The Bee Crisis

In search of truth, the mysterious, and bizarre. Gary rules here.
Forum rules
Civil discussion appreciated. No Spam...
User avatar
Blue Frost
SUPER VIP
SUPER VIP
Posts: 97938
Joined: May 14th, 2012, 1:01 am
Location: Yodenheim

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 142026Unread post Blue Frost »

It looks like it would be in Obamas best interest to keep it quiet on this as it's usually his Illegals that bring the stuff in. They say tourist, but they are not as i have seen quite a few like the south Americans that had it on the news recently, and a Mexican before that.


"Being alone isn't what hurts. It's when the people around you make you feel alone" ~ Naruto Uzumaki, an Anime Character
User avatar
Gary Oak
VIP Member
VIP Member
Posts: 9840
Joined: June 25th, 2012, 5:32 pm

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 142853Unread post Gary Oak »

At least Mexico can still do the right thing. If Mexico is banning Monsanto's GMO's due to the damage it is doing to their bee hives I imagine they have some solid proof that it is really harming their bees and if so then I believe that it can't be good for our bees either.


Monsanto Loses GMO Permit In Mexico

Many countries around the world have now completely banned genetically modified food and the pesticides that go with them, or at least have severe restrictions against them. Now Mexico can be added to the list!

According to The Yucatan Times, This comes after the world has experienced a massive resistance against Monsanto and other biotech giants that manufacture GMOs and pesticides.

The resistance is also a result of a multitude of studies that have emerged showing the environmental and health dangers that are associated with pesticides, as well as health dangers that could be associated with GMOs.

The most recent country in the headlines for banning Monsanto products is Mexico. A group of beekeepers was successful in stopping Monsanto from planting soybeans that are genetically modified to resist their Round-up herbicide.

Monsanto had originally received a permit to plant its GM seeds on over 250,000 hectares of land, which equates to approximately 620,000 acres. That’s a lot of land and a lot of pesticide! They were able to get the permit despite thousands of citizens, beekeepers, Greenpeace, Mayan farmers, The National Institute of Ecology and other major environmental groups protesting against it.

“A district judge in the state of Yucatán last month overturned a permit issued to Monsanto by Mexico’s agriculture ministry, Sagarpa, and environmental protection agency, Semarnat, in June 2012 that allowed commercial planting of Round-up ready Soybeans. In withdrawing the permit, the judge was convinced by the scientific evidence presented about the threats posed by GM soy crops to honey production in the Yucatán peninsula, which includes Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán states. Co-existence between honey production and GM soybeans is not possible, the judge ruled.”

Mexico is the fourth largest honey producer and fifth largest honey exporter in the world.

The pesticides ARE killing the bees, and farmers are unable to export pollen from GMO crops! If the honey is made from GMO crops, then the European market becomes unavailable due to the European ban that has been in place since 2001.

With the myriad of scientific information showing the dangers of pesticides used on GM foods and the physical disappearance of much of the bee population, isn’t it about time to reconsider what we call “food?” Isn’t it time to reconsider filling the fields with death?

It is time for American leaders to listen to the dozens of other countries that have banned GM food!

This article (Monsanto Loses GMO Permit In Mexico) was originally created and published by Counter Current News

http://wakingtimesmedia.com/monsanto-lo ... it-mexico/
User avatar
Blue Frost
SUPER VIP
SUPER VIP
Posts: 97938
Joined: May 14th, 2012, 1:01 am
Location: Yodenheim

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 142862Unread post Blue Frost »

Monsanto gets away with the stuff here because they run the FDA, and own politicians. I'm glad many countries are banning them, the proof is there for all to see, but few learn here in America.
"Being alone isn't what hurts. It's when the people around you make you feel alone" ~ Naruto Uzumaki, an Anime Character
User avatar
Gary Oak
VIP Member
VIP Member
Posts: 9840
Joined: June 25th, 2012, 5:32 pm

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 146225Unread post Gary Oak »

My bees apparently are still doing fine. I wonder which areas of Canada have had been so affected leading to the ban of this imidacloprid pesticide

After Mass Bee Die Off Canada Considers Ban on Pesticides

© Flickr/ Danny Perez PhotographyEnvironment01:09 26.11.2016(updated 01:13 26.11.2016) Get short URL3932112Health Canada has proposed a ban on the use of a neonicotinoid pesticide called imidacloprid, after learning that it contaminates waterways and harms aquatic insects.Health Canada, a federal department responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve health, released on Wednesday a draft risk-assessment for Imidacloprid for public comment. "Based on currently available information, the continued high-volume use of imidacloprid in agricultural areas is not sustainable," the assessment states. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) said the use of imidacloprid should be phased out within five years. Environmental Defense, based in Toronto, approved the proposal to ban imidacloprid, but wants it to happen more quickly. "This timeline is unnecessarily long," said Maggie MacDonald in a statement. "The federal government must accelerate the phaseout to prevent further harm to aquatic wildlife and pollinators." Imidacloprid, originally made solely by Bayer AG but now off patent, belongs to a family of neonicotinoids that are used to prevent insects from destroying crops, and has been the single most prevalent insecticide in the world. Bayer is "extremely disappointed" in the decision, said Bayer Canada vice president Derrick Rozdeba, in a statement, according to Reuters. Health Canada found that imidacloprid is "being detected frequently in Canadian surface and groundwater." In Ontario and Quebec, the agency found the chemical "frequently in surface water at levels well above concentrations that may result in toxic effects to insects." © Photo: PixabayNew Study Shows Controversial Pesticide Linked to Massive Bee Die-OffMayflies and midges affected by the chemical are vital for the ecosystem as food for fish, birds and other animals. It can also undermine soil-dwelling organisms. The insecticide has raised new concerns as a possible deadly poison impacting bee populations in North America and Europe. Neonicotinoid seed treatments were banned in Europe in 2013, to mitigate the chemical's negative effect on bees and other populations. In North America, there is no such ban. Ron Bonnett, president of Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said the future ban on the chemical may not cause problems for farmers due to the availability of other neonicotinoids. "I don't see a lot of red flags right now," he said.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/environment/201 ... dacloprid/
User avatar
Blue Frost
SUPER VIP
SUPER VIP
Posts: 97938
Joined: May 14th, 2012, 1:01 am
Location: Yodenheim

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 146233Unread post Blue Frost »

I have to wonder if this is another Al Gore Scam, he was responsible for the ban of some very good pesticide that didn't kill off the bees.
I do agree it needs banned if it is killing them, but they need something that works for the civilian market.
"Being alone isn't what hurts. It's when the people around you make you feel alone" ~ Naruto Uzumaki, an Anime Character
User avatar
Gary Oak
VIP Member
VIP Member
Posts: 9840
Joined: June 25th, 2012, 5:32 pm

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 151657Unread post Gary Oak »

I have some bee pollen at home but have been seldom having any. I imagine that regular pollen also has many of these same benefits.


9 Proven Pine Pollen Benefits – Nature’s Gift To Health

In this article I uncover 9 amazing pine pollen benefits. You just may have a pine tree right in your back yard that will allow you to enjoy this gift from Nature!

Pine tree pollen is an extremely potent plant source of androstenedione, testosterone, DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), and androsterone which gives the much needed growth to plants and animals that come in contact with it following a long winter. The pollen comes from the thinner male cones found at the end of the branches of the pine tree. (1)

Pine pollen has been utilized by Traditional Chinese Medicine and other Asian cultures for the past 3,000 years. In Asia, it is traditionally known as a Jing-enhancing herb. These types of herbs are used in cases of weakness, burnout from stress or exhaustion, sexual imbalances, or a need for rejuvenation or nourishment. (2)
Harvest Your Own Pine Pollen Powder to Reap The Benefits at No Cost

To experience the benefits of pine pollen powder, you can harvest your own quite easily. Pollen often falls for six weeks in the spring and can be stored for several years.

To harvest, place a bag over the ends of the pine tree branches and gently shake the cones to get the powder to fall into the bag. You can also collect the cones and then pour alcohol with a 35% or higher alcohol content over the cones to make a tincture. Pine pollen tincture is said to be the most effective way to get the anabolic constituents of pine tree pollen into the blood stream. The powder form of pine tree pollen makes a great food, which can be consumed in higher doses than the tincture. (1,3,4)
9 Amazing Pine Pollen Benefits

Learn about the benefits of pine pollen in the following video and property list.

Video Source: Pine Pollen, The Nutritious Adaptogen from the Pine Tree
1) Anti-inflammatory properties

Some studies reported that pine tree pollen has an anti-inflammatory effect that could benefit arthritis or other chronic inflammatory disorders. (3,5)
2) Hormone regulation for both men and women

Consuming pine pollen powder can result in: increased muscle mass, smoother and tighter skin, improved libido, tissue regeneration, improved breast health, reduced menopausal symptoms in women, testicular and prostate health in men, improvements in the excretion of excessive estrogens, and increased metabolism. (1,6)
3) Androgenic properties

Pine pollen has been show to stimulate anabolic endocrine activity. (1)

Due to the natural testosterone found in it, this powder can be an excellent supplement for body builders or athletes. It has been found to increase muscle mass, improve endurance and overall performance and comes without the side effects of synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroids. (3)
4) Nutrient dense

Pine pollen has been reported to have no toxicity over long-term use.

Warnings: Adolescents should avoid consuming pine tree pollen due to their budding hormone levels, and should naturally be avoided if there is allergic response or known allergy. (1) Please check with your natural health care physician to be sure it is appropriate for you.

Pine tree pollen contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C, D2, D3, E and Folic Acid. It is also a good source of potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, and selenium as well as over 20 amino acids. (1,6) It may heavily influence serotonin production and improve mood due to being rich in B-Vitamins and a natural source of Vitamin D3. (2)
5) Aphrodisiac

It is said that pine pollen promotes a healthy and high libido. (1)
6) Liver tonic

It is said to stimulate liver regeneration, and regulate bile secretion. (1)
7) Heart tonic

It increases cardiovascular endurance, raises blood levels of Superoxide Dismutase, and lowers Cholesterol. (1)
8) DHEA rich

Pine tree pollen is a powerful source of DHEA, which is the most abundant and important precursor hormone in the human body. Imbalance in DHEA can throw off the body’s entire hormonal production.

As we age, DHEA production in the body begins to decline, and being rich in DHEA, pine tree pollen is known as a longevity-enhancing herb.

Outside of aging, chronic stress and poor diet tend to affect the adrenal glands ability to produce DHEA. Low levels of DHEA are associated with immune conditions, low libido, depression, cognitive decline, and fat accumulation.

Optimal levels of DHEA are associated with improved mood, muscle development, fat loss, increased sex drive, and immunity. (2)
9) Mood enhancement

Being a source of testosterone, pine pollen promotes feelings of well being, uplifts mood and improves sense of will power and enthusiasm. It also contains phenylalanine which helps stimulate dopamine levels in the brain, which allows it to act as a natural antidepressant. (3)

Discover more:

Top 7 Reasons You Should Be Taking Pine Pollen Powder (Hint: it can Boost Libido)
Pine Pollen: It Could Change Your Life

Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being

http://blogs.naturalnews.com/9-proven-p ... ft-health/
User avatar
Blue Frost
SUPER VIP
SUPER VIP
Posts: 97938
Joined: May 14th, 2012, 1:01 am
Location: Yodenheim

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 151664Unread post Blue Frost »

Pine is a great tree, pine needle tea is good for you, it has vitamin C, A and Beta carotene.
I think the young pine bark you can eat also if in the woods without food, but not sure if that's correct.
Pine nuts are edible :)
"Being alone isn't what hurts. It's when the people around you make you feel alone" ~ Naruto Uzumaki, an Anime Character
User avatar
Gary Oak
VIP Member
VIP Member
Posts: 9840
Joined: June 25th, 2012, 5:32 pm

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 153971Unread post Gary Oak »

I am glad that there are entamologists keeping on top of this. I have always had a thing for bees and I loove honey. The Vancouver area lost my favourits bumblebee species which had the white on the end of it's abdomen. I hope it still exists in some areas outside of the lower mainland.

1st bee species officially placed on endangered species list

The rusty patched bumble bee has been given the dubious honor of being the first bee to make the endangered species list. The bee, which was once a prominent feature of the Midwest, has lost 90 percent of its population, giving many cause for concern.

The rusty patched bumble bee on Tuesday became the first bee in the continental US to be placed on the endangered species list by the Department of the Interior. The bee’s status was the result of a bureaucratic tug-of-war between the transfer of power from Barack Obama to President Trump.

The bee was initially proposed for the list in September 2016 after it was determined that in the past 20 years, the rusty patched bumble bee’s population has decreased over 90 percent due to disease, pesticide, climate change and habitat loss, Reuters reported.

Despite the dramatic decline in population, friction between the outgoing and incoming governments resulted in a month-long delay to add the bee to the endangered species list. The Trump administration’s need for their own review resulted in a lawsuit from the Natural Resources Defense Council that challenged the delay, according to the Washington Post.

https://www.rt.com/usa/381702-endangere ... bees-list/
User avatar
Blue Frost
SUPER VIP
SUPER VIP
Posts: 97938
Joined: May 14th, 2012, 1:01 am
Location: Yodenheim

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 153976Unread post Blue Frost »

:( I had to kill a nest of Bumble bees last year to get them off my garage, they killed several of my baby birds.
I took the houses down after the rest of the babies where gone.
"Being alone isn't what hurts. It's when the people around you make you feel alone" ~ Naruto Uzumaki, an Anime Character
User avatar
Gary Oaktree

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 153978Unread post Gary Oaktree »

that's too bad, unfortunately bumblebees can't be moved like honeybees can according to some bee pros
User avatar
Blue Frost
SUPER VIP
SUPER VIP
Posts: 97938
Joined: May 14th, 2012, 1:01 am
Location: Yodenheim

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 153979Unread post Blue Frost »

These where setting up house in an occupied nest, and the other houses around it was under attack, and each had three baby birds in them.
By the time I got it down several baby birds where dead. The fall before that I had rat snakes eat a lot of them so I decided enough was enough, and removed them all.
I hate not having my birds, but I didn't need the mess, or grief.
"Being alone isn't what hurts. It's when the people around you make you feel alone" ~ Naruto Uzumaki, an Anime Character
User avatar
Gary Oak
VIP Member
VIP Member
Posts: 9840
Joined: June 25th, 2012, 5:32 pm

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 154026Unread post Gary Oak »

I am a bird watcher too. I feel your pain.
User avatar
Gary Oak
VIP Member
VIP Member
Posts: 9840
Joined: June 25th, 2012, 5:32 pm

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 155183Unread post Gary Oak »

As I have mentioned on other posts on this thread. I wouldn't eat honey in China as it was so obvously heavily doctored up with who knows what that not only did I not know what i was putting into my body it didn't taste good and I have always loved the taste of honey. Hopefully western watchdogs will close the loopholes that the FAN QING FU MING enemies of non chinese honey launderers are using.

THE GLOBAL HONEY LAUNDERING RING
January 8th, 2011


This honey laundering business is so shocking and through all of our food that I just have to repost this article. This is really important information for anyone who is on the GAPS diet in North America. I am summarizing it very slightly so please read the whole article here:
HONEY LAUNDERING: THE SOUR SIDE OF NATURE’S GOLDEN SWEETENER
by JESSICA LEEDER — Global Food Reporter
From Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Jan. 05, 2011
As crime sagas go, a scheme rigged by a sophisticated cartel of global traders has all the right blockbuster elements: clandestine movements of illegal substances through a network of co-operatives in Asia, a German conglomerate, jet-setting executives, doctored laboratory reports, high-profile takedowns and fearful turncoats.
What makes this worldwide drama unusual, other than being regarded as part of the largest food fraud in U.S. history, is the fact that honey, nature’s benign golden sweetener, is the lucrative contraband.
What consumers don’t know is that honey doesn’t usually come straight – or pure – from the hive. Giant steel drums of honey bound for grocery store shelves and the food processors that crank out your cereal are in constant flow through the global market. Most honey comes from China, where beekeepers are notorious for keeping their bees healthy with antibiotics banned in North America because they seep into honey and contaminate it; packers there learn to mask the acrid notes of poor quality product by mixing in sugar or corn-based syrups to fake good taste.
None of this is on the label. Rarely will a jar of honey say “Made in China.” Instead, Chinese honey sold in North America is more likely to be stamped as Indonesian, Malaysian or Taiwanese, due to a growing multimillion dollar laundering system designed to keep the endless supply of cheap and often contaminated Chinese honey moving into the U.S., where tariffs have been implemented to staunch the flow and protect its own struggling industry.
Savvy honey handlers use a network of Asian countries to “wash” Chinese-origin product – with new packaging and false documents – before shipping it to the U.S. for consumption in various forms.
Fifteen people and six companies spanning from Asia to Germany and the U.S. were recently indicted in Chicago and Seattle for their roles in an $80-million gambit still playing out in the courts. That case has been billed as the largest food fraud in U.S. history. But American beekeepers, already suffering from a bee death epidemic that is killing off a third of their colonies a year, say the flow of suspect imports has not let up.
At stake is more than just a sweet industry.
Honeybees are responsible for pollinating millions of acres of agricultural crops, including fruits, vegetables, oilseeds and legumes, worth $20-billion annually in the U.S. alone. More than a quarter of the human diet hinges on those crops.
In the honey world, there are two types of countries: producers and consumers. The United States is one of the largest of the latter, consuming about 400 million pounds of honey a year. Its beekeepers can produce only half that amount leaving exporters to fill the rest. Canada produces about 65 million pounds of honey a year and ships its surplus, 20 to 30 million pounds, south of the border.
China, the world’s largest producer of honey, would seem a natural candidate to fill the gap. But Chinese honey is notorious for containing the banned antibiotic chloramphenicol, used by farmers to keep bees from falling ill. The European Union outlawed Chinese honey imports because of it.
Dilution is another issue. According to Grace Pundyk, author of The Honey Trail, Chinese manufacturers will inject a type of honey with litres of water, heat it, pass it through an ultrafine ceramic or carbon filter, and then distill it into syrup. While it eradicates impurities such as antibiotics, it also denies honey of its essence.
Ten years ago, the U.S. Department of Commerce accused the Chinese honey industry of dumping cheap product into the American market at prices well below the cost of production. Canadians also detected surprisingly low-priced product crossing its own borders.
“We saw a flurry of honey starting to come into the U.S. from countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines – that had never been exporters to the U.S. before,” said Jill Clark, vice-president of sales at Dutch Gold, a honey vendor involved in a multi-stakeholder effort to stop laundering. “All of a sudden they had millions of pounds of honey to sell, at very cheap prices.”
Australian investigators uncovered the roots of a global conspiracy when they intercepted a large consignment of “Singapore” honey bound for the U.S. in 2002.
At the time, Singapore didn’t produce honey. The shipment was traced back to China, opening the first window into a worldwide scheme in early bloom: The industry had figured out they could launder Chinese honey through neutral countries able to ship into the U.S. without paying tariffs.
A group of executives at the German food ingredients conglomerate Alfred L. Wolff GmbH (ALW) were early masters of this model, according to allegations contained in U.S. court documents. Headquartered in Hamburg, ALW has subsidiaries and affiliates around the world, including in China and Chicago. After the U.S. tariffs were levied, ALW, the largest honey importer in the U.S., began networking with Chinese honey producers and brokers desperate to unload cheap products.
In exchange for contracts with ALW, honey brokers agreed to move Chinese-origin honey to Russia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, according to court documents.
The brokers also agreed to repackage the honey and muddy its trail by using a series of shell companies to ship it to the U.S. That meant falsifying country of origin certificates and, in some cases, deliberately mislabeling honey as molasses, fructose or glucose syrup so customs officials would not notice a suspect increase in honey shipments. Brokers were told to hire specific labs that specialized in filtering the honey to remove markers (such as pollen or soil) that could be used to trace shipments back to their true origin, according to court documents that outline the U.S. government’s case.
A bonus to those in the laundering scheme, U.S. food inspectors had a more lax approach to inspecting shipments that did not appear to have a Chinese connection. Tests conducted by food inspectors are based on country-of-origin information; if Chinese roots aren’t declared on shipments, inspectors will not test for the chemicals associated with honey production in China, meaning contaminated loads are less likely to be detected or seized and can still be sold for consumption. The same is true of honey diluted with cheaper sweeteners, which is often passed off to consumers as the real thing.
Chicago sting
That was true without many exceptions until U.S. investigators got the right people talking. In May, 2008, federal agents arrested a pair of young ALW executives, Stefanie Giesselbach and Magnus von Buddenbrock, outside Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Threatened with having to take the lion’s share of the blame for ALW’s scheme, both began co-operating with investigators.
Other files obtained by U.S. investigators document how shipments of Chinese honey that one buyer had rejected for its chloramphenicol content could be sold to a Texas company ALW execs referred to as the “garbage can” for adulterated honey.
In Canada, Chinese honey is not subject to special taxes. Still, customs and border officials conducted their own “pro-active risk analysis” regarding honey laundering that did not turn up any evidence of a problem, a federal spokeswoman said in an e-mail.
While many of the executives are still at large, U.S. investigators arrested four honey brokers in the U.S. who are Chinese or Taiwanese nationals with connections to ALW. All have plead guilty; three have been sentenced to a range of jail terms and deportation proceedings are continuing. The fourth is scheduled for sentencing in Seattle this week.
A reputation soured?
Despite the arrests, the honey industry has been watching suspect import numbers climb.
They are particularly incensed by three countries that, ten years ago, exported zero honey to the U.S., according to Department of Commerce data. India, Malaysia and Indonesia are mysteriously on pace to ship 43 million kilograms of honey into the U.S. by year’s end.
“It is widely known those countries have no productive capacity to justify those quantities,” said Mr. Phipps, the honey markets expert.
He said a recent EU decision to ban honey from India over worries of lead and other contaminates – much of it widely suspected to be of Chinese origin – has only increased odds that more Chinese honey is bound for U.S. borders.
In the meantime, the industry is working to shore up honey’s reputation, which is at risk of going sour if consumers perceive the commodity as prone to adulteration. An online hub called the True Source Honey Initiative has been set up by an industry group to increase the brand value of “ethically sourced” honey. They have a Facebook page where they trumpet breaks in honey laundering cases and are planning to launch a new traceability initiative in the coming months that will eventually allow honey sellers to trace honey back to its original hive.
“This issue really is a facet of the whole global food trade,” said Ms. Pundyk, whose book The Honey Trail explores the impact of globalization on bees. “We have become accustomed to getting whatever we want whenever we want it, and there will always be someone out there keen to pander to this.”

http://chinawatchcanada.blogspot.ca/201 ... -ring.html
User avatar
Gary Oak
VIP Member
VIP Member
Posts: 9840
Joined: June 25th, 2012, 5:32 pm

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 155675Unread post Gary Oak »

I wonder if this caterpillar can be used in large enough numbers to get rid off all say the plastics in the ocean ? If they do then I wonder if the huge numbers required for returning these plastics back to nature would spill over and become an overly large plague for the worlds already struggling bees ?

This Caterpillar Can Eat Plastic Shopping Bags

In a chance discovery, a research team from Europe has learned that a common insect larva is capable of breaking down the plastic found in shopping bags and other polyethylene-based products. This trash-munching caterpillar could inspire scientists to develop a new chemical process to tackle the growing problem of plastic waste.

Beekeepers are all too familiar with the larvae of the moth Galleria Mellonella, also known as the wax moth. This daring insect has the audacity to lay its eggs inside of of bee hives, where they hatch and thrive on beeswax. But as a new study published in Current Biology shows, these caterpillars are not just capable of breaking down beeswax, they can also break down plastic—and that’s probably not a coincidence. The chemical processes are likely similar, and researchers are now excited by the prospect of developing a biotechnological approach to the plastic waste that chokes oceans, rivers, and landfills.

Like so many other scientific discoveries, this one was assisted by a bit of luck. Study co-author Federica Bertocchini of the Spanish National Research Council happens to be an amateur beekeeper. While removing the parasitic pests from the honeycombs in her beehives, she noticed that the plastic bags she used to store the caterpillars became riddled with holes in less than an hour. Like the good scientist that she is, she decided to investigate further, recruiting biochemist Paolo Bombelli from the University of Cambridge to help out.


Image: Federica Bertocchini, Paolo Bombelli, and Chris Howe
In experiments, the researchers exposed 100 caterpillars to a plastic polyethylene bag obtained at a UK supermarket. After just 40 minutes, holes began to appear in the bag, and after 12 hours the larvae had managed to reduce the amount of plastic by as much as 92 milligrams. That’s incredibly fast—even faster than the plastic-munching bacteria reported last year, which were capable of biodegrading plastic at a rate of 0.13 mg per day.

In subsequent tests, the researchers ground the caterpillars into a paste, smearing it onto the plastic. The bags degraded in a similar fashion, indicating that chemicals in the caterpillar’s body—likely in the gut—are responsible for the action. Naturally, this has the researchers excited, and they’ve already filed a patent on their discovery.

“If a single enzyme is responsible for this chemical process, its reproduction on a large scale using biotechnological methods should be achievable,” said Bombelli in a statement. “This discovery could be an important tool for helping to get rid of the polyethylene plastic waste accumulated in landfill sites and oceans.”

Indeed, plastic waste is a growing problem. Around 80 million tons of polyethylene is produced each year around the world, and it takes an inordinate amount of time—upwards of a hundred years—for this substance to degrade completely. Researchers are now looking to nature to find ways of boosting the speed at which we can degrade this stuff. In addition to bacteria, scientists have also discovered plastic-eating fungi.

Nature may have stumbled upon an answer to our plastic problem, but we still need to figure out how these creatures do it if we’re to ramp their biological processes up to an industrial scale.

“The caterpillar produces something that breaks the chemical bond, perhaps in its salivary glands or a symbiotic bacteria in its gut,” said Bombelli. “The next steps for us will be to try and identify the molecular processes in this reaction and see if we can isolate the enzyme responsible.”

Obviously, the caterpillars didn’t evolve to eat plastic. It just so happens that their wax-munching skills also work on human trash. Call it a happy accident.

http://gizmodo.com/this-caterpillar-can ... 1794608249
User avatar
Blue Frost
SUPER VIP
SUPER VIP
Posts: 97938
Joined: May 14th, 2012, 1:01 am
Location: Yodenheim

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 155678Unread post Blue Frost »

Bees ?
i read about that last week I think, pretty cool actually. Reminds me of the plants that take radiation from the ground they used in Tennessee
"Being alone isn't what hurts. It's when the people around you make you feel alone" ~ Naruto Uzumaki, an Anime Character
User avatar
Gary Oak
VIP Member
VIP Member
Posts: 9840
Joined: June 25th, 2012, 5:32 pm

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 155730Unread post Gary Oak »

I wonder if I saw any stingless bees when I was in Borneo. I was doing my bee watching there and did see some very cool ones. I doubt that these stingless bees could handle the Canadian climate though. I wonder if their honey tastes different ?

Could Tiny, Stingless Bees Save the World’s Food Supplies?

Seeking to work around the alarming global decline of the traditional honey bee, new breeds and strains of the important insect, including a native Indian stingless bee, are being introduced in attempts to maintain world crop pollination.

As traditional honey bee populations around the world continue to drop, researchers with the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), and at a honeybee research center at the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), will collaborate with Australia's Western Sydney University to introduce the Kerala stingless honey bee (Tetragonula iridipennis) as an alternative pollinator.
Bee
© Photo: Pixabay
New Study Shows Controversial Pesticide Linked to Massive Bee Die-Off

Found around the world, the stingless honey bee's Tetragonula variant, native to the southwest Indian state of Kerala, is smaller than the traditional honey bee (Apis genus) known to Westerners, and could be used as an alternative to dying traditional bee populations to pollinate crops in India and Australia.

The move comes not a moment too soon, as, according to prominent bee researcher and former KAU head S Devanesan, "The declining bee population could pose threat to global agriculture. [Colony collapse disorder] has wiped off a substantial chunk of honey bee colonies in Europe and America."

"The use of the neonicotinoid class of pesticides and effects of climate change are adversely impacting bees, which makes research on alternative pollinators relevant," he said.

According to the principal scientist at the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on honey bees and pollinators at KAU, K S Prameela, "Stingless bees have increased effectiveness as pollinators since they can enter smaller flowers. The main aim of the research here is to find out if stingless bees can be used for increased yield in fruits and vegetables in India and Australia," as reported by India Times.

The traditional honey bee, in spite of its tiny size, carries an outsize weight of responsibility, as the act of pollination carried out by the friendly little insect is responsible for an astonishing one-third of the entire food supply of Earth.

Colony collapse disorder (CCD) as a result of climate change and the widespread use of popular neonicotinoid pesticides — including products manufactured and sold by multinational agricultural giants Bayer, Syngenta and Sumitomo — have caused enormous numbers of the bees around the world to die, imperiling the world's food supply.

Currently the AICRP study has shown a 20 to 25 percent increase in cucumber and bitter gourd crop yields after stingless bees were introduced as pollinators in the region, according to KAU's Prameela.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/2017042510 ... ying-bees/
User avatar
Blue Frost
SUPER VIP
SUPER VIP
Posts: 97938
Joined: May 14th, 2012, 1:01 am
Location: Yodenheim

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 155760Unread post Blue Frost »

I'm seeing bees again since Winter seems over now, not many Honey bees though.
Wild solitary bees are what I'm seeing most.
"Being alone isn't what hurts. It's when the people around you make you feel alone" ~ Naruto Uzumaki, an Anime Character
User avatar
Gary Oak
VIP Member
VIP Member
Posts: 9840
Joined: June 25th, 2012, 5:32 pm

Re: The Bee Crisis

Post: # 155867Unread post Gary Oak »

I am seeing a lot solitary ones nesting in Kamloops now. The honey bees are out too and I have seen some bumblebee queens
User avatar
Blue Frost
SUPER VIP
SUPER VIP
Posts: 97938
Joined: May 14th, 2012, 1:01 am
Location: Yodenheim

The Bee Crisis

Post: # 155878Unread post Blue Frost »

They make nest for wild bees, I did plan on making some for them.
PVC with bamboo cuttings inside, simple :)

Image

Something better looking
Image
"Being alone isn't what hurts. It's when the people around you make you feel alone" ~ Naruto Uzumaki, an Anime Character
User avatar
Blue Frost
SUPER VIP
SUPER VIP
Posts: 97938
Joined: May 14th, 2012, 1:01 am
Location: Yodenheim

The Bee Crisis

Post: # 156571Unread post Blue Frost »

[video][/video]
"Being alone isn't what hurts. It's when the people around you make you feel alone" ~ Naruto Uzumaki, an Anime Character
Post Reply