"Save the bees!" — these calls to action usually come
with a quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "If the bee disappeared off
the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live."
Problem is, there's no
evidence Einstein ever said that. And that statement also simply isn't true. If
all the bees died tomorrow, we would still be able to grow food — just maybe
not the sort you'd like.
Why's that?
It comes down to how
different plants are pollinated. Wind-pollinated crops such as wheat, rice, and
corn would continue to thrive, whereas you'd have to say goodbye to flowering
crops, which includes most fruits and vegetables.
That's because
animals, so not just bees, but also hoverflies, bats, birds, beetles and more,
are involved in the pollination of 90% of the world’s flowering plants.
And here comes the
honeybee, right?
When we talk about
bees, we often only think of the honeybee - but there are some 20,000 other bee
species around!
Well... honeybees do,
of course, pollinate flowers. But they're not the stars of the show.
"The general
public confounds bees with the honeybee," said Isabelle Dajoz, a
pollination ecology researcher and professor at the Sorbonne University in
Paris. "It would be the same situation if, for example, you were talking
about birds and people think that when you talk about birds, you talk about
chicken, or you when you talk about mammals, people would think only of
sheep."
There are around
20,000 different species of bees. Yes, you read that right. Most are wild,
solitary, and highly specified to certain plants, which make them much better
at pollinating. Bumblebees, for example, perform buzz pollination — while
holding onto the flower they, you guessed it, buzz loudly to release the
pollen, something honeybees can't do. And it's not just bumblebees that are so
good at their jobs.
Even though we can't
accurately measure the value of this wild bee pollination, crops around the
world would suffer without it. Yields in the United States are already lower
due to wild bee decline, and a recent study found that globally, we may have
already lost a quarter of wild bee species. This also has major implications
for life at higher trophic levels.
"Lots of animals depend on diverse plant
communities for their food, for their nesting habitat. For example, lots of
birds, lots of little mammals will eat the fruits or seeds of plants,"
said Dajoz. There's no telling how devastating wild bee loss is to both our
food security and the stability of ecosystems.
Are honeybees in
trouble?
Honeybee colonies are
definitely suffering losses due to climate change and intensive agriculture,
but the idea that they are dying off is only partially correct, according to
German Beekeepers Association DIB. Because they are managed by humans and
receive veterinary care, they are comparatively safe.
What can I do if I
want to help?
we need to stop
obsessing over honeybees and turn our attention to wild ones.
You can help provide
bees with shelter and provide a safe haven for them in your backyard
Wild bees and
honeybees both love diverse habitats of native plants, so planting them in a
backyard or even a balcony helps to support all bees. The larger the variety of
plants, the more different types of wild bees will be able to find food.
Helping them find
nesting ground is another option. They like to make homes in dead logs, as well
as in open, sunny ground. A manicured lawn is the worst place for all bees. And
opt for organic produce instead to support regenerative agriculture.
Source
DW Environment
https://www.dw.com/en/dying-bees-whats-the-big-deal/a-57572721
RANGE
There are over 20,000
bee species worldwide, including the honey bee, which originated in Eurasia and
has been imported around the globe as a domesticated species. Wild bees species
live on every continent except Antarctica. In North America there are approximately
4,000 native bee species occupying ecosystems from forests to deserts to
grasslands.
DIET
Bees feed exclusively
on sugary nectar and protein-rich pollen from flowering plants, unlike the
carnivorous wasps from which they evolved.
BEHAVIOR
As they forage, bees
perform the critical act of pollination. As a bee enters a flower to feed on
nectar and gather pollen, some of the pollen sticks to the bee’s body. When the
bee flies on, it deposits some of that pollen on the next flower it visits, resulting
in fertilization, allowing the plant to reproduce and to generate the fruits
and seeds so many other wildlife species rely on as a food source. In fact,
bees pollinate a staggering 80 percent of all flowering plants, including
approximately 75 percent of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables grown in the
United States.
Though all female bees
can sting, they only do so when threatened. Honey bees, with hives filled with
honey and larvae that need protecting, are generally more aggressive and likely
to sting when disturbed than solitary native bees.
LIFE HISTORY
Bees begin life as
eggs, which hatch into larvae the feed and pupate and eventually emerge in
their adult form, where they visit flowers to feed on and gather nectar and
pollen.
Unlike the hive-forming
domesticated honey bee or wild bumble bee species, most bees are solitary
nesters. They don’t form hives, create honey, or live a communal lifestyle.
Instead, they lay their eggs in a series of tiny chambers in tunnels in the
ground, in hollow plant stems, or in decaying wood. Unlike hive-forming bee
species, which collectively care for their young, female solitary bees
provision their eggs with a ball of nectar and pollen and leave them to grow
and pupate on their own with no parental care.
However, some species
do not build nests at all. These “cuckoo bees" will lay their eggs in
nests built by other species. Cuckoo bees will sometimes kill the host species’
larvae to ensure their own eggs will have enough food to grow to adulthood.
Queen bumble bees can
live for a year and workers for a month. Solitary bees also live for about a
year, with the majority of that time spent developing in their nesting chamber
where they hatch, pupate, and often overwinter. Their adult lives, during which
they are active, lasts approximately three to eight weeks. Females tend to live
a bit longer, as they need to build a nest and lay eggs.
CONSERVATION
Both domesticated honeybees
and many native bee species are in decline. In fact, some species, such as the
once-common rusty patched bumblebee, are now listed as endangered in the U.S.
Potential causes of these declines include habitat destruction, disease,
agricultural and lawn and garden practices, use of pesticides, habitat
fragmentation, changes in land use, invasive species, and climate change.
Pollinators, notably
native bees, are critical to the survival of North America’s native plants,
other wildlife, and people alike. The National Wildlife Federation (USA) maintains
and supports several initiatives that support pollinators.
SOURCES
The National
Wildlife Federation
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Bees
https://thebeeconservancy.org/why-bees/
do your part to #Savethebees
Here are some actions
you can take to help preserve bees and other pollinators:
· - Plant
nectar-bearing flowers such as marigolds or sunflowers for decorative purposes
on balconies, terraces, and gardens
· - Buy honey
and other hive products from your nearest local beekeeper
· - Raise
awareness among children and adolescents on the importance of bees and express
your support for beekeepers
· - Set up a
pollinator farm on your balcony, terrace, or garden
· - Preserve
old meadows, which feature a more diverse array of flowers, and sow
nectar-bearing plants
· - Cut grass
on meadows only after the nectar-bearing plants have finished blooming
· - Use
pesticides that do not harm bees, and spray them in windless weather, either
early in the morning or late at night, when bees withdraw from blossoms
SOURCE
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/why-bees-are-essential-people-and-planet
Thank you also to:
https://www.gov.si/en/registries/projects/world-bee-day/
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