Latest News
11th July 2008
Praise Bee
Bees disappearing in America are a sign from God that the world is ending, say some Christians.
The concern about what is causing Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in the United States has led to a number of theories, but some Christians believe they know the answer.
Idaho-based Andre says: “World wide famine is predicted near the end of this world as we know it just before Jesus returns.
“We can ignore the Bible, but God has never forgotten his promises of judgment to come. The disappearing bees are leading to God's judgments by his design.”
Linda, who calls herself the Carpenter’s Daughter, has posted a video on YouTube warning about the repercussions of the bees’ disappearance: "Jesus spoke of famines occuring before He comes back. I believe the disappearing bee is just one of the symptoms that will cause these famines."
Scientists in America are still unable to explain CCD, although recent studies have shown that a virus known as Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) to be present in 96% of hives suffering from CCD.
Linda thinks that science, while helpful, will not get to the bottom of CCD: “Science gives us a glimpse of what God did and how some things work. Science doesn't have all the answers, of course. Be ready and you won't be sorry.”
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4th July 2008
Millions of bees shut down Canada ’s biggest highway
12million honey bees caused chaos on Canada ’s busiest road after a lorry transporting them overturned.
The 7,800km highway was completely closed while bee experts worked to return the bees to 576 hives.
The lorry was transporting the bees back to Ontario from the province of New Brunswick , which has a shortage of honey bees. The bees were being used to pollinate blueberry crops.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman Derek Strong said: “Trying to unload 12 million agitated bees out of the back of a truck would not be a good situation.”
Those allergic to bee stings were urged to stay away from the nearby town of St. Leonard . “We're recommending they leave town for a couple of hours,” said Strong.
"You certainly don't want to go walking through a field of disoriented, agitated and wet honey bees," said vice-president of the New Brunswick Beekeepers Association Richard Duplain.
Most of the bees were captured, but 100,000 either died or were not returned to the hives.
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27th June 2008
MPs demand money to save bees
MPs are calling for a dramatic increase in funding for bee health.
The calls come during National Insect Week. Concerned MPs are urging the government to improve its funding into bee health research. The current figure is £200,000 per year.
Minister Rob Marris claims the government is not responding to the current decline in the bee population. He says that unless funding for wildlife affected by climate change is made available, “bees may be one of the overlooked casualties of the climate change that we are experiencing.”
The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) has petitioned the government for extra funding for research into bee health (See Research and Funding for more). They are asking the government to spend £8m over five years on research, but Mr Marris says that this figure is too low: “The BBKA’s suggested figure of £8 million over five years is incredibly modest - that is no criticism of the BBKA.
“It is not a ridiculous amount such as politicians often come across when people suggest amounts because they believe passionately in a pet project. It is a sensible amount and, if anything, is low.”
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20th June 2008
Mobile radiation not killing bees
Scientists have denied that radiation from mobile phone towers is the reason behind the mysterious disappearance of the honey bee.
Newspaper reports based on a study by German scientists claimed that bees were dying as they were unable to navigate home because of radiation from mobile phone towers.
The radiation in the test did affect the honey bees’ ability to find their hive, but the study was actually performed using a cordless phone hub placed inside the hive and did not use mobile phones.
Michael Schacker, author of A Spring Without Bees, says that the test was unrealistic and did not represent mobile phone tower radiation, which would be at far smaller levels of concentration: "There simply isn't enough power to affect the bees. The science is simply not there to back up such a theory.
“Even today [...] most people still think cell phone tower radiation is confusing the bees and making them lose their way home...It's not the cell phones."
Bee scientists around the world are desperate to solve the mystery of the disappearing honey bees – known as Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. Entire colonies of bees leave the hive, with only the queen and her un- hatched young left behind.
Research continues, but the scientists who conducted the experiment admitted that it was an unlikely cause of CCD. Head of the study Dr Jochen Kuhn says: "Our studies cannot indicate that electromagnetic radiation is the cause of CCD."
