Market Farming

[sgilman <sgilman AT netheaven.com>]

"You're right. Probably the biggest reason pollinators are in decline, like
most declining species, is overpopulation of Homo sapiens and resultant loss
of habitat for all other species."



          Thanks for the agreement. It's not just our numbers but how we 
treat our environment. Don't we humans have the ability to live wisely on 
this planet? I hope the answer is YES.





"It would be considerable conjecture to claim that pesticides are responsible
for the decline of bees rather than the activity of parasitic mites."




From "The Forgotton Pollinators" Buchmann & Nabhan (highly recommended 
reading from a leading bee/pollinator expert and a conservation biologist):

On bee deaths:
     "What agricultural statistics do tell us is that the honeybee industry's 
ability to provide adequate pollination services has been declining for 
decades. And it is certain to decline even more in the coming years. The 
number of honeybee colonies in the United States peaked in 1947 at 5.9 
million. The postwar rise in the use of organochlorine pesticides contributed 
to a 43% decline in U.S. honeybee colonies ­­ from 5.9 million to only 4.1 
million in 1972 and only 2.6 million in 1995. Even with the switch to 
organophosphate pesticides and better management of colonies to avoid 
pesticide poisoning, the industry has never fully recovered. Although 
official statistics define "colonies" by a different criterion these days, 
3.4 million colonies is the highest annual estimate that has been recorded 
since 1947."


     Historically, tracheal mites were known in Great Britain in the 1890s 
and legislation enacted in the US in 1923. When they were "discovered" 1984 
due to an outbreak in Texas, subsequent investigation revealed they were 
already widespread around the country. The varroa mite's history is similar; 
"discovered" in 1987 in Wisconsin, only to find it widespread -- but now more 
virulent -- all around the country.
     Roger A. Morse, Cornell apiculturist in "Complete Guide to Beekeeping" 
says that bees are losing vitality and that " until recently, mites hardly 
deserved notice" and the best defense is to take precautions against all 
other diseases which can weaken bees.



"Because nature is really a process of dog-eat-dog rather than peaceful
coexistence. To suggest that parasitic mites and bees have led a peaceful
evolutionary coexistence that man has somehow upset and turned them against
each other is lunacy. Too many Disney movies. Were the bees and mites
friendly neighbors in the 1800's?"



          Dog-eat-dog is in the eye of the beholder, so is Disnification. 
These mites are symbiotic parasites of bees. It makes no evolutionary sense 
for parasites to obliterate their hosts or "win" -- the relative good health 
of the one depends on the relative good health of the other. The mites are 
generally kept in check by the bee's grooming and overall vitality.           
                   

          Where pesticides have proven effects on bees -- contact poisons can 
enter through their soft bodies and pores, through the nectar they ingest, 
the soil fumigants they breathe, the dusts and pollen they accumulate on 
their body hair -- "mites are notorious for the rapidity with which they can 
build up resistance to pesticides".(Morse) Further, herbicides are highly 
responsible for the decimation of natural, healthy habitat and food source.




"While all of this is very interesting, it really is very loose conjecture
and is not supported in research literature as an argument for the recent
decline in honeybee populations. On the other hand, we know that the
explosion of population of varroa mites and trachea mites has led to a crash
in the population of wild and commercial honeybees. Direct cause and effect.
It would be interesting to conduct research to support your contentions and
arrive at your conclusions. In the meantime, it's very important to address
the problem of mites in the honeybee population for the sake of all of us,
who depend on them for our food."


          I agree that the mites problem must be addressed directly, although 
I maintain they are symptomatic of larger imbalances (that have to be 
addressed most of all) wrought by the hand of man that conventional science 
relegates to the background where it doesn't even appear in the reductionist 
cause/effect experiments. Also, it's not a great career move for scientists 
to take on their powerful industry. However, current DNA testing technology 
now makes it possible to qualify and quantify toxins in life forms and also 
determine their sources through genetic fingerprinting. There's already 
interesting work coming out on the biocidal effects of herbicides on specific 
species of soil microorganisms, for instance.
          I think everyone on this list is looking to align our farming to 
work more positively in our own agroecological environments (ie. farms and 
market gardens) and I certainly appreciate your posts and contributions in 
this regard. However, the whole reason I entered into this discussion was to 
challenge your initial statement --

"There are two mites which have decimated the wild honeybee population; the
varroa mite and the trachea mite. Both are natural enemies of honeybees.
I've heard actual estimates of wild honeybee losses due to these two mites
as high as 95%. Crop spraying has had little to nothing to do with this
problem"

          Loose conjecture, anyone?