Here they come ... GMO bees

Now they're starting to genetically modify honeybees?

Entomology Today hails it as a "breakthrough in the efforts." But to those of us familiar with the out-of-control dangers of GMO pollen drift, this one is downright scary.

Christina Schulte and colleagues from Heinrich Heine University have apparently figured out not just how to alter genes in honeybees, but how to make those genetic alterations be passed along to offspring. (link to study)

What happens when a few of those GMO bees escape into the wild?  Aren't our natural honeybees already under enough attack by modern agriculture?  Suspects in Colony Collapse Disorder include ...

• A parasitic mite called Varroa destructor that has often been found in decimated colonies
• Several viruses
• A bacterial disease called European foulbrood that is increasingly being detected in U.S. bee colonies
• The use of pesticides, including neonicotinoids, a neuroactive chemical
• (summary article)

Frankly, Franken-bees are not the answer!