A complicated set of agricultural, environmental and social factors are destroying our best chance at putting food on the table and surviving as a species. To break down the fluff from the facts, I speak with two researchers to learn more about colony collapse, the importance of wild bee populations, and what readers can do now.

The past decade has given way to many calls for action from a variety of sources, from the US government to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, as honey bee populations continue to decline. Colony collapse disorder (or CCD) is occurring all over the world, eliminating an estimated 10 million beehives since 2013 and causing an estimated $2 billion dollars in damage.

This poses a major problem for civilization as scientists have noted that without these insects, pollination of many fruits and nuts cannot occur. This year has proven more dire, with a report from the University of Maryland finding that 40% of US honey bee colonies have died between 2018-2019. Speaking with two specialists who focus on pollinators, Cameron Newell, Pollinator Conservation Specialist and Bee Better Certified Program Coordinator, and Nathan Donley, Senior Scientist, Center for Biological Diversity, I unpack some of the causes behind this increasingly rapid decline in the honey bee population and learn a few things that we can do to help save and support the remaining ones.

Spray on the Suffering

Scientists agree that there are many reasons for the decline in honey bees, from disease to climate change to industrial agriculture. So it's a multi-pronged problem, with pesticides being a major cause for concern. Commonly used neonicotinoids, used as a foliage spray in apples and pears, as well as a seed treatment in cereals and sugar beets, contaminate parts of the plant that would especially affect the bee, including the pollen and nectar. According to Donley, "they create a pathway that can facilitate how bees are exposed to a chemical known to cause harm." And that's just the start, as insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides can also negatively impact bees. One other class of pesticides that scientists are concerned could become a more important issue in the years to come are fungicides. Donley explains, "Fungicides are becoming more prominent in recent research finding harm to bees. It's becoming clear that some fungicides can actually make insecticides, like neonicotinoids, more harmful to bees by enhancing their toxicity."

No One Crop to Blame

Despite some alarmist reports coming out recently in the media, neither Donley nor Newell would lay the blame of bee death at any particular agricultural product. While certain crops can be more resource intensive (almond farming, for example), Donley and Newell argue instead that industrial agriculture in general is to blame for wiping out plant and ecosystem diversity, which harms bee populations. Newell commented, "In fact, I'd say almond farmers as a group are very cognizant of bee health because of their reliance on them for pollination of their crop."

What is often missed in this story is the destruction of bee diversity, caused by an industrial agriculture system that creates monocultures that crowd out native species. Donley explains, "Any time you convert an area of land from a diverse habitat to a monoculture, you are destroying the amount of land an insect can utilize. Many native bees are specialists, meaning that they only pollinate one or a few species of plants. They have no use for corn or soy or wheat and those crops destroy native plant communities that once thrived."

Bring back the Wild Bees

Why are native bees important? The honey bees often discussed are known as "managed," they are agriculture animals and are crucial for crop growth and development, but unfortunately are only a part of the story. Some 4,000 bees are native to the US, many of which are the kind of specialist pollinators that Donley describes above. When we lose those specialist pollinators, we lose native plant species. Donley notes, "We have so many species of bees that are overlooked because they don't have an economic component to their lives. But they are so vital to what makes our country beautiful and unique. The lack of diversity in bee species could be another major cause and a potential solution."