To be(e) or not to be(e)?
Weltweit gibt es mehr als 20.000 Bienenarten. Davon ist durchschnittlich jede zehnte in Gefahr. Wir erklären, welche wirtschaftlichen Folgen ihr Aussterben hätte und was wir für ihr Überleben tun können.
Charlene Potter has a T-shirt with the image of a bee and the words: “If I die, you’re coming with me.” It’s a blunt message but one the world needs to hear. Bees are among the most prolific and efficient pollinators, and play a vital role in the survival of humanity, while contributing billions to the global economy. “Every third bite of food you take is thanks to the bees,” says Potter, who is a beekeeper and vice president of the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association. She’s referring to an estimate by scientists that a third of the global food supply relies on pollination by bees and other insects. The European Commission estimates that pollinators, primarily bees, contribute €5 billion a year to Europe’s food production.
The rate of decline in the number of bees is alarming. Bee pop ulations are usually monitored through managed bee colonies, which number about 2.7 million in the U.S. alone. According to the nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership, in the year to April 2023, American beekeepers lost about 48 percent of their managed honeybee colonies — compared to historical rates between ten and 15 percent. Globally, many of the more than 20,000 species of wild bee are suffering similar losses. The International Union for Conservation of Nature says that one in ten European bee and butterfly species is threatened with extinction.
The dangers for bees include climate change, habitat loss, parasites, disease and pesticides. Peter Neumann, of the University of Bern’s Institute of Bee Health, told the Swiss news portal Watson that all of Switzerland’s honeybee colonies are chronically ill and could soon be extinct. “If beekeepers don’t do something about it, all the colonies will be dead in one or two years,” he said.
In Los Angeles, Charlene Potter manages about 40 bee colonies, including ten in her own backyard. She describes the losses as unsustainable. “We need to save the bees because we need to save ourselves,” she says. Otherwise, experts expect, we will see
“Every third bite of food you take is thanks to the bees”
lower crop yields, leading to potential food shortages and higher food prices.
Feeding America
California produces most of America’s fruits and nuts, and about 80 percent of the world’s almonds. Bees are particularly important here. However, as there are not enough wild bees to pollinate the state’s 1.6 million acres of almond trees, farmers import managed honeybees to perform this vital task. Every year, commercial beekeepers transport about two million colonies across the country, following the flowering season. They begin in California in February, pollinating almonds; then go to the Pacific Northwest and Midwest in March to pollinate plums, cherries and apples; Maine in April, to pollinate blueberries; and to Florida, later in the month, to pollinate citrus fruits.
Each colony has one queen and up to 60,000 other bees, including male drones and female workers. The queen lives for two to three years, on average, laying up to 3,000 eggs a day. When the colonies arrive at their destination, worker bees fly out of their hives to forage for nectar. They go from one flower to another, transporting pollen and helping plants to reproduce. Like many food crops, most almond trees are not self-pollinating and need the bees’ help to flower and grow nuts.
According to the Planet Bee Foundation, managed honeybees pollinate more than 100 crop species in North America, contributing $15 billion to the U.S. economy every year. Of course, bees also produce honey, which Potter says is delicious and nutritious, full of antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties — as long as its in its pure form, unlike many commercial varieties. How much honey a colony produces depends on various factors but, Potter says, 2023 was “an incredible year” for bees in California, allowing her to produce about 400 pounds (about 180 kilograms) of raw, golden honey, much of which she sold to help with the costs of beekeeping.
The danger of pesticides
One day in late 2021, Potter found a devastating scene in her backyard: “You always see dead bees. Bees live for only four to six weeks. But I saw massive numbers of dead bees,” she says. Four entire colonies were gone. On closer inspection, Potter saw that the dead bees “had their little tongues out, and that is a sign of pesticide poisoning” — probably, she says, from a neighbor misusing pesticide to kill ants or cockroaches. Peter Neumann is one of many bee experts who want a pesticide ban, describing the data on their use as “frightening… I’m surprised we still have insects.” Pesticides are regulated, but not tightly enough, says Potter. Her solution is to educate people about the damage pesticides cause, to bees and to people. “Pesticides work their way up the food chain, and I think that’s damning for us as well, for our immune systems and health,” she explains.
Plant more flowers!
The United Nations Environment Programme recommends planting nectar-bearing flowers, for example, and buying honey from local beekeepers. “Part of the solution is for people to plant food for bees instead of planting grass,” says Potter. “My neighbor has a beautiful lawn. It looks good but it’s useless. I tore up my grass years ago, well before I started keeping bees, and
planted a bunch of native plants and flowers that are nice for pollinators. If everyone did that, we wouldn’t have a problem.”
In a New York Times article, conservationists and bee experts, including Gorazd Trušnovec of Slovenia, argued that the rise in beekeeping was having a negative impact on other pollinators. “If you overcrowd any space with honeybees, there is a competition for natural resources, and since bees have the largest numbers, they push out other pollinators, which actually harms biodiversity,” said Trušnovec. “I would say the best thing you could do for honeybees right now is not take up beekeeping.”
Potter disagrees. “My answer to that is: ‘Don’t be daft!’ Plant more forage for bees, plant more flowers, more trees… It’s not a question of getting rid of bees or not saving bees. It’s a question of taking care of the environment. Our lives are at stake as well.” Neumann echoes Potter’s feelings. Responding to the idea that there are too many honeybees in Swiss cities, he says: “That’s a bit like saying that there are too many cows in Switzerland because they eat the grass of deer and rabbits.”
Asked how she feels about the future of bees, Potter says: “It depends on what day you catch me. Of course, you have to be positive. You can’t lose hope because if you lose hope, you give up — and that’s a very depressing prospect. But, really, if I’m being realistic, I think things are going to get much worse. We’re not doing enough for the health of the planet, and we’re not doing it fast enough. So, I know it’s a downer, but I really believe things always have to get worse until people understand that this is reality. Where is that, when you hit rock bottom? What is that for us as human beings on the planet? Where do we draw the line and where do we all band together? And is that even possible?”
“Things always have to get worse until people understand”