by Elinka Boyle-Rosenbaum
Underappreciated and yet so essential, the bee is by far the most important pollinator in today’s agricultural landscape. They pollinate more than 400 crops worldwide, help to create about a third of the food we eat, and contribute an estimated $12 billion to our nation’s food supply.
Despite colorful and fragrant flower bouquets, delicious fruits and vegetables and the incredible honey they create, children run screaming should one buzz by and adults quickly kick off their shoes to use in self-defense should one linger too long. But ironically, bees are already in crisis and are vanishing at an astounding rate.
Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, is the phenomenon where the majority of worker bees in a colony or hive disappear. Unlike other forms of hive death, CCD is marked by a lack of adult bees, with the exception of the queen bee and nurse bees left behind to tend to the queen and immature bees. With reports of colony losses ranging from 20 to 90 percent amongst commercial beekeepers over the last 10 years, CCD is positioned to impact agriculture and food production in North America in a big way.
Interestingly, U.S. agriculture could never be sustained by native populations of bees/pollinators alone. Imagine, thousands of hectares of corn being pollinated by the surrounding native bees that happen to be in the area? So commercial agriculture looks to commercial bee-keeping to help Mother Nature out. In a nutshell, farms rent bees. What was born from this codependent relationship is a unique industry that actually crates and trucks bees from crop to crop, season to season across the nation. The end result is a high-yield pollination and bountiful crops but also bees that have artificially migrated throughout the country, potentially distributing harmful pathogens and contributing factors to CCD as well as bees that primarily feast on a few select crops instead of a varied healthy diet.
In 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture formed a task force to address the issue. And in the spring of 2015, President Barack Obama deemed the issue serious enough to develop an initiative to improve the health of bees and other key pollinators.
Yet, since the term CCD was first coined, researchers have been unable to determine one definitive cause. Theories of pesticide use, mites, habitat loss, fungicides, malnutrition, migratory bee-keeping practices and various pathogens have all been considered. The best explanation the scientific community has to offer at this time is that a combination of any of these factors may be to blame.
As with any problem one may encounter, it makes good sense to get to the root of the cause instead of treating the symptoms. But when the cause is not currently known, what may be best is to fall back on common sense. Reduce if not eliminate pesticide and fungicide use, encourage genetic diversity in industrial apiculture and agriculture (eliminate GMOs) and provide our precious pollinators with adequate habitat and a varied healthy diet. Reduce the stressors and support their health.
Even though spring is just beginning and bees are not out in full force, one can start planning one’s fruit, vegetable and flower gardens for the coming season. Plant a variety of flowers and flowering trees to attract and support local bees. Plant early spring bloomers, such as maples and willows, for those bees that are first to emerge from winter’s cold. Plant late bloomers, such as asters and goldenrod, to give bees that last bit of support before they hunker down for the winter. Keep a water source available. If one already has a bird bath for one’s feathered friends, add a small handful of rocks to the center and make it bee friendly, too! And, of course, eliminate pesticides in one’s garden. If one has the space and the dedication, consider becoming a beekeeper or sponsor a hive. If none of these suggestions is practicable, support a bee-friendly charity or research foundation. All are important and all can help our tiny friends.
For more information, visit TheHoneyBeeConservancy.org, Haagendazs.us/Learn/HoneyBees and Xerces.org.
Elinka Boyle-Rosenbaum is a Natural Awakenings Long Island staff writer, progressive school mom and active gardener.
