2w ago

‘Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US honeybees

www.theguardian.com

science @lemmy.world

Davriellelouna @lemmy.world

2w ago

‘Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US honeybees

www.theguardian.com /environment/2025/jul/08/record-us-bee-colony-dieoffs-climate-stress-pesticides-silent-spring-aoe

49 comments

Those who understand ecology on a level that doesn't have cheap commodities as a prerequisite understand there's a straightforward solution to this. Restore natural pollinator habitat (fuck your lawn) and stop treating them like slaves.
- I bought 5 pounds of clover seed this spring and spread it through my lawn... and it's amazing. I plan on getting 20 pounds this fall and doing the rest of my lawn, and probably going to get some creeping red thyme for my fence rows.
  
  Wild ginger is a great ground cover, too. Stays short naturally, feels good to step on, doesn't need much water.
- How does that fix a virus spread by parasitic mites?
  
  Well we could stop dousing our planet in poison just for weed free and pest free grass, for starters. I know it's not as bad as what we use on farm crops, but every little bit counts. The bees are stressed and dying because of that stress.
  
  There are diverse pollinators that are native. These honeybees are not native to the Americas. Having a spread of native species do the job should be more resistant to these kinds of infestations.
  
  I believe it would lead to fewer chances for the mites to migrate between colonies - i.e. more flowers == less bees per flower == less chance for a mite to jump from a bee to a flower to a bee/different hive.
  That's just a guess tho and my gut also says that climate change isn't helping.
  
  Did you read the article? Freeing the slaves gives them the capacity to recover.
  Dave Goulson, professor of biology at the University of Sussex, says the study provided no evidence that the viral load was higher in weaker colonies. “Almost all bee colonies have these viruses, but they only do significant harm when the colony is stressed.”
- Lawns aren't the problem, it is agriculture. Now the problem is affordable food vs the environment.
  
  Lawns aren't the problem but they are a problem
- Our entire yard is a garden.
  1/4 acre of fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, local flowers, shrubs, grasses, a lot of vegetables, a greenhouse, chickens, a small swamp. It's gone from a grey clay death zone to a deep beautiful rich soil and an area that is teeming with life and food for all the life it supports. It is regenerative and balanced. To offset our agriculture practices we keep 250 acres of old growth forest under our care and protection. Permaculture, Korean natural farming, modern and traditional farming and environmental knowledge all play a part in what we have accomplished.
  It wasn't easy to get here. We aren't rich and we never will be. Just know it is possible. Before we lived in our little paradise we converted a regular city lot to the same type of setup.
  
  I'd love to be able to do this.
Scientists have been scrambling to discover what happened; now the culprits are emerging. A research paper published by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), though not yet peer-reviewed, has found nearly all colonies had contracted a bee virus spread by parasitic mites that appear to have developed resistance to the main chemicals used to control them.
Varroa mites spreading disease.
- Adee says: “We had mites for 20 years, and we never had over 3% losses.” He believes there is a “combination of things” that makes the bees more stressed and the mites more deadly.
  He cites the use of neonicotinoid insecticides in the US, which harm bees’ nervous system, paralysing and ultimately killing them. Some researchers have warned of neonicotinoids causing another “silent spring”, referring to Rachel Carson’s 1962 book on the effects of the insecticide DDT on bird populations.
  Dave Goulson, professor of biology at the University of Sussex, says the study provided no evidence that the viral load was higher in weaker colonies. “Almost all bee colonies have these viruses, but they only do significant harm when the colony is stressed.”
Capitalism, fucking up the ecosystems since 18th century
- In case anybody was wondering, the honeybee declines in China and Europe are also substantial and worrisome. I haven't heard about Africa but I think it's safe to assume when there's missing data for a global problem that it's affecting them, too.
'Could' is doing a whole lot of heavy lifting there.
- I think it's accurate. The article points out that Varroa Mites have become resistant to all known chemical pesticides used to control them previously. So if A) Bees develope resistance tot he virus spread by the Mites or B) humans develop new mite control solutions, then there won't be a death spiral.
Even the honeybees don't want to be here anymore
Hello, goodbye, t'was nice to know you
How I find myself without you
That I'll never know - Honeybee
I let myself go
Are they just farmed European honeybees or our natives dying off too?
- Yes and no. It's complicated.
  
  I know :(.
  And even non natives are pollinating
  It's just bad
- Yes.
Fits perfectly. Fruit that does not grow does not need to be harvested by non-existing farm workers.
- The image's caption:
  Bret Adee, one of the largest US beekeepers, has 55,000 hives used to pollinate crops. As monoculture farming spreads, bees have to be moved across the country, especially for almonds, blueberries and cherries. He lost 75% of his bees over the past year. Photograph: K Brinson/New York Times/Redux/eyevine
  A quick Google search reveals that his operation, Adee Honey Farms, is in South Dakota. here's another article on this subject with a different photograph of the same place. Their web page doesn't have many photos of the field in question, but there's a couple.
  This is not an AI image.
  
  This is what large scale pollination companies do. They haul in tons of hives around various crops and let them do their thing for a while and then pack up and move to the next one. Basically these bees are like sailors going port to port, spreading all of their goodness around.

49 comments