Bees dying of mysterious infection

[blueworld]

"The dead bees under Dennis VanEngelsdorp's microscope were like none he had ever seen before.

He had expected to see mites or amoebas, perennial pests of bees. Instead, he found internal organs swollen with debris and strangely blackened. The bees' intestinal tracts were scarred, and their rectums were abnormally full of what appeared to be partly digested pollen. Dark marks on the sting glands were telltale signs of infection.

'The more you looked, the more you found,' said VanEngelsdorp, acting apiarist for the state of Pennsylvania. 'Each thing was a surprise.'"

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/225743/

[Morgana LaFey]

1. Heartbraking.

I thought it was that Monsanto herbicide (or pesticide?), the one which had been banned in France for killing the honey bees. I wonder if these findings preclude that possibility? Also, doesn't sound like cell phone damage, does it?

[philb]

4. There is not just one cause; in different situations, the causes are different

there have been studies that show a lot of things harm bees and other insects and animals
pesticides, microwaves, genetic engineered crops, etc.
And when the bee systems are stressed by one factor, other things like viruses affect them more.

[LaurenG]

2. Oh no! I hope they figure out what type of virus and how to treat it.

How terribly sad.

[progressoid]

3. "their rectums were abnormally full of what appeared to be partly digested pollen"

Phew! I was afraid they would find little cell phones in there.

That's a load off my mind.


:freak:

[Morgana LaFey]

5. Hmm, I wonder if that would be due to GM pollen?

There could most certainly be digestibility problems with that. Hmmmm.

[file83]

6. This can't be good.

Holy schnikeys.