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Breeding far flying bees to spread climate change tolerance among plants

  (+7, -2)
(+7, -2)
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Breed far flying bees to spread climate change tolerance among plants as they carry a wider variety of pollen genetics

If the bees happily flew greater distances then the plant genes that permitted survival with climate change would spread more rapidly

particularly nectarlicious plants could be created as rescue pollen sources among plants

beanangel, May 11 2010

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       food = energy. flying uses energy.   

       I understood your title which was nice though.
po, May 11 2010
  

       It doesn't have to be just "climate change tolerance" which all plants have anyway, it could be all manner of genetic alterations like a chemical secretion that wards off snails or whatever.   

       How would you instigate this? By creating the first genetically altered plant and having a beehive next to it? You'd also have to genetically alter your plant to produce more pollen in order for it to be spread more efficiently. ?
Uncle Goatlips, May 11 2010
  

       Commercial pollinating bees are already transported great distances. I'm sure at least some pollen is transported with them as well.
Aq_Bi, May 11 2010
  

       I don't think this is something that's an issue. In a single season, I'm sure that bees could bucket chain pollen around the world. Obviously they don't do this, but I'm sure genetic migration outpaces climate change.   

       Where climates change to be similar to existing habitats there will be no problem. It's only where new climate regions are created that are not suitable habitats for anything that we have problems.
marklar, May 11 2010
  

       I'm for anything that would increase honey bee populations, and a + for saying "nectarlicious"
dentworth, May 11 2010
  

       //they’ll exclaim “far canal, bees!”//   

       Bee-keepers would probably have to queue to get their hives on the next available barge. At busy barge-stations, there would have to be two queues. To prevent all the bee- keepers joining the nearest and most convenient queue, someone would have to direct them with shouts of "Far queue! Far queue!"
MaxwellBuchanan, May 11 2010
  

       Indeed, I think the slots on the Barge for the hives should be labelled A,B,C and so on. Which might give rise to shouts of 'Far Queue A-Hole!'
S-note, May 11 2010
  

       Agreed, although prehaps we could combine the both the alpha and numeric labelling convention. 'Far Queue 2 A-Hole'
S-note, May 11 2010
  

       I got here late - I got nuthin but this annobun.
normzone, May 11 2010
  

       Presumably the barges would have no motors, yet be quite large and hard to start, and stop, and so would be operated by two tall quants? complete wi' anchors?
pocmloc, May 11 2010
  

       Well I got here really late then, norm, and I raise you one stinky fishbone. Because I know somewheres it's written that we are not supposed to geeeentetically fuck around with things...right???
blissmiss, May 11 2010
  

       If genetic manipulation went so far as to change the gender-bias arrangements of these canal-going bees, to the extent where the chief bee were a male, instead of female - a King, instead of Queen bee, if you will - and if, due to climate change, things started getting chilly - it might turn out that a useful source of insulation was the fine pelt sported by these larger bees who would later become known by the product they supply. Domestication and farming practice might involve devising methods for keeping these fur-laden King bees from flying off - one such method being to tie them down with ball-bearings using a contraption known in the Apiary trade as a "ball lock".   

       Prices of such items will rocket as apiarists across the country start asking specifically for "Fur king ball locks" in hardware shops across the nation.
zen_tom, May 12 2010
  

       "...we are not supposed to geeeentetically fuck around with things..."
But this isn't us, it's nature fucking with itself. Having said that, it seems equally likely we'd end up spreading climate change INtolernace as anything else.
phoenix, May 12 2010
  

       "Breed far flying bees" Don't get it. Since when did mother nature stop doing her job, and let us pick out the bee's to breed?
blissmiss, May 12 2010
  

       //Since when did mother nature stop doing her job, and let us pick out the bee's to breed//   

       Don't quote me on this, but I'd venture that today's "honey bee" varieties have probably already undergone a fair amount of man-led selection over the last 7000 years, just the same as with the other domestic animals.
zen_tom, May 13 2010
  

       zenny, all I meant was that the rules of the halfbakery are about not having ideas based on genetic tweaking. Not about bee specific tweaking in general, my little tweety.   

       I meant at the bakery, genetic tweaking is not, well... shined upon...not in real life. Does everyone get it now? In the halfbakery world, not the real world.
blissmiss, May 14 2010
  

       This has apparently gone over my head, as did the previous anno. So I shall leave you all now with your bees, and your honeys, and say goodnight.
blissmiss, May 14 2010
  
      
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