This week, I’m highlighting one of the most prolific pollinators out there: the bee. While the many issues facing these insects have come to the public’s attention over recent decades, oftentimes the focus is misplaced. When most people picture bees, their immediate focus is on the well-known honey bee. However, oftentimes, these are not the species that are actually in danger.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s list of Threatened and Endangered Pollinators includes eight different bee species as of September 2021; however, none of them are honey bees. Instead, they are wild species that often go overlooked in favor of their more profitable cousins.
In recent years, there has been a spotlight on one of the major honey bee problems, called colony collapse disorder. This refers to instances in which the worker bees of a given hive disappear, leaving behind the queen, nurse bees, and young. While this certainly does have impacts on the sustainability of beekeeping and negatively impacts hives, the honey bee as a whole is nowhere near being in risk of extinction.
To put the issue into perspective, honey bees are livestock. Though they have great economic importance, as any livestock species does, it is inappropriate to overlook other insects that are genuinely struggling in favor of solely focusing on the problems plaguing this specific subcategory.
Instead, the focus needs to shift toward those bees that are actually in danger, such as the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee. These animals face issues associated with climate change and habitat loss. Like many other bees, they are suited for living in a fixed temperature range and specific climate. Thus, global warming has severely impacted their survival, and it limits their access to water. These issues are only exacerbated by the destruction of their natural habitats, such as grasslands.
Others are afflicted by various diseases, such as the parasite Crithidia bombi that hinders colony success. Some experts even attribute the reduction in native bee species to honey bees, arguing that because of the resources demanded by the large populations maintained to fulfill agricultural demands, there is too much competition for other bee species to stand a chance.
Bees play essential roles in their respective ecosystems, so the decline of species such as the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee have greater implications beyond their livelihoods alone. As native bee species dwindle, so too will North American biodiversity. This creates instability in the communities that the bees are a part of, potentially harming other parts of the food chain. Additionally, bees in general serve important roles as pollinators, so their loss would also gravely impact our planet’s plant populations.
But what are we as individuals able to do? There are a range of actions community members can take to help support local bee populations. For example, by creating a bee garden consisting of a diverse range of local, native plants (that ideally bloom at different times of the year), you can ensure that the bees in your neighborhood have access to some of the resources they need. You can also avoid using pesticides, or even make a “bee bath” consisting of a bowl of water with rocks that bees can perch on. Additionally, you can get involved with initiatives promoting policy changes promoting pollinator health, and you can strive to educate others in the community about the importance of protecting native bees.
According to researchers, over 40% of the Earth’s insect species are at risk of going extinct over the following decades. By taking action, we can help to protect both an iconic animal and preserve our world’s biodiversity.
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References
“Colony Collapse Disorder.” EPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 4 Nov. 2021, www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/colony-collapse-disorder. Accessed 3 Feb. 2022.
National Wildlife Federation. 1 June 2021, www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2021/June-July/Gardening/Honey-Bees. Accessed 3 Feb. 2022.
“The Teddy Bears of the Bee World Are Endangered.” Conservation Law Center, 12 Mar. 2021, conservationlawcenter.org/blog/endangeredbees#:~:text=Due%20to%20loss%20of%20habitat,or%20fragmented%20in%20recent%20years.
“10 Ways to Save the Bees.” The Bee Conservancy, Bee Conservancy, thebeeconservancy.org/10-ways-to-save-the-bees/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2022.