"bees, Silk Worms And Human Survival"

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/...iversity-silk-worms-bees/stories/202002030075

Per ...

A scientist will discuss the insect connection to the human species.

Wasn't familiar with the (real) domestic silk worm.

As mentioned by the scientist, if/when insects go away, so too, does the human species.

This short, light reading article gave some clarification to things like overuse of insecticide.

 

I didn't read the article, but I have a cousin who's a bee keeper and says that bee population is at peril. I think Obama tried to do something, not sure what happened with that and if Trump is doing anything either.

 

"POLLINATOR COLLAPSE: U.S. beekeepers lost an estimated 48% of their honey bee colonies last year"

https://collapse.news/2023-06-29-us-beekeepers-lost-48-honey-bee-colonies-last-year.html

"The Bee Informed Partnership recently published their annual Colony Loss and Management Survey, and for the seventh year in a row, the results were grim. According to the survey, the last pollination season was the second most deadly on record for U.S. honeybees. From April 1, 2022 to April 1, 2023, US beekeepers lost an estimated 48.2% of their honey bee colonies. The report includes surveys from small and large-sized operations involving 3,006 US beekeepers who collectively manage 314,360 colonies.

"To put matters into perspective, the 2020-2021 season saw an estimated 51% decline in honey bee colonies, and the 2021-2022 season saw a 39% drop. As the die-off trend continues, there will be ongoing consequences for agriculture and biodiversity, for honey bees pollinate over 100 different crop types and numerous wild herbs.

“ 'Although the total number of honey bee colonies in the country has remained relatively stable over the last 20 years (~2.6 million colonies according to the USDA NASS Honey Reports), loss rates remain high, indicating that beekeepers are under substantial pressure to recover from losses by creating new colonies every year,' the report authors wrote.

"Shortcuts taken in the honey bee industry and in agriculture weaken the bees’ immune systems

"One of the problems stems from the shortcuts taken by the beekeeping industry itself. Bee keepers use corn syrup and other honey substitutes as bee feed; this shortcut contributes to colony collapse by depriving the insects of compounds that strengthen their immune systems. Bees naturally consume their own honey, which contains compounds like p-coumaric acid. This compound helps strengthen a bee’s immune system, helping them ward off the diseases that threaten the colonies.

"Due to the way the industry works, bee keepers often take shortcuts to maximize their output of honey into the global market. Commercial beekeepers typically harvest and sell all of the honey produced by the bees. The bees are then given food substitutes like sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, but these products slowly weaken the colonies. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that “widespread agricultural use of honey substitutes, including high-fructose corn syrup, may thus compromise the ability of honey bees to cope with pesticides and pathogens and contribute to colony losses.

"To make matters worse, honeybees make contact with many pesticides and herbicides in their daily routine. These pesticides (such as Imidaloprid) harm the honey bees’ immune systems, exhausting their energy, while encouraging the colonization of mites and new viruses that have more resistant traits. For instance, the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, has been rapidly infesting Apis mellifera and Apis cerana honey bee populations as of late.

"According to the Bee Informed Partnership, the most prominent cause of colony death reported by beekeepers over the winter of 2022-23 was “varroa” and its associated viruses. These parasitic mites introduce new viruses with more resilient traits. Varroa destructor made a host shift to the Western honeybee A. mellifera at the beginning of the 20th century and it continues to grow stronger across Europe, the US, Asia, New Zealand, Africa, and the Middle East. These viruses are more likely to take out honey bee pupa because the pupa is undernourished and exposed to chemical toxins that weaken their immune responses."

 

As with so many of these things, human greed turns a blind eye to the smallest yet most essential things for our survival. We have so much land that is fallow these days we could cut out most pesticides and barely notice the difference instead of wiping out bees but, never mind, money to be made....

 

It angers me that humans in general are unable to see the elephant in the room.

Plants needing pollinating insects -- mainly bees -- is NOT advanced biology. Duhhh!!!!!!

I'm glad that there are other pollinating insects, but gosh, their percentage of input is minor compared to the honey bee.

When African bees were brought in due to their robustness, it was found that they didn't do as much work as the honey bee and were aggressive. Their reproductive rate does exceed the European honey bee. They spread rapidly, but can be dangerous.

"Africanized bee"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanized_bee

"Africanized honey bees are typically much more defensive, react to disturbances faster, and chase people further (400 m) than other varieties of honey bees. They have killed some 1,000 humans, with victims receiving 10 times more stings than from European honey bees. They have also killed horses and other animals."

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"Insects Other Than Bees Are Valuable Pollinators Too"

https://www.iflscience.com/insects-other-bees-are-valuable-pollinators-too-32390

"A lot of pollinator-dependent crops are increasingly grown for our food, fiber, and fuel. And while the honey bee (Apis mellifera) is versatile and ubiquitous, relying on a single pollinator species is a risky strategy. Poor nutrition, parasites, and diseases threaten the health of honey bee colonies managed around the world. Yet, we haven’t really explored the potential of other pollinators for contributing to crop production, even though they seem to be more robust to changes in land use.

"To fill in the gaps, a large international team led by Romina Rader from the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, analyzed 39 studies that measured how much and how well honey bees, other bees, or non-bee insects pollinate 17 different crops spanning five continents. The other bee species studied include bumble bees, sweat bees, plasterer bees, mining bees, and leafcutter bees; the non-bees include flies, butterflies and moths, beetles, ants, and wasps."

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"Squash bee"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squash_bee

"The name squash bee, also squash and gourd bee, is applied to two related genera of bees in the tribe Eucerini; Peponapis and Xenoglossa. Both genera are oligoleges (pollen specialists) on the plant genus Cucurbita and closely related plants, although they usually do not visit watermelon, cucumber, and melon plants. They are small genera, containing only 13 and 7 described species, respectively, and their combined range is nearly identical to the range of Cucurbita in the New World, from South America to North America. Their range has become somewhat expanded along with the movement of cucurbits into other areas (as crop plants).

"Species such as Peponapis pruinosa have been in decline due to several reasons, probably at least in part to pesticide sensitivity.

"Squash bees build ground-based nests; they are solitary and do not live in colonies, but are sometimes gregarious.[4] Each pollen-gathering female digs her own nest, which consists of a vertical tunnel terminated by a loose grouping of individual nest cells.

"Studies have been carried out to compare Peponapis and honey bees regarding their effectiveness in pollinating cucurbits. The findings point to the squash bees being more effective and suggest the current practice of renting colonies of honey bees to perform this task may be unnecessary.

"Squash yield is fully dependent on insect pollinators. Plants pollinated by squash bees include summer squash, winter squash, zucchini, pumpkins, and many gourds excepting cucumbers."

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Neocotinoid (I am unsure of my spelling) is the one that is being talked about. I am not a huge fan of pesticides, we have lots of fallow land in the UK, why do we not use less pesticide and use more of the fallow land to make up the yield. I am sure it is not as simple as that but, as we get relentlessly pestered by eco-peeps I would have thought they might have been talking about this.

 

Precisely.

I would make note that oft-times our ancestors were head-and-shoulders above us in wisdom.

Nicotine is a natural toxin. It has been known as such for WELL over a century. The tobacco plant elaborates it. Such comes under the category of Mother Nature's Wisdom. Mother Nature was ordained by the Will of the Creator of infinite universes.

Never mess with the Ordained natural order of Creation. We are only servants. We are grains of sand.
.

 

Neonicotinoids are supposedly banned in the UK, I’m unsure about the USA where farmers lobbyists are far stronger and more vocal.
I’m in an area with very little arable farming and our insect life is comparatively strong, in other areas where arable farming is common there are almost no insects at all. I’m quite sure the two factors are linked.
Fallow land is usually being rested for a reason, just because it’s relatively flat and green does not mean it’s suitable for growing crops…for instance my fields are pasture and woodland and that is all they will ever be because there are only ten inches of topsoil over a layer of clay that has been undisturbed since the last ice age.

 

Unfortunately for insects in the UK the government considered these poisons necessary for the UK sugar beet industry and is granting them extensions to allow its continued use. Nowhere else in the EU is using it. Not bad for a government that swore Brexit wouldn’t degrade environmental protection legislation.

• UK emergency authorisation: On 23 January, the Government granted an emergency authorisation for the use of neonicotinoids on sugar beet. See GOV.UK, Emergency pesticide authorisation approved to protect national sugar beet crop, 23 January 2023. The authorisation was welcomed by the sugar beet sector but criticised by environmental campaigners. See BBC News, Bee-harming pesticide use given emergency authorisation , 23 January 2023 and Wildlife Trusts, UK government allows ‘emergency’ use of banned bee-harming pesticide just days after EU tightens protections, 24 January 2023

 

Mos modern industry (and I include farming) cannot see further than the next round of profit figures.

 

Heaven forbid that all the greedy b*stards should have to reduce their sugar intake.

 

“OK, so I would at least do my best not to go nuts.”
I think that ship may have already sailed Old Geezer

 

Holy crap! My government did something positive! Even this communist exchange student got it right. Statistically speaking, I guess sometimes government gets it right.

Man, I wish my government would continue to be wise and not some third-world dictatorship.

Death to aphids that attack bee hives! I pray the Eternal Creator to send Blessings to this bee-loved creature!

 

Urban bee keeping has been going on for years, a lot of government buildings in the UK have bee hives on the roof.