Youth

Bees are UnBeelievable!

by Gavin Sturm 

with Sherry Korthals

1. introduction

“If bees were to disappear from the globe, mankind would only have four years left to live.”  Albert Einstein

Today I think we should think about our neighbors, the bees.  Bees are insects that some people greatly fear, but bees should be appreciated and loved because they pollinate plants that are vital to the human race.  There are over 20,000 species of bees on the planet, and they live everywhere on earth except Antarctica and the Arctic.  The early European settlers of Jamestown and Williamsburg brought honeybees to North America 400 years ago to provide colonists with honey.  Since then honeybees have spread to almost every corner of the western hemisphere, pollinating agricultural crops and flowering plants.  In the U.S and Canada alone, there are over 4,500 species of bees.  ALL ARE AT RISK due to Colony Collapse Disorder.

2. what is colony collapse disorder?

Most bees live in colonies called hives, although some, like digger and carpenter bees, do live alone.  Some hive populations can grow to 50,000 bees.     

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is causing these bee populations to diminish at an alarming rate.  CCD is a condition in which billions of worker honeybees are unexpectedly deserting their colonies forever.  When worker bees leave their hive, the colony can’t survive because the queen and few colony members that remain are unable to care for the colony’s new brood.  

        The number of hives managed by beekeepers in the United States is at its lowest point in 50 years.  Almost one-third of managed honeybee colonies in the U.S. have perished due to CCD.  

3. what is causing colony collapse disorder?

Scientists have developed multiple theories about what is causing CCD.  Is there a single cause?  Or is the cause, more likely, a combination of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad things?  Excessive pesticide use on farms, gardens, and city parks is a major contributing factor to the epidemic and has been linked to CCD by scientific studies.  Many pesticides used in the U.S. that are meant to kill insects like aphids, spider mites, flies, and beetles also harm honeybees.  Some of these pesticides are so toxic and harmful to the environment and humans that they have been banned in numerous countries worldwide.  Research has shown that the negative effects of these pesticides are long-term, reducing bee immunity and causing changes in reproduction, navigation, and foraging habits.  Habitat loss is also considered a cause of CCD.  Due to modern agricultural, urban, and suburban development, habitat for bees is rapidly decreasing.  Breeder interference in the way bees breed naturally is also an element of CCD.  The bacterial disease foulbrood, which kills young bee larvae, has also been identified as a contributing cause of CCD.  Nosema, a parasite that destroys adult honeybees, is also cited as a possible contributing factor of CCD.  The deadly varroa mite is a parasitic mite that attacks both adult bees and bee broods.  This mite, like the nosema parasite, has been linked to CCD.  Some scientists also theorize that global warming is one of its causes.

        Many believe that large-scale commercial and mass-production beekeeping practices are exacerbating the CCD problem.  Large-scale beekeepers commonly transport their colonies from orchard to orchard across the country during flowering seasons.  Many of these colonies are contaminated by the fouldbrood disease, nosema parasite, varroa mite, and lingering toxic pesticides.  Bee colonies across the entire country are, in turn, contaminated by these diseases when they come into contact with bees from diseased migratory colonies.  

4. why is it important to save the bees?

As Albert Einstein warned, the human species will perish without bees. Bees pollinate many plants that are vital to the human race, and they are essential to modern agriculture.  Specifically, 70 percent of the foods that provide 90 percent of the world’s food supply are pollinated by bees.  One in every three bites of food we eat is pollinated by bees.  Yes, one in every three.  

        In the United States bees generate over 19 billion dollars in crops annually.  That’s $19, 000,000,000.00.  In California alone, almonds provide over 80 percent of the world’s almond supply, and almonds are 100 percent dependent on bees for 

pollination.  No bees, no almonds.  Some of the many other crops dependent on bees for pollination include coffee and tea, peanuts, canola, cotton, citrus fruits, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, melons, olives, pumpkins and squash, sugar beets, carrots, bell peppers, pears, and green beans.

        South Dakota is also dependent on bees.  Its agricultural industry and farmers rely on bees to pollinate crops such as flax, alfalfa, soybeans, sunflowers, apples, and grapes.  Imagine the devastating impact on South Dakota’s economy if its soybean, alfalfa, flax, and sunflower crops were to fail.   

5. what can YOU do to help?                                        

Anyone can help by doing their part, and it’s easy.  Here are some important actions you can take to help save the bees:

1.  Stay informed by subscribing to environmental-action newsletters and reading other related materials.

2.  Minimize or eliminate toxic chemical pesticide use in your yard.

3.  Use organic and natural gardening products and practices to eliminate pests.

4.  Donate to environmental organizations that are working to protect bees and their habitats.

5.  Plant bee- and pollinator-friendly flora.

6.  Sign petitions that encourage local, state, and national legislators to protect and restore bee populations by banning the use of neonicotinoids (neonics) and other toxic pesticides that harm bees.

7.  Work to persuade your city planners to protect and provide bee habitat.

8.  Support organic and sustainable farming practices

9.  Buy organic products.

I hope you have grasped how important it is to save the bees and how incredibly vital they are to our food system and a healthy environment.  A world without bees is a world I don’t want to live in.  Please assist me and millions of activists around the globe in helping bees make a comeback.  You and the rest of mankind will benefit.  

        Have an unBeelievably good day!