Amanda Froe
lich, Guest for Waking Times, http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/01/02/new-finding-explains-bees-disappearing/
The secret is out – bees have been disappearing for almost a decade now, and scientists are scrambling to understand why. Some sources relay that the colonies all across the world are vanishing due to pesticides, electromagnetic frequencies, mites, and even GMO crops, but what researches have recently found to be the cause of the bee catastrophe will shock you.
According to a recent report in Quartz, a first-of-its-kind study determined that large numbers of bees are dying due to cross-contamination of pollen and various pesticides.
“Scientists had struggled to find the trigger for so-called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has wiped out an estimated 10 million beehives, worth $2 billion, over the past six years. […] Scientists at the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture have identified a witch’s brew of pesticides and fungicides contaminating pollen that bees collect to feed their hives. The findings break new ground on why large numbers of bees are dying though they do not identify the specific cause of CCD, where an entire beehive dies at once.”
It was found that the pollen the bees were fed had an average of nine different pesticides and fungicides, and one sample contained a deadly concoction of over 21 different chemicals. Furthermore, the researchers found that bees that ate pollen with fungicides were three times as likely to be infected with the parasite .
What does this study conclude?
That fungicides play a larger role in Colony Collapse Disorder than previously hypothesized. While neonicotinoids have been linked with mass bee deaths, it seems most fungicides are widely believed to be harmless to bees. The study shows that it is more than just pesticides, but a combination of toxic chemicals, which is harming the bee colonies.
Unfortunately, there’s more to the scenario. It’s not just the types of chemicals that need regulation, but spraying practices, as well. The samples tested on the bees were not foraged from crops, but from weeds and wildflowers, which means the integral insect is more widely exposed to pesticides than thought.
The authors summarized in their study:
“More attention must be paid to how honey bees are exposed to pesticides outside of the field in which they are placed. We detected 35 different pesticides in the sampled pollen, and found high fungicide loads. The insecticides esfenvalerate and phosmet were at a concentration higher than their median lethal dose in at least one pollen sample. While fungicides are typically seen as fairly safe for honey bees, we found an increased probability of Nosema infection in bees that consumed pollen with a higher fungicide load. Our results highlight a need for research on sub-lethal effects of fungicides and other chemicals that bees placed in an agricultural setting are exposed to.”
While the situation might seem simple – chemicals sprayed on crops are killing bees – the details of the issue continue to become more complex. Concerns include: what can be sprayed, where, how, and when to minimize the negative effects on bees and other pollinators while still assisting in crop production.
To create balance between mankind and the ecosystem, changes need to be implemented, but at a rate which will not disastrously affect the economic status. For this reason, becoming a sustainable world is a challenging task.
Presently, scientists are still working to discover to what degree bees are affected and by what. The time line before new systems are regulated and implemented means the public must step up to protect the valuable workers which are essential for sustaining life on Earth.
Choosing organic foods, environmentally responsible products, and helping to create awareness regarding the current issue may do wonders to radically shift the bee decline affecting everyone.
About the Author
Amanda Froelich is a staff writer for TrueActivist.com, where this article was originally featured.
Sources:
Openhearted Rebellion 
A VOICE FOR OUR BEES:
Back in the 90’s I noticed the decline in the bees and became a beekeeper/researcher in my own right by 2000. My husband and I THROUGH EXPERIENCE concur with the above report, and combined with 45 years experience in a hospital setting in by working in microbiology/epidemiology, chemistry, hematology, and immunology as a medical technologist, I have paid particular attention to pathogen resistance to most of the known antibiotics(shocking enough), herbicide/fungicide/pesticide exposure by humans- and the KNOWN FACT that 85% plus of Mayo Clinic’s patients showed over 27 gene translocations/ cancers/ and leukemias and ALL those patients had been exposed to pesticides and herbicides specifically! I firmly believe that the bees disappearance IS their voice AND their message to humanity. 12 years ago I was told BY BEEKEEPERS that even beekeepers HAD to use chemicals in the hive and that Natural BEEkeeping couldn’t be done! I said back then, “Watch ME”! We are now TEACHING anyone who really LOVES the BEES that it CAN be done without using chemicals on plants we and the bees use, including WEEDS, TREES, SHRUBS, AND WILDFLOWERS !
Bees, like Hu-Mans, are electromagnetic beings of light. Bees also use GPS positioning and we also know that the Magnet North Pole is MOVING as we speak. I firmly believe that the current genetic upgrades and relocations include the bees, but, like us, it can be stressful on them.and only the strong will survive. Gaia has spoken also through Pepper Lewis in 2006 on the subject of the bees. Gaia has said that the strongest bees are going to the Southern Hemisphere where, as Kryon has told us, the Feminine Divine quality of Care, Compassion and Nurturing is stronger and will help them survive until humanity especially in North America learns these loving qualities. Our “GIRLS” have not suffered big losses because we approach beekeeping not for more honey or money, but to help them SURVIVE AND THRIVE. We also share our “mixed breed” with other beekeepers of the same mind. Our bees have a good natural immune system, and live in cleaner, better ventilated homes. Our next step is adding top-bar hives in which the bees build their OWN wax comb. We rotate all frames OUT of the hive after 3 years to lessen their exposure to the pesticide residue “toxic soup” that gets into and BUILDS UP in that wax!
Friends of the Earth, foe.org,,are standing up for the bees, as has avaaz.org and change.org. FOE has a campaign going right NOW. They need to win their lawsuit against companies making these very toxic pesticides in court. Please check it out AND SUPPORT THEM IF YOU CAN. Send the bees your loving thoughts, not thoughts of FEAR of them. Know that if bees eat POISON pollen and die, so it also applies to YOU if you do not KNOW where the honey and pollen supplements YOU CONSUME come from or how it is STORED! The best way to be sure is to keep your OWN bees, or buy from local beekeepers you know and can TRUST. AND do not forget the 4000 NATIVE POLLINATORS in America who also feed on food plants and wildflowers(PLANT SOME NATIVE trees, shrubs, and flowers in YOUR YARD.) I recommend reading Douglas Tallamy’s book, “Bringing Nature Home” for more ways to do this at home.
Pease do not let chemical companies brainwash you into using chemicals which also kills DANDELIONS, and DEAD NETTLES(the little purple flowers in your lawn in early spring- THESE, along with MAPLES AND EARLY WILLOWS, are among the bees’ FIRST available FOOD(pollen is their protein, nectar their sugars) and are NEEDED by BEES for their very survival. These chemicals also KILL the worms in the soil who, with WHITE DUTCH CLOVERA( a LEGUME you plant WITH your grass seed, feed your lawn for FREE(the worms by making compost)! I hope that these words will change a few false beliefs that have been promoted by those who are making much money by selling toxic products – AT ALL POLLINATORS AND HUMANITY’S EXPENSE! May these thoughts and facts
help others make necessary changes to our environment as we work together to clean up Gaia.
The Gentlest of LOVE Light to All
.Helen-The Bee Lady
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