7 October, 2011
Yet another new theory about the catastrophic decline in bees numbers has been proposed, with the finger pointed at diesel fumes.
A possible link between pollution found in diesel fumes and the global collapse of honey bee colonies is to be investigated.
Researchers from the University of Southampton believe nanoparticles emitted from diesel engines could be affecting bees’ brains and damaging their in-built navigation skills.
There is also a theory that diesel fumes mop up flower smells in the atmosphere, making it difficult for the insects to find food.
via Diesel Fumes May Be Behind Global Collapse Of Honey Bee Colonies.
Personally, I suspect the collapse is probably due to an interlinked set of factors, which is why no single cause has been identified to date.
As for our own bees, they died when we had unseasonally warm spell in mid-winter followed by a freezing spell in later winter.
The bees came out of their winter huddle and started to fly. The cold weather returned and that was it, frozen bees.
If only it were that simply to identify the wider cause of colony collapse.
on a unrelated matter. I know you make your own sausages. I have a manual mincer already. What sausage stuffer do you use or recommend for someone who has own beef butchered. I live in NZ. Thanks K
I believe there is also a study out that has called into question the heavy use of cell phones and the demise of bees. There is something written about them getting their signals disrupted by the cell phone wave length. Its worth looking into.
The cell phone studies are bogus. See here:
http://membracid.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/bees-ccd-and-cell-phones-still-no-link/
Frankly, Huffington Post is about the least reputable site for science there is.
All the legit research to date points at many interlocking causes, not one single cause. The problem is not that there is no smoking gun, but that there are 20 guns
I wasn’t giving particular credence to the Huffington Post. It simply happened to be the site where I first saw the story and I tend to link to my first “sighting”. I don’t place much credence in the reporting of any news site when it comes to science—I’ve known far too many “science” reporters to trust them. I also know how the editing process distorts “science” reporting even further. As a result, I also linked to the university’s press release about the research. After that, it’s down to the reader to look further if they want. But at least I’m showing an interest in the subject.
As for the bees, as I said in my post, I lean toward interacting causes myself—single smoking guns can be found on occasion but most of the time catastrophic events come down to a cascade of smaller events, none of which would be catastrophic in themselves.
Well, my bet is still on all the herbicides and fungicides that we are using on this side of the pond!!! Makes the most sense – if they eat it and die, what’s it doing to us?
Actually, the herbicide/fungicide connection seems to be weak–although it’s certainly not helping! There is a good summary of the research to date written by two bee scientists that are major players here:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=saving-the-honeybee
Don’t read too much into my comment Stoney–I just saw your post as one of many that picked up on the story!
I was more aggravated that news organizations that should know better (BBC, among others) were running a nearly un-edited press release.
And bummer about your bees
Hopefully a neighbor has a spring swarm to share.
We haven’t seen a swarm in years. In fact, numbers of both honey and bumble bees have plummeted on the croft over the past few years. This year, we could count the daily number of bees seen on two hands. The poor weather didn’t help as flowers were markedly down but those flowers that were in bloom didn’t draw many bees.
Yeah, bumble bees have taken hits too–I have a paper on my desk about loss of European bumbles that I will write about soon.
It’s farms like yours that provide essential habitat for bumbles and other native pollinators. ItIt’s been pretty damp and nasty here too–hope next year is better for you and the bees.
I’ve been busy taking close up photos of bugs for my blog, and have been pleased to find so many bumblebees and hoverflies pollinating my plants!