Some people feel they are a nuisance or a pest, something to be eradicated and avoided, but the tiny honeybee actually plays a huge role in the everyday life of human beings. Now they are in danger. Bees are dying off in massive numbers and scientists are scrambling to find out how to stop the slaughter. One of the culprits: pesticides.
While bees are not the target of most pesticides, they are nonetheless being affected by them. Companies like BASF and Bayer have created chemicals called neonicotinoids, or neonics. Plant seeds are soaked with neonics, which then spread through the plant as it grows, killing any insects that try to eat the plant. Sounds great on paper, right? A plant protected by neonics would stop locusts or other insects that can decimate crops. Bees, however, have become collateral damage in this process. Last year, 37 millions dead bees were found on one California farm alone.
Public outcry convinced the European Union to ban the use of neonics in 2013, but Bayer has fought back with a massive lobbying offensive to get neonics back on the market. Opponents feel the multi-million dollar company is putting profits over people. Promoting a product that could cause the extinction of the honeybee, which is responsible for pollinating a third of the world’s agricultural crops, would not only be very bad PR but could be a blow to the environment that may be beyond recovery. Simply stated: healthy bees equal healthy crops.
Unlike insects that eat and kill a plant, bees actually help plants and are vital to a healthy ecosystem. The bee’s pollinating power is in no way harmful or deadly to a plant, but the defenses in the form of pesticides kill indiscriminately, not able to differentiate between a helpful insect and a harmful one. There are alternatives to neonics, which can still protect a plant without harming the bees.
Bees don’t really want to hurt you, either. Unlike wasps, a bee can only sting once and then it will die, so they are not likely to sting without due cause. Bees are generally a “live and let live” species, and we humans need them to survive.
Featured Image from leandro fregoni/Unsplash
