[ExI] The Bee Problem

[spike]

On Behalf Of Kevin Freels

	Subject: [ExI] The Bee Problem
	
	

	I've seen a few of you mention the declining bee population lately.
I just thought I would pass this on.
	 
	http://www.physorg.com/news126203432.html
	 
	Ore. Farmers Press for More Bee Research
	Sponsored Links 
	 
	(AP) -- Oregon farmers are hoping that the state's premier academics
will help them figure out what is causing a sudden decline in the bee
population that's hitting home in the Pacific Northwest.
	Bees are critical for the pollination of signature Oregon crops...




Ja, thanks Kevin.  I am one of these Oregon farmers.  Well, sorta.  I still
make my actual living at rocket science, and just dump money into the farm.
I feel sorry for the few that are dependent upon their farms for actual
income.  Seems that in our country in our times, anyone who farms must have
a paying job elsewhere in order to support their farming habit.

I did some more thinking about the bugwatcher website.  We could gather data
from volunteers in a skerjillion different places, then estimate the amount
of reduction from normal bee populations.  This year my reduction is two
orders of magnitude here: the bee population is about 1% of what I expect.
We could get bug population estimates, perhaps via instruments (buzzmeters?)
and then map populations with respect to location.  Then connect similar
population levels like a contour map, the lines being isobees.  That could
help determine how localized are the colony collapses.

Are there other bugwatchers out there?

spike





spike