Honeybees in Decline

Where Have All the Honeybees Gone?

Five Ways to Help Honeybee Colonies Go from Decline to Thrive

If ever there was evidence of our connection with other living things, it’s the honeybee and the threat its recent disappearing act may pose to the human food supply.

One of nature’s most hardworking insects, honeybees pollinate about 100 flowering food crops including apples, nuts, asparagus, citrus fruits and cantaloupe. These crops are now potentially in jeopardy because tens of billions of bees are dying in a phenomenon coined Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that baffles experts.

Large commercial beekeepers are hurt worst — some losing 70 percent of their hives. Scientists are puzzled by how the dead adult bees vanish from the hives, leaving behind the queen and baby bees. They also note that while bees instinctively rob honey from other hives, healthy bees are avoiding CCD-affected hives — suggesting that those hives may be contaminated somehow.

Scientists don’t know the cause of CCD, or how to stop it. Academics point to poor nutrition, pathogens, pesticides and genetically modified crops as potential causes. Some beekeepers are concerned that highly sensitive honeybees are reacting to negative environmental changes that have yet to be identified — that honeybees may be the new “canary in a coal mine.”

While scientists study CCD, there’s a lot you can do right now to help honeybees.

1. Buy local honey, and eat more of it. Not only does it taste better, buying local honey supports nearby beekeepers.
2. Eat organic and garden without pesticides. It’s no secret that buying organic protects humans from harmful pesticides. It also protects bees.
3. Raise honeybees. Hobbyist beekeeping won’t stop CCD. But it will help increase the honeybee population.
4. Write to lawmakers. Let your state and federal legislators know you are concerned. You don’t have to know what to do about CCD. Just ask them to look into it.
5. Plant wildflowers. Bee-friendly plants promote local pollination.

To find out more and watch our video on the bee crisis.