What's the buzz? Bees need our help!
Is our bee industry under threat? This week I look at why its future is in jeopardy and what we can do to help in our own small way.
DURING a recent visit to The Ginger Factory at Yandina, on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, I had the opportunity to take the tour of the “Super Bee” facility.
Gayle, our apiarist for the day, was a passionate beekeeper who obviously loved what she did and cared deeply for her numerous charges at the park.
During her talk a question regarding the threats to the bee-keeping industry was posed, to which Gayle responded with a heightened level of passion and an obvious degree of concern.
Concern, not just for the livelihoods of apiarists around Australia, but also for the future of food production for this country and this delicately poised planet on which we live.
You see, if you weren't already aware of it, our bees are in a bit of bother.
Whilst our Australian bee population is in better condition than those in Europe and North America, things are not at all rosy for the future of these intriguing and wonderfully organised insects.
Whilst not yet suffering from the crippling Northern Hemisphere problem of Colony Collapse Disorder, the causes of which are still being debated, there are many threats to our “home-grown” population of imported European honeybees.
Listed as major threats to our bees are American foul brood disease, a bacterial disease that can only be eradicated by killing the entire hive, small hive beetle, the larvae of which turn a healthy hive into a foul slime, and Nosema fungi, a parasitic disease that, amongst other things, affects worker's ability to produce royal jelly, and weakens and kills queen bees.
Apart from the predators and diseases now threatening our bees, there's the added concern that the dreaded Varroa mite will land on our shores sometime within the next decade, causing a reduction in commercial productivity we can ill-afford, and likely to kill wild hives where controls can't be administered.
It doesn't stop there either.... climate
We all owe it to our bees to do whatever is necessary to prolong their existence on this planet for as long as we can.
change is causing prolonged periods of wet weather, during which bees cannot get out and pollinate plants, further reducing commercial and backyard production.
And to add insult to injury, Gayle, our Super Bee apiarist, explained that she was considered a youngster in the beekeeping industry, even though she was in her mid fifties.
There is simply a dearth of younger apiarists to continue production as it has been over the last 100 years.
Seems like it's all stacked against our honeybee. However, I think that we all owe it to our bees to do whatever is necessary to prolong their existence on this planet for as long as we can.
Remember that a reasonably insightful fellow by the name of Albert Einstein once said, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”
As gardeners, we can help, albeit in a small way.
If we all helped in these small ways, then our combined efforts may just tip the balance back in favour of the bee.
Start by reducing or, if possible, ceasing the use of chemicals in your garden.
Many years ago some so-called “low-toxicity” chemicals were hailed as outstanding breakthroughs in pest control.
It’s since been discovered that these chemicals can disrupt the bee's navigation, nectar finding, memory and egg-laying ability, which could be a major factor in the decline of bee populations in Europe and North America.
Try to avoid the use of systemic insecticides, commonly used for the control of sucking and chewing insects and in soil drenches to control pests such as curl grubs.
Even naturally derived contact insecticides such as pyrethrum are toxic to bees, so limit the time you spray to when bees aren't active.
In addition, the use of automated outdoor flying insect controls (the ones that deliver a short burst of commercial fly-spray every few minutes) will contribute to the decline of backyard pollinators such as bees (as well as doing no favours to our own health).
No doubt the best thing we can do as gardeners is to plant a "bee-friendly" garden.
As mentioned in my article last week, the best flower colours to attract bees are blue, purple/violet, and yellow.
Not only do these colours attract bees, so will flowers that produce copious nectar and the sweet fragrances of these naturally sweet liquids.