Bees & the End of the Human Race

[Shizzell]

Alright, I know this could be under conspiracy theories, but since it relates to bees I'll post it here first.
Some people believe that only 4 years after the common honey bee dies out, the human race as we know it will fall. Anybody believe in that? Also, recent studies by scientists have decided that radio waves are hurting the bees somehow? Has anyone heard about this, or considered it? I doubt that radio waves pose as much of a threat as other diseases + mites such as verroa and such but who knows?

We better not use our cell phones by the hives then...



Jake

[Moonshae]

I think it's pretty unlikely, since radio towers, tv towers, and power lines have been around for decades, with no noticeable effect. Having direct exposure to radiation for a long period of time would do something, but with bees living such short lives, it's unlikely they could absorb enough from these to make a difference.

I think humans would survive more than 4 years without honey bees, but in a much sadder world.

[Jerrymac]

You haven't been reading everything posted on the CCD page have you. The cell phone thing wasn't even a cell phone that done what was done by the guy that started the whole mess.

There will be bees long after people are gone. 

[beemaster]

The FOUR YEAR quote was from Einstein who said "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

Now I'm trowing this theory of mine on the table "What if the current problems with honeybee is either:

1) the distinction of the race - species have come and gone and disappear for unknown reasons, and surely the honeybee is no safer than other life forms on this ever evolving planet.

2) They no longer want to be raised by man, we have hived the, chemically weakened their natural ability to fight paracitical attack, protected them as if we were raising wild animals with no intent to ever release it back to nature.

I'm not sure much more bees can take, we have massive solar activity, global warming, bombarment from radio waves from all parts of the spectrum, continually strived to make LESS AGRESSIVE BEES, honestly all honeybees are supposed to be like Africanised Bee - if not for the generations of man constantly turning them into "relative sissys" in the insect world, be would have strong self preservation of their species - but man cannot leave anything alone.

Of course there is always those who believe the MOTHERSHIP is beaming them up with a super-powered pheromone and taking them back to a distant planet which lost it's own bees (or similar polinator) and now need all ours to stop THEIR species of Alien from going extinct in 4 years.

The whole idea of NOT finding feral swarms and billions of dead bees everywhere really is a puzzle - maybe it is just their time to go away - the Trilobyte is a miniture horseshoe crab like 500 million to 550 million year old creature. It was and remains the MOST prolife and longest lasting species on the planet, although exstinct 500 million years, no other creature inhabited Earth as it did. Then one day it died off millions of years before the dinosaur roamed the planet.

I only ask this: if it IS honeybee's turn to disappear from Earth, is there anything that we can really do to prevent it? Sure, we can continue to get farm raised bees EACH season to replace those who died or left mysteriously. How long will the average beekeeper BUY BEES Season after Season?? Demand then dictates growth, polinators will push the bee producers to their limits and eventually (if it is meant to be) then all attempts at mating will stop and the spieces will evaporate from our radar.

I hope this extreme scenario isn't what we are in store for, but man's intervention may be the death of the honeybee  -  I never hear how the Africanized are doing, anyone getting CCD reports of AHBs?

[TonyBOD]

Actually, I've read that there is strong doubt that Einstein ever said such a thing - as a physicist his writings don't appear to mention bees at all and the quote seems to have suddenly appeared when Begian beekeepers protested in 1994.

Check Snopes.com for a full writeup (the site won't allow me to post a link).

[Finsky]

I only ask this: if it IS honeybee's turn to disappear from Earth, is there anything that we can really do to prevent it?

I give to you free advice. Stop playing with those top bars and small cells. Siberian Russians have standard cell size 5,6 and they have no problem with CCD, varroa or anything. Men's life time is just short. They drink too much.

Sure, we can continue to get farm raised bees EACH season to replace those who died or left mysteriously. How long will the average beekeeper BUY BEES Season after Season??

Trust on marketing powers. They will correct malfunction in your beekeping.

 Bee is not only pollinator. Before beekeping America had no honeybees.

And trust on those small cell  Africanized bees. They will handle the rest.

Key word: Oxalic acid and with Acetic acid against Nosema ceranea + Fumidil B

This will be the win of chemistry!

Don't worry, be happy!




.

[Jerrymac]

Actually, I've read that there is strong doubt that Einstein ever said such a thing - as a physicist his writings don't appear to mention bees at all and the quote seems to have suddenly appeared when Begian beekeepers protested in 1994.

Check Snopes.com for a full writeup (the site won't allow me to post a link).

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/einstein/bees.asp

[Shizzell]

Its all very interesting. Why have the AHB's been not affected by our ability to tame them? Personally I believe that once honey bees are off this planet, nothing will happen. Our ability to pollinate farms and such will be affected as we will lose a large amount of our crop the first 10-20 years until we find another insect to tame and keep so that we can pollinate again. However, will it be too late because of the growing population of the world and the need for honey bees are climbing at a growth that is too slow to support population?

Its all VERY interesting for what the future holds for us.

Jake

[TwT]

I believe it would hurt for a few years but probably just the bee's would be gone, man has been playing god for some years now, making plants that dont have to be pollinated and or disease free plants and so such. I dont think the honey bee's will ever go extinct either..... man will probably go first or take all living things with us when we go except mosquitoes and roaches, those 2 will be last on earth

[Michael Bush]

Four years later the only food available will be rice, corn, wheat and rye.  No coffee, chocolate, fruit, squash, peppers, tomatoes... After that we will all kill ourselves.

[AllanJ]

Four years later the only food available will be rice, corn, wheat and rye.  No coffee, chocolate, fruit, squash, peppers, tomatoes... After that we will all kill ourselves.

You missed seedless Oranges..

[Bennettoid]

OH MY GAWD!!!!

WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MikeG]

I love you people.  I've much to learn and I hope you all continue to help me.  But - I think you've all "lost it".

I'm a farmer.  College educated.  57 years old.  Member of Audubon Society for almost 30 years (though no longer).

None, I repeat, none, of this dire stuff is going to happen.

They will figure out what is causing the Colony Collapse Disorder.  It won't be any of these hair-brained, imagined, wild-eyed, illogical reasons.

It could be serious.  Very serious.  Best example would be the Dutch-Elm Disease, and how it devastated the population of elm trees.  Another would be Chestnut-Blight to Chestnut trees.

It sure as h(eck) won't be cellphones.  And I seriously doubt it has anything to do with pesticides.  It's possible but not likely.  They WILL figure it out.

Have I just "kicked a hot hive", or are you people as gentle as my Italian ladies?

[JP]

Finsky reminds us that honeybees are not native to North America, its hard to comprehend this, when the world (my world, United States) seems to have always existed with honeybees. Bees just seem like they have always been with us. Its also weird that many states yrs ago had no Deer. When man messes with nature, perhaps to the extreme, that's when there are major repercussions. Animals react to imbalances by evolving or going extinct. Thank God for scientists, Biologists and conservationists, who study imbalances and help us find ways to correct imbalances. Of course, sometimes its just too little too late. Man, there's just too many darn people on this planet! The planet can only support so much. When will we stop cutting everything down and building more, wanting more needing more of everything! Welcome to the world we live in.

[Finsky]

I'm a farmer.  College educated.  57 years old.  Member of Audubon Society for almost 30 years (though no longer).

None, I repeat, none, of this dire stuff is going to happen.

They will figure out what is causing the Colony Collapse Disorder. 

I am 60 and university educated, non farmer. The most wise I will tell that don't worry about CCD because bees will be vanished however. Green house fhenomenom continues and only ice age can stop it. First sun will burn with shining. Pole ices will be melted and all will be covered with water.
After that the water will be freezed and whole globe will be one skating field.

So, what we learned about this: start to learn new hobby, ice hokkey. Finland won USA in hockey competition with one penalty hit. You have long way to go.

How do you live: Start fishing. Bees have no future after all. During II World War Russian war prisoners teached to Finnish how to fish under ice cover. It is better to eberyone to learn that.

Everyone will have home on ice and it is easy to drill an own hole under house.
Of course some like small holes but big holes give bigger fishes.

3 pictures included

[indypartridge]

The FOUR YEAR quote was from Einstein who said "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

 
Most probably Einstein never said this.  Note the following email:

From: "Roni Grosz" <ronigr@savion.huji.ac.il>
To: "Scott Debnam" <beeresearch@*deleted*.com>
Subject: RE: Dr. Einstein and The Honey Bee
Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2007 13:37:24 +0300

Dear Mr. Debnam,

I found the following as a widely reported but unconfirmed quote. I
am sorry to have to inform you that the quote you refer to is not
authentic.

If the bee becomes extinct, mankind will have only four years to
live: no bees, no pollination, no plants, no animals, no humans.

I agree with you that Albert Einstein would probably have held your
work in high esteem but I cannot offer you authentic words from him
regarding the bee.

With best regards

Dr. Roni Grosz
Bern Dibner Curator
Albert Einstein Archives
Jewish National & University Library
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
POB 39105 Jerusalem 91390 ISRAEL
TEL: +972-2-658-5781
FAX: +972-2-658-6910
e-mail: ronigr@savion.huji.ac.il
www.albert-einstein.org

Further, Dr. Grosz is quoted in Gelf Magazine
http://www.gelfmagazine.com/archives/albert_einstein_ecologist.php

Perhaps the most bizarre thing about this oft-quoted line is that Einstein probably never said it. Roni Grosz, curator of the Albert Einstein Archives of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, tells Gelf, "There is no proof of Einstein ever having said or written it." While Grosz notes that it is extremely difficult to disprove a quote, he "could not remember even one reference to bees in Einstein's writings."

"Einstein had no particular expertise or even interest in ecology, entomology, or bees."—Roni Grosz

[Scadsobees]

except mosquitoes and roaches, those 2 will be last on earth

Twt, what kind of mosquitoes do you have in your neck of the woods?    The kind we have here....I sometimes think if just I died the entire area mosquito population would disappear.

Interesting thought though....mosquitoes that feed on roaches.....

-rick

[Mklangelo]

I'm a farmer.  College educated.  57 years old.  Member of Audubon Society for almost 30 years (though no longer).

None, I repeat, none, of this dire stuff is going to happen.

They will figure out what is causing the Colony Collapse Disorder.

I am 60 and university educated, non farmer. The most wise I will tell that don't worry about CCD because bees will be vanished however. Green house fhenomenom continues and only ice age can stop it. First sun will burn with shining. Pole ices will be melted and all will be covered with water.
After that the water will be freezed and whole globe will be one skating field.

So, what we learned about this: start to learn new hobby, ice hokkey. Finland won USA in hockey competition with one penalty hit. You have long way to go.

How do you live: Start fishing. Bees have no future after all. During II World War Russian war prisoners teached to Finnish how to fish under ice cover. It is better to eberyone to learn that.

Everyone will have home on ice and it is easy to drill an own hole under house.
Of course some like small holes but big holes give bigger fishes.

3 pictures included

Here is your logical outcome.

[papabear]

Why can't we all just Pray that our GOD, who has taken care of everything before us and will take care after we are gone, would just take care of this. Prayer is very powerful if you have faith. I think it will all work out just fine. I have faith.

[Jerrymac]

Why can't we all just Pray that our GOD, who has taken care of everything before us and will take care after we are gone, would just take care of this. Prayer is very powerful if you have faith. I think it will all work out just fine. I have faith.

Read Revelations lately?