The New York Times has a fascinating article about the shortage of bees caused by colony collapse disorder. Bees Vanish, and Scientists Race for Reasons is that rare thing in science writing, a story about process rather than results. So there’s not a lot actually to say, other than noting that around 60 experts gathered for a two-day meeting to assess the possibilities and plan their investigations. The most likely suspects — according to these mainstream scientists — are “a virus, a fungus or a pesticide”. Not cell phones. We shall see.
The bee shortage is something that we will be hearing more of soon. It seems like most people are just ignoring it. I was wondering, do they still think bees navigate by using the position of the sun? If that is true, maybe there’s something up with the sun? Anyway, we are going to see some serious produce shortages this summer. I am not looking forward to that! I have already seen a serious increase in the price of produce…I can only imagine what is to come.
I have a swarm of bee’s that just hatched on the front of my house and on the back. I don’t want to kill them. Can I collect them and send them somewhere?
Collecting a swarm is not an easy matter. You would do better to contact your local beekepers’ group or an agricultural extension agency and tell them about the swarms. They will know how to deal with the bees safely and effectively.