by Tiffany Nicholson

Created on: May 26, 2007

Honey Bee colonies are disappearing all over the world, and scientist have not pinpointed a cause. Commercial Beekeepers are seeing their hives drop at alarming rates. The West Coast has reportedly lost sixty percent of its commercial bee population and an estimated seventy percent on the East Coast.

This should not be taken lightly, we need the bees to pollinate our crops. A Cornell University study has estimated that honeybees annually pollinate over fourteen billion dollars worth of seed and crops

(Mostly fruits, vegetables, and nuts) in the United States alone. That works out to one-third of the nation's food supply.

They have come up with a name for what is happening Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. This problem has been identified in 24 states all over the country.
In response, some farming expert from several universities and states have formed an emergency working group to study the disease. As of now, scientists only know two things for sure; The main symptom has been mass abandonment of hives, typically finding only a Queen and a few attendants left with no trace of the other bees. Not even their bodies. And, the variety of fungi, viruses and mites found in collapsing hives suggests a widespread failure of bee's immune systems.
There are many theories as to the underlying cause of CCD. Some speculate is could be a pesticide.
An increasingly popular class of pesticides called neonicotinoids that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified as highly toxic to honeybees could be the cause. The stress of moving the bees to pollinate crops could be affecting their immune systems. However, none of these alone should be causing the bees to die off at such a high rate.

A theory that has been kind of hush, hush is cell phones. Cell phones are constantly commutating with towers and satellites. Using electromagnetic waves (EMF).
It could be that the constant electromagnetic background noise seems to disrupt intercellular communication within individual bees, such that many of them cannot find their way back to the hive. this conclusion is confirmed with a recent study, which has found that cell phone towers could well be the cause behind the mysterious disappearance. German research has long shown that bee's behavior changes near power lines.
Other studies suggest that cell phones are not good for people, like causing infertility in men who carry their phone on their waistband. So I don't think is it a far stretch to think they could be having a affect on bees. Especially considering how many cell phones are there. It is possible when a bee is out in search of pollen and nectar the EMF's could confuse them and preventing them from finding their way home. Whatever is going on we need to find out fast. And, fix it. Otherwise, people will think it is the end of days. Some already do. I hope they aren't dead just lost and we will find them some day soon.

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