No doubt we are headed in a bad direction.

Albert Einstein is reported to have said, “If honeybees become extinct, human society will follow in four years.”

Dave

He never said that. See Snopes.

Thanks Susan very interesting

Interesting developments in the CCD story... (maybe)

A story was forwarded to me via email regarding CCD and organic beekeeping. I'm trying to find the story on major news service sites, but haven't run across anything yet to corroborate it.

I'm checking for obvious reasons... You knowv why... Because of those BS emails sent when some schmoe is pushing one agenda or another and they don't care if they lie about it or not... Basically so I don't look like a big chump...

In brief, the essence of the story is that organic beekeepers are reporting that they are only suffering bee losses that are on par with the average year and thus far in the community of US organic beekeepers there have been no instances of CCD.

If it's true, it could be a great and hopeful story.

If I find out more, I'll pass the story along.

And on a side note, my previous comments are not directed toward the growing number of organic farmers. I buy about 75% Organic Foods half of that locally grown, and love those people... Especially for bringing the taste back to tomatoes... And melons...

That is excellent news. There may be some lessons here for the non-organic bee keepers.

On the subject of honeybees, a couple bees found themselves in our home today trying to get out through a window. Bees being such a hot topic I felt a touch from my conservationist side and I put my hand down to give them a ride outside. One rocketed as soon as we were outside, the second just kept walking all over my hand until I took him over to our orange tree so he could explore there. Cool very non-aggressive.

American honey bees only get aggressive if you mess with thier homes. Like most of us, they just want to be left alone and not use thier big sting.

And it is very interesting to hear that about the organic bee keepers; I'm going to hunt for more data from them. Bees, bats and frogs are good barometers of health in an area.

I wouldn't have given them a hand if I thought it would get me or the bees hurt; my lack of aggression comment was just an observation. I need to learn more about organic bee keeping also. Might be something to take up when my situation changes.

If that is true, it may be a matter of amount of whatever the bad stuff causing the problem is, because even organic growers with bees can't really control where their bees go. Bees can travel up to 6 miles from their hive, and few (if any) organic farms (even combined farms) wouldn't be that size. Of course, maybe the honeybees prefer to stay in the organic area, if they can tell the difference.

It's an interesting concept, and one that I would love to find was true.

Sue

They probably can- thier sense of smell makes a dog look snoutless, and IIRC they see into the UV spectrum so they might be able to actually see if something has been applied recently.

I'm just glad I don't see in the UV spectum. *shudders*