OK, Deknow provided confirmation - the article on CCD starts with this bold
statement about the Wiki page:
"SDSTAFF Doug replies:
Not to brag, but thanks to Wikipedia I've become the #1 authority on
disappearing bees. Type "colony collapse disorder" into Google and hit return – the
top hit is the Wikipedia page I maintain on the subject. (In real life I'm an
entomologist with the University of California at Riverside.) Here's a
summary..."
I'm sorry, but writing about something does not make one the #1 authority on
disappearing bees.
Anyone can write anything that they like, doesn't make them an expert. And,
if you keep deleting corrections by scientists actually studying the
problem, then you become the #1 promoter of disinformation.
Unless one has seen and studied this disorder, all of the information is
second hand, anecdotal, or worse.
For an author who decries the errors of the press, the overstatements of the
media, one has to ask, what are his information sources other than the media
and a scattering of journal articles and maybe some oral and anecdotal
comments? Much of the current research is NOT even published yet, and I haven't
seen him at any of the CCD meetings or working with any of the CCD
investigators. Don't remember any e-mails or calls.
Anyway, I also have a degree in Entomology (Ph.D., 1973), but that doesn't
make me an expert on CCD.
Even after seeing CCD in bee operations across most of the U.S., watching
CCD hives collapse and conducting sequential sampling and testing, working with
Dave Wick on over 600 IVDS screenings of viruses in bees, processing
thousands of data points from Proteomics MS, and compiling a summary of over 700
surveys from more than 40 states, I still would hesitate to call myself an
expert on CCD, much less the #1 authority.
However, I'm reasonably sure that I know more about this Disorder than
someone sitting in a museum, whose speciality is naming and storing insects
(systematics). And, much of the information on the Wiki site about CCD is wrong,
as Jim has pointed out.
And no, Einstein didn't state anything about bees - we checked with the
library in Israel when all of this first started - our own university made this
mistake, much to our chagrin. We confirmed that Einstein didn't talk about
bees, and we even ran to ground the origin of the quote - it was made up by a
group to support their own point of view on another issue, long before CCD
was an issue. Another case of making up a quote to fit a point of view, rather
than research the issue. So, Doug doesn't have to assume that Einstein
didn't say this, since he died before CCD. Rather, a bit of research would have
revealed the proper citation - and clearly it wasn't Einstein - no need to
guess or assume this, its a matter of record.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with Jim. Its amazing that a museum staffer
becomes the world's self-proclaimed expert on bees and CCD. Its hard to know
what his specialty is, other than being a curator and going out to collect
insects for the collection. He does give occassional talks about bark
beetles. I couldn't find a resume or publication list anywhere, unlike most of the
faculty at UC Riverside. I can't help but wonder whether he checks any of
his facts with Kirk Visscher or Ring Carde. They conduct research on bees at
Riverside.
I'm disappointed. I thought that the misinformation was coming from an
overly enthusiastic citizen, maybe a beekeeper or a student with too much time on
their hands. At least then, one might excuse the lack of citations, fact
checking. In the meantime, I ignore the Wiki site, gave up trying to fix it
long ago.
Jerry
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