The concept of drifting is that with a number of hives in a row, on a windy day the bees are more apt to return to the first hive from the direction of the main pollen flow. Consequently the first hive will be much stronger than the last hive. Dave Cushman suggests the opposite "end of the line" effect (Dave Cushman on Drifting Behavior in Honey Bees). Dave goes on to describe the drifting effects of featureless water.
In any case the disoriented, drifting bees will have an unfamiliar smell to the guard bees but will usually be allowed entrance if carrying pollen and displaying submissive behavior. Ted Hooper in his book "Guide to Bees and Honey" states:
“a drifting bee entering the colony by mistake, perhaps because it has been blown down to the hive by a cross wind, or misled by a similarity of the approach picture, will be challenged. In this case the guard will press the challenge because the smell of this bee is not the right one. The drifter, because its instinct says it is in the right place, will not try to fight the guard but will submit. If the drifter is facing the guard it will offer food, which the guard will usually ignore. If the guard is attacking from the side [...] the drifter will tuck its tail in and stand quiet, with its head tucked down, or it may rear on to its two back pairs of legs, extending its tongue and strop this with its front legs. These patterns of behavior denote submission and the guard [...] will do no real harm and certainly not attempt to sting. As with all bees, the guard’s concentration period is short, and in a few seconds it gets tired of the whole affair and lets the drifter proceed”
This study found the percentage of drifting bees to be as high as 60% within unmarked row apiaries (Drifting of Honey Bee Foragers within and between apiaries pollinating blueberry) and up to 4.5% in apiaries 600 mts away. In the study below (Drifting of Honey Bees) they found that there was no preference in honey bee strain when drifting nor decrease in life span. They did find an increased drift from center (22%) to edge (39%).
Hive setup that could lead to drifting
The study below suggests that the optimal distance is 9 meters between hives and 18 meters between rows but this is often not possible. They list ways to reduce drifting by different apiary layout (circles, squares, U, V, Sigmoid), different entrance orientation and different colors. The idea is that different colored hives will assist the bees in identifying their own hive.
The idea is that different colored hives will assist the bees in identifying their own hive. Bees see colors
differently than we do and studies show they prefer purple, violet and blue in
that order. Bees can see ultraviolet light patterns invisible to us (Honey Bees ability to identify color).
Why does drifting matter? Because unless you live in an isolated area there is a good chance your hives contain bees from neighboring hives along with their pests and diseases (Honey Bee Drifting and the spread of AFB). Drifting can also occur with Queens returning from mating flights (4% Honey Bee Queen Drifting).
It's like if you are drunk and walking back to your house and all the homes are of the exact color and architectural style. This is human drifting. I have personally experienced this phenomena. This can be very embarrassing.
Recently Monsanto was voted the most evil corporation of the year in a survey taken by NaturalNews. They won by a huge margin over the second place Federal Reserve which serves the massively corrupt global banking cartel. Monsanto is the pioneer of agricultural biotechnology and produces genetically engineered seeds that tolerate their herbicide "Roudup". In the past Monsanto has been responsible for producing Saccharin (causes cancer), Polystyrene (generates the most total hazardous waste), Atom bomb and nuclear weapons (plutonium purification and production), Petroleum-Based Fertilizer (kill beneficial soil micro-organisms, sterilizing the soil and creating a dependence, like an addiction, to the synthetic replacements), Roundup (Studies in rats have shown consistently negative health impacts ranging from tumors, altered organ function, and infertility, to cancer and premature death), Aspartame (NutraSweet / Equal) (94 health issues caused by aspartame), Bovine Growth Hormone (causes cancer in humans), "Agent Orange" (a herbicide defoliant used in Vietnam from 1961-1971 responsible for an estimated 400,000 people killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth defects), PCBs (a now banned organic pollutant found to cause cancer and other side effects in all animals including humans), Dioxins (produced in the creation of artificial plant growth hormones and known to cause cancer and birth defects) and DDT (a pesticide banned worldwide in 1972 for health effects like cancer and birth defects on wildlife and humans), Genetically Modified Crops / GMOs and Terminator Seeds (forces farmers to buy new seeds from Monsanto year after year).
Monsanto is the producer of the Roundup (glyphosate) brand of herbicides and is the leading producer of genetically engineered seed (Alfalfa, Canola, Corn, Cotton, Sorghum, Soybeans, Sugarbeets and Wheat). Among their seeds is the genetically modified corn seed created to kill all insects that eat it. The seed contains Bacill Thuringiensis which has been proven to weaken the immune system of bees (Beekeepers' Library). Monsanto has acquired patents to coat their seeds with neonicotinoid pesticides (Planting Pesticides) known to be fatal to bees and banned in many countries (Insecticides and Bees). Due to cross pollination it may now be impossible to eliminate Monsanto's genetically engineered, toxic franken-crops. Genetically modified foods have been banned in many European countries. The health repercussions of genetically modified foods to humans, bees and all wildlife is potentially scary. The largest producer of genetically engineered seed is Monsanto. 75% to 80% of the processed food you consume every day has GMOs inside, and residues of Monsanto’s RoundUp herbicide outside. In addition fresh fruit and vegetables like genetically engineered sweet corn is already being sold in your grocery store.
The worldwide production of seeds is now monopolized by a few agrochemical corporations. Monsanto, Bayer and Syngenta now control over half the worldwide distribution of seeds. Monsanto has established cross-licensing agreements for its transgenic patents with every single other company in the mix, while Dow has agreements with all except for Bayer. And Syngenta has agreements with Dow, Monsanto, and DuPont, while BASF has agreements with Dow and Monsanto. Monsanto has purchased over 50 seed companies since l996 (Monsanto Seed Companies). Some misconceptions of genetic modification and agrochemical use are that they are necessary to feed the world's growing population. In a recent U.S.D.A report (U.S.D.A. Report) researchers stated "Over the first 15 years of commercial use, GMO seeds have not been shown to definitively increase yield potentials, and "in fact, the yields of herbicide-tolerant or insect-resistant seeds may be occasionally lower than the yields of conventional varieties." GM seeds do however increase the profits of Monsanto as the higher priced seeds are patented and can not be saved and are resistant to the herbicide Roundup (produced by Monsanto) which has led to a substantial increase in the use of Roundup.
This video describes the process of genetic modification
"There's nothing they are leaving untouched: the mustard, the okra, the bringe oil, the rice, the cauliflower. Once they have established the norm: that seed can be owned as their property, royalties can be collected. We will depend on them for every seed we grow of every crop we grow. If they control seed, they control food, they know it -- it's strategic. It's more powerful than bombs. It's more powerful than guns. This is the best way to control the populations of the world. The story starts in the White House, where Monsanto often got its way by exerting disproportionate influence over policymakers via the "revolving door". One example is Michael Taylor, who worked for Monsanto as an attorney before being appointed as deputy commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1991. While at the FDA, the authority that deals with all US food approvals, Taylor made crucial decisions that led to the approval of GE foods and crops. Then he returned to Monsanto, becoming the company's vice president for public policy. Thanks to these intimate links between Monsanto and government agencies, the US adopted GE foods and crops without proper testing, without consumer labeling and in spite of serious questions hanging over their safety. Not coincidentally, Monsanto supplies 90 percent of the GE seeds used by the US market. Monsanto's long arm stretched so far that, in the early nineties, the US Food and Drugs Agency even ignored warnings of their own scientists, who were cautioning that GE crops could cause negative health effects. Other tactics the company uses to stifle concerns about their products include misleading advertising, bribery and concealing scientific evidence."
Former Monsanto employees currently hold positions in US government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Supreme Court. These include:
Michael A. Friedman, MD, was Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Medical and Public Policy for Pharmacia, and later served as an FDA deputy commissioner.[222][223]
Linda J. Fisher was an assistant administrator at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before she was a vice president at Monsanto from 1995 to 2000. In 2001, Fisher became the deputy administrator of the EPA.[114]
Michael R. Taylor was an assistant to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner before he left to work for a law firm, one client of which was Monsanto. Taylor then became deputy commissioner of the FDA from 1991 to 1994, during which time the FDA approved rBST.[114] Anti-GM activists accused him of conflict of interest but a Federal investigation cleared him. Taylor was later re-appointed to the FDA in August 2009 by President Barack Obama.[224][225]
United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas worked as an attorney for Monsanto in the 1970s. Thomas wrote the majority opinion in the 2001 Supreme Court decision J. E. M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.[226] which found that "newly developed plant breeds are patentable under the general utility patent laws of the United States."[114][226][227]
Public officials with indirect connections or who worked for Monsanto after leaving public office include:
Mickey Kantor served on Monsanto's board after serving in government as a trade representative.[114]
William D. Ruckelshaus served as the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970, was subsequently acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and then Deputy Attorney General of the United States. From 1983 to 1985, he returned as EPA administrator. After leaving government he joined the Board of Directors of Monsanto; he is currently retired from that board.[228]
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was chairman and chief executive officer of G. D. Searle & Company, which Monsanto purchased in 1985. Rumsfeld's stock and options in Searle were $12 million USD at the time of the transaction.
Here is a video that describes how Monsanto silences scientific dissent through the positioning of former employees in influential occupations. "In this case that a former Monsanto scientist finds himself in charge of a
specially-created post at the very journal that published two landmark
studies questioning the safety of that company's products should
surprise no one who is aware of the Monsanto revolving door. This door
is responsible for literally dozens of Monsanto officials, lobbyists and
consultants finding themselves in positions of authority in the
government bodies that are supposedly there to regulate the company and
its actions."
The people of Hawaii are fighting Monsanto in a case "Genetic Engineering Chemical Warfare".
Monsanto has long been trying to establish control over the seeds of the plants that produce food for the world. They have patented a number of genetically altered food crops, which can only be grown with proper license, and the seeds for which must be purchased anew each year. Alas, genetically engineered (GE) crops cannot be contained. And rather than being found guilty of contaminating farmers' property, Monsanto has successfully sued hundreds of unsuspecting farmers for patent infringement when unlicensed GE crops were found growing in their fields. Many farmers have subsequently, quite literally, lost their farms. Percy Schmeiser of Saskatchewan, Canada, is but one of Monsanto's victims, but contrary to so many others, he refused to quietly tolerate the injustice. In a classic case of David versus Goliath, Schmeiser fought back against one of the most powerful corporations in the world.
This 2011 article from Counterpunch a political newsletter describes how Monsanto (along with the other agro-chemical giants) through economic and political influence have persuaded the "organic elite" along with the major food distributors to accept genetically engineered crops despite the potential contamination to organic farms and ranches. Monsanto and others involved in the production of genetically modified food have spent $35 million towards defeating California Proposition 37 which would mandate the disclosure or labelling of all genetically modified foods. “The No on 37 Campaign knows that basic facts do not support their argument for denying consumers the right to know what’s in our food , so they are resorting to a $35 million campaign of misrepresentations, misleading statements, and outright lies,” said Stacy Malkan, California Right to Know spokesperson. “Prop. 37 comes down to a question of who is more credible, the leading health and consumer advocates, faith based groups, working families and millions of everyday Californians -- or the same small group of financially motivated special interests and political operatives who told us Agent Orange, DDT and cigarettes were safe?”
The truth about Prop 37
Just a simple label—like in 61 other countries, indicating if our food has been genetically engineered
Put on the ballot by a million Californians just like you
Enables us to make an informed choice about what foods are right for our families
Supported by consumers, farmers, nurses, doctors and a broad Coalition
It is very simple. We have the right to know what is in our food and how it was created. Monsanto and others involved in the production of our food say we do not have that right. In Europe labelling of GMO (genetically modified organisms) products has been mandatory since 1997 and any GMO food products exported to Europe must be labelled disclosing that they are genetically modified.
Vote Yes on Proposition 37. Go to The Right to Know to find out more about proposition 37 and how important it is to you and your children.
In an attempt to combat it's negative environmental image Monsanto recently bought the company Beeologics which produces biological pest and disease controls for bees. I wonder, is it possible? Genetically Modified Bees?
Monsanto Franken-Bee
Postscript: The $35 million dollars Monsanto spent on advertisement to defeat Proposition 37 was well spent as they achieved a narrow victory enabling them to continue hiding the true nature of the food they produce. Ultimately the joke is on them. By monopolizing the food market worldwide and selling dangerous genetically modified foods they will eventually kill all of their customers. The Devil has just finished building a new wing in Hell called Monsantoland for former employees.
