It's New Zealand Bee Week. Yet another promotional plea for
another threatened creature.
Surely we can ignore this one - it's the size of a blowfly,
not as cute as a polar bear cub, and it has a sting.
Even our city council says that bees are "dangerous" and "not
considered appropriate for the city" (Otago Daily Times
28.3.09).
But hang on, before you get out the can of pesticide, there's
a secret about bees that I want to tell you.
Without bees humans would soon be dead ducks, and probably
faster than by climate change.
A world without bees would be a world without humans.
Why? They are the planet's ultimate pollinators - causing
flowers to produce seeds, nuts, fruits and vegetables.
More than 75% of the world's most important crops need
pollinators (mainly honeybees, bumblebees, and native bees).
Without pollinators? No more strawberries, almonds, cherries,
pumpkins, blueberries, apples, or honey - much of the colour
and vitamins in our diet.
Is this the "dangerous" animal the council warns about?Fewer
dairy products and meat, too - bees pollinate the plants we
feed to cattle.
Wild plants and animals would also struggle.
Economically, New Zealand probably needs the honey bee more
than any other country, because we rely on farming.
About $71 million worth of honey is exported annually, but
bee pollination of horticultural and agricultural crops is
worth well over a billion dollars.
Worldwide the value of pollination of crops is about $60
billion.
The bad news is, bee numbers are declining all over the
world: more than 30% of US hives; about 50% of British and
Japanese hives; in Italy a 45% fall.
Much of this is blamed on a mystery syndrome called CCD
(colony collapse disorder) in which bees fail to return to
the hive.
Research suggests it's caused by multiple factors, including
chemical poisoning, monoculture farming (poor diet), viruses,
varroa, habitat loss, GM crops, and climate change.
All of these probably combine to stress the bees - and they
are all a result of human activities.
Maybe we are the dangerous animal.
The good news is, you don't have to be a super scientist to
help save the bees - you can do it in your own garden.
