4 ms·

Of course billions of bees are dying every year, because 99.9% of bees don't live longer than six months.

Pfhreak 7y ago
I suspect that is not what this article is considering. Bees are usually able to sustain their populations, "dying" in this context implies "and not being replaced with new brood".
- gridlockd 7y ago
  > ..."dying" in this context implies "and not being replaced with new brood". No it doesn't. The bees that pollinate almonds are bred by beekeepers and sent out for this exact purpose. They will be replaced as long as the demand for their service remains.
  - gscott 7y ago
    He makes 300k pollinating the almonds and spends 100k in the upkeep of the bees. Plus makes some side money selling honey... So he is doing ok.
  - Pfhreak 7y ago
    Yeah, it does. The article is explicitly about colonies dying at an unexpectedly high rate. > By October, 150 of Arp’s hives had been wiped out by mites, 12% of his inventory in just a few months. > Commercial beekeepers who send their hives to the almond farms are seeing their bees die in record numbers, and nothing they do seems to stop the decline. > This is more than one-third of commercial US bee colonies... > In the early 1980s, when Arp was just selling honey, he would lose about 5% of his hives per year to disease or weather conditions. Around 2000, Arp’s bees started dying in greater numbers. > First, he experienced a nearly 100% loss of his hives from an infestation of tracheal mites.
    - gridlockd 7y ago
      > Yeah, it does. It doesn't. These losses will be replaced by the keepers. > In the early 1980s, when Arp was just selling honey, he would lose about 5% of his hives per year to disease or weather conditions. Around 2000, Arp’s bees started dying in greater numbers. If this guy has been losing 5-10% of his colonies for forty years, how is he still in businesses? The bees/colonies get replaced, of course.

I suspect that is not what this article is considering. Bees are usually able to sustain their populations, "dying" in this context implies "and not being replaced with new brood".

gridlockd 7y ago
> ..."dying" in this context implies "and not being replaced with new brood". No it doesn't. The bees that pollinate almonds are bred by beekeepers and sent out for this exact purpose. They will be replaced as long as the demand for their service remains.
- gscott 7y ago
  He makes 300k pollinating the almonds and spends 100k in the upkeep of the bees. Plus makes some side money selling honey... So he is doing ok.
- Pfhreak 7y ago
  Yeah, it does. The article is explicitly about colonies dying at an unexpectedly high rate. > By October, 150 of Arp’s hives had been wiped out by mites, 12% of his inventory in just a few months. > Commercial beekeepers who send their hives to the almond farms are seeing their bees die in record numbers, and nothing they do seems to stop the decline. > This is more than one-third of commercial US bee colonies... > In the early 1980s, when Arp was just selling honey, he would lose about 5% of his hives per year to disease or weather conditions. Around 2000, Arp’s bees started dying in greater numbers. > First, he experienced a nearly 100% loss of his hives from an infestation of tracheal mites.
  - gridlockd 7y ago
    > Yeah, it does. It doesn't. These losses will be replaced by the keepers. > In the early 1980s, when Arp was just selling honey, he would lose about 5% of his hives per year to disease or weather conditions. Around 2000, Arp’s bees started dying in greater numbers. If this guy has been losing 5-10% of his colonies for forty years, how is he still in businesses? The bees/colonies get replaced, of course.