Natural Beekeeping

Top Bar ApiRevolution has begun! Lets make some inexpensive Top Bar Hives and let them be pesticide free on their own natural comb! Che Guebee is a rebel bee fighting for the survival of the Biodiversity we all depend on and which is seriously endangered by deforestation and mono-crop agriculture! What kind of teaching have you got if you exclude nature?

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Rape/Canola/Raps is the No.1 Bee Killer in Sweden

Please make sure to buy only Organic (Ekologisk) Canola Oil (Rapsolja). Canola is the No. 1 bee killer in Scandinavia but also in the rest of the world. Even though EU Parliament has voted for the ban of Neonicotinoid pesticides on crops pollinated by the bees including Canola the danger of Neonicotinoid poisoning isn't removed entirely because the Parliament failed to realise that Neonicotinoids remain in the soil for more than 1200 days and can enter crops sown in the following years. That is not all; since our farming soil is left naked the wind blows enormous amounts of soil dust to the nearby grass fields, bushes and trees! The soil dust contains Neonicotinoids which can now enter those flowering plants/bushes/trees and further poison the pollinators. 
Swedish national crop called Raps is the No.1 bee killer in Sweden. This photo is take only 2 km away from my apiary  I hope our bees will find other kinds of flowers to collect nectar and pollen from away from this plant infused with Neonicotinoids ... this is a fools hope :(
Neonicotinoid pesticides are systemic pesticides which enter all parts of the plant making it poisonous to all insects and we still don't know how they affect us humans (some studies point to cancers and infertility in humans due to Neonicotinoids). They affect Bees nervous system and the bees can't navigate back to the hive. Those who return drop in front of the hive and walk like drunk until they die.
If you see dead bees with pollen on their legs in front of your hives you can be assured they have died from pesticide poisoning. This happens when nearby crops have just been sprayed.

Neonicotinoids applied to the seeds before planting them do not kill bees this way. They work slower and hit the colonies immune system exposing them to secondary viral infections (Varroa, etc). They also affect the bees coordination within the hive. Honey Bee colony is a super organism which communicates via pheromones, vibrations, sounds, and such is greatly reduced in colonies poisoned with Neonicotinoids.

Neonicotinoids enter into the plant's nectar and pollen which bees collect and bring back into their hive feeding it to the brood. You can imagine what this means!

My local bee inspector told me that each time a local beekeeper has a farmer nearby growing non-organic Canola/Rape/Raps many bee colonies die in the winter. This can be due to Neonicotinoids affecting the insects ability to create body fats which winter bees need to survive the cold weather. Without fat these bees live much shorter and such colony is doomed.

Banning Neonicotinoids partially and only for two years is not the solution at all! They must be banned completely!!! As the member of the Danish EU Parliament Dan Jorgensen said in one interview "all pesticides should be banned".

By buying non-organic Rapeseed Oil (Rapsolja) you directly support bee killing! Please don't do this and make the change TODAY and start buying Organic Bee-friendly Rapeseed oil :) We need the bees ... all life needs bees.
Be aware and spread the awareness.
Thank you :)

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