pollination

Another Bad Year For Bees

August 6, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The latest annual nationwide survey of beekeepers in the US revealed that honeybees are still dying off at an alarming rate. According to the survey, beekeepers across the country lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019.

This annual loss represents a slight increase over the average annual loss of 38.7%. Of greater concern is that winter losses of 37.7% were the highest reported since these annual surveys began 13 years ago and are almost 9% higher than the survey average.

These results are very troubling considering that the elevated losses are continuing even after a decade of intense work trying to understand and reduce colony loss. Evidently, there has not been much progress.

The number one concern among beekeepers is varroa mites, which are lethal parasites that can readily spread from colony to colony. These mites have been decimating bee colonies for years. Products developed to remove mites seem to be getting less and less effective.

But mites are not the only problem for bees. Land use changes have resulted in reduced availability of pollen sources for bees. Add to that pesticide exposures, environmental factors, and even problems with beekeeping practices. In addition, extreme weather conditions such as wildfires and floods are only adding to the problems facing bees.

The tools that used to work for beekeepers seem to be failing and they are already stretched to their limits trying to keep their bees alive. Honey bees pollinate $15 billion worth of food crops in the United States each year. The problems facing bees are a problem for all of us.

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U.S. Beekeepers Suffered Higher than Average Colony Loss Last Year, with Winter Losses the Highest Recorded, According to UMD-Led Annual Survey

Photo, posted June 3, 2009, courtesy of Jennifer C via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Bee Friendly Amsterdam

February 11, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Scientists around the world have been sounding the alarm for years about the decline of bees and other pollinators that are crucial to the growth of crops. One place where this trend has been bucked is in Amsterdam. The diversity of wild bee and honeybee species in the Dutch capital has actually increased by 45% since 2000.

The city attributes this success to creating bee-friendly environments including the installation of so-called insect hotels. There has also been a ban on the use of chemical pesticides on public land.

Four years ago, Amsterdam set a goal to convert half of all public green spaces to native plants including species that produce flowers and fruits that provide nourishment for bees. Developers in Amsterdam are encouraged to install green roofs on new buildings which reduce reliance on heating and cooling systems and also create habitat for wildlife.

Residents can request to have a 16-inch strip of pavement adjacent to their homes removed in order to plant shrubs, flowers or climbing vines. When a new highway was built in the area in 2015, local activists planted wildflowers along the sides of the road that otherwise would have been left with only gravel or grass. This practice has spread to other major routes and along dikes and railways and is referred to as the Honey Highway.

All of these efforts seem to be having a positive effect. An initial survey was conducted in 2000 to establish a baseline. A 2015 survey of pollinators found 21 bee species not previously documented in the city. The rest of the Netherlands has not done as well, and the Dutch government has recently introduced a pollinator strategy to revive bees, butterflies and other insects crucial to the country’s food crop.

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Bees are dying at an alarming rate. Amsterdam may have the answer.

Photo, posted December 28, 2006, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Bring The Wild Back Into Farmlands

December 4, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A recent study published in Science looks at the effects of maintaining at least a little bit of the wild on working lands including farmland, rangeland and forests. The study concludes that doing so may be a key to preserving biodiversity in the face of climate change.

Pesticides And Bees

March 22, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to a European food safety watchdog, most applications of neonicotinoids – the world’s most widely used insecticides – represent a risk to wild bees and honeybees. The use of these insecticides has been restricted in Europe since 2014 following earlier risk assessments.

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A Decline In Flying Insects

November 23, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

When was the last time you used a squeegee to remove squashed insects from your windshield? It’s been a while, right? It’s not just you. This is known as the windscreen phenomenon. Scientists and some motorists have long suspected that flying insects are in dramatic decline. New research has confirmed these suspicions.

Migrating Trees

July 11, 2017 By EarthWise

The changing climate is having a marked effect on forests in this country. In particular, trees along the U.S. eastern seaboard are changing their range as they slowly seek to escape rising temperatures.

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Saving Bees With Software

April 11, 2017 By EarthWise

The worldwide decline in the population of bees and other pollinators has impelled farmers to do what they can to encourage and nurture bees on their land. Protecting bees is important because pollinators are essential for growing many foods including coffee, cacao, almonds and many other fruits and vegetables.

Endangered Bees

October 27, 2016 By WAMC WEB

It’s no secret that pollinators around the world are under threat. According to a U.N. sponsored report released earlier this year, 40% of invertebrate pollinator species, such as bees and butterflies, are facing extinction. And since approximately 75% of the world’s food crops depend on pollination, the decline of these pollinators poses a major threat to food worldwide.

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Declining Insect Populations

August 5, 2016 By WAMC WEB

There has been lots of discussion about the decline in bee populations and its dire consequences for agriculture. We have also talked about the efforts to save the monarch butterfly, whose numbers have been dropping dramatically over the years. But the rest of the insect world does not get much attention. For the most part, we think of insects as a nuisance or as potential pests.

The Trouble With Sustainability

October 23, 2015 By EarthWise

Since its inception, sustainability has been human-centric. It came into vogue in 1987, with the publication of a UN report called Our Common Future, which defined sustainable development as: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

What Would Our Planet’s Sixth Mass Extinction Mean For Us?

August 12, 2015 By EarthWise

A new study by researchers from three U.S. universities echoes an earlier report out of Duke University indicating that earth is in what appears to be the beginning of its sixth mass extinction – the first in some 65 million years. Large animals face the highest rate of decline, and their losses could affect other species, including us.