View Full Version : The Last Bee Keeper on TV tonight
SwedeBee1970
09-12-2009, 01:36 PM
Planet Green is presenting a show tonight called "The last bee keeper", at 8pm central time. I believe it's channel 194 if you got it. Might be an interesting show....
I cought the last 45 mins of the show, seemed more like a doc of the people and their lives than a doc of CDD !
RAlex
09-12-2009, 09:07 PM
The documentary didnt spend much time discussing the details involved with shipping bees to CA. They didnt put up a lot of information about the importation of packages or the possible exposure to viruses as a result, except a few lines on the screen. We as beekeepers can relate to the problems on a smaller scale then these people. They could have mentioned the inspection at the CA state lines and possible quarenteening of bees.
There so much more that I am not aware of being a hobbyist. I would hope that as resarch improves that they will refocus on CCD more The program will generate a lot of discussion among beeks and others...Rick
hpm08161947
09-12-2009, 09:09 PM
Still pretty interesting though. From watching that you would think that most commercial beeks were on the verge of bankruptcy...... well - maybe they are??
Nice eye-candy but not anything informative and more than a bit
hysterical.
BigDru
09-12-2009, 10:26 PM
Matt Hutchens is acutally active in the bee community here in the columbia basin. Does a good job teaching others. In talking with him about this documentry, his concern was that the film makers didn't spend more time getting to know the beekeepers.
EastSideBuzz
09-12-2009, 10:39 PM
They could have mentioned the inspection at the CA state lines and possible quarenteening of bees.
My wife got stopped at the border a couple weeks ago because of her bird. They made her turn around and would not let her in to CA with the bird. They will let drugs and illegals across the border but, not little birds.:scratch:
I thought it spent way too much time on the personal details of the beeks and not enough on the CCD facts. Plus the text subs were so tiny as to be unreadable. For the time they did spend with the beeks I found little sympathy for them given the kind of stress their commercial operations put on their bees.
Boycott almonds is my reaction to the whole thing frankly.
bhfury
09-12-2009, 10:44 PM
They will let drugs and illegals across the border but, not little birds.:scratch:
"they" don't let them across the border..."they" just don't have the manpower or technology to catch everything.:rolleyes:
bhfury
09-12-2009, 10:46 PM
OK from BigDru comments I'm figuring Matt is still in the business and Nicole has either gotten out or getting out. Any word on Charles?
EastSideBuzz
09-12-2009, 11:32 PM
It is on at 1am PST on Channel 286 tonight. on PLGNHD. But, it is also on the non HD channel at the same time. I will tivo it and watch it tomorrow.
rmdial
09-13-2009, 12:38 AM
Matt is a great guy. Very straight forward talker and will help any way he can. I see him at our local Beek associations meetings and he always provides some info that helps me. Some of the old timers don't take kindly to his ideas but from what I see he has changed some techniques and is doing quite well. This is not to say I don't have enormous respect for the "oldtimers", but there is room for new and differing views. If we don't like or agree with another opinion, we don't have to follow it.
Soapy
SwedeBee1970
09-13-2009, 06:09 AM
My 2 cents worth:
My wife calls me at 7:30pm last night to tell me the show was already started. Thanks wife for the misinformation ! I seen the last 1 hour and must say it was pretty depressing and not factual except for the data. Sounds like something going on out west. I believe the bees will make a remarkable comeback as soon as something is found about CCD.
This is an interesting find on CCD my friend and mentor mentioned a few days ago. Read what he has to say.
A friend sent me a newspaper clipping concerning researchers at the University of Illinois. The researchers say that the ribosome of the honeybee is compromised when it is attacked by viruses. "If your ribosome is compromised then you can't respond to pesticides, you can't respond to fungal infections or bacteria or inadequate nutrition because the ribosome is central to the survival of any organism. You need proteins to survive." This just could be the answer to CCD.
The technical term was RNA structure that is affecting their DNA. Read up on it in a search engine.
Michael Palmer
09-13-2009, 06:22 AM
"If your ribosome is compromised then you can't respond to pesticides, you can't respond to fungal infections or bacteria or inadequate nutrition because the ribosome is central to the survival of any organism. You need proteins to survive." This just could be the answer to CCD.
An interesting discovery, to be sure. But, I have to ask. Why are the various viruses able to take over so many colonies? I still think it comes down to Varroa control.
devdog108
09-13-2009, 07:40 AM
"An interesting discovery, to be sure. But, I have to ask. Why are the various viruses able to take over so many colonies? I still think it comes down to Varroa control. "
You have to ask yourself the even more easier question....how people die from the flu each year? We know what causes the flu and how its passed and yet we still, as a race, are kinda stupid when it comes to doing anything about it. We just put up with it and work around it and pretend that when we use hand sanitizer, it actually makes a difference for longer than 10 minutes....BUT, for the most part, a lot of people have a built in immunity to it. I know I do and I dont get it but every once and a while, that means every 4-6 years....
Difference being.....the bees have no choice....
This is nothing but my opinion and should be ignored if at all possible...LOL
SwedeBee1970
09-13-2009, 09:14 AM
Good points.
Since the CCD seems to be western oriented it would make me think beyond the usual viruses, mites and other ailments. What if it's not any of those ?
While pondering on the idea, I felt that the answers may be in the air quality & water & possibly human interaction. Since 1986 the varroa mite was "Accidentally" introduced to the USA just like the Japanese beetle many decades before that. These beetles and mites carry all kinds of diseases. My fruit trees are loaded with black spot and the leaves are falling off. The bees don't seem to have a problem with mites yet. I'm counting on my Russian variety to carry on the tradition of being resistant to these pests. More to the point, populations are growing faster than the blades of grass in my lawn. Knowing this, more natural habitat is reduced to accommodate housing. Water quality is reduced and polluted by Grub-X and other spray chemicals thus hampering the bees immune systems further. Air quality is related to city environments, traffic, & most of all, lack of plants that flower.
I strongly believe that everything said has a great affect on CCD. Go GREEN. Now more than ever I'm looking for products that are GREEN or organic solutions to my yard care needs. Lately I've found a product called GreenCure fungicide & disease control. I'll let you know how this works on my tree leaves, however I had to do an internet search to see if it'll affect bees. It does not say on the labeling or warnings. Usually if it says "Toxic to fish", it's bad for bees. Further research indicates that its totally safe for bees and the main ingredients are a form of baking powder and antacid. As long as you don't spray the bees, you're good. Another product that's bee safe is wettable sulfur. It does the same as the GreenCure except it kills a few bugs and adds the sulfur micro nutrient to the soil, and it's 3 bucks a bag.
Josh Carmack
09-13-2009, 09:56 AM
"they" don't let them across the border..."they" just don't have the manpower or technology to catch everything.:rolleyes:
Ithink the sentiment is they are spending money and resorces to stop a pet bird from coming across the border and not on more important things.
The problem is, both are equally important, look at the damage the SHB has done, if it could have only been caught coming into FL
loggermike
09-13-2009, 10:07 AM
Gotta agree with MP on this:Varroa is the root of all evil (or so it seems sometimes:)).
I hope someone puts the video on youtube(for those of us who dont own a tv).
Here is a short video that sums up some of the problems we are dealing with
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=6749837
SwedeBee1970
09-13-2009, 10:22 AM
Interesting video. More problems with the hive beetle now. APHIS needs their heads examined !
RAlex
09-14-2009, 09:10 PM
If a colony goes into the almonds very strong and comes out weaker. I would tend to think that the pollen from almonds arent the best food source coupled with exposure to other colonies with heavy mite loads? Do the guys who pollenate also ship their bees to better food sources after the almonds ? I have heard that blueberry isnt not a good food source for bees ,as a result it takes more colonies to effect pollenation. I have a non migratory beek friend that think he has to outbreed the mites be virture of making splits in the spring to maintain his numbers. We have talked about the life expectancy of a hive being shorter now than in past years. Could it be from breeding queens that are genectly inferior? If I had the answers I would share them .Good Luck to them (pollenators ) and us ....Rick
Michael Palmer
09-15-2009, 06:05 AM
[QUOTE=devdog108;462860 You have to ask yourself the even more easier question....how people die from the flu each year? We know what causes the flu and how its passed and yet we still, as a race, are kinda stupid when it comes to doing anything about it. [/QUOTE]
Maybe the Flu virus is a bad comparison. Perhaps AIDS would be better. People don't die from AIDS. They die from problems caused by AIDS damaging their immune system. That's what happens to bees. These viruses are handled by our bees. Then comes along Varroa. Damaged immune systems. DWV, KBV, IAPV, and others win the battle. The bees colonies collapse.
Control the mites, and you reduce the number of colonies crashing from viruses. From reports I've received, even the bee operation that started the CCD thing are now surviving...he's using a product that controls his mites. No more CCD.
Have colonies crashed from viruses before Varroa? Of course. But, nothing like after Varroa.