Colony Collapse Disorder – There is No Mystery
At the bottom of the page, I added a link that summarizes the reason people say C.C.D. is a mystery. They devote pages upon pages, and test upon test to show that C.C.D is caused by other problems. In this article they are pointing the finger at fungicides and other chemicals in the environment. I would swear they have some link to the big chemical companies that sell the systemic pesticides that are killing the bees. But then again fear sells papers. And not knowing why the bees are dying is very scary. When in reality, just banning systemic pesticides would stop a majority of the bee losses we endure.
The Italian Government sent over a delegation to talk to the bee society here in san diego about how they cured C.C.D. in their country, The answer was simple, they banned systemic neonicotinoids , and the bees came back.
Neonicotinoids are a tweaked nicotine molecule. Nicotine is deadly to insects but not that bad for humans. Plus they changed the nicotine molecule so that it does not bond with human cells, So in theory, it just kills bugs and does not hurt humans, It is applied to the roots through water, and is taken up by the plant, and comes out in the every part of the plant. Including the nectar and the pollen that the bees feed on.
Recently they have banned systemic pesticides in Oregon. I guarantee you, that the bees will make an amazing comeback in Oregon this winter. Just like the bees made an amazing come back in Italy after they banned
Neonicotinoids . Here is how the confusion created by the big chemical companies has played out. They can say that neonicotinoids don’t kill bees and are telling the truth. They can show test upon test that prove that neonicotinoids don’t kill bees. All these tests are real. In a controlled sterile environment neonicotinoids do not in-fact kill bees. It is when bees are exposed to the harsh conditions that exists in the real world, after being exposed to neonicotinoids that the bees die.
Neonicotinoids . Here is how the confusion created by the big chemical companies has played out. They can say that neonicotinoids don’t kill bees and are telling the truth. They can show test upon test that prove that neonicotinoids don’t kill bees. All these tests are real. In a controlled sterile environment neonicotinoids do not in-fact kill bees. It is when bees are exposed to the harsh conditions that exists in the real world, after being exposed to neonicotinoids that the bees die.
So when scientists say that the nosema virus, varroa mites, inbreeding, mono crops and poor commercial bee keeping practices are killing the bees. They are 100% correct and truthful.
If you take neonicotinoids out of the equation, all these things have minimum impact on the bees.
There are 3 big things that neonicotinoids do to mess with the bee:
1) Weakens them so that they can’t resist disease.
2) Makes the bees crave sweeter and sweeter food so that eventually normal nectar is not sweet enough.
3) Throws off the bee’s navigational skills.
1 and 2 are self explanatory, and I don’t fully understand the mechanics behind the phenomena, but let me explain number 3. When you spray an ant or a cockroach with bug spray, you can watch them twitch. With small doses, it just makes the muscle reactions a little bit faster. In Italy, they attached little speed gauge to bees, subjected them to miniscule amounts of neonicotinoids, and found the bees flew farther in a shorter space of time.
This is why bee keepers are finding empty hives full of honey and brood with no dead bees around. All the bees keep over shooting their homes never to find them again.
This is a tragic event that perplexed bee keepers for many years.
Italy solved the problem over 5 years ago and now Oregon has followed their lead.
The big chemical companies don’t want you to know this. They can’t suppress the evidence pointing towards their product being the root of C.C.D. so instead they flood the media with loads of articles about other things that are killing the bees.
It is a game of “watch the left hand so that you don’t see what the right hand is doing.”
http://qz.com/107970/scientists-discover-whats-killing-the-bees-and-its-worse-than-you-thought/
SAVE THE BEES
SAVE THE WORLD
James McDonald