Actually it was reported much before last winter. I have been hearing about this for a number of years now. It just seems that this year it got a lot more face time on the news for some reason. I recently heard that they found out the reason. I do not remember exactly what it was, but I believe it was a disease of some sort.
Yes, you are correct. There has been a major problem with bees for many years. In fact, one political "leader" made it a part of his campain speech that Americans taxpayers were being abused by foolish scientific programs, such as studying bees that were dying.
The cause of the predicament is a tiny parasite called a mite. They have become a significant problem and steps have been taken to avoid contamination of healthy hives by mite infected hives.
Bees are the primary source of pollination for most of our grains and flowers in this nation. True, some plants are self-pollinating, such as corn. But the great majoriy of fruiting plants, including all fruit trees, veggies (notice the blossoms on veggie plants?), and most grains rely on bee pollinization. Agricultural bee-keeping is big buisness. Farmes of various crops purchase bees and have them transported to their areas to insure pollination. Wasps and other naturally occuring insects that eat such things as mites, and plant-attacing critters such as aphids, tomato worms, catipillars, etc., are also big buisness in this nation.
It's amazing to me that the public is so uninformed about creatures we rely on to sustain our own needs. If the bees are wiped out, then methods will have to be created to mechanically pollinize crops, be it cherry orchards, or plots of green beans.
Yes, in an effort to make our lives more comfortable, we are often sacrificing parts of nature that are required for our future survival. Persnonally, when I find a nest of honey bees, bumble bees, wasps, or hornets on my property, I let everyone know where the nests are, and protect them from my neighbors who would destroy them as nuisance insects. I only destry the nests if they pose an obvious threat, and then, I knock them down until the targeted insect decides to move its nest making operation somewhere else. I don't kill them with insect sprays. I encourage others to do the same. But you'd better knwo what you are doing when using this approach. I'm fortunate enoough not to be alergic to anything, but the stings still hurt a lot if you're careless enough to get stung. I know this far too well from numerous experiences.
Seeeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North.
Barbara
I also gathered that this has happened before; this is currently the most recent episode, and maybe the most serious. They call it colony collapse disorder.
