The vanishing of the Bees... by lightmediation

Now, when we face the question of the very survival of the world's bees, scientists believe the reasons for their disappearance to be multiple and varied. In the United States, it is called CCD, Colony Collapse Disorder. This acronym groups together all factors behind the disappearance not just of domestic bees, but that of other Apis species: monoculture, pesticides, GMOs, bee diseases, deforestation... Today it is certain that man's predation on the environment is causing the disappearance of pollinators, insects which nevertheless provide a free service to the American farming economy valued at some 15 billion dollars, which surely attains several hundred billion euros on a global scale. In a swift around-the-world tour, this report shows the paradoxes and complexities behind the disappearance of bee colonies.

The vanishing of the Bees... Photos ÂŠEric Tourneret/LightMediation Text ÂŽSylla de Saint Pierre Contact - LightMediation Photo Agency - +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry@lightmediation.com

1971-09: FRANCE/ The roof of Paris' Garnier Opera houses Jean Poucton's seven hives. Since 2004, the French UNAF trade union has developed the program known as "The Bee, the Sentinel of the Environment" by setting up hives with the support of host cities. It serves to inform the public about bees and increase awareness on the part of the population and its civic leaders about the insect's disappearance.

1971-01: NEPAL/The outside of the comb containing the brood is simply cut off and crashes to the ground, where the men collect the scattered pieces to recover wax and larvae. This type of harvest destroys the

1971-02: NEPAL/The Apis Laboriosa, giant bee of the Himalayas, builds its nests under overhanging rock on cliff faces, near a river. The combs can reach five feet in diameter.

1971-03: NEPAL/Still surrounded by of bees, Bolo Kesher gets ready to cut away the large arc sheltering the brood, to reach the honey reserves located in the top of the nest.

1971-04: NEPAL/Handling the long bamboo poles while under repeated attacks by the swarms requires uncommon composure and self-assurance. For this phase of the operation, the Perengge uses a rope to

1971-05: NEPAL/Barehanded and barefoot, with his face unprotected, the Perengge endures repeated attacks by the bees while hanging in acrobatic positions without anything to protect him from a fall as he

1971-06: NEPAL/The honey is stored in the bulging part of the nest, attached to the rock. To collect it, the Perengge must position the bamboo basket by maneuvering another pole held at arm's length,

1971-07: NEPAL/ Because of the nest's structure, comprising a single comb, the honey storage cells of the giant Himalayan bee are five to ten times longer than those of our Apis mellifera, which measure

1971-08: NEPAL/ A woman prepares her basket to transport firewood. Few of the forests are protected and an increasing population mean more trees are felled each year.

1971-10: MEXICO/STATE OF PUEBLA At the Tosepan cooperative, honey producers meet to address not only the increase in stingless bee livestock, but issues such as health and hygiene. Tosepan's goal is to set up apiaries of 100 hives per family. For Tosepan, organic farming and fair trade are the only possible management technique that can ensure sustainable development.

1971-09: FRANCE/ The roof of Paris' Garnier Opera houses Jean Poucton's seven hives. Since 2004, the French UNAF trade union has developed the program known as "The Bee, the Sentinel of the

1971-10: MEXICO/STATE OF PUEBLA At the Tosepan cooperative, honey producers meet to address not only the increase in stingless bee livestock, but issues such as health and hygiene. Tosepan's goal is

1971-11: MEXICO/STATE OF PUEBLA The guard bees watch over the hive entrance, a veritable runway built of wax. The trigona scaptotrigona populations are primarily established on the central plateaus of

1971-12: MEXICO/STATE OF PUEBLA The clay hives of trigona scaptotrigona bees are called "dashkat" in Totonac, which means honey from the jungle or from the woods. Families who still owned two or three

1971-13: MEXICO/ STATE OF PUEBLA Nahauat women at the teller counter of the Tosepan savings and microfinance bank (Tosepantomin). Entirely self-financed, Tosepantomin is today a success, with capital

1971-14: MEXICO/STATE OF PUEBLA An Africanized bee gorges herself on nectar and gathers pollen pellets in a datura arborea flower. In fifty years, at the rate of 200 to 300 miles per year, they colonized the

1971-15: MEXICO STATE OF PUEBLA In Tulum, in the Yucatan, young Mayans in Western dress visit the famous archeological site. In 1998, Mexico, the birthplace of corn, imposed a moratorium on farming

1971-16: MEXICO/YUCATAN The size of a European bee, the Mayan bee, melipone beecheii, leaves only one very narrow entrance to its trunk hive to guard against attacks by predators and competitors. Yet

1971-20: ARGENTINA Following in the footsteps of the North American seed manufacturers which upset the agricultural landscape, the major chemical industrialists have found in Argentina a market sustained by soy monoculture.

1971-17: MEXICO/YUCATAN In the Leydi Araceli Pech Martin family garden, the seven women of the "Ah Mucen Kab" association surround the raffia-roofed trunk apiary. The association seeks to protect this

1971-18: MEXICO/YUCATAN Melipone beecheii, the Mayan bee. In 1549, the tax to be paid to the Spanish crown consisted of 64,000 pounds of wax and 7,300 pounds of honey, or nearly 44 pounds for 20

1971-19: ARGENTINA Brand new silos are springing up on farms everywhere. Since the early 1990s, transgenic soy has invaded the Argentinean landscape to the point that it now represents more half of the

1971-21: ARGENTINA In the hush of daybreak, El Bracho sets off on the canal that traverses the delta. The bees are under the calming protection of a woven covering.

1971-22: ARGENTINA The route to be traveled means that the transhumance is carried out under a merciless sun; the bees' aggressive nature means that the men must wear their protective gear

1971-23: ARGENTINA Under the swarms' widespread attacks, unloading and setting up the hives must be done very quickly. The hives remained open due to the heat, and the bees have flown out of them en

1971-24: ARGENTINA El Bracho reaches an island. The banks play a major role in regulating the delta by allowing the vegetation to absorb the excess water brought by periodic floods. Dykes, already

1971-23: ARGENTINA Under the swarms' widespread attacks, unloading and setting up the hives must be done very quickly. The hives remained open due to the heat, and the bees have flown out of them en masse.

1971-25: ARGENTINA No sooner are the hives installed than the scout bees leave to perform reconnaissance flights, followed shortly thereafter by the field bees, to whom they indicated the nectar and

1971-26: ARGENTINA The gauchos burn the island vegetation to clear grazing land for cattle. This practice is becoming more common as soy farming tightens its grip on the land, greatly impacting the flora

1971-28: CAMEROUN The nest is in a hollow of the tree, more than fifty feet off the ground, meaning the honey-gatherer must make a perilous, unprotected climb, vulnerable to swarm attacks. This harvesting

1971-29: CAMEROUN The reward after the harvest.

1971-30: CAMEROUN Joseph and his wife, who live in the bush, prepare to harvest one their hives, mounted in a tree.

1971-32: CAMEROUN The African bee is well-known for its aggressiveness, which certain odors, such as that of perspiration, aggravate ten-fold. Smoke from a torch of dry grass forces the bees to seek refuge at

1971-33: CAMEROUN Joseph harvests his hives at night, bare-chested and bare-legged to avoid bees getting caught in his clothing. This is a very predatory harvest technique, as it entails destruction of the

1971-34: CAMEROUN Though quite exceptional in the apis mellifera family, the African bee often nests in the ground. The nest is destroyed during the nighttime harvest using a hoe. The children play a major

1971-35: FRANCE/ This technique requires sangfroid and trickery. The beekeeper achieves the feat by attaching a cage around his neck in which he has isolated the queen. The bees naturally gather around

1971-36: FRANCE/ A beekeeper with Mont Blanc in the background. This idyllic scene hides the darker reality of the decline of biodiversity. Pesticides are currently being evaluated by the European Community.

1971-37: FRANCE/ Since 1994 and 1995, French beekeepers have observed the rapid depopulation of their sunflower-based colonies. All fingers point to Gaucho, a new neurotoxic insecticide that is applied as

1971-38: FRANCE/ Franck Aletru was the first beekeeper to denounce the use of Gaucho on sunflower fields as the cause of the loss of half his livestock. It was not until 1999 that Gaucho was prohibited on

1971-39: FRANCE/ The varroa, the parasitic mite from the island of Java, where it lives in parasitic coexistence with the Asian bee, Apis cerana. With commercial activity and the worldwide introduction of

1971-40: FRANCE/ A queen breeder. Beekeepers, too, are responsible for the proliferation of bee diseases. By using genetic combinations in the quest for the perfect bee that produces ever more rapidly,

1971-27: CAMEROUN An adansonii bee colony was spotted in a tree. The Gbayas are sometimes guided by a larva-loving bird, the indicator indicator, which leads them to the nests and, in return, enjoys a share of the harvest. The men don their heavy wood-fiber attire, essential for the day's harvest: this particular species of tree emits a substance which repels bees.

1971-41: FRANCE/ From inside the hive, one sees the intense activity of the bees. Laden with pollen, the field bees return from their morning flight. During the major nectar flows, there will be more than 25,000

1971-42: FRANCE/ A beekeeper set up his hives on an almond orchard, spreading them out to ensure maximum pollination of all the flowers. Bee pollination is worth 2 billion dollars to California's agricultural

1971-43: FRANCE/ With the zucchini harvest in full swing, the hives are still in place to ensure pollination. In the United States, the disappearance of the bees is a major problem. The economic

1971-44: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION Romanian beekeeping is still very much a family affair. Beekeepers have on average 100 hives and live with their bees. In the United States, many beekeepers

1971-45: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION Romanian beekeeping is still very much a family affair. Beekeepers have on average 100 hives and live with their bees. In the United States, many beekeepers

1971-46: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION Romanian farming is still little mechanized. Entrance into the European Community means the worst can be expected in terms of rural migration and rapid

1971-47: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION Intense bee activity at the hive's entrance. During the major nectar flows, there are more than 25,000 bee sorties in a single day. Between 800,000 and 1 million

1971-48: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION The Romanian beekeepers' specially-equipped trucks crisscross the country as they track floral blooming seasons. Here the "pavillons" are set up near the

1971-31: CAMEROUN Joseph harvests his hives at night, bare-chested and bare-legged to avoid bees getting caught in his clothing. This is a very predatory harvest technique, as it entails destruction of the colony, but the species' dynamism and the exceptional natural environment mean that the bees colonize Joseph's one hundred hives every year.

1971-49: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION The Romanian beekeepers' specially-equipped trucks crisscross the country as they track floral blooming seasons. Here the "pavillons" are set up near the

1971-50: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION The Romanian beekeepers' specially-equipped trucks crisscross the country as they track floral blooming seasons. Here the "pavillons" are set up near the

1971-51: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION The Romanian beekeepers' specially-equipped trucks crisscross the country as they track floral blooming seasons. Here the "pavillons" are set up near the

1971-52: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION To ensure an abundant sunflower honey harvest, the Tulcea beekeepers' association on the Danube Delta references the types of sunflower planted each year.

1971-53: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION To ensure an abundant sunflower honey harvest, the Tulcea beekeepers' association on the Danube Delta references the types of sunflower planted each year.

1971-54: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION A bee on a sunflower. Fertilizers, monoculture, land consolidation, insecticides, the disappearance of hedges and wild species, water pollution, and climate

1971-55: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION Romanian beekeepers with their hives in a sunflower field. The paradox of beekeeping in an industrialized world. The sunflower produces a great deal of

1971-56: FRANCE/ Ile de OUESSANT The Breton black bee conservatory became European scientists' ground zero for bee and pollen samples and study. The island is indeed free from the varroa mite and

1971-50: ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION The Romanian beekeepers' specially-equipped trucks crisscross the country as they track floral blooming seasons. Here the "pavillons" are set up near the Ciucurova forest, the largest linden tree forest in Europe.

1971-56: FRANCE/ Ile de OUESSANT The Breton black bee conservatory became European scientists' ground zero for bee and pollen samples and study. The island is indeed free from the varroa mite and other bee diseases. The environment is protected from industrial monoculture, pesticides, and biotope degradation.

The vanishing of the Bees... Now, when we face the question of the very survival of the world's bees, scientists believe the reasons for their disappearance to be multiple and varied. In the United States, it is called CCD, Colony Collapse Disorder. This acronym groups together all factors behind the disappearance not just of domestic bees, but that of other Apis species: monoculture, pesticides, GMOs, bee diseases, deforestation... Today it is certain that man's predation on the environment is causing the disappearance of pollinators, insects which nevertheless provide a free service to the American farming economy valued at some 15 billion dollars, which surely attains several hundred billion euros on a global scale. In a swift around-the-world tour, this report shows the paradoxes and complexities behind the disappearance of bee colonies.

Between 1971 and 2006, nearly a quarter of bee colonies in the United States disappeared. In Spain, hundreds of thousands of hives have died this year. In Croatia, nearly five million bees died in 48 hours. The Polish beekeeping association estimates hive losses last year at 40%. Greece, Switzerland, Italy, and Portugal all report heavy losses...

May 16, 2008. The German Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety ordered the suspension of approval for eight seed-treatment products, including Poncho and Cruiser. These products are

identified as the cause of the massive bee deaths seen by German beekeepers over the last five years, who have lost more than 20% of their livestock. San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 2008 WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is refusing to disclose records about a new class of pesticides that could be playing a role in the disappearance of millions of honeybees in the United States, a lawsuit filed Monday charges. The Natural Resources Defense Council wants to see the studies that the EPA required when it approved a pesticide made by Bayer CropScience five years ago.The environmental group filed the suit as part of an effort to find out how diligently the EPA is protecting honeybees from dangerous pesticides, said Aaron Colangelo, a lawyer for the group in Washington. In the last two years, beekeepers have reported unexplained losses of hives - 30 percent and upward leading to a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder. Scientists believe that the decline in bees is linked to an onslaught of pesticides, mites, parasites and viruses, as well as a loss of habitat and food.

Hanging in mid-air, the descendents of the hunters-warriors of the Himalaya still collect wild honey on the faces of cliffs. Bolo Kesher addresses the tutelary spirit of the cliff with a powerful song. The signal is given, the fire is lit, smoke billows up to the skies. The air fills with buzzing insects flying in all directions and creeping into every spaces. The men protect themselves as they can, under a piece of tarp or wearing a plastic bag as a hat.

The team is in place. At the top of the cliff, two men have tied the braided bamboo ladder. One hundred meters lower, two other men are hanging from it and direct it towards the first nest. Bare handed and bare foot, Bolo Kesher climbs in a cloud of wild bees. The Apis laboriosa, with its beautiful white-striped black abdomen, is the world's largest honey bee but has never consented to live in apiaries. Hit by the sharp edge of the pole, a large orange cake comes loose and heavily falls to the ground. The honey reserve is still clinging to the rock. Bolo Kesher ties himself to the ladder for the most delicate part of the harvest in which the men have to coordinate their effort without seeing each other. The men at the top have to manage the tension of the rope which holds the basket as the guru secures it under the swarm. His son Shimbu, at a small distance, transmits the orders yelling "Muti-Mutiiiii!" from below. A new wave of attack wraps the guru in a dark cloud every time he dips his bamboo spear in the teeming mass of bees. Orders are shouted, the basket comes down, is emptied, rises back up and fills again with golden liquid. The men are covered in honey as if it were raining on them. For four hours, the guru goes from nest to nest handling long poles at arms length moved by indefatigable will. The Laboriosa bees are vanishing - Ten years ago, explains Bolo Kesher, we would spend 26 days on the cliffs. Today, three days are enough, the bees are vanishing. According to the district chief, the first cause is deforestation which deprives the colonies of their source of nectar. Nepalese population has grown threefold in just eight years, forest have paid a dear toll in firewood and land clearing. In the

village, a new law was voted in 2000 which authorizes the falling of a tree only if another one is planted. People started abiding by it four years later, but the neighboring districts show no solidarity as they do not harvest honey.

With the Gbayas of the high plateaux of Adamaoua in Cameroon, night harvests look like sacrifical ceremonies. Joseph Garba Kaigama, 25, is filled with dreams of music and displays exceptional kindness. For the past two years, he has been living in the brush with his wife. Joseph speaks the perfect French he has learned with the three nuns of Ngadoual, who have also opened an internet-cafĂŠ serving 20,000 people. As many young men in corruption plagued Cameroon, he has not been able to find a job in the city. - In the brush, you can always eat. You grow manioc, maize, bananas... And even if you have none of that, there is honey. A long time ago, when the Gbayas fought the Germans, the men could hide in the brush for several weeks subsisting only on honey and water. At the foot of a tree, Joseph shows us the buzzing mass of a colony about to swarm. Further, a tree is literally assailled by bees. Mystery of honey. They have picked this one tree and none of the others, the gatherers, drunk on abundance, buzz around the tree for several hours before suddenly leaving it. - Bees are important to us, explains Joseph laughing, they allow us to make money. But they can sting very weel too, really well! For this reason, the harvests take place at night, bare torsoed, under the light of torches. In Cameroon, beekeeping does not requires a lot. A hand-braided hive, a

little wax at the bottom, a tree to hang it, the bountiful nature provides for the rest. Out of the hundred beehives Joseph owns today, over eighty are occupied which will yield about 900 liters of honey, his only source of cash. In spite of a deadly harvesting method --colonies very seldow survive-- the African bee enjoys a good life in the brush where it finds a large number of flowering trees. Here, it does not have to suffer the effects of intensive agriculture, pesticide. The forest is preserved,, the varroa has not crossed the border... A bee paradise.

In Cuetzalam, on the foothills of the Sierra Madre, the indigenous Tosepan cooperative keeps stingless bees. The Trigona Scaptotrigona is a small black bee barely larger than a ladybug. Looking closely, one can guess it is a good student: long slanted eyes, mobile antennaes, strong legs and a double pair of diaphanous wings larger than its body. But no sting is to be found. Like the Mayan bee, the trigona does not sting, and it deserves it to live with the Nahuat and Totonac Indians. About one hundred clay hives are lined up on wooden shelves against the wall of Ana Rosa's home. She is among the handful of illeterate Indians who have shown great intuition in founding Tosepan Titataniske thirty year ago to market their harvests without intermediaries. Tosepan now counts 5800 families organized in 66 cooperatives. The association sells over 30 tons of organic coffee under its own label every year through fair trade networks. It also produces cinnamon,

bananas, macadamia nuts, peppers, flowers... With one hectare per family, organic farming is a way for Indians to work for a descent life. Self-sustained from its foundation, Tosepan has created schools, a savings and micro-credit bank. Tosepan is working on the setting up of the first indigenous pension plan and offers training to the villagers. Today, Ana Rosa attends a seminar on hygiene in the hive and the therapeutic values of honey. - At 88, I still have so much to learn! The trigona bee does not produce much. About one liter a year of a pungent honey known for its medicinal qualities. The beekeepers sell it to the cooperative for 120 pesos, 8? a liter! As the harvest is done in April, the low period for peasants, Tosepan's goal is to set each family with one hundred hives, enough to ensure income for several months. This policy also benefits coffee as the bees ensure efficient pollination.

At the heart of Argentinian Mesopotamia, the Parana Delta offers apiculturists great abundance of melliferous aquatic plants. Five a.m. A barge loaded with beehives sails into the marshes of the Parana Delta. It is one of the world's five largest deltas --340 kilometers in length and 60 kilometers across-- and it offers a prodigious ecosystem combining tropical and temperate species, a paradise filled with birds, coypus, turtles...Here, emerald colors competes with the blue skies in a maze of waterways, floating islands formed by the rhizomes of aquatic plants, lagunas and canals. On firm land, green is everywhere. Or rather the green desert as it is called. Soy bean has eaten over half the arable land.

The delta is now threatened: soy bean is pushing cattle to the islands, careless slash-and-burn destroys the vegetation which can no longer absorb flood waters or filter pollution. And one has to venture ever further to find the fragile lace of knotgrass, the first melliferous plant of the delta. 160 beehives on their way to the islands. Carlos Cordoba has three jobs. On his shipyard, he has built Bracho, the boat he uses to move his hives and, paradoxically, cattle. After two hours, the boat reaches a tangle of aquatic plants. Made mad by the tremors of the diesel engine, the bees restlessly attack. In full protective gear under a violent sun, the six men of the team lift the hives at arms length and place them on poles before returning to the boat for a ten minute respite until the boat reaches the next island. On the previous day, loading the boat kept them busy until 2:00 a.m. Half of the 160 beehives belong to Carlos, the other half to Aldao, who also breeds queen bees. The sale of queens and swarms allows beekeepers to rapidly increase their herds to face five months of abundant honey production. After a pause with "carne con cuiro", a piece of beek cooked in its skin, they start on their way back to install supers on the hives. The scouts have already informed the foragers that there is plenty to do. The attack is purely formal, the bees have their minds set on more important business. In five months, the fruit of their work will be collected and shipped to Europe for the delight of our taste buds.

Inset

The massive, repeated loss of colonies is now established. What are the main causes of the phenomenon? Scientific research has established a variety of factors: the new generations of coating pesticides; the varroa parasite from Java; the drop in the supply of varied pollen sources; the importation of foreign colonies and their diseases; GMOs producing insecticides and the modification of bee metabolism; droughts caused by global warming; electromagnetic pollution... The loss of bees are all the more difficult to study that there are a variety of possible interpetations. Is it a global phenomenon? It is, but causes can be very diverse from country to country. In France, modern (too modern?) agriculture has produced harmful synergies between pesticides and the decline in biodiversity. In Morocco, beekeepers lack means to combat varroa and bees suffer from the destruction of thyme and oregano. In Turkey, climate changes have resulted in a sharp drop in honey production... What solution could be seen to reverse the trend? Nature is constantly seeking to achieve balance. Unfortunately modern human activities accelerate readjustment processes putting us in a rupture situation. For our bees, the solution has to be found in reasoned apiculture but first of all in a sustainable, organic agriculture which would respect all its pollinating allies.

Gilles Ratia International Apiarian Consultant Chairman of the 2009 Apimondia Conference

« If it turn out to be a disease we will probably find a cure. But if it turns out to be something different, like environmental pollution, then I do not know what can be done. At the moment,all we know is colonies are dying and we simply don't know why. It could be a new disease or a combination of factors. And of course it could turn out what we are seeing in Europe is different to what has been reported in America, although at the moment they look very, very similar ». Dr Max Watkins Vita Limited www.vita-europe.com Technical Director Basingstoke UK « Preliminary work has identified several likely factors that could be causing or contributing to CCD. Among them are mites ans associated diseases, some unknown pathogenic disease and pesticide contamination or poisoning » Dr Dennis van Engelsdorp Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. « Bees are vital to bio diversity. There are 130 000 plants for example for which bees are essential to pollinisation, from melons to pumpkins, raspberries and all kind of fruit trees - as well as animal fodder - like clover. Bee are more important than poultry in terms of human nutrition. Bees from one hive can visit a million flowers within a 400 square kilometre area in just one day. Bees are not only working for our welfare, they are also perfect indicators of the state

of the environment. We should take note. » German bee expert Professor Joergen Tautz from Wurzburg University.

Captions. TheVanishingOfTheBees01 NEPAL/The outside of the comb containing the brood is simply cut off and crashes to the ground, where the men collect the scattered pieces to recover wax and larvae. This type of harvest destroys the colony but is not responsible for the disappearance of 90% of the Laboriosa bees in the Himalayas. Deforestation and the increasing use of pesticides are resulting in a shrinking habitat that is fatal to the bees. TheVanishingOfTheBees02 NEPAL/ The Apis Laboriosa, giant bee of the Himalayas, builds its nests under overhanging rock on cliff faces, near a river. The combs can reach five feet in diameter. TheVanishingOfTheBees03 NEPAL/ Still surrounded by of bees, Bolo Kesher gets ready to cut away the large arc sheltering the brood, to reach the honey reserves located in the top of the nest. TheVanishingOfTheBees04 NEPAL/ Handling the long bamboo poles while under repeated attacks by the swarms requires uncommon composure and self-assurance. For this phase of the operation, the Perengge uses a rope to secure himself to the ladder. TheVanishingOfTheBees05 NEPAL/Barehanded and barefoot, with his face unprotected, the Perengge endures repeated attacks by the bees while hanging in acrobatic positions without anything to protect him from a fall

as he moves along the ladder. Some cliffs bear the names of those who lost their lives there. TheVanishingOfTheBees06 NEPAL/The honey is stored in the bulging part of the nest, attached to the rock. To collect it, the Perengge must position the bamboo basket by maneuvering another pole held at arm's length, underneath the part he is preparing to cut away with the other pole. From the top of the cliff, two men adjust the tension of the rope supporting the basket, guided solely by orders yelled out by Bolo Kesher's son, who is stationed farther off to have an overall view of the site. It is a coordinated effort that is accomplished blindly and on which the harvest's success heavily depends. TheVanishingOfTheBees07 NEPAL/ Because of the nest's structure, comprising a single comb, the honey storage cells of the giant Himalayan bee are five to ten times longer than those of our Apis mellifera, which measure barely more than half an inch. During its annual migration, the Apis Laboriosa can travel for weeks with a minimum of energy resources, traversing 50 to 100 miles between summer and winter nesting sites.

TheVanishingOfTheBees08 NEPAL/A woman prepares her basket to transport firewood. Few of the forests are protected and an increasing population mean more trees are felled each year. TheVanishingOfTheBees09 FRANCE/The roof of Paris' Garnier Opera houses Jean Poucton's seven hives. Since 2004, the French UNAF trade union has developed the program known as "The Bee, the Sentinel of the

Environment" by setting up hives with the support of host cities. It serves to inform the public about bees and increase awareness on the part of the population and its civic leaders about the insect's disappearance. TheVanishingOfTheBees10 MEXICO/STATE OF PUEBLA At the Tosepan cooperative, honey producers meet to address not only the increase in stingless bee livestock, but issues such as health and hygiene. Tosepan's goal is to set up apiaries of 100 hives per family. For Tosepan, organic farming and fair trade are the only possible management technique that can ensure sustainable development. TheVanishingOfTheBees11 MEXICO/STATE OF PUEBLA The guard bees watch over the hive entrance, a veritable runway built of wax. The trigona scaptotrigona populations are primarily established on the central plateaus of Mexico (Sierra Madre). This bee is raised for honey production and coffee-plant pollination. The trigona scaptotrigona is also found in Africa and Australia.

self-financed, Tosepantomin is today a success, with capital of nearly six millions erros. TheVanishingOfTheBees14 MEXICO/STATE OF PUEBLA An Africanized bee gorges herself on nectar and gathers pollen pellets in a datura arborea flower. In fifty years, at the rate of 200 to 300 miles per year, they colonized the American continent, from Northern Argentina to the southern United States. Today, Africanized bees are found anywhere from endemic forests to traditional apicultural zones. TheVanishingOfTheBees15 MEXICO STATE OF PUEBLA In Tulum, in the Yucatan, young Mayans in Western dress visit the famous archeological site. In 1998, Mexico, the birthplace of corn, imposed a moratorium on farming transgenic corn varieties. With three hundred varieties, one would think that Mexico was completely protected from the invasion of transgenics. How long will Mexico be able to maintain this moratorium and keep agriculture from being subject to NAFTA?

TheVanishingOfTheBees12 MEXICO/STATE OF PUEBLA The clay hives of trigona scaptotrigona bees are called "dashkat" in Totonac, which means honey from the jungle or from the woods. Families who still owned two or three ceramic hives began to increase their livestock on a Tosepan initiative.

TheVanishingOfTheBees16 MEXICO/YUCATAN The size of a European bee, the Mayan bee, melipone beecheii, leaves only one very narrow entrance to its trunk hive to guard against attacks by predators and competitors. Yet it continues to disappear as a result of intensive agriculture and competition with the Africanized bee, which colonizes its environment.

TheVanishingOfTheBees13 MEXICO/ STATE OF PUEBLA Nahauat women at the teller counter of the Tosepan savings and microfinance bank (Tosepantomin). Entirely

TheVanishingOfTheBees17 MEXICO/YUCATAN In the Leydi Araceli Pech Martin family garden, the seven women of the "Ah Mucen Kab" association surround the

the raffia-roofed trunk apiary. The association seeks to protect this endemic bee, which is vanishing across the peninsula. TheVanishingOfTheBees18 MEXICO/YUCATAN Melipone beecheii, the Mayan bee. In 1549, the tax to be paid to the Spanish crown consisted of 64,000 pounds of wax and 7,300 pounds of honey, or nearly 44 pounds for 20 inhabitants. Out of the 173 cities of the Yucatan, only ten did not pay with wax and honey. TheVanishingOfTheBees19 ARGENTINA Brand new silos are springing up on farms everywhere. Since the early 1990s, transgenic soy has invaded the Argentinean landscape to the point that it now represents more half of the arable land. This policy led to the concentration of lands, such that 80% of lands now belong to 20% of the farmers. Small farmers that can no longer make their way in this landscape hold insecure positions as farm laborers at best or, at worst, are driven off the land altogether, in what is nevertheless the most fertile land in Latin America! TheVanishingOfTheBees20 ARGENTINA Following in the footsteps of the North American seed manufacturers which upset the agricultural landscape, the major chemical industrialists have found in Argentina a market sustained by soy monoculture. TheVanishingOfTheBees21

ARGENTINA In the hush of daybreak, El Bracho sets off on the canal that traverses the delta. The bees are under the calming protection of a woven covering. TheVanishingOfTheBees22 ARGENTINA The route to be traveled means that the transhumance is carried out under a merciless sun; the bees' aggressive nature means that the men must wear their protective gear throughout the trip. TheVanishingOfTheBees23 ARGENTINA Under the swarms' widespread attacks, unloading and setting up the hives must be done very quickly. The hives remained open due to the heat, and the bees have flown out of them en masse.

TheVanishingOfTheBees24 ARGENTINA El Bracho reaches an island. The banks play a major role in regulating the delta by allowing the vegetation to absorb the excess water brought by periodic floods. Dykes, already widespread in the south, pose a major threat to the future of the delta.

clear grazing land for cattle. This practice is becoming more common as soy farming tightens its grip on the land, greatly impacting the flora and fauna. TheVanishingOfTheBees27 CAMEROUN An adansonii bee colony was spotted in a tree. The Gbayas are sometimes guided by a larva-loving bird, the indicator indicator, which leads them to the nests and, in return, enjoys a share of the harvest. The men don their heavy wood-fiber attire, essential for the day's harvest: this particular species of tree emits a substance which repels bees.

TheVanishingOfTheBees28 CAMEROUN The nest is in a hollow of the tree, more than fifty feet off the ground, meaning the honey-gatherer must make a perilous, unprotected climb, vulnerable to swarm attacks. This harvesting method, performed during the day and without smoke, is becoming less and less common. It dates from the time when the forest was the combatants' refuge in times of war. Honey, water, and a bit of wild yam can provide several weeks' nourishment to those who know where to find them.

TheVanishingOfTheBees25 ARGENTINA No sooner are the hives installed than the scout bees leave to perform reconnaissance flights, followed shortly thereafter by the field bees, to whom they indicated the nectar and pollen sources. The entire hive is soon at work, testament to an extraordinary life force.

TheVanishingOfTheBees29 CAMEROUN The reward after the harvest.

TheVanishingOfTheBees26 ARGENTINA The gauchos burn the island vegetation to

TheVanishingOfTheBees31/33 CAMEROUN Joseph harvests his hives at

TheVanishingOfTheBees30 CAMEROUN Joseph and his wife, who live in the bush, prepare to harvest one their hives, mounted in a tree.

night,

bare-chested and bare-legged to avoid bees getting caught in his clothing. This is a very predatory harvest technique, as it entails destruction of the colony, but the species' dynamism and the exceptional natural environment mean that the bees colonize Joseph's one hundred hives every year. TheVanishingOfTheBees32 CAMEROUN The African bee is well-known for its aggressiveness, which certain odors, such as that of perspiration, aggravate ten-fold. Smoke from a torch of dry grass forces the bees to seek refuge at the bottom of the hive. The wax discs are passed quickly through the flames to kill the attackers. TheVanishingOfTheBees34 CAMEROUN Though quite exceptional in the apis mellifera family, the African bee often nests in the ground. The nest is destroyed during the nighttime harvest using a hoe. The children play a major role in locating the colonies. The entire family takes part in harvesting the honeycomb, which will be wrapped and carried in banana leaves prior to the extraction process. TheVanishingOfTheBees35 FRANCE/ This technique requires sangfroid and trickery. The beekeeper achieves the feat by attaching a cage around his neck in which he has isolated the queen. The bees naturally gather around her to protect her, therefore entering a swarming state, rendering them harmless? TheVanishingOfTheBees36 FRANCE/ A beekeeper with Mont Blanc in the background. This idyllic scene hides the darker reality of the decline of biodiversity.

issue, Franck Aletru has been decorated as Knight of the National Order of Merit.

Pesticides are currently being evaluated by the European Community. There are nearly 600 pesticides in use in Europe and nearly 9,000 products must be evaluated, i.e., authorized for use in the E.E.C. or simply prohibited. The pesticide market in France alone represents some 22 billion euros... TheVanishingOfTheBees37 FRANCE/ Since 1994 and 1995, French beekeepers have observed the rapid depopulation of their sunflower-based colonies. All fingers point to Gaucho, a new neurotoxic insecticide that is applied as a seed coating. The seed is covered in an insecticide coating, which then penetrates the sprout. Carried in the sap, it protects the plant from insects from the roots all the way to the stems and leaves. This type of insecticide is known as "systemic." In the United States, a USDA study discovered traces of more than 25 insecticides on a bee. TheVanishingOfTheBees38 FRANCE/ Franck Aletru was the first beekeeper to denounce the use of Gaucho on sunflower fields as the cause of the loss of half his livestock. It was not until 1999 that Gaucho was prohibited on sunflower crops, and it was spring 2004 before it was prohibited on corn crops and before Regent TS, another systemic insecticide, was prohibited on all crops. Beekeepers fought for more than 10 years for prohibition of insecticides put on the market without meeting the standards in force and with only temporary authorization. Today, for his work on this

TheVanishingOfTheBees39 FRANCE/ The varroa, the parasitic mite from the island of Java, where it lives in parasitic coexistence with the Asian bee, Apis cerana. With commercial activity and the worldwide introduction of our Apis mellifera, known for its honey-producing qualities, the varroa mite arrived in Europe in the 1980s. Today it represents the greatest cause of death to our bees. But American multifactor studies on CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) tend to show that it is only a secondary factor that today is better under control. TheVanishingOfTheBees40 FRANCE/ A queen breeder. Beekeepers, too, are responsible for the proliferation of bee diseases. By using genetic combinations in the quest for the perfect bee that produces ever more rapidly, international exchanges of bees and queens also have meant the importation and exportation of the insect's viruses and pathologies. TheVanishingOfTheBees41 FRANCE/ From inside the hive, one sees the intense activity of the bees. Laden with pollen, the field bees return from their morning flight. During the major nectar flows, there will be more than 25,000 bee sorties in a single day. Between 800,000 and 1 million trips are necessary to obtain 22 pounds of honey. Nevertheless, despite the species' dynamism, CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) is evidence that these bees are today in danger of extinction. TheVanishingOfTheBees42 FRANCE/

A beekeeper set up his hives on an almond orchard, spreading them out to ensure maximum pollination of all the flowers. Bee pollination is worth 2 billion dollars to California's agricultural economy. California tree growers pay up to $150 per hive for three weeks on the almond tree plantations. TheVanishingOfTheBees43 FRANCE/ With the zucchini harvest in full swing, the hives are still in place to ensure pollination. In the United States, the disappearance of the bees is a major problem. The economic contribution of bee pollination on farms is estimated at over 15 billion dollars. TheVanishingOfTheBees44/45 ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION Romanian beekeeping is still very much a family affair. Beekeepers have on average 100 hives and live with their bees. In the United States, many beekeepers have up to 10,000 hives, making it a veritable industry which uses chemicals to battle parasites and tons of sugar to keep the colonies alive. Monoculture causes food shortages in the colonies and does not provide the diversity needed for the bees' health. A vicious circle? TheVanishingOfTheBees46 ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION Romanian farming is still little mechanized. Entrance into the European Community means the worst can be expected in terms of rural migration and rapid modernization, bringing with it environmental destruction. TheVanishingOfTheBees47 ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION Intense bee activity at the hive's entrance. During the major nectar flows, there are more than 25,000 bee sorties in a single

day. Between 800,000 and 1 million trips are necessary to obtain 22 pounds of honey. Nevertheless, despite the species' dynamism, CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) is evidence that these bees are today in danger of extinction.

TheVanishingOfTheBees48/49/50/51 ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION The Romanian beekeepers' specially-equipped trucks crisscross the country as they track floral blooming seasons. Here the "pavillons" are set up near the Ciucurova forest, the largest linden tree forest in Europe. TheVanishingOfTheBees52/53 ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION To ensure an abundant sunflower honey harvest, the Tulcea beekeepers' association on the Danube Delta references the types of sunflower planted each year. Now seed manufactures are coming out with hybrid sunflowers which produce almost no pollen and as little nectar. TheVanishingOfTheBees54 ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION A bee on a sunflower. Fertilizers, monoculture, land consolidation, insecticides, the disappearance of hedges and wild species, water pollution, and climate change pose ever-greater threats to the lives of pollinators. TheVanishingOfTheBees55 ROMANIA/DANUBE DELTA REGION Romanian beekeepers with their hives in a sunflower field. The paradox of beekeeping in an industrialized world. The sunflower produces a great deal of pollen, good quality nectar and honey, but the massive use of pesticides on this monoculture means that contact with this

crop is dangerous for the bee stock. TheVanishingOfTheBees56 FRANCE/ Ile de OUESSANT The Breton black bee conservatory became European scientists' ground zero for bee and pollen samples and study. The island is indeed free from the varroa mite and other bee diseases. The environment is protected from industrial monoculture, pesticides, and biotope degradation.