News on the disappearing honeybees we reported on at the end of last month continues to unfold. Here in California, honeybees will be essential in the coming almond season, with a 40 billion bee team needed to pollinate about 60 million tress in the Central Valley. They will then be driven on to the apple orchards of Washington before pollinating the pumpkins and cranberries of New England and, finally, the blueberries of Maine. Honeybees are definitely busy as they are crucial to keeping about 130 different food crops alive. But their hard work is getting even harder as honeybees continue to disappear.
While scientists have been investigating the reasons for colony collapse disorder among bees for over a year now, and similarly among bats, recently pesticides have entered the scene as a guilty culprit. Germany just banned the pesticide clothianidin (see here) and here), commonly used on rapeseed oil and sweetcorn. The country claims this chemical, produced by Bayer CropScience, is responsible for the death of two thirds of its bees. 99% of the dead bees tested had a build up of the chemical in their system. French beekeepers have been waging a decade long war against the company, citing their pesticide imidacloprid as the reason behind the death of a third of the country’s colonies. Farmers in North Dakota are bringing Bayer to court, blaming this same chemical for significant collapse in colonies there. Pesticide-related bee deaths are also being reported in Italy and Holland. 
Clothianidin is a death sentence for honeybees, attacking their nervous system and rendering them confused and disoriented. If they find their colonies after coming in contact with clothianidin, they carry with them large amounts of the pesticide and other similar chemicals called neonicotinoid insecticides which are linked to GM crops. Honeybees are dying out in significant numbers particularly in areas with GM crops where seeds are traditionally dressed with these insecticides to protect them during development. Even when the required refuge is created next to these crops to keep pesticide resistant insects from evolving, the refuge is still sprayed with large amounts of pesticides. Pesticides and GMOs are not the sole reason for colony collapse disorder. There are thoughts that overworking bees, coupled with traditional deception of the colonies into thinking it is a warm season year round, are also to blame. Because bees on organic farms have survived the collapse, it has become quite clear pesticides and GM crops are culprits. And beekeepers everywhere are accusing governments and scientists of siding with chemical companies like Bayer. Bees are essential players in our ecological balance so what can you do to help keep the bees alive?
- Beware of applying pesticides in your garden. Never use neonicotinoids on blooming plants if honeybees are around.
- Plant sources of nectar for the bees. Keep these diverse.
- Buy local honey.
- Join The Great Sunflower Project or the Pollinator Protection Campaign.
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