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Could it be Cell Phones???

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Chimerix

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 13, 2006
121
0
0
Oh, puh-LEESE!!

So, not only does the radiation make the bees forget which way home is, it sets up a protective force around the hive to keep predators and parasites out? Or, equally plausible, predators (including other bees) and parasites are possessed of some form of radioactive honey avoidance sense?

Who writes this stuff?
 

akueck

Certified Mead Mentor
Certified Mead Mentor
Jun 26, 2006
4,958
11
0
Ithaca, NY
Yeah, personally I'm a fan of the pesticide explanation. Cell phones and power lines get blamed for a lot of things, and there is real radiation coming from these devices, but it's not much compared to, say, having an x-ray of a broken leg. Heck, just walking outside gives you a hefty dose of radiation.

But cell phones are still evil. Silence is golden.
 

youngmeadman

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 27, 2006
158
0
0
Regina, SK
I'm not a bee keeper, but as a mead maker, honey is well everything! So being curios about the crises that has arised, i read the sheet. what i don't understand is if cellphones are the cause, howcome it didn't affect european countries first. Ther cell phone to population is much higher in europe, and i do believe, cellphones have been there longer, than north America. So why did it start here then?


question that came to mind.....

YoungMeadman
 

kace069

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 21, 2004
470
0
0
46
Actually this was a problem in europe a few years ago. I am not sure of all the details. As far as I know something similar happend for a year or two and then just stopped. They never figured out what caused it.

This cell phone thing is kind of whacked and a little far fetched but you never know.

I spoke to my mentor last week. In his circle of information the possible problem is nicotine! To many bees are chain smokers ;D

No but seriously, one of the suspect pesticides used to control pests contains some sort of nicotine extract, I think he said nicotoids??? I may have some of my facts mixed up here, I beleive that it is sprayed on the plants. But along the way, termites came into the picture. I'm not sure if they were using the same stuff on the termites or not. Anyways, they found that when the termites came in contact with the nicotoids they could not find their way back to the colony, much like is what is happening to the bees.

It seems to be a big problem in California where maybe they are using this pesticide on trees. In my area most of the crops are corn and beans. As far as I know no local BKer's are seeing this problem. In fact my mentor had a good winter and only lost about 20% of his colonies, he usually expects at least a 30% loss and last year was more like 40%.
He doesn't even have to order packages this year, the girls are doing so well he will undertake the biggest nuc selling endeavour he has ever tried.

But the biggest mystery to me is why nothing moves into the abandoned colonies. An abandoned colony full of brood and honey is a welcome source of food for all kinds of critters. But nothing moves in.
 

Chimerix

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 13, 2006
121
0
0
kace069 said:
But the biggest mystery to me is why nothing moves into the abandoned colonies. An abandoned colony full of brood and honey is a welcome source of food for all kinds of critters. But nothing moves in.

I bet they can't get a signal from the cell phone towers. Location, location, location.
 

youngmeadman

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 27, 2006
158
0
0
Regina, SK
I am really curious now on what is causing this.... Like it was said the mystery is why nothing is moving into the abondoned colonies, if i was researching, i would do it on the abodoned colonies, there has to be something left behind or there that would preven such a movement. But I am no beekeeper or a scientist, so i shall just read on, ask some questions and wait for an answer to come.....

YoungMeadman
 
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