What can we do to prevent Honey Bee mortality?
Mitigating climate change and other harms to bee populations
Mitigating climate change and other harms to bee populations
On this page, I will suggest some possible strategies, based on my research and personal opinion, by which we can attempt to ameliorate the potentially negative effects that climate change will have on Honey Bees, as well as ideas about how we can address some other problems they currently face.
1. Climate Warming Mitigations
Since changing season phenology is due to climate warming induced by anthropogenic effects [16], it would make sense to address these root causes first and foremost. These solutions are largely familiar to us, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing waste and consumption, and taking small steps in our personal lives to take care of the Earth. Other solutions include Geoengineering strategies to temporarily mitigate temperature increases and the harmful effects that increased atmospheric carbon has had on the earth [18], as well as measures to protect species which are at risk for endangerment because of climate change.
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There are certain pesticides that are known to have deleterious effects on Honey Bees, especially a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids [1]. Pesticide use is already associated with pollution and a host of other ecological problems, and partially due to concern over their use, the public's interest in organically grown food has been steadily increasing in the US. Therefore, stopping the use of pesticides which are fatal to Honey Bees would address several food production and environmental issues simultaneously.
3. Encourage beekeeping and sustainable beekeeping practices
Today, one of our greatest resources in the study of honey bees is also one of our most significant opportunities to protect them- the practice of managed beekeeping [6]. Bee farmers who understand the best practices by which to manage hives and collect honey, and whose interest rests just as much in combating the depletion of bee populations as well as maintaining their agricultural and economic role, are very well suited to the task of preserving bee colonies and promoting pollination. Offering incentives to qualified beekeepers, consolidating their approaches with national conservation efforts, and utilizing them more as a resource to map the phenological and ecosystem effects of climate change, will help the US to protect and study bee colonies.
4. Promote awareness of Honey Bee importance
Despite efforts by agricultural agencies and conservation groups, many people are still largely unaware of exactly how important bees are to our nation's agriculture, or even how important bees are to smaller communities and ecosystems. Additionally, beyond the initial fervor around CCD, the public has largely ceased to be concerned with the rapid decline of the Honey Bee population. Increasing awareness of these continuing issues, and the far-reaching implications they have for human society, could inspire more concern and action towards not only Bee conservation, but also climate change in general.
5. Habitat Relocation.... to metropolises, like Boston?
An interesting solution (urban, rooftop beekeeping!) is proposed by Noah Wilson-Rich in this brief and entertaining TEDTalk:
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