The End of Bees – a story of survival

[bananas]

Summer Rayne Oakes, entomologist and eco-model:

http://www.summerrayne.net/blog/the-end-of-bees-a-story-of-survival/

The End of Bees – a story of survival



This May I traveled down to the Puntacana Ecological Foundation on behalf of ABOVE Magazine to do a surreally intimate shoot with Apis mellifera - the European honeybee. Some may say – the last of the honeybees – since over the past four years, over 30 billion have disappeared due to a mysterious phenomenon that scientists are calling, “Colony Collapse Disorder.” The exact cause of pollinator disappearance is not well understood, but it is clear that one of the culprits is unsustainable agricultural production. In sum, we are pushing our little buzzing friends to the limit.

Honeybees, which so often “hibernate” in the winter, are worked all season long – being fed high fructose corn syrup like an IV drip – to get them across the country from pollination spot to pollination spot. This is compounded with pesticide-laden plants in some locales in addition to a diet that consists of one type of pollen at most times, which is not as nutritious as a polyfloral diet (picture Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me McDonald’s experiment – except for bees). Honeybees, by insect standards, already have a weak immune system, and these added levels of stress and poor nutrition easily invite other body invaders, including bacteria and fungus, which in total are causing aworldwide autoimmune collapse.

At ABOVE, we wanted to capture the untold story of the honeybee. Together with a small crew, the kindness and cooperation of Jake Kheel and Rubio at the Puntacana Ecological Foundation, and Director Clayton Haskell, we wove together a story of beauty, hope, and a long-standing symbiosis between human and insect. As always, I feel ABOVE is the first and last magazines on earth that celebrates human’s obsession with true natural beauty and everything we do to (ironically) destroy it. This story is no exception…

<snip>

[BanzaiBonnie]

1. Go see 'Queen of the Sun' when it comes your way

We were at the world premiere opening in Portland, Oregon last month. It's traveling all over the country right now. It's a gorgeous, educational film about the bees and what's happening to them.

I thought a documentary about bees might be a bit on the dry side, but this film was delightfully funny and absorbing.


One problem is monocultures and the other is pesticides.

[bananas]

8. Thanks, I'll look for it. nt

[Jeffersons Ghost]

2. K&R

[DCKit]

3. "...being fed high fructose corn syrup..." I think I've identified the problem. n/t

[madokie]

4. Which reminds me

last summer my brother who has the sawmill business had a tree close by his mill that had a bee hive in it and when ever you would set down an open can of soft drink the bees would be all over it. He even used the pepsi poured in a bowl to help him in locating where they had their hive. Finally he found the hive, way up in an old oak tree and not too far from his sawmill, a couple hundred yards. Well this year I was asking him how the bees are doing and he said he hasn't seen any so we go to the tree and check it out and with binoculars watch the hole they used to come and go from and didn't see a single bee. Now I wonder if the HFCS in the pepsi may have been what decimated that colony. If so so sad as it was a big enjoyment to watch the bees coming and going. Neither of us or anyone else as far as I knew were stung by them they just buzzed around looking for flowers to pollinate as they gathered pollen. We had a real cold winter storm last winter and they being so high up in the tree, a good 30 feet or so to the hole they used maybe they froze to death, maybe they moved on but I now wonder if maybe the HFCS may have been the culprit that did them in. They'd empty a half drank can of pop in short order if you left it uncovered.

I'm feeling sad now about the whole thing.

[bananas]

6. Yeah, bees love soda

I wonder what the caffeine does to them?
I doubt it was one summer of binge-drinking on pepsi that did them in.

[madokie]

10. I'm hoping they moved on to a better place

I know that I used to drink my soft drinks out of a can but after swallowing a bee that stung me in the throat on the way down I quit doing that.

I do worry about the high fructose corn syrup that is in so many products and what part thats played in the loss of our bees though.

[Mojorabbit]

5. I keep bees

and there is nothing worse than having a bee get caught in your hair. The article is lovely but the photo makes me cringe a bit. :)

[bananas]

7. Bees are highly domesticated

They avoid stinging unless the nest is threatened, because stinging kills them.
My understanding is that most bees are raised by beekeepers and are comfortable with humans.

[Mojorabbit]

11. They can be tempermental

I love my bees but when they are buzzing like crazy people around the hive, I leave them be. When one gets caught in your hair it can get tangled up in it and it can be very difficult to free it without getting stung which is why I always wear a cap when I plan to be near the hives for a bit. :)

[Nihil]

9. "nothing worse than having a bee get caught in your hair"

Whilst I agree with your comment, I think that some of the photos in the
article would suggest something worse than getting a bee caught in the
hair on your head ...

:o