Plagued by colony collapse disorder, the honeybees that do much of the world’s pollination work are in decline, and cheap access to many flowering plants that we depend on for food—from almonds to apples to soybeans—could follow them down.
Ideally, some intrepid scientist will find a fix for CCD, and the bees will be saved. But there could also be a technological solution to the pollination problem. Researchers have recently worked out the basics of a robotic bee which they say could be used to pollinate plants, search through disaster zones, or perform any variety of tasks where a small swarm of cooperative robots might come in handy.
Shortly after I graduated high school, commercial apiaries started to report massive losses of honeybees. Honeybees are probably the most economically valuable insects in the world, and are responsible for pollinating most of the food we eat. Here in the United States there’s an entire industry built up behind honeybees, with most US honeybees being transported to California to pollinate almonds at some point in the year.
As CRE has noted, studies need to be compliant with the Data Quality Act before they can be used or relied on by American regulators.
From: Forbes
Henry I. Miller
Important technologies commonly face opposition from various quarters – often from vested interests, societal Chicken Littles or overly precautionary regulators. Examples include vaccination, fluoridation of water, and the genetic engineering of crop plants.
Another recent example is the targeting of a relatively new class of insecticides called neonicotinoids that are being blamed in Europe, and increasingly in the United States, for bee keepers’ difficulties in keeping their colonies healthy.
The number of beekeepers and bee colonies in Grand County has increased significantly in the last five years in response to growing concern about diminishing pollinators for gardens and farms, and demand for locally produced honey.
That assessment comes from Jerry Shue, the county’s bee inspector, who presented a report to the Grand County Council on Tuesday, March 5.
There are now 30 beekeepers with 97 colonies in Grand County, Shue said. That’s up from three beekeepers and less than 10 colonies in 2008.
A new long-term study of honey bee health has found that a little-understood disease study authors are calling “idiopathic brood disease syndrome” (IBDS), which kills off bee larvae, is the largest risk factor for predicting the death of a bee colony.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) hosted the 2013 Pollinator Summit on March 5, 2013. The Summit provided a forum for stakeholders and government officials to discuss opportunities and methods to improve the health of pollinators, particularly honey bees.
A major theme throughout the summit was that bee health decline can be attributed to numerous factors. As noted by several panelists (including Jeff Pettis of USDA), of the multi-factors causing bee health decline, the varroa mite poses one of the greatest threats to honey bees. A major goal of the summit was to examine new techniques to limit honeybee exposure to threats such as disease, pests, dust, and incidental pesticide exposure.
Editor’s Note: At EPA’s Pollinator Summit held yesterday in Washington, DC– a leading scientist identfied the Varroa mite as the most likely cause of bee health decline; a position CRE has held for a considerable time. See this website tomorrow for a an indepth review of the Pollinator Summit.
Wall Street Journal
In January, the European Commission advised the EU not to use neonicotinoids, a relatively
new class of agricultural insecticides. Now the member countries are considering whether to
ban the chemical. The Commission’s warning came after heavy pressure from
Domesticated honeybees have been disappearing from hives across the globe, infected by a little-known disease that has killed off entire colonies. Now, a long-term study of honey bee health has identified the disease and has found it to be the largest risk factor for predicting the death of a bee colony.
Dr. Steven Bradbury made the opening statement in which he stated that:
— there are many causes of pollinator decline,
— The science on the issue is evolving and if during the course of the scientific review mitigation measures are needed EPA will act accordingly,
— The purpose of theSummit is to examine near term solutions while the scientific issues are being resolved on a longer time frame.
The above statements reinforce CRE’s views that regulatory actions taken by national or local governments are not only premature but they lack any scientific basis
SHREVEPORT, La. — Bossier City beekeeper William Hummer makes his living off the honey bee. Each year, he tends to hundreds of honey bee colonies extracting their tasty, golden and sticky product for his business, Hummer and Son.
The company, started with his late father Stanley Hummer as a 4-H project, sells its product across the state — most commonly in a 12-ounce “bear” size or by the pound at local grocery stores.
But recently the number of colonies Hummer maintains has dropped 50 percent — from about 600 to 300.
