9 hours ago
Scientists shaken by alarming discovery inside collapsing bee colonies — here's what they found
The honey bee population continues to decline at an alarming rate, putting our access to food at risk.
Neonicotinoid pesticides negatively impact honey bee health, as the chemicals have been found to slow the insect's ability to forage pollen, according to a study from Environmental Science and Technology.
While the pesticide doesn't immediately increase bee mortality rates, the researchers stated that pollen foraging is crucial to brood development; thus, decreased foraging impacts colony health.
Meanwhile, the honey bee colonies continue to shrink, so any threat to colony health exacerbates this issue. In March, Washington State University researchers found that commercial honey bee colony losses in the U.S. could reach 60-70% in 2025.
Bees are one of our most important pollinators, meaning they fertilize our plants and crops. Without them, about 35% of global crop production is at risk, according to the World Economic Forum.
As crop yields become more unpredictable due to rising temperatures causing extreme weather, declining bee populations further impact our global food supply chain. These environmental stressors have led to scarce harvests, which can lead to high costs at the grocery store and decreased access to our favorite ingredients.
Beyond assisting the global agricultural industry, bees are critical to our diverse ecosystem because they help pollinate plants and flowers that beautify our communities.
We may not be able to stop declining bee populations overnight, but there are ways we can combat the issue at both a mass scale and an individual level.
The University of Georgia Bee Program has suggestions for food growers to protect pollinators, including tips for strategically timing the use of certain pesticides so that bees are less likely to be exposed to them or using less toxic pesticides.
In an article for the Tahoe Daily Tribune, Cal Orey, an author who has interviewed beekeepers about colony collapses, also pointed to the importance of supporting researchers working to protect our bees.
Individuals can also ensure that their yards and gardens are friendly to pollinators. This can be done by avoiding pesticides, growing flowering native plants, and providing hydration for bees, just to name a few examples.
Which of these groups has the biggest role to play in reducing food waste?
Grocery stores
Restaurants
Individuals
The government
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