Comments on: Buzz on GM crops and bees http://agro.biodiver.se/2007/03/buzz-on-gm-crops-and-bees/ Crops, animals, wild relatives ... Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:45:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: More on bee declines at Resilience Science http://agro.biodiver.se/2007/03/buzz-on-gm-crops-and-bees/comment-page-1/#comment-9271 More on bee declines at Resilience Science Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:53:29 +0000 http://agro.biodiver.se/2007/03/buzz-on-gm-crops-and-bees/#comment-9271 [...] There appears to have been a number surprising collapse of bee populations.  These collapses are important because bees are key providers of pollination ecosystem services, which are important for agriculture.  However, most of the suspected causes of this decline are due to agricultural practices. The Agricultural biodiversity weblog has been following this issue and have written a number of posts on the issue which they review on a recent post on the possible impact of GMO Bt Corn on bees: [...] [...] There appears to have been a number surprising collapse of bee populations.  These collapses are important because bees are key providers of pollination ecosystem services, which are important for agriculture.  However, most of the suspected causes of this decline are due to agricultural practices. The Agricultural biodiversity weblog has been following this issue and have written a number of posts on the issue which they review on a recent post on the possible impact of GMO Bt Corn on bees: [...]

]]> By: ed http://agro.biodiver.se/2007/03/buzz-on-gm-crops-and-bees/comment-page-1/#comment-9114 ed Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:22:25 +0000 http://agro.biodiver.se/2007/03/buzz-on-gm-crops-and-bees/#comment-9114 A consortium centered at Pennsylvania State University has been investigating this problem since last November. From: http://www.ento.psu.edu/MAAREC/FAQ/FAQCCD.pdf " What are examples of topics that the CCD working group is not currently investigating? GMO crops: Some GMO crops, specifically Bt Corn have been suggested as a potential cause of CCD. While this possibility has not been ruled out, CCD symptoms do not fit what would be expected in Bt affected organisms. For this reason GMO crops are not a “top” priority at the moment. " Other links: http://www.ento.psu.edu/MAAREC/pressReleases/ColonyCollapseDisorderWG.html http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/ColonyCollapseDisorder.html The material posted by the Penn State group suggests that stress may be a common factor. Since the varroa mite threatened the almond crop in central California two years ago, beekeepers have been trucking their hives cross country to pollinate those fields. This problem has also been reported in Europe, sometimes called "Marie Celeste" phenomenon. See: http://comment.independent.co.uk/letters/article2318679.ece http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/02/colony_collapse_disorder/ http://www.scienceworlds.co.uk/whats_happening.cfm?widCall1=customWidgets.contentItem_show_1&cit_id=3800 For a simpler view, see: http://www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/Inbreeding.htm A consortium centered at Pennsylvania State University has been investigating this problem since last November.

From: http://www.ento.psu.edu/MAAREC/FAQ/FAQCCD.pdf

” What are examples of topics that the CCD working group is not currently investigating? GMO crops: Some GMO crops, specifically Bt Corn have been suggested as a potential cause of CCD. While this possibility has not been ruled out, CCD symptoms do not fit what would be expected in Bt affected organisms. For this reason GMO crops are not a “top” priority at the moment. ”

Other links:

http://www.ento.psu.edu/MAAREC/pressReleases/ColonyCollapseDisorderWG.html

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/ColonyCollapseDisorder.html

The material posted by the Penn State group suggests that stress may be a common factor. Since the varroa mite threatened the almond crop in central California two years ago, beekeepers have been trucking their hives cross country to pollinate those fields.

This problem has also been reported in Europe, sometimes called “Marie Celeste” phenomenon. See:

http://comment.independent.co.uk/letters/article2318679.ece

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/02/colony_collapse_disorder/

http://www.scienceworlds.co.uk/whats_happening.cfm?widCall1=customWidgets.contentItem_show_1&cit_id=3800

For a simpler view, see:

http://www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/Inbreeding.htm

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