If you thought bees were simply annoying insects that caused pain and embarrassing shrieks of panic during the summer, you’re wrong. Honey bees, wild bees and all types of bees are essential for a wide range of products like coffee, beeswax, royal jelly, and honey, just to name a few. Though bees traditionally come from warmer clients such as Latin America and Africa, they do make their way to colder climates such as the Americas. Unfortunately, due to the thousands of various illnesses and diseases that are transmitted from one region to another, it’s very likely that this is the cause of the mass disappearance of bees. For example, a bee originating from Guatemala may carry an illness, spread it onto a flower in other areas of the world, where a local bee will eventually contract and perish.
Luckily, due to the wide discussion surrounding global warming and pandemics, the disappearance of bees of all species have been circulating with an urgent need to revive the bee community. Various countries are working tirelessly to devote scientists and farmers to bring back the bees, and companies like Cheerios also offer flower seedlings to any individual who would like to plant these seeds in their gardens. Each seedling is for a flower that will attract bees to help pollination.
Canadians Are Here To Save The Honey Bees, Thank You Eh
At the current rate, there are eight types of wild bee species that are currently on the Canadian species registry for extinction. Some of these types of bees, like the bumblebee and the cuckoo bee, have lost over half of their total population alone, while others like the American bumblebee and western bumblebee, have lost nearly thirty percent of their population.
Canadian biologist, Steve Jarovek, hopes a government-run initiative called “Living Laboratories Initiative” will be the start of a new protocol in how bees are studied and documented in order to receive a better understanding of what’s happening to the bees, what can be done for them to reproduce at a faster and more peaceful rate.
The biggest reason for the disappearance in Canadian honey bees is that most bees come from South America and carry over diseases that spread onto Canadian flowers and beehives, and anywhere that the Canadian bees will venture off too. Last year, one in four bees died during the winter months. Unfortunately, with over eight hundred species of bees, it is impossible to track and locate what and where these diseases came from until it’s too late.
Canada is trying to compromise by offering pesticide-free products for gardens and farms to larger cities where insecticides and pesticides are widely seen and used.
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The Dutch Are A Beautiful Success Story
In the heart of Amsterdam and all its glory, the Dutch people have fully embraced the calling need to restore the bee population. With a city population of 2.3 million, the government has since created “insect hotels” and even issued a ban against the use of chemical pesticides on and for public property and land. In fact, the municipal government of Amsterdam created a $38.5 million fund for sustainability and to improve the environment for the entire ecosystem.
This fund will be distributed when designing a park, for example, they will add native species including flowers, bees and other insects that allow bees to get additional fruit and flowering. Additionally, subsidies were given to residents who were interested in restoring their exterior walls or roofs to add additional green space or install bee sanctuaries. For example, most hotels are converting their rooftops to create vegetable gardens, dining rooms, even adding relaxing hammocks while bees cohabitate the rooftop to make the hotel’s very own honey.
Most importantly, when traveling through Amsterdam by bus, always look up! Over 300 bus stations have now been introduced to “bee stops,” where the rooftop of bus shelters are converted into bee sanctuaries, and pit stops with native flowers that bees can retrieve nectar from and bring them back to their new bee sanctuaries!
Mexico Needs Bees To Create Their Signature Clay Pots
The Latin American region has been considered a megadiversity with 70% of mammals, amphibians, plants, birds, and insects coming from Latin America. Unfortunately, the various bees that originate from Mexico, Peru, and Brazil just to name a few, have not returned from the West and the North - most notably the United States.
There are forty-one thousand bee producers in Mexico that hold an average of 2 million beehives collectively, which can easily generate about $56 million annually. Therefore, it’s a dramatic financial and economical loss when bees simply don’t return. Unfortunately, bees have been disappearing at an alarming rate. While the direct bee and honey trade has taken a great loss, the indigenous communities in Mexico have also expressed their anger as honey is an essential ingredient for their traditional clay pots.
Currently, a non-governmental organization called Pronatura has been collaborating with the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico to identify bee species that honey can be obtained from and are currently creating new projects to breed those species to increase the nectar volume.
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Kenya Is Reforesting Land To Create New Homes For The Bees
There are a number of projects in Kenya to help with the reproduction of bees and all that is bee-related - honey, beehives, and nectar from neighboring flowers. However, this is no easy task. Luckily, organizations like Tree Sisters have started efforts to reforest the forest, meaning growing and planting trees, bushes, and flowers in various forest ecosystems and approved sites. Additionally, these forests will also bring timber and firewood to the community at a later time.
There are over 80% of Africa’s indigenous flowers and plants that can benefit from bees to pollinate, and an average of one-third of food produced commercially is a direct result of Africa’s bee pollination.
Beehive fences are now successfully created in locations where indigenous elephants and humans can easily co-exist. This is due to the hasty bee retreat that is prompted every time an elephant walks by. In fact, elephants that approach beehive fences safely retreated and did not disturb any beehive or crops growing behind the fence.