Farmers’ Market: Venn diagrams (Part Two)
To the uninitiated, a hive of honeybees is insectivorous chaos, “bugs” whirling around, buzzing too close to the observer’s ear, no rhyme or reason to any of their behaviors. Keepers of bees know better, of course; the hive is its own series of Venn diagrams with overlapping inputs, a microcosm of an efficient system.
The bees that buzz in your ear have specific jobs to do; foragers collecting nectar, water, pollen, or propolis. House bees accept the foragers’ burdens and carry them into the hive for storage or use. They feed the brood and the queen. They make wax and pack it into hexagonal cells. The cells are filled with honey and pollen; seams are caulked with propolis. Thrumming wings regulate the temperature of the hive, nature’s own “swamp cooler.” The entrance is guarded against intruders. Their queen is their future and their raison d’etre; she lays thousands of eggs each day.
Exposure to pesticides changes the natural order of that well-oiled machine. Current research is supporting what “Beeks” have suspected for years. Perfect lawns, vast monocultural farming practices, “Round-up Ready” GMO’s all have a cost. The bees pay the price. Their hard work only brings death to their door. Systemic pesticides used on crops affect the pollen bees use as a protein source. Fed to brood, it can kill or cripple. New, young bees emerge with twisted legs and deformed wings. The potency of the queen is reduced. Supersedure (raising another queen within the hive to replace one that is failing) does not save the hive when the royal jelly fed to the emerging queen is contaminated. When exposed to pesticides, the foragers lack appetite for sweetness, the normal motivator in the pursuit of nectar. They lose their sense of direction … if they find floral sources, they cannot return to the hive. If they make their way back, they can’t return to the source. All are susceptible to disease in a way that is unnatural, afflicted with parasites, viruses, and bacterial infections.
The beekeeper may find them crawling. There is something particularly heart-rending about watching a creature blessed with the gift of flight crawling hopelessly along the ground; it just seems so unnatural. Sometimes they are just gone. We have given this syndrome a name — colony collapse disorder or CCD. To the beekeeper, it is called heartbreak.
The Presque Isle Farmers’ Market contact person is Gail Maynard, who operates Orchard Hill Farm in Woodland with her husband, Stan. Their phone number is 498-8541 and their email is orchhill@gmail.com.
