Glenn Stewart Coles, 9251 Yonge Street, Suite 8-924, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, L4C 9T3
Text Box: In a moment of clarity, Albert Einstein suggested ‘If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left.’ Over the past few years, honeybees around the world have been dying at an unprecedented pace. The devastation is so extreme that the industry has coined a new term ‘Colony Collapse Disorder’ (CCD) to describe the rapid failure of beehives. Around the world billions of honeybees have died, indicating a dangerous challenge to our ecosystem. The beekeeping industry is a critical component of farming. Portable hives are setup near crops at specific times in the growth cycle. Roaming bees move from plant to plant as they gather pollen, serving to accelerate and enhance the natural pollination process. According to a study by Cornell University, almost one-third of crops in the United States use honeybees for pollination, increasing yields and improving crop quality. The estimated crop value added by honeybees in the United States alone exceeds $14 billion annually. Each year, at the end of growing season, it is typical for ten to fifteen percent of bees to die. However, the past two years have seen death rates nearing fifty percent. When a hive succumbs to CCD, it usually fails within two to three weeks. So far at least twenty-two states have reported this issue, with some beekeepers losing 90% of their hives. While the industry is beginning to panic, they still have not identified the cause of this disturbing collapse. In France, beekeepers blame a chemical called ‘Fipronil’ for the demise of their hives. Fipronil is an insecticide used to coat seeds prior to planting. While the chemical should be used up prior to the flowering stage, farmers insist that elements of the very active insecticide are contained within the pollen of flowering plants, particularly sunflowers. The company BASF, the world’s largest chemical manufacturer and distributor of Fipronil, insists that their product is safe. However, the French agricultural ministry has just passed laws that will phase out the use of this chemical. The real issues begin to surface this spring. Without millions of bees to carry pollen, the harvest will be reduced. Add on other environmental issues such as global warming and severe storms, and farmers are headed for a difficult time. As harvests diminish, food becomes scarcer and more farmers go out of business. In the U.S., most beekeepers have low income, and the devastation of their hives has them looking for new employment. Unless a concerted effort is made to subsidize the startup of new hives, the industry will not recover. Neither will the bees that we require to keep our plant life thriving. While publicity has accelerated fears about global warming, projections of doom are decades away. However, the destruction of the world’s honeybee population will have even greater effects, and this danger approaches faster than any other. As crops diminish, so does the absorption of carbon dioxide, and the extinction of honeybees could lead to the extinction of humanity. While France takes the lead by prohibiting Fipronil insecticides, they are still allowing planting of any remaining seed stock. It is time to take dramatic action. All pesticides that could affect the natural cycle of honeybees must be immediately banned, regardless of short-term cost. Beekeepers who have lost hives must be subsidized to ensure startup of new hives. Finally, training and equipment must be available to encourage more people to take up beekeeping as a hobby. These new pets will not only provide sweet and nourishing honey; they may also save your planet. © Copyright Glenn Stewart Coles, 2007 First Published March 25, 2007

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The Secret Death of Bees

 

Around the world billions of honeybees have died, indicating a dangerous challenge to our ecosystem.

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