Ted responded:"Yes, there is an easy way to kill the "alarmingly high number of foreign fungi, bacteria and other organisms" on dead bees without killing the bees. Just use relatively mild ozonation on the beehives. Most ozonators these days are quite cheap and you can adjust the amount accordingly. It won't kill the bees, but it will at least kill a lot of those foreign fungi and bacteria first. Small organisms die first. If mites are at issue, being in the fields in which the bees pollinate, consider that the mites are now insecticidal resistant. Weak orange oil in detergent or a simple borax and peroxide as usual, should get rid of the mites, over a large field for a couple of hours. It should be rinsed with water before the bees have a chance to pollinate, therefore not harming the bees. Of course, this is my own way of dealing with them, I am sure other people will have better ideas. As to why, there is an unusual numbers of fungi and bacteria, look no further than acid rain. It is acidic in nature and tends to promote bacteria and fungus. A simple way is to use a relatively alkaline solution to spray the premises, thus suppressing such growth. One simple remedy is (hee hee), baking soda mixed with water!
Perhaps, ten years from now honeybees, at least in most of the U.S., may face extinction, not really because of the disease, but something we usually overlook as species are increasingly facing extinction -- the issue of global warming. Basically, most parasites, tiny bacteria, viruses, cannot live in colder weather and this provides the bees with natural protection. But as global warming ensues, at least in the last 20 years and accelerating, opportunistic bacterium will get worse. There was a chart I remember as ice glaciers go down precipitously that the new bacteria and parasites rises dramatically during the same period. That chart came from the video of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth, and I think it was done quite well in explaining how the rate of diseases expands as temperature now no longer protects natural species from diseases. Therefore, a simple cure for honeybees is to go to cooler temperatures and "refrigerate" beehives, or use temperature as a natural protection. A much easier way, of course, is to relocate the beehives to colder temperatures that will be protective of the bees' immune systems, thereby preventing them from being overwhelmed with opportunistic viruses, mites, and nano-bacteria. Ted"
7/27/2007: Linda forwards Ted the following article:
Subject: Asian Parasite Killing Western Bees - Scientist
SPAIN: July 19, 2007
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/43163/story.htm
Asian Parasite Killing Western Bees - Scientist SPAIN: July 19, 2007 MADRID - A parasite common in Asian bees has spread to Europe and the Americas and is behind the mass disappearance of honeybees in many countries, says a Spanish scientist who has been studying the phenomenon for years. The culprit is a microscopic parasite called nosema ceranae said Mariano Higes..."
Ted replies, "Thanks for the forward! I will investigate the Asian parasites as to the possible cause of Western Bees extinction.
What is unusual is Thailand, which is also an Asian country and other countries around here are relatively resistant to "Asian parasites" and honey bees around in this area are doing quite fine.
It would be quite possible to change the honeybees species or at least through breeding introduce asian honeybees more resistant to the parasites.
A relatively weak solution of borax might remotely reduce the parasites infestation since most bees seem to be relatively resistant to a weak solution of borax for insect control. Of course, I haven't done experiments on that, but I do know bees don't get killed easily with borax, but parasites and mites seem to be peculiarly more sensitive, especially the mites and parasites' eggs.
Ted"
