vw_bugg t1_iwcayov wrote
Its almost as if over time, an animal species with no access to their natural environment, diet, and sources of nessacary items are just not as healthy. Perhaps there are things about the bees we just don't understand. If humans were kept and bred in a lab, and fed purified crap generation to generation, they would have problems too. Humans have all sorts of things living in and on our body helping us to function normally. Is it not the same for bees?
gkibbe t1_iwcclr0 wrote
Nothing about modern beekeeping is natural, we've been selectively breeding an invasive species for domestication for literally thousands of years. The result is modern honeybee
Some_Sheepherder6746 t1_iwco62g wrote
So maybe there's just no evolutionary pressure to have a longer life span.
gkibbe t1_iwddxxf wrote
With Varroa Mites as an evolutionary pressure, I imagine it would push towards shorter lifespans in workers and queens who lay more eggs. That way you are replacing the mite ridden population quicker after each seasonal flare up. Same thing with pesticides, your gonna be choosing for queens who can replace the population quickly, but that would put pressure on food supplies in winter, so shorter lifespans would probably evolve in tandem with stronger laying queens.
--VoidHawk-- t1_iwep92k wrote
Interesting line of thinking for a gradual, indirect consequence that fits the observations.
Some_Sheepherder6746 t1_iwett8w wrote
Good point. As we industrialize more, even our bees are affected by the pressure of working in a chemical-filled environment
vw_bugg t1_iwd0w3m wrote
And they have access to.... things outside the lab.
FogellMcLovin77 t1_iwchwch wrote
It’s almost as if you didn’t even bother reading a short section of the study. You just chose ignorance
vw_bugg t1_iwd12vv wrote
The bees are raised solely in labs over the last 50 years. They have no access to nature. They have no idea why they dont live longer. I read it. And i dont see anything agaisnt my point.
FogellMcLovin77 t1_iwfpkpo wrote
Your point has no substance, why would there be an argument against it?
Tuts36 t1_iwcm26r wrote
I can't help but be reminded of what the US has done to domesticated ferrets. They have a fraction of the lifespan of their ancestors - and have a nearly 100% chance of developing adrenal cancer.
Humans as custodians of animal genetic lines are a poor substitute for natural selection, unless the alternative is extinction.
Resipiscence t1_iwcjyf2 wrote
um... isnt that called modern civilization?
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