I've been wanting to post this information since I first posted about the disappearing honeybees.
Long thread:
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=99499
There are over 3,500 species of bees in North America which visit flowers and collect pollen. Yes, that is over 3,5000 species. Only the honeybee and bumblebee form colonies and produce and store honey. The honeybee was first introduced to North America in the 17th century so it is not even a native bee.
That information was taken from my Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders.
I have suspected from the start that there is a level of scare mongering involved in the mainstream media reports of honeybees disappearing. I am not yet convinced in my own mind that the situation is as dire and widepsread as is being reported because there are so many other kinds of bees which pollinate flowers and crops. Then there could be unknown numbers of beekeepers who do not report to the authorites and they have not experienced high losses.
I read a post on a forum the other day written by a person in CA who stated his acre of fruit trees has been covered with pollinating bees. I do not know what species the bees are. I also do not know the person who wrote the report but this is the kind of thing I have been waiting to read about. I would like to read honest reports from people who are not talking to the mainstream media.
I also found a link a while ago which goes into what could be described as Colony Collapse Disorder being reported as early as the 1800's.
http://www.orsba.org/htdocs/download/Dtew.htm
Some honeybee colonies have disappeared but how many have not? And are these honeybees regrouping elsewhere in order to not succumb to the conditions of the hives they belonged to?
I don't know anything for sure about this reported honeybee problem yet but I do know there are those who love to scare us into thinking the world is going to fall apart at the seams sometime soon.
And wouldn't this be a good reason to find a local source of honey, if possible, and support a local, small-operation beekeeper if you like honey?
Intuit
