Notes and News

• The Montreal Gazette reports on lavender growing in Quebec.  Blue Lavende is a major tourist attraction in the Stanstead region, about 100 miles se of Montreal.
• A long and detailed article from Alternet speculates that the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder may be that "the bees [are] simply being worked to death." Based on numerous interviews with beekeepers, it is suggested, among other reasons, that too many hives, particularly from the commercial pollination industry, may be one of the causes.  I remember that when I was keeping bees over 40 years ago that the spacing of apiaries was strictly regulated, and there were also limits on the number of hives in an apiary. The commercial apiarists that have hundreds of hives that they transport around the country may exceed the "carrying capacity" of the natural environment. The article goes into a number of other suggestions for the causes.
• Another article in the July 2007 Discover Magazine looks at research being done by scientists who are trying to find out the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder. A number of theories are being investigated; some were not on the original lists discussed earlier in the blogs and on this blog.
• A note on thedailygreen reports that some members of the CCD Working Group have submitted a research paper to a major peer-reviewed journal suggesting that a virus has been identified that may contribute to CCD. Because of the peer review process, little information will be available until the article is published.