A World Without Bees?

A conversation got started in the office today about honey bees and the fact that bees around the world are in trouble. It seemed that we all had heard ’something somewhere about that’, but couldn’t actually put our finger on any facts. I thought I’d take it upon myself to do a little research and in the meantime provide you, dear reader, with the benefits.

It isn’t the first time that the plight of bees has been mentioned on the blog. Remember this article from February when we first introduced the concept of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)? It is apparently a recent phenomenon among honey bee colonies, characterised by sudden unexplained colony death, although the queen and some adult survivors may still be present. Currently there is no explanation for the underlying cause. The potential economic loss for agricultural industries that rely on pollination for fruiting and cropping is significant, particularly when there is so much talk of the threat of a global food crisis already. Colony Collapse Disorder is a worldwide phenomenon and scientists are working hard to try and understand why it’s happening.

The problem seems to be rapidly worsening. An article on the Science Daily website from May 12 reports that American beekeepers are still reporting heavy losses from CCD. Surveyed beekeepers reported a total loss of about 36.1 % of their honey bee colonies, up about 13.5 % from the previous winter.

To try and better understand the issues surrounding CCD visit this website that presents a number of recent scientific papers and studies on the causes of the disorder from the Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research and Extension Consortium at Pennsylvania State University, USA for you nerdy types out there that want the facts and nothing but the facts. Another good resource from DEFRA has links for beekeepers on health inspections and the UK apiculture programme.

For the rest of us, Haagan-Dazs (yes, the ice cream makers – since there’d be no chocolate without honeybees, you know) have a new interactive website called help the honeybees to promote education on the honeybee crisis. Why not do your bit by creating a bee-friendly garden? This website from the University of California – Berkley provides a guide to planting a bee garden, including a comprehensive plant list suitable for the casual gardener and the horticulturist alike.

posted by Brooke