Some Bumbles In Trouble
posted 13th February 2010 in Uncategorized by The Green Man
Tracheal mites and colony collapse disorder are something that most moderately environmentally aware people are aware of. They’re problems for honeybees, a Eurasian species of pollinator that had become prolific in North America.
What most people aren’t aware of, though, is that some species bumblebees are also beginning to show signs of distress in North America as well. Populations of regionally native bumblebees in the Western United States have begun to disappear, and many are blaming commercially-raised bumblebees from eastern North America imported to the area for the sake of commercial agriculture.
Researchers have found that populations of native bumblebees are more likely to have high levels of disease if they’re near to commercial greenhouses. Some have interpreted these results to indicate that eastern bumblebees brought to pollinate in those greenhouses are bringing disease to native bumblebee populations.
There are alternative explanations, however. It could be that another factor associated with commercial greenhouse activity, such as use of pesticides, or ecological stress caused by development associated with greenhouses, is the cause of the increased level of disease.
Tags: agriculture, bees, bumblebees, disease, greenhouses, insects, pollination
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When we lose the pollinators we’re on our way out, as most food and flowering plants depend on them for propagation. But let’s not worry about it since it’s “God’s will” and we lowly humans can do nothing but sit back and watch it all unfold.
This is off-topic, but check it out:
http://www.openleft.com/diary/17379/soda-mapped-vs-diabetesmichael-polin-on-the-deeper-story-a-proposal-for-taming-corporate-power