Saturday, March 17, 2007
Feliz Dia de San Patricio!
La le Padraig Sona Daoib! For those of you from Rio Dell, that's Irish for Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!
Hive Collapse Syndrome
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/columnists/merryman/story/6403792p-5710288c.html
This story has been getting creepier all the time. I heard about this first on local agricultural type shows and was horrified. First of all, bees and other insects that pollinate plants are really important. Second, bees are really lovely in and of themselves, for the things they make and make possible. I love bees. I was in tears last night listening to the George Noory Show, hearing about the trouble for bees.
I make mead, I have taught two friends how to make mead, and honey prices have been terrible because of bee mites, for some years now. Now there is this un-know disease attacking in a random fashion humanity's greatest partner in the insect world.
It's not just in the States, there have been occurances of Colony Collapse Syndrome in Poland, and in Spain as well.
Some think genetically modified foods have contributed to the problem. I suspect that messing with how nature does things too much, and apparently, the pesticides most dangerous to insects are the nicotine based ones, I've used a home made varient to kill an infestation of small flies on my indoor garlic and chives, because they were being eatten alive. I think I managed to kill all the little flies that way. I discontinued spraying them with it as soon as I didn't see any more flies.
I wouln't do this out doors now that I know what can happen to bees. Apparently nicotine and neo nicotine products disrupt the memories of bees, and other social insects so that they do not return home. These products were first used on termites, where I think it's appropriate, but then on other insects, and out in the open, bees were exposed. In many cases of colony collapse, there are no dead bees found, the hive is empty.
Monsanto, the huge seed company also produces neo nicotine pesticides, and GM seeds. They need to stop it or to be stopped. There should be a law against this. Frankly the GM plants and the die-offs of bees and other pollinator insects worry me far more than global warming.
Key Milosevic Aide Arrested in Serbia
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/17/europe/EU-GEN-Serbia-Milosevic-Aide.php
BiH Signs Agreement with N.A.T.O.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/16/europe/EU-GEN-Bosnia-NATO.php
The Fourth anniversary of the Iraq war is this Tuesday. The Yakima Gulag is going ot have a march, 2:00 pm Cahallen Park (sic) in Union Gap, this is the park accross the road from Borders Books. Everyone is asked to wear white. I have one white garment that is outerwear, a vest, so I'll wear it, but the rest of my clothes are green.
# posted by Katja R. @ 8:54 AM 
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Owen, this is not happening everywhere, it is happening in the U.S., and I think genetically altered plants could be a huge factor. I heard another story on NPR this morning which was about efforts to revive native bees in California, in urban areas. These bees live alone, not in hives, and were always there. The idea is to have the native bees pick up the slack. I think that's a good idea. Apparently the decline in bee populations generally has been ongoing for the last 50 years in the U.S.
It's been like a crash lately. Some hives have no one home when opened, not even the queen bee and a few faithful workers to keep her alive, some hives do have dead bees. I don't think the same reasons always cause Colony Collapse Syndrome. I think it's a variety of causes. Swarming more could fit in too. My thought though is if the decline has been over a 50 year period, then indeed pesticides have been part of the problem, but I'm far more concerned about GM plants, because they have features that cause greater allergic reactions than non GM plants. I personally got hold of some corn in the winter of 200, I love to get a big bag of frozen corn and microwave it put butter, salt and pepper on it and eat that for breakfast. It's one of my favorite light breakfasts. Anyway I got some and ate it and broke out in hives. Then it was on the news about this GM corn getting into the human food chain, including into frozen corn. It was massive. Insects are far smaller than humans, and easier to mess up sometimes. I think too that if pesticides cause a problem with bee social functioning that needs to be addressed. It might not be a mutation.
Nicotine has been used as a home made pesticide for ages. I used it before to get rid of grass hoppers in some sunflowers I planted years ago, and lately to get rid of flies in some indoor grown garlic and chives. I don't think limited use of natural nicotine is bad,it's biodegradable for one thing. Neo-nicotinic products are another story. I think those ought to be limited to use on termites. That would be a confined space use of the neo-nicotines and probably would not get out where insects we want like bees won't get into them.
Here in the U.S. pesticides are used pretty liberally and we have many GM crops. Sometimes combinations of things are more dangerous than one thing by itself would be.
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It's been like a crash lately. Some hives have no one home when opened, not even the queen bee and a few faithful workers to keep her alive, some hives do have dead bees. I don't think the same reasons always cause Colony Collapse Syndrome. I think it's a variety of causes. Swarming more could fit in too. My thought though is if the decline has been over a 50 year period, then indeed pesticides have been part of the problem, but I'm far more concerned about GM plants, because they have features that cause greater allergic reactions than non GM plants. I personally got hold of some corn in the winter of 200, I love to get a big bag of frozen corn and microwave it put butter, salt and pepper on it and eat that for breakfast. It's one of my favorite light breakfasts. Anyway I got some and ate it and broke out in hives. Then it was on the news about this GM corn getting into the human food chain, including into frozen corn. It was massive. Insects are far smaller than humans, and easier to mess up sometimes. I think too that if pesticides cause a problem with bee social functioning that needs to be addressed. It might not be a mutation.
Nicotine has been used as a home made pesticide for ages. I used it before to get rid of grass hoppers in some sunflowers I planted years ago, and lately to get rid of flies in some indoor grown garlic and chives. I don't think limited use of natural nicotine is bad,it's biodegradable for one thing. Neo-nicotinic products are another story. I think those ought to be limited to use on termites. That would be a confined space use of the neo-nicotines and probably would not get out where insects we want like bees won't get into them.
Here in the U.S. pesticides are used pretty liberally and we have many GM crops. Sometimes combinations of things are more dangerous than one thing by itself would be.
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