Saving pollinators from an imaginary bee-pocalypse
By Paul Driessen |April 14th, 2021|Environment|1 Comment
A torrent of media stories from 2013-2014 presented frightening tales of “unprecedented†colony collapse disorder (CCD) among honeybees, conjuring up visions of a “bee-pocalypse†and “a world without bees,†a world in which flowers and agriculture would be decimated.
Many articles blamed neonicotinoid pesticides, while others added climate change and biotech (GMO) crops as likely culprits. Some mentioned Varroa destructor mites and various viruses and diseases as possible causes. Virtually none suggested that organic food industry chemicals could also be implicated in bee deaths. The overall tone was “deep concern,†bordering on hysteria. But it sold papers and air time.
Over the next few years, the number of US honey-producing bee colonies (hives) generally and gradually increased, though with bumps in the road. There were 100,000 more hives in 2014 than in 2013, and numbers went on a slight roller coaster in subsequent years, up and down in the same range as 1993-2012.
https://www.cfact.org/2021/04/14/saving-pollinators-from-an-imaginary-bee-pocalypse/
