That is very alarming, KK. Below is another report by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). "What we've seen so far is unprecedented,'' said Alan Hicks, DEC's bat specialist. "Most bat researchers would agree that this is the gravest threat to bats they have ever seen. We have bat researchers, laboratories and caving groups across the country working to understand the cause of the problem and ways to contain it. Until we know more, we are asking people to stay away from known bat caves." Bat biologists across the country are evaluating strategies to monitor the presence of the disease and collect specimens for laboratory analysis. Biologists are taking precautions - using sanitary clothing and respirators when entering caves -- to avoid spreading the disease in the process. Bat populations are particularly vulnerable during hibernation as they congregate in large numbers in caves - in clusters of 300 per square foot in some locations -- making them susceptible to disturbance or disease. The vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of bats known to hibernate in New York do so in just five caves and mines. Because bats migrate as far as hundreds of miles to their summer range, impacts to hibernating bats can have significant implications for bats throughout the Northeast. Indiana bats, a state and federally endangered species, are perhaps the most vulnerable. Half the estimated 52,000 Indiana bats that hibernate in New York are located in just one former mine - a mine that is now infected with white nose syndrome. Eastern pipistrelle, northern long-eared and little brown bats are also dying. Little brown bats, the most common hibernating species in the state, have sustained the largest number of deaths. I am very suspicious of GM BT-11 corn, which is 40% of the corn crop grown in the US, primarily in middle-America. There's a possible link between BT corn and bee-colony deaths. The study in question is a small research project conducted at the University of Jena from 2001 to 2004. The researchers examined the effects of pollen from a genetically modified maize variant called "Bt corn" on bees. A gene from a soil bacterium had been inserted into the corn that enabled the plant to produce an agent that is toxic to insect pests. The study concluded that there was no evidence of a "toxic effect of Bt corn on healthy honeybee populations." But when, by sheer chance, the bees used in the experiments were infested with a parasite, something eerie happened. According to the Jena study, a "significantly stronger decline in the number of bees" occurred among the insects that had been fed a highly concentrated Bt poison feed. According to Hans-Hinrich Kaatz, a professor at the University of Halle in eastern Germany and the director of the study, the bacterial toxin in the genetically modified corn may have "altered the surface of the bee's intestines, sufficiently weakening the bees to allow the parasites to gain entry -- or perhaps it was the other way around. We don't know." Of course, the concentration of the toxin was ten times higher in the experiments than in normal Bt corn pollen. In addition, the bee feed was administered over a relatively lengthy six-week period. Kaatz would have preferred to continue studying the phenomenon but lacked the necessary funding. "Those who have the money are not interested in this sort of research," says the professor, "and those who are interested don't have the money." More research must be done, of course. If bats are eating insects loaded with BT that have fed on GM corn, it looms very large in my mind as the possible culprit. Here is a link that might be useful: Bat Die-Off Prompts Investigation

""Hence there is a clear potential mechanism for these pesticides to damage the first line of defence that insects have against disease. Again it seems clear that insecticides are linked to sickness in bees and impairment to pollination services."" The possibility fits in with what has already been discovered about the harmful effects of neonicotinoids ��" in that bees treated with imidacloprid, which is Bayer's biggest-selling insecticide worth ã500m a year in sales to the company ��" are far more susceptible to disease, even at microscopic doses. This has been shown by two independent studies carried out in the past two years." See the link below: Here is a link that might be useful: very recent news article

nope. I try to do things chem free if at all possible. There must have been a few hundred dead bees in the pan, and the numbers of bees to be found still feeding dropped significantly. then within a few hours the numbers of bees feeding at the pans was back up to normal. I am wondering if over time several hives fairly close to here have gradually been finding the nectar and moving all their operations to my yard. I tried today to find the hive, and got pretty far off into the woods before I ran out of time. Most of the bees are heading north east but a few seem to be going south. I definitely must be careful out there...they cling to your clothes without any hostile intentions and all it would take is to get one down your neck or between your arm and your side while walking to get stung and then the whole mess of them would be in an uproar.

I bet doctors hate it when they hear ... Whatever happened to the grave in the backyard? Dinner tonight? ... Dying bats and dying bees You know you're drinking too much coffee when ... The pain is soooo intense