This week Friends of the Earth (FOE) launched their Bee Cause petition calling for a National Bee Action Plan to stop the steep decline in bee numbers.
Picture by Jorge Quinteros under the Creative commons license
As the Farmers Guardian states a Reading University report has found that the decline in Bees could have severe economic as well as environmental consequences costing the UK possibly £1.8 billion a year.
They state that “Britain has lost more than half the honey bees kept in managed hives and wild honey bees are nearly extinct. Solitary bees are declining in more than half the areas they have been studied and some species of bumblebee have been lost altogether.”
The price of the loss of pollinators can be seen in China where pear trees and other plants have be pollinated by hand because of the loss of insects due to intensive farming. If the decline in bees is allowed to continue here similar schemes would massively increase the cost of food, or make some foods simply unavailable.
FOE are calling for the government to take the issue seriously before its too late taking action to encourage the bee population and act against pesticides that harm their environment.
A FOE spokesperson also said that “individuals can also play their part, by planting trees in the garden like ivy, holly, hazel and willow; which are around all year round. Herbs like marjoram, thyme and chives which can be grown in a window box are also good as they provide food for bees all year round, and flowers like crocuses, snowdrop, primrose and foxgloves.”
1 Comment
As you know the reason for the decline in bee populations (known as colony collapse disorder) was proving hard to find. There was an article in Le Figaro of 7/8 April 12 which says that the molecule imidaclopride might be the cause. This molecule is found in insecticide and has been found in the sugar which US bee keepers, in particular, feed to their bees in winter. If this insecticide does turn out to be having an effect on bees then hopefully numbers will improve again once the formulation is changed.
For my part I grow borage and comfrey as well as vegetables on my allotment just to attract and help bees and one plot on the site has been left wild for the benefit of all wildlife..