:thankyou: awwww. thank you. My husband repeatedly tells people he is deathly allergic to bees. He runs screaming from them Why??? well, when he was 6 he was walking though a field and kicked a bee hive. Stung over and over and over. Had to go to the hospital. He was very ill. Proof that he is deathly allergic. <sigh>
I am sure I could have come up with better puns, or someone could have. I doubt he is deathly allergic. But maybe you meant this a little ironically. If he was stung over and over and was deathly allergic he probably wouldn't be around. I was stung once perhaps 100 times by ground wasps - or may hornets. I stepped in their home. Most people probably would have gone to the hospital - my leg swelled up, I got a low fever, I felt horrible. But I mean if you get stung a lot of times, well,....
I keep telling him was sick and hospitalized because he was stung hundreds of times, not because he was allergic. Its part of why he set our lawn on fire when we had ground wasps like you did.
OK. I thought you knew above, but I wasn't 100% sure. I know someone who is allergic. She gets stung by one bee and it's time to shove the adrenalin shot, which she carries around with her all the time, into her arm or ass, I can't remember. I mean we are talking lungs fill up and heart stops. But I can understand why he is terrified. Time to invite an allergy specialist to dinner. I mean now if he gets stung he will be utterly terrified, which will only add to his symptoms, which will only add to his terror. Feedback city. Poor guy.
wow. you are a lot nicer than I am. I just roll my eyes and laugh at him. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Well, what do I know, maybe he deserves that. I am very patient with other peoples' problem dogs too. Then I go home and leave them behind.
Hi guys. I know I could google the answer, but since we have some professional bee people here... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I remember hearing something a year or two ago about honey bees "disappearing", meaning that they are mysteriously dying off or somehow failing to return to their hives like normal. If I remember correctly, this is / was a widespread problem, with no known explanation. Is this: An urban myth? If it is true, has the problem lessened? Again, if true, does anyone know why yet? Thanks...
Ain't no urban myth. Here's some recent thinking about this problem... http://www.scientificamerican.com/p...=disappearing-bees-have-devastated-r-09-08-25 http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/31/the-mysterious-disappearing-honey-bee/ Me I think it is the cellphone masts and other similar EM stuff we are doing. Cause the bees don't just die. Suddenly the whole hive does not come home. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/are-mobile-phones-wiping-out-our-bees-444768.html
To Randwolf: Yes, it's a real problem AND a serious one! Note that the claim above that "suddenly the whole hive does not come home is inaccurate. Of the links provided, only the first provides accurate information. And in addition to that, research carried out in Israel confirms the problems with ribosomes and have developed evidence that it may well be caused by a specific fungus in conjunction with two specific parasites - they are the trachea mite and the verroa mite. Infestation of these pests have clearly been shown to lower the bees' resistance to diseases which can damage the ribosomes and lead to premature and rather sudden death in honeybees.
After tracing this back a little ways, it seems that a viral infection is breaking down the DNA (ribosomes) of the bees, and then they die off. Is this right? I found this in a link from the link you guys provided: So it has reached the point where they have an acronym for it... Not a good sign. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! (CCD - Colony collapse disorder) I admit that I only scanned this article, but I still didn't see an underlying reason why these infections are escalating, maybe I missed it. Did you (Read-Only or Doreen) have any personal experiences with this phenomenon? Edit: Just noticed the "fungi" reasoning put forth by Read-Only - I guess this is currently the best theory as to why... Sorry.
Yes, I have. Even though I gave up beekeeping which I enjoyed very much, I keep in touch with several folks who are still very much active - in addition to reading everything I can find on the subject. Every beekeeper I know has been hit by CCD. But keep in mind that the only reason it hasn't wiped them out is because *every* good beekeeper has his hives separated over wide areas. With generally no more that 75 to 100 in each single location. But the BIGGEST reason is they all keep their hives treated for mites and regularly dismantle them in stages and disinfect the parts before placing them back in service. It's a lot of expensive work and take a good deal of time but it's the only way to stay in business. Footnote: There are also several infections that can strike - most notably American Foulbrood (AFB) and the English version. And they also require strict action and control.
Here you can find some summary of hypotheses. Note that Europe is concerned about certain pesticides. http://wildlife-conservation.suite101.com/article.cfm/update_on_bee_colony_collapse_disorder and an ironic, given the context, take on the issue here...... http://www.naturalnews.com/023679.html where it is stated as a fact that it is pesticides. I am not supporting the conclusions of these sites, just trying to point out the range. About fungi or mites..... These are likely only partial explanations. I doubt they go to the root of the issue. Why are bee colonies suddenly vulnerable to these things - have they mutated or changed in some fundamental way, the mites or fungi that is? Are the immune systems of the bees compromised in some way? It is a little like saying someone got candidiasis because of yeast. Well, yes, but why did a normally present yeast take over some portion of their bodies and not other people's? Why are we seeing more incidence of candidiasis? Etc. A cause is a cause is a cause...well, not always.
Interestingly enough it seems that the organic bee 'farmers' are not suffering the same losses http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=862a6e77-53e5-46d2-903e-5b9b6ee55e89 http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=21912 http://www.celsias.com/article/organic-bees-surviving-colony-collapse-disorder-cc/ This may be due to a whole host of factors, if true, including the fact that the bees tend to be different- and have things like different maturation rates - in organic production.
Also there was some question about the bees suddenly being gone. From scientific american.... http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=bee-afraid-bee-very-afraid-09-08-14
I'm going to play connect the dots and say it's not cheaper because it is low grade, but cheaper because you get less honey and more air. However it make sense that they use the low-grade honey for specialized honeys like how the bad meat goes into bologna. I nominate this post for most pointless use of logic.
