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Honey Bees Spreading Pest Control

 
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Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho
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Hey y'all, I'm new here and really excited about permaculture. I thought I'd share this article I came across, it's about using honey bees to spread viral, fungal, or bacterial pest controls. I feel like this is a terrible idea. As if the bees don't have enough crap to worry about. Time to watch the bee hut video again.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/canadian-researchers-use-bees-to-drop-pesticides-on-crops-1.2251858
 
steward
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Location: Currently in Lake Stevens, WA. Home in Spokane
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That study/work is being done mostly in Canadian greenhouses.
Greenhouses are a significant sector of their agriculture.
(I have read of many 5 acre+ greenhouses, and even one of 50 acres - 20 hectares! That's too much fucking plastic!)

This new "Bee Vectoring" is just one more example of mankind's greed trying to make Nature 'his bitch', rather than trying to work with her.
Where will all of this end? Does mankind need to evolve into a 'plasticvore'?

 
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Location: Victoria British Columbia-Canada
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They're not using them to deliver roundup. Instead they are spreading organic controls. An excerpt --- Both bumblebees and honeybees have successfully distributed the fungus Beauveria bassiana to greenhouse sweet peppers and field canola. The fungus kills pests like whiteflies, aphids and Lygus.

In this thread, we explored the idea of bee immunity to poisons, working to keep chemical farming alive. https://permies.com/t/27213/bees/Honey-Bees-Work-Monsanto-Roundup

The Windsor area has a mild climate due to the moderating effect of Lake Erie. There are thousands of acres of greenhouses and of monoculture field tomatoes.

Bees are constantly in contact with agricultural poisons. Involving them in processes that compete with that can be a good thing. This species is a disposable asset of the mega farm. I would welcome any development that puts them to better use. The current state of affairs isn't good for us or for the bees.
 
Just the other day, I was thinking ... about this tiny ad:
A rocket mass heater heats your home with one tenth the wood of a conventional wood stove
http://woodheat.net
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