Im not sure if topics on this subject has been posted before but with the bees dissappearing at the alarming rate they are im curious to find out more peoples beliefs on this subject

When Bees Disappear, Will Man Soon Follow?
Apr 5th, 2007, 7:45 AM

Jean-Claude Gerard Koven

Last week I received an email from a friend reporting a sudden, devastating collapse in America's bee population. The message triggered an immediate unpleasant shiver through my body as I recalled the ominous quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left.

No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

Being a bit skeptical, I assumed this was just another piece of alarmist misinformation finding its way onto Internet distribution lists. A few minutes' research not only confirmed the story, but made me realize that the problem is far from local. In official circles, the condition is called either Fall-Dwindle Disease or, more commonly, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

The communication I received stated: "Honeybees are flying off in search of pollen and nectar and simply never returning to their colonies.

During the final three months of 2006, a distressing number of honeybee colonies began to diminish from the United States, and beekeepers all over the country have reported unprecedented losses. According to scientists, the domesticated honeybee population has declined by about 50 percent in the last 50 years. Reports of similar losses to the honeybee population have been documented before in beekeeping literature, but are widely believed to have occurred at this scale previously only at a regional level. With outbreaks recorded as far back as 1896, this is regarded as the first national honeybee epidemic in U.S. history."

The topics grabbing headlines these days leave little room in the news for the plight of an insect. What we fail to appreciate is that without an abundance of bees to pollinate crops, the United States could lose as much as 30 percent of its food supply. According to Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation, "Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food."

There is no doubt about what is happening - or its consequences if the situation is not rectified. What remains murky is the cause. According to Walter Haefeker, director of the German Beekeepers Association, CCD has four possible causes: the varroa mite, introduced from Asia; the widespread practice of spraying wildflowers with herbicides; the practice of monoculture (a single crop covering a large area); and the controversial yet growing use of genetic engineering in agriculture.

However, it is the thinking of one of the cell phone industry's former scientific hired guns that caught my attention. When George Carlo, M.D., the celebrated author of "Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age" and current chairman of the nonprofit Science and Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., weighs in with an opinion, we'd all be fools not to listen carefully.

On a recent conference call, Dr. Carlo laid the blame for the sudden demise (often within 72 hours) of entire bee colonies on the recent proliferation of electromagnetic waves (EMF). He cited the startling statistic that, at present, there are some 2.5 billion cell phone users around the world. While this (plus the explosive growth of cell phone towers) used to be the major concern, the problem has been significantly exacerbated by the recent introduction of satellite radio. Imagine being closeted in a confined environment filled with chain smokers; it would be impossible for you to get a breath of clean air. It is becoming equally difficult for you to avoid the now-measurable damage from EMF exposure.

Dr. Carlo commented that the constant electromagnetic background noise seems to disrupt intercellular communication within individual bees, such that many of them cannot find their way back to the hive. His conclusions are confirmed by a recent study conducted by three departments of Panjab University (India), which has found that cell phone towers - the dominant source of electromagnetic radiation in the city of Chandigarh - could well be the cause behind the mysterious disappearance of butterflies, some insects (like bees), and birds.

Andrew Weil, M.D., author of "Spontaneous Healing and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health," fully agrees: "Electromagnetic pollution may be the most significant form of pollution human activity has produced in this century, all the more dangerous because it is invisible and insensible."

In some countries, up to 10 percent of the population suffers from a serious EMF-induced condition that Dr. Carlo and others call membrane sensitivity syndrome. In a recent address to the Health, Social Services and Housing Sub-Panel in the United Kingdom, Carlo explained:

"Originally, this type of condition was the result of high chemical exposures; we used to call it chemical sensitivity. Now we have identified the same type of condition in patients who are exposed to various types of electromagnetic radiation. It is a medical problem.

People who have membrane sensitivity syndrome have internal bleeding.

They can be in a room where somebody puts on a cell phone, and they will end up having an immediate reaction; they will go home and they will bleed and in their stool they will have blood. This condition is very debilitating. It prevents these people from being able to work; they cannot earn a living, they have difficult relationships with their children, their spouses give up on them. .. It is a very, very serious medical problem."

The bees are the modern-day counterpart of the canaries that miners used to carry with them as they descended into the mine shafts. If the birds died, it was an early warning of a buildup of toxic gases in the mine.

When canaries die or bees disappear, we are being cautioned that we too are in immediate danger. It is time to listen to the message nature is telling us. Denial - the favorite ploy of those whose profits are being threatened - is no longer an option. As Arthur Schopenhauer said, "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

I shudder to think of what will become of humankind if we linger too long in stage two: "no more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."


link to the website i got it from : http://omega.twoday.net/stories/3545166/

I don't see us giving up cel. phones so easily, I really don't like using it but for emergencies. My wife tho' uses it way too often.

I've seen other threads here about this, but not any updates til now. I sure hope they'll ban cel. phones near bee colonies or farmland, if not. Mother necessity will step in and give us the inginuity to adapt with it.

Why don't they collect as many pollinates(male) and find a way to spray them into flowers(female). Use portible sprayers and the vehicles to do it.

Sorry guys, as someone who has lost a few hives this year I can assure you its not the cellphones that cause this. Even near (about 100 yards) the main transmitter on our island there are unaffected hives. Once you disinfect the bee houses a new colony thrives in it. My bet lies with either a fungus or a virus.

On the other hand, some changes will happen if the bee population decreases dramatically, especially in countries where there is a systematic poisoning of other insects. If there are no bees other insects, like bumblebees, flies and wasps take over the pollination duties. I rather have bees.

Now, if both bees disappear and other insects get poisoned systematically then we can assume a dramatical decrease of fruit crops.

While I have heard of the lack of bees, there has been no lack of them around here. In fact, I see more then I used to (maybe because I now look for them). I don't mind bees, it is just the wasps and hornets that bother me, bees are cowardly and fly away when you swat at them, while wasps and hornets attack

This might sound incredibly stupid, but hey that's never stopped me before.


I notice here in NYC that bees are addicted to coffee.

People have told me that the sugar or cream in the coffee is what attracts the bees but I don't use a lot in the coffee and have had to swat away alot of bees carrying black coffee.

I notice a considerable drop in bees here. What I think might have happened is that bees are eating the sugar drips left in the bottom of discarded coffee cups and are slowly getting addicted to the caffine in the bottom of the cups as well.

Could this be true? And if so, could it be part of what's happening?

Pretty strange. So far none of my bees have tried to steal my coffee, can't say the same for my jelly sandwiches though, they are really after me when I have one near the hives.

In any case, no idea what kind of an effect caffeine can have on a bee. But we know that in mammals it is habit forming. So if bees have been taking coffee with sugar and milk they could get addicted too and once addicted not care if there is sugar in it.

they'll adapt before they become extinct...

Yes i agree !

What in the world are you talking about !!! ever hear of evolution its the same with drug dealers you can arrest them all you want but if their is demand their is supply.

The Honey Bee populatioin is in dire straits inthe U.S. this year. This comes on the heels of a parasite infestation a few years ago. I don't think that a disappearance of bees would cause humans to go extinct but, it would have serious affects on us. I remember reading that every third bite you take of food can be traced to the hard work of the bees. We would have to move on to eating more of other kinds of foods and less of the ones that bees are responcible for.

It's also interesting to note that the native Americans called honey bees "White Flies". Obviously not because of their color but, because they were brought to the new world by the "white" man. That's right. Before the arrival of the white man in the Americas, other insects carried the burden of pollenation.

Back in the 80's there was a honeybee depletion - which drove the price of honey up quadruple what the price was at the time. That price really never dropped after the honeybees resurrected.
Where I live there is no shortage of honeybees, and the beekeepers aren't complaining about losing their little sweeties, or their livelihood.
Maybe the bees disappearing is a regional thing? If the U.S. is impacted one would think most of North America would be - maybe even S.A. However, it doesn't seem to be that way...

got a question, how dense is the mobile network in SA ?

If anything, the bee population is out of control and we're trying to control it.


Bees are great..except for the one that stung me last week(squished that dead b******...it had no damn reason! ). I tend to stay away from them because Wasps and Bees can be dangerous and unpredictable. I figured out yesterday that my dog hates them...he caught one with his mouth because it was bothering him. Wonder if that was a nice meal


Bees aren't the only way to spread the seeds of plants...wind is a factor also. In fact Bees USE wind to move around if it is there.


I've noticed a lot more Wasps also....what are wasps good for? Can anyone please tell me? Are they just parasites because I don't see what kind of animal would eat them :/

I'm pretty sure they will never run out anyways. There are a lot of bee farms and we've even genetically altered bees. It probably won't be hard in the near future to actually create bees if it is needed.

Depends on the wasp, there are many types, from the dew collecting to the carnivorous.

I don't know why people always complain about getting stung by bees. I have a hive right behind the house (mostly to pollinate my fruit trees) and unless I have (accidentally) hurt one I have never been attacked (except at honey harvest time, but hey, I would sting too if some ass came to take my honey). I can go to the hive, open it and inspect it without hardly being noticed.

My neighbors used to be scared stiff of my hive but now they don't even bother to move when I check it. They have learned that if you leave the bees alone they leave you alone (not a good idea to leave a jelly sandwich laying around though)

That sort eases my mind a bit I wonder if bees conquered America too, I mean the insects that may have pollenated here before bees arrived. I mean what will replace the bees since they may have wiped them out.

this is interesting!!!!


No Organic Bee Losses

very!!!