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The phrase “bees are dying out” today sounds like an ominous harbinger of the coming apocalypse, not only for humanity, but for the entire planet. But the Earth has not seen such extinctions. She will survive. And humanity will quickly disappear after the bees, if the extinction of these workers cannot be stopped.
What role do bees play?
A bee is an insect at the beginning of the food chain. This means that if the bees disappear, the whole chain will collapse. One link will disappear after another.
Bees pollinate 80% of crops. Mostly fruit trees and shrubs. The decrease in the number of bee colonies has already led to the fact that in 2009-2013, farmers did not get a third of the harvest of apples and almonds. These crops have suffered the most from the loss of pollinators. In the United States, government support for beekeeping had to be introduced. Every year, new families are brought into the areas affected by the extinction of the colonies.
Even self-pollinating fruits and berries without bees reduce yields. This is clearly seen in the example of strawberries, which produce 53% of the berries by self-pollination, 14% by wind and 20% by bees. The economic damage from the death of pollinators in the US alone is already estimated at billions of dollars.
The economic damage is not as important as the fact that without pollinators, plant foods will disappear as early as next year. Most cucurbits cannot produce crops by self-pollination. The issues of survival and death of bees and humans are interrelated.
Why are bees disappearing on the planet
This question has not yet been answered. The main blame for the disappearance of pollinating insects is placed on the widespread use of chemicals in the fields. But the version has not been finally proven, since there are facts that contradict this theory. There are falsifications of the results of experiments both on the part of supporters of pesticides and on the part of their opponents.
The spread of parasites and pathogens can also contribute to the extinction of pollinators. Previously, bees could not fly over large bodies of water, but today they are transported by people. Along with productive insects, parasites and infections spread.
The topic of climate is also very popular. The disappearance of pollinators is attributed to cold winters. But hymenoptera have survived not a single glaciation in their history and were not going to die out. So the reasons for the disappearance of bees on the planet are very vague. Moreover, they do not die alone, but in the company of relatives.
When did the disappearance of bees begin?
Insect pollinators began to disappear in the US, and at first this did not bother anyone. Just think, in California in the 70s, for unknown reasons, extinction befell almost half of the bee colonies. But then extinction spread across the globe. And this is where the panic started. After all, if the bees die out, the cycle of reproduction of flowering plants will stop. And other pollinators will not help, as they are dying out along with honey bees.
The disappearance of Hymenoptera was noticed only in 2006, although only in the UK since the beginning of the 20th century 23 species of bees and wasps have already become extinct. And in the world, the disappearance of these insects began in the 90s of the twentieth century.
Our Country sounded the alarm in 2007. But for 10 years the problem of extinction has not been solved. In 2017, there was a record number of deaths during the wintering of the colonies. In some areas, 100% of families died out, with a typical death rate of 10-40%.
Reasons for the mass death of bees
The reasons for the mass death of bees have not been established, and all explanations for extinction are still at the level of theories. Possible reasons for the extinction of bees in the world are called:
- the use of insecticides;
- cold winters;
- the spread of pathogenic bacteria;
- the spread of the varroa mite;
- mass infection with microsporidia Nosema apis;
- syndrome of destruction of bee colonies;
- electromagnetic radiation;
- advent of 4G mobile communications.
The study of the reasons for the extinction of bees is still ongoing, although the first signs of the disappearance of Hymenoptera appeared about a century ago, after the First World War. When it seems that the reason for the death of pollinators has already been found, data appears that refute the results of the study.
neonicotinoids
With the advent of relatively harmless systemic insecticides, they have been blamed for the extinction. Studies have confirmed that in bees poisoned with neonicotinoids, only half of the colonies survive the winter. But it immediately turned out that in California, bee colonies began to disappear back in the 90s, when this type of pesticide was not common. And in Australia, the use of neonicotinoids is widespread, but the bees are not going to die out. But in Australia there is no frost, no varroa mite.
cold
In Estonia, scientists also blame pesticides for the death of apiaries, but in the cold winter of 2012-2013 and due to the late arrival of spring, 25% of families did not survive the winter. In some apiaries, the death was 100%. It has been suggested that bees weakened by insecticides were badly affected by the cold. But Estonian beekeepers blame the “rotten” for the death of their wards.
Bacterial infection
Foulbrood or rotten is called a bacterial disease that occurs in larvae. Since this is a bacterium, it is no longer possible to get rid of the pathogen when the colony is damaged. The most common are European (Melissococcus plutonius) and American (Paenibacillus larvae) foulbrood. When infected with these bacteria, the brood dies, and then the entire colony gradually dies out.
Bacteria are sensitive to streptomycin, antibiotics of the tetracycline group, sulfonamides. But getting rid of the infection completely is very difficult.
Varroa
There are several types of these mites, the most dangerous of which is Varroa destructor. It is this species that is considered the main culprit of bee panzootics and the death of insects. It parasitizes Chinese wax and common honey bees.
It was first discovered in South Asia. As a result of trade, exchange and attempts to develop new breeds of bees, it spread throughout the world. Today, any apiary on the Eurasian continent is infected with varroa.
The female mite lays her eggs in unsealed brood cells. Further, new mites parasitize growing larvae. If only one egg was laid, the new bee will be weak and small. With two or more mites parasitizing on one larva, the bee will be disfigured:
- underdeveloped wings;
- small sizes;
- paws with defects.
Affected varroa at the stage of bee larvae are not able to work. With 6 mites in a cell, the larva dies. With a significant infection with a tick, the colony dies out. The insect trade has been cited as one of the causes of extinction, as it promotes the spread of varroa.
Nosemaapis
Microsporidia, which lives in the intestines of bees, leads to digestive disorders and often to the death of the colony. The so-called “worn-out” honeycombs are a consequence of the disease of bees with nosematosis. The main blame for the fact that bees began to disappear in the world is not laid on her. When heavily infested with Nosema, the bees die, remaining in the hive, but do not disappear in an unknown direction.
Syndrome of the destruction of bee colonies
It is not a disease per se. One day, far from perfect for him, the beekeeper discovers that the bees have disappeared from the hives. All stocks and brood remain in the nest, but there are no adults. What makes the bees leave the hive, scientists still have not figured out, although the disappearances have already gone to the percentage of the total number of colonies.
The causes of the syndrome are sought in the use of pesticides, infestation with mites, or a combination of all factors. The “tick” version has certain grounds. In the wild, animals get rid of some of the parasites by changing shelters. A heavily tick-infested family may indeed attempt to relocate in order to get rid of some of the parasites. But since all colonies are already infected with mites, it is also impossible to point to varroa as the only reason for the disappearance of bees. In addition to the “natural” and “chemical” reasons for the extinction of bees, there is also an “electromagnetic” theory.
electromagnetic radiation
Another version of why bees disappear is the spread of mobile communications and towers for it. Since the hype around the mass death of bees began only in the 2000s, conspiracy theorists immediately linked the extinction of insects with the development of mobile communications and an increase in the number of towers. It is not clear only what to do with the mass death of bees in the 70s of the last century in California and the extinction of 23 species of pollinating wasps and bees on the islands of Great Britain, which began at the beginning of the last century. Indeed, at that time, mobile communications were only in science fiction novels. But scientists still do not exclude this factor from the number of “suspects” in the death of bee colonies.
New generation mobile communication format 4G
This communication format has not even covered the entire globe yet, but it has already been made “guilty” for the death of bee colonies. The explanation is simple: the wavelength of this format is the same as the length of the bee’s body. Because of this coincidence, the bee enters into resonance and dies.
The yellow press does not care about the fact that in Our Country this format works only on 50% of the territory, which implies the existence of this connection only in large developed cities. An apiary in the middle of a million-plus city has nothing to do. And in remote places suitable for honey collection, there is often no mobile communication at all.
For some reason, no one is considering a couple more theories, which are also just theories so far: another mass extinction and the greed of beekeepers. The latter is especially relevant for Our Country with its total passion for traditional medicine.
mass extinction
Over the past 540 million years, the planet has experienced 25 mass extinctions. 5 of them were very large. Not the largest, but the most famous of them is the extinction of dinosaurs. The largest extinction occurred 250 million years ago. Then 90% of all living organisms disappeared.
The most common causes of extinctions are:
- volcanic eruptions;
- climate change;
- meteor falling.
But none of these theories provide an answer to the question of why the extinction was selective. Why did the dinosaurs disappear, while the more ancient crocodiles and turtles remained alive, and also what they ate and why they did not freeze. Why, as a result of the “nuclear winter” after the fall of the meteorite, the dinosaurs were subjected to extinction, and the bees that arose 100 million years ago remained alive. Indeed, according to modern theory, the death of bee colonies also occurs due to cold winters.
But if we assume that the mechanism of the mass extinction of flora and fauna was triggered by some very small factor, like a worm or an insect, then everything falls into place. Those species that did not depend on this factor survived. But the “factor” did not die out because of human economic activity.
Many scientists have long concluded that humanity is living in the era of another mass extinction. If pollinating insects serve as the trigger for the start of mass death today, then the Earth is waiting for another grandiose extinction. And the bees are disappearing, because they have outlived their own, and the time has come to give way to new species.
Greed
Previously, only honey and wax were taken from bees. Propolis was a by-product of beekeeping. It was obtained when the old hives were cleaned from the waste products of bees. Wax was also obtained by melting those combs from which honey was squeezed.
The extinction of bees, first noticed in Our Country, strangely coincided with the craze for traditional medicine. Beekeeping products began to be praised as a panacea for all diseases in the world. Everything went into action:
- honey;
- royal jelly;
- pga;
- drone milk.
But about propolis, after it became widely known about its origin, they forgot.
Of all the listed products, honey is the cheapest. Perga is 4 times more expensive than the most expensive honey, and it is difficult to resist the temptation to take it from the bees. But this is the main food of the bee colony in winter. By selecting it, the beekeeper leaves the insects hungry. And, perhaps, dooms them to death.
Drones are essential members of a colony. With a lack of drones, the bees do not collect honey, but build drone cells and feed the drone brood. But the beekeeper selects drone combs with almost ready males and puts them under the press. This is how “drone milk / homogenate” is obtained. These are unborn drones flowing out through the holes of the press. And the workers are forced to raise drone brood again instead of collecting honey and pollen.
Royal jelly is obtained by killing queen larvae. The medicinal properties of neither pollen, nor drone and royal jelly have been officially proven. It is not surprising that with such a hectic life, bees prefer to disappear into the forest and find a hollow for themselves.
This theory is confirmed by the disappearances in nature of the European tour (the ancestor of the cow) and the tarpan (the ancestor of the domestic horse). But it is unlikely that these disappearances are directly related to domestication. Wild animals were food competitors for domestic and the extermination of “savages” was carried out by man. The wild ancestors of domesticated geese and ducks are not dying out, but thriving. But they have never been serious competitors to domestic livestock.
The bee is not fully domesticated, but has almost disappeared in the wild. With a high degree of probability, this is due to sanitary deforestation, when hollow trees are destroyed.
Why are bees dying in Our Country
The reasons for the death of bees in Our Country do not differ from those all over the world. In other words, no one really knows anything, but they “blame” for the extinction of families:
- chemicals;
- climate;
- disease;
- varroa mite.
In Our Country, greed can be safely added to the “traditional” causes of insect death. Even if the beekeeper takes only honey, he usually takes more than he can. Then the family is fed with sugar syrup so that it restores supplies and safely survives the winter.
But back in the middle of the last century in the USSR, conscientious beekeepers strictly monitored that working individuals did not eat sugar and did not drag such “honey” into the hive. Lazy people even knew how to re-educate. Eating sugar weakens insects. At first, this is imperceptible, but then “suddenly” the colony dies out.
beekeepers blame neighboring farms for the extinction of bees, which treat their fields with pesticides. And beekeepers have a reason for this. agricultural firms often use cheap but bee-killing chemicals.
What happens if the bees disappear
There will be nothing:
- not 80% of plants;
- nor the animals that feed on these plants;
- no people.
The disappearance of pollinating insects may be the trigger that will trigger the mechanism of mass extinction. In addition to honey bees, bumblebees and wasps are dying out. They all belong to the same group. Bees and bumblebees – a private version of wasps.
No one has yet wondered if the ants are dying out. If it turns out that all the “relatives” are dying out, then things are even worse than they seem. Humanity will lose all pollinators, not just bees. If the bees disappear, then humanity will have 4 years to live. On old stock. And only to those who manage to capture these reserves.
The plot for a horror movie that can come true. The next year, plants pollinated by bees will not produce a crop. Only artificially bred parthenocarpic varieties of vegetables will remain for people. But when self-pollinated, such varieties do not produce new seeds. And how to get seeds from them, the manufacturer keeps a secret.
Obtaining vegetables of even such varieties will be limited by the number of their seeds and the germination period. Extinction will overtake all flower plants, on which one could try to survive today, following the example of ancient ancestors. Forage grasses eaten by livestock will last for several years. But a grass that does not produce seeds has a short lifespan. The grasses will begin to die out, and the cattle will follow. Life can only remain in the sea, which is almost not connected to land and certainly does not depend on bees.
But the sea is not enough for everyone. He is no longer enough. And no one knows if there is its own “sea bee”, which is also dying out. One way or another, the familiar world will perish if the bees die out. If intelligence ever reappears on the planet, scientists will also wonder about the causes of this mass extinction. And no one can tell them that the reason is the death of small, inconspicuous insects.
What steps are being taken
Forecasts regarding the complete disappearance of bees vary greatly in terms of timing. From 2035, in which bees will finally disappear, to a vague “in the next century.” Since the causes of extinction are unknown, the fight against the disappearance of bee colonies is carried out according to the following hypotheses:
- Europe cuts down on pesticide use;
- The US is trying to create micro-robots that will replace bees in the pollination of plants (you can not count on honey);
- the Monsanto company said that the solution to the problem of the extinction of bees is on its list of priorities, but they do not believe her;
- The Center for the Revival of Natural Beekeeping has developed a program for the return of bees to the wild.
Since the possible reason for the extinction of bees was the thoughtless importation of a more productive, but heat-loving southern bee to the north, today the movement of insects began to be limited. The breeding of local populations is encouraged. But the “pure” local subspecies of bees have almost disappeared and measures are required to restore the number of local colonies.
The subspecies of the dark forest bee disappeared in Europe, Belarus and Ukraine. But it is still preserved in Bashkiria, Tatarstan, Perm and Altai territories, in the Kirov region. The authorities of Bashkiria banned the import of other populations into their territory so that the subspecies would no longer mix.
The program for the return of bee colonies to nature provides for the preparation and creation of 50000 apiaries of 10 families, where people will not take away all the honey from families, instead giving sugar. The colonies will be self-supporting. Also, bees cannot be treated with chemicals. Although it is not clear how to deal with varroa in this case. The program is designed for 16 years, during which up to 70% of swarms will be released annually.
As a result of the program, about 7,5 million bee colonies will appear in the forests. It is believed that this is enough for the bees to stop dying out and begin to multiply on their own.
bumblebee breeding
In connection with the disappearance of the main worker in agriculture, a new industry began to develop: bumblebee breeding. The bumblebee is more hardworking and hardy. He is less prone to disease. He is not so depleted by parasites. But bumblebee breeding is not developed in Our Country, and farmers buy insects abroad. Mostly in Belgium. For the Ministry of Agriculture, the bumblebee is of no interest. Western Europe sells bumblebees for 150-200 million euros per year.
The bumblebee has only one disadvantage as a pollinator: it is heavier.
Conclusion
Bees are dying out for reasons that are still unknown to people. With a high degree of probability, extinction is facilitated by a complex of factors that, individually, do not bring death to insects. But, overlapping each other, they lead to the extinction of bee colonies.
