Honeybee Decline

Posted by John Blatchford Apr 12, 2007

Personally I don’t think this is more worrying than any of the other species of invertebrate that are reaching ‘endangered’ status. But the whole phenomenon is very serious indeed!

Most people are unaware of the extent of this impending disaster, and beekeepers might well become the saviours of the situation. Globally there must be millions of people who tend honeybees, and they have vast experience of what is ‘normal’ for a hive. I know that it is obvious when a hive ‘dies’, but it is the observation of what precedes this that might well turn out to be crucial. Beekeepers watch their bees (I did when I had a couple of hives) – and I have a feeling that these observations might lead to a better understanding of Colony Collapse Disorder.

I was talking to an old man yesterday (here in South-West France) who has kept bees for over sixty years. He gave up last year and destroyed his hives because ‘the bees have gone stupid and just wander about aimlessly’ – after several years of poor honey yield he had had enough. He blames the ‘produits’ used with the sunflowers. His theory is that the ‘low-grade’ toxicity of these chemicals affects the behaviour of bees. We do well to listen to the experience of ‘peasants’ in Europe – they have absorbed the lessons learnt by many previous generations!

So – what are we to do? I think the first thing is to gather as much information as we can from the people who keep bees. There are many – well qualified – entomologists who are actively researching the problem. But ? How many of them have actually kept bees? We need the anecdotes and observations of beekeepers to be added to this scientific investigation.

I have started a discussion on Suite101, not for my own aggradisement but so it can provide a forum. We certainly need to do something, and (although I am an ‘academic’ myself) I think we need to hear from the people who have worked with bees for years. Maybe someone ‘out there’ will pick this up and co-ordinate the information? (The article this blog refers to is called 'Colony Collapse Disorder').

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