Honey bees, which pollinate many valuable crops, are threatened by parasites, pesticides and development. But selective breeding, more benign pesticides and better nutrition could help turn the tide.
Bees and humans share a long history. But now bee populations are in a worrying decline. So can beekeeping teach us how to live in harmony with the world’s most famous pollinator?
The way the Africa honeybee’s deal with parasites and pathogens can teach western beekeepers and researchers how to adapt their bees to fight diseases.
A honeybee in the Cape region where the American Foulbrood disease is having devastating effects.
EPA/Nic Bothma
Data from all over the globe suggest that bees are in decline, and we may lose a lot more than honey if bees are unable to cope with the changing climate and increasing demand for agricultural land.
Research shows monocultures of crops - such as this canola field - can be bad for the environment.
Peter Hayward/Flickr
Monocultures - vast expanses of a single crop - may look pretty, but mounting research shows they are likely bad for environment. And in turn that’s bad news for farms as well.
After the pesticides we spray, who will be left flying?
John Severns
The UK government is prepared to accept funding for studies on the risks of pesticides to bees and other pollinators from the manufacturers of the chemicals in question. Not surprisingly, this raises uncomfortable…