Maybe it’s something you haven’t noticed yet. Maybe it’s something you haven’t even heard about. But as a home gardener, it’s something you should be aware of: the disappearing bees.
Help the bees by adding plenty of nectar-rich plants to your garden. (Many native plants are terrific food sources for bees!)
Photo Credit: © Pennystone Gardens
No one really knows the cause of colony collapse disorder, but some colonies are able to recover.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Marshall’s Farm
Plant more flower beds – not lawn – to bring more buzz to your yard!
Photo Credit: Judith K. Mehl
Hives are regularly inspected for disease or invading pests.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Marshall’s Farm
Though honeybee health has been on the decline worldwide since the 1980s, it wasn’t until fall 2006 that beekeepers nationwide began noticing honeybee colonies disappearing in large numbers without explanation. This syndrome, named colony collapsed disorder (CCD), is characterized by the disappearance of adult honeybees from the hive, leaving the newborns to fend for themselves.
During the winter of 2006, some beekeepers reported losing 30-90 percent of their hives. Though some loss is expected during this time of year, this bee toll was much higher than normal – and highly unusual in other ways, too. You see, honeybees don’t typically leave their young. They like the constant chitter chatter of a buzzing brood. And queen bees are usually fiercely maternal. It’s unlikely they would abandon their hives even on a really bad day of motherhood.
So far CCD has been reported in 36 states. Beekeepers are facing bankruptcy, while farmers are losing crops and losing hope. According to the USDA, the direct value of honeybee pollination to US agriculture is more than $15 billion dollars.
Researchers globally are still trying to pin down the cause or causes of this mysterious ailment. Most entomologists agree that a combination of factors are involved: exposure to pesticides, industrialization, urbanization and disruption of habitat, water pollution, climate change, the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, the varroa mite and literally trucking beehives around the world to pollinate crops. However, the curious part of CCD is this: According to Eric Mussen, apiary specialist at the University of California, Davis, “The first documented cases of CCD occurred in the late 1800s, long before modern-day agricultural practices could play a part.”
The good news is that 75 percent of US beekeepers have actually never noticed a problem with their hives. Among the remaining 25 percent who have reported some apparent CCD-like symptoms, the severity of the problem has ranged anywhere from a slight reduction in the number of workers to complete collapse of the hive. Many of these apiary operations have been through CCD and recovered, which suggests that resistance may be growing within the bee population.
So what does this all mean to you – the home gardener? Why should you worry about the bees?
“We should care deeply about the disappearing honeybee if we like to eat food,” reminds Mea McNeil, president of the Marin County Beekeepers Association.
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are “polylectic,” which means they feed on just about anything that’s blooming. Besides gathering nectar to produce honey, honeybees pollinate home gardens, agricultural crops, orchards and wildlife habitats. As they travel from blossom to blossom in search of nectar, pollen (male sperm) sticks to their furry body and is transferred to another flowering blossom, enabling it to swell into a ripened fruit. It’s nothing new: Bees have been doing this for nearly 100 million years.
According to Diana Cox-Foster, professor of entomology at Pennsylvania State University and her Colony Collapse Disorder Working Group, they’re discovering “a crisis on top of a crisis.” It seems bee autopsies are showing that the insects are not suffering so much from one particular ailment as from just about every ailment: wing virus, sac-brood virus, black-queen-cell-virus and also various fungi and bacteria. The bee’s immune systems are severely weakened if not collapsed.
“Pollinators are canaries in the coal mine, and their disappearance is a referendum on the state of our environment – a reminder of the brilliant and frightening interdependence of our ecosystem,” says Dennis van Engelsdorp, acting state apiarist for Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture. “Part of the problem is NDD: Nature Deficit Disorder.” But Dennis sees hope in reconnecting with nature. “The cure is making meadows, not lawns. Eleven percent of all US pesticide use was in lawns. Lawns are sterile, useless biosystems,” he explains. “And, think about getting a beehive!”
Okay, now you may be thinking, “A beehive?!” But do check with bee farmers in your area – even if it’s just to education yourself. Marshall’s Farm, near where I live in Northern California, offers workshops for “WannaBee Keepers.” They also offer 2-hour tours to educate the community on bees, beekeeping, honey and honey production.
“Homeowners can also help by inviting a beekeeper to install a beehive on their land. If there is room for at least six hives, we will install and manage the hives in those backyard locations. We pay a yard-rent in honey – 6 pounds per hive,” says owner Helene Marshall. Check with your local beekeeping association if beekeepers in your area offer similar services.
Maybe a hive isn’t for you – especially if you have a small yard. But you can still “bee friendly.” That means avoiding pesticides and growing plenty of nectar-rich plants for the bees to feed on. Offering these delicate and beneficial creatures a safe haven is nice, too. So don’t run away when you see a bee. Enjoy their buzz – and be grateful for it. If it weren’t for the bees, we wouldn’t be able to garden!
