The mysterious 4-year-old crisis of disappearing honeybees is deepening. A quick federal survey indicates a heavy bee die-off this winter, while a new study shows honeybees' pollen and hives laden with pesticides. Full Story »
Posted by Kaizar Campwala - via Tim O'Reilly, Fabrice Florin (t), Jeppe Kabell (t), Gianni D'Anna (t), Willie Bido (t), Jason Samfield (t), Jeremy Caplan (t), Mark Pegrum (t), Fabrice Florin (f), Tobie Openshaw (f)
The article fails to name pesticides. Is atramine a suspect? It does not mention that bees are being imported by air freight from other countries without apparent problems. Bush FDA corruption in approving pesticides without testing is not mentioned. Insect pollinating alternative research is not mentioned. Still, a good intro to a more complicated picture.
Scientists are concerned because of the vital role bees play in our food supply. About one-third of the human diet is from plants that require pollination from honeybees, ... More »
I thought that bees were mostly used to make honey and would sting people if they bother them, but they do have a much more important role in our food supply. According to this article, one-third of our human diet is from plants that need pollination from bees, which is a significant amount. It's unfortunate that we realize their importance when they start disappearing because people just assume that bees won't ever be in danger since there were always a lot of them around.
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