The extreme weather that hit much of the United States in 2022 doesn’t just affect humans. Heat waves, wildfires, droughts and storms also threaten many wild species – including some that are already facing other stresses.
I have been researching bee health for over 10 years, focusing on honeybees. In 2021, I first began hearing from beekeepers about the impact of severe drought and rain on the health of a bee colony.
Drought conditions in the western United States in 2021 dried up bee forage – the flower nectar and pollen that bees need to produce honey and stay healthy. Heavy rains in the northeast have limited the hours that bees can fly in search of forage.
In both cases, managed colonies — hives that humans keep for honey production or commercial pollination — were starving. Beekeepers had to feed their bees more supplements of sugar water and pollen than they normally would to keep their hives alive. Some beekeepers who have been in business for decades shared that they lost between 50% to 70% of their colonies during the winter of 2021-2022.
It is possible that these weather conditions have also affected both wild and domestic bees. And unlike managed colonies, these important species did not get supplementation to protect them from the harsh conditions.
Each year, the US Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency host federal pollinator experts to share the latest scientific findings about the health of bees and pollinators, and to assess the status of these important insects, birds, bats, and other species. One clear result from this year’s meeting was that climate change is becoming a new and massive stressor on bees, potentially amplifying previously known problems in ways scientists can’t predict but need to prepare for.
Varroa mite pest
Bee health first attracted widespread attention in 2006 with the emergence of colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon in which the majority of adult worker bees in a colony have disappeared, leaving stores of honey, pollen, and some nurse bees behind to take care of the queen and the remaining immature bees. . In the past five years, reported cases have decreased dramatically. Now, researchers are focusing on what beekeepers call the “four elements”: parasites, pathogens, pesticides, and malnutrition, as well as habitat loss for wild and native bees.
It has been one of the most serious threats to honeybees over the past several decades varroa destructive, a lobster-like parasite mite that feeds on the fatty body tissues of honeybees. The adipose body is a nutrient-dense organ that functions like the liver in mammals. It helps bees maintain a strong immune system, metabolize pesticides and survive the winter.
These are vital functions, so controlling mite infestations is essential to bee health. Varroa It can also transmit deadly pathogens to honeybees, such as the deformed wing virus.
Controlling dream numbers is difficult. It requires the use of an insecticide in an insect colony, or, as beekeepers put it, “attempting to kill a bug on a bug.” It’s hard to find a formula strong enough to kill mites without harming bees.
watching Varroa It requires considerable skill and work, and mites can build resistance to treatments over time. Researchers and beekeepers work hard to reproduce VarroaBees are resistant, but mites still infest the industry.
Pesticide Dosages
Pesticides also harm bees, especially products that cause chronic or near-fatal health problems. Exposure to non-lethal pesticides can make bees less able to forage, grow healthy larvae, and fight off viruses and mites.
However, it can be difficult to document and understand sub-fatal toxicity. There are many factors that affect how bees react to agrochemicals, including whether they are exposed as larvae or adult bees, the mix of chemicals the bees are exposed to, the weather at the time of application, and how healthy the bee colony is prior to exposure.
Researchers are also working to understand how soil pesticides affect ground-nesting wild bees, which represent more than 70 percent of the original bee population in the United States.
junk food
For example, uncultivated land is converted into agricultural land or developed all over the world. Large-scale farming focuses on the mass production of a few commodity crops, reducing the amount of nesting and foraging habitats available to bees.
Many farmers often remove pollinator-friendly plants and shrubs that grow around farmland to reduce the risk of attracting animals such as deer and rodents, which can spread pathogens that cause foodborne diseases. Research indicates that these efforts harm beneficial insects and do not increase food safety.
As diverse and healthy bee forages disappear, beekeepers are feeding their bees with more supplements, such as sugar water and pollen substitutes, that are not as nutritious as the nectar and pollen that the bees get from flowers.
Climate change is a force multiplier
Researchers don’t know exactly how climate change will affect bee health. But they suspect this will add to the current pressure.
For example, if pest pressures on farmers escalate, bees will be exposed to more pesticides. Heavy rainfall can disrupt bee foraging patterns. Wildfires and floods can destroy bee habitats and food sources. Drought may also reduce available forage and discourage land managers from planting new areas for bees where water becomes less available.
Climate change can also increase the spread Varroa and other pathogens. Warmer fall and winter temperatures extend the period during which bees feed. Varroa Travel on forage for bees, so foraging for longer provides a greater window of time for mites and the viruses they transmit to spread between colonies. Rising mite numbers in bee colonies into overwintering are likely to cripple the health of the colony and increase winter losses.
Studies have already shown that climate change disrupts the seasonal connections between bees and flowers. With spring coming early in the year, the flowers bloom earlier or in different areas, but the bees may not be around to feed on them. Even if the flowers bloom at their usual times and locations, they may produce less nutritious pollen and nectar under extreme weather conditions.
Research analyzing the nutritional profiles of forage bee plants and how they change under different climate scenarios will help land managers to plant climate-resistant plants in different regions.
Create safe spaces for bees
There are many ways to support bees and pollinators. Planting pollinator gardens with regional plants that bloom year-round can provide much-needed fodder.
Ground-dwelling native bees need patches of exposed, undisturbed soil, free of mulch or other ground covers. Gardeners can clear some land in a sunny, well-drained area to create spaces for bees to dig their nests.
Another important step is the use of integrated pest management, a land management approach that reduces the use of chemical pesticides. Anyone who wants to help monitor native bees can join community science projects and use mobile apps to send data.
Most importantly, educating people and communities about bees and their importance to our diet can help create a friendlier world with pollinators.
This article has been republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin
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