Re: [Biofuel] vanishing honey bees
More from Joe Cummins: Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 08:20:30 -0500 From: jcummins [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: The Mysterious Disappearance of Honey Bees To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Prof. Joe Cummins The Mysterious Disappearance of Honey Bees In October 2006 United States National Research Council published the report of their Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America, The report pointed out that an existing decline in honey bee pollinators was devastating North America. The report pointed out the importance of pollinators noting that three quarters of the earthís flowering plants depended on pollinators for propagation. The extensive report dealt with bureaucratic issues aimed at dealing with the catastrophe and delineated ways that more human and financial resources should be focused on honey bee decline The report did not pin down causes in decline but instead focused on introduced parasites and microbial disease causing organisms such as fungi, bacteria and viruses Other causes included habitat decline, fragmentation and deterioration. The remedies suggested included testing commercial pollinators to insure that they were disease free and similar bureaucratic measures rather than a sharp focus on the primary causes of decline (1). The impact of pesticide on bees the uses and the spread of genetically modified (GM) crops modified for insect resistance and herbicide tolerance were barely discussed in the report leaving the impression that these were not considered important by the committee. The following discussion will deal with those important issues regardless of the views of the NRC Committee. Science Magazine reported on the pollination crisis but emphasized the need to replace the current pollinators with more robust insects (2). The New York Times emphasized the impact of bee decline on farmers and reported a salient observation that bees were flying off from the hive and simply not returning.(3). The Independent commented on the swift colony decline and noted that the problem of a tremendous pathogen load in the remaining members of a colony (4). The cogent point is that the bees in the colonies appear to have lost their immunity to viruses, bacteria and fungal diseases. The loss of resistance to disease may be caused by parasites, virus infections, or pesticides (both applied and present in GM crops).The disappearance of bees may have originated with one thing that diminished the beeís immunity or by a combination of environmental factors diminishing the immune system ,all hitting the bee colonies at the same time. Parasites reduce bee immunity : Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) were fist observed in the United States in the mid 1980s , they appear to have jumped from native bees to honey bees in the Orient during the mid 1960s. The parasite was first observed in North America in the mid 1980s, since that time they have spread throughout North America. The parasite invades the hives and sucks the hemolympth from the pupae and adult bees infecting them with viruses carried by the parasite. The parasite reduces the immune response of the bees causing them to be prone to infection with virus, bacteria or fungi (5,6). A number of virus diseases are enhanced in the parasite infected bee colony , particularly the deformed wing virus disease that causes crippling deformity in the bees (7). Multiple viruses frequently infect the bees attacked by Varroa parasite. These viruses are spread no only by the parasite but vertically from queen to brood (8,9). The parasite infected colonies are frequently treated with a pyrethroid insecticide , fluvalinate, but this insecticide may influence the behaviour of the honey bee and has well the parasite has grown resistant to the insecticide (10). Honey bee disappearance has not always been associated with parasite infection and it is clear that man made environmental contaminants may influence bee immunity and bee behaviour. The immune pathways of bees have been studied. Honey bees have 17 gene families involved in immunity but they have roughly one third the number of genes involved in immunity as have Drosophila and Anapheles Mosquitoes. Honey bees seem to have limited immune flexibility (11). The immune inflexibility of honey bees may make them sensitive to devastating pathogens. Pesticides may have sublethal effects on bees: Most of the information on pesticides reports the lethal effects on insects or on non-target beneficial organisms. Bees are particularly sensitive to pesticides, whether insecticides, fungicides or herbicides, that effect development, adult longevity, immunity or behavioural effects such as navigation, feeding behaviour, oviposition, or learning. Sublethal effects can prove fatally disruptive to hive communities. Numerous pesticides have been found to disrupt bees following sublethal exposures (12). A wide array of pesticides including
Re: [Biofuel] vanishing honey bees
I'm surprised GMO pollen is not listed as a possible cause under investigation. Seems like a no brainer to check that one out. Joe Kirk McLoren wrote: ++ | Vanishing Honeybees Will Affect Future Crops | | from the bee-gone dept. | | posted by kdawson on Tuesday February 27, @14:07 (Bug) | | http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/27/179237 | ++ [0]daninbusiness writes Across the US, beekeepers are finding that their [1]bees are disappearing âEUR not returning while searching for nectar and pollen. This could have a major impact on the food industry in the United States, where as much as $14 billion worth of agriculture business depends on bees for crop pollination. Reasons for this problem, dubbed 'colony collapse disorder,' are still unknown. Theories include viruses, some type of fungus, poor bee nutrition, and pesticides. Discuss this story at: http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/27/179237 Links: 0. http://daninbusiness.blogspot.com/ 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/business/27bees.html/partner/rssnyt Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels in 45,000 destinations on Yahoo! Travel http://travel.yahoo.com/hotelsearchpage;_ylc=X3oDMTFtaTIzNXVjBF9TAzk3NDA3NTg5BF9zAzI3MTk0ODEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA21haWx0YWdsaW5lBHNsawNxMS0wNw-- to find your fit. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] vanishing honey bees
I'm surprised GMO pollen is not listed as a possible cause under investigation. Seems like a no brainer to check that one out. Joe Joe Cummins posted this at SANET, with the NYT article below: Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:29:18 -0500 From: jcummins [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: more on missing bees To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The article below gives more on the mystery of the disappearing bees. Earlier discussion rather mirrored the kind of discussion we had earlier which suggested that there was no clear answer at the present time. I included at the end of the article an abstract on a study showing that, in Germany, most of the bacterial residents of the bee's gut (firmicutes are some gram positive bacteria) were sensitive to the herbicide glufosinate while about 40% were resistant. Looking at a glufosinate link to vanishing bees might prove fruitful , the gut microbial ecology of bees is vital to their survival. As well, glufosinate interfers with glutamine.a nerve stimulator in insect guts and brains. Of course, all of the pesticides should be studied for their effect on bees but glufosiante and glyphosate use has escalated as GM crops have increased. February 27, 2007 NY Times Honeybees Vanish, Leaving Keepers in Peril By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO VISALIA, Calif., Feb. 23 - David Bradshaw has endured countless stings during his life as a beekeeper, but he got the shock of his career when he opened his boxes last month and found half of his 100 million bees missing. In 24 states throughout the country, beekeepers have gone through similar shocks as their bees have been disappearing inexplicably at an alarming rate, threatening not only their livelihoods but also the production of numerous crops, including California almonds, one of the nation's most profitable. I have never seen anything like it, Mr. Bradshaw, 50, said from an almond orchard here beginning to bloom. Box after box after box are just empty. There's nobody home. The sudden mysterious losses are highlighting the critical link that honeybees play in the long chain that gets fruit and vegetables to supermarkets and dinner tables across the country. Beekeepers have fought regional bee crises before, but this is the first national affliction. Now, in a mystery worthy of Agatha Christie, bees are flying off in search of pollen and nectar and simply never returning to their colonies. And nobody knows why. Researchers say the bees are presumably dying in the fields, perhaps becoming exhausted or simply disoriented and eventually falling victim to the cold. As researchers scramble to find answers to the syndrome they have decided to call colony collapse disorder, growers are becoming openly nervous about the capability of the commercial bee industry to meet the growing demand for bees to pollinate dozens of crops, from almonds to avocados to kiwis. Along with recent stresses on the bees themselves, as well as on an industry increasingly under consolidation, some fear this disorder may force a breaking point for even large beekeepers. A Cornell University study has estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, mostly fruits, vegetables and nuts. Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food, said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. The bee losses are ranging from 30 to 60 percent on the West Coast, with some beekeepers on the East Coast and in Texas reporting losses of more than 70 percent; beekeepers consider a loss of up to 20 percent in the offseason to be normal. Beekeepers are the nomads of the agriculture world, working in obscurity in their white protective suits and frequently trekking around the country with their insects packed into 18-wheelers, looking for pollination work. Once the domain of hobbyists with a handful of backyard hives, beekeeping has become increasingly commercial and consolidated. Over the last two decades, the number of beehives, now estimated by the Agriculture Department to be 2.4 million, has dropped by a quarter and the number of beekeepers by half. Pressure has been building on the bee industry. The costs to maintain hives, also known as colonies, are rising along with the strain on bees of being bred to pollinate rather than just make honey. And beekeepers are losing out to suburban sprawl in their quest for spots where bees can forage for nectar to stay healthy and strong during the pollination season. There are less beekeepers, less bees, yet more crops to pollinate, Mr. Browning said. While this sounds sweet for the bee business, with so much added loss and expense due to disease, pests and higher equipment costs, profitability is actually falling. Some 15 worried beekeepers convened in Florida this month to brainstorm with researchers how to cope with the extensive bee
Re: [Biofuel] vanishing honey bees
Kirk McLoren a écrit : ++ | Vanishing Honeybees Will Affect Future Crops | | from the bee-gone dept. | | posted by kdawson on Tuesday February 27, @14:07 (Bug) | | http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/27/179237 | ++ (...) also known in Europe for years. Among different causes , impact of pesticides like gaucho (imidaclopride) or regent ts (fipronil) has been proven, especially with coated sunflowers seeds. After years of struggle between environmentalists and big chemicals companies (Bayer BASF) , coated sunflowers seeds have been withdraw from french market in 1999, but not coated corn seeds. And new pesticides, maybe worst, replaced the suspected ones. But bees were still dying in some regions, 2 or 3years after those pesticides have been banned. Others explanations : very long remanence in environment after use and other chemicals involved (massive mortality at seeding time in April), climate change (too hot in summer) and new agricultural usages (less biodiversity, less interesting flowers) when Varroa and nosemose infections (and possible other unknown pathologies) are maximum, the food possibilities for honeybees are lower than before (weakness and mortality in August)... So, research is still going on... frantz (one wild hive at home) ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] vanishing honey bees
i heard about this on the radio about a week ago. i am inclined to agree with the cumulative effects of pesticides namely the herbicides the bees get into while they are out collecting. - Original Message - From: Kirk McLoren To: biofuel Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 1:20 AM Subject: [Biofuel] vanishing honey bees ++ | Vanishing Honeybees Will Affect Future Crops | | from the bee-gone dept. | | posted by kdawson on Tuesday February 27, @14:07 (Bug) | | http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/27/179237 | ++ No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.431 / Virus Database: 268.18.4/705 - Release Date: 2/27/2007 3:24 PM ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
