mj wrote:
We were watching Shipping Wars the other night and one of the
loads being shipped was 26 tons of bees (including hive boxes).
This guy ships them from Michigan to North Carolina in the
spring and then back in the fall. In just the trip back there
must have been a million bees lost.
My first question is Why would he do this?

to pollinate crops. there are not often enough
local wild honey bees to adequately pollinate some
crops.


Second, somehow I would think this would fall
into the same kind of regulation that prevents
transporting some plant material from state to
state.
Anyone know, Any ideas?

i'm pretty sure it does require a license of
some kind, but also it likely gets exemptions
from strict controls in exchange for certain
kinds of regular inspections to prevent the
spread of diseases.

the problem is that there are only so many
bees to pollinate crops. some crops almost
require european honey bees to pollinate them.
as the bee diseases and collapses continue this
puts even more pressure on those hives left
behind. shipping exposes them to more stress
and pollution. generally, it's not a really
great solution to the problem, but until someone
comes up with something better it's often all
that certain farmers have available to get the
job done.

some hives travel thousands of miles each year.


songbird