A RETURN TOTHEHIVE Honey Bees and Colony Collapse Disorder
A RETURN TOTHEHIVE
A RETURN TO THE HIVE
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01/ THE BUZZ ON BEES
THE MASTER POLLINATOR
THERE WILL BE NO FLOWERS.
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THE MASTER POLLINATOR
THERE WILL BE NO CROPS.
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01/ THE BUZZ ON BEES
THE MASTER POLLINATOR
THERE WILL BE NO LIFE.
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CAN YOU IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT
BEES?
CONTENTS
THE MASTER POLLINATOR
01 02 03
THE BUZZ ON BEES THE MASTER POLLINATOR WE DEPEND ON BEES
THE BLIGHT OF BEES THE DISAPPEARING BEES THE CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM
BENEFITING THE BEES EDUCATE CHILDREN PARTICIPATE IN EVENTS BUY LOCAL PRODUCTS DEVELOP BEE‑FRIENDLY GARDENS ENCOURAGE BEEKEEPING
A RETURN TO THE HIVE
CHAPTER 01
THE BUZZ ON
BEES 14
Honey bees are an integral part of a healthy ecosystem. They play an important role in pollinating flowering plants, agricultural crops, and producing honey. Honey bees are one of the most amazing insects. They represent a highly organized society, with various bees having very specific roles during their lifetime. They live together in groups, cooperate in foraging tasks and the care of young. Honey bees in the colony have different types of jobs. There are three types of honey bees—workers, queen and drones. Workers are reproductively underdeveloped females that do all the work of the colony. A colony may have 2,000 to 60,000 workers. They build hexagon shaped beeswax cells in which the queen lays her eggs. Queen is a fully fertile female specialized for producing eggs. When a queen dies, workers select a few young worker larvae and feed them a special food called royal jelly. These special larvae develop
into queens. Therefore, the only difference between workers and queens is the quality of the larval diet. There is usually only one queen per colony. The queen also affects the colony by producing chemicals called pheromones that regulate the behavior of other bees. Drones are male bees. A colony may have 0 to 500 drones during spring and summer. Drones f ly from the hive and mate in the air with queens from other colonies.1 Honey bees are the most important and responsible pollinators all over the world. They are fast and they’re always busy. These buzzing bees are never without work in the human life and natural world.
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01 THE BUZZ ON BEES
A MASTER POLLINATOR The honey bee travels to another plant of the same type.
Pollen on the honey bee sticks to a pistil of a flower on the other plant.
Honey bee returns to the hive with pollen and nectar.
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THE MASTER POLLINATOR
WHAT IS POLLINATION? Pollination is key in both human managed and natural terrestrial ecosystems. It is an important movement of male pollen to the female part of the f lower (stigma), the first step in successful seeds and fruit production by the plant. The honey bee is with pollen.
Pollen from stamens sticks to a honey bee as she visits a flower to collect food.
There are two different types of reproduction in f lower. Self-pollination is form of pollination that can occur when a flower has both stamen and a carpel in which the cultivar or species is self fertile and the stamens and the sticky stigma of the carpel contact each other in order to accomplish pollination. Cross-pollination is the transfer of pollen from one plant to the stigma of another plant. Once the plant has been pollinated, the male contribution fuses with the egg in the ovary, the process known as fertilization. After fertilization, the fruit and seeds develop and mature. Some plants, for example grasses and grains that may be carried by the wind or water from plant to plant. Other plants need help from insects, birds, or bats for successful pollination. Without this assistance, fruit and seeds would not be formed. 2 According to the U.S. Forest Department, only 10 percent of flowering plants are pollinated without animal assistance.
HOW DO HONEY BEES POLLINATE?
Honey bee is searching for pollen and nectar.
Honey bees are flowers’ best friends. While a worker bee is in a flower gathering nectar, pollen from the anther often sticks to her hairy body. Because the bee generally visits a number of the same type of f lower in a patch, she will rub some of the pollen off onto the stigma of another flower and complete pollination. Some f lowers such as orchids have elaborate mechanisms to make sure bees are dusted with pollen when they visit. 3 This is how plants and bees help one another. The plants make flowers that have nectar and pollen that the bees need for food. Pollen must be transferred between flowers for the plant to produce fruit and seeds so that new plants can be made. The pollen is transferred by bees while they collect the nectar and pollen. We also benefit from the relationship between bees and flowers because without it, we would not have apples or many other fruits and vegetables that we enjoy eating every day. 4
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01 THE BUZZ ON BEES
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HONEY BEES AND OTHER POLLINATORS? Unlike other social insects and pollinators, honey bees are vegetarians. Part of the reason honey bees are so important as pollinators is that they actively seek out flowers with pollen, unlike pollinators such as bats and hummingbirds who are primarily interested in nectar. Pollen stored in the hive is used as a source of protein in feeding the developing larvae. 5 Moreover, honey bees make honey from the nectar they collect from flowering trees and plants. Honey is used by the honey bees for food all year round, especially in winter. Honey bees are attracted to so many different types of flowers, each with a different essence reflected in the honey flavors. 6 Another reason that honey bees are different from other pollinators is honey bees can spread pollen and communicate to other bees in the hive. If you ever watched honey bees in a hive, you would see that they touch one another almost constantly. They use movement (dance language), odor cues (pheromones), and even food exchanges to share information.7
Honey bees are more than other types of bees and pollinating animals. And, they are more efficient than other pollinators.
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THE MASTER POLLINATOR
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01 THE BUZZ ON BEES
Sun
30°
Flowers
“Honey bees are the only ones that can be easily managed, moved around and are known to exploit a wide variety of crops.” — Roberta Gibson, Research Specialist of UA Africanized Honey Bee Education Project
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THE MASTER POLLINATOR
HOW DO HONEY BEES COMMUNICATE? When a bee finds a bush covered with f lowers, or a tree loaded with blossoms, it is only a matter of time before a great number of bees arrive to gather pollen and nectar. How does the first bee let other bees know where the flowers are located? Communication about the location of food is accomplished through a dance language. A few bees, called scout bees, f ly around searching for new sources of food. When a scout finds a good patch of flowers, she flies back to the nest. She walks into the hive and up onto one of the combs, where other workers are grouped. There she performs a dance by running in a precise pattern that communicates the direction and distance of the flowers to the other bees. The process for locating a new colony site during swarming also requires communication between bees. A few bees go out to find suitable locations. Once located, they indicate to the other bees what has been found and where it is. There can be more than one scout returning from different locations, and somehow the swarm of bees evaluates the alternatives and chooses which one to follow. 8 The scout bee’s every movement has meaning for the other bees. There are several bee dances, but the most common are the round dance and the waggle dance. The round dance is used when the food source is less than 35 yards away. The forager bee turns in circles alternately to the left and to the right. The richer the food source, the longer and more vigorous the dance. The round dance does not communicate any specific direction. The waggle dance is used to communicate the location of food sources more than 35 yards away. The dance consists of two loops with a straight run in the middle. The direction of the straight run determines the direction of the food source. 9 The precisely coordinated language is used for telling the other bees the distance and direction of the food source and calculating the correct direction back to the hive. People also can use this character to manage honey bees, to pollinate our crops and to make a profit from their by-product of honey.
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01 THE BUZZ ON BEES
WE DEPEND ON BEES AN ELEMENT OF AN ECOSYSTEM
Ecosystems are a complex series of interconnected life forms that depend upon each other. All elements of an ecosystem are important to the functioning of that ecosystem. Remove one element and the system will need to make adjustments. The effect of that adjustment may often not be known until after it has happened.10 As previously mentioned, honey bees are the major pollinator in an ecosystem. Honey bees are of inestimable value as agents of cross-pollination, and many plants are entirely dependent on honey bees for their reproduction. In fact, if honey bees did not pollinate in the wild, some vegetation would become extinct, leaving space for invasive, problematic species to take over. Animals that eat the extinct vegetation would then die off, followed by the carnivorous animals that eat the herbivores. As noted above, it’s a chain reaction.11
A VITAL ROLE IN THE GLOBAL FOOD CHAIN Similarly, another chain reaction occurs in the human food chain. How important are honey bees to the human diet? Typically, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these tiny workers pollinate 80 percent of our f lowering crops which constitute one-third of everything we eat. Losing them could affect not only dietary staples such as apples, broccoli, strawberries, nuts, asparagus, blueberries and cucumbers, but may threaten many of ingredients for all-natural ice cream, dessert, sauce and so on. On the other hand, both the beef and dairy industries are affected because they need honey bees to pollinate alfalfa, hay, and other forage crops that are fed to most dairy animals and some beef animals. Lactating animals need a lot of energy to keep up the milk production, and alfalfa is the primary source of energy for these animals on most dairy and cattle farms.12
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Essentially, if honey bees disappear, they could take most of our insect pollinated plants with them, and human food chain would be suffered a crisis.
A LITTLE INSECT WITH A BIG JOB IN OUR LIFE Many of the products we use on daily basis would be unavailable without the hard work of honey bees. Not on ly pol l i nate f lower i ng pla nt s a nd crops, honey bees also pollinate cotton and flax, so without honey bees we would not have products made of cotton and flax such as clothes or towels. Most people only relate honey bees to one food which we as humans use, honey. Honey is the most well known and most profitable of the direct products resulting from the efforts of honey bees. However, honey bees are involved in the production of many products that the general public do not consider. Honey bees make wax from abdominal glands and use the wax to build honeycomb cells for storage and for their young. People use beeswax in many beauty products, including cosmetics, lotions and deodorants. Beeswax is also an important ingredient of polish such as boot and floor wax, candles, paints and inks.13 Honey bees also make propolis by combining resin from trees and wax. They use propolis as structural support in the beehive. People use propolis in medicine for antiseptic, antibacterial, antibiotic, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Moreover, People use honey and propolis regularly in natural health as a cough suppressant. Other bee products such as royal jelly and bee pollen is also used as natural health supplement. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, bee venom is used as a treatment for rheumatic diseases and other ailments.14
WE DEPEND ON BEES
Food
Seeds
GLOBAL FOOD CHAIN Flowers
Cattle
Humans
Honey bees
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THE MASTER POLLINATOR
MORE THAN
ONE‑THIRD OF WHAT WE EAT IS POLLINATED BY
HONEY BEES
The United States Department of Agriculture
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01 THE BUZZ ON BEES
WE DEPEND ON BEES
HONEY BEES ARE A BIG ECONOMIC VALUE Honey bees are the most economically valuable pollinators of agricultural crops worldwide. There are more than 90 commercial crops are pollinated by honey bees. The value of honey bees as commercial pollinators in the United States has been estimated to be about $15 billion annually. Furthermore, honey bees also produce about $150 million in honey annually in the United States.15 In the UK alone, honey bees contribute ÂŁ200 million a year to the economy through pollination. In Australia, managed honey bees are found in all Australian states and territories. There are around 673,000 registered hives in Australia, producing not only honey and beeswax but also live bees (queens and package bees), and other products such as pollen and royal jelly. Around 467,000 hives are operated by beekeepers with a minimum of 200 hives, and these are considered to represent the commercial industry. It is estimated that an average of at least 30,000 tonnes of honey are produced each year in Australia and between 9,000 and 12,000 tonnes of honey are exported each year.16 As the bee population declines, the economy will take a hit: The global economic cost of honey bees decline, including lower crop yields and increased production costs.17 The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) estimates that if people were to take over the job of pollination from honey bees in the UK, it would require a workforce of 30 million.18 Just imagine what the cost would be to employ people, for minimum wage, to hand-pollinate plants. How much would an apple cost? The early estimates suggest it would more than double the price. 19 When you consider the fact that a single hive of fifty thousand honey bees pollinate half a million plants in one day, hand pollination is clearly not a practical method. Keeping honey bee populations safe is critical for keeping our tables stocked with high-quality produce and our agriculture sector running smoothly.
Keeping just a few bee hives can generate some income, especially with creative retailing of honey, honeycomb, wax, and pollen. In addition, a bee colony can provide valuable pollination on the producer’s own farm.
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HONEY BEES MAINLY REPRESENT 9.5 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF THE WORLD’S
AGRICULTURAL FOOD PRODUCTION. The United Nations Environment Programme
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01/ THE BUZZ ON BEES
CHAPTER 02
THE BLIGHT ON
BEES 08
THE MASTER POLLINATOR
The global honey bee population is in dramatic decline. The effects of the demise of this tiny insect extend far beyond the shortage of a few jars of honey. Honey bees have become widespread across the world and they are bred commercially for their abilities to produce honey and pollinate crops. However, from 1972 to 2006, there was a dramatic reduction in the number of feral honey bees in the United States and a significant though gradual decline in the number of colonies maintained by beekeepers. In late 2006 and early 2007, a mysterious disappearance of honey bees was discovered and nobody was sure exactly what was behind it. According to the UN’s environmental agency, much of the decline, ranging up to 85 percent in some areas, is taking place in the industrialized northern hemisphere due to more than a dozen factors. There are a lot of causes that are damaging to honey bees and scientists
are still searching for the causes of disappearing honey bees. Moreover, the federal government plans an allocation of $80 million to fund research in connection with this phenomenon. 20 Many people believe that the decline of honey bees is an alarm bell alerting our attention to problems in our environment and the unsustainable nature of our food and farming systems. As members of the global village, it is our obligation to know what happened to honey bees and then try to do something for our small and hard-working friends.
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02 THE BLIGHT ON BEES
THE DISAPPEARING BEES COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER (CCD)
WELCOME TO A WORLD WITHOUT BEES
In October 2006, Pennsylvania beekeeper Dave Hackenberg was the first beekeeper to report to bee researchers what’s become known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). He had delivered honey bees to a Florida farm to pollinate crops. The honey bees typically return to their boxed hives when their work is done. But this time was different. He came to pick up 400 bee colonies and the bees had just f lat-out disappeared, there were no dead bees, no bees on the ground, just empty boxes. 21
There is a place that has been without honey bees for 20 years. In southern Sichuan, China, each spring thousands of rural residents are mobilized to take to the trees clutching makeshift stepladders and feather dusters. They then undertake the challenge of brushing each of the pear blossoms by hand. They are in fact conducting essential, perhaps pioneering work as human pollinators.
Some beekeepers began reporting losses of 30–90 percent of their hives. While colony losses are not unexpected during winter weather, the magnitude of loss suffered by some beekeepers was highly unusual. This phenomenon, which currently does not have a recognizable underlying cause, has been termed Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The main symptom of CCD is simply no or a low number of adult honey bees present but with a live queen and no dead honey bees in the hive. There is still honey in the hive, and immature bees are present often. 22
HAS CCD EVER HAPPENED BEFORE? The scientific literature has several mentions of honey bees disappearances—in the 1880s, the 1920s and the 1960s. While the descriptions sound similar to CCD, there is no way to know for sure if the problems were caused by the same agents as today’s CCD. There have also been unusual colony losses before. In 1903, in the Cache Valley in Utah, 2000 colonies were lost to an unknown disappearing disease after a hard winter and a cold spring. More recently, in 1995–96, Pennsylvania beekeepers lost 53 percent of their colonies without a specific identifiable cause. 23
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A Chinese pear farmer, interviewed for the U.S. documentary Silence of the Bees knows just how tough manual pollination is. Ever since honey bees in his region were wiped out by pesticides 20 years ago, he and his neighbors have had to scrub pollen from the pear trees, dry it by hand, and carefully dust it onto each pear blossom. It is a slow, laborious task—and much less efficient than employing honey bees whose colonies visit up to 3 million blossoms per day. 24
SCOPE AND DISTRIBUTION OF CCD In the United States, beekeepers from 24 states reported that hundreds of thousands of their bees were dying and their colonies were being devastated. 25 Even though subsequent analysis revealed that in many cases beekeepers reporting significant losses of bees did not experience true CCD, but losses due to other causes. 26 Losses have also been reported in other countries, including Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Brazil and Argentina. Possible cases of CCD have also been reported in Taiwan since April 2007.27 The UK Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs believe that Colony Collapse Disorder is not yet in the UK. However, it is acknowledged that the UK is suffering unusual losses of around a fifth of hives in 2008–09, compared to normal yearly losses of around 5 to 10%.28
THE DISAPPEARING BEES
CCD-AFFECTED STATES (Colony Collapse Disorder) Affected states Non-reported states
The United States Department of Agriculture
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02 THE BLIGHT ON BEES
WHO IT INTERESTS CCD has created a very serious problem for beekeepers and could threaten both pollination industry and human life if it becomes more widespread. We cannot wait to see if CCD becomes an agricultural crisis to do the needed research into the cause and treatment for CCD. In April 2007, the U.S. Department of Agriculture held a Colony Collapse Disorder Research Workshop that brought together over 80 of the major bee scientists, industry representatives, extension agents, and others to discuss a research agenda. They identified areas where more information is needed and the highest-priority needs for additional research projects related to CCD. They have been doing their best to figure out the causes of disappearing honey bees. 29 Some commercial corporations took an interest in honey bees. For instance, Häagen-Dazs introduced a campaign to tell people about the disappearing honey bees. They have created a website in order to reach out the problem of honey bees and what could happen to many produce products if honey bees disappear. The website also brings another perspective to the average consumer when they see a long lists of f lavors of ice cream that are dependent on honey bee survival. 30 Burt’s Bees is another example of a company that is raising awareness about the CCD and is trying to find out how we can help the disappearing honey bees. 31 Furthermore, these two companies support the film Vanishing of the Bees which tells the story of the sudden disappearance of honey bees from beehives around the world caused by CCD. 32
Queen of the sun is a new documentary film on the honey bee crisis and colony collapse disorder in 2011.
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THE DISAPPEARING BEES
35
THE CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM
When the U.S. Department of Agriculture held a Colony Collapse Disorder Research Workshop in 2007, a research team published the results of an intensive genetic screening of CCD-affected honey bee colonies and non-CCD-affected hives. The only pathogen found in almost all samples from honey bee colonies with CCD, but not in non-CCD colonies, was the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), a dicistrovirus that can be transmitted by the varroa mite. It was found in 96.1 percent of the CCD-bee samples. This research does not identify IAPV as the cause of CCD. What this research found was strictly a strong correlation of the appearance of IAPV and CCD together, but no cause and effect connection can be inferred from the genetic screening data. The researchers think that it is unlikely that a single factor is the cause of CCD; it is more likely that there is a complex of different components. Even if IAPV proves to be a cause of CCD, there still may also be other contributing factors—which researchers are pursuing. 33 Since CCD was discovered, there have been many factors are likely to blame. Also, the factors depend on different countries or regions. But it still can be generalized to as some possible causes of Colony Collapse Disorder. 34
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MALNUTRITION Wild honey bees forage on the diversity of flowers in their habitat, enjoying a variety of pollen and nectar sources. Honeybees used commercially limit their foraging to specific crops, such as almonds, blueberries, or cherries. Colonies kept by hobbyist beekeepers may fare no better, as suburban and urban neighborhoods offer limited plant diversity. Honeybees are fed on single crops, or limited varieties of plants, may suffer nutritional deficiencies that stress their immune systems.
PESTICIDES Any disappearance of an insect species would implicate pesticide use as a potential cause, and CCD is no exception. Beekeepers are particularly concerned about a possible connection between Colony Collapse Disorder and neonicotinoids, or nicotine-based pesticides. One such pesticide, imidacloprid, is known to affect insects in ways similar to the symptoms of CCD. Identification of a causative pesticide will likely require studies of pesticide residues in the honey or pollen abandoned by affected colonies.
GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS Another possible cause is the pollen of genetically modified crops, specifically corn altered to produce Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin. Most researchers agree that exposure to Bt pollen alone is not a likely
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02 THE BLIGHT ON BEES
cause of Colony Collapse Disorder. Not all hives foraging on Bt pollen succumbed to CCD, and some CCD-impacted colonies never foraged near genetically modified crops. However, a possible link may exist between Bt and disappearing colonies when those bees had compromised health for other reasons. German researchers note a possible correlation between exposure to Bt pollen and compromised immunity to the fungus Nosema.
MIGRATORY BEEKEEPING Commercial beekeepers rent their hives to farmers, earning more from pollination services than they could ever make from honey production alone. Hives are stacked on the back of tractor trailers, covered, and driven thousands of miles. For honey bees, orientation to their hive is vital to life, and being relocated every few months must be stressful. Additionally, moving hives around the country and globalization may spread diseases and pathogens as honey bees intermingle in the fields.
TOXINS IN THE ENVIRONMENT Honey bees exposure to toxins in the environment warrants research as well, and some suspect chemicals as a cause of Colony Collapse Disorder. Water sources may be treated to control other insects, or contain chemical residues from runoff. Foraging bees might be impacted by household or industria l chemica ls, through contact or
THE CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM
inhalation. The possibilities for toxic exposure make pinpointing a definitive cause difficult, but this theory requires attention by scientists.
frequencies. The scientists vehemently disavowed any suggestion that cell phones or cell towers are responsible for CCD.
CLIMATE CHANGE
However, new experiments show a similar report recently which from Swiss researcher Daniel Favre. According to Favre, phone signals may confuse honey bees so much that they become fatally disoriented. Favre and his team performed 83 experiments that recorded honey bees’ reaction t o nea rby cel l phones i n of f, st a nd by, a nd call-making mode. The result is honey bee noise increases by 10 times when a phone call is made or received. Nor ma l ly, a n i ncrea se i n noi se, or worker piping, is used as a signa l for bees to leave their hives. But in this case, it just makes them confused. 35
Rising global temperatures cause a chain reaction through the ecosystem. Erratic weather patterns lead to unusually warm winters, drought, and floods, all of which affect flowering plants. Plants may blossom early, before honeybees can fly, or may not produce f lowers at all, limiting nectar and pollen supplies. Some beekeepers believe global warming is to blame, if only in part, for Colony Collapse Disorder.
HABITAT DESTRUCTION Industrialization, urbanization and mismanagement of the countryside is a threat to the survival of honey bees. They can no longer count on the native weeds, clover and wildflowers they usually feeds on because their habitat is lost.
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION A widely-reported theory that cell phones may be to blame for Colony Collapse Disorder proved to be an inaccurate representation of a research study conducted in Germany. Scientists looked for a link between honey bee behavior and close-range electromagnetic fields. They concluded there is no correlation between the inability of honey bees to return to their hives and exposure to such radio
Soon after, people are abuzz about a this report and some experts question this result. According to Sussex University’s Norman Carreck in an interview with The Daily Mail, he said that it is an interesting study but it doesn’t prove that mobile phones are responsible for Colony Collapse Disorder. If you physically knock a hive, or open one up to examine it, it has the same result. 36
“It is a very complex issue. There are a lot of interactive factors and one country alone is not able to solve the problem, that’s for sure. We need to have an international network, global approaches.” —The Swiss government’s Bee Research Center
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GENERAL COLONY LOSS LEVELS
29 34 IN 2009
% LOSS
IN 2010
%
LOSS
The United States Department of Agriculture
CHAPTER 03
BENEFITING THE
BEES
Our job is to sustain honey bees’ life and also sustain the balance of the ecosystem and the survival of humans. There are some positive thoughts about honey bees. For instance, some local bee experts think that honey bees a re not disappearing, some beekeepers say that the loss in bees among the hives was typical and some beekeepers are happy to see their honey bees return to their hives. 37 However, according to the United Nations, they have prompted a larm to the people: the disappearance of honey bees is still a problem and honey bees need our help! The good news is that we have heard the alarm. Scientists, governments and many of Sustain’s member organisations have recently highlighted the problem of the loss of honey bees, and the media is helping to alert the public. Some positive
steps have been taken by both government and industry. And many of the solutions to the honey bee problem could help us to solve some of the other global problems that now face us. But much more still needs to be done before we can be sure that the honey bees and the environment they rely on are safe for future generations. These small flying insects are needed to sustain our lives. As a graphic designer, I provide some ideas to help people consider this issue and attempt to do my job for our hard-working friends.
EDUCATE CHILDREN ABOUT HONEY BEES FORMAT AUDIENCE
INFORMATION & TOOL KIT SCHOOL TEACHERS & CHILDREN
CONCEPT
Designing a honey bee education project for children is to raise awareness and engage children in the world they live in. By learning the importance of honey bees, children may form a connection to nature. The sustainability of the world we live in will be determined by what we do now with the young people who are growing up. If children can understand the importance of honey bees and how honey bees work together, this understanding can potentially deepen their connection and relationship with their community and the world around them.
SOLUTION
For the honey bee education project, I can design a series of educational materials and all educational materials will be available nationally to schools, libraries, natural history and children’s museums, bee clubs and associations, zoos and any children’s educational entity that can benefit from them. I also plan to design a music album that includes some honey bee stories and children’s songs about honey bees.
PARTICIPATE IN HONEY BEE EVENTS FORMAT AUDIENCE
AWARENESS & TOOL KIT THE PUBLIC
CONCEPT
There are lots of organizations campaigning to protect honey bees and promote biodiversity all over the world. Becoming a volunteer and getting involved in campaigns and events could be a good way to understand the news and information of bees.
SOLUTION
As a Graphic Designer, I can create a website, posters, a n nua l s a nd brochu res for a n orga n izat ion’s ca mpa ig n a nd event s t o convey t hei r pu r pose a nd pr i nciples. It would affect people in helping to press for change and save the honey bees.
BUY BEE-FRIENDLY FOOD & LOCAL BEE PRODUCTS FORMAT AUDIENCE
BRAND & TOOL KIT ECO-FRIENDLY PEOPLE
CONCEPT
Bee-f r iend ly food mea n s orga n ic food. Fa r m i ng w it hout a r t i f icia l chem ica l s creates a hea lt hy env i ron ment for honey bees, thus improving their health and the quality of the food crops that they pollinate. Organic farming will only continue to grow all over the world if people continue to buy more organic food, especially if it is produced locally.
SOLUTION
As a Graphic designer, I plan to collaborate with a organic market or urban farm. I can have a complete marketing system to support our concept. There are many ideas I can use such as identity design and eco-friendly product design.
DEVELOP BEE‑FRIENDLY GARDENS FORMAT AUDIENCE
EVENT & TOOL KIT RESIDENTIAL DWELLERS & URBAN GARDENERS
CONCEPT
Gardens are an important environment for honey bees to forage, particularly in an urban environment. If you have a garden then you can attract honey bees by planting native plants such as honeysuckle, wild roses, lavender, foxgloves, hollyhocks, clematis and hydrangeas. Planting fruit, vegetables and herbs also attracts foraging honey bees looking for a food source. Even if you don’t have a garden, you still can plant some bee-friendly plants in your window boxes.
SOLUTION
Planting a seed is not difficult and can be done successfully by anyone. I think it would be interesting to start a little project to save the local bee populations within your own communities. I can design a seed packet of bee-friendly plants and a guidebook with simple instructions to grow the bee-friendly plants, People can then share it with friends and neighbors to keep the bees happy and have them return to gardens.
ENCOURAGE BEEKEEPING FORMAT AUDIENCE
EVENT & TOOL KIT RESIDENTIAL DWELLERS & URBAN FAMERS
CONCEPT
Becoming a beekeeper can increase the local bee populations within our own communities and across the country. People who can have hives include homeowners and commercial businesses. However, most people would think that keeping bees require a lot of space and time. But surprisingly, it doesn’t take much. Beehives can be kept on balconies, roof tops or even gardens.
SOLUTION
There are a lot of associations with beekeeping courses and events. A Graphic Designer can create a beekeeping education system for people who are interested in beekeeping but have no idea what to do or for people who want to learn more about beekeeping.
REFERENCES CHAPTER 1 1 “Honey Bee Facts.” honeywonders.com. 2011 2 Roberta Gibson.“Honey Bees Are Important Pollinators.” UA Africanized Honey Bee Education Project. 2011 3 Roberta Gibson.“Honey Bees Are Important Pollinators.” UA Africanized Honey Bee Education Project. 2011 4 Roberta Gibson.“Honey Bees Are Important Pollinators.” UA Africanized Honey Bee Education Project. 2011 5 Hamed Hashemi, Edgar Perez & Sven Tyrchan. “What Bees Do for the Environment.” Bees: An Inside Look. 1998 6 “Best Trees for Honey Bees.” beelog.org. March 30, 2011 7 “Bees Talk While They Dance!” creationtips.com. July 20, 2009 8 Roberta Gibson. “The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees.” UA Africanized Honey Bee Education Project. 2011 9 “The Honey Bee Diet.” westmtnapiary.com. 2011 10 Bob Ewing. “Why Saving the Bees Is So Important for Our World.” hubpages.com. 2009 11 “Why Bees Are So Important to the Ecosystem and to Humans.” i-out.com. 2010 12 Dr. Sharol Tilgner. “Bill to Save the Bees.” dreamingabeautifulworld.blogspot.com. March 10, 2011 13 “Honey Bees.” zwbk.org. November 11, 2010 14 Dr. Randi Fredricks. “Bee Products: Bee-lieve it!” allthingswell.com. 2010 15 Renée Johnson. “Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder.” Congressional Research Service. January 07, 2010 16 The Government Of New South Wales. “Inquiry into Beekeeping in Urban Areas.” August, 2000 17 Gabriela Chavarria. “Pollinator Conservation.” Renewable Resources Journal. Winter 1999–2000 18 “Why Are Bees Important?” Vanishing of the Bees Film. 2009 19 Nick Holland. “The Economic Value of Honeybees.” BBC News. April 23, 2009
CHAPTER 2 20 Larry West. “Why Are Honeybees Disappearing?” environment.about.com. May 13, 2008 21 Stefan Lovgren. “Mystery Bee Disappearances Sweeping U.S.” National Geographic News. February 23, 2007 22 The Agricultural Research Service. “Questions and Answers: Colony Collapse Disorder.” December 17, 2010 23 The Agricultural Research Service. “Questions and Answers: Colony Collapse Disorder.” December 17, 2010 24 Alison Benjamin & Brian McCallum. A World Without Bees. ISBN 9780852650929. June 1, 2008 25 Amy Sahba. “The Mysterious Deaths of the Honey Bees.” CNN News. March 29, 2007 26 Environmental Health & Safety Online. “Food Chains Issues: Bee Colony Collapse Disorder Man’s Interdependence with Nature.” EHSO.com. 2010 27 Paul Molga. “La Mort des Abeilles Met la Planète en Danger.” August, 2007 28 “Why Are Bees Important?” Vanishing of the Bees Film. 2009 29 The Agricultural Research Service. “Questions and Answers: Colony Collapse Disorder.” December 17, 2010 30 Häagen-Dazs. “Help the Honey Bees.” 2008 31 Burt’s Bees. “Be Good to Bees.“ 2011 32 “Sponsors.” Vanishing of the Bees Film. 2011 33 The Agricultural Research Service. “Questions and Answers: Colony Collapse Disorder.” December 17, 2010 34 The Natural Resources Defense Council. “Why We Need Bees?” March, 2011 35 Ariel Schwartz. “Are Cell Phones Killing the Bees?” fastcompany.com. May 11, 2011 36 David Murphy. “Cell Phone Signals Not Killing Bees Mid-Flight.” pcmag.com. May 15, 2011 37 Lance Isbister. “Hives Ok, Says Local Bee Expert.” ashburtonguardian.co.nz. May 10, 2011
COLOPHON Designed, edited and illustrated by Lan Chi Tsai. Photography from Flickr. Type set in Univers Ultra Condensed, Light Ultra Condensed, Serifa Light, Serifa Light Italic and Serifa Roman. Printed at 788 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA on Epson double sided 48lb. Premium Matt paper using an Epson Stylus Photo 1400 printer. Binding by Lan Chi Tsai at 788 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA.