FYI - I thought I'd try to tell the Bee Keepers........ Tim Lovett of Nat Assoc of Bee Keepers and CC Chair of London Assoc of Bee Keepers....

GRAM

Possible Cause of Colony Collapse Disorder -  BBKA (posted via the BBKA website)

Dear Mr. Lovett,

I saw an interview with yourself on TV yesterday evening and thought that I might contact you with a possible cause of the current mysterious disappearance of bee colonies, particularly in urban areas. The possible cause I believe is the sharp rise in EMFs particularly attributable to microwave emissions from Mobile Telephone Masts. Unfortunately, so many people (including the UK Government) are making so much money from mobile phones etc. that they are quite happy to see people, animals and insects suffer whilst pseudo-studies and sham science is used to cloud the issue - much in the same way as with smoking.

The following weblinked articles are informative and contain links to other sources of information which include recent scientific studies. I prefix each article with a selected quote:-

"... The sudden declines are marked by bee disappearance rather than just hives full of dead and diseased bees. The empty hives are not plundered by neighbouring colonies and other insects are not filling the pollination gap. This leaves two further possibilities:

    * the hives are acting as a deterrent to bee return
    * the bees are losing the ability to navigate or communicate.

Nothing in the bees, hives or honey is pointing to chemical toxicity or bio-predation. Since the studies lower down this page show that honeybees depend on natural electric and magnetic fields, and that they are frequency-specific in their communications, it is urgent that this line of enquiry is opened up. ..."

[ http://www.hese-project.org/hese-uk/en/issues/nature.php?id=bees - "Decline of bees, UK and worldwide" ]

"...However, it is the thinking of one of the cell phone industry's former scientific hired guns that caught my attention. When George Carlo, M.D., the celebrated author of "Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age" and current chairman of the nonprofit Science and Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., weighs in with an opinion, we'd all be fools not to listen carefully.

On a recent conference call, Dr. Carlo laid the blame for the sudden demise (often within 72 hours) of entire bee colonies on the recent proliferation of electromagnetic waves (EMF). He cited the startling statistic that, at present, there are some 2.5 billion cell phone users around the world. While this (plus the explosive growth of cell phone towers) used to be the major concern, the problem has been significantly exacerbated by the recent introduction of satellite radio. Imagine being closeted in a confined environment filled with chain smokers; it would be impossible for you to get a breath of clean air. It is becoming equally difficult for you to avoid the now-measurable damage from EMF exposure.

Dr. Carlo commented that the constant electromagnetic background noise seems to disrupt intercellular communication within individual bees, such that many of them cannot find their way back to the hive. His conclusions are confirmed by a recent study conducted by three departments of Panjab University (India), which has found that cell phone towers - the dominant source of electromagnetic radiation in the city of Chandigarh - could well be the cause behind the mysterious disappearance of butterflies, some insects (like bees), and birds. ..."

[ http://omega.twoday.net/stories/3545166/ - When Bees Disappear, Will Man Soon Follow? ]

 [  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/13/nbee13.xml - Keepers fear mystery bee illness ]

With best wishes,

etc.

  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/13/nbee13.xml    Keepers fear mystery bee illness    By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent  Last Updated: 12:20pm BST 13/04/2007    Government inspectors are investigating reports of unusually high numbers of  honey bee deaths.    Some keepers, especially around London, say they have lost far more than the  10 per cent of colonies that usually die off during winter.    John Chapple, chairman of the London Beekeepers Association, lost all the  bees in 30 out of the 40 hives he keeps in Acton, west London.    Mr Chapple said that a nearby club in Harrow had lost half of its hives and  that the Pinner and Ruislip Beekeepers Association had lost 75 per cent.    Because bees pollinate fruit trees and other crops, the consequences for  British farmers of a collapse in honey bee numbers could be devastating. The  total contribution of
 bees to the British economy has been estimated as £1  billion.    Max Watkins of Vita, a company that makes products for honey bee health,  said: "The situation is very serious but no one yet understands the cause of  these widespread honey bee colony deaths.    "The phenomenon is alarming especially because agricultural pollination and  therefore crop production levels are threatened." Beekeepers in 25 US states  have lost 50 to 90 per cent of their colonies to a mystery condition being  called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) - in which bees suddenly abandon their  hives and disappear to die.    There have been unexplained, severe colony losses with bees failing to  return from their searches for pollen and nectar in Poland, Greece, Italy,  Spain and Portugal in recent years.    Early warm temperatures in Britain have seen honey bees emerging earlier  than usual from their winter clusters - a form of hibernation during which  they huddle together to keep warm.    Some
 keepers fear the mysterious CCD could have reached Britain.    Several beekeeping associations outside London contacted yesterday said this  year's losses in their regions were no higher than average, however. While  the cause of CCD is unknown, suspects include pesticides, malnutrition,  antibiotics, mites and increased solar radiation due to ozone thinning.    In the 1990s, honey bee populations were badly affected by the varroa mite -  a parasite that makes colonies more vulnerable to viruses.    Some believe the recent deaths could be caused by the parasite becoming  resistant to drugs used against it.    Imports of bees from the US are banned. So far Government bee inspectors say  there are no signs of CCD in Britain and have played down reports of  higher-than-average winter deaths.    A Government spokesman said: "We are aware of the serious situation in the  USA. Cases of colony loss in England and Wales reported to the National Bee  Unit are being investigated.
 However, it is not unusual for some colonies to  be found dead or absent at the end of winter."