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Photizo
June 2009 
To BEE or Not To BEE?
Posted on Jan 19th, 2008
by 
Photizo
Photizo
The Vanishing of The Bees
Honeybees are the only insects that produce food for humans
Something strange and mysterious has been killing the Western honey Bee since October of 2005. Billions of bees are simply flying from their hives and dropping dead across the U.S. Researchers are working round the clock to find answers and help save the greatest crop pollinators on earth.
Bees from the same hive visit about 225,000 flowers per day. One single
bee usually visits between 50-1000 flowers a day, but can visit up to several thousand.
Even with all the advances that modern technology offers to the American farmer, natures honey bee is still the only efficient way to pollinate crops with the bees moving the pollen from flower to flower. To help put this into perspective bees from the same hive visit about 225,000 flowers per day. And one single bee usually visits between 50-1000 flowers a day, but can visit up to several thousand. In other words, there is just no way to replace the indispensible honey bee. But we are reaching a crisis with this next crop season. Last year, many bee keepers who make their living traveling cross country to pollinate farmers fields have lost up to 70% of their hives. If this season is anything like last season, the bee farmer and the Honey Industry will simply no longer exist but go the way of bankruptcy. A scenario that has not gone unnoticed to Burt’s Bees.
Burt's Bees Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), Honey Bees Dying
All that scientists have come up with so far is a new name for the phenomenon - Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) - and a list of symptoms of Collapsed colonies
1. complete absence of adult bees in colonies, with few or no dead bees in or around colonies,
2. the presence of capped brood, and
3. the presence of food stores (both honey and bee bread) that are not robbed by other bees or typical colony pests (small hive beetle, wax moths, etc.). If robbed, the robbing is delayed by a number of days.
Collapsing colonies
1. an insufficient number of bees to maintain the amount of brood in the colony,
2. the workforce is composed largely of younger adult bees,
3. the queen is present, and
4. the cluster is reluctant to consume food provided to them by the beekeeper.
And has been reported in 27 states in the USA
Here’s a short little trailer Pollen Nation which follows one migratory beekeeper and a semi-load full of honeybees from Minnesota to California, investigating why bees are dying in record numbers.
Pollen Nation Trailer
In the hives that have been affected by CCD the adult workers simply fly away and disappear, leaving a small cluster of workers and the hive's young to fend for themselves. In CCD-affected hives the honey remains untouched.
Honey bee declines are nothing new as far back as 1896, CCD had been reported only under different names such as ‘Fall dwindle' disease, 'May dwindle', 'Spring dwindle', 'Disappearing disease', and 'Autumn collapse'. But what is baffling the modern day scientists and the bee keeper is the unprecedented scale of the bee hives decimation that looks to threaten our pollination industry. An outlook that you would be well to take notice of for if the pollination industry through the loss of this wonderful creature goes away, so do all the crops needing pollination to sustain it.
Scientists are working feverishly to find the cause of CCD and have put forth such theories as genetically modified Food production, parasites or viruses and Herbicides and Pesticides. A worker bee on a typical pollination run will need to drink lots of water when working on the fields and the bees drink surface water which is loaded with herbicides.
Gerald Goldberg, MD puts forth this as a possible common link as he says that “bees orient themselves to light and upon returning to the hive go through a complex dance to relay this information to other bees. However bees also use the electromagnetic fields of the earth as a force for orientation. The bees have a gland that is called the mushroom gland, located in the abdomen, which functions much like a compass. The difference is that is relays constant data back to the brain as to where the bee is, much like the function of a flight recorder. This ability to navigate tells the bee where they are in time and space.
This forms the basis for laying down memory tracts and organizing information, the very basis for learning. The bee's orientation to the earth's electromagnetic signature is a reliable, simple and dependable means of orientation and navigation that is not dependent on the variables of light or weather. However one problem remains. Evolution did not count on the signal being jammed by outside sources. Research has shown that the mushroom gland is sensitive to the same frequencies that are emitted by cell phones, mast towers or satellites. In essence artificial microwave frequencies jam this mechanism and the bees become disoriented. They cannot figure out where they are, lay down memory tracts and become lost. “
This is very similar to what has been happening to the whale population as our military uses advanced sonar technology that regularly disorient our whale and dolphin friends causing them to beach themselves. So this idea is not so far out and given the Lilly wave phenomenon might be something to look into more diligently as thispossible cause has even appeared in this Network news look at CCD.
Honey bee declines are nothing new as far back as 1896, CCD had been reported only under different names such as ‘Fall dwindle' disease, 'May dwindle', 'Spring dwindle', 'Disappearing disease', and 'Autumn collapse'. But what is baffling the modern day scientists and the bee keeper is the unprecedented scale of the bee hives decimation that looks to threaten our pollination industry. An outlook that you would be well to take notice of for if the pollination industry through the loss of this wonderful creature goes away, so do all the crops needing pollination to sustain it.
Scientists are working feverishly to find the cause of CCD and have put forth such theories as genetically modified Food production, parasites or viruses and Herbicides and Pesticides. A worker bee on a typical pollination run will need to drink lots of water when working on the fields and the bees drink surface water which is loaded with herbicides.
A bee travels an average of 1600 round trips in order to produce
one ounce of honey; up to 6 miles per trip. To produce 2 pounds
of honey, bees travel a distance equal to 4 times around the earth.
Another possibility and one that I find very interesting is electromagnetic disruption caused the indiscriminate use of microwave technologies of the globalized electromagnetic network of telecommunications industry.one ounce of honey; up to 6 miles per trip. To produce 2 pounds
of honey, bees travel a distance equal to 4 times around the earth.
Gerald Goldberg, MD puts forth this as a possible common link as he says that “bees orient themselves to light and upon returning to the hive go through a complex dance to relay this information to other bees. However bees also use the electromagnetic fields of the earth as a force for orientation. The bees have a gland that is called the mushroom gland, located in the abdomen, which functions much like a compass. The difference is that is relays constant data back to the brain as to where the bee is, much like the function of a flight recorder. This ability to navigate tells the bee where they are in time and space.
This forms the basis for laying down memory tracts and organizing information, the very basis for learning. The bee's orientation to the earth's electromagnetic signature is a reliable, simple and dependable means of orientation and navigation that is not dependent on the variables of light or weather. However one problem remains. Evolution did not count on the signal being jammed by outside sources. Research has shown that the mushroom gland is sensitive to the same frequencies that are emitted by cell phones, mast towers or satellites. In essence artificial microwave frequencies jam this mechanism and the bees become disoriented. They cannot figure out where they are, lay down memory tracts and become lost. “
This is very similar to what has been happening to the whale population as our military uses advanced sonar technology that regularly disorient our whale and dolphin friends causing them to beach themselves. So this idea is not so far out and given the Lilly wave phenomenon might be something to look into more diligently as thispossible cause has even appeared in this Network news look at CCD.
Bees Disappearing - World May Suffer
In the meantime, watch this trailer of the
“The Vanishing of the Bees” a film produced by
Hive Mentality Films and is an official project of Empowerment Works.
“The Vanishing of the Bees” a film produced by
Hive Mentality Films and is an official project of Empowerment Works.
The Vanishing of the Bees
DEO
Access: Public
…this might be another sign that our world is collapseing…Im sure that science will come up with reasons …but we will not be able to survive very long without bees…bees have been a sacred species for a long while…they've been revered since Sumer as far as our written history goes…
…they might be crossing over to the *new Earth*…we might get there and life will spring anew…
“However bees also use the electromagnetic fields of the earth as a force for orientation.
Evolution did not count on the signal being jammed by outside sources. Research has shown that the mushroom gland is sensitive to the same frequencies that are emitted by cell phones, mast towers or satellites. In essence artificial microwave frequencies jam this mechanism and the bees become disoriented. They cannot figure out where they are, lay down memory tracts and become lost. “
“This is very similar to what has been happening to the whale population as our military uses advanced sonar technology that regularly disorient our whale and dolphin friends causing them to beach themselves”
Reading this saddens me and it seems to be the way our natural world is heading…how big a wake up call do we humans need? Or is it all just a part of the Bigger Plan playing itself out?
Thanks DEO for bringing this to light….
frightening indeed and something on this order has been predicted for several decades. The concerns are also that moths and bats..also under great distress because of us, are the other two major pollinators and contributors. If any of these three fail let alone more than one the entire human agriculture will crash.
Frankly 'New Earth' escapism will help nothing and such a world view is at least in part to blame for justifying exploitation, so called domination, and apathy towards the ecosystem and creatures we share it with (see fundamentalist religions). We are but a strand or a strain on that web. We apparently don't deserve even this earth as we don't show the responsibility to care for it. It is here and now, or not at all.
If we are to change things..and that is the one choice before us…we have to change. We have to walk the walk and select leaders that will enable this.
Otherwise..we won't last even as long as even the Neanderthals, let along the Dinosaurs did…but a blip on the screen of earth history.
I am optimistic as I know humans CAN shine…just have to do it in mass to make it happen.
I think this just shows how interconnected we all are to the very fabric of nature. All of our modern marvels of controlling, manipulating and destroying nature is laden with consequences that have had elite economists actually ask, do we save the planet or the economy? And their response was that we must save the economy at the expense of the planet because the collaspe of the nations and world economy would be more devasting.
With this kind of mentality running our planet it can truly be said that the leaders of this world are insane and any hope of a tecnological Utopia is but a pipe dream. Just read the latest from ON EARTH magazine with it's the opening story:
Bush to Whales: Drop Dead.
After the courts issued and then reaffirmed some pragmatic rules protecting marine life from sonar use during Naval maneuvers, the White House is attempting to simply override the law. At present, a federal appeals court has remanded the case back to district court to consider the administration's waivers.
Ookami is spot on , our leaders will never learn, and until the sheep wake up in mass, the vision of peaceful thriving and optimized interconnected planet will fade into an technocratic corporate nightmare. At least the end of the Bush era is near. But the choices, oh my!!! This is the best we have… I just dont think so.The Navy has fought long and hard against such restrictions, including, say some scientists, attempts to censor and control damning scientific research. Read Peter Canby's report, or listen to this podcast.
Ya know..the more I observe and ponder the situation (and I do feel there is hope) the more I conclude that we all are going to have to take on a lifestyle similar to the Amish. Not in religious terms but in the manner in which we live. They are not the only ones but a good example of what I feel is the way to go. Only two things can bring this necessity about I think. The first is a radical change of heart, a shifting of world views, perhaps rooted in some kind of robust spirituality that is discontinuous with both the infection of fundamentalism and the saccharine sweetness of the New Age orientations.
The second thing is international legislation. I use to think we could not legislate morality but now I think it is a requirement if we are going to get thru this crisis and evolve into a sustainable harmonious way, I know too many, in fact most people will not change voluntarily..it has to be mandated. After a couple generations then we can envision it as a pattern.
Hence the necessity of not better but the best leaders possible.
” It is only when the formed learns from the unformed that there is understanding.”
Taoist Quote
Excellent post - thanks… I've followed this for awhile off the mainstream media and you pull a good blog of info together (as usual).
I can't help wonder what it will look like if we're able to look back in 50 years. How many decisions would we change.
Blessings, David
With a few exceptions, such as here at Gaia/Zaadz, I appreciate the bumper sticker I saw recently… “the more humans I meet the more I like my dogs”
Well HeyOk, we better start making some Global change today if we want to leave anything at all for our kids. The decisions that need to be made are being made for us by Mega International Corporations where governments bend to their will and then bend the will of the proles through the big media proaganda machine.
I'm will Ookami much of the time that for the most part, I'm not too thrilled with what is passing for humanity right now. It seems like the inhumanity of man has led to such tragedy but yet I still have Hope for the future that there are those who continue to make a difference and use the one thing they have, their voice to speak out.
and at least we have dogs ;-) Talk about role models…will with the exception of the nose butt thing.
Thanks for the great post and the great comments. I totally share your point of view Ookami, even the sentence about dogs….I miss so much mine!
I wonder how are we humans so unable to live without dammanig the whole planet. But is not a big deal if we see how we kill eachother and even say we do this for the world peace. Viewing this doesn't seem to have a solution, I will wellcome the desaparition of this our stupid specie.
Meanwhile the only I can only is living in the most simple way I can, avoiding thinks like excessive consumism and not believing a word of any leader. They are not leading us anywhere but to the edge, and are only servers of the real power, the never ending desire for money, that eventually only brings misery.
So, I am becaming each day more anarchist. People wouldn't be so afraid of freedom and kick the ass all those of leaders and take our respinsability for our life and planet.
and as Thoreau (who loved bees) would have said the best most effective anarchy is living a simple, free, deliberate, contemplative life.
beautiful blog as always. I wrote on this last year - The Bees Are Dying. Sadly one of my least visited blogs, I'm really glad you are spreading the word.
much love,
Sandra
I find the legislation, poitical and enviromental references enlightning and of course relevant, however on a simplistic level I wonder if as a species we have just plain lost respect for our creatures.
More and more the machine mentality takes over, driving these little workers from their natural state and being into what man wants and thinks he needs.
If our universe is vibrationally matched and balanced with love, truth and desire for harmonic change then why do we not notice where the attention is.
Alarmist media presentation focusing on how we will suffer without our supplies.
The thoughts and attention of all on welcoming the bees back in our nature garden, in our backyards laden with flowers and meadows not highways, bee factories and grocery production.
The sheer elegance and beauty of bees ehances our world, the dance and endless service is without doubt a vital chord in the universal orchestra.
Also just a little gem of info, a study carried out in the UK showed bee keepers to have one of he lowest incidence of cancer in proffesions, possibly related to the bee sting venom, or is it the bees…
As in the video we see how the bee has and was revered by countless cultures throughout time.
In Egypt a messenger of the Gods, the left out scriptures described the bees as having the gift of renewal and cleansing, bringing deliverance from pain and mistakes.
The land of milk and honey could not be without them,
There is more to our small friends than many see,
yes the production and supply needs are alarming to many, however our deeper connection is of much greater importance,
the intelligence and complex prescence of the bees is something we should all desire and strive to preserve, lets all watch out for them and see the numbers increase then we can all smile….I seen my first one the other day…
love to all
Ange…