The Western World: Less Buzz in the Air this Spring

By: Emma G.

It is being noted by scientists, for quite some time now, that wild bumblebee populations have been declining worldwide. Therefore, less buzz. There are multiple ideas out there as to why, but scientists have found no definite answer. Still, looking at the various ideas is a great way to begin to tackle this issue.

I mentioned how wild bumblebees are important, but equally important are the honeybees and bumblebees raised commercially by farmers. Looking at reports by the British Beekeeping association, and the Canadian Honey council, the populations of honeybees fluctuate. These associations are still concerned for the loss of their bees, as they are still subject to many problems that also challenge wild bees.

Under the many problems that challenge bees, a mysterious problem called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), is a major reason of why bee populations are declining.The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) defines the symptoms as “very low or no adult honey bees... with a live queen and no dead honey bees present.”1 Many worker bees just simply leave, and the hive cannot function. Causes are still not definite. Possible causes may be parasites, diseases, and stressors from management of the bee hierarchy or from the environment (like pollution for example)1. Research is still ongoing into the causes.

The first cause is thought to be pesticides, in particular, neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids are used to control minor pests and do so by attacking the nervous system of insects. The bees come in contact with it because of pollen, and although it is typically in low amounts, the exposure to it makes bees easier to be attacked by viruses and other pests 2. Fungicides, herbicides and other toxins in the environment also cause damage to bees. This pesticide doesn’t kill a bee , but it makes it very vulnerable. It is widely agreed that pesticides are a contributing factor to CCD. This is worrisome. We are causing the decline of bees. Pesticides exist to increase food production, but if bees keep declining, then don’t we lose food production?

Next, other pests or parasites, especially the Varroa mite have killed many bees. The Varroa mite is a small parasite that clings to the outside of bees, transmits viruses and feeds off of the bee. They can kill entire colonies 3, and almost all hives contain these mites. Farmers have methods for dealing with these mites, but they are still a pest.

There is a unique idea put out there by a German Landau university. Their study provides evidence that with cell phones on near the hive, the bees would not return to the hives 4. It seems unlikely, but it is one of the many theories out there to explain CCD.

Another theory put out there, has nothing to do with CCD. This piece of news has come to light recently regarding declining populations of wild bumblebees. A article published wednesday by the Nature journal talks about a study by Mark Brown of the University of London that tracks bee sites all across the UK. The study shows that diseases (mostly from honeybees) are transmitted by flowers to wild bumblebees, as the commercial honeybees typically contain more Varroa mite which is thought to transmit the disease 5. It also shows that bumblebees are more affected as they live shorter life spans and have smaller colonies 6. This is a interesting idea on movement of diseases for bees.

Why should we care? Bees are a major pollinator. Californian almond orchards rely on 1.6 million bees to pollinate the flowers, for example 7. They pollinate Canadian fruits, nuts, canola, and much more 8. Loss of bees can lead to loss of food production and a rise in food prices. Bees, though seemingly insignificant are important to everyone. We should care about these small insects because they do a lot for us.

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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Less Buzz in the Air this Spring

By: Emma G.