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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Solution to dying bee colonies may be in your backyard
Posted by:
B+
()
Date: July 11, 2014 07:31AM
Solution to dying bee colonies may be in your backyard
http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/2014/07/10/backyard-beekeeping-help-dying-bee-populations/12509895/
Dying bee populations threaten $15 billion worth of U.S. produce bees pollinate annually, 1/3 of the food we eat. As scientists work to find the problem and its solution, backyard beekeepers can help.
WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- If you had 50,000 or 60,000 thousand bees swarming your backyard you'd probably call an exterminator.
Charles Wilson calls it a hobby.
"I've been stung about eight times," said Wilson, a backyard beekeeper who also serves as the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner of his Anacostia district.
"When I was a kid I used to take the easy way out a lot. When it came to the science fairs I did the volcano every year. So, I said, 'this is the perfect time for me to kind of redeem myself and have my own science project in my backyard,'" explained Wilson.
The more than 60,000 honeybees that Wilson keeps in his backyard are but a blip compared to the billions of bees that have been dying worldwide taking with them millions of colonies, referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder, in the last several years. Despite all the buzz, there are still more questions than answers.
"Honeybee populations all over the world have been dramatically declining in the last decade and no one seems to know why," said David Epstein, a senior entomologist at the USDA.
This decline is threatening $15 billion worth of U.S. produce bees pollinate each year, one-third of the food we eat.
The USDA is investing tens of millions of dollars toward studying and solving the problem.
"For about the last decade or so we've seen unusual decline in the number of colonies that survive the wintering," said Epstein.
The USDA is working with universities and organizations around the country in the hopes of identifying the problems and finding solutions.
John Burand, a professor of microbiology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, points to several contributing causes for the decline in bee colonies.
Bees are not receiving the sustenance they need, this poor nutrition makes them more susceptible to new diseases. While pollinating, bees have encountered an increased use of plant pesticides in farming practices. There are new parasites that have been introduced to bee populations in the last 25 years that are decimating bee colonies. Burand said genetics - how bees are being bred - are also to blame. Finally, habitat loss.
Wilson knows that a continued loss in the bee population is a loss for humans.
"Without the honeybee, one-third of the food that we eat would disappear - strawberries, blue berries, almonds - all that stuff actually takes the pollination of a bee," explained Wilson.
Experts hope that backyard beekeepers, like Wilson, can help keep the bees pollinating.
"Having bees in your backyard is not only fascinating but it can help also. Providing forage across the landscape for them," said Epstein.
Beekeepers can help, added Epstein, by planting pollinator friendly plants that give bees that sustenance they need.
Backyard beekeeping can also add healthy bees to the local population, subsequently strengthening the bee gene pool.
But Epstein admitted, while they're working like busy bees to save our important friends, there's no quick fix.
He said, "There are many things being done but none of it happens over night. Science doesn't work that way."
Go here to watch the news story:
http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/2014/07/10/backyard-beekeeping-help-dying-bee-populations/12509895/
Attachments:
http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/2014/07/10/backyard-beekeeping-help-dying-bee-populations/12509895/
Dying bee populations threaten $15 billion worth of U.S. produce bees pollinate annually, 1/3 of the food we eat. As scientists work to find the problem and its solution, backyard beekeepers can help.
WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- If you had 50,000 or 60,000 thousand bees swarming your backyard you'd probably call an exterminator.
Charles Wilson calls it a hobby.
"I've been stung about eight times," said Wilson, a backyard beekeeper who also serves as the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner of his Anacostia district.
"When I was a kid I used to take the easy way out a lot. When it came to the science fairs I did the volcano every year. So, I said, 'this is the perfect time for me to kind of redeem myself and have my own science project in my backyard,'" explained Wilson.
The more than 60,000 honeybees that Wilson keeps in his backyard are but a blip compared to the billions of bees that have been dying worldwide taking with them millions of colonies, referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder, in the last several years. Despite all the buzz, there are still more questions than answers.
"Honeybee populations all over the world have been dramatically declining in the last decade and no one seems to know why," said David Epstein, a senior entomologist at the USDA.
This decline is threatening $15 billion worth of U.S. produce bees pollinate each year, one-third of the food we eat.
The USDA is investing tens of millions of dollars toward studying and solving the problem.
"For about the last decade or so we've seen unusual decline in the number of colonies that survive the wintering," said Epstein.
The USDA is working with universities and organizations around the country in the hopes of identifying the problems and finding solutions.
John Burand, a professor of microbiology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, points to several contributing causes for the decline in bee colonies.
Bees are not receiving the sustenance they need, this poor nutrition makes them more susceptible to new diseases. While pollinating, bees have encountered an increased use of plant pesticides in farming practices. There are new parasites that have been introduced to bee populations in the last 25 years that are decimating bee colonies. Burand said genetics - how bees are being bred - are also to blame. Finally, habitat loss.
Wilson knows that a continued loss in the bee population is a loss for humans.
"Without the honeybee, one-third of the food that we eat would disappear - strawberries, blue berries, almonds - all that stuff actually takes the pollination of a bee," explained Wilson.
Experts hope that backyard beekeepers, like Wilson, can help keep the bees pollinating.
"Having bees in your backyard is not only fascinating but it can help also. Providing forage across the landscape for them," said Epstein.
Beekeepers can help, added Epstein, by planting pollinator friendly plants that give bees that sustenance they need.
Backyard beekeeping can also add healthy bees to the local population, subsequently strengthening the bee gene pool.
But Epstein admitted, while they're working like busy bees to save our important friends, there's no quick fix.
He said, "There are many things being done but none of it happens over night. Science doesn't work that way."
Go here to watch the news story:
http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/2014/07/10/backyard-beekeeping-help-dying-bee-populations/12509895/
Attachments:
Re: Solution to dying bee colonies may be in your backyard
Posted by:
W...T...F...?
()
Date: July 11, 2014 07:47AM
WTF is this shit, and why is it here?
Re: Solution to dying bee colonies may be in your backyard
Posted by:
Are you kdding me?
()
Date: July 11, 2014 07:57AM
Because we cannot survive without Bee's. They pollinate all the flowers, plants, etc. Our vegetables, fruit trees, etc. all depend on them. Without them, our food supply would be greatly impacted, including our area which produces fruit, vegetables, etc.
Re: Solution to dying bee colonies may be in your backyard
Posted by:
Not learning anything in school?
()
Date: July 11, 2014 07:59AM
W...T...F...? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WTF is this shit, and why is it here?
Attachments:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WTF is this shit, and why is it here?
Attachments:
Re: Solution to dying bee colonies may be in your backyard
Posted by:
HOA's
()
Date: July 11, 2014 08:53AM
I'd love to help though the fucking condo boards and HOA's would have a field day in issuing violations.
Re: Solution to dying bee colonies may be in your backyard
Posted by:
Killer Bees
()
Date: July 11, 2014 08:59AM
HOA's Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'd love to help though the fucking condo boards
> and HOA's would have a field day in issuing
> violations.
6 weeks after the HOA allowed "Backyard Beehives", local business Ron Barker, discovered that bee's do not like backyard BBQs!
Attachments:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'd love to help though the fucking condo boards
> and HOA's would have a field day in issuing
> violations.
6 weeks after the HOA allowed "Backyard Beehives", local business Ron Barker, discovered that bee's do not like backyard BBQs!
Attachments:
Re: Solution to dying bee colonies may be in your backyard
Posted by:
Bee Keeper
()
Date: July 11, 2014 01:07PM
I belong to the Beekeepers Association of Northern Virginia (BANV), here's the link below...
Beekeepers Association of Northern Virginia
http://www.beekeepersnova.org/
Beekeepers Association of Northern Virginia
http://www.beekeepersnova.org/
Re: Solution to dying bee colonies may be in your backyard
Posted by:
thatguy
()
Date: July 11, 2014 11:40PM
What flowers or plants should I have in the yard to feed the bees ?
Serious question -- going to Home Depot tomorrow...
Serious question -- going to Home Depot tomorrow...
Re: Solution to dying bee colonies may be in your backyard
Posted by:
Do Be A Bee's Pal
()
Date: July 12, 2014 07:34AM
thatguy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What flowers or plants should I have in the yard
> to feed the bees ?
>
> Serious question -- going to Home Depot tomorrow...
Serious answer. Here are a couple of pictures of what to look for if you wnat to be a bee pleezer.
-------------------------------------------------------
> What flowers or plants should I have in the yard
> to feed the bees ?
>
> Serious question -- going to Home Depot tomorrow...
Serious answer. Here are a couple of pictures of what to look for if you wnat to be a bee pleezer.