Are the bees dissapearing?

Hi, ignore the title, it's just for attention, but I need an opinion on this because it could be that serious, but READ THIS! you'll find it interesting

So anyway, i live in the UK, and I was visiting home in essex yesterday and the following happened.

We had a honey bee's nest me and my sister noticed in the loft, lot's of bee's going in and out, they were everywhere, it was quite clear we had a problem, they were even coming through the light fixtures in my sisters room. So anyway, I tell my dad and he takes a look, we talk about it and he says we should probably call a 'bee man' to come dispose or collect the bee's, so im like " Ok sound's like a good idea let's do that" so we call him because the problem is quite serious and there's lot's of them clearly entering our loft cavity.

Late that night we realised that we could no longer see ANY of the many bees we saw previously entering and leaving the attic, and this continued into the next day whilst my dad was at work, so I was really hoping they would come back because I thought my dad had just wasted a load of cash. Later I find out this 'bee man' is coming round to check out the problem and give us a quote.

My dad get's home later and I tell him that all the bee's have dissapeared and that I couldent see anymore entering or leaving the attic, he says after utter confusion and speculation about them having come to stay for a day or something " Damn, we got that guy coming round tonight" so later the 'bee guy' call's up my dad to discuss it further etc. The conversation didn't last to long, my dad told him basicly that he's very sorry, doesen't know what's happened, but they've all #ed off, if they return ile call you back, sorry buddy.

After the phone call had ended my dad said, "that's really strange.." I said "Why?" and he said "That guy on the phone, he said he had 10 job's today involving removing beehives/nests from attic's etc all over the county", He then added, "That man had 10 phone call's today, us being the last, he was majorly freaked out and said, this has never happened to me and is the strangest thing ive come across, with every phone call the paying customer said, "im sorry, all the bee's have vanished, don't bother coming over"",

This freaked me out, my first thought was " Damn! I never thought the apocalypse would be localised! " of course I was only kidding.

Has anybody else recently encountered anything like this? I am not #ting you with this story, it's as recent as me waking up this morning.

Well it's probably early morning over in the US now so won't be expecting many replies just yet. Interesting to see what others have to say in regards to this though.

As for me, the story is intriguing but slightly unbelievable when you say all 10 people told the same story. No offence.

Interesting times we live in though. At this point almost anything is possible.

That's awfully strange. Is there anyway you could call the bee guy and ask him some more about it? He if anyone would know of something that could cause this to occur.

how strange..a neighbour of mine is a 'bee man' and the same thing happened to him just last week; though not 10 times, just once, that was strange enough.

we are in south west UK.

reply to post by Mr Zeropoint


my goodness,, Great idea for a Doctor WHO script...

they all been called home.... to hive world..

Freaky.
I was just reading they are importing Manx bees to attempt to replace the dying bees.
news.bbc.co.uk...

I think they will eventually face the same fate. The Bees are not dieing off globally. It's large but it's localized.
I'm not buying the latest study laying the blame on mobile phones. I think that was paid for by a large pharmacuetical company that also has a large stake in the pesticide buiz.

Just google Bayer + Bees and you'll see what I think is responsible.
For colany collapse that is. Might not be the same thing as them just f##@g off? Pretty weird.

Any farmland nearby?

I watch lots of hives...and here mid west USA they are, producing queens and swarms to expand their colonies"happens every spring"...not sure thats what your seeing...
But when this happens about 1/2 of the current hive leaves to follow a new queen, and find a new home.

I am by no means an expert or anything close for that matter...but is is/was my understandings, that the bee problems was coming from the tracter trailer loads of bees moved thousands of miles a year to help farmers in the southwest, that alone would really mess up my directions.

Could we be expecting too much from them...wake up after an all night trip in a semi trailer...500 miles from the last home base and wonder why they are confused...but its just my own theory.

[edit on 4-6-2010 by Doc Holiday]

It is possible that you didn't actually have a nest in your attic but a swarm. When the bees find their home no longer tenable they will all fly together and form a mass in a sheltered spot. They may stay there a few days before they move on until they find a suitable place for a permanent home.

Hi everyone,

Great thread! I just posted the other day on my facebook status this quote:

Albert Einstein once said: “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination … no more men!”

I myself did not know this until I started doing the research about a month ago. It is quite fascinating and also quite alarming. I feel more people need to know about this because many do not! You do not here about it much in the media.

Here is a few websites that I have read recently about the disappearing bee population. I do not know how accurate all the sources are but it defiantly seems to be a growing concern.

www.associatedcontent.com...

" Beekeepers are reporting more than half of their hives empty. It is being called "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD) by scientists here and has many worried that the honeybees will fall victim to a mass plague of disease carrying varroa mites, and disrupt the nations food supply. The disappearing honeybee mystery has beekeepers baffled as colonies vanish leaving empty hives behind, save for a few sickly juveniles. Scientists need to study the dead bees, and they are nowhere to be found. Millions of them are gone, 70% of the bee population on the east coast, and 60% in the west."



"Bits and pieces of information about farmers’ concerns for bee disappearance (or colony collapse disorder) in 24 states around the U.S. have bubbled up to the surface, over the last year and a half, but hardly any large-scale media attention has been drawn to this potentially serious problem. Recently bees have gone missing from hives around Europe as well. The East Coast of the U.S. is reporting a 70% loss in commercial bee hive habitation, the West Coast 60%; these figures are staggering."

globalclimatechange.wordpress.com...

"Across America, millions of honey bees are abandoning their hives and flying off to die, leaving beekeepers facing ruin and US agriculture under threat. And to date, no one knows why."

www.heyokamagazine.com...

"From 1972 to 2006, there was a dramatic reduction in the number of feral honeybees in the U.S. (now almost absent);[16] and a significant, though somewhat gradual decline in the number of colonies maintained by beekeepers. This decline includes the cumulative losses from all factors such as urbanization, pesticide use, tracheal and Varroa mites, and commercial beekeepers retiring and going out of business. However, late in the year 2006 and in early 2007 the rate of attrition was alleged to have reached new proportions, and the term "colony collapse disorder" was proposed to describe this sudden rash of disappearances."

en.wikipedia.org...

"For Browning, one of the country's largest commercial beekeepers, the latest woes have led to a $1 million loss this year." March 2010

www.cleveland.com...

news.nationalgeographic.com...

www.step-project.net...

"The mystery of bee disappearance
20.05.2010

ARTE, a French-German TV channel, broadcasted on May 18th a 1.5 hour long documentary entitled 'Le mystère de la disparition des abeilles' (in French) by Mark Daniels. It was broadcasted simultaneously in France and Germany (with a German translation). The documentary attracted the attention of the press and several articles on the subject were published after its release. Its translation into English and Spanish is in preparation.
The documentary is available at: www.arte.tv..."

news.infoshop.org...

"HONEY BEE DISAPPEARANCE NO LAUGHING MATTER"

If it is to do with CCD then you would probably be in the right place for it.
Lot's of maize in Essex? It would be a fair bet they are using clothianidan as a seed coating. They claimed it was safe. Wrong!
Now the bees are dying to such a degree they feel the need to import healthy queens.

If you're interested, here is an entire index of ATS thread covering the subject:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 6/4/2010 by AshleyD]

Wow, just got home from work, wasn't expecting any replies, cheers for extra info everyone and the other 'bee' related thread links.

For an above poster, you said it was slightly unbelievable, I suppose I rushed the thread before work. Im back in southampton now, I was only in essex for a few days to catch up with some friends (studying in southampton, though semesters over, I got to work), Not everyone on the phone said the same thing obviously but they all basicly told the same story, It was quite a real situation that may not mean anything. Everything we encountered was a normal situation until he spoke to this guy, and i couldent believe what I was hearing!

For another poster - yes, the town I live in, south woodham ferrers, is sorrounded by farmland for miles.

[edit on 4-6-2010 by Mr Zeropoint]

[edit on 4-6-2010 by Mr Zeropoint]

Plenty of bees working my property have seen an increase in wasps though. If your interested in helping preserve bees consider getting a backyard hive or two and raising them the healthy way.

www.backyardhive.com...

Originally posted by Mr Zeropoint
For another poster - yes, the town I live in, south woodham ferrers, is sorrounded by farmland for miles.

I'm certain they are using Neonicotinoid pesticides in the area. These are lethal to bees in such minute quantities, they can disorient, weaken the immune system, or just kill outright. The weakened immune system can account for the varying effects seen in different locations, and why some blame has been pointed at the mites and virus that the bees have always had to deal with.

Neonictinoids have been related to bird declines in the area as well I believe. I know there was a petition getting around to bann them and the concerns are well noted by the beekeepers in the area. Essex that is.

They know this substance is lethal to bees and it's use has only increased in the last few years in the U.K and so has the Bee decline.
I'm pretty sure they been found in human consumables too!

The bee's are dying over there, that's a fact. Your bee guy would appear to support that, not that it needs any.

Those bee's probably won't be moving hives, they'll probably just be moving until they die.

Originally posted by Mr Zeropoint
Hi, ignore the title, it's just for attention, but I need an opinion on this because it could be that serious, but READ THIS! you'll find it interesting

So anyway, i live in the UK, and I was visiting home in essex yesterday and the following happened.

We had a honey bee's nest me and my sister noticed in the loft, lot's of bee's going in and out, they were everywhere, it was quite clear we had a problem, they were even coming through the light fixtures in my sisters room. So anyway, I tell my dad and he takes a look, we talk about it and he says we should probably call a 'bee man' to come dispose or collect the bee's, so im like " Ok sound's like a good idea let's do that" so we call him because the problem is quite serious and there's lot's of them clearly entering our loft cavity.

Late that night we realised that we could no longer see ANY of the many bees we saw previously entering and leaving the attic, and this continued into the next day whilst my dad was at work, so I was really hoping they would come back because I thought my dad had just wasted a load of cash. Later I find out this 'bee man' is coming round to check out the problem and give us a quote.

My dad get's home later and I tell him that all the bee's have dissapeared and that I couldent see anymore entering or leaving the attic, he says after utter confusion and speculation about them having come to stay for a day or something " Damn, we got that guy coming round tonight" so later the 'bee guy' call's up my dad to discuss it further etc. The conversation didn't last to long, my dad told him basicly that he's very sorry, doesen't know what's happened, but they've all #ed off, if they return ile call you back, sorry buddy.

After the phone call had ended my dad said, "that's really strange.." I said "Why?" and he said "That guy on the phone, he said he had 10 job's today involving removing beehives/nests from attic's etc all over the county", He then added, "That man had 10 phone call's today, us being the last, he was majorly freaked out and said, this has never happened to me and is the strangest thing ive come across, with every phone call the paying customer said, "im sorry, all the bee's have vanished, don't bother coming over"",

This freaked me out, my first thought was " Damn! I never thought the apocalypse would be localised! " of course I was only kidding.

Has anybody else recently encountered anything like this? I am not #ting you with this story, it's as recent as me waking up this morning.

I live on the east coast of the US and I haven't seen a honey bee in about three years now.

It worries me. There have been news reports that large colonies of honey bees have been dying off here over the years. Something about a mite that lives on them and suffocates them.

Like I said, I haven'nt seen one in about three years. Still, the local farmers still manage to have honey or sale. Go figure.

Edit: I just watched the BBC video about pesticides being the root cause and it also makes sense.

The farmers I mentioned that still had honey were the Amish farmers. This would make sense.

[edit on 6-6-2010 by BillRose]

I agree with the posters who said you had a bee swarm, not a hive, in your loft. Swarms of bees are not dangerous. They don't protect their home from intruders because they don't have a home, yet. Consider yourself lucky to still have bees in your area.

I live in Western Washington State, USA, one mile from the ocean. There are no farms within several miles, so I doubt if there are any domesticated bees in my neighborhood. This spring, I've been watching flowers, and I've seen only three honeybees. My cherry blossoms kept their petals for an unusually long time, and the tree has only one cherry on it.

I don't see any berries on the many vines around my house. If the situation is this bad over a wide area, we should expect wild animals to be starving this year. If bears can't find berries, they will be invading neighborhoods in search of garbage to eat. If the bees don't come back soon, their absence could be the fulfillment of the 2012 prophesies.