It occurs to me that I might not have mentioned on the blog that I keep bees. Or, rather, I used to keep bees. I quick peek into the hive this weekend rapidly turned into a mass funeral for the few hundred bees that remained in my backyard apiary. I'm not sure yet, but I think they froze to death, and maybe the mysterious honey bee disease that we've been hearing about this year had something to do with my small scale extinction event.
If you
look closely at the picture, you can spot a few of the girls (they're all females) upside down, or with their feet sticking up. And of course the big black blob in the top right is a pile of dead bees. So now I have some investigating to do, and another package of bees to order.
Stupid cold winter...
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A quick internet search will show you that this has been happening around the country this year. The cause is still yet unknown, but I have seen it reported in a number of science and news outlets.
Good luck!
As a follow-up, there was recently a piece on Talk of the Nation’s Science Friday regarding the vast disappearance of bees this year. http://www.sciencefriday.com
Hi Lou, thanks for the comments and the link. I’m going to check out that radio show this afternoon. I’m still trying to investigate whether this bee disease struck or if my girls just starved/froze.
And since you’re a new commenter, I’d love to know what brings you around these parts?
hi i am 11 and i am thinking of getting some bees. I am not shaw if i shood i am from a farming back ground with land and woodlaland i no someone with bees meany thanks.
thanks will strivens
plese wright back