So whats the problem?
THE DECLINE OF THE BEE:
There are 30,000 species of bees! But the past 40 years we have seen the number of bees decline in intense bursts, seeing the quantity and quality of life for bees spiralling out of control, the implicit details of why the plight of the bee has come about are still under scientific investigation but there are a few big contenders in the effects of modern farming practice and the changes in the climate and global warming. In the 1950's there were over 50 species of bees native to the UK, now numbers have more than halved with only 24 species left, the reasons bees are dying are multiple and overlap with one another.
LOSS OF NATURAL HABITAT
Perhaps the most obvious reason: there is no longer the diversity and amount of nectar and pollen rich flowers to sustain bees in the wild. Farming practices demand more and more land is converted into cropland which leaves very little room for pasture, flower rich space for bees. The dilemma and contradiction here is that without bees the cropland is redundant, farmers rely heavily on bees to pollinate a number of plants and without food or suitable environments to build a hive in the numbers of bees will continue to deplete.
Honey bees and bumble bees numbers have taken a drastic decline in the past 40 years as our agricultural practices have become far more resource intensive and have left fewer natural habitats for our bees which means lack of the vital pollen and nectar rich flowers which bees rely on. 97% of natural British grassland has been lost since the 1930's! Having no wild growing areas in the countryside means its much harder for the bees to fight for their survival and we rely on our furry friends to keep the eco-system balance and to pollinate our crops for food.
MONOCULTURE
Mono cropping is becoming a big problem, in farming, this is when a large area of land is used to produce the same kind of crop, creating a loss of diversity. This loss of diversity is bad for the bee because if bees collect nectar and pollen from only one kind of plant rather than many species it will cause nutritinal deficiencies and will ultimately weaken their immune system. Just like human diets it is not healthy to survive off of one food group but rather a diverse mix to maintain optimal health. Mono culture also causes soil deterioration from growing the same crop over and over again leading eventually to low soil productivity which causes the crop to weaken and become more susceptible to disease and pests.
The industrialisation of our farming practices are gaining short term benefits such as higher yield crops, lower production costs and at a faster turnover but the quicker, faster cheaper approach is causing long term, possibly irriversable harm. Without sustainable farming practice being adopted this problem and many other related issues will continue to worsen, for the bees, the food system and security, the environment and human health.
INSECTISIDES
Pesticides and insecticides are used in the vast majority of farming practice worldwide to eliminate pests and unwanted weeds in crop farming. The insecticides used are rarely selective which means they kill some of the farmers unwanted pests many of the indispensable insects including bees. With such large quantities of chemicals being applied to seed and plants it is having a devastating effect on the bee populations. The pesticides are usually applied to the seeds and when the bee ingests nectar it is taking in small but often lethal doses of the pesticides, while these don't always kill the bees immediately it can cause the bees to become disorientated and unable to find their way back to the hive or when the bees are exposed to these chemicals their immune system weakens and they become more susceptible to disease.
DISEASE & DISORDER
Diseases such as mites are also threaten bee's population worldwide,diseases effect honey bees more so than bumble bees. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is syndrome (which effects only honey bee colonies) whereby a bee hives worker bees disappear and no dead bee bodies can be found but the hive is left with a live queen and usually honey and immature bees still present, there is no one known for CCD. Although the scientific community cannot pin-point one of the factors which causes CCD is is likely that to is a combination of the above issues facing the bee populations.
Another health crisis (only honey bees) are facing is infestation of mites, a parasite called Varroa destructor which attaches itself to the bee feeds off the fluid in the bees body which is responsible for circulation which weaks its immune system, making it more susceptible to other diseases too, a serious infestation of mites can lead to the collapse of a colony.
CLIMATE CHANGE
For bees timing is everything! climate change effects bees because it disrupts the delicate timing synchronisation which happens between plant and bee. Flowers rely on bees for pollination and bees on flowers for nectar and pollen, this symbiosis is being effected by the conditions bees and flowers exist in, the changes to the weather and temperature means flowers are blooming earlier, these interact timings have been coordinated in a careful balance by nature, with things changing so quickly scientists are unable to predict what will happen in the future.
phenology
earlier snow melt time means earlier blooming, scientists don't know if bees will be able to sync up to this at the same rate, if not it will mean plants are available when bees are inactive in the hive and don't have any worker bees to collect pollen, meaning they miss the window to collect their vital pollen and nectar.
THE DECLINE OF THE BEE:
There are 30,000 species of bees! But the past 40 years we have seen the number of bees decline in intense bursts, seeing the quantity and quality of life for bees spiralling out of control, the implicit details of why the plight of the bee has come about are still under scientific investigation but there are a few big contenders in the effects of modern farming practice and the changes in the climate and global warming. In the 1950's there were over 50 species of bees native to the UK, now numbers have more than halved with only 24 species left, the reasons bees are dying are multiple and overlap with one another.
LOSS OF NATURAL HABITAT
Perhaps the most obvious reason: there is no longer the diversity and amount of nectar and pollen rich flowers to sustain bees in the wild. Farming practices demand more and more land is converted into cropland which leaves very little room for pasture, flower rich space for bees. The dilemma and contradiction here is that without bees the cropland is redundant, farmers rely heavily on bees to pollinate a number of plants and without food or suitable environments to build a hive in the numbers of bees will continue to deplete.
Honey bees and bumble bees numbers have taken a drastic decline in the past 40 years as our agricultural practices have become far more resource intensive and have left fewer natural habitats for our bees which means lack of the vital pollen and nectar rich flowers which bees rely on. 97% of natural British grassland has been lost since the 1930's! Having no wild growing areas in the countryside means its much harder for the bees to fight for their survival and we rely on our furry friends to keep the eco-system balance and to pollinate our crops for food.
MONOCULTURE
Mono cropping is becoming a big problem, in farming, this is when a large area of land is used to produce the same kind of crop, creating a loss of diversity. This loss of diversity is bad for the bee because if bees collect nectar and pollen from only one kind of plant rather than many species it will cause nutritinal deficiencies and will ultimately weaken their immune system. Just like human diets it is not healthy to survive off of one food group but rather a diverse mix to maintain optimal health. Mono culture also causes soil deterioration from growing the same crop over and over again leading eventually to low soil productivity which causes the crop to weaken and become more susceptible to disease and pests.
The industrialisation of our farming practices are gaining short term benefits such as higher yield crops, lower production costs and at a faster turnover but the quicker, faster cheaper approach is causing long term, possibly irriversable harm. Without sustainable farming practice being adopted this problem and many other related issues will continue to worsen, for the bees, the food system and security, the environment and human health.
INSECTISIDES
Pesticides and insecticides are used in the vast majority of farming practice worldwide to eliminate pests and unwanted weeds in crop farming. The insecticides used are rarely selective which means they kill some of the farmers unwanted pests many of the indispensable insects including bees. With such large quantities of chemicals being applied to seed and plants it is having a devastating effect on the bee populations. The pesticides are usually applied to the seeds and when the bee ingests nectar it is taking in small but often lethal doses of the pesticides, while these don't always kill the bees immediately it can cause the bees to become disorientated and unable to find their way back to the hive or when the bees are exposed to these chemicals their immune system weakens and they become more susceptible to disease.
DISEASE & DISORDER
Diseases such as mites are also threaten bee's population worldwide,diseases effect honey bees more so than bumble bees. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is syndrome (which effects only honey bee colonies) whereby a bee hives worker bees disappear and no dead bee bodies can be found but the hive is left with a live queen and usually honey and immature bees still present, there is no one known for CCD. Although the scientific community cannot pin-point one of the factors which causes CCD is is likely that to is a combination of the above issues facing the bee populations.
Another health crisis (only honey bees) are facing is infestation of mites, a parasite called Varroa destructor which attaches itself to the bee feeds off the fluid in the bees body which is responsible for circulation which weaks its immune system, making it more susceptible to other diseases too, a serious infestation of mites can lead to the collapse of a colony.
CLIMATE CHANGE
For bees timing is everything! climate change effects bees because it disrupts the delicate timing synchronisation which happens between plant and bee. Flowers rely on bees for pollination and bees on flowers for nectar and pollen, this symbiosis is being effected by the conditions bees and flowers exist in, the changes to the weather and temperature means flowers are blooming earlier, these interact timings have been coordinated in a careful balance by nature, with things changing so quickly scientists are unable to predict what will happen in the future.
phenology
earlier snow melt time means earlier blooming, scientists don't know if bees will be able to sync up to this at the same rate, if not it will mean plants are available when bees are inactive in the hive and don't have any worker bees to collect pollen, meaning they miss the window to collect their vital pollen and nectar.
This lovely animation explains the problems!