Cell Phones Kill Honey Bees, Specific Frequency Located

[Reason]

YouTube - Cell Phones Kill Honey Bees, Specific Frequency Located (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paneFQz8XTA)

[Dr.3D]

I don't know where they came up with the title "Specific frequency located".

They think it may be causing problems for honey bees. They don't know for sure if that is the case or not. They don't even know if there is a specific frequency that is causing it.

[noxagol]

So much hate on cell phones, I don't get it.

[WaltM]

I'd rather kill honey bees than be killed by them.

[Dr.3D]

Well, we don't eat if there are no bees to pollinate the crops.

[molly_pitcher]

Well, we don't eat if there are no bees to pollinate the crops.

^this

[Kludge]

Well, we don't eat if there are no bees to pollinate the crops.

Yep.

Might seem like bullshit, but with no bees...there's very little fruit and vegetation.

[sratiug]

They need to tune the damn things to the wasp frequency. No shortage of those round here.

[Krugerrand]

I bought some of these. They aren't perfect, but they seem to help a little:
http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Funnel-FFW-6P-Hornet-6-Pack/dp/B0010B91AS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1278426596&sr=8-1

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41FthLBPj%2BL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[Deborah K]

They need to tune the damn things to the wasp frequency. No shortage of those round here.

haha! That's funny! :D

[Acala]

Well, we don't eat if there are no bees to pollinate the crops.

The EUROPEAN honey bee is not a native species. It was introduced by the Europeans when they arrived in the new world. Prior to the arrival of the European honey bee, the entire Western hemisphere was densely populated with people who lived on the produce from farmed crops - including maize, beans, squash, amaranth, and others. So the entire population of the Western hemisphere was supported by agriculture that did not rely on the European honey bee.

Not that I don't appreciate the honey bee - they are awesome - but the idea that crops won't grow without the subsidized honey bee industry is demonstrably false.

In fact, there are some beekeepers who say that it is the honey bee industry that is destroying the honey bees by forcing them to raise brood in oversized comb and by moving them all around the country on trucks, exposing them to pesticides and disorienting them.

[Dr.3D]

The EUROPEAN honey bee is not a native species. It was introduced by the Europeans when they arrived in the new world. Prior to the arrival of the European honey bee, the entire Western hemisphere was densely populated with people who lived on the produce from farmed crops - including maize, beans, squash, amaranth, and others. So the entire population of the Western hemisphere was supported by agriculture that did not rely on the European honey bee.

Not that I don't appreciate the honey bee - they are awesome - but the idea that crops won't grow without the subsidized honey bee industry is demonstrably false.

In fact, there are some beekeepers who say that it is the honey bee industry that is destroying the honey bees by forcing them to raise brood in oversized comb and by moving them all around the country on trucks, exposing them to pesticides and disorienting them.

And you notice I didn't specifically say honey bees. However since we are on the subject, the European Honey bee is the most important crop pollinator in the United States. If something happens to them, we better have an alternative bee population to do the job and hope they are not affected by the same problems the honey bees are experiencing.

Here is an interesting article about alternatives.


The non-native European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most important crop pollinator in the United States. However, because of disease and other factors the number of managed honey bee hives in the United States has declined by 50 percent since 1950 (NRC, 2007). During this same period, the amount of crop acreage requiring bee pollination has continued to grow. This makes native pollinators even more important to the future of agriculture.

Rest of article is here: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/nativebee.html


Now there is a problem to be considered here. Sure there are other bees that can do the job, but are there enough of them to actually do the job?

[Acala]

And you notice I didn't specifically say honey bees. However since we are on the subject, the European Honey bee is the most important crop pollinator in the United States. If something happens to them, we better have an alternative bee population to do the job and hope they are not affected by the same problems the honey bees are experiencing.

Here is an interesting article about alternatives.



Now there is a problem to be considered here. Sure there are other bees that can do the job, but are there enough of them to actually do the job?

Native bees pollinated the entire hemisphere for millions of years. Even before native humans were cultivating crops, all the flowering plants needed pollination and got it without honey bees.

I am not aware that the native bees are suffering at all from what is harming the honey bee. In fact the biggest problem for the natives bees IS the honey bee.

Now it might be the case that you could not grow 10,000 acres of monoculture and expect it to be pollinated by native bees. But you can't farm that way anyway without massive amounts of pesiticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. And I think that form of agriculture is coming to an end.

I suspect you would also need some ramp-up time for the native population to catch up. But from the article it sounds like the honey bee has been in decline for 50 years (with no reduction in crop output) so the native bees are perhaps already ramping up.

[noxagol]

I've seen a lot more bumble bees than honey bees in my life. I like bumble bees because unless I'm mistaken, they have no stingers.