Humanity depends on insect pollination for much of our food production. But pollinators have been struggling to survive. Saving the bees has become a common theme on the internet and the conversation around saving the bees has been growing. If you're interested in learning what you can do to save the bees, read on.
What's the story with bees?
The honeybee kept in apiculture is Apis mellifera, aka the "European honey bee", a species of bee native to Europe and generally believed to have originated in Africa or near east Asia. Depending on the biologist you talk to, Apis mellifera is an invasive species everywhere else in the world, including North & South America, East Asia, Australia, etc. Humans domesticated honeybees millennia ago and are responsible for their spread around the world, and honeybees have been introduced and become established throughout the world for so long that they're generally considered naturalized. However, honeybees still compete with native bee species for habitat and resources in these places where they've been introduced.
Apis mellifera is an important pollinator for many varieties of flowering plant, including many that we eat. That said, depending on your location in the world, your average diet may not contain anything pollinated by honeybees at all. In the Americas, many common table foods such as tomatoes, potatoes, squash, peppers, corn, etc are native to the Americas and are primarily pollinated by native bee species. It's these native bees that are the most neglected and are at the most risk. There are over 20,000 different species of bee, all of which contribute to our food chain through pollination.
In addition, many many other critters, including moths, butterflies, wasps, birds, and even sometimes ants also contribute to pollination. And these are also at risk for many of the same reasons that bees are.
What is killing the bees?
There are three major factors contributing to the decline of pollinators in general, and bees in particular.
- Habitat loss due to human expansion and urbanization
- Habitat loss due to climate change
- Pesticide use
Every perfectly manicured grass lawn is a veritable desert for pollinators. And many of the ornamental flowers grown in gardens are unhealthy or even toxic to bees. Combined with more extreme weather, especially increased drought in many parts of the world, bees, moths, butterflies and all pollinators and many plants and animals are quickly losing space to live.
Commercial and residential use of pesticides that are known to be toxic to pollinators is also killing the bees. Many of the flowers you purchase at the garden center have been treated with toxic pesticides. Homeowners hoping to get rid of their ant hills are spraying pesticides right and left. Some cities routinely spray pesticides across the entire city in efforts to fight mosquitos, while also decimating local bee and butterfly populations.
In the end, the death of the bees is not a single thing that can be solved by single individuals. Our environment is an interconnected ecosystem and the factors that affect the bees are affecting all kinds of wildlife. Bees only get the attention because of how close our symbiosis with them is in our food chain. Yes, if the bees all died off we would follow them in short order, but not because of a lack of apricots. The factors that are endangering our pollinators are endangering the plants and ecosystems that depend on those pollinators. But those factors also endanger the crops and grains that we and our livestock depend upon for our basic nutrition. The world is an interconnected web of relationships, and the climate change and pesticides that threaten bees and other pollinators will threaten humanity as well.
What can I do to help?
While they certainly face challenges, honeybees are not in danger of extinction. But because of our disregard for their habitat many native bees are in danger. And while honeybees get all the credit for pollinating our dinner plates, it's the lesser known native bees who do much of the work.
Becoming a beekeeper seems to be the popular trend right now. However, beekeeping only focuses on one particular species of bee and one that, for much of the world, is not the species at risk or the one pollinating our food. It's also a very complex, difficult, and challenging hobby that is not ideal for everyone. If you're interested in taking up beekeeping as an environmental effort, consider instead planting a garden full of plants native to your location and providing locally tailored habitat for the bee species native to your region.
Here are some simple and effective things you can do to "save the bees":
- Replace your lawn with flowering gardens
- Plant local native plants only
- Adjust your gardening habits to make habitat for local pollinators
- Reduce your use of pesticides overall, and especially those known to be harmful to pollinators
- Reduce/Reuse/Recycle like we were taught in 3rd grade
- Promote, support, and use clean/renewable energy
- Support and promote political figures and parties that demand swift action on climate change
The flowers you should plant and the habitat you should make will vary depending on where you live. Many universities and utility companies provide free gardening and landscaping information that can guide you in finding the right mix of changes for your garden. Even in dense urban areas, it's possible to garden effectively on apartment and condo porches and balconies. You can also connect with apartment and office building managers to implement rooftop gardens (aka "green roofs").
But as important as it is for each of us to do our small part, the causes of these problems can only be solved if we work together. To really make a difference in local habitat requires local municipal policy changes, and to really make a difference in climate change requires national and international policy changes.
And of course, you can spread the word. Study more on the topics of habitat loss, climate change, and pesticides. Talk to your neighbors, family, friends about these factors and how they affect our pollinators and how they affect us. Help other people learn so they, too, can join in the effort to protect our environment and "save the bees".
What doesn't help?
Eating organic. While it's also a popular trend, the "Organic" label on produce may not actually be meaningful or make a difference for you, the environment, or the bees. There is also a lot of misinformation about pesticides and which ones are dangerous and which ones are not. There's also quite a bit of misinformation about climate change, too. In most cases, "organic" produce has smaller crop yields, which means larger monocultures and more land and water use and fuel consumption during harvesting, all contributing to climate change and pollinator habitat destruction. Some "organic" foods or gardening techniques may be beneficial, some "non-organic" foods or techniques may be better. It's important to be sure as you study more on this topic that you focus on science-based information which will provide the most up-to-date and accurate information that we have.
Planting more flowers (without paying attention to what you're planting). Planting non-native flowers in your flower garden may be counter-productive. Of course it's OK to have a few and to plant the plants that you love, but a large bed of non-native annuals can be just as empty for your local pollinators as a pure grass lawn.
Focusing on one specific pollinator to save. This effort is admirable, and necessary for some species (such as Monarch butterflies). But it can also become too narrow of a focus. If you choose to plant a garden full of dill, parsley, and milkweed to help the butterflies, don't forget that other pollinators still need your help, and remember that problems such as climate change still need your voice.
Beekeeping. While keeping honeybees is enjoyable and exciting and can often be a gateway into greater ecological awareness, because European Honeybees are not native to many parts of the world they compete against native bees for resources. And along with the non-native honeybees, humans have also introduced invasive plant species to feed them, to the detriment of local native plants that the local native bees depend on. Without careful planning and habitat conservation, keeping honeybees can be harmful to native bees.