[indigo girl]

This is off topic, but interesting info. In this case, bees really are functioning like the canary in the mine shaft.

The sounds that bees make, can signal disease/danger. New research
may have military applications or just be useful in knowing whether or not a hive is in trouble:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...bees-buzz.html

[indigo girl]

Are GM crops involved in mass honeybee fatalities?
Quote attributed to Einstein:
"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...3&postcount=43

Originally Posted by http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,druck-473166,00.html

For unknown reasons, bee populations throughout Germany are disappearing -- something that is so far only harming beekeepers. But the situation is different in the United States, where bees are dying in such dramatic numbers that the economic consequences could soon be dire. No one knows what is causing the bees to perish, but some experts believe that the large-scale use of genetically modified plants in the US could be a factor.

[indigo girl]

Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? It's an interesting theory so it's too
bad no scientific abstracts were linked to this article:
http://news.independent.co.uk/enviro...cle2449968.ece

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

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.

[sanctuary]

God, so many unknowns. Why is this not in the public eye? Thanks again for the excellent citation.

[indigo girl]

No answers yet. It's still a mystery.
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...8&postcount=76

Originally Posted by http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/jlanders/stories/DN-landers_24bus.ART.State.Edition1.365dd23.html

The researchers speculated that mobile-phone radiation interfered with bee homing mechanisms, causing them to get lost.

Mr. Weaver thought that was off base as soon as he heard about it. He carries his cellphone among the bee colonies on his properties, and he's had no difficulty.

U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists investigating Colony Collapse Disorder visited several abandoned hives where they could not even get service for their mobile phones and told interested members of Congress that the theory seemed far-fetched.

Beekeepers joked about roaming charges and not allowing their bees to use cellphones.

[SmilingBluEyes]

This is so deeply concerning.......wonder why we are not hearing more about it?

thanks for the info.

[CHATSDALE]

i saw something on the news today...becoming a nation wide problem now but there hasn't been enough research to determine the cause or whether it is a world wide problem..

[Hoozdo]

Originally Posted by CHATSDALE

this is horrible...sometimes the biggest things depend on the smallest things to survive
i didn't get to read the articles: are the africian bees dying also?

The africanized bees are still thriving in my part of the country, however, all of our bees are now africanized.

[indigo girl]

This has happened in Hawaii. Very sad... I felt like crying with him.
It is not the same problem as colony collapse disorder, but is another huge issue that will a significant impact.
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...4&postcount=79

Originally Posted by http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070426/ap_on_sc/bee_parasite

"This is going to be for us a nightmare," said Michael Kliks, head of the Hawaii Beekeepers' Association and owner of Manoa Honey Co. "When I saw that mite I knew exactly what it was. I knew exactly what it meant and I fell to my knees and almost began to weep because it's inexpressible what that sea change is for us in Hawaii."


The parasites are blamed for destroying more than half of some mainland beekeepers' hives and wiping out most wild honeybees there.


Kliks discovered the mites April 6 on a pupa contained in an abandoned hive he recovered from the Makiki section of Honolulu and immediately notified state agriculture officials.


Since then the mites have been confirmed in hives in Waimanalo, Ewa, Kunia, Kahaluu and Punaluu.


Hives are still being checked elsewhere on Oahu but it is too late to hope to eradicate or even contain the infestation, Kliks said.

[indigo girl]

And then there is this from Taiwan. What is going on?

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...7&postcount=80

Originally Posted by http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2007-04-26T104754Z_01_TP162481_RTRUKOC_0_US-TAIWAN-BEES.xm

Taiwan's bee farmers are feeling the sting of lost business and possible crop danger after millions of the honey-making, plant-pollinating insects vanished during volatile weather, media and experts said on Thursday.

Over the past two months, farmers in three parts of Taiwan have reported most of their bees gone, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported. Taiwan's TVBS television station said about 10 million bees had vanished in Taiwan.

A beekeeper on Taiwan's northeastern coast reported 6 million insects missing "for no reason", and one in the south said 80 of his 200 bee boxes had been emptied, the paper said.