Aug. 18, 2015- Latest up-dated Edition of The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth

The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth August 18, 2015 Edition written by Frank DiMora.   No bees no food     August 18, 2015 – Honeybees Dying? It’s Complicated

Just like the seven million honeybees that populate his 120 or so hives, Greg Fischer is feverishly busy. Head beekeeper for the Morton Arboretum and the rooftop hives at the Chicago Marriott, he doesn’t want a repeat of last winter’s massacre, when 80 percent of his colonies perished. “Everybody went into December really healthy and full of honey,” he says. “Then when the real cold weather hit, it just wiped them out.” It’s no secret that America’s honeybees are dying: The media have been full of stories about their demise. But what you might not know is that the situation is especially dire in Illinois. Beekeepers here reported that 62 percent of their colonies died last year, the second-highest mortality rate of any state and far exceeding the 42 percent reported nationally (which is already plenty troubling). Think it’s a problem just on the farm? Chicago has 142 registered beekeepers. http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/September-2015/bees-or-not-bees/