Figures From America Show Scale Of Bee Catastrophe

[Wifezilla]

Bees use honey to feed themselves over winter. Take too much honey from the hive and you have to feed them something. As already stated, they used to give them sugar water. Now they give them HFCS. So the bees are getting a substitution for a substitution.

 

[Beekissed]

Just for spits & giggles, here is a list of crops pollinated by bees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated_by_bees

In the commercial industry it is (IMO) most likely a combination of monocropping, heavy pesticide use, breeding out diversity in the gene pool, babysitting health issues for production's sake and feeding HFCS which has toxins from its production laced through it. (who posted that article...?)

The hive I got a swarm from went wild over 19 years ago when my neighbor went to a nursing home. They have survived ever since, through the varoa mite, through a decade long period of hive collapse in Mississippi, through tornados, a solid month & half last spring of rain, followed by baking heat, followed by another month of rain with NO human involvement.

Another flag to me that says "Quit screwing with nature, it can take care of itself!"

Amen, sister!!! I believe that modern methods of agriculture is a contributing factor but I also believe that modern methods of bee management may be equally at fault. It seems like everytime man alters a creature's natural rhythms, environment, food source for the sake of increased production bad things happen. When will we learn?