Opinion piece written by Mark Winston

I call the piece a pile of manure. We have had bees killed by insecticide, and lost 90 percent to CCD. The difference is pretty obvious. The test? All new bees in all new equipment. What a difference. So for our situation, the piece is bunk. He does not know what real CCD is.

Crazy Roland

great article. only problem is I don't see things changing anytime soon. unfortunately I believe we will lose the bees before we lose the chemicals.

I don't know whats goin on up there in Canada but here in MN we have had way to much rain. to many cold windy days. there is little to no honey in the hives. basswoods are in full bloom. state and counties are mowing the ditches as fast as they can. things are looking hopeless. If we get anything resembling a crop its going to be a miracle. 90s this coming week. its now or never.

Roland said:

I call the piece a pile of manure.

Click to expand...

Ya some of it, but he is right about the synergy between the bees, chemicals and disease.

"Honeybee collapse ..."? What is that? Is that what is commonly called CCD? If so, why did he change the name? The bees aren't collapsing. If anything is collapsing it's the colonies.

"We can best meet our own needs if we maintain a balance with nature — a balance that is as important to our health and prosperity as it is to the bees."

How are we going to do that? It is not enough to raise the flag. Note a problem and bring a solution. What is the solution? No simple answers need Posting. Simple answers are no answer to complex questions.

"Recently, my laboratory at Simon Fraser University conducted a study on farms that produce canola oil that illustrated the profound value of wild bees. We discovered that crop yields, and thus profits, are maximized if considerable acreages of cropland are left uncultivated to support wild pollinators."

I don't buy into this at all. Land is very expensive, to leave some land to grow "wild" to support native pollinators costs money. If this even where the case, that farmer would be buying pollination services from beekeepers to provide that pollination need instead of leaving the land un farmed, many of the crops grown over our vast country side don't require insect pollination. Perhaps he is talking vegetable farmers? in which case they would buy in pollination.

Rolland is right this is an internet headline article that kind of sites "facts" that do not add up. the articles dollar values listed are nuts. mnbeekeeper do not forget temperatures at night in the mid to upper 40. it has been more than 30 years since I recall such a cool july. but wait if it happened in the 1970, how can I write an article suggesting a panic over new severe climate change?

i emailed the author challenging some of his assertions. No reply yet.