What will you eat if there are no bees left?

In the last couple of years we have seen numerous reports of entire bee colonies suddenly going extinct. A whopping 60-70% of those huge bee colonies (which used to be 30-50,000 strong) have simply disappeared. Wild bees are all but extinct in Europe and several species of honey bee are threatened with the same sorry fate. Even small children know that bees play a vital role in the pollination of plants but even adults tend to be unaware that:

• the pollination of 70 out of the 100 most important crops require bees
• bees are indispensable for the production of 1/3 of global food supplies
• every year, bees pollinate crops worth $22 billion
• for the production of 1 kg of honey, bees fly a total of 100,000 km combined

A lot of scientists are trying to find out where the many bees that had left behind their colonies in Europe, Asia and America, could have gone. Dwindling bee populations could be down to many factors including agricultural pesticides, parasites, the vast expanses of monocultural plantations, genetically modified plants, pollution, climate change and potentially even mobile phone networks and the resulting disruption of the bees’ sense of navigation. Moreover, surviving bees appear to be less resilient towards infections and harmful external impacts. We all love and appreciate honey, pollen, propolis, honey pulp and beeswax. But what action are we prepared to take to safeguard the bees that help to feed us?

What you can do:

• don’t be afraid of bees and never kill them
• if you have a garden, make sure you have plants that are rich in nectar and pollen
• fuy your honey from responsible, certified harvesters only - it’s best to buy directly from farmers.