Beekeepers Expect "Worst Year For Bees, We’re Facing The Extinction Of A Species.”

reply to post by antar

I had a weird thing happen last year, during the heat wave in the Midwest, the bee's gathered on the filter of my swimming pool, they also died by going into my pool and drowning. I keep fresh water abundant but there was some kind of freak occurrence happening last summer that left me really puzzled.

I noticed that too. Even on temperate days, bees are thirsty and will gravitate to water. I sat in my brothers backyard and watched bee after bee splash down in the pool trying to get a drink. They clogged his little poolside traps too. When I checked the traps at the pools at the HOA where we live they were also full of bees. It seems they had no place to land to access the water except the pool itself. If an established route to a source of nectar is without a source of water that they can refresh from (like a puddle) then they go after the only other. The water must glint in their eye, attracting them.

When I sprayed the garden hose on the cement next to the pool they started landing by the wet spot and walking to the puddle to drink.Then they went on their way. I don't know how many die in all the pools in the cities, it must be a lot. Heres what they see... water everywhere tempting them to drink and drown.



In the fields it doesn't matter as much.

Beekeepers Expect "Worst Year For Bees, We’re Facing The Extinction Of A Species.”

People keep saying this...but I keep seeing stories about gi-normous bee hives in weird places.

Maybe the bees have just gotten smarter and don't want to be "kept" anymore?

They took the red pill?

reply to post by kosmicjack


I wonder if they are seeking out of the way odd places out of
instinct to survive?

Thats one positive way to look at it,
or it could be....they are being driven out of the natural instincts they have
by all of the interference of chemicals and resononce?

Just a guess, hope we draw some beekeepers to answer.

And the other strange thing is this swarming, I witnessed it once last year
and it was frightening! It lasted for hours, like they were possessed.

Well, this is not good... and not surprising, either. I think I only saw a few bees all last summer here in CO, but boy, did I see wasps. I saw a kind of wasp I had never seen before, either, a very large shimmery blue kind, almost looked like metal. They got into our garage all summer and were very, very aggressive.

In other enviro news, we have buds--big buds and some even showing green leaf growth--on our neighborhood trees. This is odd to me because last winter, we had them in February, which I thought was strange enough. Now, mid-late January? We haven't had real rain where we are since September and snow has been a joke. We had arctic fronts and cold fronts from out west so many times in a row, just the past couple days is the weather nice. BUT, in the town I'm in, we've already had 3 separate brush fires in the past few weeks/month. So with the cold, dry weather, surprised the buds/leaves ARE EVEN EARLIER this year. I CANNOT remember such early springs and I'm 35 years old. We had leaves falling off of our aspen trees in late July and early August. It's like the seasons are off by a couple months. Now this, we'll have fall in June if that's the pattern again this year. How is this normal?

It would be horrible if Bees were wiped off, but I do believe as a species we would be able to survive, albeit it would be tough all the way around.

Obviously as a species, man is too stupid to see the pitfalls of overstepping its boundaries in Nature.

reply to post by burntheships


I think the problem here is the number of stars you don't have.

Why won't people take this seriously?

Don't people know how closely we are related and how dependent we are on bees?

People think guns are more important? I guess we probably deserve extinction.

Bees here are still fine. Both native and domesticated ones.

Sounds like a regional problem to me!

reply to post by mountaingirl1111

but boy, did I see wasps. I saw a kind of wasp I had never seen before, either, a very large shimmery blue kind, almost looked like metal. They got into our garage all summer and were very, very aggressive.

That could be a Tarantula Hawk. They tend to burrow in the ground though. Maybe it was one of these...

Blue mud dauber wasps

They make small tubular nests of mud and they love to be indoors or under eaves. Not usually aggressive unless disturbed. But I don't know about yours.

reply to post by burntheships

And the other strange thing is this swarming, I witnessed it once last year
and it was frightening! It lasted for hours, like they were possessed.

Bee hives swarm when the hive divides and part of the hive follows a new queen to a new nest site. Before they go they get really busy around the old hive and then just kind of move off in the direction chosen by scout bees. The swarm centers around the queen as it moves and they can be aggressive at this time for defense. They may rest on their journey and gather in a tree, then move on the next day. Advisable to stay away from swarms.

Afracanized bees swarm in defensive posture at the slightest provocation. They are not colonized by keepers due to their bad temperament. If you come across wild bees either in a hive or swarming, steer clear. Let the pros deal with them.

I shared this info on another thread about GMO's and also wanted to share it hear..
"After being blamed by massive amounts of bee keepers for the Honey Bee collapse, Monsanto purchased the largest bee research firm called Beeologics back in September of 2011. "
dreamingabeautifulworld.blogspot.com...

Company profile is here: www.beeologics.com... = GMO BEES

I am an organic farmer and beekeeper. Luckily, I live on an island so as of now I don't have to worry about GMO pollen drifting my way yet. I am always very disheartened to see how monsanto and it's allies are ruining this world for the sake of profits. Seems like such a short term reward for such damage. i.e genetic pollution, toxic pollution, bee decline, human health decline, putting hard working farmers out of business, controling genetic diversity, etc....
I am worried that if monsantos GMO bees get loose they could change world bee genetics forever. How could we regain what we had if that happens. Be afraid very afraid.
Not trying to fear monger but you as the consumer have the power. Buy organic seeds, demand GMO labeling, support organic ag. buy from a local farmer and ask him if the grain that he used to feed his pig has GMO's in it. It's not as easy as going to the grocery/one stop shop and staying ignorant but I think it's worth it if you don't want to see catastrophes like this play out in the future. Money is what makes them do what they do. If the well dries up, well you know the rest........

Originally posted by peepsfromearth
I shared this info on another thread about GMO's and also wanted to share it hear..
"After being blamed by massive amounts of bee keepers for the Honey Bee collapse, Monsanto purchased the largest bee research firm called Beeologics back in September of 2011. "
dreamingabeautifulworld.blogspot.com...

Company profile is here: www.beeologics.com... = GMO BEES

I am an organic farmer and beekeeper. Luckily, I live on an island so as of now I don't have to worry about GMO pollen drifting my way yet. I am always very disheartened to see how monsanto and it's allies are ruining this world for the sake of profits. Seems like such a short term reward for such damage. i.e genetic pollution, toxic pollution, bee decline, human health decline, putting hard working farmers out of business, controling genetic diversity, etc....
I am worried that if monsantos GMO bees get loose they could change world bee genetics forever. How could we regain what we had if that happens. Be afraid very afraid.
Not trying to fear monger but you as the consumer have the power. Buy organic seeds, demand GMO labeling, support organic ag. buy from a local farmer and ask him if the grain that he used to feed his pig has GMO's in it. It's not as easy as going to the grocery/one stop shop and staying ignorant but I think it's worth it if you don't want to see catastrophes like this play out in the future. Money is what makes them do what they do. If the well dries up, well you know the rest........

edit on 22-1-2013 by peepsfromearth because: (no reason given)

Cool! I have a question though... How do you make your wax foundations? That is something relevant to here, a cheap, easy, and natural way =D

reply to post by burntheships
Clearly the pesticide companies must be held responsible and clean up their killing fields. But in the meantime, can bees be cloned to keep the species going?

reply to post by sonnny1


I'll agree with you on both points Sonny!

We could perhaps survive, however somehow I dont think it would be
for long, and the quality of life would be very diminished.

I think of the genetically modifed corn, it has to be hand pollinated,
and then it does not bear seed that will reproduce. Imagine the toiling,
the labor. And how many poor teenage children die every year in the fields,
electrocuted by the water and the bad irrigation that Monsanto provides.

They tugged the tassels off each cornstalk, performing the summer work known to generations of rural teens as a first job.

In an instant, unimaginable chaos tore through the field outside Sterling, about 115 miles west of Chicago, on Monday.

Jade Garza, 14, stepped into a puddle and screamed as she was jolted by an electrical current. Her best friend, Hannah Kendall, also 14, grabbed her and was the next to fall.

"It was like an invisible electric fence," said Jade's stepsister, Delanie Knapp, 14, one of dozens of teens in the field.


articles.chicagotribune.com...

reply to post by burntheships


I'm allergic to bees, sooooooooooo..... sad to see them go

It's never good when you see species going extinct....

Originally posted by Danbones
I have noticed a distinct decline in the local bee population but the wasps seem OK.
so the cause is not something effecting wasps much

edit on 22-1-2013 by Danbones because: (no reason given)

probably because wasps dont rely on flowers for food so they are not really exposed to pesticides as much as bees

Originally posted by Philippines
Bees here are still fine. Both native and domesticated ones.

Sounds like a regional problem to me!

And your authority is....

you were stung recently
and you bought some honey?

Where are you getting your information?

reply to post by intrptr


Good to know that, for some reason these bees seemed wild,
I had lived in that same area for many years and never had seen the slightest
indication there were more than a few stragglers around. In that area everyone
was always spraying with insecticides, and pesticides, weed killers etc.

Then one day, blamo, just kind of like Kosmicjack was descibing there was a huge
swarm of bees, I have never seen anything like it. ...it just seemed very odd.

Originally posted by newcovenant

Originally posted by Philippines
Bees here are still fine. Both native and domesticated ones.

Sounds like a regional problem to me!

And your authority is....

you were stung recently
and you bought some honey?

Where are you getting your information?

My "authority" is me, from seeing them in my garden, and from my friends who keep many colonies of bees.

I can see the native bees flying around flowers in the garden, they are smaller and not used for honey. I also can see domestic bees flying around my garden, which are larger than native bees, and kept by apiarists to produce honey. My honey I have now was given to me by a friend

Did you know there are many kinds of bees than just the domestic ones?

This thread so far seems to be focusing on honey bees on a decline, but what about native bees that also pollinate but don't produce honey for humans on a large scale?

Read this article about this very subject that has some inconsistencies.

"When you look at what's out there in the public press, the implication is that pollinators are all under threat, that there's some kind of mysterious decline across the board," says Sam Droege, a biologist at U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. "The problem is, there's really no data to show that either way."

Originally posted by peepsfromearth

I am worried that if monsantos GMO bees get loose they could change world bee genetics forever. How could we regain what we had if that happens. Be afraid very afraid.

Your concerns are well founded, and many of us here on ATS have been following this
development along. As if its not bad enough with the GMO, and the pesticides, the
GE mosquitos, now we have GE bees to deal with.

Thanks for your comments, and hope you enjoy your time on ATS.

reply to post by Philippines


The bee population has declined by 50% this is reported by beekeepers in the U.S. and
the E.U. Are you in the Phillipines? If so this might be the reason you have a different
bee population, I for one would be glad to hear yours are alive and buzzing.