This is brand new for me. I admit to not paying a lot of attention to bees. I did not realize there are so many kinds of them. I thought honey made it necessary to save bees. But bees specialize in plants or trees. Anyway, can you inform me as to what you know about Bees?
I know I’ve waited to long to harvest my honey and I’m going to get stung more because of it when I finally get to it….dang it.
It isn't just bees that are rapidly declining in numbers, it is large numbers of flying insects. Samples collected in various parts of the world are showing precipitous declines. We just notice bees because they are better known & more obviously tied to agricultural products we use. If this data is correct then we are in serious trouble. Insects are a crucial part of the planet's ecosystem and if numbers are dropping rapidly this is a big, big problem. https://www.scientificamerican.com/...line-scientists-are-trying-to-understand-why/ While there are questions about some of the data, and much more needs to be gathered to know precisely what is happeing & why, there is no doubt something bad is happening and humans are likely at the root of it. I suspect that by the time we get around to dealing with this a lot of damage will be done that cannot be undone.
Thanks for the video. The older I get, the more leeway I give to all of nature, including insects for whom I've always held a particular interest. When our sweet viburnum hedge is in bloom, it is abuzz with all manner of bees and flying insects. When I look and listen closely I hear the vast economy of nature. But it is all so vulnerable and subject to human whim.
@Robert Neonicotinoids are insecticides we farmers use a lot on seed treatments. They have been found to be quite damaging to honeybee colonies because they bind to talc lubricants we add to seed in the planter and then discharged into the environment as dust particles from the vacuum seed metering system. Honeybees then find these dust particles and take them back to the colony along with pollen they collect and store. Subsequently the whole colony including the brood is exposed and suffers clinical and subclinical effects. Since this has been discovered I’m more careful in handling seed and talc lubricants. The video was good and is accurate in diagnosing the problem. It is pesticide use in mostly monoculture environments. Most crop producers are unwilling to take the financial loss of not controlling insect pests like corn root worm beetles and western bean cutworms etc. so they spray their fields with broad spectrum insecticides. Not only does it harm pollinators (wild and domesticated), but it kills other beneficial insects like ladybugs that naturally suppress destructive insects. The public is addicted to cheap commodity based food supplies so I don’t know what the solution is. The consumer will have to drive the change with a willingness to pay more for food because most producers are either incapable or unwilling to eat the financial hit a change in agronomic practices would bring.
I am not used to the terminology used above but believe I totally understand the message. Thanks for adding to this topic.
You seem like the type of guy who is interested in a variety of topics so I’ll share a little more detail of the terminology. On vacuum planters here is the basics of how they work in the first video and then more detail in the second on testing/calibrating planter units. Pollinators is a great survival sustainability topic.
Yes. It’s a good thing in that it makes food more available and affordable. But it’s not without the drawbacks like killing pollinators. A conundrum I guess.
You seem...confused....again Robert. This thread is about insects being exterminated. Normally I'd expect the OP to know what their own thread is about. Normally.... Now, you run along and get some rest. Maybe that will help. Then see if you can find a response that is on topic and makes sense. If you are struggling to understand what I wrote just tell me and I'll try to cut out all the big words.
