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The honey harvest is almost at an end now, at least for this year. Flowers become scarce, not much precipitation. Bees prep for winter. In California winter means rain, and not snow, at least near the coast. With rainy season it's not the cold so much as the lack of sunshine. Bees require the sun to navigate and find home after foraging. Their ability to navigate out and back is quite amazing. Something prevents this. They fly out but don't come home, and we don't know why. There is a problem: the bees are disappearing. Colony Collapse. It's called CCD, but giving something a name is not solving it. Entomologists do not yet agree on the cause of CCD. Is it natural? Or a problem caused by man? Is it just one cause? More likely there are many potential causes, in combination. Parasites, like mites; viruses; and pesticides; even microwaves. These and many more have been proposed causes of Colony Collapse. Because there are no bodies for an autopsy, it's hard to study. But unless we can find and address the causes, we have big trouble. Farm crops are threatened; agriculture depends on bees to pollinate. |
Beekeepers rent out thousands of hives on flatbeds, trucked out to orchards. So much of our food, abundant variety, carried on bees' knees. Hobby beekeepers could be key to saving bees and our food supply. The answer lies in genetic diversity. Darwin had it right. The strong will survive by adapting to changes in environment. Those changes could be food supply, or predators, pathogens, and more. We need to promote survivor stock, and let the weaker ones die out. Don't use chemicals in the hive. It only makes the mites resistant. If a hive weakens, it might be best if it just vacates the gene pool. We lost another, our hives are now down to two. That's five in two years. The two that remain are flying strong and healthy. They are survivors! Can't make baklava without honey, although some use sugar water. There is a reason my baklava wins prizes. It's due to the bees. And there's not enough honey for a batch of mead. THAT'S a big problem. There is a movie, "The Vanishing of the Bees." Please help spread the word. There will be showings in a theater near you starting very soon. You can even have your own private group showing. Promote awareness! |
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The bees need our help, and we need the bees as well. Interdependence.
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For information about the documentary film "The Vanishing of the Bees" see http://www.vanishingbees.com/ © 2010 Eric Black |
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