Sorry for my activity, been working out three times a day getting ready to put my boots on the ground in exactly a month from today. I've mostly been hopping on the computer to read at random times. I was looking on the other forum I commonly visit and read this in a religious debate section. Apparently honey bees are now severely endangered and almost 1/3 of the world's crops that they pollinate along with them. What I find funny is I can't think of too many other places honey bees are found other than the Americas and I think Europe (Correct me if I'm wrong) so we'll be the ones getting hit the hardest. Apples are among those on top of crops threatened from what I hear and this article also mentions that. Here's the link to one website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wildtv/endangered.html And something a bit more credible: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1005_041005_honeybees.html What I find funny is that I believe this is result of the Government releasing a strain of wasps that they were so proud of back in 2004 or 2005. These wasps were supposed to combat killer bees, as they were not only tougher (like 1 of these wasps took out around 10-20 bees before dying, they had the fights slowed down on the Discovery channel) but they also carried some disease or something. Didn't hear about it too much after that. Anyway this could very well be the result; main lesson being don't **** with nature. Not to mention for the self sufficient, it would be wise to find out if your crop is in danger...
I've been watching this as well. I've heard Bees called the Canary in the Mine. Molds and other non-native species are really hurting the hives. A much bigger problem than some realize
Molds spores and fungus??? nah, its the changing magnetic fields(poles shifting), they get lost on their wayback to the hive and die of embarassment?? Think there's a grant in there somewhere???
"for the self sufficient, it would be wise to find out if your crop is in danger..." Your crop is not in danger unless you have a very large acreage of monoculture fruit or nuts. Grains are all wind pollinated. There are numerous other species of wild pollinating insects.
Actually, there are a some other crops like alfalfa, clover and buckwheat I missed that also rely on honey bee pollination when planted in large acreages. I probably missed some. Honey bees are not native to the Americas, the European settlers brought them over.
A few years ago; Our local honey bees were attacked by a smaller, "mite"-type bug that attached itself to, and consequently, killed them. Honey is still readily available in our area. I see no sign of shortage in the raw or processed honeys available. If you Google, you can see many instances of honey bee problems, here and abroad.
Part of the problem also comes from a lack of bee keepers. With a decline in numbers, there are not enough individuals to help keep healthy man-maintained hives going. As a result, there is a level of slack that must be taken up by wild hives and/or the remaining man-maintained. After reading "Alas, Babylon", I felt as the author did, that bees would be a valuable resource in a post collapse society. They are a source of honey (food & medicine) as well as wax (candles, etc.). Their value as trade goods would be huge, and the starting cost is fairly low (under $200.00) for what amounts to be a renewable resource. Check your local fair this summer to see what a bee keeper does and how to get started. phishi
Here at work, we have trees blooming that are usually covered with bees. Not a single bee this week from what I could see. jim
http://www.survivalblog.com/2007/03/letter_re_honeybee_colony_coll.html Interesting article from Survival Blog today.
Another perk to the beea for supplying trade goods post SHTF, not to many folks will have ANY intrest in trying to steal the goods. lol Lets face it, if they dont have a bee suit most folks want NOTHING to do with shoveing an arm into a bee hive and if they do most would quickly change their minds.
I read somewhere that the French during WW2 would hide valuables inside beehives. Pretty smart really.
Just caught a quick blurb on FoxNews about the declining bee population. Some "scientists" are saying that the decline is due to stress. I didn't know it but supposedly bee keepers will load up the hives on semi's transport the hive to a field that needs to be pollinated, let the hives sit a while, them load 'em up again and repeat. Now, I thought bees had a way to return to hive, so if you keep moving the hive, that would cause problems wouldn't it??
Hives are generally only moved at night or in the evening when its cooled down - then almost all the bees are in the hive. I don't know if beekeepers will keep them closed up on the truck during a multiday move, but not a good idea in hot weather. Bees have never had any problem reorienting themselves to new areas after being moved, so they can return to the hive. Bees generally fly in a two mile radius around the home hive.
Someone passed the "rumor" that cell phones were causing the demise of bees! I highly doubt that, but.....! I caught the last part of a blurb about bees on the Art Bell "Coast to Coast" radio show. Something about an over-abundance of honey bees in Canada! Bell speculated that the bees had migrated North, due to the weather changes. As far as I know, there are NO commercial bee keepers in my neck of the woods....Torrance, California. Our backyard continues to be buzzed by the little darlings, for they just LOVE the flower plants that my wife has in her garden! I get "buzzed" quite often when I take a dip in our backyard spa....probably because I'm so....SWEET? I haven't noticed ANY shortage of bees here, in this suburban area. Heck, we also have skunks, possum, squirrels, racoons, and....I've even seen a couple of stray coyotes on the prowl at night! It's CITY where I live....not rural! Bees be's EVERYWHERE! If they're gone in your neck of the woods, maybe they're just on vacation! They BEE back later.....hopefully!
