I REMEMBERED THE LINK THIS TIME! ---> http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=is-life-too-hard-for-honeybees&page=2
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Life To Hard For Honey Bees?
Honey Bees deal with much physical abuse during their day-to-day lives. They cover vast distances, eat unnatural and sometimes unhealthy diets, are exposed to pesticides, and much more. The equivalent for a human (eating candy, staying up late consistently, being sprayed in the face with Raid) would meet many sick people. Bees, however, must deal with and survive in these conditions. In the last 2-3 years, about 33% of all honeybees in America and some european countries have mysteriously disappeared. With no apparent explanation, scientists are analyzing the physical beating these bees take, looking for evidence that this is the reason why so many bees have been dying. Entomologist Jeff Pettis says several potential causes (racheal mites, hive beetles, genotype differences, cell phone exposure, melamine contamination and genetically modified crops) have already been ruled out. Pettis thinks it is a combination of pesticide exposure, poor nutrition and pathogens that is killing the bees. Pettis says that we should analyze pesticides to better understand hive risks. We have been measuring pesticides with reference to lethal levels, but Pettis argues we should instead look at what can shorten a bees lifespan as well. As for nutrition, Pettis thinks bees do not get a diet that is varied enough. Finally, he thinks parasites and pathogens are the actual killers, and encourages the use of essential oils as well as more research to combat them.
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3 comments:
The problems that bees face could potentially be our problems. Bees pollinate many types of plants, many of which we eat. If bee populations catastrophically decline the results could be disastrous. While all of the causes of bee decline make sense, it would be nice to know with certainty what the cause is and what can be done to save bees.
I remember seeing a piece about this disturbing phenomenon on 60 minutes about a year ago. It seems fairly obvious that what tipped the balance against bees is human intervention, however it's hard to see how parasites and pathogens might have been introduced by us. Either way, this is a serious trend and we should find a way to reverse it ASAP.
I'm actually doing my environmental paper on this issue, so I'm glad to see that it's getting more attention. I am quite open about the fact that bees scare the bajesus out of me. They've always been my arch nemesis and I've spent my entire life trying to avoid them. However, the prospect of a bee-free world is far from comforting. If you actually take note of how much bees do for us, it's pretty terrifying to think of a world without them. It's so easy for us to take advantage of a resource like bees, assuming that they're not affected by the horrible conditions we force upon them. Perhaps this is a wake up call for farmers and bee keepers everywhere. If the current lifestyles of bees--corn syrup diets, extended periods of time in transport, low genetic variability--are somehow affecting their immune systems, it's clear to me that something must change.
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