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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Well this is a sad thing, unusual perhaps for my normal disposition when writing a post titled bees again.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>A few years ago, I think it was about 2006, I noticed a number of bees dying on sidewalks. I had the notion of starting an online bee-watcher group. As I was trying to organize that, I found someone else had thought of the same idea about the same time I did, and was more competent, so we had the great sunflower project. The idea was to have observers plant sunflowers, all the same species, then use those as a common standard by which to compare and observe. A donor was found, the seeds purchased and distributed, but the native species did far worse than we expected. My first attempt had exactly one seed of about 100 that germinated. That phase of the experiment failed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Next a group of us realized we could use the standards already in place in our own neighborhoods, citrus trees, lavenders, garden flowers, any spring-blooming plant would do as a standard if we pay attention and take notes in a consistent manner. This worked well, but suddenly our bee-watcher group collapsed because of circumstances tragically beyond our control. The timing of that collapse was even more unfortunate because of the apparent off-the-charts numbers of bee deaths this year. I had the highest bee count this year of any of the other years.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I mentioned on 1 January that I was out walking and found several hundred dead bees within about a 20 meter radius. I collected about 50 to 60 of these to offer to anyone who had the equipment to study them. I wrote to three different university entomology departments but no one wanted them. I still have those bees.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I realized that any random bee death would likely go unnoticed. The ones I found happened to have perished on a sidewalk and a road, where they could be seen. But if you go into Google Earth, even in a dense suburb, close your eyes and point to a place on your screen, chances are you will not touch a road or a sidewalk. Most mass bee deaths like this one would likely go unnoticed, since the bees would be on the grass or in an undeveloped area.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In any case, my bee death counts have been huge this year, just when our online group is not available, so I am sailing uncharted waters alone as I report the following observation: the live bee count right now is waaaaay down, way down. Everything is in full bloom here in central California, the weather has been warm, the trees should be buzzing with ravenous bees right now. I see a few. But I would estimate the bee count at about a tenth what I have seen in years past. It is waaay down below normal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So now what? The Europeans think it could be Imidacloprid causing this. Beekeepers feed their bees in the winter after they take the honey in the fall. The cheapest source of bee-feed is corn syrup, but it is entirely possible that Imidacloprid or some other neonicotinoid is being sprayed on the corn, which is finding its way into the corn syrup, then ending up in the bees, which lose their way and perish after failing to find their way home. It is still under investigation here in the states, but the observations I have made convince me we are seeing something completely new. Our online group isn’t around right when we need it the most. Perhaps we need to rejoin the Great Sunflower Project from which our sub-study originally sprang. I haven’t posted to the Sunflower Project because I didn’t use sunflowers, and my observations are informal. I could be wrong about this, but I would estimate at this point I am seeing perhaps a third to a tenth the bee count of past years. Unfortunately I failed to make my observations more formal, with dates and bee counts, damn. If we really are seeing bee counts as low as I fear they are, this spells trouble for food production.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>What do we do now, coach?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>