North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Toni Pralle" <toni.pralle@gmail.com>]

I mentioned to a net friend that I still haven't seen any bees here. She sent an article by a person in a different group she belongs to. I've asked Vickie's permission to post it here and invited her to join.

 

>Vicky wrote:

My take on the bee problem is this. I don't think it is as simple as
saying it is just cell phone towers, or GM crops. I think it is a lot of
things put together.

I can only go by my own experiences at the moment, but I do think the
Verola mites are a BIG issue. As you know antibiotics in humans has
developed strains of viruses and bacteria that have learned to resist
being killed. Even the smallest organism somehow learns survival skills
mutates, adapts..

Unfortunately we do not do that as quickly as some other things. I think
the larger the species, the longer it takes to mutate, and change to be
able to survive what would have killed before.

I know from bitter experience that if the mites are not tended to on a
weekly basis, they can take over a hive, and drive the bees nuts, and
kill and maim them. Just imagine if you will a dog with many fleas and
ticks all over. They go nuts digging and scratching trying to get away
form their tormentors. A dog will chew its own skin off to get rid of
itching tormenting fleas and ticks.

Humans??What do we do when assalted by mosquitoes, and no seeums?? Run
indoors, spray deet, and all kinds of other techniques to get rid of the
torment of biting insects.

We slather on all kinds of stuff to remove the itchies and welts, and
scratch through our tv at night and have sleepless nights digging away
and scratching, or listening to that ONE mosquito that is dive bombing
your ear at the exact moment you are about to knod off to sleep.

Well, if you are a Large colony of bees, and
they have an intelligence of their own.. AND your hive is infested with
pestiside resistant mites, which are like having thousands of tiny ticks
and mosquitoes sucking the life out of each bee, and the babies. I think
I might pack up and leave as a group also. They might have made a queen
and all just took off. That would account for the old queen still in the
hive along with unborn babies.

The disappearing act just doesn't make sense to me. IN a hive there is a
pecking order. Queen..Then she has her assistants who groom, feed, and
care for her.

There are the babies who when they first hatch become hive cleaners.
Then nurses for new laid eggs and larva.

Eventually they become guards, then as they mature get to leave the hive
and forage, until their wings wear out and they die in mid air trying to
get home with their last drop of nectar or pollen. I have seen a bee
land with nothing left but thin gosmier strings of her wings left trying
to get home.

IT is a sad but noble thing to see, the dedication of one hive all
working together to one cause. Survival of the ALL. IF humans had an
ounce of a honey bees dedication to survival, we would not be in the
mess we now find ourselves in. IN the human world, the mites have also
won..Just envision who would be the blood sucking mites????

IF the foragers got lost and couldn't find their way home because of
cell towers,,The rest of the hive would still have the queen, her
attendants, nurses, hatching babies, hive cleaners, and guards, ALL of
whom do not leave the hive for any reason other than to pee, poop, and
get a spot of air out side. They do not fly off, unless the whole hive
plans to move off someplace. They would in turn speed up the process and
send out the guards to forge. The nurses would not be mature enough to
do that so they would stay.

That leaves poison..GM plants with pestisides in the flowers would kill
the bees usually BEFORE they got back to the hive. Unless some of the
poison makes it to the hive and wipes out the rest of the bees, in which
case their would be BEES dead in the hive. All the nurses, hive
cleaners, pollen packers, air and heat beaters who control the
atmosphere inside the hive to keep babies and queen comfortable.
They would all be dead from poison, in a big heap inside all the hives.
In the case of disappearing hives, Everyone is gone, no dead bodies at
all. IF the forgers died before getting to the hive, then the queen
would make more babies, the nurses and hive cleaners would eventually
starve to death from lack of food, and again, dead bees would be inside
the hives.

In the case of the entire hive being GONE, no dead bodies, etc. This
tells me that the whole hive packed up and left for parts unknown, and
without a bee keeper on hand to make sure the mites are kept under
control, they would die out there.

The honey bee has become so dependant on a bee keeper that there are NO
wild bees left to speak of. Except the African killer bees, who might in
the end, be the only bees we have left if this continues.

Unless the bee can find a way to adapt, mutate, and resist the mites..OR
someone makes a honey bee with something akin to Advantage or Frontline
in the bee where when the mite bit the bee it would become A. Dead. or B
steril and unable to reproduce....The bees are in big trouble.

I use mineral oil mixed with honey, bees wax, and an assortment of
essential oils to keep them healthy.

I have 0 mite problems as long as every 2-3 weeks I get into the hive
and replace those strips with newly soaked ones. OR resoak the old ones
which usually are Covered with tiny microscopic dead mites.

They drown on contact with the mineral oil..It is not a chemical, so
they cannot get resistant to it. I do not have chemicals in my honey so
it will probably be better than someones who has all the mite strips in
there..Winters and springs.

How much pestiside gets into the honey??? I would wager a lot. Makes me
look at store bought honey a lot like I look at store produce brought in
from other countries, and even our own. With very questionable (do I
really want to eat that?? )

Do I absolutely KNOW where the bees are going?? NO. But I do know mine
are still here and coming home every night. IF after all my
ministrations of the mites, my bees begin to disappear?? Then I will be
wondering if they are all being vaccumed up and shipped to some planet
they are trying to colonize for the future survival of the rich and
elite. OR GM, or Cell tower signals.

I live in an area where on the top of a small mountain a few miles away
there are 4 massive cell towers. The next town over has 2 massive towers
right next to the turnpike. And I am not sure what is to the right of
me, I hate to actually dig and look. My bees are still here and making
it back home. I have gone and taken care o f them with my cell phone in
my pocket and they come home while I am there.

However with all that signal blasting from the top of that mountain, I
am sure if it was just Cell tower signals and radiation my bees would be
amongst the casualties, and they are not.

Neither is the organic bee keeper in canada who wrote about her organic
method of making smaller bees, which I am not entirely sure what that is
going to do. Mites dont care if a bee is big or small..But she might
have something there I am not understanding.

I don't get much of a cell phone signal at this house either though
because of a huge granite hill directly across the street which does a
lot of blocking.

I am of course just as worried and concerned as the rest of everyone out
there. I will not be able to replace all the dead bees with my one and a
half hive in my back yard. I will be very happy if they do the job on my
garden, survive and multiply until I have 4 hives. So that is my
thoughts on the honey bee problem.. Bottom line in my mind is MITES have
learned to survive.

Now, about the Dawnspromise Cream. In winter I use Any of the 4 scents I
make. I use it summer, winter, all the time. I like mint on my hands
because of my arthrits, and I think the mint helps. I also like the
smell of mint.

I am in the process of trying to develop an organic bug repellant with
my cream..IT would resist sun..(my cream also is a sun screen..Very high
in Vit C, and Vit C protects against the UV rays)

And keep the bugs at bay. Much like the formula I make for the mits on
my bees, I figure I can make a much thinner and lighter mix to keep away
the mosquitoes and ticks. I will go hiking soon with my skin slathered
in my first test run to see how it does.

I don't like Deet, or other chemicals on my skin..The skin absorbes ALL
substances good bad and ugly into your blood and through out your body.
IF deet is so toxic, why would you want it on your skin??? AND then they
say mosquitoes can carry this that and the other thing so don't get
bit...So rub a bit more deet into your new born, and toddler, and you so
you can get sick. ????

I got grand children and one is allergic to mosquito bites so I want to
make something she can use with out worring about chemicals on her skin.

I like the lime cause it is very refreshing and doesn't smell all girly.
I like lavender on my face at night to sooth my mind and face. And I
like the lemon to help fade those ugly brown spots here there and on
hands.

Hope that gives you some answers, and I hope I was of help. I am not a
BEE expert, but I have been at it for 15 years and have lost many hives
to various nasties, some neglect, bad weather, even starving when there
was a hive full of honey. They are a mysterious creature to be sure.

Vickie


--
Toni in zone 4 Iowa USA
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