Why is everybody talking about global warming, but seemingly ignoring the mysterious disappearance of honey...

Question

bees? Entire colonies of honey bees have been disappearing recently and nobody knows why. Why doesn't this seem to be a concern? Did you know that honey bees are directly responsible for 30 percent of our food supply and indirectly responsible for another 30 percent, and that all life on earth would die out within 4 years if these little creatures become completely extinct? Where are the questions, the debates, the concerns regarding this issue? How can this not be of much greater importance than this so - called global warming business? If you ask me, somebody had better figure this out real quick or we are all gonna be in trouble!

Answer 1

Climate change is certainly a possible factor, although I would attribute the decline in honey bee population to a combination of factors, including loss of wild habitat and food supply; African wild bees being more agressive/dominant and also spreading mites and disease; and intensive farming practices, including higher pesticide applications.

The following pesticides are highly toxic to bees

aldrin
bendiocarb
carbaryl
chlorpyrifos
diazinon
dichlorvos
dieldrin
dimethoate
endosulfan
EPN
fenitrothion
fenthion
heptachlor
malathion
methomyl
mevinphos
monocrotophos
parathion
pirimiphos-ethyl
phosmet
Sources: Basic Guide to Pesticides, Shirley Briggs, 1992.
Farm Chemicals Handbook, Meister Publishing Co., 1996.

So, combination of factors really...

I have heard it said that we can attribute one third of all human nutrition to pollination by honey bees so it is certainly a major concern, and one that should have a higher profile.

Answer 2

Well, people don't get it about bees because they think they're "just bugs." Most people believe we'd be better off if every last bug on earth was dead and gone, if they think about bugs at all.

Scientists here at UCD think that the bees are being hit by a fungus, but they aren't sure and if they were they wouldn't know how to treat it. Whatever it is, it's bad news following on a plague of varroa mites that has whacked colonies pretty hard for the last 10 years or so.

The earth and its ecology are like a huge clockwork system. You can take some parts out and the main functions will continue, but the more pieces go missing, the more likely that parts of the sytem and eventually the whole thing will stop working.

There are a lot of know-nothings working against us, but meanwhile, you and I should do everything we can to help the earth. Don't use pesticides and poisons. Get a hive of bees and take care of them, if you can. Your isolated hive might be important some time in the future.

This is one of those situations where one person can't fix it, but if we give up it will certainly get worse.

Answer 3

Have you thought about the possibility that global warming might
be related to the disappearance of honey bees? It is affecting
the existence of many other species of the animal kingdom, such as the polar bear.

People continue to scoff at global warming, but whatever you
call it, our environment is in trouble. Think about it...the increased
population of the world, the increased demand for food/water/energy. The increased demand for wood. The decreasing farmland, forests and woodlands, and hence the
decrease in wildlife and insects. Drive around the city and notice
how much smoke is filling the air. Notice how many cars/trucks
there are compared to ten or even five years ago...all emitting
everything into the environment.
Yes, you are right...somebody better do something quick. The
honeybee may be directly responsible for 30% of our food supply...but look at corn, beans, greenery, livestock.....all of
these provide the other 70%.

Not that the honeybee is not important, but all of nature is
important...and all of nature is in danger. Not an alarmist...
just stating facts.

Answer 4

A part of the problem is many honey bees are being replaced by the Africanized bees. That is what alot of the worry was years ago they were introduced south of the US border and have been working their way up here. They do pollinate but they do not produce as much honey and are very aggressive to other bees from what I understand killing them.

Answer 5

Firstly, global warming is a theory and I doubt that it has any affect on the honeybee population decline. I'm not sure where you got your numbers that all life would die out in four years, I find that highly unlikely even though bees are a very important part of food making process. There has been a lot of radical things happening on this planet for the last few thousand years as many species have gone extinct either directly or indirectly of human means though mostly due to other means.

I think man's direct need to control everything may have something to do with them not replensihing. Bees are a very organizational species and rely a lot on communication as well as things passed on from generation to generation. Man has had their hands on nearly every colony in the wild and has disrupted their way of life. This would be similar to what is happening with elephants and their recent defiance of man. Granted, I'm sure this would only explain a percentage of what is happening out there.

Answer 6

Believe me, it's not being ignored. Scientists have been looking into it for several years. It's the media who aren't playing up as much as they should. However, I saw an article about it just the other day, though I'm not sure whether it was in my local paper or on Yahoo! News. I quite agree that it is important to keep up the honeybee population, and fortunately there are beekeepers who are doing this. In addition, there are other insects and birds who contribute to pollination, so the picture may not be as bleak as it seems. On the other hand, I do miss the organ-like drone of dozens of bees in my garden, and plan to keep following the news for word on any progress in this area.

BTW, since everything is connected, have you ever thought that global warming (which *is* happening, but I won't go into that here) could be affecting the honeybee population.

Answer 7

I would bet that the disappearance of honey bees is directly related to global warming. Some climates are changing so fast that some species can't keep up, and start to die off.

Answer 8

There is a disease called virrora (?). Small mites that attach themselves to the bees and can cause whole hives to die off. There is a means of treating it but you have to discover the problem before damage is done to the bees

Agree the disappearance of honey bees is a serious problem

Answer 9

i keep hearing the american bee thing ,thats not it bro

think what the bees need to eat
no blossums or out of season flowering no food ,
no food no bees
found two more dead birds in my yard to day ,thats 3 in a week,
same thing they had no food because the rain is out of season,
my mango tree flowered in winter

no fruit in december but found a [one]fallen mango 4 days ago 2 mounths out of season ,why the dead birds and frogs and bees,
the temp has only gone up 2 degrees?
but the season of flowering /breeding is shot out of sync
think evolution just doesnt work as fast as the seasons are changing
but we know global warming is a beat up
thats why all the destraction of weopens of mass destraction,
global warning is very real
we have some facts the media is destracted from telling us ,
and notice how your story has been hiden by more important stuff
their ears are deafend ,the truth is well hiden beneath other destractions bro
seek and you will find
but then who will listen
been pushing it for a while bro ,
its just not going to be allowed to be told ,sus[pect its bloggers trying for the 15 bucks a day but thats delusional;
good that you tried though bro
would say keep it up ,one day they may hear ,but thier ears are made deaf ,people dont know the answers, anymore.

Answer 10

Anything that shows a decline is something to worry about. They
are indicators of a big problem. Frogs are a big indicator and certain species have become to be endangered if not extinct.

It is odd though that in the Canadian arctic bumblebees have been seen for the first time and the Inuit (Eskimo in the US) have no word for them.