Disappearing Honey Bees

[j d worthington]

There's yet another thing going on here lately that has got things stirred up: the honeybee seems to be disappearing...

The Journal Times Online

This is one story out of many on the subject that you can look up. Basically, a rather sizable percentage of the bee population are showing up dead, or disappearing altogether. The latest idea is that the radiation from mobile phones confuses the bees, causing them to get lost from the hive. Considering the fact that darned near everyone in this part of the country, anyway, has at least one mobile -- including little kids -- that's a fair concentration of the things; but I'm wondering if that's enough... or if it's the network itself that's causing the problems (if this is the link).

Either way, considering how much these bees are a part of the ecosystem -- pollinating far more than simply the crops we humans consume in one way or another -- this can have a major impact on the world in general....

 

[HardScienceFan]

Hi JD.
Thanx for this one.
Slightly off thread perhaps,,but......
Mobile phones have from time to time been accused of a lot of things now.
The result of a study on possibly pernicious effects on humans of the use of mobile phones have been inconclusive.Mobile phones are big business.
Who will win in the Apis/Homo vs Ma Bell debate?

 

[Talysia]

I read about this on the BBC site, but it's good to have a bit more information and from a different source. Very interesting! Thanks, JD!

 

[chrispenycate]

Yes, I've been following this for a while. I haven't yet seen a single honeybee this year (though bumblebees and xylocopids are much in evidence) and, looking at the magnificent, blossom-covered cherry trees, and considering reports from California, I was wondering how many illegal immigrants with little paint brushes it would require to replace them.
The GM link seems tenuous at best, and the mobile phones? That sounds really like "lets find someone to blame" rather than meticulous scientific investigation (like the "electromagnetic radiation from high tension power pylons some decades back. If you don't like something, blame it for everything, and maybe some of the dirt will stick)

Which doesn't get rid of the fact that an exceedingly important link in the ecological chain is a lot weaker than previously considered, despite reduced use of pesticides and considerably more sophisticated species targetting with them.

Free bee phone home?

 

[j d worthington]

Hi JD.
Thanx for this one.
Slightly off thread perhaps,,but......
Mobile phones have from time to time been accused of a lot of things now.
The result of a study on possibly pernicious effects on humans of the use of mobile phones have been inconclusive.Mobile phones are big business.
Who will win in the Apis/Homo vs Ma Bell debate?

Yes, I well remember the whole thing about the deleterious effects on humans. However, bees, as I understand it, are more sensitive to the radiation, in that it confuses their ability to sense direction. It doesn't harm them much otherwise, but if a bee's directional sense becomes jumbled, they can't find their way to the hive, and therefore starve. At any rate, whatever the cause, the fact remains that we're seeing a rather swift and sizable drop in the bee population, and that's cause for concern....

 

[The Ace]

It's a bit early for honeybees yet but I'll keep an eye out.

 

[j d worthington]

And here's the latest I've seen on this:

Honeybee die-off threatens food supply - Yahoo! News

Title: "Honeybee die-off threatens food supply", from AP, by Seth Borenstein, datelined Wed., May 2, 2007.