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It could equally have been due to a disease infecting the colony. In our department several labs work with bees, and I spend a fair bit of time in the bee colon
by Blahah 14y ago
It could equally have been due to a disease infecting the colony. In our department several labs work with bees, and I spend a fair bit of time in the bee colony room. Sometimes a colony will come in that is just infested with mites or some other parasite, and they start dropping (excuse the pun) like flies.
- macu 14y agoYes possibly, although I wouldn't expect so many to drop on the road by coincidence when the fields are far more vast. The particular case could be interpreted from many angles, all speculation without testing the bees. Perhaps it was the sheer heat of the pavement under the sun that chocked them. In any case, the startling number of bees in the grille of my car doesn't call for any thought about disease, mites, or pesticides. Of course I'm not saying cars are the primary cause, but I believe getting struck by motor vehicles may have a major impact on the population. Considering the number of deer-vehicle collisions and similar, it is at least worth considering.