Disturbing Bee Deaths in Belgium

[fizzle]

I was sent this video earlier on my phone which is rather disturbing. Seems like bees of all sorts are dying in this city of Belgium. I've no idea why this might have happened. Maybe the local council were spraying pesticides? I searched online for the video but couldn't find it so have uploaded to youtube. Very disturbing.

Edit: Video removed. Problem solved.

 

[Leigh]

Lime trees - not always good news. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2017.0484

 

[Ian123]

Yes he’s a nutter… limes are known for it and the 1s featured can be seen in flower.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Lime trees - not always good news.

The Royal Society found (from a review of available literature) no experimental evidence to prove that Tilia species poison bees.

The RS suggested (with no evidence to support the theory) that sub-optimal nectar supply during late flowering led to starvation and death.

How can this be tenable? Bees evolved to forage on plants while nectar is produced and move to the next option when that supply ends. If sub-optimal supply led to immediate starvation, a scattering of dead bees would lie under every nectar-producing plant in the country.

 

[Boston Bees]

The Royal Society found (from a review of available literature) no experimental evidence to prove that Tilia species poison bees.

The RS suggested (with no evidence to support the theory) that sub-optimal nectar supply during late flowering led to starvation and death.

How can this be tenable? Bees evolved to forage on plants while nectar is produced and move to the next option when that supply ends. If sub-optimal supply led to immediate starvation, a scattering of dead bees would lie under every nectar-producing plant in the country.

Section 6 suggests that limes may be tricking bees into visiting again and again even when no nectar is available via offering some kind of caffeine hit, like a satanic bee-killing chain of Starbucks.

But it sounds a very tenuous and "more work is required" type of theory.

 

[Brian Bush]

An eminent scientist gave a talk to our local association a couple of years ago.
Lime nectar apparently contains caffiene and the bees become addicted to it. When the nectar flow stops they still return to the trees and die of starvation.
They use this addiction for bumbles pollinating poly tunnels. They feed the bees a mixture of caffiene and raspberry flavoured nectar. When the bees are addicted they pollinate the raspberry flowers thinking they will get another hit.
Honey bees can also become addicted to the caffiene but because of their short foraging life and the short nectar flow from limes they are not so obviously affected.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Well, it's Belgium - maybe they died of boredom?

 

[ericbeaumont]

with no evidence to support the theory

I was wrong.

After a tea and toast I read the whole thing and the caffeine link made sense. It was useful to learn that the theory of mannose poisoning was debunked, and that a combo of starvation, predation and addiction is likely to be responsible.

 

[ericbeaumont]

he’s a nutter

All he had to do was google bee deaths under trees but his desire to warn the world of a scoop got in the way.

 

[Finman]

A huge article full on old information (2017).

Nowadays it is said that Tilias do not have toxins. Flowers invite bumbble bees so much that flowers cannot feed that number of insects. When fuell is finish in bumbblebee, some of them drops down. Right aswer is starvation.

It is same in every country. Not only in Belgium.

If the tree is poisonous, it would be thousands of dead insects under the tree. Why only 10 or 20.

 

[fizzle]

So it seems some lime trees (notably non-native ornamental species,) are toxic for bees – or at least have narcotic effects, with some species of lime believed to be more harmful for bumble bees than honey bees

https://www.buzzaboutbees.net/dead-bees.html
Problem solved. So we can put away the pitchforks.

 

[Finman]

But it sounds a very tenuous and "more work is required" type of theory.

If you do not have nothing else to do, walk to the labour office.

 

[Boston Bees]

If you do not have nothing else to do, walk to the labour office.

Under a red sky, the cow leaps

 

[Finman]

So it or at least have narcotic effects, with some species of lime believed to be more harmful for bumble bees than honey bees

https://www.buzzaboutbees.net/dead-bees.html
Problem solved. So we can put away the pitchforks.

Under a red sky, the cow leaps

Our cows leap even under blue sky.

 

[Dodge]

So, if you are lucky enough to have a super full of Lime honey I wonder how much caffeine is present, say compared to a cup of Coffee?

 

[ericbeaumont]

So it seems

believed to be

Problem solved.

Hardly.

Keeping my pitchfork ready, next to the bed.

 

[Brian Bush]

Just to add to the loss of caffiene addiction issues. My neighbour's limes stopped flowering this week. Yesterday I was mowing the lawn when a large bumble bee, obviously dis-orientated, going through cold turkey and hungry dropped on my head. I have no hair on the top and she duly stung me. Imagine a honey bee sting on a bald pate, of which I have had several over the years, and then multiply it by 10. Even SWMBO felt sorry for me. She thought I was going to faint!!!

 

[CaptainCymru]

If you do not have nothing else to do, walk to the labour office.

I love this guy , sits snipering away from his igloo

 

[Newbeeneil]

Just to add to the loss of caffiene addiction issues. My neighbour's limes stopped flowering this week. Yesterday I was mowing the lawn when a large bumble bee, obviously dis-orientated, going through cold turkey and hungry dropped on my head. I have no hair on the top and she duly stung me. Imagine a honey bee sting on a bald pate, of which I have had several over the years, and then multiply it by 10. Even SWMBO felt sorry for me. She thought I was going to faint!!!

Been there, I was asked to move a bumblebee nest from above a ceiling of a house that was being extended and the roof was due to be removed.
I put my head up through a hole in the plasterboard to be confronted by a bumble coming straight at me! It swiftly stung me between the eyes and I retreated feeling like I'd had a 6" nail driven into my head. It brought tears to my eyes I can tell you!

 

[fizzle]

Had a similar experience. Disturbed a bumblebee nest in a compost heap in the garden. While most of them were milling around one bumble made a beeline for me. I took a swipe at her and missed. She landed on the bridge of my nose and stung me. The sting wasn't too bad at first but later that evening it felt like someone punched me.

I built them a box and moved them later that evening which they stayed in all summer and that was the beginning of my beekeeping experience.