Practical solutions for people + planet
Colony Collapse Disorder, this morning in my backyard
And I thought that the great bee emergency was reserved for commercial beekeepers and the good folks in Baden-Württemburg...
This morning -- right now -- my bees are dying by the thousands in great heaps under the hive in my Albuquerque backyard.
The worst part? There's absolutely nothing I can do.
Perhaps the City sprayed yesterday for mosquitoes that follow our annual monsoon season. Perhaps a neighbor went pesticide crazy. I've no idea.
All I can do right now is ease their discomfort as they twitch and writhe. Maybe remove the bottom board so the few remaining bees can move freely between the comb without being encumbered by thousands of their dead sisters.
I'm disheartened right now. For my bees. For our world.
This morning -- right now -- my bees are dying by the thousands in great heaps under the hive in my Albuquerque backyard.
The worst part? There's absolutely nothing I can do.
Perhaps the City sprayed yesterday for mosquitoes that follow our annual monsoon season. Perhaps a neighbor went pesticide crazy. I've no idea.
All I can do right now is ease their discomfort as they twitch and writhe. Maybe remove the bottom board so the few remaining bees can move freely between the comb without being encumbered by thousands of their dead sisters.
I'm disheartened right now. For my bees. For our world.
Tags: bees, colony collapse, honeybees
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Miss Maia on -
Oh Chantal! This is terrible! I just finished reading "The Secret Life of Bees" this morning before I came to work . . .
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Permalink Reply by Chantal on -
Thanks, you two. It's the worst. I'm so distraught. My 5yr old nieces from Chicago were so excited to see the bees this weekend on their first visit to Albuquerque. Now they're planning a bee funeral ;-(
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Permalink Reply by Afriendof B on -
Chantal,
Devastating! Made me want to weep for your loss, and the very scary loss to the world that is raging around the globe. E.O. Wilson is often quoted talking about how ants don't need us but we need them and don't even know it. How much more so with bees. I don't think most people can even remotely understand what the loss of pollinators will do to life as we know it.
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Permalink Reply by Jacquelyn Williams on -
I am so sorry to hear this. And because you are not sure of the cause it could really be the pesticides. The life of bees is so important to the pollenization of all plants and I believe that I mentioned once before that I had read that in one country huge amounts of bees were dying and there was concern by the residents about the future of their crops. The bees seems extremely sensitive to chemicals and pollutants. It is too bad that humans have to create poisons on so many levels!
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Permalink Reply by jack-of-all-thumbs on -
So, so sorry. I am not the best steward of my bees but I do try to ensure that the world outside does not intrude, keeping them from their vital task.
From my limited knowledge, I would guess that this is not CCD, but perhaps pesticide poisoning as you suspect.
Hopefully they can recover.
Take good care.
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Permalink Reply by teogr on
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Hi Chantal,
I'm so sorry to hear this - I know how dedicated you were as a good bee-mom. Hopefully your hive will survive somehow. Whether colony collapse or just being poisoned, it's still sad and frustrating. My father managed the Questa Honey Farm in Northern New Mexico for a number of years and we were just discussing the value of the bees and hives back when he was in the field (late 70s). Bees are one of those incredibly integral components of our lives that the vast majority of us simply don't even consider on a regular basis.
A great article about backyard beekeeping and colony collapse disorder was published in the New Yorker last year by Elizabeth Colbert - I found it pretty informative and it helped me understand exactly what it is that is going on these days in the apian world.
Wishing your bees health and recovery.
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Permalink Reply by Chantal on
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Hi everyone, thanks for the thoughtful replies.
I'm not sure yet if the queen survived but there are very few bees left, so I'm doubtful. Fortunately, local beekeepers are coming together to help me get back on my feet with some new brood comb which can be used to create a new queen. It's a bit late in the season to try and restore a hive but I'm going to attempt it nonetheless.
Really is good to hear your support. Thank you.
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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey V. on -
So sorry to hear about the loss Chantal. Do you know if other ABQ hives have been affected? This is heartbreaking....
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Permalink Reply by Marcy Gregoire on -
a symbol of what's going on in the world. the bees, and all of the species, are soooo important. and fragile. Is it just me, or do we as the public get no notice, nor choice of approval, on spraying for mosquitoes?? and what, might I ask, are they spraying??
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Permalink Reply by Felice on -
And to expand on your question.... Why do they spray for mosquitoes at all? I mean Albuquerque is not directly in a tropical climate. When I lived in Germany, Amsterdam and India, regions that are quite mosquito heavy, we just lived with them, keeping doors and windows screened and using mosquito nets. To me it seems more and more that our society tries to avoid discomfort for any price, not realizing the repercussions of insecticides, pesticides, and vaccines.
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