Monday, July 14, 2014

National Geographic: Raising Wild Bees Profile


"insect wedding photography"
 

8 comments:

Amartel said...

Time saver
Cool old hippy sez: There's no census of bees so no objective proof of bee population decrease BUT large bee population decrease can be deduced because of human settlement. Takes sexy bee photos.

Note: written on computer frame: "I like big bees and I cannot lie."

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

The problem with bee collapse is more genetic diversity than anything else. Bee keepers kept ordering mail order queens and those queens are susceptible to mites. I have spoken with bee keepers who solved the problem by breeding queens and hives that are resistant to mites.

So while Nat Geo can't miss a chance to promote climate change/global warming, that is not the issue here. The issue, like most disease issues, is species adapt to disease and resist it. Lack of genetic diversity is what you need to avoid.

Or to use a Game of Thrones analogy, You don't want a queen like Cersei. You want a queen who has had plenty of partners (of course that can be a problem too depending on the partners).

Amartel said...

Yah, I canceled NatGeo subscription years ago since I object to reading and funding propaganda. Plus, it's just past it's expiration date as a concept. It is interesting to watch how they couch the message. Here's this cool old hippy livin' the hippy dream in his hippy house. Gettin' back to nature. Twangin' away expertly on the old mouth harp. Sad that he has to admit there's no evidence of bee population decrease given there's no bee census. He dreams of being in sort-of charge of hundreds of college kids on break from Occupy, going around the country knocking on hives, eliciting vital information from the inhabitants, "how many bees live in this hive?", needed by the government in order to apportion services and funding. And filling out the forms incorrectly. He has to settle for deducing the conclusion he wants. Hey, just like the actual US census does it!

Chip Ahoy said...

I have no problem with hippies, Percy, just sanctimonious judgemental Canutes who presume to instruct all humanity how to live.

At least be consistent Mr. Mowedbackyard.

I especially did like the hippy who raised free range chickens. He built up quite a business, well respected, took well care of his birds, provide them a good chicken life. He said, "Until their unhappy day" when he wrings their little necks and cashes in. There was no teaching apparent, just explaining what he does, and how and why, because he was asked to explain himself.

This is the best bee .gif in the whole world.

USGS Bee inventory hundreds of high resolution photos.

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

That is the best bee GIF evah. I am not sure when I will use it, but I am totally going to use it, it is made out of awesome...awesome bees.

Amartel said...

The gif that keeps on giffing

ken in tx said...

I have had two hives collapse on me, and I currently do not have any active hives. However, let me point this out. Honey bees are not native to the Americas, therefore they are not essential to growing food crops native to America. That includes corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, yams, potatoes, and many others. IOW, the honey bee problem is not a crisis of civilization, as some would have you believe.

deborah said...

Good to know, ken, thanks.