Ah yes. The bumblebee (Muganus Alienus) loves beans...

(Some species will get bumbledigestion, however...)

I haven't done any kind of objective measurement, but there is a constant buzz of bees in the orange blossoms of the tree near my master bedroom door. They appear to be primarily honeybees. I don't use much pesticide, and maybe not so much is used in residential areas. That might help locally.

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I say there is an invisible elf in my backyard. How do you prove that I am wrong?

Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

Another study [University of Virginia]:

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So, if pollution happens to be the case, how can I as an individual help reduce emissions of the ozone and nitrate radicals that happen to be the culprits?

If a new parasite happens to be the real problem, at least that can be controlled by medicating hives. Not so sure how you'd get medication to wild bees - some kind of powder, maybe?

- Maha Vailo

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When you get down to it, Science answers how. Religion answers why. - hippietrekx

Well; that one guessed at around 25% loss.

Now the numbers are in... 36.1% loss.

More commercial bee colonies lost

Apparently, the one whose most worried about it is Haagen-Daz since they were the ones plugged in the story.
But it only affects 28 of thier varieties.

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

They've actually got an entire ad campaign going about it, complete with a website.

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"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."
Mark Twain

Avatar courtesy of Bunny.

I'd still like to know what an individual could do to reduce his/her ozone and nitrate radical emissions, if that does turn out to be the culprit (which I doubt, since bees seemed to do fine back in the 50's and 60's, when there was a lot more smog around).

I also wonder if this would be a good time to consider planting a butterfly garden in my area (if pollinator diversity is the main problem).

- Maha Vailo

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When you get down to it, Science answers how. Religion answers why. - hippietrekx

Hey, look what I found!

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Ha!

I need to consult Hoagland then because it seems those bees are beeing transported to my father in law's hives.

He went from 3 during Winter and now has 11 hives (1 or 2 will become ours as soon as I find a suitable location that doesn't interfere with my home disc golf course(yeah, I realize bees contribute way more to the world than does disc golf, but hey.... )). It seemed like there was a new swarm every other week for a couple of months. And what an amazing sight those swarms! Smoke'em and shake'em!

I can't wait for the honey!

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"Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has the greater view?" - Hugo

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." - Churchill