PF PHOTO CONTEST - Creepy-crawlies

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Yep. But they are starting to make a little comeback here in Kansas. I saw more last summer in my apple trees than I've seen in years. I'm hopeing this summer will be even better.

I pray that this happens here, Don. There are no wild honeybees around anywhere. They may have died off before the commercial hives did, and only the business-aspect of the commercial die-off triggered an alarm. I did not see a single honeybee last summer, and one of my nearest neighbors and I have extensive organic gardens with fruit-trees. Yields really stink when the pollinators are ill-adapted to the crops. For example, bumblebees are buzz-pollinators and are excellent at pollinating squash and other crops with big blossoms. They are not so good at pollinating plants with small blossoms that require the insects to negotiate a narrow space in order to get the pollen/nectar, etc, and visit other similar blossoms.

I don't know what's causing all of this, but I live in an area that is heavily dependent on corn-fed dairy cows, and I fear that GM corn with enhanced BT content is killing off hives near those fields. If the BT toxins could be confined to the green parts of the plants, we might be OK, but I fear that the genetic manipulation has been heavy-handed and the BT toxins extend to the pollen, and that bees are taking it home. BT paralyzes the gut of insects that consume it so that they starve.