The Decline of our Honeybees

March 6, 2023 By Suleima

Honeybees-the little buzzing creatures that we see every summer, the ones that everyone fears not wanting them to sting us and fleeing at the sight of them. This is the reaction for most people when they are approached by a sweet little honeybee. However, most people do not know the benefits these hardworking bees give not only to us, but to the whole world.

Honeybees-where do they live and what’s being affected?

Honeybees are known to live in heavy forested areas such as some here in Ontario, they also like to live in gardens, meadows, and any other places that offer them plants and flowers. These habitats that they live in are being affected because of their decline in numbers. Animals like birds and squirrels that eat nuts, fruit, berries need the bees to pollinate their food for it to grow and multiply, sadly if bees aren’t around to do these animals will face consequences like starvation.

Varroa Mites:

Varroa mites are mites that can be found here in Ontario, they are the main reason that our honeybees are currently facing extinction according to Dr. Veenstra from the “This.” article, “What does the bee decline mean for civilization?” Varroa mites are about 1.1mm long and are a pest that attach themselves to the body of the honeybee as shown in figure 1. They hurt and eat the honeybees body fat, as well as give them viruses like DWV (Deformed Wing Virus) that can eventually kill them, and if given time can kill the whole colony.

What does this decline mean for humans?

“One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators, especially bees, for a successful harvest.” says Elizabeth Grossman from the article, “Declining bee populations pose a threat to global agriculture.” Honeybees are a very important species for not just our agriculture, but for the whole world. According to Erica Browne Grivas from Birds and Blooms, 85 percent of plants and trees (including food producing trees and plants) rely on pollinators to survive and maintain a successful bloom. If our honeybees keep declining, the possible long-term effects could be a significant loss in the world’s agriculture, affecting everyone.

First nations peoples

As said, everyone in the world will be affected by the decline in bee populations including first nations peoples. Indigenous reserves are wonderful homes for honeybees to live in because of their strong natural vegetation but if that ecosystem losses the bees, its ecosystem will not be able to recover, just like the rest of the world from the significant loss of the pollinators.

What about the honey!?

Wait-What about honey? Most of us love it, the sweet substance that goes great on things like fruit and toast. But if there aren’t any honeybees around, where’s the honey going to come from? Canada alone produces 75 million pounds of honey per year! (According to the Canadian honey council) and if there aren’t enough bees around, the money in that industry is going to severely drop.