Honeybees, Knitting and Light Pollution... separate entries follow:
DISCLAIMER: A list of sources consulted prior to preparation of this speech appears at the end of the document. The speech-writer is not an expert in the field of entomology, agriculture or biology. Opinions expressed within the speech are solely the opinion of the speech-writer and should not be used as a basis of fact or decision for any reader thereof. Facts and figures presented within the speech were obtained from documents and publications listed in the sources section of this document..
NO BUZZZZZZZZZZZ?!?!?!?!
Speech Prepared by Melissa King Stansbery
For Toastmaster’s Club Presentation
Competent Communicator Track
Project #4 – “How to Say It”
April 11, 2007
Imagine a world without honey,
Spring gardens and backyards SILENT
Void of the pleasant, monotonous drone of tiny winged creatures, nervously dancing from bloom to bloom, dancing the merengue of life,
lulling nappers swinging in hammocks to soft summer slumber…
terrifying toddlers, trembling and screaming from stings born of innocent curiosity.…
Imagine a summer with no cherries, no apples, no pears, no almonds….a world where our food choices are severely limited.
Is this Fiction? Or a real-life episode of CSI playing out all across America?
What’s Happening?
Beekeepers in 24 States across America report an alarming mystery. Colonies of bees which seem healthy days earlier, are abandoning their hives. Millions of the insects are reported lost, vanished, nowhere to be found.
Unsure what is causing this alarming development; scientists are naming the phenomena Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD.
Honeybees have been threatened over the years by various parasites and maladies; however, the characteristics of Colony Collapse Disorder have never been observed before.
Honeybees are essential for the pollination of over 90 fruit and vegetable crops worldwide. The economic worth of the honeybee is valued at more that $14.6 billion in the U.S. alone.
The current Honey bee population is less than ½ of the size of 25 years ago
Reports over the last few months of losses from individual beekeepers are staggering.
1 lost 11,000 of his 13,000 colonies,
Another lost 700 of 900 colonies
Another lost 2500 of 3500 colonies
Another lost virtually all of his 10,000 colobies
What are the Symptoms?
Reports say that the colony looks healthy and a few days later, the hive looks empty. There are capped broods which under normal circumstances would be tended by worker bees. There are no mature adults in the hive. Many times the Queen remains. There are no dead bodies at the entrance of the hive.
And what is particularly peculiar is that in what is a considered“normal” hive demise there seem to be no opportunistic insects entering and stealing honey, using the combs. With other diseases and infestations, wax worms and other insects quickly enter the hive.
In all of the CCD situations insects are eerily staying away, which might indicate contamination of some sort.
The few remaining bees dying within the colony are found to overwhelmingly be suffering from a variety of common maladies, but most markedly suffering from severe Fungal overgrowth which indicates suppressed immune response.
Scientists have found undigested pollen crystals in the digestive tract, which is unusual, as well.
Possible Causes (?)
Pesticides(?) – particularly newly introduced Nicotine based insecticides.
Genetically Modified Crops(?)
Viral or bacterial infection or a pathogen not yet identified(?)
Possible Cost to Farmers/Beekeepers/consumers
Cost to farmers short term might be a 50% increase in the cost of pollination.
Cost for some beekeepers is the loss of an entire livelihood, or devastating change in lifestyle
Cost for consumers, short-term might be higher food prices and potentially loss of food sources.
What can You do to help?
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, helpless and do nothing because of the difficulty of the situation. What can you and I do when bees are disappearing faster than the experts can learn the cause? It might seem hopeless, but there are a few suggestions:
Don’t use pesticides. Learn about natural and alternative methods of controlling pests with natural predators and deterrents in your lawn and garden.
Learn about and lobby against the use of Genetically Modified Crops before extensive, sustained, long-term testing of the effects on the entire food chain are determined.
Demand enforcement of restrictions to segregate Genetically Modified Crops and prevent cross pollination to native species.
Plant Native Plants and flowers which attract and sustain native bee populations.
Hopefully, we will all experience the joy of honey on hot buttered biscuits fresh from the oven, and ripe sweet cherries, crunchy almonds and crisp tart apple pies, followed by naps serenaded by our honeybee friends in our backyards and parks for countless Springs, Summers and generations to come.
Additional Notes and Sources:
“In addition to agricultural crops, honey bees also pollinate many native plants in the ecosystem. Populations of honey bees are in jeopardy due to the 1988 introduction of varroa mites, recognized previously as a major threat to bee colonies in the US.. Increased deaths in bee colonies with unique symptoms (termed Colony collapse Disorder) seriously threaten the ability of the bee industry to meet the diverse pollination needs of fruit and vegetable producers across the US. The same symptoms have been reported across 24 states.. In Pennsylvania, beekeepers have regularly inspected colonies for disease and have kept records since 1930.”
DISCLAIMER: The following sources were consulted prior to preparation of this speech. The speech-writer is not an expert in the field of entomology, agriculture or biology. Opinions expressed within the speech are solely the opinion of the speech-writer and should not be used as a basis of fact or decision for any reader thereof. Facts and figures presented within the speech were obtained from the sources below.
Sources Section:
“Prepared Testimony of Diana Cox-Foster, Professor Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and organic Agriculture on Colony Collapse Disorder in Honey Bee Colonies in the United States, March 29, 2007”.
“Bee keepers hope to find answers for ailment killing the insects”, By Genaro C. Armas, Associated press Writer, March 17, 2007
American Beekeeping Federation News - http://abfnet.org/news/honey-bee-die-off-alarms-beekeepers-crop-gro..
“Summary of Research on the Non-Target Effects of BT Corn Pollen on Honeybees”, by Galen P. Dively, Professor and Pest management Specialist, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
“Fall Dwindle Disease: Investigation into the causes of sudden and alarming colony losses experienced by beekeepers in the fall of 2006. Preliminary Report: First Revision”, by Dennis vanEngelsdorp, Diana Cox Foster, Maryann Frazier, Nancy Ostiguy, Jerry hayes, December 15, 2006, Revised January 5th, 2006.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyID=191246
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder
http://www.bumblebee.org/helpbees.htm
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/bees_honey_gm_crops.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4621184.stm
http://www.mercola.com/2007/mar/22/ar-gm-crops-killing-honeybees.htm
http://www.baynature.com/2003janmarch/bees_2003janmarch.html
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3446
http://www.ento.vt.edu/Fruitfiles/bees.html
http://nature.berkeley.edu/urbanbeegardens/list.html
http://english.pravda.ru/print/world/americas/88467-honey_bees-()
Also of interest:
http://www.aginfo.psu.edu/newsletter/2007/AgSciNewsMar07.pdf
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