birds are chirping, bees are buzzing…not so much

cit x points us to the continuing developments in the mystery of the disappearing bees in the united states:

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees’ navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive’s inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.

The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast.

when i was a kid, we raised bees at our house in sherman oaks. i KNOW you don’t want to mess with the bees. without their pollination activity, we are in trouble. i remember one time we lost a whole colony to dysentery. it was tragic.