Michael Moriarty <[log in to unmask]> mentioned that breeding bees
resistant to pesticides may be a problem as it wold result in ore
pesticides in the honey.
 
This may be true but it may also be wrong. For an organism to be
resistant to most pesticides it actually would have to metabolise the
things into safer compounds (eg CO2, NaCl and Phosphates or
whatever). Then one would actually have a cleaner honey, as just as
the bees now add enzymes which get rid of certain contaminants in
honey, they would also be doing a bit of bioremediation on the honey.
So it may in the long term with a bit of research give us a better
honey product - in the longg term it may even be possible to get bees
to distribuute viruses to the nectaries of plants infecting the
fruit with viruses that will kill the bugs that get the fruit. In
this way one could eliminate the pesticide use, but at present with
bugs getting more resistant and bees getting scarcer there needs to
be something done.
 
Just a though
 
Garth
 
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Garth Cambray       Kamdini Apiaries
15 Park Road        Apis melifera capensis
Grahamstown         800mm annual precipitation
6139
Eastern Cape
South Africa               Phone 27-0461-311663
 
3rd year Biochemistry/Microbiology    Rhodes University
Interests: Flii's and Bees.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post in no way
reflect those of Rhodes University.