If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”
Maurice Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee, 1904
The above quote, which so graphically illuminates mankind’s dependency on bees, has often been attributed to Albert Einstein.
However, I have it on good authority the 20th century’s greatest thinker was not actually the source of the quote.
But regardless of who said it, the frightening reality is its true and I believe it is important for everyone to play their part when it comes to helping the bees flourish.
If our native bees die out we will lose a third of our diet.
Bees are essential in pollinating the crops that form our food, and also the wild plants that grow across the country and provide food for much of our wildlife; without bees, the very fabric of our lives will change considerably.
Bees are not just simple insects that buzz around the garden and provide honey; they are creatures with an interesting and complex life that are also vital to our countryside and everyday lives.
And they are in serious trouble as their numbers and variety continue to decline.
We can look at bees as the canary in the mineshaft – if they are struggling to survive, then something is terribly wrong.
There have been many ideas put forward as to why the native bees of the UK are dying, but none have been proven to be the underlying cause. Some are known to be contributory factors, and it is often forgotten that this is not a new phenomenon. In the 1950s there were over 50 native species of bee in the UK, yet now there are just 25. The rest have become extinct in this country, and the number of non-native bees has increased. Many people have speculated that the invasion of alien species has hastened the demise of our own, and this is one possible cause of the decline of the UK bee. Another problem that has been raised is that of the widespread use of insecticide and pesticide. Farmers spray crops with a variety of products designed to protect from pests, but it is believed that a number of these may also be killing bees. In gardens this can also be a problem where homeowners spray their flowers and vegetables with commercially available products, and refraining from using such products can be a good way of helping the cause. Disease is also a proposed problem with bees, as there are certain mites that are known to spread disease among the bee population. Imaging one bee carrying mites back to a hive of thousands and you soon have a major problem. However, many bee-keepers have pointed to the sheer speed at which the numbers are declining and claimed that this possibility cannot be responsible for such rapid demise. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is a phenomenon first noticed in the USA whereby entire colonies of bees simply died out thanks to hitherto unexplained circumstances. It is also put forward as a possible cause but is dismissed by those in the know. One theory that does hold some water is the growth in genetically modified crops; bees, of course, love pollen and the theory is that modified pollens may be detrimental to the creatures. Whatever the causes what we do know is that bee numbers are in rapid decline and some species are on the verge of extinction. Given that they are responsible for pollinating crops the loss of our native bees could be a national disaster.
How Can I Help? Bees favour certain types of flower that can also enhance a garden, and providing these is relatively simple. Look for cornflowers, buddleia and poppies, plus fruit trees and shrubs, rhododendron and other flowering shrubs. If you can, create a wild flower section in your garden for bees thrive on many types of commonly found wild plants.
I personally don’t use pesticides for the sake of my own and the bees’ health and ~ I urge you to do the same. After all, the whole point of growing your own food is to have a degree of control over what chemicals you put in your body and I certainly don’t want to be ingesting weed killer in my home grown veg!
So do yourself and the wildlife in your garden a favour and weed by hand or find more natural solutions to weed removal.
Open a BEE&BEE: Put up a bee house: if a hive is not for you there are ways to build ‘bee houses’ that offer refuge for bees and hibernation spots for the winter months. You can buy these at garden centres, or build one yourself following plans on the internet.
You can download a plan free from Friends of the Earth's Bee Cause campaign here
You may also consider keeping bees, an interesting and rewarding hobby that need not be expensive and also provides you with honey, if you have the space, and also joining one of the many clubs involved in keeping the plight of the bees in the public eye.
Our government needs to be doing more to both investigate the bee decline problem and to encourage the public to do more to help bees, and we are the ones who can do the most to help these wonderful, vital and generally harmless creatures that help us to keep supplied with the food we need to survive.
Learn more about bees: rather than being a garden pest you should begin to see bees as an essential part of the overall fabric of life. These beautiful and very wonderful creatures live an interesting and surprisingly organised life and, if left to their own devices, are harmless to us. Learn more about the life of bees by reading about them as much as you can, and encourage others to do the same.