The fate of bees was the subject of a very enlightening talk by Professor Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex, to Rother Environmental Group (REG) on Tuesday May 29 at the George Hotel in Rye.
Entitled “Saving Bumblebees” the talk really caught the attention of his audience, who filled the room. It demonstrated the interest and concern there is in the fate of the bumblebee and indeed all sorts of other insect life.
The content of the talk is too detailed to do anything other than give a flavour of what was said. Professor Goulson is an engaging and entertaining speaker, and has enormous knowledge of his subject, so any other talks by him should be recommended.
Introduced by Dominic Manning of REG, Professor Goulson opened with some wonderful illustrations of these beautiful insects, explaining that there are 25 different species living in Great Britain. I had never realised that bees are solitary creatures, who look to nest in any small mammal burrow or tree hole. The queen bee goes looking for holes and takes in with her a ball of pollen to feed the brood. She shivers to keep them warm and to develop them. When they hatch, the offspring are divided into female workers and male bees whose only purpose is to mate. At the end of the year, the whole nest dies off, queen, workers and males and the whole process starts again.
Living around here, there are three types we are likely to come across: Leaf cutter bees, which literally cut neat, semi-circular holes in leaves, to take back to the burrow, sew with a silk thread into a tube and thus construct their nest. The hairy footed flower bee is quite large, and the cuckoo bee behaves just like the cuckoo bird does, usurping another bee nest and murdering the offspring hatched there. Professor Goulson included pictures of Asian and American bees, to show off the amazing colouration of bees from other parts of the world
Of the 25 species, four or five are more common here, but if you really want to see numbers, go to the eastern end of the Himalayas, near south west China, where there are more than 60 species. It is here that they are thought to have migrated across continents. Bees are not cold blooded, as is so often assumed. They do not like hot weather, and produce their own heat and regulate their own temperature. In fact, some species live in the Arctic circle!
Because of their energy needs and their food source being only pollen or nectar, bees need lots of the right kind of flower. Here we got into complicated country as to the correct type of flower. Most bedding plants are of no use as food sources, nor very closed flowers, such as modern roses. An open shape helps the bee reach the pollen and nectar. More information can be found on the RHS website, though it isn’t entirely foolproof.
The threats presented to the bumblebee are from three main causes:
- Disease
- Loss of habitat
- Pesticides
Professor Goulson then presented a very gloomy picture of the decline in the population of these creatures. It is mainly due to humans moving bees across continents, introducing new diseases from European bees to Asian bees and vice versa and so introducing killers. In particular, the Varroa mite and a single cell fungus called Nosema Ceranae, which arrived from Asia in the last couple of decades, are of particular concern. Humans are entirely responsible for this indiscriminate spread.
Loss of habitat, is another reason, with 99 % of hay meadows and chalk downland now lost. Subsidised farming has led to intensive methods, which makes the planet hostile to all insect and other forms of wild life, but is seen as necessary to feed the planet, and is done following advice from agronomists as to the most effective and efficient way to get a high yield.
Pesticide use is the most controversial of the three. Intensive crop growing is reliant on pesticide and fertiliser use. The University of Sussex has been working with farms to see exactly what use is being made of these products. For example, an oilseed rape plant will be subject to 22 different pesticides fungicides and fertilisers during its growth season, and the seeds are pre-treated before planting. The banning of the nicotinoids could be changed as we leave the European Union, and subsidised farming may also change then, but of course we are moving into the unknown. We were shown examples of the rise in the use and the subsequent deterioration in the insect world of this particular group of pesticides.
It was also explained that plants bought in the large garden centres contain pesticides and fungicides, which transfer to the bumblebees through the food chain. This provoked a lot of interest at question time. We learned that the seeds of such plants will still contain some of the products and it takes about three years to clear.
We saw the pictures from China of hand pollinating fruit trees, because there were no longer insects to do it, and the development of mechanical drones to pollinate, which seemed quite extraordinary, when we could perfectly well use natural resources.
So, what can we do? It is possible to help all the insect species that we need, with thoughtfulness and more knowledge.
Restoration and recreation of flower-rich meadows or garden areas is relatively simple. Stop mowing your grass for a start and persuade councils to leave roundabouts and road edges alone. Locally, there is a bumblebee restoration project, as well.
Spread the word about these issues, especially to our schoolchildren who on the whole do not go outside as they used to do. Engage them in wildlife and insect friendly gardening, perhaps. Promote wildlife and insect friendly gardens of your own. Build a bee hotel, to provide nest sites for these solitary insects, and engage in the debate about different methods of farming, smaller fields, more labour intensive even if food does becomes more expensive.
A lively question time followed, and Professor Goulson’s books were eagerly snapped up, beautifully illustrated and fascinating, too, if this talk was anything to go by. He was thanked by Dominic Manning and was promptly surrounded by eager questioners. If he comes again, try to go and listen to him.
Photo: Gillian Roder