I love the Emperor's new clothes. > ...a comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health. The report > states that there are multiple factors playing a role in honey bee > colony declines, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor > nutrition and pesticide exposure. Nothing new. > Key findings include: Parasites and Disease Present Risks to Honey > Bees: Not new > The parasitic Varroa mite is recognized as the major factor > underlying colony loss in the U.S. and other countries. Not new > There is widespread resistance to the chemicals beekeepers use to > control mites within the hive. Not new > New virus species have been found in the U.S. and several of these > have been associated with Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Hmmm. What exactly does this mean? > Increased Genetic Diversity is Needed: I though that this has been debunked several times by studies showing good diversity. > Poor Nutrition Among Honey Bee Colonies: We have been talking about this for over a decade -- long enough that at least four new feed formulas came on the market. > There is a Need for Improved Collaboration and Information Sharing: I wonder if, past a point,this merely narrows the pool of ideas and lessens competition, and increases the herd mentality in researchers. Independence in research and real competition is essential to getting anywhere. > Best Management Practices associated with bees and pesticide use, > exist, but are not widely or systematically followed by members of > the crop-producing industry. There is a need for informed and > coordinated communication between growers and beekeepers and > effective collaboration between stakeholders on practices to protect > bees from pesticides. Beekeepers emphasized the need for accurate and > timely bee kill incident reporting, monitoring, and enforcement. It was ever thus. Could have been written 50 years ago. > Additional "Send money" The most pressing pesticide research > questions relate to determining actual pesticide exposures and > effects of pesticides to bees in the field and the potential for > impacts on bee health and productivity of whole honey bee colonies. Mom's apple pie. Always good for a few more bucks. > An estimated one-third of all food and beverages are made possible by > pollination, mainly by honey bees. B.S. --- Allen Dick Swalwell, Alberta, Canada http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/ 51°33'37.58"N 113°18'54.24"W 40+ years keeping bees Fall 2012 count: 89 hives Spring 2013: 60 hives *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html