# Gotta ask once and for all; maybe I'm paranoid



## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

A parasitic fly was discovered to prey on honey bees. Yet, the cause/causes of CCD has not yet been definitively determined.

If famine is on the horizon, I don't feel qualified to even speculate on that topic.


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## rhaldridge (Dec 17, 2012)

I think the whole "we'll all starve if there are no bees" thing is overblown. In fact, when varroa first arrived in this country and decimated honey bee colonies, there was an uptick in native pollinators like bumblebees.

But certain kinds of agriculture would have to retool extensively without the migratory beekeepers who are used to pollinate vast monocultures.


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## Kenww (Apr 14, 2013)

There are a lot of other pollinators besides honey bees. Not that I think we're going to lose them all, but if they were suddenly extinct, bumble bees and other natives would pick up some of the slack. The plants that are native to the US all had other pollinators before there were honeybees here. Look carefully at a fruit tree in bloom and you'll see all kinds of bugs crawling on them. I'm sure some kinds of agriculture would not be profitable anymore, like almonds probably. Some things would not be affected at all. Beans and tomatoes don't require pollnators. Beans are more productive with them. The winter strawberries in my greenhouse did fine without pollinators, unless they had some that were too small for me to notice.. I don't mean to say that we aren't very dependant on bees. That's why I have bees. Just that it wouldn't be the end of the world. Bet it would really limit the choices in the grocery store.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

> tomatoes don't require pollnators

Perhaps pollination of tomatoes is not so clear cut. Read about "buzz pollination" of tomatoes by bumblebees here:
http://pollinator.com/self_pollinating_tomato.htm


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## Kenww (Apr 14, 2013)

That's interesting about the tomatoes. I haven't heard that before. It does make sense.


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## brooksbeefarm (Apr 13, 2008)

Tomato's and corn are the two things i can think of' that is wind pollinated, i'm sure there's more.


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## The Evil Chip (May 19, 2012)

Loss of honeybees would definitely stink and your diet wouldn't be as varied, but what we're seeing with bees is not likely to become an extinction or even result in a loss of huge numbers of bees or beekeepers. 

I'll probably irritate some of my fellow beeks, but I view CCD and varroa as primarily economic issues. It's sort of like raising milk cows. If half your herd dies every year with milk prices at $3.00 a gallon, it's not a viable proposition to farm milk cows. If, however, the price of milk goes to $20.00 a gallon and you can sell all you can produce, then you adapt. You breed more cows on the expectation that you'll lose a lot of your herd. You try new treatments and practices that show promise for reducing mortality. If you're lucky, you'll lose fewer than you expect to lose.

We're seeing pretty much the same thing with honeybees. The price of pollination services and honey have gone up greatly in the last 10 years. And beekeepers are raising new hives like mad to keep ahead of the mortality. We have to. I'm just a hobbyist, but this last year I tripled my number of hives on the expectation that I'll lose up to 40% over the winter. If I'm very lucky and manage my hives well I'll do better than that. 

And keep in mind...it isn't paranoia if the really ARE out to get you!


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