October 16, 2009

Where have all the pollinators gone?


Picture by Darwin Dale/Photo Researchers Inc from http://www.hcn.org/issues/342/16891/image_viewer

First, the honeybees. You've probably heard about Colony Collapse Disorder, the name given to the mysterious incidences of honeybee deaths. Scientists don't really have any idea why it's happening, yet. Bees are the sexy little storks of the ecosytem, carrying packets of love to keep the flowers blooming into more flowers. They're extremely important, especially if you like fruits and nuts. (You may have noticed a rise in almond prices.) I find the part about bees being given high fructose corn syrup very disturbing.

I just read about another important creature in the line of pollination which is also "mysteriously" dying off in great numbers -- Bats.
They haven't figured out why that's happening either. Bats are important because they eat the pests that can destroy crops, and carry seeds in their guano.
I'm convinced it has to do with our unhealthy agricultural practices and general way of life -- pesticides (which would be in the pests that the bats eat), antibiotics, toxins, pollution, particulates, giving honeybees HFCS (seriously, WTF).

I tried to find out if any other pollinator/pest-eater species are "mysteriously" dying off like this, but Google just kept giving me articles about microbiologists dying, Edgar Allan Poe, and L. Ron Hubbard. Anyone else heard anything? (about mysterious species deaths, not L. Ron Hubbard.)

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