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Why are bees disappearing?

Updated: 12/10/2022
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Wiki User

14y ago

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Nobody knows yet; we are hoping to find out soon. It is still a mystery.

It has been suggested that this is happening due to the use of a new kind of pesticide, called neo-nicotinoids. This super-pesticide kills insects by making them "dumb," making them lose their short-term memory, and making them stop feeding.

After contact with this pesticide, the bees forget where their beehive is and probably forget what they are doing (collecting pollen).

Others suggest that bees are affected by the electro-magnetic field that is generated by the cell-phone towers. Yet other theories believe that global warming is making bees get very stressed.

Nobody actually knows what is the real cause, but it seems that it could be a combination of all of these.

As a side note, the use of neo-nicotinoids is illegal in France, due to, among other things, the effect it has on bees.

Update:

The disappearance of bees really takes two forms: a general decline in bee populations, and what is called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

The general decline of populations affects not just the honey bees, but bumble bees and solitary bees as well. The cause here is probably - sad to say - Man. Modern agriculture tends to concentrate on large fields with a single crop, not all of which require insects to pollinate them. Field boundaries are cleared of their "weeds" - in reality, wild flowers on which the bees would have foraged; and the use of pesticides that killed friendly insects, as well as the pests.

Thankfully, most farmers are now aware of the problem, and therefore take more care. Another problem for the bees has been varroa - a blood-sucking mite. If left uncontrolled this can kill a colony in a couple of years, and that has been the fate of most wild colonies. Once your bees are infested with varroa it is not possible to eradicate it completely, although beekeepers can keep it under control.

Colony Collapse Disorder is a different issue. Here, previously apparently healthy honey bee colonies simply disappear or die out. A lot of research has gone into finding the cause, but no single reason has been found. Current thinking is that it has several different causes: Each on its own is not enough to cause problems, but when combined reach a critical point and the bees can't cope any more.

Varroa is endemic through most of the world, with the notable exception of Australia. This has been ruled out as the direct cause of CCD, but it is a known vector for other pathogens, and does weaken the bees, so it could be a factor.

Where samples taken from colonies affected by CCD have been examined, scientists have often found a virus called Acute Israeli Paralysis Virus (AIPV, so called because it was first found in Israel) in affected bees, but there are other colonies where AIPV is present but not CCD, so this can't be a primary cause. The same is true of other known viruses and bee diseases.

One of the causes mooted is stress. This can be caused by a number of factors: varroa infestation, disease, long periods of poor weather, lack of good forage, and hives constantly being moved from place to place when the bees are being used for commercial pollination. It does seem to be a factor, because the most stressed colonies seem to be the most susceptible to CCD. But again, this is not the sole answer.

One day we may find out.

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14y ago
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9y ago

bees are dissapearing because people are afraid of them all they want to do is collect honey and all the honey you see in the stores they carry make and store honey they are not cruel insects guess what the state insect is? Honey bee and when it stings you its just trying to defend its self and when it stings you it dies.Thats why they are dissapearing

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