Bees are extremely important for our environment. We can cook healthy, delicious, and organic food due to bees and other pollinators. However, their populations are continually declining.
Recently, bees in Australia have become exposed to a parasite that is killing the bee population. It has wiped out countless hives in the country, leading to bee lockdowns in New South Wales, accounting for almost half of the bee industry.
Here are five essential things to know about the bee community.
Beehives are a Prime Example of Social Cooperation
People should learn from a hive’s dynamic. Each bee’s essential role in a colony contributes to the hive’s survival. Such as worker bees, nursing bees, and bees that protect the hive. Therefore, each member’s role is vital as their tasks are essential.
The beehive model is an excellent example of social cooperation. It manifests in how we should live as humans to attain a strong and stable community.
Bees are Essential to the Food System
Bee protection is more than encouraging pollination; it is also about stimulating the agricultural systems. Bees play a big part in agriculture because they support the food production of many crops worldwide.
However, industrial agriculture is causing a decrease in pollinator populations. In most cases, they deprive the bees of crucial food sources as they deplete the pollinators’ food sources due to harmful pesticides.
Bees Contribute to the Battle Against Climate Change
Another reason why the bee population is decreasing is due to global warming. Some bee species can only survive within a small temperature window. Thus, rising temperatures force them to seek shelter in colder areas, reducing their population in a particular territory.
The faster bees feel the effects of climate change makes them more susceptible to migration which can significantly affect the area where they previously lived. Because of this, their population will continue to decrease.
Bee Populations Help Encourage Biodiversity
The decrease in the bee population represents a worldwide wildlife decline. Bees need a healthy environment to thrive: to produce food, nest, and reproduce. When a specific ecosystem is affected, other pollinators are affected as well.
Thus, where plants and insects remain healthy, so will the surrounding ecosystem. The landscape where they grow will gain diversity and will be a more viable habitat for both flora and fauna to live.
Pests and Pesticides are Big Contributors to the Decline of Bee Populations
Studies show that parasites and other disease-causing pathogens are causing a decrease in bee colonies around the globe. For example, the Varroa destructor is a known mite causing a significant depletion in bee colonies both in the United States and Europe.
In June of 2022, the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries reported the detection of the pest in hives at the Port of Newcastle. Currently, the office is working on various ways how to protect the honey industry in NSW to ensure the eradication of the parasite.
Bees are highly beneficial to our environment. They encourage the existence of a healthy ecosystem and are critical to pollination, so taking action to protect the hives and save the bees is important.