CCD is caused by GEOMAGNETIC STORMS?

[bee-nuts]

I laughed at this idea until I read it.  No Im not saying it is the cause but it is possible.  I would think that if a colony has been on a diet of neonic pollen and then gets hit with a geomagnetic storm that it could cause cain with the field bees.  Read the info and take out of it what you will.

#8 page 509 http://www.extension.org/mediawiki/files/2/2d/Proceedings_of_the_American_Bee_Research_Conference_-_May_2011_ABJ.pdf

[AliciaH]

I think I would have liked the article more if there had been some data corrolating the upswing of CCD in the past few years with an upswing in solar activity to back up it's claims.

[Scadsobees]

Interesting, and I think worth looking at.

However...our sun has been in a relatively quiet phase for the last couple of years, bottom of the sunspot cycle, bottoming out in 2009. It is only just waking back up to resume the cycle.  Seems to me that if CCD was cause by this that it would have been worst around 2001 at the last peak.

Unless it had more to do with the lack of storms and sunspots, seems 2009 was the worst for CCD when there were very few sunspots, haven't heard near as much about it since.

[bee-nuts]

I find the fact that bees can be affected by things we just simply dont see or think about.  We know pigeons have a magnetic gps system.  You just have to wonder how sensitive a bees navigation system may be to neonics, and other factors that could push there ability to navigate over the edge.  I know the neonic debate is very opinionated.  Whether or not neonics is or is not a factor of ccd does not matter to me.  I dont like the negative potential it has, and I want stricter guidelines for approval of all pesticides. 

[Jonat]

I'm leaning more to the idea that CCD is linked to other specific factors (like pesticides), but some of the year to year fluctuation might be explained by other factors.

I have seen some research that shows that one risk for heart attacks (low HRV - heart rate variability) is made worse by magnetic storms... would rather focus on the things that one can control, but outside of that, I could accept the idea that there are more heart problems during and right after a geomagnetic disturbance.

Heart rate variability, exposure to geomagnetic storms, and the risk of ischemic heart disease.

[Kathyp]

CCD like reports go back well before pesticide use.   it would be intresting to look up the dates of some of the old stories and see if the correlate to any solar activity, either more activity  or less.