Honey Bee, The Super Pollinator is Disappearing!

“You will probably more than once have seen her fluttering about bushes, in a deserted corner of your garden, without realizing that were carelessly watching the venerable ancestor to whom we probably owe most of our flowers and fruits (for it is estimated that more than a hundred thousand varieties of plants would disappear if the bees did not visit them), and possibly even our civilization, for in those mysteries all things intertwine” – Mavrice Maeterlinch, The Life of the Bee (published 1902)

There are about 20,000 species of bee. Solitary, bumble, stingless and honeybees are examples. All bees play an important role in agriculture -crop and natural plant pollination.

The honeybee is a  very fascinating specie. It demonstrates social traits, distinct divisions of labour, store honey, have a reproducing queen and build large colonies. Honeybee has since become vital necessity for humans as it contains products which are of immense benefits, such as honey, venom, propolis and wax. Honey has been identified to be a very potent cure for a number of diseases, the venom of the honey sting is employed in the treatment of arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. Research has also shown that humans rely on honey for one-third of their crops, including the majority of fruits and vegetables.

It is however unfortunate that the population of this invaluable insect have started to significantly decline in the last ten years. This phenomenon is known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

This unfortunate development which has shown serious decline in North America and Europe more than any other part of the world should be seen as serious threat to food supply. In the United States, statistics shows that 42% of colonies of beekeepers died between April 2014 & 2015.

Scientist and beekeepers are yet to determine categorically the causes of this phenomenon, however some factors have been suspected to be responsible for the decline in honeybee populations.

The Varoa mite which has been described as an enemy of the honey bee is one of the suspected contributing factors. This mite is “extremely damaging to the honey bee colonies. They mainly kill by acting as disease carriers and transmitting any number of viruses and bacteria to the bee. It cripples adult and kills potential workers at the larval stage and this kills the honey bee colony. In temperate climates, Varoa mite infestation typically kills an entire colony within 3 to 4 years, while in warmer areas death can occur within just 6 months”. Chemicals and acidic substances like Acarcides and Formic acid are often used by beekeepers to treat their hives in order to fight this enemy -Varoa mite

The use of Chemical Pesticides by farmers to spray their plants in order to protect them from harmful insects and diseases is another contributing factor. These pesticides affect honey bees that rummage through the flowers of these treated plants. This often leads to the death of the honey bees especially when high doses are used. Even when low doses are used “at even sub-nanogram levels, it impairs directly or indirectly their ability to navigate back to their hives. This demonstrates that honey bees are exquisitely delicate creatures and are influenced by particulate toxicity in the range of parts per billion”.

Climate change, honey bee importations facilitated by globalisation and over exploitation of the honey bee are factors that also contribute to this phenomenon. If a honey bee keeper in France sold his honey bees to a man in Syria, the honey bees will have to face the challenge of adapting to their new environment, especially when the environments involved are extremely different in climate conditions, then their chances of survival will be very low. Similarly, unstable weather conditions may also lead to the death of the honey bees. It was reported that Canada loses 23.8% of her honey bee population between 2009 & 2010 due to unusually cold and long winters.

All hands must therefore be on deck this menace; otherwise there will be consequences, especially in food supply. Achin Steiner, director, United Nations Environmental Program pointed out in March 2011 that “…..the way humanity manages its nature-based assets, including pollinators, will in part define our collective future in the 21^st Century. The fact is that of the 100 crop species that provide 100% of the world’s food, 70% are pollinated by bees”.