Honeybee Survival, Are We Responsible?
Has anyone seen the Haagan Dazs commercial with the bee struggling to pollinate a flower during fierce winds? Check out the National Geographic Ch. your sure to see it. It’s quite tragic.
I remember hearing about the rapid decline in bees months ago. The bees are not pollinating nor are they staying in their colonies. So we have scattered bees who are being a bit stubborn and or crazy.
Some causes? I’ve read about cell phone usage disrupting the natural navigational system that bees have. Another is the dreadful CCD or Colony Collapse Disorder. Based upon my reading it seems as if no one really knows what is happening.
According to Cosmos Magazine:
“The symptoms are baffling, but one of the emerging hypotheses is that the scourge is underpinned by a collapse of the bees’ immune systems. Stressed out by cross-country truck journeys and drought, attacked by viruses and introduced parasites, or whacked out by harmful new pesticides, some researchers believe the bees’ natural defences may have simply given way. This opens the door to a host of problems that the bees can normally suppress.”
Bee decline has been around since 1868 but never before have scientists seen such a rapid drop in numbers. Even before CCD the Asian mite Varroa destructor existed, eventually making it’s way over to the states and living off our bees. The spread has lead to bees becoming stressed and weak.
Bees seem to respond the same way we do when under stress. We get a little moody, fatigued and eventually get the sniffles. It’s working when sick, it’s horrible and you feel like crap. I usually call in sick to stay home and rest…not so much for bees.
So with all of these issues how could a bee survive? We have CCD, fungus found in the bees digestive system, parasites, stress and pesticides. How do we help? What can we do? Do we listen to Haagen Dazs and give our money to Penn State University? According to the PSU article Haagen Dazs is donating $150,00 and also donating proceeds from their new flavor Vanilla Honey Bee. Does that make sense to anyone?
If you have a bit of a green thumb think about planting some bee friendly flowers in your garden. Something I just recently stumbled upon is the use of essential oils to kill the varroa mite. Using syrups with the essential oils such as wintergreen, patchouli or tea tree oil, etc. The oils will kill the mite on contact but the problem still lies within the mite feeding on the bee. How can we get the oil into the bloodstream of the bee?
Why is it that the most organic solutions are never brought to the surface. Instead we are encouraged to buy Haagen Dazs ice cream or give up some cash for “research” in order to show our commitment in solving the bee mystery.