A Sticky Situation European Honeybees Under Threat
Amy White
First published in 2012 by Amy White, www.amywhitedesign.co.uk Illustration Š Amy White 2012 Introduction written by www.beeguardianfoundation.org Printed by Hello!Blue Bristol, BS1 6UT
A Sticky Situation Our activities change the world around us. Agriculture, industry, and urban development all make their contribution to the negative impact we have on the planet. Bees are affected through the destruction and degradation of their habitats, through the action of pollution on the environment and through our use of insecticides. Our negative effect on bees happens at all scales - replacing garden lawns (good for mining bees) with patio, growing nectar and pollen-poor plants that offer no food, and ‘tidying’ garden areas removing nesting sites for bumblebees and solitary bees all have their part to play in the bigger picture. Climate change is already causing species to shift their range and habits. The violet carpenter bee, a European species, is now breeding in the UK and bumblebees are being seen throughout the winter in some areas, something that may affect their ability to resist parasites. Although climate change is a natural part of the Earth’s history, and bees have survived many different climate shifts in the past, they have never had to adapt against a background of habitat destruction and chemical pollution. There are more than 20,000 described species of bee and although they have a diverse rage of habitats and habits, they all fundamentally require the same things - a safe place to build their nest, an adequate supply of pollen and nectar, and an environment free from insecticides. Our actions are taking these basic needs away - and we need to act now to reverse the well-documented decline in bee numbers and bee diversity. The next series of pages are going to take you through just a few of the problems that are facing Britain’s declining Honeybee population at this very point in time.
European Honeybees Under Threat
Beware
The Bee-Killing Asian Hornet is Set to Invade Britain
It’s already made its way across France and now it could be heading our way – and it’s our hardpressed honey bees that will suffer. The risk assessment of Vespa velutina, the Asian hornet, makes terrifying reading. According to a draft report published in the summer, “a handful
of hornets can destroy an entire nest [of honey bees] in a couple of hours”.
It isn’t only that the hornet kills the honey bees (it takes their bodies back to its nest to feed its larvae), it’s that the effort put in by the bees to defend their colony weakens them. The hornet
also “scavenges recently dead, potentially diseased, bees” – which means it could then infect colonies it goes on to invade. And this winged marauder is “ likely to arrive soon”, according to the Nonnative Species Secretariat, which co-ordinates the response to plants and animals that take up home in the UK. It has issued an alert about the Asian hornet, and asks people to report sightings.
at some point, an inseminated queen could arrive at our shores and create a new colony.
The insect is believed to have arrived in France in 2004 in boxes of pottery from China. It soon spread. Last November, it was confirmed in northeast Spain. It has been present in Brittany since 2008, and is likely to travel along the French coast;
The biggest danger is to the UK’s honey bees, already suffering the effects of poor weather, pests and pesticides. “If the same sort of situation that we
There have been reports of people hospitalised in France after suffering anaphylactic shock as a result of multiple stings. Due to their size, the hornet’s sting is nastier than that of a bee, but, says Brown, they are
“not aggressive, unless you get close to their nest”.
have seen in certain parts of France is reproduced here, they can do considerable damage,” Brown warns.
Apocephalus Borealis
A Sticky End
Parasitic Fly is Turning Bees into Zombees
A mysterious phenomenon that has decimated honey bee populations could be linked to a ‘zombifying’ parasitic fly, scientists believe. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is marked by the sudden disappearance of worker bees from a colony. It was first recognised as a serious problem by U.S. beekeepers in 2006, but has also affected bee colonies across western Europe. In some of the recorded cases, bee losses have reached levels of up to 90 per cent. Viral and fungal infections and toxic chemicals in pesticides have all been suggested as possible explanations for CCD. The new theory involves the parasitic fly Apocephalus borealis, which is already known to attack bumble bees. Evidence has now emerged of the fly targeting honey bees. The insect lays its eggs in the abdomens of bees, which start displaying ‘zombie’ behaviour, abandoning their hives en mass to congregate near lights. Finally they die, and the fly larvae emerge from their bodies. Analysis of the parasites confirmed they were the same flies that have been infecting bumblebees. The fly could be an emerging and potentially costly new threat to honey bees, say the scientists. Prof Hafernik added: ‘Honey bees are among the best-studied insects in
the world. So at one level, we would expect that if this has been a long-term parasite of honey bees, we would have noticed.’
Stop! Thief ! The decline in wild habitat and forage is the most significant long-term threat to honey bee populations in Europe and the US, according to the UK’s only Professor of Apiculture. A newly published summary of the evidence behind bee colony losses, published in the journal Science, Professor Ratniek from the University of Sussex, said pesticides had been seriously considered and stimulated much research but were not the most important cause. Professor Ratniek said he thought that it was the diminishing amount of forage available to honey
Lack of Forage is Leading to Beehive Robbery bee populations rather than pesticides that was likely to be their biggest long-term threat. “If you
want a healthy beehive they need an abundant food supply. In the UK there has been a fall in flowers due to the intensification of farmland� One of the major problems associated with the lack of forage is hive robbing. When nectar sources are scarce or unavailable locally honeybees are attracted by honey in neighbouring hives.
They make raids on hives that are unable to defend themselves and steal their honey or sugar
syrup. This behaviour of thievery as opposed to the customary colony gathering nectar for itself is termed robbing in Apiculture. Robbing disrupts colonies, increases the aggressiveness of bees and can cause the stinging of people and livestock in the area. It can badly weaken or even destroy a colony. Colonies that are victimized cannot grow in strength and have little chance to survive in the winter. A colony that has lost all its honey and syrup by robber bees will quickly perish of hunger.
Horror Story
Pollution Causes Flowers to Lose Their Natural Scent
They are a quintessential sign of summer - the scent of blossom on the wind and the buzzing of bees. But scientists claim that both are now under threat - as flowers lose their natural scent due to pollution. A new study suggests that gases from car emission are dulling floral aromas and disrupting insect life. Gases from car emission are dulling floral aromas and disrupting insect life, says study. Researchers claim pollution is dramatically cutting the distance travelled by the scent molecules of plants. This is preventing flowers from attracting bees and other insects that they need to pollinate them. As a consequence, the numbers of insects are dramatically dwindling as they struggle to locate the nectar of which they feed. Professor Jose Fuentes, of the University of Virginia, which carried out the research, said: "Scent molecules produced by
flowers in a less polluted environment could travel for roughly 1,000 to 1,2000 metres. But today they may only travel 200 to 300 metres... This makes it increasingly difficult for bees and other insects to locate the flowers." They found that the scent molecules are volatile and quickly bond with pollutants, such as ozone and nitrate radicals - formed mainly from vehicle emissions. This chemically alters the molecules so that they no longer smell like flowers. As a result, bees and other insects - which rely on the scent of flowers to locate them - fail to do so and do not get enough food. The ability of the insects to attract mates and repel enemies is also impeded, scientists fear. While the flowers, which rely on insects to pollinate them, also suffer. Scientists have found that bees, which pollinate most of the world's crops, are in unprecedented decline in Britain and across much of the globe. Agricultural minister Lord Rooker has warned that "the honey bee
population could be wiped out in 10 years".
Galleria Mellonella Coccum
Lights Out Honey bees are susceptible to attack by many different kinds of pathogens and parasites, all of which seem to target a different feature of the bee colony, whether the brood, the honey and other food, or the bees themselves. Wax moths don’t attack bees but rather feed on the beeswax that makes up the honeycombs. Because honeycombs are used both to store honey and to shelter bee larvae, contamination by wax moths will lead to contamination and spillage of honey, as well as the loss of bee larvae. For bees, this means the potential destruction of their colony. The Greater Wax Moth or Honeycomb Moth
Greater Wax Moth Attacks Bee Colonies Galleria Mellonella are pests that are found in most apiaries, in spite of the experience level of the keeper. The moth is a tenacious prowler and utilizes stealth tactics. The female will generally attempt entry of the hive during low-light conditions when the honey bee’s acute eyesight is somewhat diminished. She is most often found flying around the entry to the hive during the early evening hours into darkness. If the guard bees fall off their vigil, she can enter the hive and lay her eggs in some nook or crack in the wood. On hatching, the larvae, which are very active caterpillars, tunnel through the combs leaving
silken webs over the surface of the comb. The larva are impervious to the bee sting due to their scaly helmet and neck. After a period of pupation, adult moths emerge, mate and continue the infestation cycle. In temperate regions the Greater Wax Moth overwinters as mature larvae and pupae in cocoons. The slow trek through the honey comb continues for about three weeks. The stench from their activities begin to have an effect on the colony. The loss of usable brood cells for the queen to lay her eggs begins to diminish the bee population in the hive. Eventually, the larval stage of wax moths create so much disruption to the hive, that the honey bees look for another home elsewhere.
Dead End
Common Pesticide Causes Honeybees to get Lost
A common class of pesticide is causing problems for honeybees and bumblebees, important species already in trouble, two studies suggest. Just last week activists filed a petition with more than a million signatures asking the government to ban the class of pesticides called ‘Neonicotinoids’. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it is re-evaluating the chemicals and is seeking scientific help. For more than a decade, pollinators of all types have been in decline, mostly because of habitat
loss and perhaps some pesticide use. In the past five years, a new mysterious honeybee problem, colony collapse disorder, has further attacked hives. But over the last couple of years, that problem has been observed a bit less, said Jeff Pettis, lead bee researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s lab in Beltsville, Md. The new research suggests the chemicals used in the pesticide designed to attack the central nervous system of insects - reduces the weight and number of queens in bumblebee hives. These pesticides also cause honeybees to become
disoriented and fail to return to their hives, the researchers concluded. In the honeybee study, French scientists glued tiny radio transmitters to the bees managed for orchard pollination. The bees were tracked when they came and left the hive. Those that were dosed with ‘Neonicotinoids’ were two to three times more likely not to return. “Where’d they go? We have no clue about that actually,” said study author Mickael Henry, a bee ecologist for the French national agriculture institute. His study said the pesticide likely contributes to colony collapse.
Through the medium of illustration ‘A Sticky Situation’ attempts to display a selection of the problems that the European Honeybee is currently facing. Climate change is already causing species to shift their range and habits. Although climate change is a natural part of the Earth’s history, and bees have survived many different climate shifts in the past, they have never had to adapt against a background of habitat destruction and chemical pollution. Our actions are taking the Honeybees basic needs away - and we need to act now to reverse the well-documented decline in bee numbers.
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