Montana Woman Tries to Figure out Mystery of Dead Bees

Beginning in the early days of June, 2007 on successive days several bees appeared in the kitchen of the house in Helena, Montana. Bees coming into the house due to the back door being left open is nothing new. The interesting part was the actions of the bees. In normal circumstances the bees buzz about and seek out the windows in what appears to be an attempt to get back outside. Not so, with these bees. The bees were literally hovering around the sink, walking in circles and deeply in distress. They did not fly, and were for all appearances in the throws of death.

This odd conduct has occurred several more times in recent weeks. As recent as this week I found several dead bees inside the back door and one at the front door. The usual buzz of bees is not apparent this year as in previous years, but it is early in the season. I looked around for some possible causes of this odd behavior of the bees and possible culprits. Could it be the wireless network, some electrical charge, or another explanation.

In the last month several national news services have carried stories about the decline in honey bee population in the United States and elsewhere. The phenomena is called Colony Collapse Disorder. Apparently, my thoughts about wireless waves was considered by bee experts, but minimized because if it were a problem you would see a higher incident in metropolitan areas than rural area. See post # 221 at http://www.scienceagogo.com.

In comparing declines in Australia and the United States in the bee population scientists appear to agree that a variety of causes may be at play. According to Dr. Doug Somerville quoted in the post, the decline in the bee population and subsequent Colony Collapse Disorder may severely impact the almond industry in California because bee pollination is key to almonds. The same issue applies to other crops including the blueberry. Notwithstanding the impact to the bee industry as a whole.