Forums > Social Discussion > What's happened with the bees?
Login/Join to Participatehad her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
https://www.aginfo.psu.edu/News/07Jan/HoneyBees.htm
https://maarec.cas.psu.edu/FAQ/FAQCCD.pdf
Bees are disappearing. Sounds a bit like the X-Files... but according to some articles I just read, up to 60 or 70 % of honeybees in quite a few regions of the States and Canada are gone, and in some places in Europe it happens, too (if not as much. yet?)
Obviously the problem's not just that there'll be less honey, but that lots of plants depend on bees to fertilise them in order for us to get food. Let's hope the bees recover from whatever makes them die!
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia
I honestly can't be arsed reading all that (i have reading coming out my ears for uni as it is) but woah, thats really bizarre! and not cool at all!
I cant live without my honey!!!!!
i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey
Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...
1,189 posts
Location: Edinburgh
Bee are my absolute favourite insect.
Effient, intelligent, elegant, beautiful and feared.
I had heard it was some kind of disease killing them. Insect immune systems aren't adaptive, so we might need to wait for the populations to evolve resistance before they start bouncing back.
According to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Dynamics, we may already be making love right now...
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
It's weird though that they don't just lie dead in or around their hives. Not saying it's a conspiracy or the Vogons will blow up the planet soon, just that I'd assume a sad, sick little bee to go home and die with its friends. Though maybe if it's a disease it messes with their orientation system somehow.
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
1,189 posts
Location: Edinburgh
Written by: Birgit
It's weird though that they don't just lie dead in or around their hives. Not saying it's a conspiracy or the Vogons will blow up the planet soon, just that I'd assume a sad, sick little bee to go home and die with its friends. Though maybe if it's a disease it messes with their orientation system somehow.
Bee corpses are cleared out of the hive by their compatriots.
According to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Dynamics, we may already be making love right now...
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
Well, from what I've read the beekeepers seem to find it surprising that there's no build-up of dead bees in and around the hive... also a few of the articles I've read seem to doubt that a disease alone can be the cause. More like, a disease plus monocultures plus pesticide use plus few wild populations of bees still going.
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
1,189 posts
Location: Edinburgh
Interesting.
It might not be killing them, just reducing their fecundity, but I think it's more likely they bees are just being tidy.
Pesticides have been used for a long time, unless somethings changed I don't think that's having much of an effect.
I'm not sure what the genetic diversity of honey bees are though. I think it would be hard to maintain a monoculture of bees (some species have fungi style incompatability complexes, and they can be tricky to slectively breed), but someone would have to look into it.
According to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Dynamics, we may already be making love right now...
with added berries
1,365 posts
Location: Manchester, England (UK)
aw, I've heard about this before, its such a shame, I love bees!. (All the wasps are horrible and can die, but bees are amazing!)
Did you know its scientifically impossible for bees to fly.
And thats why I love them...
Live like there is no tomorrow,
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Geek-enviro-hippy priest
1,858 posts
Location: Diss, Norfolk, United Kingdom
(I've not read the linked pages, so maybe this is on there)
There is a mite called varroa that kills the bees. The bees I've looked after got them and it whipped out over half of them (there were about 40,000 bees in total) with in 2 days.
It's a nasty thing, but I don't know enough about how it is transported to know if it could be a part cause for the downfall in the population.
There's too many home fires burning and not enough trees
Momma Bear
4,525 posts
Location: Telford, Shrops, United Kingdom
Sym is king of the bees, it's true!
Hoppers are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.
1,189 posts
Location: Edinburgh
Written by: pricklyleaf
Did you know its scientifically impossible for bees to fly.
And thats why I love them...
Will you hate them if I tell you that's wrong?
A few decades ago someone tried apply aeroplane aerodynamics equations to bees. Rather unsurprisingly in retrospect, bees aren't little planes, so the equations turned out figures which wouldn't work. At that stage we didn't know how bees flew (different from it being scientifically impossible).
Flashforward, and innovations in fluid dynamics reveal that bees stay aloft by generating tiny microvortices with their wings (I'm told it's closer to swimming than flying). Rather like the 10% of the brain story, the facts were less permiable in society than the myth.
According to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Dynamics, we may already be making love right now...
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
@ Sym, the 2nd website is a FAQ, it's quite good in that you can skip to the bits that interest you... the 1st one is an article describing the situation.
One of the FAQ thingies referred to the name "colony collapse disorder", and why it's called "disorder" and not "disease". I.e. they figure there must be other reasons than just a disease on its own.
Jeff, yeah, pesticides have been around for ages. Hence them thinking it's a combination of various factors including the pesticides.
They did some genetic diversity check to find out if it was to do with one specific lineage of queenie bees, but apparently it's not.
I just really hope they recover! "vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
Pooh-Bah
1,872 posts
Location: Canada
Hey..another urban myth that I've believed for years..(OK, I never thought about running down the truth before now) ..crushed by the power of the internet. Bees can actually fly.
HoP mage and keeper of the fireballs
1,965 posts
Location: Palmerston North, New Zealand
Dissapearing bees is not good how am i going to make mead if i don't have any honey to make it with.
May my balls of fire set your balls on fire 
6,650 posts
Written by: jeff(fake)Written by: pricklyleaf
Did you know its scientifically impossible for bees to fly.
And thats why I love them...
Will you hate them if I tell you that's wrong?
A few decades ago someone tried apply aeroplane aerodynamics equations to bees. Rather unsurprisingly in retrospect, bees aren't little planes, so the equations turned out figures which wouldn't work. At that stage we didn't know how bees flew (different from it being scientifically impossible).
Flash forward, and innovations in fluid dynamics reveal that bees stay aloft by generating tiny micro vortices with their wings (I'm told it's closer to swimming than flying). Rather like the 10% of the brain story, the facts were less permeable in society than the myth.
Was that study about bees, or bumble-bees?
Bees I can't get afraid of - it's wasps (white anglo...
)This species would be one of the greatest losses :cries: hope for the bet...
Btw, Birgit: Are bees the only ones doing the job? (distribution of pollen that is?)
the best smiles are the ones you lead to 
1,189 posts
Location: Edinburgh
Written by: FireTom
Was that study about bees, or bumble-bees?
Most insects use a comparable mechanism to power their flight. It has do do with the change in the behavior of air on smaller scales. So it holds for both.
Written by: FireTom
Btw, Birgit: Are bees the only ones doing the job? (distribution of pollen that is?)
Flies do a little works, as do butterflies, beetles and even the wind. But bees do more pollinating that any other factor.
According to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Dynamics, we may already be making love right now...
newbie
44 posts
Location: South Florida, USA
hmmm... we've got the opposite problem here.. too many bees and a lot of them have been africanized. (and no it's not a slur)
Every Day I add another name to the list of people who piss me off
101 posts
Location: Feilding, Manawatu,New Zealand
Written by: dizzypheonixwhats mead??
Dissapearing bees is not good how am i going to make mead if i don't have any honey to make it with.
..."LOOK at me, HERE I am, lllllooove me"... Luigi "Cars: The Movie."
old hand
853 posts
Location: Behind you...
'Mead (IPA: ['mid]) is a fermented alcoholic beverage made of honey, water, and yeast. Meadhing (ˈmɛ.ðɪŋ) is the practice of brewing honey. Mead is also colloquially known as "honey wine".' (taken from wikipedia)
What is an 'africanised' bee? I have a mental image of a bee with a little afro hairdo wearing a kaftan...
Idolized by Aurinoko
Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind....
Bob Dylan
1,189 posts
Location: Edinburgh
Written by: The Tea Fairy
What is an 'africanised' bee? I have a mental image of a bee with a little afro hairdo wearing a kaftan...
That would be the "killer bees", resulting from the hybridisation of an African strain and an American one. They are hyper agressive and prone to swarming.
According to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Dynamics, we may already be making love right now...
old hand
853 posts
Location: Behind you...
Aaaah... that'd be a bit like the massive bee that stung my eyelid a couple of years ago? It was a huge enormous bee (or else possibly a wood wasp - I didn't get a good look) and it hurt loads and my face swelled up for 2 days. Completely unprovoked too - I've always been told to keep still around stinging insects and then they'll leave you alone, so I kept completely still but this b*****d stung me anyway (it sounded very angry too)...
...or maybe I'm being overdramatic and it was in fact a regular bee...
Idolized by Aurinoko
Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind....
Bob Dylan
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
If it flew off alive and didn't leave its sting in the skin it was a wasp. Bees lose their sting and die, wasps can sting again.
But a normal bee or wasp would make your face swell up if you get stung in the eyelid, I guess... also depends on how sensitive you are to bee/wasp stings in general, some people can take a few without big swelling, and others die from one because of an allergic reaction.
At the end of summer, especially wasps get kind of aggressive. So from September or so, when they start dying, I'd not keep still if one flew towards me...
Having worked outside in the summer, I found the best defence was to stand still until you can tell where it's flying to, whack it straight on the head, and then they usually learn the lesson and fly off. Whereas when you aimlessly flutter your hands about you to fend it off, they'll be intrigued by the silly big thing trying to provoke them.
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
1,189 posts
Location: Edinburgh
Written by: Birgit
If it flew off alive and didn't leave its sting in the skin it was a wasp. Bees lose their sting and die, wasps can sting again.
A common myth in fact. Bees actually survive stinging humans more often than not, and wasps are actually more likely to die as a result than bees.
According to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Dynamics, we may already be making love right now...
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
No wasp that ever stung me died! (Except the one I hit...) Link?
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
old hand
853 posts
Location: Behind you...
As far as I'm aware it didn't leave the sting in, plus it was around September, so I'm guessing it was a wasp.
Idolized by Aurinoko
Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind....
Bob Dylan
1,189 posts
Location: Edinburgh
Written by: Birgit
No wasp that ever stung me died! (Except the one I hit...) Link?
No, you're right. I was thinking of bees verses other insects.
According to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Dynamics, we may already be making love right now...
Geek-enviro-hippy priest
1,858 posts
Location: Diss, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Written by: jeff(fake)Written by: Birgit
If it flew off alive and didn't leave its sting in the skin it was a wasp. Bees lose their sting and die, wasps can sting again.
A common myth in fact. Bees actually survive stinging humans more often than not, and wasps are actually more likely to die as a result than bees.
Can you back that claim up please? There's too many home fires burning and not enough trees
1,189 posts
Location: Edinburgh
Written by: SymWritten by: jeff(fake)Written by: Birgit
If it flew off alive and didn't leave its sting in the skin it was a wasp. Bees lose their sting and die, wasps can sting again.
A common myth in fact. Bees actually survive stinging humans more often than not, and wasps are actually more likely to die as a result than bees.
Retracted 15 minutes before your post.
According to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Dynamics, we may already be making love right now...
Geek-enviro-hippy priest
1,858 posts
Location: Diss, Norfolk, United Kingdom
No fair!
That'll teach me for researching my replies! I should just post without thinking, so I get in there faster.
EDITED_BY: Sym (1174584978)
There's too many home fires burning and not enough trees
37 posts
https://www.latimes.com/news/la-sci-bees26apr26,0,7437491.story?track=mostviewed-storylevel
Bit of a update.
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA
ooh that explains it, poor bees
Faith
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