City Bees Healthier And More Productive Than Rural Ones In France

treehugger.com:

While their country cousins' populations collapse, bees in Paris are thriving as having a rooftop hive becomes de rigueur for hotels and restaurants seeking an in-house source of home-grown artisanal honey.

Read the whole story: treehugger.com

Comments

[Kenz300]

11:59 AM on 08/23/2010

Bee colony collapse is a serious problem.

There needs to be more study as to why this is happening.

Are pesticides and insecticides used on farms causing the bees to die?

Is this the equivalent of the canary in the coal mine?

What is a cumulative effect on humans?

[KPinSEA]

03:07 AM on 08/19/2010

When working in Paris I usually stay at the Courtyard Marriott in Neuilly-Sur-Seine, which is in a beautiful neighborhood with good Metro access. A short walk away is the beautiful little island community on Grand Jatte and its gorgeous park immortalized in Seurat's painting 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'.

I've been walking to that park to enjoy the river and the green space for some time but only on my last trip did I discover that an elevated garden area I had never walked through is actually a functioning apiary with several dozen hives. Great little spot, I'd recommend it to anyone visiting.

[Neutralino]

08:05 AM on 08/18/2010

Very interesting. Bees are fascinating. I wish I knew more about them.

It's discouraging that we aren't making more progress in solving the problem of bee colony collapse. It's especially discouraging that so many people with big hearts and little brains spend so much time promoting pet theories that make no sense.

Cellphones? Power lines? Retrograde Mars in Scorpio? Sheesh. Just be quiet and stop pestering the adults trying to solve this riddle. I hope this French project could contribute to this effort.

It has made one contribution already. The fact that the problem is so severe in France - where GMO agriculture is totally banned - ought to be more than enough to silence the twits who blame biotech for everything from bee colony collapse to erectile dysfunction.

Merci beaucoup. Nous vous sommes extrêmement reconnaissants.

[MaryBethC3]

11:02 PM on 08/17/2010

Makes sense to me...... because the rural bees are exposed to agricultural chemicals and the urban bees are not.

Personally, I favor the theory about OrganoPhosphates. The bees become disoriented and cannot find their way back to their colonies and, as a result, die from exposure.

The bees are definitely telling us something!

[Matthew Harrold]

11:45 PM on 08/16/2010

Well that's a little bit of a silver lining to an otherwise brooding cloud that is the bees futures. I wonder what the indicis for colony collapse disorder are in the city?

[Kenz300]

11:01 PM on 08/16/2010

Is it because there are less pesticides being used in the city?

On the farms there is wide spread use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.

Are the bees telling us something?

[ValdaDeDieu]

12:21 PM on 08/16/2010

That doesn't seem right? I'd like to see more studies -- and watch the trend for a few years. Who funded the study?

[gsmp]

05:41 PM on 08/16/2010

LOTS of beekeepers in my rural community which is very fortunate as I consume 50 to 60 pounds a year. The info in the article does make sense in a way I never thought of. I'll have to ask mrdixon about this. He's been in the business for 50 years.

[ValdaDeDieu]

06:13 PM on 08/16/2010

Please. And do get back with me. I am also on Facebook and Twitter...the survival of bees is crucial to the food supply on this planet.

[BannedNBoston]

12:16 PM on 08/16/2010

The warm city air rises up pushing chemtrails away from the city.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YexbvR3IOw8

[farmilyman]

11:51 AM on 08/16/2010

Most likely because they don't have GMO crops in the city.

[ValdaDeDieu]

12:23 PM on 08/16/2010

That could be one consideration. Something else to think about. Hmm...

[classicalgeek]

02:44 PM on 08/16/2010

More biodiversity, more flowers, no pesticides. And plenty of homes. Bee heaven.