Albert Einstein once said that if bees disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live. Well, that's quite a claim, and if it's true, it has to be a huge worry. Why? Because honey bees, it seems, are slowly starting to disappear off the face of the earth. All the important people are starting to sit up and take note too.  The short video below, “Let's Save the Bees and Ourselves from Extinction,” explains the situation is simple English.

My Notes:

There's no getting away from the fact that the plight of our humble bees is a grave one. It's a global issue, but in this piece we will look at the predicament with the British bees. The problem is Colony Collapse Disorder, which is causing the UK's bee population to die out. Some people in their ignorance might say so what, it's only an insect. Well, let's look at what would happen if the bees were to die out:

• No more flora (a lot of plant life would disappear)
• No more fauna (a lot or wildlife would cease to exist)
• No more eating the way we do (our diet would have to change)

These are such massive changes to life as we know it. And the disappearance of a single species of insect could cause it all. Some experts think that we have 10 years or less to save the bees and ourselves from a catastrophe.  Let's look at a few bee facts:

• The UK alone has about 250 species of bees
• Twenty-five percent are native British Bumblebees
• There are half as many bees in the UK now than there were in the 1950s
• Three species have already become extinct at the time of writing
• Five other species are currently in danger of becoming extinct

The problem every scientist faces is simple in concept. The solution, however, is as complex and unknown today as it was when CCD was first brought to our attention.

What Can We Do to Stop the Decline and Save the Bees

I have put together a 30 step action plan to save the bees.  Even if you can do two or three steps on that list, you will be making a positive contribution to help our pollinator friends.

No one fully understands the main cause of CCD. In actual fact, it's unlikely that there is a single root cause. If there was, scientist would have identified it by now. No, this disturbing problem is more likely to be a combination of many factors. If we have any real chance to save the bees, the following points must be addressed, and soon.

Ways to help the British bees include:

• Discontinue the use of harmful insecticides
• Get active, sign petitions pushing for the ban of harmful pesticides
• Introduce more bee-friendly plants to the soil
• Research more about bees in general
• Develop natural habitat gardens just for pollinators
• Be mindful of the problem and support local beekeepers
• Encourage more people to put up their own “wild bee' houses
• Encourage more people to become beekeepers
• Get serious and passionate about CCD. Lobby local MPs or MEPs

You can read more about the harm insecticides can have on Britain's native bees. It's an abstract from a scientific report. It looks at how pesticides were first thought to be the sole culprit of the reported declines in bee populations. This was particularly the case with neonicotinoid insecticides.

Pesticides and reduced-risk insecticides, native bees and pantropical stingless bees: pitfalls and perspectives.
Pest Manag Sci. 2015 Aug;71(8):1049-53. doi: 10.1002/ps.4025. Epub 2015 May 18.
Barbosa WF1,2, Smagghe G2, Guedes RN1.

Summary

It's not clear whether we will ever find all the contributing factors to Colony Collapse Disorder in the UK, or indeed the world. But what we do know is that doing nothing is not an option. We can all play a part, especially those with gardens.

The easiest way to help is to simply be mindful of the flowers and plants we grow. The more species we have in the garden that the bees love, the better. There is certainly no shortage to choose from. We can also provide the bees with just a single bee house or nesting box. This is not complicated. In fact, most who invest in a bee house or nesting box find that it's a fun and easy thing to do.  Furthermore, they provide an invaluable winter shelter for the hibernating Queen bees. It's also a safe and secure home during those busy spring and summer months.