Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder Finally Explained: Too Many Chemicals

[ensho]

http://www.naturalnews.com/028429_colony_collapse_disorder_chemicals.html


-snip-

Researchers conducted careful studies to uncover contributors to the disorder, in which seemingly healthy bees simply vanish from a hive, leaving the queen and a handful of newly hatched adults behind.

-snip-

The pesticides found in the highest concentrations were fluvalinate and coumaphos, used to eradicate the bee pest varroa mites, which have themselves been suggested as a cause of colony collapse.

-snip-

The Washington State researchers uncovered another potential cause, which likely interacts with chemicals to contribute to colony collapse: the pathogen Nosema ceranae, which entered the United States around 1997 and has since spread to bee hives across the country. The pathogen attacks bees' ability to process food and makes them more susceptible to chemicals and other infections.

"What it basically does is it causes bees to get immune-deficiency disorder," said beekeeper said Mark Pitcher of Babe's Honey. "So it's actually causing the bees to almost get a version of HIV."
--------------------------


bee HIV

too many chemicals are bad for the human body too

[FSogol]

1. You mean it is not Arne Duncan's fault?

:shrug:

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. Of course it is.

Not sure how, exactly, but it certainly is.

[nyc 4 Biden]

I still blame Arne. That pig! He's HIV for our school system.

[Ian David]

3. Dr. Who says they're just returning to their home planet, as they sense the Earth's demise.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/S4_12

[knitter4democracy]

25. So long and thanks for all the flowers?

nt

[SharonAnn]

32. I think that's Doug Adams "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" AKA "Don't Panic!"

[knitter4democracy]

33. Yup!

Classic piece of literature. I think everyone should have to read the "trilogy" (of 5 books).

[WeDidIt]

4. Most smaller beekeepers have moved away from treating Varroa with chemicals

When beekeeping really exploded with the Langstrom hive design in the 19th century, cell sizes were increased which increased overall bee size. Recent studies have found that pregnant varroa mothers prefer larger sized cells for laying the eggs.

What has been done is the standard comb cell size is being decreased, resulting in smaller worker bees, then foundation for drone comb is being added to the hives purposefully so the queens will lay more drones. When the entire frame is capped, the frame is removed and replaced wiht another fram of drone comb and the old frame is put in the freezer.

This practice is significantly decreasing the varroa numbers. You'll never eradicate them, but control is the key.

[bvar22]

19. There are other successful ways to cope with Verroa.

We are small scale organic BeeKeepers.

We use screen bottom boards and powdered sugar.
The mites can't hold on to the bees when coated with the powdered sugar, fall off and through the screen bottom board where they can't get back inside the hive.
Most of the "organic" beekeepers in our area are using this method.
We've never had a real infestation, and are doing this "prophylacticly".
So far, so good,

We are planning to experiment with a Top Bar hive this year, and let the bees decide for themselves what size comb they want to build.

[WeDidIt]

22. I've seen some people using foundationless frames.

They just wire the frames and put a thin strip at the top, then allow the bees to do what they will.

And cell size definitely decreases over time. The bees know what size to make their cells.

[truedelphi]

31. Great information. Thank you Bvar. n/t

[upi402]

5. Buy organic, it's worth it

Stuff may not be 100% organic 100% of the time, but overall it's worth it. Not just for us, but the rest of the cycle.

[ensho]

6. kick

nt

[Cetacea]

7. Imagine that.

I've so had it with deniers.

[defendandprotect]

8. 60 years and destruction of nature to prove Rachel Carson right -- !!!

[zonkers]

10. We lost that gal too soon.

[zonkers]

9. Now that the cause has been identified, I wonder if the process is reversible.

[SidDithers]

11. Unrec for NaturalNews as a source...

there are few sites as full of woo as NN.

Sid

[Cetacea]

12. Use your logic.

[SidDithers]

14. Actual researchers also believe that Varroa mites are a cause...

but, they're not pushing an agenda, like the OP and NaturalNews.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h0-7EG2gA_Q-MzrA9biz12audoKw

Sid

Edit: left word out of title.

[muriel_volestrangler]

30. Yeah, one of the scientists quoted in the NaturalNews piece says it's several causes

But NN put a very misleading headline on this.

"We do not know that these chemicals have anything to do with colony collapse disorder, but they are definitely stressors in the home and in the food sources," said Penn State researcher Maryann Frazier. "Pesticides alone have not shown they are the cause of (colony collapse disorder). We believe that it is a combination of a variety of factors, possibly including mites, viruses and pesticides."

And Nosema ceranae, mentioned at the end of the article, isn't a chemical either.

In fact, this NN piece is a rewrite of the July 2009 article from Environment News Service: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2009/2009-07-29-094.asp , except they had the more accurate headline "Scientists Untangle Multiple Causes of Bee Colony Disorder", and also the actually useful observation:

One easy solution is for beekeepers to change honeycombs more often. In Europe, for example, apiarists change combs every three years.

"In the U.S., we haven't emphasized this practice and there's no real consensus about how often beekeepers should make the change," said Sheppard. "Now we know that it needs to be more often."

Thanks for the more up-to-date Canadian Press article; other recent articles include:
http://news.discovery.com/animals/honey-bees-disappearing-still-a-problem.html
and
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gLcEJ2u2muP2NWdQP7-m3JxSxWQAD9EKRMRG2

[anigbrowl]

29. I have, and unrecced as well

Dreadful source, and then OP says it's 'explained' by too many chemeical before going ton to post a quote which includes discussion of a non-indigenous pathogen.

Colony collapse is a big deal, an overuse of chemicals is a bad thing, some of the OP's material is quite factual, but this thread is as likely to misinform as to enlighten. I only unrec about one thread a week so draw your own conclusions.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bvar22]

15. The title is misleading.

The title SHOULD read:
Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder Still Un-Explained: Too Many Chemicals still the best guess.

Read the article and you will understand.

However, as a small scale organic beekeeper, I will K&R anything that raises awareness to issues related to the Honey Bee.

We personally believe that CCD is a combination of stress factors including large scale Factory Operations that transport bees cross country, feed them High Fructose Corn Syrup, and keep them in commercial yards where the population pressures are millions of times greater than what they would experience in the wild. (If I were a bee forced to live like that, I would leave home too.)

We are fortunate to live in a very rural area far from Industrial, Urban, and Agricultural pollutants and pesticides. None of the small (10 colonies or less) BeeKeepers in our area have experienced CCD in the past 3 years.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. "We don't know that these chemicals had anything to do with colony collapse disorder."

"Pesticides alone have not been shown that they cause colony collapse disorder."

Woo woo journalism at its finest, ladies and gentlemen.

[SidDithers]

17. Well, it is NaturalNews, after all...nt

Sid

[sfwriter]

18. I blame Winnie the Pooh. EOM

[Codeine]

20. Man. You wouldn't know a valid news source

if it ran up and bit you on your butt, would you? Naturalnews.com is Whackadoodle Central.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Oh, I think the OP knows the story is fundamentally dishonest.

And has chosen to post it anyway.

[NeedleCast]

23. Lulz @ source

[branders seine]

24. I thought it was the fault of the fucking retarded liberal bees...

Love, Rahm

[defendandprotect]

26. "Bless the Bees" . . .

I'm especially grateful to them because I rely on honey as a medicine.

And especially worried --

as we all should be!

Thank you for keeping us aware -- !!

[Beringia]

27. thanks for posting n/t

[earth mom]

28. K & R! nt