[Pollinator] COLONY COLLAPSE DOCUMENTARY?

[Peter Bernhardt]

On June 12 the New York Times critic, Stephen Holden, reviewed the
documentary, "More Than Honey" by a Swiss filmmaker. Markus Imhoof.   The
critic described the film as "fascinating but rambling."

If you read the critic's synopsis you will have have the impression that
the  filmmaker blames CCD on use of pesticides.  The word, virus, does not
appear at all in the review.  What may be of particular interest to us is
that Imhoof included footage of almond blossom season in California groves.
This includes a sequence in which a honeybee is disabled by pesticides,
recovers and flies back to the hive where "it will spread the pesticide."

The critic seemed most impressed with an interview sequence with Randolf
Menzel who addresses the bee colony as "a single, large animal."  Is this
is an expansion of the "super organism concept" developed in the early 20th
century?  I wonder if this has anything to do with field experiments made
by Dr. Thomas Seely (Cornell)?  There was a nice piece on Seely's work on
how a honeybee colony "makes choices" rerun on NOVA last night.

If this movie has some sort of impact on the press and public we may all be
called upon to comment in the near future.  This may mean I have to view it
when, and if, it arrives in the fancy, movie  art house near my town.  They
will charge me $9 for a ticket.

Peter
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/pollinator/attachments/20130614/4ccd5ac9/attachment.html>