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Built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world's best publishers, Epic safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under.

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online access fun thousands children great kids ebooks books

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Built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world's best publishers, Epic safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under. Get Started

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Amazing Time-Lapse: Bees Hatch Before Your Eyes | National Geographic

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Open May 15 - Sept. 18, 2021!

Brought to you in partnership with Idlewild Butterfly Farm.

Back by popular demand! Experience hundreds of graceful native butterflies sipping nectar from colorful flowers, basking in the sunlight, and flying freely as you wander through our 1,000 sq. ft. outdoor flight house located in the Africa Zone across from the bongo exhibit.

Bring a camera to capture your encounters with these delicate, brilliantly colored creatures. You'll emerge with a sense of awe and a better understanding of the environment and protections needed for the survival of these important pollinators - plus, learn ways to help them thrive in your own backyard.

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Open May 15 - Sept. 18, 2021! Brought to you in partnership with Idlewild Butterfly Farm. Back by popular demand! Experience hundreds of graceful native butterflies sipping nectar from colorful flowers, basking in the sunlight, and flying freely as you wander through our 1,000 sq. ft.

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Make a Bee Hotel - The Pollinator Garden

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How to make Make and manage a Bee Hotel to accommodate solitary bees such as Mason Bees and Leafcutter bees in your garden

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There are more than 4000 native species of bee in North America, many of which can be found working alongside the well-known honey bee ( Apis mellifera) pollinating plants. The honey bee, while very important to agriculture, is a nonnative species; it was brought to North America from Europe and is now considered "naturalized" (established and widespread in the wild, though not indigenous)open_in_new. Bees are incredibly busy, not just collecting resources for themselves but also pollinating trees, shrubs and wildflowers, as well as most agricultural products -it is estimated they are responsible for pollinating one third of our food supply. With the recent decline in many pollinator species, and an increase in public concern, it is important to understand the ecology of these beneficial insects so we can better provide appropriate habitat for them.

The history of agriculture and the sole use of the honey bee for pollinating services has lead to risky farming. These days many growers are relying on the exceptional pollinating power of local solitary bees. The video above describes how these bees are so efficient.

Photo © One Tam, S. Rae, deedavee easyflow, Bob Peterson

Prior to the introduction of honeybees, native solitary bees were the most ubiquitous bee pollinating in North America; today these species pollinate side-by-side in most ecosystems. Unlike the social, hive-nesting honeybees, solitary bees nest as individuals. Most are ground nestersopen_in_new like bumble bees and sweat bees, but many, namely mason bees and leafcutter bees, are cavity nesters. Cavity nesters lay their eggs in small holes-like those in wood made by birds and insects, or in dried hollow reeds or stems. They start by filling the back of the cavity with nectar and pollen then depositing an egg and sealing it with mud or chewed leaves in a mason-like fashion.

In the image above of a European red mason bee ( Osmia rufa) nest, you can see the pollen, the translucent egg, and the mud used to line and seal each chamber. The female will fill a nest tube with individual chambers then seal the end and will not share a nest tube with another female. Larvae develop inside the nest, nourished by the pollen-nectar ball. After spinning a cocoon and pupating, new adults become dormant and remain in the cocoon until the next spring. Since the resources these bees need are natural and easy to provide, we can help support solitary bees by providing flowering habitat in our landscapes. These efficient pollinators are likely to return the favor and improve pollination in our personal gardens.

Solitary bees are gentle, easy to attract, and are very efficient pollinators known for their energetic nectar harvesting techniques. As a solitary bee, they do not live socially in a communal hive. The cellophane bee, above, is a solitary bee that makes its nest in bare ground. Another common type of solitary bee to attract to a garden are the mason bees. There are about 140 species of mason bees across North Americaopen_in_new. The males do not have a stinger, and the females will only sting if trapped or squeezed. This makes them an ideal neighbor for the home garden, since they pose little threat of stinging. Mason bees are cavity nesters and you can invite them, and their pollination services, to your garden by providing a bee house.

A bee house is a simple and attractive addition to any yard or garden space that will provide habitat for solitary cavity-nesting bees. A bee house is simply an artificial nesting structure that mason bees, and other solitary bees, can use to lay their eggs. Ideally, a bee house provides a safe space away from predators, weather, and chemicals-all of which can interfere with a successful reproductive cycle. You can find bee house for sale online and sometimes in gardening stores and nurseries. Although many styles of commercially made bee houses are available, a large number of the designs may unintentionally put bee larvae at risk. Plastic or glass tubes can hold moisture, promoting fungus and bacteria. The necessary hole diameter is sometimes specific to local species, having an inappropriate sized tube hole can promote parasites and predation, and the designs often offer no way to clean or replace used cavities.

An excellent option is to build one yourself. There are several common designs but it is important to make sure you can open the bee house or remove the tubes after they are filled. Some plans create a bee house by drilling holes into stacked blocks of wood, shown here. Others bind cardboard or paper tubes, or dried-out hollow plant stems together in decorative containers. Both options mimic the habitats bees would naturally use to nest in and will allow you to monitor the house and replace parts as necessary to make sure you are providing a safe place for nesting bees.

To build your own bee house:

Start with a frame. A wooden box that's open on the front side is a good place to start. Include a roof or cover to deflect rain. The frame should be about eight inches deep to fit long tubes.

The bee house should be closed on the back end (i.e. only one entrance). The holes should be two to ten mm in width to accommodate multiple species of native bees. If you get them too big, you may attract predators like wasps and ultimately endanger the bees that you've invited into your yardopen_in_new.

Tubes can be paper or cardboard, bamboo, or hollow reeds. If you remove invasive reeds like Japanese Knotweed or Phragmites, these make good hollow stems when cut and dried. A win-win!

Make sure your bee house is firmly fixed to a wall, a tree, or the ground; it should not shift around or sway in the wind.

Place the bee house in the sun, facing south or southeast to catch the earliest morning heat, as mason bees require morning sun to warm up and get going.

Photo © Ron Cogswell

Although cavity nesting bees will nest in holes drilled into blocks of solid wood -this mimics beetle holes in branches and logs, it is not the recommended method for making bee houses. Solid blocks of drilled wood do not allow for opening or cleaning and allow pests and pathogens to build up and contaminate your bee house. In nature, cavities are rarely used twice by a mason bees helping to minimize the exposure of larvae. If you do use drilled blocks they should be replaced each year; or, you can use replaceable cardboard inserts and paper tubes like the native bee house pictured. Inside the drilled holes, you can see the white paper tubes that can be removed and replaced after the nesting season.

Inviting mason bees and leafcutter bees to use the bee house you've provided will require the appropriate habitat surrounding the nest. Bees need pollen and nectar, and lots of it. Solitary nesting bees need up to four times the amount of pollen and nectar for reproduction than hive nesting beesopen_in_new. They do not want to travel far to get it either, usually staying within 100m of the nesting area. That means they need a diverse native flowerbed nearby with plants producing blossoms from March to June for spring mason bees and from June to August for summer-season leafcutters. Include native fruit-producing trees like cherries and crabapples, specific to your region, which have some of the earliest blossoms of the season and asters and goldenrod to extend the blooms into fall. Native plants are important to pollinators because they have the morphology that allows bees efficient access to nectar and pollen; and, native plants can contain chemical compounds bees seek out to self-medicate to combat mites and pathogens.

Pro Tip

Bee-friendly native perennials can be found in your ecoregion guide that you can find by entering your zip code under the Explore Tab.

It won't take long for locals to discover this convenient nesting place and take-up residence. Natural nesting locations, like logs, and snags are often a limiting resource in many areas where such dead and dying wood is considered undesirable and is removed. Providing bee houses in your gardens helps to return an essential part their resource needs. The bee house above is, you can see, quite successful. The mason bees are just finishing up the final seals at the end.

To be successful, cavity nesting bees need quality mud and leaves to separate each chamber and to seal off the end to protect from predators and parasites. Mason bees need moist clay soil, free of gravel, grains of sand, or bark, within 50-100 feet from the nest. Providing mud may be as easy as digging a small hole somewhere in the garden, about a 10 inches deep to get past the topsoil and get down to the mineral clay. If your soil is sandy, rocky, or too dry, you can provide the right mud from another source by filling the hole with it. A lack of clay-like mud is a large reason bee houses are unsuccessfulopen_in_new.

Harvesting cocoons may be the key to bee abundance and health. Like birdbaths, nest boxes, and other habitat features, attracting wildlife to your yard comes with the responsibility of making sure they are not being lured into a trap. It should take no more than a couple hours to harvest and clean the cocoons from a colony of 25-40 tubes. This process will help ensure the hard work your mason bees have put into rearing young will be both successful and will increase the number of active pollinators in your garden the following year. Harvesting the cocoons from a bee house protects them from being eaten by birds or parasitized by wasps. It will help you control the environmental conditions during their dormant period and the timed release of new bees in the spring.

Harvesting bee cocoons from your bee house.

Spring mason bees will fill the tubes by the end of spring. To protect against predation and parasites, once you see the holes plugged and no more activity around the house, remove the tubes and put them in a safe place (like under an inverted bucket or a cardboard box with a few holes in the top). Then, replace the tubes. Summer leafcutter bees, shown here, are just emerging from their cocoons from the year before and will continue the pollinating and cavity nesting. Collect and protect their full tubes in the fall and store them in a cool dry place for the winter.

In the fall you can open your spring mason bee tubes or open the stacked blocks and remove the cocoons. You may find little black drops of larvae waste or other tiny, sometimes colorful, spots which are various types of mites. To remove, place in tepid water, gently rub, rinse in sieve until water runs clean, and place on paper towel to air dry. Examine, and repeat if necessary. Place the dry cocoons in a breathable container and store in a cold dry spot. A refrigerator is a good place. The larvae are dormant and the cold temperatures allow them to use fewer resources.

Interested in spreading the word about native Pollinators?

Visit our Bee Care Outreach Materials section and download a powerpoint that you can present to your local gardening or conservation group, nieghborhood, or friends and family. Quick Guides are also available to keep track of key information and seasonal timing of raising native Bees.

In the spring, when there are flowers to pollinate, remove your bees from the refrigerator and place near your clean and empty bee house, with nearby native flowers and mud resources. Place a third of your cocoons out every two weeks to prolong their pollinating season and to avoid losses from a late frost or other environmental pressures. Your new bees will help support your garden and use the bee house you've provided to continue the cycle, increasing your pollinator power annually.

How to add a solitary bee house to your map

Photo ©

First, place the bee nest object on your map. It is located in the Tool Shed under Third. Scroll to the right using the arrows on the toolbar that pops up to find bee nest. Click the bee nest once to select it. Then click on the map where you would like to place it and drag it open to the size you'd like. You can always change it's size and position using the lock/unlock from editing box.

Photo ©

Double click on the bee nest to add important data and show off your conservation efforts. You can give your bee house a name in Basic Information. Then click Characteristics to tell us about it.

Bee Nest Season Letting us know when you have nesting bees helps to identify the types of pollinators you are promoting.

Bee Nest Hole There are a number of materials and set-ups that can mimic the natural environment native solitary bees use for nesting. Let us know how you prepare your bee house.

Cocoons Harvested Harvesting cocoons in the fall helps protect the pupae inside from predation, parasitism, and, often, the harsh effects of the elements.

Don't forget! You can also make comments about the bee house and upload pictures of it. We want to see you busy bees at work.

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Habitat Feature: Bee Houses | Habitat Network

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There are more than 4000 native species of bee in North America, many of which can be found working alongside the well-known honey bee ( Apis mellifera) pollinating plants. The honey bee, while very important to agriculture, is a nonnative species; it was brought to North America from Europe and is now considered "naturalized" (established and widespread in the wild, though not indigenous)open_in_new .

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Louisville's place to be for bug & butterfly lovers

A totally unique urban farm & insectarium

We are a working farm - we just have tiny livestock! From butterflies to beneficial insects for biological pest control, the entomologists at Idlewild Butterfly Farm have been rearing insects since 2009 and open to the public since 2015. It's the place to be for bug, butterfly, and nature lovers.

Kentucky's Professional butterfly farm

We raise our own regional native butterflies on our dedicated butterfly farm. Visit us to see how butterflies are raised, learn the importance of wild pollinators, learn about pollinator and butterfly gardening, buy butterfly garden plants, or purchase butterfly life cycle kits!

Bizarre and beautiful bugs

There's more than just butterflies at Idlewild Butterfly Farm! Our facility is also home to our USDA-approved insectarium where we house and raise exotic insect species from all over the globe. Visitors can experience some of the most bizarre and beautiful insects out there.

eco-friendly business

We are committed to promoting sustainable and ecologically-friendly agricultural practices, from insecticide alternatives to pollinator habitat cultivation. Our gift shop features curated goods from small vendors and fair-trade imports.

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We are a working farm - we just have tiny livestock! From butterflies to beneficial insects for biological pest control, the entomologists at Idlewild Butterfly Farm have been rearing insects since 2009 and open to the public since 2015. It's the place to be for bug, butterfly, and nature lovers.

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Bee extinction: Why we're saving the wrong bees

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Wings of Life

You may not realize it, but we owe most of our fruits, crops and flowers to animals. Yes, animals. All day long in the growing season, insects and other creatures carry pollen from flower to flower, fertilizing them in the process and helping to feed the planet.

Oh, sure, wind and water carry pollen, too. But their role is tiny, compared to the work done on the wing. Bees lead the pack as living pollen transport units. Other important pollen carriers - or pollinators - include flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, hummingbirds and bats.
So consider: When you help feed pollinators, you help sustain the world.
Watch a stunning video on the beauty of pollination.

Remember how it works? (It's okay. We needed a refresher, too.) A stalk-like structure called the anther, located in the male part of a flower (called the stamen) makes pollen. For fertilization to occur, that pollen has to get to a flower's female part, called the pistil (where seeds are made).

This is where a bee, bird, bat or other creature comes in. When the animal stops at a flower to feed on nectar or pollen, some pollen grains stick to its body. At the next flower stop, some of those grains brush off on the top of the pistil, called the stigma. Pollen grains on the stigma grow tubes down to the ovary, and fertilization begins. Mission accomplished.
Don't worry. There's no test. You can help feed pollinators even if you don't remember the fine points of plant biology. Every effort counts.
See a video on flower pollination.

Bees are the ultimate pollinators - focused on their job and built for it, too. Other insects, while important to the process, move pollen more by chance.

"Bees are the only insects deliberately seeking pollen as a food; it's their main source of protein," explains Wedge Watkins, retired wildlife biologist at Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Missouri. "All these other animals are visiting the flower to get at its nectar. In the process of that, they stick their face or some other body part into the flower and accidentally get pollen on them."

Bumblebees have developed an ingenious method to get pollen: They shake it loose by vibrating at just the right frequency - called buzz pollination. Some bees are specialists - able to use pollen from only one kind of flower.

Most bees also stock their nests with pollen to feed their young. "They store it in a variety of places - on their legs and on their abdomen," says Watkins. "They carry it back to nest, mixed with nectar. They deposit it in ball shape and lay an egg on it. The egg develops into larva. The larva eats that pollen and pupates into an adult."

Female bees do all the pollen gathering, and have hairy legs and abdomens adapted to the task. Male bees are thinner and much less hairy; their primary job is fertilizing the female and creating the next generation.
When you see bees buzzing in your wildflower garden - or around the flowers on your windowsill - it's a sign things are going right.
For many Americans, the first warning sign that pollinators might be in trouble came from reports - beginning in 2006 or so - of losses of honeybee colonies. Although honeybees are not native pollinators (more on this below), they face some of the same stressors as other pollinators.

These include habitat loss, disease, parasites and increased pesticide use. One group of pesticides, called neonicotinoids, arouses particular concern. These, in wide use since the mid-1990s, make whole plants - including their nectar and pollen - toxic to insects.

In response to the bee-loss reports, the U.S. Agriculture Department began conducting annual surveys of honeybee colony health in 2009. USDA surveys showed that the number of managed U.S. honeybee colonies dropped from 5 million in 1945 to 2.5 million in 2014.

For people more focused on the health of native bees, the picture is less simple. "We have little or no population data on the 20,000 species of native bees in the world," says Watkins. This includes the 4,000 or so species in the United States.

The monarch butterfly, beloved by many, has become a symbol of pollinators in trouble.

For decades, hundreds of millions of the familiar orange-and-black butterflies flooded the continental United States and southern Canada each spring and summer upon their return from Mexico. Their population has dropped by as much as 80 percent in recent years. That decline has coincided with the widespread loss of their host plant (milkweed) and nectar sources (wildflowers) and the increased use of neonicotinoids tied to agriculture and development.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with schools, communities and partners across the nation to plant more native milkweed and other nectar sources.

In August 2014, the Service received a petition to list the monarch under Endangered Species Act. The Service is expected to make a recommendation on the request by December 2020.

In the meantime, there are some things you can do to help.
One good first step: Plant some wildflowers. Even a pot of coneflowers can help.
"Making a space for wildflowers at any level is helpful to pollinators," says Watkins. That holds true, he says, "whether you have a farm, a garden or you're in an apartment in the city and setting out a pot of black-eyed Susans on your balcony or windowsill."

While monarch caterpillars rely solely on milkweed for food, the adult butterflies feed on many different kinds of flowers. Ensure a continued nectar supply by planting a variety of flowering plants. Include plants that flower at different times of the growing season. Find out which plants are right for your part of the country here or here.
Perennial plants that attract hummingbirds include bee balms, columbines, trumpet creeper, daylilies, cardinal flower, sages and lupines.
Birds can be pollinators, too. In the continental United States, hummingbirds are especially important pollinators of wildflowers.

Hummingbirds seek out nectar-producing plants by color, not by smell. They're attracted to the colors red, yellow and orange.

Surprised? Don't be. Bats are important pollinators, too. "More than 520 flowering plants depend on bats as pollinators," says Micaela Jemison, communications director for Bat Conservation International, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the world's 1,300-plus bat species. "Many species of bats have elongated snouts and long tongues specially adapted to eating and dispersing pollen."

In the desert Southwest, the agave plant relies mainly on long-nosed bats to pollinate its flowers. The tequila industry relies on the bats, too; without agave reproduction, there would be no tequila.

Read more about bats as pollinators here.

Read about some of the other animals that can be pollinators, too.

Honeybees are not native to North America. European settlers brought hives with them for honey production in the 1600s. Today, commercial honeybees play an important role in the production of many important crops.

But many see honeybee decline as a danger sign for native bees and other pollinators.

"The reality is that because honeybees are an agricultural commodity, they have political horsepower," says Watkins. "Without the attention being paid to honeybees, we probably wouldn't have attention being paid to native bees."

In February 2017, Bombus affinis, aka the rusty-patched bumblebee, earned a dubious honor. It became the first bumblebee species to be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Once abundant across 28 states, the rusty-patched bumblebee has declined dramatically since the late 1990s. Now, only a few small, scattered populations remain in nine states and one Canadian province.

Placing the bee under federal protection, said retired Service Regional Director Tom Melius, "will help us mobilize partners and focus resources on finding ways right now to stop the decline" and save the bee from extinction.
Contact your local refuge to find out how your group can take part in a pollinator planting effort. Scroll down this page to see listings by refuge name or zip code.

Members of Girl Scout troops 5912 and 6149 display soil-covered hands after starting 80 native plants at San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The 2015 planting was meant to help monarch butterflies and other native pollinators. (Photo: Lisa Cox/USFWS)

Restoring native habitat - including milkweed and wildflowers - comes naturally to national wildlife refuges. Refuge staff involve school groups and Scout troops in planting efforts. While kids get their hands dirty, they learn how they're helping pollinators and why that matters.

Here are some Refuge System properties with pollinator gardens that you can visit.

In Philadelphia, Terry Williams from John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum helps community activist Regina Young create a raised bed for a new neighborhood pollinator garden. Williams is the refuge's Student Conservation Association community crew leader. Young is executive director of Empowered Community Development Corporation, a neighborhood nonprofit. (Photo: Lamar Gore/USFWS)

Many refuges also help local communities build pollinator gardens closer to home.

Working together with neighborhood partners, urban refuges in cities such as Philadelphia and Houston are using such projects as bridges to area residents who are eager for more connections to nature.

Want to help your community create a pollinator garden? Here's how to get started.

Many schools across the country are joining "Save the Monarch" efforts by creating pollinator gardens in their schoolyards. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers help and guidance to some of these school efforts.

Save Our Monarchs, a Service partner, offers free milkweed and pollinator seed packets to all schools that sign up for its pollinator garden program.

Some resources on pollination:
Monarch Watch
Monarch Joint Venture
Xerces Society
Pollinator Partnership
Journey North
Pollinators (USFWS)
Save the Monarch (USFWS)

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Wings of Life | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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You may not realize it, but we owe most of our fruits, crops and flowers to animals. Yes, animals. All day long in the growing season, insects and other creatures carry pollen from flower to flower, fertilizing them in the process and helping to feed the planet.

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A glimpse into our Sanctuary at Battery Park in NYC.

Our Bee Sanctuaries consist of honeybee hives and/or native bee houses placed in zoos, urban farms, and other green spaces where they serve as valuable environmental and educational resources. Host locations provide protected habitat that includes food and nesting sites for bumble, mason, carpenter, leafcutter, honey and other bees, and sites are maintained by The Bee Conservancy's dedicated team of Sanctuary Beekeepers.

By placing Bee Sanctuaries in public places, we invite communities to

observe bees in action, fostering public support for critical pollinators while bolstering local biodiversity.

Through programming that includes educational talks, classes, wildlife walks, citizen science initiatives and more, our Bee Sanctuaries engage thousands of people, inspiring environmental stewardship while educating on the importance of bees.One third of our Bee Sanctuaries are placed in close proximity to urban farms or community food gardens where they'll help increase crop yield and support local food systems.

We eagerly look forward to expanding our Sanctuary sites. If you are interested in hosting or funding a Bee Sanctuary, please contact us.

Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan (NYC) Established: 2012
The largest cathedral in the world, St. John the Divine is renowned for its community-focused programs including performances, exhibitions, a soup kitchen and its annual St. Francis Day Blessing of the Animals, in which creatures of all shapes and sizes are brought to be blessed. The cathedral grounds are home to three peacocks and a family of red-tailed hawks, as well as our gentle honey bee hives, which were installed in 2012 as part of a "Blessing of the Bees" ceremony performed by the Right Reverend Mark S. Sisk, then Bishop of New York. Nearby school groups visit the hives under the guidance of our beekeepers, who teach the children about the environmental connections between bees as pollinators and the cathedral's Biblical Garden.

BeeVillage: The Battery
Location: Lower Manhattan (NYC)
Established: 2011

Nestled among the skyscrapers of the Financial District with views of the Statue of Liberty, The Battery is an urban oasis that is home to a public park, our BeeVillage apiary, and an urban teaching farm that engages schools and donates to food banks. BeeVillage houses four honeybee hives that pollinate The Battery's 195,000 square feet of perennial gardens and farmland. Each hive is designed to reflect the architectural journey from New Amsterdam to New York City, from farmhouses and Dutch-style step gables to tenement-style apartment buildings, designed under the guidance of artist and beekeeper, Jan Mun. The white beehive in the front pays homage to the John Bowne House, a historic home built in 1661 that is one of the oldest in New York City and the oldest in Queens.

The Urban Farm on Governors Island
Location: Governors Island (NYC) Established: 2018
A quick ferry ride away from Manhattan and Brooklyn, Governors Island is a former Army and Coast Guard command center turned innovative model of culture and sustainable design. Now a popular destination for arts, recreation, education, and dining, the Island's commitment to the environment manifests through its Zero Waste philosophy and nurture of community organizations like those at The Urban Farm. Here, alongside lavender fields, compost projects, farm animals and teaching farms lies our Bee Sanctuary. With honey bee hives, native bee homes, and planted flower beds, our tranquil space invites visitors to observe bees in their native habitat and pause amid lush greenery, taking a much needed break from city life. In its first year alone, the Bee Sanctuary was the site of more than 20 educational and community events.

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Fashion Institute of Technology
Location: Chelsea, Manhattan (NYC) Established: 2017
One block away from Manhattan's bustling Penn Station sits an ecological haven six stories above the busy sidewalk. Our honey bee apiary sits on the green roof of the iconic education institution, which has more than an acre of blooming sedum and is part of a pollinator corridor that includes Madison Square Park, the Flower District, and the High Line. This Bee Sanctuary introduces future fashion and beauty industry leaders to sustainable, natural methods, as beekeepers share how to harvest bee-derived resources for projects, products, and designs. Each year, students help harvest the honey, which has been bottled and also used in an FIT-branded lip balm. Our honeybees also aid the Natural Dye Garden at FIT by pollinating rooftop plant life, as well as potentially offer a new source of natural dye through bee pollen and propolis.

The Queens Zoo Training Apiary
Location: Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens (NYC) Established: 2019
The honey bees in our apiary at the Queens Zoo keep good company situated in the llama and alpaca field, and they've even provided honey and honeycomb to feed the Zoo's Andean Bear. When they aren't flying over iconic landmarks like the Unisphere and Arthur Ashe Stadium, home of the U.S. Open, they serve as educational stewards during public hive inspections and pollinate the Zoo and park grounds. Our bees and children's magazine, Abuzz! News from the Hive, has been integrated into the Zoo's educational program, serving audiences in the most diverse county in the nation. This training apiary is used in our Beekeeping Apprentice program the ins and outs of managing a hive. We have also provided the Zoo with native bee houses for their pollinator gardens.

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Staten Island Zoo
Location: Staten Island (NYC) Established: 2019
A force in New York City's green efforts, Staten Island is home to the 2,800-acre Greenbelt and Freshkills Park, a public park developed atop a landfill reclamation project. It's also the site of the Staten Island Zoo, touted as the "First Educational Zoo" for pioneering the inclusion of education goals into its mission in the 1930s. The 8-acre oasis houses two honey bee hives where our beekeepers host Q&As and explain hive inspections to curious visitors. Our Bee Sanctuary is also integrated into the Zoo's annual Pollinator Palooza, social media storytelling, and is a site of our BeeBlitz citizen science events.

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Prospect Park Zoo
Location: Brooklyn (NYC) Established: 2020
Fruit bats and butterflies aren't the only pollinators at the Prospect Park Zoo. The Bee Conservancy has two honey bee hives in the butterfly garden that help pollinate local lush foliage, the Zoo's fruit trees and vegetable garden, and the 52-acre Brooklyn Botanic garden next door. The 12-acre zoo averages 300,000 visitors annually, and in addition to experiencing rare animals, they can learn about plants the horticulture team chose to attract migrating birds, bees, and butterflies. Prospect Park is home to 59 native bee species, which is 28% of all bee species east of the Mississippi River.

Hell's Kitchen Farm Project

Location: Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan (NYC) Established: 2021
Hell's Kitchen Farm Project is an urban rooftop farm in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, managed and run by volunteers. HKFP is the outgrowth of community discussions concerning nutritional security, especially scarcity of affordable fresh produce, in Hell's Kitchen. Their mission is to create a more food secure urban community through collaborative farming, education, and community initiatives. They do this by growing fresh food on a previously underutilized rooftop for distribution through a local food pantry, providing community nutritional education, and organizing a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The 8′-tall Empire State Building beehive was created by COOKFOX architects.

Central Park Zoo - Currently Closed
Location: Central Park, Manhattan (NYC) Established: 2019
Lions, tigers, and bees - oh my! The country's second oldest zoo resides in Central Park, the green oasis at the heart of Manhattan's concrete jungle. Here, in this 6.5-acre wildlife refuge that gets one million visitors a year, our apiary helps pollinate the lush gardens within the Zoo and surrounding park lands, supporting local ecology and the Zoo's vital conservation work. Though not on public display, our hives have been incorporated into educational opportunities like the 2019 Conservation in Action Camp for 9th - 12th graders. In addition to learning about animal husbandry, vet care, and global ecosystems, students learned about the importance of pollinators in urban spaces and ways they can help protect the environment.

News Roots Community Farm - Currently Closed
Location: South Bronx (NYC) Established: 2020
Originally a Sponsor-a-Hive recipient in 2018, beekeepers from our Beekeeping Apprenticeship now manage the honey bee hives at the International Rescue Committee's New Roots Community Farm in the South Bronx. New Roots is a food security program that focuses on giving participants the opportunity to grow their own produce for their family or for sale in a market, providing support to community members who hail from all over the world. By helping resettle refugees and immigrants displaced by war or political crisis, they foster dignity and celebrate heritage through farming and beekeeping. Our bees help pollinate crops, and in 2018 provided the farm 100 pounds of honey.

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A glimpse into our Sanctuary at Battery Park in NYC. Our Bee Sanctuaries consist of honeybee hives and/or native bee houses placed in zoos, urban farms, and other green spaces where they serve as valuable environmental and educational resources.

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NewBees - Robotic Pollinator | Solar Powered Honey Bees..! | Agriculture Robotics

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Colony Life of a Honey Bee

Life in the colony is entirely dependent upon the time of year. Honey bee colonies can get all of their resources from flowers. As a result, the life cycle of the colony follows the life cycle of flowering plants in the environment. Every spring honey bees start to build up their work force in preparation for the bloom of spring flowers. In the summer, honey bees ramp up resource collection and are at their largest and most active. In the fall, bees start to slow down collection as the temperatures start to get cooler and flowers start to become less abundant. Honey bees survive the winter, without flowers, by eating the honey they made during the spring, summer and fall. A large honey bee colony is an impressive sight. European honey bees, Apis mellifera, common to Europe and North America, can have colonies containing over 60,000 individuals.

Are All Bees Female?

Not all bees are female. There are three types of honey bees within a hive: the queen, the workers, and the drones. A queen bee is the only female bee in the hive that gets to reproduce. Worker bees are all female, and are all offspring of the queen. But there are males in the hive called drones. Drones fly off to reproduce with other young queens who will start a new colony.

Is It Good to be a Honey Bee Queen?

A queen's primary duty is to lay eggs. In order to maintain a large colony a honey bee queen lays on average 1500 eggs per day.

Honey bee colonies only have a single queen, and every bee in the colony is her daughter or son. Queens are easily recognized by their large abdomens and the retinue of workers bees that follow her around. If a second queen appears in the colony the workers will either force the invading queen out of the hive or the two queens will fight until only one is left standing.

Honey bees start out as eggs, which then hatch into larvae and later turn into pupae-similar to caterpillar cocoons. The pupae then develop into the fuzzy adult honey bees you know so well. Developing from a larva to an adult worker honey bee usually takes about 21 days.

What Do Female Bees Do?

All honey bee workers are female. These workers change the tasks they do as they age-kind of how we change what we do as we get older: first we stay at home, then we go to school and then work. Young honey bee workers first do tasks inside the nest like take care of the queen and young larvae. Young bees also produce wax from glands on their abdomens and build all of the structures you see in the nest. How long each bee works at a certain job will change depending upon the needs of the colony. Usually after a few weeks inside the nest, workers will transition to outside tasks and take their first flight. The last task a honey bee worker performs is foraging. Forager bees leave the nest and collect nectar, pollen and water.

Adult honey bee foragers will usually live another 30 days after they begin foraging, about 51 days in total. This is because foraging is one of the most dangerous tasks in the colony. Outside the nest foragers are exposed to all the dangers of the outside world. They could be attacked by predators, lose their way back home, get caught in a wind storm, fall victim to diseases or pesticides in the environment, or any number of other dangers. In the winter when the worker bees huddle inside the nest for warmth, they can live for over 6 months.

The Life of a Male Bee (Drone)

Male bees are called drones and do not have stingers, unlike most of the female bees you see.

Male bees are only around for a few months out of the year. They can look a bit strange with their large eyes, which surround almost their entire head. Their eyes are big in order to spot queens while flying. The male's only job is to spread the genes of their colony. They leave the colony every day in search of potential new queens looking to mate.

What Is a Honey Bee Swarm?

Have you ever seen a honey bee swarm? When a honey bee colony gets too big or runs out of space the colony will swarm. The workers build special wax cells to raise a new queen. This new queen will then inherit her mom's old house, and take over the duties of laying eggs. The original, older queen will take half of the workers and leave the nest.

A honey bee swarm is just the old queen and some of her workers looking for a new home. The bees together with the queen pick a location, usually on a branch or side of a building and all hold onto each other. At the same time, scouts in the swarm are sent out to look for a new place to build a nest. If you see a bee swarm, avoid disturbing it but do not be afraid. It will not be there for very long. Once the scouts come back the bees together will decide which is the best location for their new home, and then all fly to the new home together.

Life Outside the Bee Colony

Most of the bees leaving the nest are collecting resources to bring back to the colony. Bees will fly upwards of 2 kilometers (1.3 miles) to collect nectar and pollen from flowers. The bees use nectar to make honey which is the primary energy source for the adult bees and for growing bee larvae. The bees collect pollen which is fed to bee larvae as a source of protein to help build big strong young bees. In return for the pollen and nectar, flowering plants get pollinated-allowing them to produce fruits and seeds.

Bees also collect water for drinking and cooling the nest. Bees were the first animals to invent air conditioning. They use evaporative cooling and their wings to pump air into and out of the nest to maintain their ideal temperature during hot summers.

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Life in the colony is entirely dependent upon the time of year. Honey bee colonies can get all of their resources from flowers. As a result, the life cycle of the colony follows the life cycle of flowering plants in the environment.

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How the bees act when they reject the queen new beekeepers don't miss this

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Animals you might not know pollinate flowers

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Animals you might not know pollinate flowers

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http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150514-extraordinary-pollinators

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About 87% of flowering plants are pollinated by animals. These include wild flowers and those used by people for food and medicine. Thousands of bee species are pollinators for a huge variety of plants, and many other insects - flies, wasps, beetles, butterflies - are all vital for the transfer of pollen from one flower to another.

Plants and animals have been co-evolving for millions of years. Some flowers are generalists and are visited by many species, while others are specialists, having adapted to co-exist with specific animals.

So what species are some of nature's more unusual pollinators?

They're often overlooked, but about 9% of mammals and birds are thought to pollinate plants.

Most recently, Cape grey mongooses and large-spotted genets, which are both carnivores, surprised researchers in South Africa when they were captured on remote video visiting - and pollinating - sugarbush plants (Protea).

The scientists' findings are published in the African Journal of Ecology.

"The fact that they're part of the Carnivora [an order of mammals that mainly eat meat] was surprising," says Dr Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen, a researcher from the University of Cape Town, who worked on the study. "They're [usually] going after lizards and frogs and insects - not really flowers."

The stubby plants' open bowls of nectar - which give off a cheesy, sour-milk like perfume - are frequently visited by rodents. Mongooses and genets are probably only occasional visitors, but these larger mammals might help spread the pollen much further across their expansive ranges.

The discovery that these meat-eating mammals help pollinate sugarbush plants comes not long after news that, around the world, mammal and bird pollinators are heading towards extinction.

Exactly what attracts mammals to these plants still needs to be investigated, says Dr Steenhuisen.

But the nectar is probably a "sweet treat" for the otherwise carnivorous mongooses and genets. "They don't rely on [nectar]", she explains. "It's kind of like offering candy to a kid."

Unlike baboons, which also love nectar but which simply pick the flower, take a bite and throw it away, genets and mongooses definitely appeared to be pollinating the plants.

"On the cameras we could actually see their faces covered in pollen - they are definitely picking up pollen."

"The [flowers'] stigmas actually just stick straight up. So anything pressing against the flower will deposit pollen."
Sweet-toothed sengi
Another smaller South African mammal with a taste for nectar is the Cape Rock sengi ( Elephantulus edwardii) - a member of the strange-looking elephant shrew family.

They have been shown to prefer nectar over other food, even though they are primarily insectivores.

The animals - which are more closely related to elephants than to shrews - extract the sweet liquid from flowers of the Pagoda lily plant ( Whiteheadia bifolia) in rock crevices with their long, slender tongues while their faces become covered with pollen.

I have always loved the thought of this intimate relationship having been developed between the iconic traveller's palm and the black lemur

While many ground plants benefit from small mammals' pollination, some flowering trees rely on similar relationships with tree-dwelling or flying mammals.

One of these animals is the lemur - which is among the world's largest known pollinators.

Black lemurs (Eulemur macaco) in Madagascar have been recorded dipping their paws into the flowers of the traveller's palm and other trees to extract nectar, or pushing their snouts into the centre of flowers to drink from nectar chambers. They also lick pollen from plants' stamens.

Anne Yoder, director of the Duke Lemur Centre in Durham, US, says: "I have always loved the thought of this intimate relationship having been developed between the iconic traveller's palm and the black lemur."

The ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata) is thought to feed at traveller's palms too. And suggests the tree is specialised for large, non-flying animals. Its large flowers are surrounded by tough leaves that take strength to open, and they provide copious nectar to sustain a large animal.

Bats are probably the best known mammal pollinators. Hundreds of plants rely on these busy, flying nectar lovers to spread their pollen at night, especially in tropical and desert environments.

Bat pollination, known as chiropterophily, occurs in flowering plants including cocoa, mango, guava, banana and agave - the plant used to make tequila. And the baobab tree relies almost solely on bats for pollination. As the furry mammals seek a sugary nectar drink, their faces become covered in pollen, which they transfer to the next flower.

Bats are lured in to these large, pale flowers that open at night, not by how they look, but by the fruity smell they give off. Some species show extreme adaptations for nectar collections, such as the tube-lipped bat in Ecuador, which is the owner of an extraordinary tongue that's over one and a half times its body length, used for reaching into deep petals.

In reptiles, around 40 lizard species are known pollinators, including skinks, geckos and wall lizards. This type of pollination is usually associated with island ecosystems, where resident reptiles tend to include nectar and fruit as part of their diets.

In Fernando de Noronha, an archipelago off northeast Brazil, the 25cm-long Noronha skink or "little dragon" (Euprepis atlanticus) laps nectar collected in the base of flowers in the leguminous mulungu tree.

Researchers suggest the lizard - which enjoys a varied diet that also includes animal corpses - is attracted to the liquid for its energy-giving diluted sugars and water content, possibly because the island has no natural fresh water during the dry season.

As the lizards lap up nectar, pollen from the flowers' anthers (the part of the stamen where pollen is produced) sticks to their scales. Nectar is probably a bonus for this species as there is usually plentiful other food available.

In birds, hummingbirds are famed for their pollinating role but perhaps more surprisingly, parrots visit and pollinate flowers too.

The swift parrot (Lathamus discolour) depends on flowers from the Tasmanian blue gem tree (Eucalyptus globulus) - migrating hundreds of miles across Australia to breed around the trees in Tasmania.

The colourful birds have evolved to become specialist nectar and pollen feeders and are thought to be more effective pollinators than insects at these trees, transferring large amount of pollen on their head feathers and bills.
Swift parrot (Lathamus discolor) by Ernst Vikne.

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Animals you might not know pollinate flowers

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About 87% of flowering plants are pollinated by animals. These include wild flowers and those used by people for food and medicine. Thousands of bee species are pollinators for a huge variety of plants, and many other insects - flies, wasps, beetles, butterflies - are all vital for the transfer of pollen from one flower to another.

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https://www.pollinator.org/pollinators

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Pollinators need you. You need pollinators.

Without the actions of pollinators, agricultural economies, our food supply, and surrounding landscapes would collapse.

Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. They also sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce.

Pollinating animals travel from plant to plant carrying pollen on their bodies in a vital interaction that allows the transfer of genetic material critical to the reproductive system of most flowering plants - the very plants that

bring us countless fruits, vegetables, and nuts,

½ of the world's oils, fibers and raw materials;

prevent soil erosion,

and increase carbon sequestration

This nearly invisible ecosystem service is a precious resource that requires attention and support - - and in disturbing evidence found around the globe, is increasingly in jeopardy. Pollinator Partnership (P2) urges you know how this system supports you, and how your actions can help support healthy and sustainable pollination.

What is pollination?

When a pollen grain moves from the anther (male part) of a flower to the stigma (female part), pollination happens. This is the first step in a process that produces seeds, fruits, and the next generation of plants. This can happen through self-pollination, wind and water pollination, or through the work of vectors that move pollen within the flower and from bloom to bloom.

Who are the pollinators?

Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees are pollinators. They visit flowers to drink nectar or feed off of pollen and transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot.

Why are pollinators important?

Somewhere between 75% and 95% [ 1] of all flowering plants on the earth need help with pollination - they need pollinators. Pollinators provide pollination services to over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1200 crops. That means that 1 out of every three bites of food you eat is there because of pollinators [ 2, 3]. If we want to talk dollars and cents, pollinators add 217 billion dollars to the global economy [ 4, 5], and honey bees alone are responsible for between 1.2 and 5.4 billion dollars in agricultural productivity in the United States [ 6]. In addition to the food that we eat, pollinators support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils, protect from severe weather, and support other wildlife [ 7].

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THEIR STATUS?

Pollinator populations are changing. Many pollinator populations are in decline and this decline is attributed most severely to a loss in feeding and nesting habitats [ 8, 9]. Pollution, the misuse of chemicals, disease, and changes in climatic patterns are all contributing to shrinking and shifting pollinator populations. In some cases there isn't enough data to gauge a response, and this is even more worrisome.

How can you help?

Pollinators need help, but we know how to help them! P2 scientists and research partners that have been studying pollinators for over three decades have been able to show that conservation techniques work. If everyone - home owners, local governments, national governments, and private industry - made the effort we could change the future for pollinators and secure our own.

HABITAT AREA COUNTS

Make room for pollinators on your land

Adding natural habitat areas into farm systems works. Farms that are closer to natural habitat produce more crop yield [ 9] because they attract more pollinators [ 10]. Adding habitat to farms systems works too - farms that have turned a potion of their fields into green space have gained back more overall yield [ 11]. Home owners can help too! Home gardens can and do attract pollinators [ 12], and in many cases suburbs and cities have been shown to have more diverse pollinator communities than nearby wildlands [ 13, 14]. Pollinators don't seem to be phased by city life, as long as there are plots and patches of flowers they will be visited by hungry bees [ 15, 16]. Pollinator gardening near community gardens also increases urban agricultural yields [ 17]. If you build it, they will come and help you get bigger and better crops too!

PLANT THE RIGHT PLANTS

Research has shown that local native pollinators prefer local native plants [18, 19].

Fortunately P2 has complied planting guides that helps you select the right plant for the right spot [ 20]. Plant the right plants on highway rights of ways, farms, schools, home gardens, corporate landscapes and on public spaces. It really will matter for all of us.

DON'T STOP THERE!

Spread the word about the importance of pollinators.

Support Farmers and Beekeepers by buying local honey and locally produced organic foods.

Donate to support Researchers so that they can help fill in the blanks, the more we know the more we can help the bees!

Join Pollinator Partnership as a member.

The Supporting Science

1. Ollerton J, Winfree R, and Tarrant S (2011) How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals? Oikos 120:321-326.

2. Klein AM., Vaissiere B, Cane JH, Steffan-Dewenter I, Cunningham SA, Kremen C (2007) Importance of crop pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 274: 303-313;

3. Buchmann S, Nabhan GP (1996) The Forgotten Pollinators. Island Press, New York.

4. Gallai N, Salles JM, Settele J, Vaissiere BE (2009) Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline. Ecological Economics 68:810-821

5. Losey JE, Vaughan M (2006) The economic value of ecological services provided by Insects. Bioscience 56: 311-323.

6. Southwick EE, Southwick L (1999) Estimating the Economic Value of Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) as Agricultural Pollinators in the United States. Journal of Economic Entomology 85:(3):13

7. Costanza R, d'Arge R, de Groot R, Faber S, Grasso M, Hannon B, Limburg K, Naeem S, O'Neill RV, Paruelo J, Raskin RG, Sutton P, and van den Belt M. 1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387:254-260.

8. National Research Council of the National Academies (2006) Status of Pollinators in North America. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.

9. Kremen C, Williams NM, Thorp RW (2002) Crop pollination from native bees at risk from agricultural intensification. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA. 99:16812-16816.

10. Klein AM., Vaissiere B, Cane JH, Steffan-Dewenter I, Cunningham SA, Kremen C (2007) Importance of crop pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 274: 303-313.

11. Morandin L, Winston ML (2005) Pollinators provide economic incentive to preserve natural land in agroecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 116(3-4):289-292

12. Matteson KC, Ascher JS, Langellotto GA (2008) Bee richness and abundance in New York City urban gardens. Annual Reviews of the Entomological Society of America 101:140-150

13. Winfree R, Griswold T, Kremen C (2007) Effect of human disturbance on bee communities in a forested ecosystem. Conservation Biology 21:213-223

14. Cane J, Minckley R, Kervin L, Roulston T, Williams N (2006) Complex responses within a desert bee guild (hymenoptera: apiformes) to urban habitat fragmentation. Ecological Applications 16:632-644

15. Wojcik VA, McBride JR (2011) Common factors influence bee foraging in urban and wildland landscapes. Urban Ecosystems, DOI 10.1007/s11252-011-0211-6.

16. Wojcik, VA (2011) Resource abundance and distribution drive bee visitation within developing tropical urban landscapes. Journal of Pollination Ecology. 4(7): 48-56, http://www.pollinationecology.org/articles/jpe_2011_vol_4_48.pdf

17. Werrell PA, Langellotto GA, Morath SU, Matteson KC (2009) The Influence of Garden Size and Floral Cover on Pollen Deposition in Urban Community Gardens. Cities and the Environment. 2 (1) http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cate/vol2/iss1/6/

18. Frankie GW, Thorp RW, Schindler M, Hernandez JL, Ertter B, Rizzardi M (2005) Ecological patterns of bees and their host ornamental flowers in two northern California cities. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 78:227-246;

19. Frankie GW, Thorp RW, Hernandez JL, Rizzardi M, Ertter B, Pawelek JC, Witt SL, Schindler M, Coville R, Wojcik VA (2009) Native bees are a rich natural resource in urban California gardens. California Agriculture 63:113-120

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The Pollinator Partnership is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization and the largest in the world dedicated exclusively to the protection and promotion of ...

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https://www.science.org.au/curious/everything-else/bees

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Dr Boris Baer

Essentials

Bees make more than honey. Around one third of what you eat is pollinated by bees

The annual economic value of pollinators is worth between US $235 to $577 billion globally

Bees are dying and their colonies are collapsing across the world, including in Europe and the United States

Bees face a number of threats including parasites, pathogens, agricultural pesticides and malnutrition, poor beekeeping practices and climate change

Scientists and beekeepers are worried that it won't be long until the Australian bee industry will be in real danger; with many already reporting increased difficulty in keeping their bees alive

Australian agriculture has been getting a free ride from honeybees for nearly 200 years. Their pollination services are worth several billion dollars a year, but Australia's honeybees are under increasing threat, from a range of different sources.

In many parts of the world the honeybee has been losing its buzz. Unusually high bee mortality has been reported across Western Europe. In the United States, the number of honey-producing colonies has declined from about 5.5 million in 1950 to less than 2.5 million in 2015, and there have been sudden colony losses in Japan, China and elsewhere. In some regions in China, bees have been lost entirely, and pollination has to be done by hand.

Australia's honeybees have so far largely been luckier than their overseas counterparts. However, they still face a range of threats, including pollution, disease, pesticides, intensive agriculture, the introduction of alien species and climate change. As if this list isn't long enough, scientists and beekeepers are also worried that some of the destructive agents suspected of causing the world's big bee bust have already arrived on Australia's shores and may soon devastate the bee industry here. Initial signs of decline have already been seen, with outbreaks of diseases such as American Foulbrood, European Foulbrood and Nosema, as well as the spread of newly introduced parasites such as the small hive beetle.

The importance of bees

Worldwide there are more than 20,000 bee species, as well as a large number of subspecies and races, not all of which have been described by science. Despite this large number, only a fraction of these bees produce and store honey and build long-lasting nests (hives) made of wax. The well-known honeybees belong to the genus Apis and are known collectively as the Apini tribe.

Australia does not have any native Apis honeybees, but it does have over 1,600 species of other native bees. This diverse set of flying insects has evolved to exploit, and to work symbiotically with, the continent's huge diversity of plant species, many of which are prolific producers of pollen and nectar. The bees that produce most of Australia's honey are Western honeybees ( Apis mellifera), also known as commercial or European honeybees. These were first brought to Australia in the 1800s to pollinate crops and to supply settlers with honey. Within a few decades these early bees had travelled across most of the country, making themselves at home both in the wild (where they are known as wild, or sometimes even feral) bees, and in artificial hives managed by beekeepers.

Honeybees may be most famous for the many different types honey-some which even have high antimicrobial properties-they serve up, but they do many other useful things as well. For example, they produce beeswax, which is used for the manufacture of candles and furniture polish and in food and skin-care products; propolis-a food product, thought to improve heart health and strengthen the immune system; and royal jelly-which has an anecdotal reputation as a health-food product. Bee poison has also been collected for a long time, and has been found to have anti-cancer effects.

Most importantly of all, bees play a major role in one of the most fundamental ecological processes-the pollination of plants.

Pollination is the process by which the male sex cells of a plant (the pollen) is transferred to the female sex organ (the ovule) of the same or another plant, resulting in fertilisation and hence sexual reproduction. It is an essential service-without pollination, life on the planet would be very different and probably much less diverse. The most common form of non-animal pollination is pollination by the wind (anemophily). However 90 per cent of pollination requires animals, and the animal most commonly involved is the honeybee.

Avocado, almonds, onions, sunflower, apples, pumpkins and more: we rely on bees for more than honey. Image source: Harsha K R / Flickr.

It is estimated that about one-third of global food production requires animal pollination and that 80-90 per cent of this role is carried out by honeybees, so these small insects are very valuable indeed. In Australia, two-thirds of all horticultural and agricultural crops need honeybees for optimal pollination. Many fruits, such as apples, raspberries and peaches, are more productive, produce better, more attractive fruit and even store better and for longer when they are serviced by honeybees. Lucerne, which is an important crop for feeding livestock such as cattle, is also much more productive when sufficient numbers of honeybees are available to promote pollination. Almond blossoms rely completely on honeybees for pollination-so, no bees, no almonds. It has been estimated that the value of honeybee-reliant agriculture in Australia is AUD $4-6 billion per year and rising.

Plants, fruits and crops

Reliance on honeybees for pollination

Australia's honeybees are among the most disease-free in the world and are therefore in considerable international demand for their pollination services, especially in those countries that have suffered from sudden colony losses. For example, the value of Australian exports of honeybees to the United States in 2010, mainly for the Californian almond-flowering season, was around $7.5 million. The export of 'controlled queen bees'-to reduce swarming and help maintain hive productivity-is also a valuable exercise. However, this industry is now mainly restricted to the export of Tasmanian bees since mainland exports have been halted due to the presence of the Asian honey bee and problems such as the small hive beetle.

Hard times ahead

Despite their many impressive skills and tight social cohesion, honeybees are under threat. In many parts of the world, entire colonies have been dying, a syndrome some have dubbed 'Colony Collapse Disorder' (CCD). The cause or causes of this phenomenon-where the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear, leaving behind plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the Queen and the remaining infant bees-are not fully understood. Initially scientists thought there may be one, single cause of CCD, but most now conclude that there is a long list of factors that can contribute to colony collapse.

For several years the term CCD gained traction in the media and was used to describe many instances of bee death and decline. However, CCD is still not fully defined, and there is now some agreement amongst scientists to move away from the term, because it basically refers to only a mass loss event.

Even without mass colony collapse, something is causing the honeybee to decline, so what is it? In 2016, the first global assessment of the state of the world's pollinators was released by an international team of 77 experts. They drew their results from the findings of approximately 3000 scientific papers, and also incorporated indigenous and local knowledge from over 60 locations around the globe. The report noted that the experts were concerned by declines, and cited numerous factors as being responsible. These include pollution, pesticide use, use of genetically modified crops, introduction of alien species, intensive agriculture, climate change, mass-breeding, transportation practices and the devotion of large areas of land to monocultures. As if this list wasn't long enough, honeybees are stalked by a range of mites, viruses and other diseases, and their vulnerability may be increased by over-work and poor bee-keeping practices.

The factors contributing to the decline in bee populations world wide are many and varied. Image source: Todd Huffman / Flickr.

Honeybees are faring so badly in Europe that in 2013 the European Commission decided to ban the use of three neonicotinoid insecticides for a period of two years, in the hope that it would have a positive effect on bee populations. However, the decision has not been universally applied. Some member states of the EU (such as Finland, Romania, Germany, Latvia and Estonia) have provided farmers with exemptions from the law.

In the United States, an estimated 10 million beehives have suffered dramatic losses, worth around $2 billion dollars, in the last six years alone. A study conducted by scientists at the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture identified a concoction of fungicides and pesticides that contaminate pollen, which bees collect and then feed to their hives.

Whilst Australia's honeybees are currently faring better than their European and American counterparts, they are already afflicted by several imported maladies. Two bacterial diseases, American foulbrood and European foulbrood, are found in honeybee colonies in almost every Australian state (Western Australia is currently free of European foulbrood) and have the potential to cause significant numbers of deaths. Losses can be minimised, however, by good hive management and (in the case of European foulbrood) the use of low doses of antibiotics.

The Small hive beetle ( Aethina tumida) is another major pest. It was first observed in Australia in 2002 and has spread widely in the east, especially in New South Wales and Queensland. A prolific breeder, the small hive beetle is now damaging honeybee colonies in several states. Management attempts have been made by using traps loaded with poison within hives, but on top of the concern about introducing poison into hives that produce a product for human consumption, beekeepers are reporting that the beetles are becoming increasingly tolerant to the poison. More research is needed to find sustainable long-term solutions.

While some bee-botherers are already in Australia, strict quarantine regulations and good luck have combined to exclude others. For example, several other species of honeybee, which would compete with the European honeybee for nesting sites and nectar and pollen resources, and could introduce new diseases, have not yet made it to Australian shores. These include the African honeybee ( Apis mellifera scutelata), the giant honeybee ( Apis dorsata), the Cape honeybee ( Apis mellifera capensis) and bumble bees ( Bombus species, which are already found in Tasmania).

On the other hand, the Asian honeybee ( Apis cerana) has arrived in northern Queensland, to the dismay of Australian beekeepers, environmentalists and agriculturalists. It is of concern because it is known to rob European honeybee hives, is more aggressive, frequently swarms and may carry diseases to which Australian honey bees have no resistance.

The Varroa menace

There are numerous honeybee pathogens that can cause significant damage to bee populations, but perhaps the most dangerous of all the honeybee's enemies is the aptly named 'destructor' mite-Varroa destructor-and its cousin, Varroa jacobsoni.

Both these mites were originally found on the Asian honeybee, but they have recently taken a liking to the Western (European) honeybee as well. On the Asian honeybee the mites only trouble drones, so their impact on a hive is relatively limited. But on the European honeybee both species are able to drones and worker bees, greatly increasing the harm they can do to colonies. Our bees have no natural defence again these tiny threats, but honeybees from other parts of the world, such as Europe, have now been reported to have some resistance against the mite.

The Varroa jacobsoni parasite. Image source: US Department of Agriculture / Flickr.

The Varroa mite attaches itself to the honeybee and feeds on its 'blood' (known as haemolymph); it can also infect the bee with bacteria and viruses, further weakening it and eventually causing its premature death. V. destructor is almost certainly a contributing factor to the losses bee populations have witnessed. Its introduction to Australia would likely cause a dramatic reduction in the country's wild (feral) bee population and have major implications for the honey industry and agriculture.

At present Australia is the only country still free from Varroa. A number of efforts are being made to keep Australia Varroa-free and ward off the threat to Australian agriculture and the Australian beekeeping industry. The National Sentinel Hive Program, for example, was established in 2000 to help detect incursions into Australia by the Asian honeybee, the Varroa and Tropilaelaps mites, and other potential pests such as the African honeybee. It involves the placement and monitoring of empty hives at strategic locations, especially 'high-risk' sea ports where these pests are most likely to make landfall in Australia. This program is complemented by the Bee Force project, which is testing a volunteer-based, early-detection approach at the Port of Melbourne that, if successful, could be expanded nationwide.

Despite such initiatives, most experts agree that it is only a matter of time before new threats, such as the Varroa mite, arrives in Australia.

Varroa mites attached to a male honeybee. Image source: webted / Flickr.

The impact of Varroa

Scientists predict the following outcomes once the V. destructor mite becomes established in Australia:

The virtual disappearance of wild (feral) honeybees.

A decrease in the number of managed honeybees, as colonies collapse due to infestation.

An increase in the cost of beekeeping and therefore the cost of honey.

The replacement of free pollination-currently performed by wild (feral) honeybees-by paid pollination.

An increase in the cost of managed pollination, increasing the cost of agricultural production and therefore the price of food.

There seems little doubt that the eventual arrival of Varroa in Australia will change life for honeybees forever. It could mean the end of agriculture's free lunch, as wild bees die off, and a very difficult and costly period for the beekeeping industry. Yet it will not spell the complete end of the European honeybee. In managed hives, it is possible to reduce the impact of Varroa through the use of insecticides and improved management techniques (although these will increase the costs of production and affect the quality of bee products). It may also be possible to increase the role of native bees in certain types of agricultural pollination and to breed European honeybees that are tolerant or partially resistant to infestation.

The key to avoiding disaster is to better understand the bee, its enemies and the ecology of pollination. Inevitably, science will play a crucial role in ensuring that the world's greatest pollinator and its native cousins win their battle against destruction.

Other factors

Climate change may also be a factor in declining bee health. Both plants and pollinators display different responses to climate change, with small changes having the potential for serious consequences. For example, studies show that the Spider Orchid and the Miner bee depend on each other for reproduction. As temperatures have risen, the two have become 'out of sync', with the flower and the bee missing each other - and therefore the chance to pollinate. This is only one example of climate change disrupting the critical relationship between species.

Other causes such as lack of diversity or availability of pollen sources are also a factor. Dutch researchers analysed pollen found on the bodies of 57 different wild bee species collected prior to 1950. They were able to show that declines in plant biodiversity (through intensification of agriculture and climate change in the region) led to a decline of some of the domestic and wild bee populations.

Native bees

Australia's highly diverse native bees range in size from a 2 millimetre midget (the Quasihesma bee) to what in comparison is a 24 millimetre flying bus (the great carpenter bee, Xylocopa). Most Australian native bees are solitary-a single female builds a nest and lays her eggs before dying in autumn, leaving behind larvae that develop over winter. Some are semi-social, however-several female bees cooperate to build a nest, in which they all lay eggs. There are also 14 species of 'social' native bee that form large colonies in similar ways to European honeybees and produce honey-including the famous bush tucker, 'sugarbag'. These are known as 'stingless' bees because, unlike the honeybee, they do not possess a sting.

Some native bee species could become important pollinators of agricultural crops. For example, recent research at the University of Western Sydney and the University of Adelaide has shown the blue banded bee, a solitary bee of the genus Amegilla, to be more efficient than European honeybees at pollinating greenhouse-grown tomatoes. Blue banded bees 'buzz' pollinate-meaning that their wings vibrate at such a rate that they cause the flower's pollen capsules to burst-a technique well-suited to tomatoes. Blue banded bees have been shown to cope well in a greenhouse environment and researchers are now developing a commercially viable breeding program for the species.

Another agricultural crop that has been shown to be pollinated effectively by native bees (in this case, the social Tetragonula species) is macadamia, itself an Australian native. An estimated 6 million macadamia trees in Australia produce around 35,000 tonnes of macadamia nuts per year.

The great carpenter bee, one of the many kinds of bees found in Australia. Image source: gailhampshire / Flickr.

The future of Australia's honeybees

Ensuring sufficient pollinators

Farmers have a clear idea of most of the inputs they need to grow their products-such as water, fertilisers and pesticides-but many are less sure about the role of pollination in maximising yields. Not all crops require (or benefit from) honeybees for pollination, but the production of such crops as a percentage of total food production is increasing throughout the world. Pollination by honeybees increases the size, quality and/or stability of harvests for an estimated 70 per cent of the world's main crops. A review of long-term data by CSIRO scientist Saul Cunningham and others showed that an absence of honeybee pollinators would cause a reduction of global food production of up to 8 per cent, while the percentage increase in cultivated land needed to compensate for this shortfall would be several times greater, particularly in developing countries. Given its growing global population and a limit to agricultural expansion, the world can ill-afford a reduction in pollination services.

Since the 1800s, Australian farmers and horticulturalists have relied heavily on wild honeybees for pollination. Although there is uncertainty in the data it is likely that wild honeybees are responsible for about 70 per cent of Australian crop pollination. Given the likely invasion of the Varroa mite and other European honeybee pests, diseases and competitors, Australian farmers could be in the lull before the storm-it would be judicious to investigate other options should the wild honeybee population decline. Research is under way not only to help combat threats to the European honeybee but also to encourage other animals, including native bees, to play a greater role in agricultural pollination. For example, it has been demonstrated that pollination by native insects declines exponentially as the distance from natural habitat increases.

Whilst most native Australian bees are solitary rather than social and so cannot be kept in hives, and the few native species that are social are difficult to keep in large numbers, there are good reasons to promote the role of native bees in agricultural pollination. For example, native bees may be less susceptible than European honeybees to invasive pests. Two species of native stingless bee, Tetragonula carbonaria and Austroplebeia australis, have been shown to have excellent defences against the small hive beetle, which can have a devastating impact in the hives of the European honeybee. Both use a range of strategies against the beetle, including entombing it (and its eggs and larvae) in droplets of resin known as propolis.

Propolis is a resin used by bees for the construction of hives, but it has also been used to entomb attacking beetles. Image source: Abalg / Wikimedia Commons.

Protecting our bee populations

There is no doubt that Honeybees around the world have a tough road ahead. The threats they face are many and varied-parasites, pathogens, agricultural pesticides, malnutrition, poor beekeeping practices and climate change. Any one of these threats alone could cause distress and decline to bee populations, but when combined together, the cumulative effects can be severe.

With increased media attention and a dollar value placed on their pollination services over the last decade, governments and the wider public are now beginning to understand some of the issues affecting bees and why it is so important to restore bee health across the planet.

Researchers around Australia are working on ways to understand and combat the current and potential future threats to our honeybee populations. The Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER) at the University of Western Australia is comprised of a team of multi-disciplinary scientists, using both field studies and laboratory experiments to study honeybee reproduction and immunity, along with honeybee DNA and proteins.

Other researchers at Macquarie University and the University of Sydney have teamed up to study how the stress of individual bees contributes to the health (or demise) of the entire colony, examining the process of bees' transitions from being hive bees to worker bees out in the broader environment.

CSIRO is also involved in bee research initiatives, leading the Global Initiative for Honeybee Health. This includes a project where 5000 bees have been fitted out with tiny sensors, then let loose into the enivironment. When the bees pass certain checkpoints, the sensors are detected, allowing the researchers to create a map of the bees' movements and better understand how they move through the landscape.

The issue is bigger than just having a jar of honey available in the pantry. Bees are an integral part of numerous eco-systems. If they disappear, not only do many of the foods we enjoy today go with them, but the flow-on effects of their removal from the environment could have longer, more serious consequences for plants, crops, other animals and ourselves.

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In many parts of the world the honeybee has been losing its buzz.

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The Death Of Bees Explained – Parasites, Poison and Humans

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The Death Of Bees Explained – Parasites, Poison and Humans

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqA42M4RtxE

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The Death Of Bees Explained – Parasites, Poison and Humans