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Hello Fellow Ponders,

As you have probably already noticed, I am a humble lover of koi but more importantly all of nature. The decline in the honey bee population has saddened me for many years. But now there is hope! The coolness of science has created a way to save the honey bees and rid them of their many threats. The scientists from the University of Texas at Austin hope that this bacteria they have  created will allow the honey bee population to rise while simultaneously dwindling the population of their most common parasite. The bacteria seems to be pretty effective in their study samples. In the experimental group it showed around a 35% increase in survival rate in comparison to the control group. Along with a 70% increase in the likelihood of the mites that fed on treated honey bees dying. Which is very good. These varroa mites are very detrimental to the population, as most parasites are. Another very big danger to the honey bee population is deformed wing virus, which can often be carried by these Varroa Mites. The virus causes gene mutation and also weakens the infected species. But the bacteria strain that was created has been engineered to both protect the honey bees from mites and this deformed wing virus, while simultaneously causing the immune system of the mites attack and kill itself. Which will eliminate this devastating parasite. I am very excited about this all because honey bees are very important to the ecosystem and the pollination cycle. Without honey bees, flowers populations are GONE. Vegetables, like broccoli, squash, nuts, ALMONDS, severely in danger. Without honey bees growth of produce will become increasingly harder to produce and will most likely make pricing go up. Which is TERRIBLE! My world would just crumble. My beautiful garden would be greatly impacted if the honey bee population disappeared, my poor garden. At least my koi will be okay, algae does not require pollination, so at least the fish can eat. But back to my point, according to a national survey, beekeepers lost around 40% of their honey bee colonies last year. This matter is very urgent and it is devastating that it has reached this point. I hope that this treatment will prove successful and the honey bees will come back. But in the meantime remember to always save the honey bee friends. I know they can be scary but they are not malevolent and they do not want to hurt you. They just want to pollinate the world and make honey. They are good creatures and most of all a very important part of the ecosystem. Without honey bees we wouldn’t have anything. Sorry that’s dramatic but you get my point. They are very important. They “contribute nearly $20 billion each year to the value of U.S. crop production…” so I guess it is not an exaggeration to say that they are important. Economically, we would be devastated without them, and most likely starving from a low supply of food. Our plot on the supply vs. demand graph would not be one to strive for, it would make prices too high and many people would be unable to eat. Save the bees ponders! I want to live!

Keep Swimming,

Koi Lover