough wild pollinators (with the exception of escaped domesticated bees) to pollinate a single field of cucumbers or tomatoes and numerous other vegetables. And it's precisely THAT (along with our fruit crops) that makes the loss of the bees such a critical situation.
So, while we would certainly miss our fruit, can you imagine even trying to survive with almost no vegetables???
Yes, it IS a good thread and I suspect several people are learning a lot from it. Incidentally, one thing that I share with Billy T is that I was also a beekeeper for a large number of years. Mine was strictly a hobby - I did it only because I enjoyed it (and may very well do so again).
What sort of numbers are you looking for? The only thing that pops into mind at the moment is that every single year more than a million hives are moved into California during the season and almost as many taken to Washington state. They are transported on big 18-wheeler flatbed trucks - stacked end-to-end and side-to-side and usually six to eight feet high.
Yes, you sure could consider it an industry.
As to wild pollination, there used to be. There were wild honeybees everywhere that escaped as swarms from commercial hives. That's how they spead naturally. But not anymore. The wild population has been completely decimated in the past eight to ten years by two very destructive pests - the varroa mite and the trachea mite.
The varroa mite is a bloodsucker that feeds on adults and larve. It will completely kill a colony within four to five years. The tracheal mites are also suckers but they do so within the bee's breathing tubes. The bees are killed by a combination of suffication and infectious organisims that enter through the bites. They also kill colonies very quickly.
The latest estimates I've seen are that the wild population is now less than one percent of what it was and is expected to hit a flat zero by the end of next year or the following year.
Oops - apparently there's another thread about it. I'll link to it:
http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=65559&page=2
Should we carry on there?
http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=65559&page=2
Should we carry on there?
Actually, I think it might be best to keep them separate. That one is dealing with pretty much speculation (at least at this point) while this one is based on actual facts.
Agreed?
Actually I read a report that at least two parasites, a mite and a beetle species are at least partially responsible for it. The same also occurs in europe. Apparently the same bees are used for industrial production of honey and at some point they came in contact with these parasites. If I remember correctly the mite originated from China, whereas the beetle was introduced from africa. Both, the "industrial" bees as well as the bees native to Europe and the US have no resistance against them (in contrast to those in China an d Africa, respectively). After infection first there is a wave of dying bees and eventually they abandon their hive. Whether the parasites are the sole reason for the mass-dying is probably unknown, however it has also been reported that due to the mild weather bothe, beetle and mites are rapidly spreading.
Edit to add: Both phenomena are under investigation by two German groups, one which having a cooperation in the US to analyze the beetle. This is to avoid spreading the beetle into the northern parts of Europe.
Edit once more: just wanted to add that it was a varroa mite species (dunno which one) and the beetle probably a Aethinia species. Most probably there might be something else going weakening the bees defenses.
Edit to add: Both phenomena are under investigation by two German groups, one which having a cooperation in the US to analyze the beetle. This is to avoid spreading the beetle into the northern parts of Europe.
Edit once more: just wanted to add that it was a varroa mite species (dunno which one) and the beetle probably a Aethinia species. Most probably there might be something else going weakening the bees defenses.
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Me too, but it did help with taxes on farmland being held for development. In other "bee thread"
http://www.sciforums.com/showpost.php?p=1368346&postcount=27
I told more of this and why I blocked about half of the entrance one winter. None of my hives had electric power available near them and the minimum monthly charge would have made it a cost losing deal, but I wanted to try adding a little electric heat to reduce their consumption of honey in winter.
Did you know they are an accurate "one point thermometer"? I.e. below some temperature, I forget it, but in the 40s F. their behavior changes. They all "ball together" inside the hive. Those in the center of the ball are moving out ward and struggle against those from the outside which are moving to the center. This exercise keeps the hive warm, but uses up a lot of honey. - It would be much cheaper to provide thermo stated electric heat and avoid this. have you ever considered this experiment, or read of it being done?
Like you, and as I did twice in the other thread, I recommend anyone who can, and is interested in nature, other societies, etc. to keep a hive or two.
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Yes the value of bees as pollinators far exceeds the value of their honey. In fact, many hives are moved with the crops to pollinate them well. This must be done at night. When the bees leave the hive in the new field, they notices that the light vs angle of incidence is entirely changed, and immediately lean the new pattern so they can find their way back home. As I discused in other thread, a two foot lateral shift of the hive will cause them great trouble with re-entry but a 10 mile shift will not.
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