Where are all the bees?

by maitri_12 (student)

All around the world honey bees are disappearing. In the UK alone, around in five bee hives has been lost in the last few years. In the US around 2 million colonies of bees were lost in 3 years. The bees either die, or simply fail to return to the hive. Without the mass of worker bees, those bees left in the hive quickly die.

Bees are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. This could not only have a devastating impact on our food supplies, but could also turn our brightly-coloured meadows into grey hinterlands.

Albert Einstein was well aware of this connection. When it came to bees, he put it in no uncertain terms: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

Importance of bees

In the UK about 70 crops are dependent on, or benefit from, visits from bees. In addition, bees pollinate the flowers of many plants which become part of the feed of farm animals. The economic value of honey bees and bumble bees as pollinators of commercially grown insect pollinated crops in the UK has been estimated at over £200 million per year.

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Bees are in danger of disappearing from our environment. Farming practices continue to disturb the natural habitats and forage of solitary and bumblebees at a rate which gives them little chance for re-establishment. The honey bee is under attack from the varroa mite and it is only the treatment and care provided by beekeepers that is keeping colonies alive. Most wild honey bee colonies have died out as a result of this disease.

These factors, coupled with a decline in the number of beekeepers in the UK, have prompted the production of the 'Bees in the Curriculum' Schools pack by the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA). Attitudes to bees must change and a new generation needs to be educated into the value of bees and the threats to their existence.

Why are bees dying?

In most cases this is largely due to loss of wild habitats, intensive farming and overuse of pesticides and herbicides. The simple truth is that bees need flowers, and there are very few flowers to be found in the farmed countryside these days.

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor is a major contributor to the recent mysterious death of honey bee colonies. Varroa weakens honey bee colonies decreasing honey production, heavy infestation may even result in absconding. This parasite is found throughout the world, except for Australia and parts of New Zealand.

Some theories say that yhe bees had been struck down by a new mystery disease called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). in which the adult bees simply disappear from the colony hives. There are typically few, if any, dead bees found. The queen and immature bees (brood) are often found in the hives inadequately attended by adult bees.

Sources:
http://www.bbka.org.uk/learn/bees_for_kids/importance_of_bees
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=406271