Bees are an essential part of our food chain, with more than three-quarters of global crops depending on pollinators. A new report for World Bee Day has highlighted emerging threats that mean the insects could struggle to survive.
Without them, most of our crops would not grow. But the humble bee has been on the decline for decades.
Pesticides and climate change have taken much of the blame for that downward trend.
“If the decline in pollinators continues, we are going to see significant food insecurity, because the amount, the quality and the quantity of yield will reduce. But also, pollination plays a huge role in the nutritious value. So, micronutrients in the food are dependent on having good pollination. So not only will we have a reduction in the food quantity that we eat, the quality will also be seriously affected,” says the report’s co-author, Deepa Senapathi, who is head of the Department of Sustainable Land Management at the University of Reading.
Experts identified the top 12 new threats facing bees. Some relate to pollution—artificial light at night has reduced flower visits by nocturnal pollinators by 62 percent. Antibiotic pollution in hives could be affecting bee behavior, such as reducing how often they forage for flowers.
Pesticides, air pollution and microplastics also made the list. “We talk about how pollution is a big issue, right? But what we may not really focus on is the actual specifics of what type of pollution. So, for example, diesel and exhaust fumes, for instance, when they pollute the air, they can also disrupt pollinator plant interactions. So, the bees may not be able to kind of identify their best foraging resources. If there’s heavy metal pollution in the water or the soil, that may impact behavior of bees. It may even impact their reproductive success survival,” says Senapathi.
Other problems facing bees are more frequent and fierce wildfires destroying habitats, which can’t recover quickly enough afterwards.
The report titled Emerging Threats and Opportunities for Conservation of Global Pollinators was commissioned by Bee:wild, a global campaign to save pollinators.
World Bee Day is May 20.
This article and video were provided by The Associated Press.
[Bees on a hive]
[Flowers and bees in front of hives]
[Beekeeper tending to hives]
[Beekeeper examining a honeycomb from a hive]
[Hives and bees]
[Bees]
Deepa Senapathi (interview): “If the decline in pollinators continues, we are going to see significant food insecurity, because the amount, the quality and the quantity of yield will reduce. But also, pollination plays a huge role in the nutritious value. So micronutrients in the food are dependent on having good pollination. So not only will we have a reduction in the food quantity that we eat , the quality will also be seriously affected.”
[Bees flying around flowers]
[Beehives in an apiary with bees flying]
[Man spraying his corn crop with insecticides]
[Bees foraging]
Deepa Senapathi (interview): “We talk about how pollution is a big issue, right? But what we may not really focus on is the actual specifics of what type of pollution. So, for example, diesel and exhaust fumes, for instance, when they pollute the air, they can also disrupt pollinator plant interactions. So the bees may not be able to kind of identify their best foraging resources. If there’s heavy metal pollution in the water or the soil, that may impact behaviour of bees. It may even impact their reproductive success survival.”
[Tractor sowing field with fertilizer]
[Worker moving fertilizer from truck to tractor]
Deepa Senapathi (interview): “If we take war zones, for instance, let’s take Ukraine as an example, Ukraine is a very arable rich country. I think they are particularly known for exporting sunflower and sunflower oil. So the fact that there’s a war on might mean, a:there’s an impediment to the exports. But also be that that country can’t import the crops that it needs and therefore there might be land transformation. So what is natural habitat and good for bees might be cleared to grow something, like more cereal-based crops that would feed the population.”
[Beekeeper showing hives on rooftop]
Deepa Senapathi (interview): “I think we need stronger policies and regulations. We also can, I think, take advantage of lots of new and emerging technology that can help us monitor pollinator populations. So unless we know what’s there and whether it’s doing better or worse or at a status quo, unless we have those monitoring initiatives in place, we won’t be able to know if something is declining.”
[Beekeeper showing hives on rooftop]
[Bees on a beehive]
[This script was provided by The Associated Press.