What's new
  • ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here. Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!

The Dying Off of Honeybees

Tokabowl

Active member
Hi everyone,

So last night I remembered reading an article a while ago about how the world's bee population is becoming extinct. I can't remember exactly which article it was, but a little search reveals there is a lot of info on this topic.

So for those of you who aren't aware of this phenomenon, here is a very interesting (and alarming) article for you to read.
The title of each section is a link to the related press/news article, which I also recommend giving a read.

All the food we eat has a pollinator. The food chain is a very interconnected one.

Honeybees are dying off almost everywhere in the world, especially in the United States.

Albert Einstein said, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years left to live.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Honey Bees in US Facing Extinction

Albert Einstein once predicted that if bees were to disappear, man would follow only a few years later.

That hypothesis could soon be put to the test, as a mysterious condition that has wiped half of the honey bee population the United States over the last 35 years appears to be repeating itself in Europe.

Experts are at a loss to explain the fall in honey bee populations in America, with fears of that a new disease, the effects of pollution or the increased use of pesticides could be to blame for “colony collapse disorder”. From 1971 to 2006 approximately one half of the US honey bee colonies have vanished.

German bee expert Professor Joergen Tautz from Wurzburg University said: “Bees are vital to bio diversity. There are 130,000 plants for example for which bees are essential to pollination, from melons to pumpkins, raspberries and all kind of fruit trees - as well as animal fodder - like clover.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Disease Hits Bees, and Vital Crops Suffer

Commercially important bees in the U.S. are being ravaged by an unfamiliar new disease. It’s raising fears that certain crops will go unpollinated this year. Beekeepers in 22 states have lost up to 80 colonies to the fast-spreading malady that experts are calling “colony collapse syndrome.” (CCS)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scientists ask: Where are all the bees?

Unless scientists can find the cause of the die-off, and a solution, its long-term consequences may be as ominous as its name: Colony Collapse Disorder.

Not only are the livelihoods of beekeepers endangered, Hayes said, but so is the estimated one-third of the nation’s food supply that depends upon honeybee pollination - apples, almonds, melons, blueberries and some varieties of citrus, including grapefruit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bee Emergency Stranger Than We Thought

With CCD, most adult honeybees abandon a hive and disappear, abandoning the queen and a remnant of younger bees. This is unheard of, since normally a bee colony will do almost anything to protect its queen. Since the tasks done in the hive are very stratified, bees cannot survive on their own. Dead adult bees aren’t even found near the hive; they are just gone. Bees are highly social insects. They don’t leave their babies and the queen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We're Losing Bees But Can't Do Without Them

Pesticide levels that were previously thought to be safe for bees may actually be harmful to them.

They are also studying pesticides banned in some European countries to see if they are affecting the bees' innate ability to navigate their way back to their hives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vanishing Bees Threaten US Crops

Pesticides?

Federal scientists, the National Beekeepers Association and state researchers have come together to form an emergency working group to try and halt the disastrous trend.

There are as many theories as there are members of the panel, but Mr Hackenberg strongly suspects that new breeds of nicotine-based pesticides are to blame.

“It may be that the honeybee has become the victim of these insecticides that are meant for other pests,” he said. “If we don’t figure this out real quick, it’s going to wipe out our food supply.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Could Genetically Modified Crops Be Killing Bees?

As an interested beekeeper with some background in biology, I think it might be fruitful to investigate the role of genetically modified or transgenic farm crops (are having on the dying bees). Although we are assured by nearly every bit of research that these manipulations of the crop genome are safe for both human consumption and the environment, looking more closely at what is involved here might raise questions about those assumptions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Losing Their Buzz

More than 90 crops in North America rely on honeybees to transport pollen from flower to flower, effecting fertilization and allowing production of fruit and seed. The amazing versatility of the species is worth an estimated $14 billion a year to the United States economy.

Approximately one-third of the typical American's diet (primarily the healthiest part) is directly or indirectly the result of honey bee pollination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mystery Ailment Strikes Honeybees

Analysis of dissected bees turned up an alarmingly high number of foreign fungi, bacteria and other organisms and weakened immune systems.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bees - Biological Geiger Counters

Honeybees contribute to our food chain in more ways than any other animal species. They are vital to alfalfa and clover, which is processed into hay to feed beef and dairy cattle.

The public does not recognize the magnitude of the threat that these mysterious events present but we should be more than alarmed. Scientists have been observing how one species after another is disappearing from our planet but never before has one with such a direct bearing on food production been threatened. Extinction of a species doesn’t just affect the group that disappears - it tends to alter much more.

Instead of warning humanity and directing the government's efforts to reduce and even eliminate mercury, as the European Union is setting out to do with earnest, health officials each and every year, at an increasingly frantic pace, are warning of hundreds of millions of deaths from influenza and the bird flu. Never once will you hear them quote research that indicates that mercury toxicity increases the frequency and intensity of influenza symptoms and could be one of the root causes of death from the flu. We know that mercury is rising in threatening concentrations, it is a scientific fact. Yet the United States government is doing practically nothing to stop mercury pollution. To the contrary, a hundred and fifty new coal fire plants are on the drawing board.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Natural Mystic: The Honey Bee is Speaking to Us

Other causes that are effecting the bees are electromagnetic frequencies that are being pumped into the air by all the cell phone towers and military technologies such as HAARP. These frequencies are having an effect on the bees along with the chemtrails that work in tandem with these frequencies as plasma antennas. Bees use natural electromagnetic frequencies to hone in on where the flowers are that they gather their pollen and nectar from and to speak to one another. Birds do the same when it comes to traveling south for the winter. The birds are also showing sings of being in a state of decay and confusion because of these HAARP type and cell phone tower frequencies that are polluting the air and disrupting the natural electromagnetic balance of life. A few weeks ago when it started to get cold in my area I saw a flock of geese not flying south, but towards the east and for some time their flying formations have been off kilter. This is another way in which nature is speaking to us, telling us something is wrong.

Man has lost touch with his environment and therefore with his source of sustenance because he is under the spell of the illuminati’s new world order agenda, lost in a matrix called society, being socially engineered in a direction that does not even serve him. It is a sad state of affairs when man has lost touch with his environment and cannot read the signs it is blatantly telling him, where many believe chemtrails to be clouds and common sense towards his natural life and well being is next to nil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Putin Orders Russian 'Queens' Home, Decimates US Bee Industry

What is occurring in the United States today relating to hundreds of millions of their domestic bees disappearing, and who are descendents of their original Russian Queen ancestors, is that their Military Leadership has unleashed upon their citizens through their propaganda media organs (television/radio) the 'fearful' 250 Hz signal intended to 'anger' their population in the buildup towards war with Iran.

But! One of the unintended consequences produced by their provocative actions against their own citizens is that they have likewise 'signaled' the demise of their agricultural industry through the decimation of their domestic bee industry.

Is it indeed possible that the Soviets in the 1980's were foresighted enough to plant this ticking time bomb in the very heart of America should the United States at some future date become intent upon Global domination?

A simple phone call to our Kremlin sources provided this cryptic answer, 'The Honey Plot' does exist, Putin himself gave the order.


Pretty scary stuff if you ask me, especially when you look a bit more into the HAARP technology :fsu:
 

Dr Dog

Sharks have a week dedicated to me
Veteran
Yeah all this stuff kind of bothers me, and I buy into the whole global warming thing and the day after tomorrow scenarios.
The bee thing is a bit scary, but I think this has been enlarged a bit bigger than it has to be. Everynow and then something arises that starts to really kill of certain species of life, it happened with humans during the blubonic plague.
So there is a mystery illness killing off bees, probably something that has been building for a few years, and then we probably had good conditions for that problem to apex and become noticeable. It is an issue a very serious one! But most people will buy into the scare tactics presented in this story and look for deeper meanings taht don't exist.
 

Pinball Wizard

The wand chooses the wizard
Veteran
I live out in the country...lots of clover and flowers...I haven't seen a honey bee in 15 years.... :nono:
 

Kailua Kid

Active member
No Bees = No Life

No Bees = No Life

When the bees die, so will the rest of the life on this planet.
No Bees = No Life on this rock.
 
G

Guest

Not quite. Cannabis doesn't need bees. Maybe it'll save our lives someday when all our other foodstuffs die out.

I'd also *looove* to believe it was some disease of the naturally occuring type. Unfortunately, I'm thinking a more subtle DDT type poisoning scenario is more likely.
 
Last edited:

zymos

Jammin'!
Veteran
We keep bees, and have lost 2 hives in 2-3 years.

Luckily, even here in the desert, there are numerous species of native bees, and their population seems unaffected, at least as shown by casual observations of our fruit trees and garden when things are blooming.

I think the effects to commercial agriculture might be huge, but to life on the planet, it is not such a big deal. These are domesticated, non native bees we are talking about, after all.
I'm more worried about sex ratios and mutations in fish and amphibians, which seem to be more of a sign of ecological collapse (due to hormone mimicing chemicals in the environment)...
 

AmishFarmer

Member
There are many other pollinators out there.The honey bees in the US are european bees introduced a few hundred years ago by european settelers that wanted to have things they way they were back home.If they were to dissapear tommorow the native species that were not wiped out would take over more and more.If someone tried to introduce a insect species into the US today all kinds of people would scream about an enviromental emergency.
 
Last edited:

budvapor

Member
i can't remember where now, but i heard/read that the recent bee problem was due to a virus that attacks bees. so it's not a mystery anymore apparently...
 

Verite

My little pony.. my little pony
Veteran
Yep, its a virus. Irradiated hives repopulate in short time once the pathogen is removed. And just because were lazy enough to let honey bees do most of the crop pollenating work doesnt mean we wouldnt figure it out if they disappeared. If we can send planes up to seed clouds to make it rain Im sure theres plenty of pollenation answers out there. Dying off in four years sounds a tad extreme.
 

HCSmyth

Member
Well does anyone have any articles about the effects on this season's harvest? As I recall this bee virus problem first came up this past spring.
 
B

Boxy Brown

zymos said:
Luckily, even here in the desert, there are numerous species of native bees, and their population seems unaffected, at least as shown by casual observations of our fruit trees and garden when things are blooming.

while im not in the desert I too still see lots of bees and other pollinating insects (bees are not the only pollinators out there!) flying around my tangerine, soursop, lychee, mango, and carambola trees.
 

zymos

Jammin'!
Veteran
HCSmyth said:
Well does anyone have any articles about the effects on this season's harvest? As I recall this bee virus problem first came up this past spring.


Actually it has been going on sporadically for decades. It is just that in more recent times the "wild" colonies of honeybees have been disapearing, so orchards are more and more dependant on trucking in hives for pollination.
 
G

Guest

I'm hoping this doesn't sound a bit out there but please bear with me. You have to be aware of the nonsense that the media spouts because it is full of disinformation spread by the big money businesses. Yup, there is a Big Honey just like Big Tobacco or Big Oil.

There is no mystery, just another inconvienient truth that big business wants you to think there is aliens or cell phones or some easy to point at thing that they can blame the problem on.

One inconvienient truth is that the honey industry is based on cross bred bees that all the beekeepers use because they are highly productive but are are sickly and prone to infection and disease. These bees mix with local populations and spread disease and have now bred with the local populations and have spread their genetic weaknesses to the local hardy population. Big mystery!

The other inconvienient truth is that the lawn care industry is dumping tons of poisons on everyones lawns. One of the easiest to kill weeds is white clover. When was the last time you saw clover on your neighbours lawns? Certainly not the ones who use a lawn care company or use a weed and feed product.

But then again, it could be space aliens or cell phones or Briteny Spears, why not!!!
 

HCSmyth

Member
This kind of wacko old guy I know runs a side business producing honey. He makes some pretty good money but it seems like a ton of hard work. I asked him about this bee virus and he said he sometimes losses whole colonies but it is just part of doing business. So yeah, I think the media may be hyping this up a bit too!
 

Dr Dog

Sharks have a week dedicated to me
Veteran
HCSmyth said:
This kind of wacko old guy I know runs a side business producing honey. He makes some pretty good money but it seems like a ton of hard work. I asked him about this bee virus and he said he sometimes losses whole colonies but it is just part of doing business. So yeah, I think the media may be hyping this up a bit too!

I don't know about that, the difference between honey manufacturers and a good portion of the renewable food supply is a lot.

I do not think it is too the extreme that the media wants us to believe, but I think it would be real enough. There are lots of other pollination methods and a lot of other insects that can do the job, but I have seen some facts on this subject, and it seems real enough.

I but this more that I buy a lot of things i hear or read in the news
 

mrwags

********* Female Seeds
ICMag Donor
Veteran
This so called disaster has happened b4 and in 40 or so years it will happen again and then another 40 and another. The just started to keep track since the influx of the African Bee's (taken for granted I'd say) but none the less all the old timers in the industry will tell ya yes it's bad and yes this is by far the worst ever but in a few years they will be back stronger than ever and then the countdown starts again.


So chill guys it's the cycle of life,Yes we fubared the time table but it's still the same only this time they are keeping records.


My Penny
Mr.Wags
 

HCSmyth

Member
Yeah there is lots of ways civilization, as we know it could fall but this bee virus is probably not going to do it.
 

Verite

My little pony.. my little pony
Veteran
" Im a king bee baby, buzzin round your hive. "

kb14.jpg
 

Maj.PotHead

End Cannibis Prohibition Now Realize Legalize !!
Mentor
Veteran
HAARP.

yepper mess with the earths magnitic field and bad things happen.
Telsa mess with the weather patterns and bad things begin to happen.

just a part of Aliens slowly terraforming our planet to thier requirments
 
Hey, point of information, but it is not a virus it is actually a "mite." I know this because Eric Bolling of CNBC's FastMoney has done a large piece on this agricultural disaster which is costing the industry upwards of 5 Billion so far. The reason for the honey bee's weaking to a mite that has always been around, is that commercial bee keepers travel around with hives during the growing season, stressing the bees.
So rather than have a mom and pop farm with a personal hive as in the old days, giant agricultural corporations simply hire travelling bee keepers to pollunate their crops once a year, rather than pay for the upkeep of a single hive. This travel also spreads the mite and the genetic predispostion of mite weakness as the hives criss cross the country in 18 wheelers. Honey bees were not evolved to travel around the country in 18 wheelers, imho.

You have to wonder how an individual in Monsanto or ADM can be smart enough to rise to a high corporate position with the responsibility of making multi-billion dollar decisions, and then make such idiotic mistakes in realation to bee keeping and the genetic manipulation of human foodstuffs. It really raises the question of "Does Evil actively exist?"

Peace, and leave your hives be for several winters.
The Afficianado
 
Top