For the better part of a decade, honey bees have been disappearing in many areas of the world and scientists are still trying to discover why.
In the face of global warming, economic recovery, unemployment, and the instability of our current political system, people may ask: What’s the big deal about a few missing bees?
It is a very big deal.
European honey bees, act as nature’s propagator’s of 75% of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and most everything that is fresh-harvested for human consumption. Approximately 100 crops are dependent upon pollination by bees or else they would fail to produce anything more than foliage.
According to beekeepers in the Western regions, there has been a gradual reduction of bee hive populations for years, but in 2007 a massive die-off got the world’s attention. It was reported to be a loss of 30-70% of hives of European honey bee colonies in the U.S. and parts of Canada.
The phenomenon was labeled Colony Collapse Disorder.
According to a recent PBS report, CCD has now spread to China, South America, and India.
Scientists now believe that CCD is a syndrome, rather than a disease and it may be caused by a combination of environmental and physiological factors.
Furthermore, in 2009, scientists discovered that an indicator for an impaired protein production is a common denominator in bees affected by CCD. It is still undetermined what may cure the problem.
Empty hives not only bode poorly for agriculture, but an entire industry of beekeepers, who make their living with contracts to transfer their hives to fields and orchards for the pollination services the worker-bees provide--have been economically devastated.
In some areas of England, stealing hives for the black market has begun to take hold. In Staffordshire a theft of 18 hives—about 800,000 bees, was stolen, depriving the owner of income from pollinating services and honey sales.
In addition, on September 15, 2010, about $10,000 worth of honey was stolen from David Neel of Freeland, Washington, depriving him and his family of that income. All of his bees were left, but trays full of honey were taken and empty trays were left in their place, leaving authorities to believe that another experienced bee keeper stole the honey. The honey will most likely be sold under another label, making it difficult to track the thief.
The loss of honey bees could have an enormous horticultural and economic affect on the world’s food supply.
In a related situation, bats have been disappearing, with a similar mysterious type of colony collapse. Bats eat tons of insects that can cause extensive damage to agricultural crops.
According to a 2010 study by the British Beekeepers Association, 80% of the bee population in their region made it through the severe winter, which offers some good news, but many experts agree that if the bees and bats were to disappear--the impact on the human race would be catastrophic.
Comments
These tinest of creatures are perfect examples of how the Earth's ecosystem hangs together and every living thing has its place, whether it be food at the bottom of the food chain, vital pollinators, or insect/pest eaters. Nice article to bring attention to this important issue.
This is awful. I had no idea it was getting so serious!
We have hybrid pear trees in our yard in Western Washington and every year there are fewer pears, because there are so few bees early enough in the season to pollinate the blossoms. We see more bees near fall than early spring, which is too late. Scientists and politicians need to pay more attention to this issue.
There were fruits, vegetables and flowers all over the world long before the introduction of European bees. Hundreds of thousands of other insects continue to pollinate all kinds of crops, all over the world. The European honey bee is one of few that produce extra honey for humans to use, but they are not the only pollinators.
The sky is not falling. There is NO political solution for these problems. We must learn and adapt, not legislate.
Hundreds of thousands of other insects pollinate crops? What science class did you fail? There are only a handful of true pollinators and none of them are as prolific as the honey bee, European or otherwise. Thousands of years ago, there weren't 7 billion people populating the planet needing food to eat. Also, as mentioned in this article, commercial honey bee pollinating industries have been hit hard by this Colony Collapse. The sky may not be falling, but it is a serious problem and it should not be scoffed at by silly ignorant people.
The population is falling due to the spread of GM crops. This is a being covered up.
Hi
One reason for CCD which is happening all over the world is electromagnetic pollution from the microwave radiation emitted from mobile phone masts. These have been erected in all countries in the world at roughly the same time, since 1994. Radiation levels are increasing and now WIMAX was added in 2006
The radiation levels are trillions of times higher than the natural background levels in that part of the spectrum. Bees (and humans) have not developed in this sort of environment and have no defense mechanisms for the ensuing damage.
Bees are particularly affected as well as immune system damage, they become disorientated in the beam and lose their way.
Many scientists have done research to verify this.
A large meta analysis was presented at the Royal Society in 2008 by Dr Warnke
You can read what it says here.
http://broschuerenreihe.net/britannien-uk/brochure/bees-birds-and-mankin...
Bees, Birds and Mankind, Destroying Nature by `Electrosmog´
What bee keepers need to do if they have CCD is look at the radiation levels around their hives.
http://www.hese-project.org/hese-uk/en/issues/nature.php?id=bees
SafeSam, thanks for adding valueable information to this post!
@Really? I agree. Yeah, there are hundreds of thousands of bugs out there, but you can't count house flies, mosquitos, knats, spiders, and so on---as pollinators.
The loss of bats is a correlating problem, because they both affect crops in a positive way and declining populations of both species is very troubling. Is it connected to human activity? No doubt it is.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!