Hi there,
I've been reading abit more about bees today.
The asian fungus
Nosema ceranae has been tentatively linked to
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a phenomenon reported primarily from the United States, since fall of 2006.
However, according to this, there is doubt that the fungus is the cause of CCD:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosema_ceranae
This article from last week, reports similar problems occuring in Germany.
"The problem, says Haefeker, has a number of causes, one being the varroa mite, introduced from Asia, and another is the widespread practice in agriculture of spraying wildflowers with herbicides and practicing monoculture. Another possible cause, according to Haefeker, is the controversial and growing use of genetic engineering in agriculture."
In isolated cases, says Hederer, declines of up to 80 percent have been reported. He speculates that "
a particular toxin, some agent with which we are not familiar," is killing the bees.
the bees' death is accompanied by a set of
symptoms "which does not seem to match anything in the literature."
The scientists are also surprised that bees and other insects usually leave the abandoned hives untouched. Nearby bee populations or parasites would normally raid the honey and pollen stores of colonies that have died for other reasons, such as excessive winter cold. "
This suggests that there is something toxic in the colony itself which is repelling them,"
A gene from a soil bacterium had been inserted into the corn that enabled the plant to produce an agent that is toxic to insect pests....
The bacterial toxin in the genetically modified corn may have "altered the surface of the bee's intestines, sufficiently weakening the bees to allow the parasites to gain entry -- or perhaps it was the other way around. We don't know."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/...473166,00.html
jo xxx