Why the Bees are Dying

This article opens the box on the disappearing honeybee issue, so-called

Colony Collapse Disorder, by using spiritual ecology and the indications of

20th Century renaissance man, Rudolf Steiner, to look at the common

denominator of suspected causes.  If entrenched analysts, who have been

concertedly looking at external threats for the villain, were to turn their

sights 180 degrees, they would discover that "we have met the enemy, and the

enemy is us!"  - that is, overall human interference.

A report from Earth Vision,
The EV project  - taking nature to a new level
by Josef Graf

Diseases and parasites, such as the invading Eurasian varroa mite, when

looked at in the same light as other modern agricultural issues, actually

presents itself as a red herring for anyone in pursuit of the central cause

of bee decimation.

While definite losses have accrued as a result of varroa, it is almost

certain to be a temporary phase.  The situation is not unlike problems in

other areas of modern agriculture.  Using the cattle industry as a choice

example, it is not actually pathogenic forces that are threatening stocks but,

 rather, decades of contrivance and intercession by means of antibiotics,

hormones, and other artificial "propping up" of the species that have

weakened and degraded the overall constitution of the species.  (And let us

call events like Mad Cow disease a symptom, not a cause, of the bottoming out

of the cattle industry.)
Witness the decidedly hale condition of the bison alongside the debilitated

circumstance of cattle.  In a word, predation strengthens a species, and

interference with that predation leads to debilitation.  The finest shepherd

ever invented, in terms of a keeper for the bison herds, was Canis lupus, the

common wolf.
There are times, and this includes livestock, bees, and any other biological

form, when a producer has to "take in on the chin" and let the species evolve

by allowing the surviving, adaptable members of the population reproduce. 

The result will be an enviable level of wholesomeness in both species and

product.

This leads on to the heart of the matter  -  too much interference.  For

example, in a bid to avoid having to work with a species that can become what

humankind deems as overly aggressive, we have been cultivating a more "docile"

 temperament in the bee, therefore, unlike its more combative relatives in

other parts of the world, who are able to bite at, mutilate, and dispose of

the varroa mite, our more passive breeds are not equipped to handle these

intruders. 

Excessive interference and the foresight of Rudolf Steiner

In deference to the spiritual science of Rudolf Steiner, it needs to be said

that this modern Renaissance man predicted in 1923 that if humanity continued

to cultivate the honeybees by artificial means, we would, within eighty years,

 witness the mass disappearance of the bees.

Arguably the best-kept secret of the 20th Century, in terms of a resource for

social transformation, Rudolf Steiner, in his series of lectures entitled "

The Bees," gave numerous indications to portray the intricate nature of the

honeybee community.
In capsule, Steiner warned against both meddling with the natural process of

hive society and artificially manipulation of queen bees.

The following list of ways humanity is known to interfere with the natural

process of bee life, while substantial, is no doubt incomplete:

- The raising of larva in separate quarters, arbitrary feeding of royal jelly

to produce queens, then shipping by post to keepers.
- Selection of bee populations for docility, de-selecting for aggression.
- In contrast to the normal 5 or 6-year life span of a queen is, "re-queening"

 after one or two years.
- The grafting of queens -  moving larva to artificial cups, then cages for

transport.
- Supplanting guard bees with protective measures of humans.
- Keeping hives hyper clean, to reduce production of "nuisance" propolis.
- Using chemical control agents for disease and pests.
- Providing ready-made combs in place of bee-constructed combs, to save work (

production time) for the bees.
- In a similar vein, supplying sheets of wax, so bees don't have to gather

and secret their own wax.
- Use of ventilators so the bees don't have to tend this.
- Use of queen excluders to prevent eggs being laid in inconvenient areas of

the hive.
- Moving of hives over long distances at the will of human intention.
- Clipping of queens' wings.
- Agricultural practices consisting of monocultures that wreak havoc on

honeybee diets, limiting options once the dominant crop is no longer

flowering.

The foregoing list delineates some of the many strategies used to manipulate

production.  Clearly, mankind is capable of invention.  In fact, we are able

to wax clever, even to the point of genius.  However, it appears that when we

fail to perceive the whole picture, we fall short of the masterful way that a

naturally developing hive proceeds.

Perhaps there are effective ways to work in harmony with the bees, even using

a certain degree of creative intervention.  But just which particular

intercessions will time prove to be both wise and productive, in terms of a

win-win for both bee and human?
 Who can know, but those who gain utmost understanding of the synergy and

multi-dimension of the bee kingdom?

Leo Tolstoy, after his own lengthy study of bees, had this to say: "The

higher the human intellect rises in the discovery [of the bees' aim], the

more obvious it becomes that the final aim is beyond its reach."

The most essential thing we learn from reviewing the Steiner material is that

beekeepers would do well to acquire a metaphysical understanding of bees and

the complex masterpiece of the hive.
Mystery lives in the hive, and within the golden elixir that is honey,

mystery we have yet to, or may never, discover.

Spiritual ecology holds that the first step in addressing an issue pertaining

to the realm of nature is to deepen our understanding of the overall synergy

of the particular eco-community in question. 
 Meanwhile, the short answer, at least for consumers, is to buy only honey

produced in an organic manner.

To access the complete article on this issue, as presented by Earth Vision,

visit the site:

EARTH VISION
http://www.evsite.net/
Josef Graf
nature in the light of spiritual ecology

The Earth Vision website presents spiritual ecology, the interweave of nature

and humanity, by addressing current issues, as well as through five books

that open the reader's perspective by means of the following approaches to

eco-spirituality: geographic; seasonal; art, history/reincarnation, and humor.
Visit the site at www.evsite.net

Also visit Insight21 at www.insight21.net  - answers for the 21st Century.