Thursday, February 22, 2007

Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

It sounds dreadful, and it is! We are losing our bee colonies by the thousands. Bee keepers who transport their bees from orchard, to farm, to field, are finding their colonies dead when the hives are opened up. It is a very serious dilema.
As gardeners, we all know the importance of our pollinators. We attempt to do everything to protect them. There are other creatures besides bees that pollinate, but the bees are the best and most efficient. It is critical that we protect them at all costs.

Here is an excerpt from a Reuter's News Bulletin:

"A mysterious disease is killing off U.S. honeybees, threatening to disrupt pollination of a range of crops and costing beekeepers hundreds of thousands of dollars, industry experts said on Monday.

Beekeepers in 22 states have reported losses of up to 80 percent of their colonies in recent weeks, leaving many unable to rent the bees to farmers of crops such as almonds and, later in the year, apples and blueberries.

"It's unusual in terms of the widespread distribution and severity," said Jerry Bromenshenk, a professor at the University of Montana at Missoula and chief executive of Bee Alert Technology, a company monitoring the problem."

80 percent of our bees is a HUGE amount! Be aware that this is happening, and read everything you can about it to learn more. I'm sure as time goes on, I'll have more to say about this. Stay tuned!

2 Comments:

At March 03, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've heard that before. I can vouch for the plethora of honey bees in my garden. My mailman came to complain about the number swarming about our mailbox visiting the mint flowers. I guess he should count his blessings?

I keep bees, but only those of the solitary variety; mason and leafcutters, in a bee box on the side of the house. I started mainly to ensure pollinators for my garden nad continued cuz it's fun.

 
At March 03, 2007, Blogger North Country Maturing Gardener said...

Good for you! Keep up the good work.

 

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