Enslaving the bee collonies – where does Human folly bring us.

I was just baffled by the story on our bees. Human folly. Read the full article here.

…
Deceiving bees is an essential part of the business. Beekeepers dupe them
into thinking it’s already summer by moving them to warm locations in winter
and feeding them an array of protein and energy supplements. The more food
that comes into the hive, the more eggs the queen lays, to create more of
the worker bees to go out and pollinate.

The bee broker Joe Traynor says the deception goes much further than
trucking bees south. “We’re interfering with their natural cycle because we
want strong colonies for almond pollination. We’re stimulating hives in
August, September and October, and making the queens do a lot more laying.
As a result the queens are suffering burnout. It used to be that a beekeeper
could pretty much leave his bees alone during winter. That’s no longer the
case.”

Moreover, scientists funded by the Almond Board of California are now
experimenting with artificial pheromones that trick bees into thinking there
are more larvae in the hive that need feeding, so they forage more, and in
the process pollinate more almond blossom.
…

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