So plastic has been shown to directly affect the endocrine system. Well, what about the bees?

I want to let you know about a new venture that I’m on. I’m starting Inside Out Health Company beekeeping! So as I am learning ALLllllll about bees, I’ve had some thoughts that stuck me as hmmmmmm….. First off, I’ve learned that bees health is in dire straights, not unlike us humans. Second, Bee’s fertility is not going so well either. Let me share some facts: The queen bee is now only living for about 2 years, when in the past they lived for 6 years. The virgin queen goes on a mating flight and needs to be mated by 17 drones (male bees). (talk about a spring break, she could give some college students a run for their money) Then she comes back and if mated well, lays about 1500 eggs each DAY! Now, the drones sperm is suffering and it’s not at the quality it needs to be to mate well. That sounds oddly & earily familar. So I learned more. It turns out for ease, beekeepers use a plastic foundation. Stick with me here, a foundation, is a thin sheet of plastic that goes into a frame to encourage the bees to build their honeycomb within the hive straight. I guess sometimes the bees get a little creative and that makes it harder to collect honey or even open the hive boxes. Plastic in the hive. We’ve been doing this for over a decade, maybe 2-3… This plastic serves as one side of their nursery wall. Where the babies grow?!? The drone babies stay in their “eggs” the longest, with the longest exposure, directly with plastic. Could that be effecting their sperm? My money is on YES! What about the queen, who’s laying 1500 eggs per day onto plastic?!? Maybe that’s why she isn’t living as long? As you know plastic leaches chemicals when it gets hot, I wonder has anyone ever checked the temp of a beehive on a 100 degree day? Which then leads me to ask, what of the honeycomb connected to the plastic? What of the honey placed into the honeycomb? Are we consuming plastic leached honey without evening know it? That would mean the bees are too… which relates to their overall health. So now I’ve got WAY more questions than anwsers, but I’m setting to find out. I’ll share my notes from the hive as I seek anwsers. ~ the ametuer question-asking holistic beekeeper, Mandi PS- I’ll be creating a plastic free hive. I found beeswax foundation I can start with and since I don’t know where that came from, it’ll have to do until I have enough beeswax to make my own. PPS- I realize this will be a tough hill to climb, it’s not like I can simply ask my drones to watch this little bee movie and collect their sperm for me…lol PPSS- The ONE thing I know for certain is that we are ALL connected on this planet and we are mirrors of one another. From the health of the Earth itself to each of us different yet ineterconnected species, Houston we’ve got a problem, and fertility is the alarm bell.