Disappearing Bees
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Disappearing Bees
As a young kid, I grew up around bees. It always seemed like our backyard was full of bee hives. During Fall we would harvest the honey. We enjoyed watching my dad from our bedroom windows with his smoker as he rotated out the frames of honey. He wasn’t much of a honey salesman, but we had plenty of honey jars to give away during Christmas time. Who would have thought I would start a bee company many years later?!
When I first heard of Africanized bees, I thought it was a myth or media scam of some type. But as I came across these aggressive feral/Africanized bees, I began to realize that there was truth to the story. Africanized bees are much more aggressive in Southern California, Arizona, and Texas than in northern areas of the United States.
In Spring of 2007, when I began hearing more of the mysterious bees disappearing, or Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), I again thought it was some myth; a cooked up scam, perhaps by a beekeeping organization to get attention, funding, and to hike up prices of honey and crop pollination rates. But after speaking to many beekeepers, I learned that CCD was and is real.
The honey bees affected by CCD are bees in the commercial beekeeping industry. The bees are heavily transported for the purpose pollinating various kinds of crops. Because of stiff competition, many bees are said to be over-worked and fed cheap sugar water as opposed to the natural honey that they would normally consume. This makes the bees weaker, and more susceptible to diseases and challenging climate conditions. These bees are also said to be subject to getting their nutrients from a single source of crop they are placed in, as opposed to a variety of nectar sources and pollen. Often these crops have been treated with a chemical; one chemical in particular that was banned in Europe is rumored to be affecting the bees’ ability to find their way back to their hive. In addition, it is said that genetically modified crops may be a factor on the affect. There are of course additional theories and beliefs.
Interestingly, CCD has not been reported to be affecting organic bees or feral bees. Organic bees are bees that are not being used in commercial transportation for pollination services. Organic bees also pollinate crops where pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are avoided. Feral bees are wild or unkept bees that establish themselves wherever they please. Many feral hives in the lower bordering states from California to Florida are hybrid or Africanized bees. Typically these bees are found in structures of homes and businesses. Many times bee control is used to kill the bees instead of relocating them safely.
In June of 2007, I came across an article called "Buzz Kill" by Franklin Schneider that wittily goes more in-depth. A shorter but also good article I’ve come across is by Alexei Barrionuevo, - "Honeybees Vanish, Leaving Keepers in Peril".
Hopefully we can develop a greater appreciation for what these little guys do for us.
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Adkins Bee Removal
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