Dying Honey Bee Theories! {15} Years Old... Still Good As Gold!

“We humans try hard to control what we remember... but only GOD can control what HE forgets.” a. green prophet.

In July of 2007, this green prophet saw an article in the July 2007 issue of Readers Digest titled... "Backyard Bee-keeper". After only reading the article once, this green prophet formulated a few of his own theories as to why bees are dying from a question he asked himself leading to a never before considered anomaly. It is now 2022... and even though this green prophets theories of dying bees are 15 years old... they are still as good as gold! Here are some more things... all of you folks might just find interesting.

Green-tings fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings!

Who I am, is not important, but rather what I am and what I am is a. green prophet. Notice I said a. green prophet and not "The Green Prophet". A true prophet would never brag about it. Why? Because there is nothing to brag about! He or she does not control what he or she knows; a prophet just somehow knows. It is not what a prophet knows that is so remarkable, although it can be. It is how he or she knows; because for this... there really is no logical explanation. And what this green prophet believes that you should know this time... is why he believes... Honey Bees are dying.

"Something is wrong out there!" "It didn't used to be like this!" These are quotes from David Mendes; a commercial beekeeper near Fort Myers, Florida. Mr. Mendes is also a former president of The American Beekeeping Federation. Mr. Mendes is right on both counts. There is something wrong out there... and it didn't used to be like this.

No matter where you live, in a Philadelphia brick row house; the sprawling suburbs of Houston; a skyline apartment in Seattle or New York... or anywhere else in the United States of America; you depend, more than most of you know, on honey bees! According to Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences, one in every three bites of food we eat comes from a plant or depends on a plant that was pollinated by... in most cases, honey bees.

Unfortunately, honey bees have been dying off in alarming numbers for several years now; while scientists have been struggling to determine why. This phenomenon has been taking place for at least... 15 years now. In 2009, almost 29% of the honey bee colonies in the United States collapsed. This was the observation of scientists surveying commercial beekeepers and brokers. That is slightly less than the 36% that died off in 2008 and the 32% that perished in 2007. An informal survey's presumption; that was (somewhat) recently completed is that the die off continues. About that, this green prophet knows... the scientists have been and continue to be correct. The die off of the bees continues!

Fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; like honey methodically moving down the trunk of a tree, trouble in the fields trickles down; resulting in higher prices at the checkout counter. Of course, in order to survive, beekeepers, farmers, wholesalers and retailers must pass on their losses to the consumer. Why?

You see fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; in the spring as the weather gets warmer, David Mendes has been traditionally trucking his honey bee hives from Florida to Maine in order to pollinate plants for blueberry farmers. Later, he would transport his honey bees to Massachusetts for the start of the cranberry season. Instead, Mr. Mendes is having to spend this time trying to raise more bees to make up for the ones he has lost. Mr. Mendes says, his hives do bounce back! But it is a lot of hard work. Mr. Mendes has been buying commercial nutrients to keep help his honey bee hives healthy.

This is an expense he has to pass on to us at the checkout counter by way of a price hike in honey. Those of us who really love honey in our tea, on biscuits and over waffles and this green prophets personal favorite... on a firm multi-grain toasted English muffin over melted crunchy peanut... have seen this price hike big time!

Yes fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; from almonds and apples to soybeans and strawberries and everything else edible A to Z; as well as the products derived from animals that feed on other pollinated plants like clover and alfalfa; all may be a little more expensive; year after year! If... the shortage of honeybees needed to pollinate our countries fruit and nut trees, vines, and countless other plants is not stopped! What about the floral industry? Hmmm, let’s not even... go there!

So what is going on? Is it a virus or fungus? Is it pesticides or parasites? Is it ultra-sonic waves or ultra-violet rays? Some researchers even investigated the electromagnetic radiation coming from cell phones and towers, wondering if the signals were somehow disorienting the bees. But it is just one more in a long list of theories, for the most part... this green prophet believes... are off the mark.

So then; what is the real answer or... what are the real answers? Could it be... a combination of catastrophes... killing off the Honey Bees? This is what this green prophet does it seems no one else doe... from Einstein's quote! The gift; as he called it. Quote:

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination. The intuitive mind is a sacred gift; and a rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness; call it intuition or what you will; the solution simply comes; you don't know how or why." Albert Einstein

The answers origins may be the same as the last great sheep epidemic of Australia. Some years ago; scientists in Australia were awarded grants to discover why their rich rancher’s sheep were becoming sick and diseased. Perhaps it was because the scientists were urged by the sheep ranchers in the direction of looking for a super bug, a powerhouse parasite, which caused it to take those researchers so long to discover the real answer.

As it turns out; in a way, it was mans greed that made the sheep sick and diseased; human greed and nothing more. You see fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; although it is said that sheep are not too terribly bright; it turns out they are smart enough to know what to eat in order to stay healthy.

Unfortunately, in an attempt to fatten them up for an even greater profit; the ranchers plowed under the vegetation that grew naturally and planted what this green prophet likes to call... (cotton candy grass). This was grass that the sheep which later became sick and diseased were crazy about... but grass that does nothing to ward off parasites. It seems although they are not as fond of the naturally growing grasses, the sheep knew they needed to eat them to keep the parasites at bay. Yes; perhaps if it had not been for the insistence of looking for a super parasite, by the rancher’s association, those scientists were being paid by... they would have found the real problem sooner!

Like the "sheep problem" perhaps the "bee problem" could have been solved sooner if the scientists were not being pulled by the commercial bee keepers and other interests to explore so many different... singular theories. In July of 2007, this green prophet read an article in of all periodicals... "Reader's Digest" which first provided his hypotheses. As the years have gone by since, there is nothing that has transpired to alter his belief or put a damper on his theories. His theories of dying Honey Bees {15{ years old... are still good as gold!

As with the sheep, history may be the most important consideration when contemplating why bees are dying. Actually; that statement is where the problem begins. In point of fact fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; not all honey bees are dying! Do you recall these statements from earlier in this segment?

Quote: ”This phenomenon has been taking place for at least nine years. In 2009, almost 29% of the honeybee colonies in the United States collapsed. This was the observation of scientists surveying commercial beekeepers and brokers. That is slightly less than the 36% that died off in 2008 and the 32% that perished in 2007. An informal survey that was recently completed presumption is that the die off continues.” Unquote. Do you see it fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wing? The scientists were only surveying commercial beekeepers and brokers!

Ergo, it has only been proven true that commercial bees are dying! One need only spend some time watching Animal Planet and A&E to realize this. Like all bees, honey bees left to themselves... can do very well. That is why exterminators have to be called out; in some cases to remove a wild hive from where it is not welcome, but in most cases even in 2022... because it is cheaper and easier... to destroy it!

So AOC... engage your brain for a change! Never mind (B) as in bovine and the millions of jobs to (be) lost from the 10's of thousands of related businesses closed and hundreds of billions in revenue to (be) removed from the U. S. Economy! Cancel your idiotic idea of ridding our country of cows... and pass a law protecting Honey (Bees)! Do something useful for the people you pretend to represent. For now; focus on flowers and food... not farts! No more Honey Bees will kill us much faster... than an excess of cow crap!

In around April of 2011, there was a story in Texas that some super honey bee hives which had existed for approximately 17 years on a college campus in Texas... were going to be removed. Which was probably political speak for destroyed! Yes; fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; political paranoia killed the colossal colonies that could have given way to some serious answers! Why were those bees so successful? What conditions contributed to these hives incredible longevity? Could their results be duplicated? What could have been learned by preserving and studying samples? Just a few questions that due to what can only be called sensational shortsightedness... will never be answered! Stupid truly is as stupid does! Also, those who do not learn from history deemed undesirable, are doomed to repeat it.

So then fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; let us learn from the history we know! We know that according to the data left to us by the scientists surveying commercial beekeepers and brokers, that things began to change for commercial or kept bees for the worse, about... {15} years ago. Why? What changed? Logic dictates that as with the sheep something very deliberate was changed about {15} years ago! Or maybe... it was only noticed {15}! Either way, there has to have been a very deliberate change that has brought about this most undesirable result! In more scientific terms; What brought about this equal and opposite reaction? Figure out what that was; or what those were... and you have the cause; and with truly knowing the cause; then we can truly come to a or the cure.

Believe it or not fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; all of this is in keeping with this green prophets original theories. That is... it is because of the greed of man... that honey bees are dying! To be more specific; it is because of presumed progress and the technology of the supposed support systems of the commercial beekeeping industry. In short, the beekeepers of the world were given a sales pitch! It was slick and smooth; and cool and shiny; and they bought all of it! Fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; it is an anomaly! It is the one clearly visible difference between wild honey bees and kept honeybees!!!

Do you see it yet? If not, then this green prophet will reveal it to you; but first a story.

Some years ago; this green prophet saw a program on PBS called "Nova Science-Now" and learned something about Honey-Bees never known before that these very resourceful researchers... Tom Seeley and company; have discovered. This scientist deserves to receive some recognition for his discovery in this segment. It is on Appledore Island, the largest of the Isles of Shoals, off the coast of Maine; which has no trees, that Tom Seeley chose to conduct his research. It is because Appledore Island has no trees, that Tom’s experiment was possible!

He and his assistants made two make-shift potential homes for a hive of honeybees that had out grown their current make-shift home and desperately needed to find a new one. He deliberately made one of the new honeybee hives potential new homes with more suitable space and a smaller entrance; while the other one was the exact opposite; with an entrance too large and living space too small.

Like Goldilocks these golden nectar makers preferred just right! He set up the potential new homes for the hive on opposite sides of the island and designated them with paint as blue and yellow. Thank GOD he did not use blue and red right? Hahaha! Now with the help of his research assistants... all there was to do was wait and watch. When the first scouts showed up, after they had finished gathering their Intel... they were captured with a net and marked with a corresponding colored dot; blue or yellow. What transpired next was what amounts to an honest, fair and intelligent election for the collective good of the hive. Guess what? Collectively... those Honey-bees made the right decision! They chose the best possible new home!

It was nothing like the sophomoric-ally stupid spectacle that took place during the 2016 Presidential Election! Then there was The TwiLiGhT Zone Like... theft of Presidential Election of 2020! Which has lead to our current BiZzArO World Administration! The one that pretty much made this green prophet ashamed to be a citizen of the USA! The sickening and sinister sci-fi-like show seen by so many during the Trump verses Ole geriatric Joe "the Joke" Biden Election was 3rd World like! The Main Stream Media were apparently paid off to pretend... it never happened... and the people's eventual overall response... was like... "The Emperor's New Clothes!! Yes, fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; it seems we could learn much from the communal wild honeybees election, voting and decision making process. Ha-Ha-Ha! We really need... to learn from bees! Hahahhhh! Wait! That's not funny!

Now this green prophet will reveal the anomaly; which is very often where the answer begins to any such puzzle. The wild honeybee hives and queens always, always, always... choose their own homes! Whereas, kept honeybee hives and queens homes, have always been chosen for them! As a result; wild honeybee hives can still thrive... while kept hives... do not! At least, not anymore! They used to though! Didn’t they? Never forget my fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; while we do all enjoy and even depend upon high tech; “Low Tech Rules”!

Along those lines... here is another strong suggestion: There should be no more chemical strips used to ward off mites. Go "Old School" and use old fashion grease patties mixed with wintergreen, peppermint, spearmint or eucalyptus oil instead. Why? Ever read the warnings attached to those chemical strips? If they are so toxic and dangerous to humans, and they are... How good can they be for the honey-bees? This green prophets contention is that this is at least part of the reason for the honey-bees possibly becoming disoriented.

So then beekeepers of the world; to change the result you are now getting, you need only go back to what you know did work! You need only look at your long successful beekeeping history and return to it! After all; while you may be able to argue with this green prophet... you cannot argue with the honey-bees! Hahaha!

There is still one last theory this green prophet has concerning why he believes all honey-bees may be dying in addition to the theories about the kept honey-bees. This theory has to do with how worker bees receive their orders... Pheromones. The worker bees that are sent out are given (an order) "Fill your stirrups.. and return"! That's it! No Option! Now for centuries... this was a seemingly simple task. It did not matter that it was a pheromone induced imperative. It was a task to be repeated... by each honey bee possibly many times a day. But do to unadulterated ignorance, stupidity and greed... All Honey Bees... run the risk of failure to fill their stirrups! Why? Gee... let's see! There Are Not Enough Flowers!!! This green prophet has taken the time to observe many honey bees in the last [15) years and this is what he has seen... no one else has noticed. The honey-bees he has seen he believes are... in "Panic Mode"! These honey-bees abdomens are pulsating like crazy! These honey-bees are moving erratically! They cannot find flowers so they are looking in trash cans for fuel to keep going! Why? So they can fulfill their mission and return to the hive! They crawl across the sidewalks! Why? They do not have the fuel to fly!

Fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; think about it! These honey-bees have been given chemical orders that for the first time in their lives they are failing to fulfill! They cannot go back to the hive and tell the hive! Why? Because "Failure is (Not) an Option!! So they must continue to try... until they die! Meanwhile, the hive must continue to send out more worker bees with the same orders... that cannot be completed! Because of Us!!!

So in summery; Bee keepers of the U.S. of A. and the rest of the world who are in trouble... One; go old school on the housing of your bees. Two; do the same in your choice of parasitic deterrents. Three; do not expect your bees to find all of the pollen they need on their own! Plant wildflowers; even daisies, dandelions and clover on a patch of land away from your home that is not being used for anything else. If you do not have such a property... barter a deal with a neighbor for honey! Say... a jar or two a month year round! Depending upon the size of the jar... this green prophet would take that deal... in a heartbeat! MM-MM!

A very good definition of a weed is this: "A wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in direct competition with the cultivated plants that are desirable to you... but not to the honey-bees!!" Unfortunately; apart from flowering trees... what is desirable for you to have in your yards are (not) of any interest to honey-bees! Remember this... honey-bees love wild flowers or weeds! They are what fuels them to stay out long enough to fill their pollen quota and chiefly how wild honeybees make their wild honey!! Bees need weeds!!!

Honey Bees are much like ants. When ants leave the nest there is only one rule... fulfill your mission! When a honey-bee leaves the hive... odds are her mission is to (fill) the stirrups in her hind legs with pollen! She is programmed through chemical pheromones not to return before this task or mission is completed!

When this green prophet was a child... our backyard was covered in big bright yellow healthy dandelions the size of a Kennedy half dollar! Our yard looked like a giant yellow polka-dot bikini! Hahaha! The stirrups on those honey-bees were so full... as the honey-bees left the flowers... seemed to fly in slow motion! Now there can be thousands of bees in a single hive all leaving the hive with the same mission; not to come back... until their stirrups are (Packed Full)!

Here is a question that apart from this green prophet; was not being asked {15} years ago! Actually until very recently... it was not being asked at all! What happens to the honey-bees that cannot find the pollen needed to fulfill their mission? Duh! They drop dead! So then they disappear... never to be seen again! Fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; this will be repeated here until it finally sinks in! "The simple truth is... the truth is always simple!!! As a society... the USA hates weeds! A yard with no wild flowers whatsoever is the goal! Right? Fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; it is not enough that we do not allow bee food in our yards... empty unpaved lots for sale are routinely mowed as well. As usual... Woke idiot Millennials led by twits like AOC; want to have their gluten free cake... and eat it too! Fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; this is a physical impossibility!!! Is it because they do not care? No! Don't think so! They are just "Clueless!!

An Addendum: As you should recall... this green prophet previously stated that in 2009, almost 29% of the honeybee colonies in the United States collapsed. This was the observation of scientists surveying commercial beekeepers and brokers. Now according to a study on the History Channel entitled... Seven New Signs of the Apocalypse; an absolutely alarming 42% of all kept bees died in 2015! Remember, this prophets first draft was written mid-way through... 2007!

Another Addendum: The latest up-date found that for the entire year... April 1, 2018 to April 1, 2019; is that the managed honey-bee population decreased by 40.7%, according to the report. The overall average now is higher than when the study first began back in 2006! Truly scary America!

This is from {15} years ago: Now fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; this green prophet is going to do something that possibly has never been done before; at least not on purpose. This green prophet is going to give away a good original and patent-able idea! This is an idea that if brought to fruition, can and will benefit mankind. Earlier in this Post... you heard about David Mendes; and about what he used to do when his honey-bee hives were strong enough and healthy enough. He would take them to Maine to pollinate blueberries. Later, he would transport his honey-bees to Massachusetts for the start of the cranberry season.

What if this incredible inconvenience and expense to the grove owners was unnecessary? Perhaps through your expertise and imagination this vision given to this green prophet; will become reality through you! This green prophet calls this vision... “The Bee Tree”. It is a tree trunk like structure made specifically to be irresistible to honeybees and their queen for the start of a new hive. They would be about 20 feet in length and maybe 2 feet in diameter at the base as about 4 to 5 feet of the bee tree would be underground.

There would be two openings one lower about 10 feet from the ground and the other one maybe 2 or 3 feet higher and on the same side of the structure. There would be a horseshoe like curved awning over both openings for privacy and protection from adverse weather; in addition to galvanized chicken wire or some such screening over about 95 percent of both openings to keep out predators, leaving 5 percent open so the bees have no obstructions to taking flight. It should also be electrically grounded somehow. The bee tree would be located on the far outskirts of whatever kind of a grove it was planted in to pollinate... farthest away from civilization in case the bees become Africanized.

What the outside of the bee tree is made of is negotiable, but the inside must be natural wood in its natural state. The natural vapor from the wood will either kill or keep the Varro mites and other such parasites at bay just like it always has. Remember... what this green prophet said earlier; wild honey-bees and their queen know how to find a suitable home to create a new hive. All you have to do is manufacture a "Bee Tree" that would be to their specifications and it will be literally irresistible to them. Just as was true on Appledore Island!

To do so; your company will need to employ a master carpenter and a bee expert to idealize the "Bee Tree" design. When an orchard owner then buys a "Bee Tree" and places it where specified; he or she then goes to a commercial beekeeper or broker to buy a hive to be placed into it. There could be a pheromone pre- placed at the optimum spot in the bee tree to start building as well as a starter section of the new honeycomb. V-Vwalla!! Problem solved and everybody wins! So; to those American companies compatible looking to expand and bee-t the competition; make a bee-line to de-sign... The Bee Tree! If you do and your grateful for the idea... Give 5 percent monthly to Folds of Honor and 5 percent monthly to Wounded Warrior Project... and we'll call it even.

However; since simple is always best; perhaps a better design would be something similar to that of the purple martins houses on a long pole. That kind of design would not only come in cheaper to manufacture but also to sell; and when the bees have out grown it... a replacement hive could be set up far enough away from the first one so that you could harvest the honey from the old home; as honey never spoils. Fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; being able to eventually harvest the honey... is of course, this green prophets favorite feature. Hahaha!

Note: Be sure that your "Bee Tree" is not the tallest object in your orchard so it will be less likely to be a target for lightening. Perhaps insurance could be purchased... just in case.

And now... A Green Thing: If you have a field or plot of land sitting dormant and it is going to continue to be that way for a while; then plant some indigenous wild flowers for the wild honey bees. In addition; you should also mix some milkweed plant seeds in with the wild flowers for the monarch butterflies, which are also great pollinators.

The Monarch butterflies numbers are falling off because of the reduction of milkweed. This is due primarily to real-estate over development... and the fact milkweed is poisonous and otherwise undesirable as foliage. To improve this beautiful and remarkable creature’s numbers simply plant patches of the milkweed! It could hardly be simpler! The remarkable Monarchs will remember... and come back again and again! Remember fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; milkweed is the Monarch butterfly caterpillar's only food source! That is likely a major reason that these glorious, gorgeous and powerful pollinators numbers are falling off.

Until next time my fellow Green-Lings and Green-Wings; Bee C-eeing you. Hahaha!

This is a. green prophet wishing all of you and yours... green profit. ; -)

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