Monday, February 2, 2015

Bee Death Hype

I have to bring this up again, the beepocolypse is near!

“This new pesticide, Flupyradifurone, is very similar to an existing class of pesticides called “neonics”. Neonics are systemic pesticides -- they don't just remain on the surface, but are absorbed into plant tissues, and this new pesticide works in the same way. Research shows that neonics severely impair bees' immune systems, making them vulnerable to deadly viruses.”

So that must mean that Flupyradifurone must also severely impair bees’ immune systems? If Flupyradifurone is like neonics in one way, they must be the same in another?

It’s simple -- no bees means no food for us.

Oh, except for all those other thousands of insects that pollinate crops. Bees are important pollinators, but they’re not the difference between food and no food. The world of crops is huge, and there are many substitutes for the bee produced crops we happen to find in our grocery store.

Last winter, almost 30 percent of Canada's bee colonies were devastated, and strikingly, we lost over half of our bee colonies in Ontario.

Okay, some perspective. In a normal winter 15% of bees die over the winter anyway. That’s just normal bee life.

Colony Collapse Disorder is real. More bees are disappearing over the winter than usual. What they don’t tell you is that bee population is stable. How can this be(e)? Bees are bred by “splitting” hives. So the beekeepers split some more hives to make up for the lost bees. The extra cost is a small fraction of the price of the final consumer product. Problem solved.

If you’re very concerned about global warming, then you probably blame global warming for the death of the bees. If you’re very concerned about pesticides or gmos, then you probably blame those for the death of the bees. The intellectually disciplined will suppress their villain stories and admit that we just don’t know. People also shouldn’t dismiss the possibility there are natural reasons for bee deaths, since there is no such thing as the balance of nature.