No, this post is not about the LCDC or the Coeur d’Alene City Council. It is about something beneficial: honey bees.
According to a Science Daily News piece titled Scientists Identify Pathogens That May Be Causing Global Honey-Bee Deaths, scientists from the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and the University of California San Francisco used a technology called the Integrated Virus Detection System (IVDS) to isolate the viral and parasitic pathogens that may be causing what has been called colony collapse disorder. Scientists “…fear that without honey bees to pollinate crops like fruits, vegetables, and almonds the loss of honey bees could have an enormous horticultural and economic impact around the world.”
The US Congress’s response to colony collapse disorder is outlined in a Congressional Research Service report updated August 14, 2007, and titled Recent Honey Bee Colony Declines.
Honeybees nested in the wall of my house two years ago. I was advised by a local apiarian to simply leave them alone as they would be dead in two years. The number of bees was diminished last year. I have yet to see any activity this year. This could become a true national and/or international disaster.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — April 10, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
Susie,
It’s still a bit cold for the bees to be out yet. You’re absolultely right, though, about the disaster potential. Some farmers and fruit growers are already seeing much higher costs for having traveling apiarists bring truckloads of hives to their orchards and farms to pollinate. Honey bees are still the most effective and natural means of pollinating plants and trees.
Comment by Bill — April 10, 2008 @ 12:47 pm