Bees are in danger worldwide

Loss of bees with fatal consequences for humanity

04/09/2012

Bees are not perceived as particularly industrious animals for no reason. They make an enormous contribution to agricultural production by pollinating the plants. For years, however, the number of bee colonies in the modern industrialized nations has fallen worldwide. Experts sound the alarm.

The President of the European Society for Bee Research, Robin Moritz, yesterday pointed out the catastrophic consequences of a further decline in the bee population at the launch of the "Eurbee 5" Congress at the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg. "About two-thirds of the food depends on the work of the bees," said Robin Moritz the importance of hard-working insects. An extinction of bees "would fundamentally change the world," continued the president of the European Society for Bee Research. According to the experts, the worldwide decline in the number of bee colonies is mainly attributable to the growing prevalence of parasites and diseases and the decline in the number of beekeepers. The international "Eurbee 5" Congress is expected to attract around 450 beekeepers from 52 countries around the world. Here, the latest findings from the parasite and disease research are presented.

Varroa mite of bees the worst enemy
According to the experts, the Varroa mite has a massive share in the declining bee population. She is according to Robin Moritz the bees "worst enemy". The mite penetrates into the brood or broodstock, where it can develop and multiply optimally. Similar to ticks in humans, the mite attaches itself to the bees and feeds on their blood. About 30 years ago, the parasite was imported from Asia to Europe and has since contributed to the destruction of numerous bee colonies. "Varroa mite is a sustainable problem for beekeepers, who regularly have to treat their peoples against it, so they do not go down," said the president of the European Society for Bee Research. Again and again, a veritable mass extinction of the bees occurred in the past few years, caused by the persistent parasites.

Bacterial diseases as a threat to the bees
Even diseases such as the so-called American Faulbrut, which infested numerous bee colonies in Bavaria in 2011, are a growing danger for the bee populations. Although the spread of American foulbrood in the domestic bee population could be stopped for the time being, but threatened for example in careless handling of empty honey jars in Germany, a recurrence of this bacterial bee disease. For the larvae of the bees, an infestation of the broodstock usually ends in death, so that the bee population would be significantly affected by an increased spread of the pathogen significantly.

Declining number of beekeepers caused declining bee population
The decreasing number of beekeepers, according to the experts has a significant impact on the bee population. According to Robin Moritz, the number of beekeepers in Germany has fallen from two million to around one million since 1990. Less and less young people are interested in the profession of beekeeper. A problem that has taken in Eastern Europe even more far-reaching proportions than in Germany. For the former state-supported honey production in the Eastern Bloc countries is now subject to the rule of the free market economy. For many, the profession of beekeeper is therefore no longer attractive from a purely economic point of view. For the ecological balance, it would have fatal consequences if it could not succeed in reproducing or at least keeping the bee populations.

Latest findings of bee research are presented
According to the initiators, the "Eurbee" Congress is "the most important European platform for bringing together international scientists interested in all aspects of honeybee biology." Numerous plenary lectures and symposia not only highlight the possible threats to the bee population and its Follow thematized, but also fundamental findings in the field of bee research, such as presented to the functioning of the bee's brain.

Climate change affecting the bee population
Another aspect of the "Eurbee 5" is the decline in the number of bee species due to climate change. Around 2,000 different species exist worldwide, according to experts. Many of them live in the tropics and have not been explored until today, explained Robin Moritz. The industrious insects are also found in mountains, desert regions and cooler, barren landscapes. From Scandinavia to South Africa to Kapp the good hope, from Australia to the United States extends their distribution. Bees around the globe make a significant contribution to pollinating the local flora on their flights. Some species specialize in their environment. For example, they can tolerate cold better than others or can cope with a low flowering stock.

Bee occurrence at different altitudes examined
Scientists from the Biozentrum of the University of Würzburg have investigated the distribution of different bees in the Berchtesgaden National Park, highlighting possible effects of climate change on bee biodiversity. The Würzburg biologists led by Bernhard Hoiß analyze the distribution of bee species at different altitudes. "The National Park is excellently suited for this because there are large altitude differences and thus large differences in climate in a small area," explained Hoiß in a press release from the University of Würzburg at the end of August. The scientists had detected at altitudes between 600 and 2,000 meters in the course of a year, a total of 87 species of wild bees, 19 of them from the genus of bumblebees. With increasing altitude (decreasing temperature), the observed biodiversity decreased continuously, according to the researchers. At higher altitudes almost exclusively specially adapted bees were common. "The majority of the species at higher altitudes has only a small distribution area and is adapted to alpine and cool habitats," said the Würzburg researchers. On the lower, much warmer areas, "species richness and the number of individuals was about two to three times greater than in the meadows higher up," said Hoiß and colleagues.

Higher specialization at the expense of competitiveness
Specializing bees in cooler climates at higher altitudes has allowed some wild bee species to develop an ecological niche that could be rescued by climate change. Because the "evolutionary adjustments to adverse climatic conditions in the mountains are at the expense of competitive strength," report the Würzburg biologists. If the more competitive bee species from warmer climes in the wake of climate change in the higher regions, urge the former specialists would be at a significant disadvantage. "Should less cold-tolerant species with similar claims in the habitat of the High mountain specialist "the reduced competitive power could be a disaster for the specialists," explained Hoiß. The result would be a declining biodiversity in the currently more than 500 different wild bee species in Germany. The impact this lower biodiversity could have on plant life in alpine and cooler regions such as Scandinavia, however, remains unclear.

It is clear that the general decline in bee populations would have a significant societal impact if the trend continues. The nutrition of the population would be endangered and at the economic level would cause massive damage. Special protection of the bee population and efforts to expand the bee population seem urgently needed. (Fp)

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