Why are bees dying out? What is killing the bees...

The bees are dying out. Quickly, in under 100 years, their numbers have plummeted which is bad news not only for bees but for us as well. Bees pollinate about one-third of all the food we eat meaning the death of the bees will result in either a loss of this food for us/or prices for food to skyrocket. The death of bee populations will also have massive effects of the world's biodiversity in terms of flowers, plants and other animals that depend on them.

I've laid out in simple terms below the top reasons I think bees are dying, however, all is not lost some simple things that you can do to help bees are eat and purchase organic products and plant lots of flowers wherever you can!

"According to a recent UN report, more than 70 of the 100 crops that provide 90 percent of the world's food rely on bees for pollination. Managed honey bees remain the most economically important pollinator, contributing over $19 billion annually to the U.S. economy."

1. One of the biggest problems for bee populations is the use of pesticides that have skyrocketed since the '40s. Neonicotinoid (similar to nicotien) 24% of the global pesticide market pesticides have emerged as one of the biggest problems for bees; often a very high dose of pesticide will be added to a plant which can result in the immediate death of a bee who tries to help pollinate the plant. However, if the dose is lower, then this can still result in a lot of long term problems for bees including the following:

• Compromised immune response
• Shortened adult life cycles
• Impaired memory and learning
• Reduced social communication (reduces foraging efficacy)
• Disorientation, which also impairs foraging
• Delayed larval development and disrupted brood cycle
• “Gut” microbe disruption, leading to malnutrition

(Source PAN)

2. Habitat loss

With more and more of the world surface being taken up with human activities, that leaves less space for nature. Farming and the rise of large urban areas has led to less space being available for plants and flowers that bees need to feed on. This is a big problem for bees not only due to the lack of food and habitat available to make their homes but also as it means travelling longer and longer distances from the hive for food.

3. Monocultures

 The two last revolutions in farming have allowed us to produce huge amounts of food that we now waste. In order for farmers to produce large amounts of food, they must operate under certain types of farming systems if they are to keep up with demand and get contracts. This has resulted in poor nutrition for bees as biodiversity has been destroyed with the large monoculture systems that now dominate much of the world's agriculture.


4. Parasites 

Mites that live in the tracheas of honey bees are causing distress and suffocate the bees. These mites are having devastating effects on already weakened hives.  

I know this is a little different from my usual content but I wanted to raise awareness about this important issue. Bees dying out will have huge implications on our food systems and impact not only fruit and veg but milk and meat production as well.

Please leave a comment below if I have missed something or if you are interested in posts like this in the future.