World's bees face multiple threats The United Nations has suggested that the world's bees face multiple threats and unless something is done to halt their decline, there could be serious long-term consequences for food supplies. The last few years have seen bee populations hit hard, with "colony collapse disorder" making headlines as scientists struggle to …
... what this has to do with IT, I'd like to point out that, as someone having an IT job and being stuck behind a desk most of the time, beekeeping makes a really good contrast, and an opportunity to get out and experience daylight from time to time.
So if you work from home, and have a little flexibility over your working hours, I heartily recommend having a go at beekeeping. You get the chance to dress up like an astronaut, and gives something more interesting to talk about at social occasions than computers!! Oh, and jars of homemade honey make great Christmas presents.
And for the record, of my seven hives, I only lost one last winter, and I suspect that was due more to my incompetence rather than colony collapse disorder. More on getting started at www.olneyhoney.com if you're interested.
I agree.
I'm allowed to keep bees at work so when we're done in the basement working on IT I and our team can pop around the corner into my apiary and relax and have lunch. Lovely.
I also find that small talk is much improved when I drop IT and talk bees instead. People genuinely find it more interesting.
Mines the large while bee suit.
Faye
beekeeper ed.ac.uk
It's only a matter of time before this is all uncovered as a conspiracy...
- Bee decline is not happening
- Even if it is happening, it is not caused by humans
- Even if it is caused by humans, there is nothing we can do about it
- Even if there is something we can do about it, it's too expensive, will require higher taxes, mean we have to drive less and stop us flying to sunny places on holidays
Can't beat a spot of honey on the old porridge (lowland dwelling jessie that I am).
Wasps, on the other hand, are utter bastards and serve no function.
KILL THEM ALL!
I'm no great fan of spiders either, but I tolerate them as the EAT WASPS!
Phobic about wasps? Me? I wouldn't call it a "phobia" as such, more of a pathological hatred.
Out of 19 hives I know are managed properly, only one was lost and not to disease.
Also there is no CCD in the UK, we are a different country to the US and have different issues.
If you're getting stung so that you need to dress up like an astronaut you need to re-queen. T-shirt and veil is all you should wear, then you'll know you have nasty bees before your neighbours find out.
And as has been observed, the plural of "anecdote" is not "data":
"British honeybees have been devastated by bad weather, stress and disease with more than one in five colonies thought to have been killed off over the winter, according to the government and the British Beekeepers' Association (BBA)."
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/08/wildlife.endangeredspecies>
From what I can tell, Britain has not been affected by true CCD yet, but claiming that it will never happen based on your backyard experience is not exactly convincing.
Nobody claimed CCD will never happen, or stated it will never happen because of their backyard experience. You might want to re-read was written.
I've talked to researchers involved in the area, read scientific papers, and attend lectures. They are all of the opinion that the UK doesn't have CCD at the moment. (Out of curiosity what other type of CCD is there apart from true CCD? Imaginary CCD?).
By linking and quoting a paper it seems you rely on them for accurate information, which is probably not a great idea. Some of the main writers on bees on the paper you link to might have their own agenda, eg courses and books to sell.
1 in 5 is not an excessive amount of colonies to lose. You might want to look at historical colony losses.
I read an article today about a problem here in Australia. It appears that some Asian bees have been spotted in Northern Queensland. This particular species robs the hives of other bees and that hive then declines as the bees starve. So another problem to be sorted out before we lose lots of hives.
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/2000231fp_Collecting-keeping-wild-honeybees-boosts-coffee-yield-adds-new-layer-of-agroecological-stability
without coffee, IT all goes to sleep!!!
and its almost ALL others too, that depend on them to propagate..
AFAIK the problem is LARGE countries, where bees are moved around too much, get confused, get affected by hundreds of different environments/ pesticide mixes/ geology... heck if YOU woke up **every day** to find you are in a totally different area, no food in the house, have to find out IF and where the shop was, what coins they use.. I am sure you would get sick after a while!!
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