Dennis vanEngelsdorp: Where have the bees gone?

www.ted.com Bees are dying in droves. Why? Leading apiarist Dennis vanEngelsdorp looks at the gentle, misunderstood creature's important place in nature and the mystery behind its alarming disappearance.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at www.ted.com/ind...

[@newportlights]

Great speech. I read somewhere that the disappearance or death of the Bee's is primarily related to reactions the bee's are having to chemicals used in farming, pest control, & landscaping. If the cause isn't man made this really is pretty weird especially for a super organism.

[@ubctango]

I just started reading Fruitless Fall by Rowan Jacobsen. When beekeepers talk about bees disappearing, they don't mean "escaping," that would be the equivalent of swarming, i.e. they would go look for another place to set up shop. They leave and don't come back; the assumption is that they are afflicted by something that weakens them to the point where they die on the way. For all you CSI watchers: no body, no autopsy. That's also why it's been so difficult to figure out CCD.

[@uluv2nvme2]

I live in Groveland Fl. this year has been unseasonably cold. As i pulled back the sheets that kept my sago palms protested, 1 little bee was stuck to the sheet. It was dead of course. I couldn't help but to be saddened by the sight of the bee, the pollen he worked so hard for still stuck to his little legs : ( Just yesterday i heard the sound of buzzing and went in search of the hummm. The tree across the street was in full bloom and covered with bees. I stood there amazed....

[@rythumrichard]

Sir Edmund Hillary who was first to summit Mt Everest was a bee keeper by trade in his early days, and remained a keen member of the New Zealand bee keeping community throughout his 88 years.

[@markus310773]

I simply think it is great that people like Mr. van Engelsdorp try to tackle such important issues like "Where have the bees gone". This is a real contrast to the benefits we achieve by having such a huge number of (partially very) bright people working on Wall Street. I might be too idealistic, but the world would be better off if more people did not only concentrate on making money, driving a Porsche and showing people how great they are...

[@rebeccacares3468]

A fantastic and inspiring talk. I love the motto, "Make meadows not lawns."

[@RuudJH]

Yes this is a very good passionate talk. Bees.

[@XSeveredManX]

I live in new england. I didn't mow my lawn for 3 years. Over those years a patch of sunflowers came out of no where and A bunch of trees started growing.

[@Kloxbyn]

Certainly interesting and informative. This channel is awesome, it's so unique.

[@ratholin]

way to listen to the guy who's studying it. He said that some of the healthiest colonies get the most pesticide. They checked it out and crossed it off the list.

[@archaedemos]

awesome point of view!!

[@1schwererziehbar1]

did he notice that the knodding thing at the beginning was funny, because if all people would nodded at their right neighbour at the same time noone would have had eye contact and that that probably caused a lot of people to wait for the other to look at them but the neighbour didn't turn around because he was also waiting for his neighbour and then things got really chaotic? that probably caused the laughing.

[@TECHKLEC]

Yes kurt, that's what I was referring to and Fox was not the only media outlet reporting their migration. And no, I'm sure they don't eat dogs but from what I recall, there have been some very serious attacks on people. I'd just like to know what is the cause of the crisis outlined in this particular clip.

[@marsCubed]

comp7878, It is hard to know whether you are being serious, but here goes anyway. If you let a field go fallow, it will generally fill with wild flowers and other plants. You may have heard the expression 'going to clover'. Food crops pull nutrients out of the ground, but they also put their waste there, This is food for flowering plants and fungi etc. Letting nature recover naturally allows for rich diversity, this can provide a balance to the pathogens which emerge within monocultures.

[@WellnessMafia]

Absolutely fascinating. Thanks you for this clip.

[@TECHKLEC]

The name of these African bees escapes me at the moment, but they are very agressive in nature and I don't think they pollinate. At any rate, keep an eye on this situation as it progresses because it may lead to diasterous consequences.

[@rootsxrocks]

The increased density of our population has made us dependent on advanced agriculture. at 8:25 he states that 1 in three bites were dependent on pollination. I also wonder why escaped bees could not maintain populations in the wild. How much have we altered domestic bees in the last 2000 years that they are not so wild as we imagine.

[@gusphraba]

In Germany most butterflies and bees are dying out and we don't have a lot of genetically modified plants. I know a beekeper and scientist who came up with some great inventions but I don't know if he still watches what's going on, he turned old. Gotta ask him some day.

[@DVAFP]

the problem with disappearing bees i suspect is pesticides or climate change. someone once said and im paraphrasing "when bees disappear humans will surely follow".

[@TECHKLEC]

I just did and breify scanned over some of the sites. I'm quite sure there are others. Thanks.

[@2snipe1]

I remember bumbles dying in the summer. Just randomly. Never thought it was because of a flu virus.

[@TECHKLEC]

This quirk of nature has been going on for about three or maybe four years now and has been progressively getting worse. Beekeepers themselves are loosing their entire colonies and nobody has been able to figure out why. I'm not sure about different species of bees or bees from another country because I don't think this problem is restricted to North America. There is a species of bees in the US that were brought over froim Africa that are upsetting the balance of nature and spreading north.

[@cruxey]

You can't know for a fact that there's a single factor which influence the drop in numbers.

[@TECHKLEC]

This is a serious problem. How will pollination be done to grow crops?

[@Jonase123]

thanks ted

[@toydoll89]

Probably because wasps isn't directly responsible for our food production. Oh.. and people are scared of wasps.

[@blaziermissy]

I agree with you in part, but in ALL honesty, MONEY is the problem. Watch Zeitgeist: Addendum. You'll see exactly how money is the problem. A resource based society would eradicate most of the world's problem and humanity could flourish. It's a must see.

[@del33pi]

everyone! take out 90% of your lawn and xeriscape it or turn into a meadow! and the other 10% do NOT use fertilizer, just get a type of lawngrass that is native to your area. imagine how quiet weekend mornings would be without lawnmowers...ahhh

[@drchaffee]

LOL You've never seen the look of disapproval from the old lady next door!

[@Waranoa]

Assuming he's Dutch (he's got a bit of an accent) His name is Dennis van Engelsdorp. Just for the record ;)

[@bluemamie]

topstot, that quote is apocryphal. I mistakenly quoted it myself before it was debunked on Snopes.

[@NwZ2]

Cool hypothesis. Got evidence and reasoned arguments to back them up?

[@BrianMack]

Another great Vid

[@Newtoon]

I understand your point but disagree on your conclusion. He could have given (boring) details and figures about all cumulating causes but this Ted Talk is not a peer review presentation but a moving synthesis about one topic. So, he went regrouping the cause of the disorder to one simple thing : we, humans, lost connection with Nature (symbolised by our love for lawns). Let's love Nature again and bees will come back. No reports needed. Note : I love sciences (in case you doubt ;-) ).

[@mikedubya4427]

You know the topic of possible bee extinction is important when it's an episode of The Simpsons.

[@maxmagnus777]

Wasps eat other insects, they are also at the top of the food chain. So same things apply as for the parasitic "something something" bee

[@kurtilein3]

techklec: use bees, its the only option. or maybe trained humming birds? robotic bees? one more realistic option would be to try out different species of bees, from different countries. but there seems to be no alternative to bees.

[@sausage4mash]

wow never thought of insects catching a virus ,do bees havea imune system ?

[@Serpreme]

Didn't he say that some of the most healthy hives were the ones with pesticides?

[@drchaffee]

Goodness, that's an image I didn't need. Perhaps with a big fuckin' meadow I won't be able to see her.

[@56jmoney]

I was thinking... what if it's the genetically modified food that's causing the problem? Wouldn't that also genetically alter the pollen as well? What if that's what's affecting the bees.

[@samala51]

It's just nuts that our governments have allowed this to happen. Nature really is quite delicate and I fear that at some point we will ruin things for ourselves and other species.

[@DavidBall67]

They have gone to the big beehive in the sky ..

[@veganath]

@AlanAbbott Interesting theory, Monsanto vs. The World..... I hope that it's not true, but like u I hv my suspicions. We need to use the best of technologies & embrace a simpler authentic way of life, devoid of NDD.

[@markus310773]

Thx for replying. However, I frankly did not completely understand your response.

[@whycantibefree]

Einstein was the one that said if te Bees were to die off as a species, humans would be extinct within 45 years. good video def makes you wonder.

[@robertmaxwell797]

They're aren't escaping they're dying

[@p0ison1vy]

i never understood why people mow their lawns.

[@sheepwshotguns]

if i grew a meadow instead of a lawn, how many bugs would i be inviting into my house =/

[@17jindan]

see WE ARE BEINGS OF FREQUENCY Full Movie, says that MICROWAVES etc are KILLING THE BEES...not too good for us either

[@gusphraba]

I think pesticides are the biggest problem. I'm not a fan of genetically modified food but pesticides are the alternative and both are a dangour. But pesticide is defenitely bad, not sure about GMF yet.

[@p0ison1vy]

oh indeed!

[@grimshawr]

I heard it was because of interference from cell phones, was that just a myth?

[@vrshowdown]

well we don't have to worry about killer bees

[@casinogiant]

We have a trending of challenges going on these days. The water bucket challenge, the cinnamon challenge, and many more. I propose today a challenge to everyone to bring forth any knowledge they have that the public should know about. I call it the truth challenge. At least one thing you know about some thing that others should know that you have no doubt is true. I'm not talking about flat earth, aliens abductions, or any other opinionated or disputed fictions. I will start with one of my own. I once had the opportunity to read a case study about the pesticides they sprayed back in the eighties that I cannot divulge where I got this info. But the part everyone should know is the pesticide was deemed harmless to the bees so they sprayed it everywhere. Turned out that when mixed with water it was very harmful for bees. Cause virus like plague among the bee population, killing of like some 80% or more of the us bee population. Your turn.

[@AlanAbbott]

@meekychuppet A big fan of the GMO, I'm guessing... As you can probably tell, I do a lot of that. I guess that's what makes me who I am.

[@fireflyuphigh]

He failed to stress the importance of bees to human survival.

[@vidiot4u2]

what is? everything or just the flu theory? and why?

[@Judge_Judy]

working bees only live for 6 weeks ?

[@gusphraba]

Sorry, what I meant was, if we wait for the people who are good at making money to do the right thing, we will wait forever and things will keep getting worse because they care about themselves and their families and not about the future of the rest of the world. Which is not their fault, it's what makes them good at it. Instead we have to make it more profitable for them to do good than evil. They will never do good if it means less profit, just like the people in the streets. It's our fault.

[@MartinHand]

Chemtrails killed the bees

[@RogueBrit]

Scary stuff be worried people

[@oahiska]

google "no organic bee losses"

[@BlackMetalSwan]

I took the bees, and you'll never get them back!!!!

[@diomedes39]

@vanhellcine888 OH GOD ! THEY'RE PERPENDICULAR TO EVERYTHING WE KNOW!

[@sosolid2kk]

36% 0.0

[@juckis]

it's because Roundup

[@stormkiller22]

Why are they laughing?

[@eggmom_813]

I'm eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich RIGHT NOW! :D

[@MCG3141]

Grow a meadow.

[@baronmorris]

also, cell phones. for real, tho. ;-)

[@vanhellcine888]

humans next.....lol....the bees have ascended 2 the 4th diamension

[@wade2bosh]

maybe bees are dying for the same reason the male species across the earth are dying out....environmental problems/chemicals/etc

[@OpakeArawra2]

what was that? grow a meadow of pot? alright. it won't be easy, but i think i'm the man for the job. *puts on sunglasses* yeahhhhh..

[@ugk26]

Sexy response, I agree, you can't blame someone...it is what it is. Sam Harris free will argument...check it out.

[@gusphraba]

Let's be more specific. The world would be better off if these people made more money if they did the right thing. We have to build this environment, they'll do the job just fine. At the moment you make the most money being a drug dealer, wether it's a crook in the street of the founder of the Skull and Bones that brings up our presidents.

[@ChowZeb]

haha theres talks about bees?

[@isegoria1]

Maybe when we have nothing to shove in our fat gelatinous faces we will finally understand the importance of the bees.

[@TECHKLEC]

Sorry, but there is no 'good news' here.

Completely wrong.

[@DixyRae]

no no no, not the TED speaker. wanshei. The KZbin commenter. I'm calling wanshei a nutjob not Dennis from the video. If you look at his KZbin page, he reeks of conspiracy nut.

[@Terrible_Peril]

hahaha