Do honey bees carry road maps?
I only ask this question because adult worker bees seem to be getting lost on their way back to the hive and honey bee colonies all around the world are in crisis.
So are human colonies. If the bees disappear, about 80 per cent of our food crops will go un-pollinated.
The implications for the global food supply are considerable.
The current situation began a few years ago when honey bee populations began to collapse.
The number of colonies has been in decline for years but this time it seems different.
Adult workers are leaving the hive as usual to gather food but are unable to find their way back.
Something is interfering with their ability to navigate and they disappear, never to be seen again.
Their bodies can’t be found, not in the hives and not on the ground in front where you would expect to see them.
It’s a real mystery. It’s called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
The honey bee has been around for about 30 million years.
Today there are more than 20,000 species of bees worldwide, 3,500 in North America alone.
Their navigation problems have come to the attention of European beekeepers who are pinning their hopes on a two-year ban of certain systemic insecticides.
It is thought that these pesticides are affecting the bees’ sense of direction and memory, which causes them to lose their way home and perish outside the hive.
The truth is, this is one of many threats to our furry friends.
Other factors contributing to CCD include loss of environment and food, pests, pathogens and parasites.
Thanks to the global economy and free trade, pests and disease can move swiftly around the world. Honey bees are yet another unintended victim of globalization.
These challenges are relentless and now, after millions of years of hard work, bees are on the brink and they need our help. We must find a way to live with the bees.
Right now, we rely on 100 crop species to provide most of the human food supply. Of these, 70 species are pollinated by bees.
California’s 42,000 acres of almond trees alone require almost a million honey bee colonies for pollination.
There is a real sense of urgency. It is estimated that if the bees all buzz off, 20,000 bee-dependent plant species could go extinct.
The produce counter will never look the same.
Fruits and vegetables will be expensive specialty foods.
I have to admit I like bees. I was alarmed when I heard those furry, little critters were in trouble.
I think we should help them if we can.
I’ve watched bees in the garden since I was a kid. I would look closely enough to see their fuzzy backs and those pollen baskets on their legs. They looked like they were wearing cargo pants.
They didn’t seem to mind me watching while they worked.
I knew they had stingers but my encounters with the bees were always friendly.
Now that they are facing some very serious challenges I think we should pay them back for all the years of faithful service.
It’s been said that the way we manage our natural assets (air, water, trees and bees) will determine our collective fate in the 21st century.
Will we enjoy a future full of good-tasting, nutritious food, fine dining and family dinners without end or…
Will it be a world where trees and plants are fruitless and barren. Honey, fresh fruit, nuts and strawberry jam are just tasty, forgotten foods?
Plant some flowers and hug a honey bee in your garden today.
