Bees play a crucial role on Earth - some even claim that if they go extinct, humanity would
be next. So with the dramatic decline in bee population, should we be worried? What happens
if the bees all die?
Simply put, if a plant produces a flower, you can bet that bees help them reproduce.
This long-standing, working relationship evolved with flowers being bright and fragrant to
attract bees, and the bees fuzzy, velcro-like bodies helping them to efficiently transfer
pollen from the male part of the plant to the female part. This seemingly simple mechanism
is directly responsible for the production of 70% of fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts
that we consume on a daily basis. 70%! Which translates into almost $200 billion in global
agriculture revenue. This huge responsibility is accomplished by droves of commercial bees,
reared by professional beekeepers for the sole purpose of being transported to farms
and orchards to pollinate crops.
But since 2006, these hardworking, busy bees have been mysteriously disappearing. This
Colony Collapse Disorder has seen an average of 1/3rd of commercial bees abandoning their
hives. In fact, some beekeepers have even reported that 90% of their bees have simply
buzzed off.
In some colonies, mites, viruses and parasites have been to blame, but many are now looking
at a class of insecticides called neonicotinoids. This neurotoxin is used to kill off crop eating
insects and pests, but also affects the central nervous systems of bees when they consume
contaminated nectar. And since nectar is brought back to hives, the entire colony can be affected,
leading to mass confusion and disorientation. On top of this, other factors such as extremely
cold and long winters, a lack of genetic diversity in commercial bees, and less variable nectar
in the fields may be at fault.
If the trend continues, entire food chains and webs may be at risk. Take almond plants
for example; the hulls of these nuts are used as feed for farm cattle and chickens. Fewer
bees means fewer almonds, which could mean declining livestock, and ultimately less milk,
cheese, eggs and meat production. Not to mention almonds are used in cereal, baking and many
other food products. Beef and dairy cows would also be harshly affected by the vanishing
alfalfa fields which are used to harvest hay for cattle. Looking for a morning buzz? Considering
bees pollinate Coffea arabica, whose seeds we grind for coffee, you can count that out.
Without bees, our diet would consist of mostly corn, wheat and rice, as they are wind pollinated
plants.
Like your clothes? Not only is cotton the biggest cash crop in the US, it also makes
up about 35% of the world’s fiber use. So you can forget those blue jeans, towels, mattresses
and high quality paper products.
Simply put, we’d be living in a completely different world without bees, not to mention
suffering a substantial economic strain from their disappearance. So while we may not necessarily
go ‘extinct’ should the downward trend persist, a world without the buzz of bees
would definitely…sting!
Want a free copy of our NEW book? Now you can get one from Audible.com/asap which is
the leading provider of audiobooks with over 150,000 dowloadable titles across all types
of literature. Our book just came out this past week and it covers a ton of questions
that have never been answered in our videos which we’re so excited to share with you!
You can download it, or another audio book of your choice, for free, at audible.com/asap.
Special thanks to Audible for making these videos possible, and to YOU for continually
supporting our show and science education. It means a lot!
And if you missed our Live SCIENCE stream last week where we performed the Periodic
Table Song live and answered your burning questions, be sure to check it out here, or
by using the link in the description.
And subscribe for more weekly science videos.