No one thinks about honeybees when they munch on fresh corn on the cob or strawberries. Or maybe even while sipping that glass of merlot.
Maybe no one, except beekeepers.
The latest news that the bees are dying off at an alarming rate is like something out of the “X-Files,” except outer-space aliens have not yet been suggested for the demise; although we suspect there is a blogger out there who has made the leap. Others attribute the deaths to pesticide, herbicide, insecticide, mites, genetically altered crops, and of course, the be-all, end-all ”“ global warming.
The extraordinary events have taken on an unusual bureaucratic and politically correct tone, witnessed by the name given by scientists: Colony Collapse Disorder. Sounds more like a psychological malady than dead honeybees.
Fruits, vegetables, flowers, nearly anything that pops out of the soil needs bees to pollinate.
It”™s pretty simple science: no bees, no food.
Depending just on the wind to move pollen from flower to flower won”™t cut it.
Knocking honeybees out of the ecology equation is like something out of science fiction a la “A Sound of Thunder,” by Ray Bradbury, in which a butterfly crushed by a time traveler”™s misstep alters the dynamics of the future.
But we”™re not here to fan the flames of any hysteria ”“ real or imagined.
The one positive aspect of this mystery is that it has people talking about bees and science and beekeepers. Beekeepers in the Hudson Valley are small to their corporate counterparts who manufacture tons and tons of honey and honey products each year.
Pleasant Valley beekeeper Dennis Remsburger is hoping to produce 20,000 pounds of honey this year, although it could be closer to 14,000 if his bees keep dying. The life of a beekeeper is not an easy one nor very prosperous. As the growing season approaches, there are late nights preparing the hives for placement on area farms and orchards where the bees will do what comes naturally ”“ pollinate the crops.
Remsburger is hopeful that the current predicament the bees find themselves in will be remedied through more and focused research on honeybees and the natural and man-made problems that cause harm to the bees.
In our cover story this week, Remsburger thinks that the deaths might be linked to pesticides sprayed on trees and plants. He points specifically to the nicotine-based pesticides and herbicides prevalent in the United States and Canada. While the pesticides might not be lethal to bees, he said low doses of poison can be fatal to honeybees that are already weakened from other causes, such as mites.
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Since Remsburger was not hit as hard as some other beekeepers, he received calls from farmers outside his normal bee locations frantic for bees, regardless of the number he could supply; just as long as they got their needed bees.
As for those dead bees and collapsed colonies, Remsburger is not holding his breath for any government relief. The best he can hope for is to write it off on his taxes.
We hope that the government, whether it be state or federal, steps in and provides financial help to these beekeepers. No bees, no fruits, no vegetables; life out of balance.
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