Are honeybees dying off? It depends on whom you ask

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Talk to a local beekeeper, and the potential consequences of the decline of the honeybee population are alarming, causing problems for pollination and sending ripple effects through the food supply chain and the entire ecosystem. “If these bees are, you know, buzzed with certain types of insecticides, then they don’t have to be dead — but if their nervous system isn’t working properly, combine that with viruses, combine that with the fact that their strength is not up there because of mites, these things kind of accumulate and can cause problems,” said Marten Edwards, chair of Muhlenberg College’s biology department. If you’re a farmer, you don’t want to have lots of weeds in your fields — I get it.” But it’s not good for the bees — what might look like a just a patch of weeds to people is home for the honeybees and vital to other native pollinators, he said. “You’d be amazed if you look at a plant, look at the tiny little things that you might think flies, or just random bugs, some of them are absolutely beautiful little tiny bees and different types of bumblebees.” Planting flowers or even allowing patches of weeds and native plants to grow can help bolster bee populations and combat habitat loss, he said. technology is what’s creating climate change, but we’re not going to create hardworking women and men who are hands on with these bees if they have something like that to go into the hives or do the farming for you.” He likened the thought of an AI-type beehive to why beekeepers have to work together to bolster the honeybee populations, the same way the bees work together in the hive.