buzzing about CCD

real_aurgathor

Apparently, honeybee colonies are dying at an unprecedented, up to 60 - 70% (!!) rate, the highest ever recorded rate.

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - A recent survey sampling of over one million honeybee colonies found that colony deaths have reached an all-time high across the U.S., forcing some beekeepers to close down their business while honey prices continue to rise.

The survey, conducted by Project Apis m., found that colony losses were reaching rates of 60% or higher, with some areas reaching above 70%. Before 2005, colony loss rates were between 10% to 20%. Starting in 2005, beekeepers across the country began to notice a phenomena called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which is when an entire colony suddenly disappears or dies.

Since then, death rates have jumped over the past two decades. While some factors have been identified as causes for colony losses, including nutrition, pesticides, and viruses, it’s unclear why CCD occurs so suddenly. Those collapses and colony losses leave some beekeepers struggling to keep their bee population high enough to maintain a profitable business, even when they have thousands of colonies in their stock.

“Commercial beekeepers have somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 colonies,” explains Garett Slater, a Honeybee Extension Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife. “So, imagine losing 50-percent of those colonies. We can split those colonies in half and make up those winter losses and those summer losses. But if you have 70 to 80 percent, it gets even more and more difficult and more of a financial burden to make up those colony losses.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/honeybee-colonies-dying-at-highest-recorded-rate-beekeepers-and-prices-struggling/ar-AA1BfghR

I guess honey prices are not going to come down anytime soon.

px_eliezer_

real_aurgathor

Not just honey, the bees are VITAL for pollinating many crops.

https://savethebee.org/top-crops-pollinated-by-honey-bees-infographic/
https://www.fws.gov/initiative/pollinators/pollinators-benefit-agriculture

GrumpyCanadian

HooRU Fortunately, there is life and intelligence outside of the United States. Unfortunately, most other areas don’t seem to be doing much better when it comes to their bee populations, nor investigating or addressing the problems. We should be afraid, as the potential consequences can be dire, and that should be enough to terrify us into action while there is still time. Sadly, humans don’t have such a good track record when it comes to dealing with problems such as these.

Guy54435

GrumpyCanadian Maybe if every time someone sees a bug or a flying insect if they would quit spraying chemicals at it or spraying their whole yards down with bug killers the Bees would stand more of a chance.

Bombtrad

GrumpyCanadian Fortunately, there is life and intelligence outside of the United States.

So nice of you to make the observation. We like to think there’s still a little sanity South of the Equator.

Sparkchaser

I question on how many people actually understand the importance of bees in maintaining food crops.

When we first moved here, ages ago, it had been farmland and the area around us still was. I used to see LOTs of bees. There were honey producers all around. Now, I rarely see a bee, I don’t spray, so that’s not keeping them away.

Somewhat-Reticent

How do bees detect their hive?

HooRU

The company that maeks and sells glyphosate should be shut down and the stuff outlawed, it’s one of the causes of this problem.

Folk, don’t mow your lawns when they are flowering, let the bees us it first, it won’t hurt your lawn to go a couple weeks or so.

Even better, get rid of grass and grow alternative yard coverings that provide flowers all season long. You can buy the seeds and convert. Grass lawns was an invention of the French aristocracy pre-revolution and it’s a stupid thing we do. We burn millions of gasoline and kill bees to have our silly yards. There is a better way.

Somewhat-Reticent

HooRU alternative yard coverings

That topic deserves its own Discussion.

HooRU

Somewhat-Reticent It would get derailed.

Somewhat-Reticent

HooRU Eventually, most topics do; still, deserving.

HooRU

(Edited)

Yards don’t product habitats for wildlife and spread diseases, it’s like monocropping. But HOAs require neatly kept yards and so do most towns. It’s a shame that the other ways of yard keepup are prettier, more sustainable, and easier to maintain.

Somewhat-Reticent

HooRU other ways of yard keepup

What are these Other Ways, and where is more info on ’em?

HooRU

Somewhat-Reticent I wish I had saved limks. doh. I’m dumb.

HooRU

Tink of a field of grass-like flowering plants that do’t need mowing because they don’t go jungle on you.

MacLeech

HooRU Like many of these popular ground covers:
https://www.bulkwildflowers.com/collections/ground-cover

BTW, at least a dozen companies around the world make and sell glyphosate these days including many Chinese companies. It’s not just one company. Eliminating glyphosate would cause major supply problems for many key crops.

Guy54435

Remember when planting wildflower plots only use native plants to your area otherwise you may bring an invasive plant into the environment.

HooRU

Invasive plant, obviously, one should consult with experts, what is good for Tucson is not good for Hartford.

HooRU

MacLeech Yes, and the world needs to be fed, but if we kill off all the bees, there will be NO plants to eat. There are a few other polinators, but they don’t polinate what bees do!

DrStrange

HooRU

Sparkchaser Stop manicuring lawns (and maybe just stop lawns) like a putting green and stop killing all the weeds.

I leave the weeds in part of one side of the yard and I see lots of bees.