There’s a diary over at DailyKos about a Beltway gathering going on looking at Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
It will be interesting to see what they come up with. But what caught my eye was the writer talking about how a third of the U.S. diet — particularly the tasty crops — depend on pollinators. One crop singled out was asparagus.
Can you think of any crop less dependent on pollinators than asparagus? Oy. I’m glad there is growing concern about pollinator problems. But please don’t compromise your credibility by telling everyone that our asparagus is threatened by CCD.
Diarists at that blog are really, really, really enthusiastic, but they sometimes lose track of the facts.
Were you able to check with people at Cornell about CCD? I’ve been keeping an eye on articles as they come my way, but haven’t actively sought out more information on it.
Botanical illiteracy is quite widespread on this issue. The Smithsonian Institution even has a Bee-free Barbecue website that falsely claims that production of potatoes and sugar, require bee pollination. Potatoes and sugar cane are asexually propagated and the edible part is a stem. No pollination is required.