Strange new theory on Colony Collapse...

This article is pretty scary...

In my day work we always recommend that clients install carbon dioxide sensors in conference rooms and other high occupancy areas so that if the CO2 level rises above 800 ppm the mechanical system of the building will bring in more outside air to lower that level to a healthier range.

This article suggests that bees are their own CO2 montoring system in their hives. Bees can sense CO2 and when the levels get to high they will adapt to try to lower it.

Is it possible that bees are sacrificing them selves to lower the CO2 in the hive? I kind of doubt this is the whole answer, because hives affected with CCD find only a few bees left... Certainly at some point of the CO2 induced exodus the remaining bees would sense a lower CO2 level. CCD hit in 2006-2007 the CO2 has not jumped that precipitously that more then a handful more bees would leave. Then also you would have expected to see much greater losses around major cities then you have...

But perhaps this is just one more thing, which in combination with mites, diseases, feeding with corn syrup (made with bt producing GMO corn), Israeli acute paralysis virus, increase pesticide use, trucking colonies thousands of miles a season, and all the rest have caused us to reach the tipping point for bees...

I have to say (KNOCK ON WOOD) we have yet to loose a hive to CCD, although we have lost 2 in the past 2 years to other causes. If bees are the proverbial canary in the coal mine I think they are warning us of many things wrong with our world, and CO2 is just one part of that... Before we reach a greater tipping point...