Buzzed about Bees by John Mace: Part 2 (including a hive update)

Drovers Way Bee Hive Update

One of the hives at Drovers Way has decided they needed to swarm. This was spotted before they swarmed, allowing an Artificial Swarm to be carried out. This allows the beekeeper to keep all his bees without letting them fly off in a swarm, but also allows the bees to create the new colony they wish for. So the number of hives at Drovers Way has increased from 2 to 3, each with their own Queen, laying eggs, with her entourage of workers, drones and forages.

Photo by www.alexanderwild.com

Part 2!

Why do we need Bees?

The relationship between the plants that need pollinating and the pollinators is symbiotic. No pollinators means no seeds.  No seeds means no more plants. There are many crops – in fact about a third of everything we eat – are vegetables, fruit, nuts and plant materials that need pollinating by insects. There are also large numbers of wildly growing plants who need these insects too, from trees, through to blackberries and all the hedgerow plants we love to see in the spring. This interlinked web is what gives us biodiversity. Without the plants to produce fruit and nuts and leaves, the animals (of which we are one) have nothing to eat.  Without them we will live in a dead world. The honey bee is not the only pollinator, but it is one of the most numerous and effective of them. The conditions which allow the honey bees to survive are the same as those which the other bees and insects require too.  Places which are good for honey bees are good for bumblebees. Things that kill honey bees tend to kill other insects too.

What do the insect pollinators fight against?

 All insects need to feed throughout the season. They need to have water and shelter. They need an environment where the chemicals, diseases and pests they encounter do not harm them. Given these things they will survive with little intervention. They then can do the jobs they do so that we can eat. The pests which interact with honey bees range from wax moth larvae which eat the wax and brood, to varroa mites (Below). These breed in the cells and clamp onto the pupae.  They carry diseases and transfer them into the bee as they suck on the bees blood. These could also be transferred to wild populations if not properly controlled in the hive. There are also diseases live European Foul brood that kills off the pupae in the cells.  

Photo by www.alexanderwild.com

There are insecticides which are sprayed by farmers to kill insects which are harming their crops. These can be indiscriminate – killing all the insects they contact – including the good ones. Current arguments are about a family of highly effective insecticides called Neonicitinoids. These are coated on the seeds, and are absorbed by the plants as they grow. There is then enough chemical taken up in the leaves to prevent the unwanted insects from eating them. However labratory research is showing that it also gets into the pollen and nectar and is killing the bees. Although this is yet to be proven in field trials, but as a precaution these are temporarily banned – which means farmers are currently using the older less effective sprays instead, which is a problem in itself! 

Finally there are imported pests like the Asian Hornet that east bees.  This large hornet is now common throughout France – and is heading to the UK. Once it has found a bee colony it will gradually destroy it  to feed the young hornets. An Asian hornet will catch a flying bee on the wing, butchering as it flies home, discarding everything except the nutritious flight muscles in the thorax and feed it to her young.

 

What can we do to help?

In order to maintain this delicate balance of nature there is much that everyone can do, from us in our gardens, farmers, multinational chemical producers and government strategists.  We all need to ensure we plant flowering plants and  trees which will feed the insects.  We need to ensure these provide the food throughout the year in large enough quantities to sustain the insect population.  We need to provide suitable areas of undisturbed land for them to build nests to raise their young for the next generation.  We need to ensure a balance between the need for high intensity farming to meet the needs of a growing global population and not poisoning our insects with chemicals.  We need to ensure that the importation of diseases and pests which could devastate our insect population is prevented.  There are things that already have been shown to work.  Beekeepers who talk to farmers can make sure their bees are locked away when spraying is being done, and then let out a day later when it is over.  We have a national plan to watch for new diseases and pests, and how to isolate them.  But these are dependant on our watchfulness.

Useful information can be found at http://www.bbka.org.uk/learn/general_information

This includes Shrubs for bees and Trees for Bees and many more interesting and useful information sheets.  There is also a government strategy document called The National Pollinator Strategy.

Details for the links are below 

Shrubs for bees link is here :-

http://www.bbka.org.uk/files/library/bbka_shrubs_for_bees_3-way_1306864579.pdf

 

Trees for Bees Link is here :-

http://www.bbka.org.uk/files/library/bbka_trees_for_bees_3-way_1306864371.pdf

 

National Pollinator Stragety is her :-

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/409431/pb14221-national-pollinators-strategy.pdf