A Video of Honeybees Dying- July 10th, 2012

Here’s a video of bees dying possibly from pesticide exposure.  They were an enormous 10.4 lb swarm equaling approximately 50,000 bees that I hived four days ago. At this point several hundred bees are dead in front of the hive with their tongues sticking out- and since their wings aren’t detached and in a ‘K’ shape we know they aren’t dying from tracheal mites. They tumble down a plywood gangplank I put up to study the dying and keep track of the dead. Certainly they are disoriented at the hive entrance; very little pollen is coming in and they seem to have trouble finding the entrance as there is no one scent fanning or defending it. My guess is they were exposed before they arrived. Perhaps the roses I found them clustered on had been sprayed? We haven’t had this trouble before at our location.  A most mournful sound emanates from the hive, like keening. That’s the hardest part-witnessing the sad song of sick bees.  If I never see again another chemical applicator, row upon row of harsh-smelling chemicals in the garden sections of the big box stores I’d be one happy woman, and so would the bees- because they’d be alive to appreciate one more beautiful flower. I find bees who have died of natural causes on occasion in my gardens, perched on the flowers. Wings flown to shreds, thoraxes rubbed hairless by thousands of trips to the hive. That’s how they go, in the face of a flower, on one last trip working to make life sweeter and infinitely more beautiful. Nothing like the torture in this video.  I hope you’ll join me in some way, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant in protecting the land and its creatures, the bees, and us.

Posted on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012 at 1:00 pm. Filed under: Blog Tags: Honeybees Dying, Honeybees dying from chemicals, honeybees dying from herbicides., Honeybees dying from Neonicitinoids, honeybees dying from pesticides RSS 2.0 feed.