Interesting read about Colony Collapse Disorder;
he’d gone out to check his bee yard and discovered that of the 5,600 hives he kept at the time, all but 600 were empty… and many others feel strongly that neonicotinoids were the final stressor in a cascade of them, and the one that tipped the scales —
There’s no doubt that neonicotinoids are responsible for much and i"m off the fence on that one.
CCD? Well that’s some strange phenomenon and I gather it has very largely declined. Can any US beekeepers here confirm that ?
5600 hives? Migratory beekeeping on a grand scale. Load them on a truck and tip 'em out at the other end. Man made cascade indeed. Poor bees!!!
I have read that the CCD seems to be waning over all, but the numbers seem opaque and it is hard to quantify. Certainly it “feels” as if the issue is still on the table in the Sacramento and Central Valleys of California. Our larger Beeks had large losses this last winter. Drought is another issue on the table as well. So hard to derive hard data from such a subtle problem with so many possible influences.
I am pretty sure however that it is NOT the end of days… ◔_◔
I suffer Fibromyalgia - a very painful and often debilitating disease that affects my immune system, nerves and general system functions - there was something in this article that suddenly clicked and rang alarm bells.
“Neonicotinoids are a neuro-active insecticide fashioned after nicotine; they poison nerves and specifically prevent acetylcholine from enabling neurons to communicate with each other and with muscle tissue. Neonicotinoids were targeted to kill leaf-sucking insects, but they also painfully kill bees. In humans for instance, the neonicotinoid-chemicals would trigger symptoms mimicking Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.”
Some of my symptoms mimic Parkinsons - I have a client and we have similar symptoms; aches pains, tenderness, bad days and often wondered about the correlation between the two.
Reading the above paragraph from the RS article and bearing in mind Fibro was only recently diagnosed, 1998 - I’m making a big leap here - what if Fibromyalgia and Parkinsons etc are all linked to Neonics???
Sounds like a very valid assumption to me. Makes perfect sense.
Both diseases have been around since well before neonicotinoids though.
Both diseases have been around since well before neonicotinoids though.
But certainly not at the current rates. This is what worries me about neonics. I love my bees, but I’m a lot more worried about my grandkids. Neonics permeate the entire plant including the parts we humans eat. Our brains work on acetylcholine receptors, the same as insects. The only argument the manufacturers have on it being “safe” is that it is “safer” for humans than for insects because it crosses our blood brain barrier at 1/6 the rate that it does insects. That is hardly a comfort when our entire food supply is contaminated with it. At least I could wash DDT off of my fruits and vegetables…
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Exactly @Michael_Bush - Autism, Fibromyalgia, MS, ME All types of Alzheimers of which Parkinsons is one of 100 types, are all much more prevalent nowadays.
Fibro sufferers were thought to be malingerers until 1998.
Our way of life has changed dramatically - Just look back at Thalidomide to see how long it took to identify, one product causing problems.
With GMO’s and Insecticides if they are showing up in peoples DNA they need to be stopped YESTERDAY!!!
It will never happen though. People want cheap food and the “Big Pharma” lobby is the most powerful one in the world (if you exclude Oil producers)
Eat properly, don’t smoke, don’t get fat and drink alcohol in moderation is about the best we can do.
I grow my own veg, eat little meat and always looked after my daughter’s diet as she was growing up even though we lived in the London suburbs with a small garden.
Edited the following day.
I found this rather interesting article in "Nature"