For World Bee Day on 20 May 2024
Gosh, when are you going to wake up?
World Bee Day on 20 May 2024
From the perspective of an Aiderbichler
(written by Gisela Pschenitschnig)
Once the bee disappears from the earth, humans will only have four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more people.
– Albert Einstein
The effects of climate change are worrying not only for humans, but also for honey bees and wild bees in particular.
According to various studies, the population of so-called flying insects in Germany has decreased by around 70%. For the industrious bees, the changes in temperature are particularly horrifying.
The changing climate is causing problems with food procurement, honey bees are increasingly timing their hatching incorrectly. The spread of pests such as the Varroa mite is increasing. This mite is mainly responsible for bee losses.
Wild bees are even more affected by the “decline” than honey bees. Due to the loss of nesting sites, the use of pesticides in agriculture, etc., the mortality rate of wild bees is becoming increasingly devastating.
How do honey bees and wild bees help themselves in a changing climate?
The honey bee can adapt to climatic conditions. Bee colonies regulate the temperature in their hive, i.e. on hot days they regulate the temperature to “cool”.
The real danger for honey bees is the shift in the flowering phases of plants. These phases start earlier every year and are no longer synchronised with the bee colony.
Climate change is bringing new parasites that are increasingly jeopardising the survival of bee colonies. For example, the Asian wasp and various infectious diseases are spreading among bees. The well-known Varroa mite spreads mainly in the brood cells. The brood cells normally develop during the warm season. As winters become milder and milder, bees sometimes brood in winter, allowing the mite to spread more and more.
The bee and the farmer are also under mutual stress. Frequent rain shifts the mowing season. The bee has to relearn: it has to adapt its pollination system to the climatic conditions. This is a difficult process and does not work overnight.
Protecting bees through rethinking and biodiversity
Man must learn to create many hedges, avenues, flower strips and the like. They are all sources of food for bees and all the other insects. Biodiversity means restoring nature, combating the decline of important pollinators, utilising urban green spaces, greening roofs, avoiding pesticides, etc.
Without the deed, knowledge is like the bee without honey.
– Johann Gottfried Herder
Human, when will you wake up? – Sincerely, Your Gisela
