The bee population has been taking a nosedive, and we should be worried.
One factor for this population drop is Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), an issue that honey bees have been plagued with since 2006. CCD is defined as a dead colony where there are no adult bees and where there are no dead bee bodies, but there is still a live queen, honey, and immature bees. This means that there are no adult males to reproduce with the queen, and there are no adult females to go out and pollinate plants.
According to a 2012 progress report put out by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, approximately one-third of winter losses, averaging around 33 percent, was caused by CCD. This means 11 percent of bees were lost due to CCD. This may seem like a small number, but when applied to the millions of colonies out there, it’s quite the hefty loss.
Colony Collapse Disorder isn’t the only issue plaguing bees, though. Parasites and pests have been taking their toll on the population of bees for a while now. Varroa mites, introduced to the United States in 1987, have been responsible for the deaths of numerous honey bee colonies. Varroa mites are to honey bees what ticks and mosquitoes are to humans; the mites latch onto bees and suck their equivalent of blood, called hemolymph fluid. Varroa mites also transmit pathogenic viruses to honey bees, like the deformed wing virus.
These factors are two of the greatest that are plaguing honeybees, but they seem large and out of the hands of the average, non-bee-owning person. So what can be done to ensure that the bees continue on? It’s fairly simple.
Don’t use pesticides that are known to have a lethal or sub-lethal effect on honeybees. In some studies, the pesticide class neonicotinoids have been connected to CCD and has shown sub-lethal effects on some colonies. You can also help the bees by not spraying any pesticides during midday hours when most bees are out and about pollinating.
Another action people can take is to call a beekeeper to relocate any hives and or bees that have set up a home somewhere undesirable. This way the bees are safely moved, the beekeeper has more bees to care for, and you don’t have to worry about having a beehive on the side of your chimney.
One action that any person can take, though, is to plant bee-friendly plants in the yard or garden. Some good examples of plants are red clover, foxglove, bee balm, joe-pye weed, and any other plants that are native to the state. Not only do bees love these plants, but other pollinators, such as hummingbirds, may wish to partake as well!
Without bees, almost all of the food that we regularly consume would die off due to lack of pollination. While CCD and mites are big issues that beekeepers and organizations are tackling, everyone should do their part to ensure that our fuzzy friends live on.
