What's the Buzz?

Zombie Bees? Sounds like an idea for next year's Halloween costume! So now, in addition to worrying about toxic flowers and pollen caused by systemic pesticides, we have another culprit to add to the mix.

Apparently, there is a parasitic fly, known as the phorid fly, or apocephalus borealis, which lays its eggs in the bees abdomen, causing the bees to exhibit "zombie like" beehavior, and destroys their sense of direction. It also causes deformed wings, another symptom of Colony Collapse Disorder.

Not to be gloom-and-doom oriented, truly I am an optimist by nature. However, all of this information helps to give us an understanding of the widespread group of challenges experienced by today's honeybee.

To see the whole article, go to: http://www.capitalpress.com/content/AP-colony-collapse-010412 

 As we all know, our honeybees are having a terrible time, and while there are many factors to consider, the one that is most critical is the use of systemic pesticides. Systemic basically means that the active insect killing agent is within the plant itself. Therefore the flowers and the pollen are toxic to the bees. 

Here's an excerpt of a great article that you should totally check out:

Of particular concern is a group of pesticides, chemically similar to nicotine, called neonicotinoids (neonics for short), and one in particular called clothianidin. Instead of being sprayed, neonics are used to treat seeds, so that they’re absorbed by the plant’s vascular system, and then end up attacking the central nervous systems of bees that come to collect pollen. Virtually all of today’s genetically engineered Bt corn is treated with neonics. The chemical industry alleges that bees don’t like to collect corn pollen, but new research shows that not only do bees indeed forage in corn, but they also have multiple other routes of exposure to neonics.

Here's the link to the rest of the article:

 http://grist.org/food/2012-01-13-honey-bees-problem-nearing-a-critical-point/

Let me know what you think! 

A local reporter came out here on Monday to learn about bees and honey. She's a freelance food writer for the New TImes, and also hosts her own blog, called the Jam Garden. She did a great job, and posted some video and great audio as well. And so, to find out more than you ever knew you didn't know about bees, check it out:

http://thejamgarden.squarespace.com/food/2012/1/12/in-depth-article-the-buzz-on-honey-bees.html