Disappearing Bees

Einstein once said that if bees disappeared we too would disappear in a few years. Unfortunately, bees are dying off in alarming numbers here in the United States and elsewhere.

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Der Spiegel: Are GM Crops Killing Bees?

"... Since last November, the US has seen a decline in bee populations so dramatic that it eclipses all previous incidences of mass mortality. Beekeepers on the east coast of the United States complain that they have lost more than 70 percent of their stock since late last year, while the west coast has seen a decline of up to 60 percent."

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New Scientist: Where have all the bees gone?

"It is a vanishing on the scale of entire cities. Late in 2006, commercial beekeepers in Florida began noticing alarming numbers of their bees had gone missing. Bustling colonies, tens of thousands strong, were emptying in a matter of days. Systematic searches for dead bees around the colonies mostly drew a blank.

"Bustling honeybee colonies, tens of thousands strong, were emptying in only a matter of days"

"Imagine waking one morning to find 80 per cent of the people in your community are just gone," says May Berenbaum of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

(ht: Vision! Nary?)