For serious answers only! Why are our Honey Bees disappearing?

Answer 1

In addition to diseases and parasites - which have always threatened honey bees because hives are genetically similar groups of individuals that are all susceptible to the same infections and can get wiped out in one fell swoop - honey bees are facing loss of habitat. Think about how many secure, safe locations there are for hives in the middle of suburbia. And think about the vast areas of cement with only small, decorative gardens here and there amongst the houses. There are fewer and fewer places where bees can build a hive, and fewer and fewer sources of food for a hive to thrive on. Wild honey bee populations have a limited choice of living space.
Additionally, since bee keepers and farming areas have the largest sources of "safe space" for honey bees, bee populations are becoming localized to smaller areas, with less mingling between groups. Genetically speaking, this is a dangerous situation - bees depend on some genetic mixing in order to fight those parasites and diseases that can wipe out entire hives. When populations are isolated, they have only the genetic barriers they come in with, and whatever they are able to mutate into their gene pool.

Answer 2

I was just recently reading about this. There is some kind of disease that is spreading among the honey bees that is wiping out most of the entire hives. It is a mystery because the bees that die do not die in the hive. They just disappear (die somewhere else). So they don't have any dead bees to search for clues. The article I read theorized it might be some kind of parasitic mite that lives on the bees in conjunction with some other factors (I can't remember now). Supposedly, this is not the first time something like this has happened. Something similar happened in Europe. Bees are necessary for pollenating plants. Farmers pay these bee keepers to fertilize their crops. Anywho, I suppose it will eventually go away, like it did in Europe.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

The honey bee extinctions are a very real and serious problem. There seem to be two factors that are at play. One is poisons and other pesticides. As bees collect pollen from plants they are picking up poisons and bringing them home where it contaminates their food supply. The second and more pervasive problem is that the so called killer bees, which do not produce honey, are infiltrating honey bee colonies, and spoiling the gene pool. Some experts are pointing to other problems in bee ecosystems, but proof of these other claims is sparse at best.

Answer 4

They are calling this Colony Colapse Disorder
and they have not, at this point, got much more than simple clues
It is extremely serious in nature and since the bulk of US crops depend on these creatures for the pollanation processes than insure fertilization and crop production--- this could have extremmely serious immediate problematic implications !!!!
In Oklahoma alone they are saying that up to 80 % of the commercially kept bees have already disappeared !! With almost every other state reporting extremely heavy losses !!!

Answer 5

A few years ago I discovered that bees were going into open soda cans and getting trapped and dying. I dumped between 50 and 100 bees out of one can. From that time on I wouldn't let anyone leave open cans on my property. It wouldn't take many Pepsi cans etc. left in public parks and people's back yards to make a big dent in the bee population. I have 4 acres and when I mow I always leave any large patches of clover or catnip(they love catnip) for the bees.

Answer 6

The Africanized bees took over and got rid of them all. I just saw that on a Discovery Channel show.

Answer 7

There was a news story on that topic just yesterday, it has to do with a parasitic mite that kills bee pupae while they are still in the honeycomb. Its a big problem, a lot of crops rely on pollenization by bees.

Answer 8

i think that's its because there is some strand disease going around killing 80-90% of some peoples honey bees i seen it on discovery channel

Answer 9

I really don't think they are. My dad is a beekeeper and he hasn't had any problem with it. However if they are it's usually because of desease and preditors.

Answer 10

i heard in the news just this week that there is some type of disease