WEST PALM BEACH, Florida -- A company in West Palm Beach, Florida is claiming that it has designed a product to stop colony collapse disorder where honeybees suddenly die off. BeesFree, Inc. (OTCBB: BEES), reports it is
bringing-to-market an organically-engineered, patent-pending, honeybee
feeding formulation that is a scientific breakthrough proven to arrest
the deadly effects of colony collapse disorder.
"BeesVita Plus is a concentrated solution that is introduced to the honeybees' water supplies," says David Todhunter, BeesFree's chief executive officer. "Studies show when honeybees drink BeesVita Plus they become healthier, stronger and more resistant to various illnesses and CCD."
CCD is the widespread disappearance of honeybee colonies. Inexplicably, after foraging, worker bees fail to return to their hives. CCD is a global epidemic threatening the production of crops dependent on bees for pollination and honey harvesting. In the U.S., honeybee pollination is responsible for $15 billion in added crop value, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
BeesFree's product announcement comes in the wake of last Thursday's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's denial of a petition requesting emergency suspension of clothianidin, a neonicotinoid pesticide. The petition was filed by 25 entomological, environmental and beekeeping groups that contend the pesticide is an "imminent hazard" linked to honeybee colony collapse disorder.
The causes of CCD are widely-debated. Theories include emerging diseases; paralyzing viruses; weakened immune systems; Nosema microsporidian parasite gut infections; hive invasions by destructive Varro parasitic mites; bee management stress, inadequate forage, poor nutrition and exposure to neonicotinoid-based insecticides.
"BeesVita Plus is composed of scientifically-engineered, natural components proven to contrast neonicotinoids' side effects on honeybees," says BeesFree's chief scientist and BeesVita Plus inventor Dr. Francesca del Vecchio. "The solution also contains antimicrobial agents and compounds to fight viruses and its interaction with Nosema parasite. Plus, it has powerful nutrients and antioxidants."
Dr. del Vecchio is an internationally-recognized biochemist specializing in DNA sequencing techniques used in genetic therapy and molecular biology. She earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry at Cambridge University, UK and has worked in the public and private research and development sector for 18 years.
"A three year study conducted in Italy's agriculturally-rich Tuscany region, where CCD has ravaged billions of honeybees, concluded that colonies fed BeesVita Plus not only survived but thrived," explains del Vecchio. "When BeesVita Plus was introduced to specific honeybee colonies, their populations increased by as much as 50 percent, compared to colonies that were not fed BeesVita Plus, which experienced a 40 percent population decrease."
CCD was first described by University of Florida entomologists in 2006. Worldwide, beekeepers reported drastic decreases in colony populations, ranging from 30 to 90 percent. Since then, there has been no effective weapon against CCD, until now.
"BeesVita Plus is expected to be available in the U.S. as soon as this autumn," says Todhunter. "Already, BeesFree is accepting orders from Argentinian, Italian, Slovakian and South African companies and government agencies."
Todhunter adds, "BeesFree is currently identifying U.S. university department of entomology honeybee labs to conduct more studies." He explains, "U.S. field studies will be conducted to further validate current, conclusive findings but they are not mandatory."
Since BeesVita Plus is an animal food product that contains known components that are generally-regarded as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Therefore, the product does not require further analysis or complex regulatory processes, according to Todhunter.
Neonicotinoid-based pesticides contain nicotine-related chemicals. The pesticide attacks the central nervous system causing fatal paralysis. Researchers believe, along with pollen, the pesticide clings to honeybees' bodies. Once the pesticide saturates bees' bodies it quickly attacks the brain, causing confusion and neurological disorders. The bees cannot navigate their way to the colony. Paralysis sets-in. Death soon follows.
France , Germany, Italy and Slovenia have already suspended use of neonicotinoid-based pesticides.
Several U.S. universities, including Harvard, Illinois and Purdue, have published studies that conclude these pesticides contribute to CCD.
Whilst the EPA has denied the petition calling for the suspension of clothianidin, the agency says in September it will "seek independent scientific peer review on how to better assess the risks of pesticides to pollinators."
Beekeepers are instructed to mix BeesVita Plus concentrate with water. One liter of the concentrated formula produces 10 liters of the specially-engineered solution. It can feed up to 10 hives, approximately 1,000,000 bees during a 30 day period.
BeesVita Plus is priced at $70 USD per liter. A discount applies to bulk orders.
The solution is poured onto a feeding pan, located on the top of a specially-designed electronic dispenser known as the BeeSpenser.
The BeeSpenser is four feet tall, two feet wide and weighs about 45 pounds when it is full.
The BeeSpenser is equipped with wheels for easy field maneuverability. The exterior of the BeeSpenser is camouflaged with specific geometric shapes and colors that traditionally attract bees to the locations where they most frequently drink water.
The exterior of the BeeSpenser is camouflaged with specific geometric shapes and colors that traditionally attract bees to the locations where they most frequently drink water.
Powered by a rechargeable battery, the BeeSpenser is equipped with vapor-emitting fans that spread Vita Plus' scent across a wide area, thus, attracting bees to the feeding pan.
Once a few bees drink from the BeeSpenser they return to the hive, conveying the find. Eventually, the bees swarm the pan, drawing the solution into their bodies.
The BeeSpenser is priced at $350 USD per unit.
SOURCE BeesFree, Inc.
5 comments:
I've had success with a type of small pollinating wasp, that's not even a bee.
Al Schrader
WE HAD A SWARM FOR FIVE DAYS CAME OUT OF KNOW WHERE IT TOOK 5 DAYS TO GO AWAY!!!!!GUESS WHAT THEY LEFT????
Nothing scientific, no peer review, research done in Italy where neonicotinoid-based insecticides are restricted so really suggests that neonicotinoid-based insecticides are the cause, not that this is a "miracle cure"
This sounds and looks like a Ponzi-Scheme scam to me. If youi look at their website there is a very heavy emphasis on 'investors' and 'investor relations'. That is where they intend to make a killing.
No chemical 'magic bullet' is ever going to 'solve CCD' because CCD does not exist. Colony collapse disorder was a clever PR strategy designed to distract attention from what was really killing the bees: neonicotinoid pesticides. The manufacturers of neonics have teams of professional PR experts working full time on how to distract us with stories of cell phones, aliens and climate change. The simple truth is that Bayer and Syngenta have unleashed a very powerful class of revolutionary insecticides on the world, on a truly massive scale. More than 400 million acres of American crops are treated with these systemic pesticides - and at least 6 million bee colonies have died as a direct result. A bottle of Italian Snake Oil is not going to change that - but by all means invest your money in the company that is boosting this stuff; I think Bernie Madoff may be running the operation from his cell!
This is anything but a ponzi scheme. This is also not a "Magic Bullis". You are correct no one knows what colony collapse disorder is. It is a name given to the sudden disapearance of the bees. It is believed that some of the causes of "CCD" are varroa, mites, neonicotinoids,nosema and stress. BeesFree"s products address these causes. The ingrediants to their product are not chemical, but rather natural and organic. They are a food suppliment that when used correctly builds up the stregnth of the bees therefore building up the bees tolerance to the effects of CCD. They have done a study and tests over the last 3 years that have proven their claims.If you read their press release, they are currently doing tests with the IZS, the equivalent of the USDA/FDA for animal foods in Italy. They have also announced sales in 4 different countries pending the results of the IZS tests. Somehow this doesn't look like snake oil. Yes neonicotinoids effect millions of acres of crops in the world. I guess this is the opportunity for BeesFree.
Post a Comment