The Bad Buzz On the Bees

They're busily buzzing off....

A survey of bee health released Tuesday revealed a grim picture, with 36.1 percent of the nation's commercially managed hives lost since last year.

Last year's survey commissioned by the Apiary Inspectors of America found losses of about 32 percent.

This is the second year the association has measured colony deaths across the country. This means there aren't enough numbers to show a trend, but clearly bees are dying at unsustainable levels and the situation is not improving, said vanEngelsdorp, also a bee expert with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.- AP via SFGate

It also seems they, like humans, need clean air to thrive.

Air pollution impedes bees' ability to find flowers. Air pollution interferes with the ability of bees and other insects to follow the scent of flowers to their source, a new study suggests. Their findings may help explain the current pollination crisis. - WaPo

Haagen daz "hearts" honeybees. They think we all should, too.

Disappearing Bees....disappearing crops

We LOVE the little fuzzybuzzy ones. Haagen Dazs loves the little bumbly ones. Almond growers love them even more.

The almond industry, which has emerged over the last decade as one of the biggest and most profitable in California agriculture, depends on bees for pollination. And so every spring, fully 60% of the commercially kept honeybees in the United States -- more than 1 million hives -- are trucked to California's Central Valley to do their thing.

But what happens when one of the state's fastest-growing businesses depends on workers who are disappearing almost as quickly? That's what California's almond farmers are waiting to find out.

California produces almost 80% of the world's almonds, grossing more than $2 billion in 2007. The state's almond exports are more than twice the value of its wine exports.

While almonds have been growing into an agricultural powerhouse, bee populations have been dwindling. Most recently, plagued by a mysterious condition called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, honeybee colonies across the country have been vanishing, abandoning perfectly good hives. Even after two years, no one yet knows why. Theories are many, but definite answers are few.

And though the source of the disease is a mystery, its potential effects are not -- at least when it comes to almonds. Because it's this simple: Without bees, there are no nuts. - Latte Times

Not only are the bees disapearing...but their hives are too. Beehive heists are now big business for the "bad guys."

In the long, flat valley where the nation's almonds grow, bee thieves are striking hard this winter, nabbing increasingly valuable hives from farmers' fields where bees are used to pollinate blossoming nut trees.

A few weeks ago, 180 of Hall's hives were lifted over a period of days, a bit of banditry he estimates cost him nearly $70,000 in lost bees, pollination fees and honey production. - Forbes

One delicious way to help out, is to eat Ice Cream. No, really.

This month ice-cream makers go on the offensive. Häagen-Dazs is launching two new honey-themed flavors and labeling bee-dependent pints to help save the honeybee. A portion of the proceeds, up to $250,000, will go to geneticists, entomologists, and educators at the University of California at Davis and Pennsylvania State University who will research the causes of the bees’ decline, create stronger bees in the laboratory, and teach the public how to make their surroundings more bee friendly.

The two new flavors—Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream and Vanilla Honey & Granola frozen yogurt—are both delicious. The honey flavor is sharp without overwhelming the vanilla, and samples left in DISCOVER’s freezer vanished in record time. So next time you’re looking for a virtuous indulgence, think of the honeybees. - Discover

Häagen-Dazs' Help Save the Honey Bee!

Colony Collapse Disorder...BeeFuddling

"If we don't figure this out real quick, it's going to wipe out our food supply." - BBC

The honeybee is important nationally, performing 90 percent of the pollination of fruits, vegetables, and seed crops. Honeybees also are responsible nationwide for the production of some 20 million pounds of honey.

Did you know...the Honeybee is Georgia's "official State Insect."

A "honey" of a recipe

But this chain of pizza joints might have to make some changes to their recipe for success...

Beau Jo's pizza chain in Colorado is known for baking honey into the crust of its pies. They even provide extra honey on the table for diners to spread on leftover crusts for dessert. - NPR

First we start with your choice of crust. Then we apply our famous hand rolled edge to keep the abundant portions in place and provide you a built-in dessert created with honey. Next, we pour on your choice of sauces and pile it high with the finest ingredients, then finally smother your "Pie" with selected cheeses.

They go through 16 tons of honey per year. Holy Beeswax!

But the trouble is, bees are dying off in huge numbers...and no one knows why. It will have an huge impact on our country's economy and what foods will be available.

In 24 states throughout the country, beekeepers have gone through similar shocks as their bees have been disappearing inexplicably at an alarming rate, threatening not only their livelihoods but also the production of numerous crops, including California almonds, one of the nation's most profitable.

A Cornell University study has estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, mostly fruits, vegetables and nuts. "Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food," said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation.

The bee losses are ranging from 30 to 60 percent on the West Coast, with some beekeepers on the East Coast and in Texas reporting losses of more than 70 percent; beekeepers consider a loss of up to 20 percent in the off-season to be normal. - SFGate