Flowering plants rely heavily on bees for their survival via pollination, and many bee species are endangered. An overview of the current honeybee colony crisis.

Bees are highly specialised feeders, there are about twenty thousand species, and with the exception of the three Vulture Bees they all get their food from plants. The vast majority collect nectar and pollen and in doing so pollinate the flowers. Without bees many flowering plants would become extinct – and that includes most agricultural crops.

Bees in Crisis

Many species are endangered (see my previous articles on; Bumblebees, Stingless Bees, Honeybees and Bees in General). Most well-known species are suffering from a variety of man-made problems, including habitat destruction and the misuse of pesticides. The vast majority of species are not at all well known or studied, and nobody knows what is happening to them.

Honeybees to the Rescue?

In a strange way the recent phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder in Honeybees might ultimately turn out to be the salvation of bees (the other 19,999 species!). Because the Western Honeybee is so important for the pollination of agricultural crops the problem has aroused concern at the highest levels. This species is well-known and well studied by specialists, and in addition is kept by a vast number of beekeepers around the world. If the problems that the honeybee is facing can be identified (and remedied) we might incidentally save many other species.

Biodiversity

It is important to understand how little we really know about the way complex ecosystems work. Protecting endangered species is not an altruistic venture – we are attempting to safeguard our own future. The links in the ‘web of life’ are incredibly complex, and the loss of a species can have far-reaching consequences – far beyond those predicted or anticipated. We get some idea of the complexities when we see what happens when something like the Cane Toad gets to Australia (see Cane Beetles).

Information

The internet provides a powerful way to pass and gather information. There is a ‘discussion’ on Suite101 where beekeepers and other interested parties can exchange observations and experiences relevant to the current Honeybee crisis. This is not a simple problem – it is not thought to be a new disease of Honeybees nor the result of any one new pesticide. It might be due to a combination of known factors, or the result of something no-one has yet considered. In this climate the gathering of information from people who regularly observe bees might well throw up some clues.

Please join the discussion about Colony Collapse Disorder in Honeybees if you have anything to say about it.