Quote Originally Posted by stinkyattic
Naw we have plenty of beekeepers (farm community)... there just seems to be a lack of BEES... climate change... I'm not so informed but Rhizome is all over it.
If by " all over it" you mean "freaked the F$%^ out", then yes, yes I am.

Bee populations across North America and Europe have been dying off. The current speculation is that their autolocation mechanism is somehow being comprimised- ie, workers go out to forage, but do not return. The hive dies.

This is a REAL PROBLEM, given the diversity of crops and other plants whose reproduction is based on bee pollination.

Started in random pockets in the US about 18 months ago, then turned up in Europe within the last year. Nobody seems to know what's going on. Lot of speculation that it's somehow related to the introduction of large-scale GMO organisms, but no proof and no plausible theory of action- GMO corn isn't bee pollinated, nor is regular corn.

Oddly, french researchers stumbled across the fact that, if a cellphone is left next to a hive, bees will not return. Don't know how many times this experiment has been iterated. Cells are active in the electromagnetic spectra, which bees are known to use for autolocation- but cells have been in very common use in Europe for decades, and suddenly there's a problem. Problem also first occured in relatively rural areas of the US, where cell use is much less common. So I don't see direct causuality.

Let's also remember that the populations being affected, at least in US/WE, are just beginning to solidly recover from the varroa mite, which decimated feral populations earlier in the decade.

Some reports are saying that population on the North American continent may be down by as much as 70 % from #'s late last century.


Given the central role of bees in the ecosystem, yeah, I'm pretty freaked. Enjoy the honey while you can, cause it'll be pricey very very soon.