One-Third of U.S. Honeybee Colonies Died Last Winter, Threatening Food Supply

[Slang]

Most food crops don't need bees for pollination, the wind does a better job at that.

 

[daze23]

almost any plant with a 'flower' relies on insects for pollination (as in what we commonly think of as a "flower", not just the ambiguous reproductive system in plants)

 

[Resident Geordie]

US approves new pesticides linked to mass bee deaths as EU enacts ban

In the wake of a massive US Department of Agriculture report highlighting the continuing large-scale death of honeybees, environmental groups are left wondering why the Environmental Protection Agency has decided to approve a "highly toxic" new pesticide.

The continuing mass death of honeybees, known scientifically as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and a “pollinator crisis,” could well strain production of over 100 crops in the US including apples, zucchinis, avocados and plums. The agriculture value of these products is estimated at over $200 billion globally per year.

As RT recently reported, a new USDA report has taken a broad look at the decline of bee colonies in the country, highlighting a dire situation as the number of colonies has plummeted from 3 million in 1990 to 2.5 million this year. Demonstrating that the decline is a long-term issue, that same report points to the existence of 6 million honey bee colonies in 1947.

Though dire, the report does not offer any immediate solutions, as scientists continue to examine the potential causes for the mass colony collapses, during which adult bees abandon their hives, along with the queen, brood and food supplies.

The USDA cites “multiple factors… including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure,” while also citing last summer’s drought as a contributing factor.

Many environmental groups seem convinced that pesticides are a main factor in the continuing colony collapse situation. One group, Beyond Pesticides, has called the EPA’s recent green light for use of a new insecticide known as sulfoxaflor irresponsible in light of its “highly toxic” classification for honey bees.

In late April, the European Union voted to enact a two-year moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (sulfoxaflor is considered by many to be a "fourth-generation neonicotinoid") in light of scientific studies that indicate their harm to bees.

As in the US, a number of European countries have also been monitoring declining health and colony collapses in their bee populations, including France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Groups such as the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) have praised the continent-wide ban.

Reuters / Heinz-Peter Bader

“The EU vote comes after significant findings by the European Food Safety Agency that these pesticides pose an unacceptable risk to bees and their use should be restricted. Along with habitat loss and pathogens, a growing body of science points to neonicotinoid pesticides as a key factor in drastically declining bee populations,” said a statement by PAN.

Meanwhile, major pesticide manufacturers scoff at the two-year European ban.

“As a science-based company, Bayer CropScience is disappointed that clear scientific evidence has taken a backseat in the decisionmaking process. This disproportionate decision is a missed opportunity to reach a solution that takes into consideration all of the existing product-stewardship measures and broad stakeholder concerns.”

Unlike the straight-cut decision taken by the EU, the same USDA report highlighting plummeting bee colony numbers in the US seems to undermine the possibility of even a temporary ban on potentially harmful pesticides.

According to one veteran environmental reporter, Bryan Walsh of Time Magazine, the USDA report in introducing several “potential” factors in CCD skirts the issue of pesticides altogether.

“The USDA report mostly withholds judgment on neonicotinoids, citing the need for more research, and the Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a very slow review of the evidence,” says Walsh.

The review cited by the agency is slated to take an additional five years. Meanwhile, the domesticated bee population in the US has reached a 50-year low.

According to Walsh, in a normal year the commercial bee industry would expect to lose 10 to 15 per cent of its colonies, but over the past five years mortality rates have increased dramatically, ranging from 28 to 33 per cent.
Unlike in the EU, where at least in terms of policy lawmakers were not willing to take a chance on pesticides, the USDA’s report points to various possible causes for the massive colony collapse, including: A parasitic mite called Varroa destructor; a bacterial disease called European foulbrood; and the use of pesticides, including neonicotinoids, a neuroactive chemical.

Yet, almost paradoxically, the USDA seems to lend further study a time frame which seems glacial compared to its own dire estimates of mass bee die offs.

“Currently, the survivorship of honeybee colonies is too low for us to be confident in our ability to meet the pollination demands of US agricultural crops,” the USDA report said.

US approves new pesticides linked to mass bee deaths as EU enacts ban ? RT USA

 

[unit321]

It's the killer bees, a.k.a. Africanized-bees. A small number of them can take over European bee colonies. That colony then dies.
Mixed Africanized and European bees become killer bees. They don't do any pollination work. They don't make honey.
They drive in donks. Just kidding.
Anyways, it is a problem.

 

[Malta]

US approves new pesticides linked to mass bee deaths as EU enacts ban ? RT USA

What a fukking joke, they need to be the first people we eat when the famine hits.

 

[daze23]

well... how did those 10 million do it?... They did it on a smaller scale, but without all the technology and enhancements we use today.

bees don't even know they are catching the pollen with their feet. They are just trying to get the nectar or whatever. We can't simulate this accidental process but we can draw penises on Mars??? Or is it God that set up that intricate process?

I say clone bats and butterflies.. both can pollinate (along with many birds, lizards, and mammals)... and butterflies look nice and don't sting people.. while bats also provide fertilizers.

everything hangs in a balance breh. too many butterflies leads to too many caterpillars eating everything

in Yellowstone park they hunted the wolves pretty much to extinction. seems like a good idea in a federal park to not have dangerous animals all around. plus with no wolves, there were more deer, and who doesn't love Bambi?... well the grass around rivers didn't love Bambi, cause that's what they eat. and without the wolves to keep them in check, they ate a lot of it. turns out the root structure of the grass basically kept the land from eroding away, and with too many deer, the land started eroding away. to make a long story short, they re-introduced wolves

 

[88m3]

everything hangs in a balance breh. too many butterflies leads to too many caterpillars eating everything

in Yellowstone park they hunted the wolves pretty much to extinction. seems like a good idea in a federal park to not have dangerous animals all around. plus with no wolves, there were more deer, and who doesn't love Bambi?... well the grass around rivers didn't love Bambi, cause that's what they eat. and without the wolves to keep them in check, they ate a lot of it. turns out the root structure of the grass basically kept the land from eroding away, and with too many deer, the land started eroding away. to make a long story short, they re-introduced wolves

what are we going to do breh?

 

[Freedman]

everything hangs in a balance breh. too many butterflies leads to too many caterpillars eating everything

in Yellowstone park they hunted the wolves pretty much to extinction. seems like a good idea in a federal park to not have dangerous animals all around. plus with no wolves, there were more deer, and who doesn't love Bambi?... well the grass around rivers didn't love Bambi, cause that's what they eat. and without the wolves to keep them in check, they ate a lot of it. turns out the root structure of the grass basically kept the land from eroding away, and with too many deer, the land started eroding away. to make a long story short, they re-introduced wolves

You would think we'd learn something every now and then. So instead of finding alternative pesticides or such they just gonna make new super robotic bees

 

[↓R↑LYB]

what are we going to do breh?

Instead of killing the wolves, we kill the deer

 

[Mr. Somebody]

everything hangs in a balance breh. too many butterflies leads to too many caterpillars eating everything

in Yellowstone park they hunted the wolves pretty much to extinction. seems like a good idea in a federal park to not have dangerous animals all around. plus with no wolves, there were more deer, and who doesn't love Bambi?... well the grass around rivers didn't love Bambi, cause that's what they eat. and without the wolves to keep them in check, they ate a lot of it. turns out the root structure of the grass basically kept the land from eroding away, and with too many deer, the land started eroding away. to make a long story short, they re-introduced wolves

God is so great the way he connected these systems of life to one another. Its incredible. Demons think o well we'll just kill it, off of an emotional response not realizing, the Lord works in mysterious ways.

 

[Blackking]

everything hangs in a balance breh. too many butterflies leads to too many caterpillars eating everything

in Yellowstone park they hunted the wolves pretty much to extinction. seems like a good idea in a federal park to not have dangerous animals all around. plus with no wolves, there were more deer, and who doesn't love Bambi?... well the grass around rivers didn't love Bambi, cause that's what they eat. and without the wolves to keep them in check, they ate a lot of it. turns out the root structure of the grass basically kept the land from eroding away, and with too many deer, the land started eroding away. to make a long story short, they re-introduced wolves

what are we going to do breh?

 

[daze23]

what are we going to do breh?

 

[blackzeus]

Robotic Bees to Pollinate Monsanto Crops | Earth First! Newswire

Problem solved. Monsanto has this under control folks, nothing to see here

Basically. Kill all the regular bees, in come the mechanized version. Oh, so you won't bow to our demands? Well, you best get the pollinatin' yourselves

Is there anything CACs won't do for a dollar?

 

[daze23]

only looking at the direct effects to human food supply seems rather short sighted

 

[Slaimon Khan Shah]

HONEY IS HEALING FOR MANKIND, AND THAT IS A SIGN FOR THOSE WHO GIVE THOUGHT. The Noble Qur'an - ?????? ??????