Earth without Bees!

Can man live comfortably without bees?

Who are bees?

Bees are social insects; hardworking, committed and obedient to their queen. Bees are responsible for pollination of thousands of different flowers in the world. Bees guarantee transfer of pollen from anther to stigma due to their hairy body (which attracts pollen) and several visits to a single flower in just one day.

Bees make food for man. Bees produce honey from nectar which they collect from various flowers and process and store in combs where man harvest when ready.

Are bees pests?

NO. Bees are not pests because they don’t destroy crops nor feed on animals.

 Apart from bees what other pollinating insects are available in the world?

There are very many insects which pollinate flowers and the commonly identified ones are butterflies, wasps, beetles, feral bees, flower flies, moths, sweat bees, carpenter bees, bumble bees, etc

Are bees more effective in pollinating than other insects?

Bees make excellent pollinators because most of their life is spent collecting pollen, a source of protein that they feed to their developing offspring. When a bee lands on a flower, the hairs all over the bees’ body attract pollen grains through electrostatic forces. Stiff hairs on their legs enable them to groom the pollen into specialized brushes or pockets on their legs or body, and then carry it back to their nest. Individual bees tend to focus on one kind of flower at a time, which means it is more likely that pollen is transferred from anther to stigma in one flower as well as will be transferred to another flower of the same species by a particular bee. Many plants require this kind of pollen distribution, known as cross-pollination, in order to produce viable seeds.

Therefore bees are more effective pollinators than other insects because one bee visits hundreds of flowers in one day. Since bees can store the pollen and nectar for future processing and use, it enables them to collect the resources throughout the day yet other insects visit flowers with only one objective; feeding and when they get satisfied, they stop visiting. Instead go into the shade and relax until the hunger for food resumes! This limits the number of flowers they visit in one day unlike the bees which are limited by time.

Why bees are disappearing?

• Insecticides are primarily broad spectrum and are therefore deadly to bees. Herbicide use also can remove many of the flowers that bees need for food. Most of the pesticides kill bees like they do to other insects which are regarded as pests. Most herbicides also irritate the bees which stop them from foraging the sprayed field and above of all the weeds die with flowers that would benefit the bees.
• Urbanization has led to destruction of anthills (caves) and trees (cavities) where the wild bees would nest. Charcoal burning which primarily involves cutting down trees has reduced the places where wild bees would nest and forage.
• Declining number of beekeepers is also responsible for the declining number of bees worldwide.
• Diseases and pests which attack bees also causes high death tolls and in the end reducing the number of bees.  Since January (2007), there have been a number of reports in the media about the mysterious disappearance of large numbers of honey bees called colony collapse disorder in North America.
• Lack of sensitization to local people by ministry of agriculture about the importance of bees in our environment.

Will other pollinators be effective after bees are extinct?

Increased use of pesticides on crops has killed and affected a lot of insects (pollinators). This has reduced the number of insects rendering them ineffective for pollination. Since most pesticides are broad spectrum; so it kills the pests including other insects which come into contact with the pesticide.

Like discussed earlier, apart from bees family, other insects visit flowers with only one objective; food. And when they get satisfied, they stop visiting flowers instead take rest until they want food again. This limits the number of flowers they would visit in a day. And so many flowers are left unattended (not pollinated).

Bees have hairs all over the body that attract pollen grains through electrostatic forces. Stiff hairs on their legs enable them to groom the pollen into specialized brushes or pockets on their legs or body, and then carry it back to their nest. This gives bees an edge whereby they can easily rub and transfer pollen accordingly and also transfer it to the next flower which allows cross pollination to effectively take place.

Changes in land use have resulted in a patchy distribution of food, nesting resources and breeding sites for the insects hence reducing their number.

What can we do to save the bees and maybe other pollinators?

1.       Stop using insecticides

2.       Plant Bee-friendly plants

3.       Create natural habitat gardens

4.       Find out more about bees

5.       Support your local beekeepers

6.       Make you own 'Wild bee' house

7.       Become a beekeeper

8.       Sign petitions banning pesticides

9.       Encourage your local authority to do more to help bees