Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?

[IndianaGreen]

For an alternate hypothesis for the collapse of bee population read the following Der Spiegel story posted in DU by Shallah back in March:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=115&topic_id=89034

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?

Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees

By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross
Published: 15 April 2007

It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.

They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.

The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast.

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece

[pinto]

1. Varroa parasite, perhaps?

A buzz in and about the beehive

by Melanie Cleveland
April 10, 2007

In a good year, Paul Stoltey, a beekeeper in the county for the past 50 years, manages about 66 million bees.

But lately, honeybees, which are vital to pollinating crops, have been dying in record numbers in a nationwide phenomenon called “colony collapse disorder.”

“If things don’t get better, the beekeeping operations in California could be wiped out within the year,” said the Atascadero resident, whose beehives are scattered at more than 20 locations throughout the county.

No one knows for sure why so many bees are dying. A major culprit, Stoltey said, is the beehive invasive varroa parasite, or “vampire mites,” which can kill off a bee colony in a matter of weeks.

Drought, hot weather and systemic crop pesticides may also share the blame. Or it could be another pathogen yet to be discovered.

<snip>

“It’s clear something new has to be done. I plan on combating the mites by changing my bees for the small cells bees,” he (Stoltey) said. Most honeybees are about 2.1 inches long; Stoltey has been experimenting with a smaller, 1.9-inch bee. They have proved to be mite resistant for the last seven years, he said. “I will have to start my bee operations all over again, but this is the one thing I can have control over.”



http://www.sanluisobispo.com/102/v-print/story/10925.html

[drm604]

2. Pinto, your link is broken.

You need to add "ml" to the end.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/102/v-print/story/10925.html

[pinto]

4. Thanks. I think this one works.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/102/v-print/story/10925.html

[Dogmudgeon]

6. CCD isn't Varroa

If you do a search, even in the MSM, some of the articles go into a bit of detail on the disease -- or whatever it is. It has been established that Varroa is not a factor. Paul Stoltey is mixing up two different problems -- though as a beekeeper, he wants his hives to survive and prosper, so it's hard to fault him on this point.

But, there are SO many pollutants and adverse "additions" to Nature these days that it's going to be difficult to figure out what exactly is going on. And agriculture depends on bees.

Bees and Oil. But the oil part is another crisis ...

--p!

[pinto]

8. Thanks for the info. Bee loss is a pretty big issue in CA.

Not only for honey production (that's Stoltey's end product) but crop pollination (he teams with orchards in a great symbiotic partnership).

[durtee librul]

13. It's chinese wheat gluten pollen

that's killing them...

Ok, all kidding aside, there have been too many warning signs mother nature is pissed at all of us. From the 3 and 5 legged frogs in MN a few years back to all the mutants in the animal world, disappearing species, etc, the earth is screaming for our help and all we worry about is whether we have good signal or not, we have gas for our cars, and the list goes on and on.

The founder of Earth day says if we can reduce emissions by even 2% a year, we can make a huge difference (won't fix it, but it will help).

I love honey on fried chicken, hot rolls, and in hot tea when the family is sick.......gotta have bees for my flowers and garden.....this is really sad. I hope they find out what is causing this. Guess I'll think twice about swatting one this summer.

[drm604]

3. Whatever is causing this -

cellphones, mites, whatever - this is potentially a very serious problem, but it's getting almost no mass media attention.

[BlueJazz]

5. Good Riddance, I say.....

...Not to the Bees but to Cell Phones.

Cell Phones were/are a great idea ruined by the "Rudeness Factor" in Humans.
I'm sick and tired of hearing some prick yelling into there Cell-Phone while shopping..
DO YOU WANT WHITE OR WHOLE WHEAT>>>WELL, I SUPPOSE SO>>>I CAN EAT BOTH (repeat for 10 minutes).
I'm tired of the jerk in front of me, on the highway, going from one side of the road to the other,
speeding up and slowing down, in random factor, while holding a 20 minute phone conversation on the great plays that were made on the basketball court last night.

I'm tired of hearing personal details of someones life while in an elevator...
SO I TOLD HER, I WOULD NOT PUT UP WITH BOB'S ANGER, I MEAN, SHE COMES TO WORK WITH HER EYES ALL BLACK...I TELL YOU, I THINK...

As I said...Good Riddance.

[drm604]

7. You really don't think the cellphone industry'll allow themselves to be put out of business, do you?

Even if it's proven that cell phones are the cause, they'll plant doubts and muddy the waters until we all starve to death.

[BlueJazz]

12. Of Course you are right but the silly, silly dreamer in me longs for...

....the time when I could walk around this world in (somewhat) peace...

[tridim]

14. What's more important? Food or cellphones?

Even CEO's need food.

[drm604]

20. You know that and I know that.

But remember what Upton Sinclair (I think it was him) said: "It is hard to get a man to understand something, if his living depends on him not understanding it."

Understanding the danger (if there is one, it's still unproven) will be difficult for the CEOs who's living depends on them not understanding it.

Also, even if they really do understand it, their lawyers may advise them to claim otherwise so that they can never be accused of consciously allowing it to happen.

[John Q. Citizen]

21. Or as Mark Twain wrote in his essay

Corn Pone Opinions

"Show me where a man gets his corn pone, and I'll show you what his 'pinions are."

[gristy]

9. This would be wonderful if it was the problem

We can live without our cellphones. I don't think we can live without the bees.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

10. kick

[Error]

11. Yeah, because cell phones just came out last august....

:eyes:

[rosesaylavee]

15. There have been reports of

Colony Collapse for the last few years... it was only this past fall and winter that serious consideration has been given it due to the increasing numbers of commercial operations effected.

One local beekeeper here in Illinois experienced this two years ago but as he is a hobbyist with only 125 hives, his loss was chocked up to amateurish loss. He is a former bee inspector and has worked hives for over 30 years.

You won't be surprised I am sure to know that the recent hoopla in the press is the only new thing about this crisis.

[nebenaube]

26. well...

The 3G systems came out five years ago and by three years ago had started to saturate the market.

[tridim]

16. Shouldn't this be easy to test?

Just shoot cellphone radiation at a controlled hive and see what happens.

Lets get rid of the cellphones. Please?

[progressoid]

17. Oh fer fucks sake.

[quiet.american]

18. I can't stand cell phones -- yap, yap, yap -- and don't get me started on ringtones. nt

[Hissyspit]

19. .

[OneBlueSky]

22. of all the crises we face today, Colony Collapse Disorder may well prove to be the worst . . .

worse than Iraq . . . worse than the energy crisis . . . worse than the economy, or healthcare, or loss of civil rights and liberties . . . that's how serious this potentially is . . .

Albert Einstein was a very smart man . . . (but we already knew that) . . .

[democrank]

23. Thanks for posting this.

I`ve been following the bee problem for a couple of years. Some here in Vermont say mites are to blame. Whatever the reason, the bee count is definitely down. Last summer I looked for bees every time I was in my gardens and, unlike times past, almost never saw one.

[GliderGuider]

24. This does not explain all the observed characteristics of CCD

The main observation that can't be explained by this hypothesis is that parasites and predators are not raiding the honey and pollen in the derelict hives. The implication is that the bees have brought back something to the hive that is triggering the avoidance. If they were just dying away from the hives the contents would be getting raided.

[Dogmudgeon]

25. Insect die-offs have been observed for several years

Several broods of cicadas never emerged in the big 2005 cycle, including the brood in the area where I live. I was glad for the lack of the nuisance, but when insects start changing (and dying), it's weird.

We've got a new species of wasp, too, an European import, which looks like a huge yellow jacket. Fortunately, it's pretty docile and when it does sting, the venom is mild. But it has probably been eating a lot of the smaller bugs.

I also can imagine that with the huge numbers and tremendous variety among insecta, that entomologists could pick up on environmental changes quickly by keeping tabs on the relative prevalences of their local insects.

So much for the scorn that "bug scientists" get from some of the activists.

--p!

[skids]

27. My only problem with entomologists...

...is that the few I have know/met have looked decidedly bug-like. Which is completely anecdotal and likely not a representative sample, but was just kinda creepy. Not that I held it against them. It's just sort of like my Dad's one-time urologist, who really and truly actually was named something along the lines of "I P Freely" (I think the last name was something different like Goodman.)

[drm604]

28. You make sense.

It sounds like there may be some physical substance involved here that the parasites and predators can sense.

Wiki has an interesting article on this subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder

[pscot]

29. K & R

n/t