Honeybees dying, situation ‘unheard of’

If losses continue, they could threaten the viability of the bee pollination industry, US Department of Agriculture says.

Washington: Just last year, it seemed there was something to celebrate despite planet Earth’s ongoing honeybee apocalypse: Bee colony losses were down. Not by enough, but they were down.

“It’s better news than it could have been,” said Dennis vanEngelsdorp​, a University of Maryland entomology professor who led a survey of bee populations that reported a loss of 23 per cent of bee colonies – less than 30 per cent, the average from 2005 to 2013. “It’s not good news.”

Pacific Ocean life devastated by Fukushima radiation: Fisheries populations have crashed 91 percent

Earlier this week, Michael Snyder sent an urgent warning that the bottom of our food chain is going through a massive collapse, with 91% of the sardine population being wiped out in just the last eight years. Due to the extremity of the decline, the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to direct the NOAA Fisheries service to halt the current season immediately, which will affect approximately 100 fishing boats with sardine permits.

Like colony collapse disorder, this is not a simple matter of managing a minor problem so that the ecosystem and benefits related to it can be enjoyed in the future. This is a NOW issue, which was reflected by the emergency closure of fisheries along the West Coast in mid-April.

The Collapse Of The Honeybee Industry Could Cost Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars

Honeybees don’t just produce honey: the hard-working insect is also fundamental to the world’s food supply.

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The value of insect pollinators on world agricultural production, which accounts for their role in producing better quality and quantity of harvests, was estimated at $208 billion in 2005.

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But the downward spiral of honeybee populations — both wild and captive — has put all of all of that at risk.