There were a couple of bee related pieces in the Observer today. One rather alarming article about the government’s lack of support for a study project which aims to develop treatments for the diseases affecting the bee population. Apparently the selfless pollinating work of “fruit trees, field beans and other crops“ done by the bees contributes £165 million a year to the economy. Leaving aside the issue of what a ‘field bean’ actually is, asking for a little back to save the nation’s bees doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request. The hive would like it be known that it fully supports this campaign, and as possibly the closest hive to the Houses of Parliament (we’ll have to ask John about his bees at Lambeth Palace) is prepared to fly peaceful sorties to the garden of Number 10 to raise awareness around the issue.
A video on the Guardian site, about Almond pollination in California (the largest managed pollination event in the world) makes a case for further research. It’s also a good illustration of the fate befalling our bee cousins across the pond.
The other piece was by ‘acclaimed technology thinker’ Charles Leadbetter about new ways of organising ourselves in the internet age. Its an interesting article which begins with a story about a promotional campaign for a computer game that began with the disappearance of a beekeeper and her site www.ilovebees.com being mysteriously hijacked. It was an elaborate ‘mystery’ that thousands joined in to solve. Ah, if only they’d actually been doing something useful like working out what is making the bees disappear, what a beautiful thing it could have been. (AH)