Pesticides are causing bees to shrink

[UM-Bot]

Experts believe that honeybees exposed to common pesticides are becoming smaller and weaker.

Scientists have long speculated that the increase in use of pesticides in farming could be a contributing factor in colony collapse disorder, but now a team of researchers in the UK has conducted laboratory testing that appears to confirm that pesticides are having a negative effect.

Read More: http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/261090/pesticides-are-causing-bees-to-shrink

[Mokkan]

Wait wait wait... Are you trying to tell me pesticides are bad for bugs?

[Dumpnuts]

Wait wait wait... Are you trying to tell me pesticides are bad for bugs?

I never would've imagined such insanity!

[Dumpnuts]

The more I think about it, the more upsetting I find this article. Not because of the bees, but because of the quality of the content. It's bad enough that a crack team scientists needed to be paid to figure out that pesticides kill insects, but now we find this news worthy. To quote Penn Jilette (or Lewis Black, take your pick), "What the ****!?!?!". I'm about to give up all hope for humanity as a whole & start watching daytime talk shows & reality T.V.

Edited January 20, 2014 by DumpsterJesus

[Eldorado]

"Yep, they sting... but we need them, son. No bees, no honey.... nuff said." - My Grandpa, 30yrs ago.

[Lilly]

Actually, the problem lies with the use of fungicides. The chemicals use to control fungal growth on plants weaken the bees and make them more susceptible to a pathogen called Nosema ceranae.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Lilly
I can't spell

[pallidin]

Actually, the problem lies with the use of fungicides. The chemicals use to control fungal growth on plants weaken the bees and make them more susceptible to a pathogen called Nosema ceranae.

Well, that's disturbing. Shouldn't some organization, or UN thrust, help to prevent this from continuing, since bees are critically vital to our and other species food supply?

Edited January 20, 2014 by pallidin

[Duchess Gummybuns]

THAT MEANS...

Tiny bees that can't produce honey, and they can't pollinate other flowers and stuff.

GOOD GOING, GUYS.

[Sundew]

It's hard to be fond of insects that sting, but the fact is honeybees and other bee species put much of the food on our tables as far as plants go. Other than grains (corn, wheat, oats, etcetera) which are wind pollinated, most food crops rely on insect pollination, the largest part being done by bees. If the bees were to disappear we would be forced to hand pollinate our crops or do without. There are already places in China where people are hand pollinating fruit trees because the bees have been eradicated. This will drive of the cost of things like apples, citrus many vegetables and any other bee pollinated crop to the point they may largely be unaffordable. And that doesn't even address the other wild plants like flowers, shrubs and some trees that bees pollinate. In short the loss of bees would be nothing short of an environmental disaster.

[pallidin]

Honeybee's don't generally sting, as they will die from doing so(it's part of their abdomen) They do only on critical threat.

Wasps and other such nasties can sting multiple times and not die doing so.

[George Ford]

They should test these chemicals for 5-10 years before being allowed to use them. In which case I would think about 95% would never get released and the cost would be too prohibitive to do anything except focus on safe options. So then people would use common sense and proper farming techniques like our ancestors did i.e, 'bio-dynamics' and creating a much wider range of one type of crops as well as CROP ROTATION!!!! When will the lazy, greedy subsidized farmers wake up and realize THEY are to blame.

[Sir Smoke aLot]

Bees are responsible for moving plants seeds, pollen. They play a big role in ecological system. Not sure what percentage but if bees number will largely decrease we will see big problems. Damn chemicals.

[bmk1245]

[...] So then people would use common sense and proper farming techniques like our ancestors did i.e, 'bio-dynamics' and creating a much wider range of one type of crops as well as CROP ROTATION!!!![...]

If farmer specializes in growing potatoes (or any other "single" stuff), what would you suggest to rotate?

[...] When will the lazy, greedy subsidized farmers wake up and realize THEY are to blame.

Don't accuse farmers for being "lazy", because you are on exactly the same page of "laziness" with "lazy" farmers. Let me ask you: do you carry your clothes to the nearest water pool (river, lake) and scrub with bare hands/stones (as our "not lazy" ancestors did), or do you simply stuff clothes in washing machine and press button?

[Rafterman]

They should test these chemicals for 5-10 years before being allowed to use them. In which case I would think about 95% would never get released and the cost would be too prohibitive to do anything except focus on safe options. So then people would use common sense and proper farming techniques like our ancestors did i.e, 'bio-dynamics' and creating a much wider range of one type of crops as well as CROP ROTATION!!!! When will the lazy, greedy subsidized farmers wake up and realize THEY are to blame.

So your solution would be to turn back agricultural innovation 100 years? You know, back to when crops failed and entire countries starved.

How's that a solution?

How about we continue to develop safe pesticides and fungicides? Seems like a much better solution to me.

[rashore]

I think the problem with the bees is that there are multiple things causing problems for them, and we keep trying to pin it to just a thing or two. A magic bullet of problem.

I think it's the dangerous "cides" we are using, the selective diet the bees are offered, the habit of regularly moving hives from farm to farm, the water resources that are often not good for the bees, or habit of using almost exclusively foreign nucs with minimal introduction of native nucs, general weakness allowing greater impact of disease and attacking mites/other critters. Probably a few other things too I'm not thinking of at the moment, haven't really had my coffee yet, lol.

There isn't a magic bullet of a problem- it's a whole clip of bullets.

Likewise, I think there is not a magic bullet of solution- it's a whole clip too. It's not just lets make safer "cides", or just rotate crops. It's also other practices to either stop doing or start doing as well. Bees are one of our most important domesticated animals, it's a shame people don't rally to them the way they do to other domesticated animals.

Edited January 21, 2014 by rashore

[Dark_Grey]

So your solution would be to turn back agricultural innovation 100 years? You know, back to when crops failed and entire countries starved.

How's that a solution?

How about we continue to develop safe pesticides and fungicides? Seems like a much better solution to me.

Are you volunteering to do the pollinating yourself? We desperately need bees but some evil, GM food mult-national corporations don't exactly make that a priority. Living your life from one quarterly report to the next is very shortsighted. Until there's some monetary incentive, we can't expect Monsanto things to change.

[MyAccount]

Experts believe that honeybees exposed to common pesticides are becoming smaller and weaker.

Read More: http://www.unexplain...-bees-to-shrink

When I first read this I thought the shrinkage they were talking about was in numbers, but after reading the story I understand it is both in numbers and in individual sizes.

I was otherwise hoping to say, "Yeah, I know a bee that dropped two dress sizes." but since the shrinkage refers to both, the comment is mute! Oh well,...

[Mr.United_Nations]

I have seen smaller bees but also i have seen big bees the size of a 50p coin