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Honey bee (Apis mellifera) Population Decline

In Reference to their Integral Applications as a Species
Brien Spier
Westfield State University

Abstract:
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) has been considered one of the greatest
insect pollinators as well as creating one of the greatest natural energy
sources known to man. These insects have become an integral part of our
society agriculturally along with their applied method of supporting our need
for honey and the service they provide to our crops. Though they are not
native to the United States, they have been introduced and co-evolved with
our agriculture system into what it is today. Over the past 200 years there
has been a visible decline in the population due to mono-cropping,
pesticides, habitat loss and industrialization at its core. This paper will
establish the risks and rewards of the population of honey bee decline or rise
over the next decades. Since co-evolving with bees is necessary, an
examination of conservation strategies should be implemented to bring the
population back to a healthy level for our ultimate survival as a species.
Honey bees have been a major contributor to aiding the reproduction of
plants through pollination other than wind and gravity which is used by other
plants. Monarch butterflies are losing their habitat in addition to wildlife
corridors who were second to the honey bees in their pollinating ability

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creating a devastating problem if bees are moving towards extinction as

well. If nothing is done to conserve habitat, create corridors, or maintain
population and genetic drift, there is a high probability of the international
ramifications affecting all species on this planet.

Introduction:
The Apis mellifera is native to western Asia, Africa, and Europe but
their healthy expansion begun in the 1600s to the majority of continents
spreading as far as South America and all the way up into Canada
(Sammataro and Avitabile, 1998). Their habitats consist of meadows and
gardens that have an abundant amount of flowers as a food source, cool dry
location as a nesting site, and available water. They can be present in
deserts and wetlands as long as they have food, shelter, and water. From
different snags to hollow cavities in trees they use to create a nesting site
(Hammond, George, 2009). For the honeybees there are 26 different
subspecies is relevant to different environments and needed outputs.
Currently as a species they build their hive (shelter) out of wax produced as
a byproduct of their own body. Then there they construct cells in the wax and
the queen lays its eggs inside the cells as they begin to go through the
metamorphosis. Their physical and chemical reactions are what makes them
unique to their genus. They are able to communicate using chemical signals
to alert threats to the hive or to report the health of the queen to all other
hive members(Sammataro and Avitabile, 1998). Another way they use

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communication is their dancing, which ranges from directions given to

nectar sources nearby. The round dance is given to alert food within 300
meters of the hive whereas the waggle dance is a directionally given set of
directions given to sources upwards of three to five miles (Hammond,
Madison, 2009). These adaptations they have generated as a species,
reproductive lifespan, and their utility has made them one of the most
important insect pollinators in the world.
Honey bees use the flowers nectar to produce this highly concentrated
honey in their hives simultaneously while gathering nectar. Their legs have
long hairs which gather pollen from every flower they come in contact with
to spread to the other flowers they are searching for to gather nectar from.
This process of pollination is what allows these plants to reproduce and
grown stronger by taking the pollen and attaching it to the egg creating a
mutualistic relationship that is required for most plants to survive. Through
evolution, they have co evolved to depend on each other to complete their
life cycle and keep reproducing and creating their product. Honey bees are
very important to our economy along with the way we live our life. Some
think of them as being pests that can sting people and are a nuisance but
facts are quite to the contrary. They provide one of the most powerful natural
energy booster and pollination for plants who depend on them for
reproduction. Without bees this country would be in trouble with thousands
of plants not being able to be pollinated. Monarch butterflies are another
incredible pollinator and both of these species are in decline which means we

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have to be urgent with the habitat preservation techniques and conserve

new habitat for these species. Bees are responsible for 80 percent of the
reproduction of biofuel and agricultural plants in England (DEFRA, 2013)
which makes them essential to our survival as well. To allow this species to
go extinct would be submitting to our death as a species without food.

Current Status:

In this graphical analysis of the trending of Apis mellifera population in

the United States states, the overall direction Apis mellifera are moving in a
intense downward slope for the past 30 years since the introduction of
parasitic mites into the U.S.. This decline is due to the invasive mites,

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pesticides, and habitat degradation due to urban expansion. These problems

are being exacerbated by human induced climate change in addition to all of
the factors listed. Entire colonies are being lost due to these factors and
reducing the pollinator abundance across the world. They have previously
been up to 5.5 million producing bee colonies in the early 1950s but in
recent years due to the applications of DDT, pesticides, industrial expansion,
invasive mites, and lack of attention to the preservation of honey bees. Now
in 2007 there is less than half of the population originally listed in the United
States. This is leading towards the extinction of the species because any
decline so rampant is very difficult to reverse the effects that took 50 years
to cause the damage. Honey bees are being attacked from several different
angles and are suffering dramatically. Their fall in population abundance is
startling to government organizations which have recently set this as a high
priority after 50 years of habitat degradation and 30 of invasive parasites.
This conservation method should be taking drastic measures to preserve
populations and create corridors for healthy populations of wild and domestic
bees.

Threats:
A large problem facing Apis mellifera is the intensive use of pesticides
used in the agriculture today. Specifically Neonicotinoids are what is creating
difficult breeding and habitat suitability for many bees as well as other
insects. Due to the Roundup ready GMO seeds we are using, there has

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been a considerable increased brood mortality because they are having

delayed births and development of adult bees (Wu, Judy 2011). There is no
direct link to this pesticide being the direct cause of Apis mellifera but the
effect it has on the population is very clear and is inhibiting the population
growth tremendously. Our interdependence with bees and our food is
becoming counterproductive because of the way we are growing our food
sources to contribute to their extinction. This species is a biological indicator
because they pick up pollutants in the air and in our environment inside and
outside their hives that could have sub-lethal immediate effects or
detrimental long term effect. Meaning if the honey bees arent doing well as
a species than our environment isnt doing well either.
Other than pesticides, Apis mellifera have been predated upon most
abundantly by the Varroa destructor mite. There are other mites that are a
detriment to the species are Acarapis woodi which is a small mite species
that lives in the tracheae of adult bees and feeds on bee hemolymph. This
mite evolved on an Asian honeybee, Apis cerana, but switched on to Apis
mellifera colonies that were set up in eastern Asia and has moved into other
areas of the world (Hammond, Madison, 2009). The more predominant
parasitic mite species that had cause a major decrease in Apis mellifera
population is the Varroa destructor. They have been in the U.S. since the
early 1980s which allowed for them to spread from colony to colony
infecting all they come in contact with. They can live up to two years on the
back of an adult bee and live inside empty cells inside the hive. Juvenile

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mites feed on bee larvae and pupae, and adult female mites feed and
disperse on adult workers which is exacerbated with the use of pesticides
lengthening the time spent in development. Infestations of V. destructor
often wipe out colonies and this mite is known to spread several viruses that
make things even harder for the success of Apis mellifera. Nearly all the
feral, untended honeybee colonies in North America are believed to have
been taken out by mite infestations, along with a large proportion of
domesticated colonies (Hammond, George, 2009). they can be mitigated
with sticky strips and chemical applications, but none of the chemicals are
guaranteed in the U.S., only a sticky strip to catch them. This single handedly
has caused a major increase along with the aid of pesticides to reduce the
number of juvenile bees acting as a poison to the dagger.
One of the many threats to the honey bee population is the habitat loss
due to the mono-cropping phenomenon and over industrialization. A reason
there are declining bees around inner city areas is the lack of habitat
available. There is a huge decrease in habitat due to industrial expansion
created from the human desire to remove plants and input man-made
structures in addition to the value that has been placed on asphalt over
vegetation. Our society has created new norms of destroying other species
for the success of our own. Some species we need to rely on such as honey
bees and the integral role they play in our agriculture reproduction and the
production of one of the most utilized bio-energy sources in the world. This

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process, though some may think isnt significant, will have effects on our
species ultimate survival.

Conservation Efforts:
One way to accomplish this is to create the habitats in cities where
they once were and allow for colonies to create safe nesting sites near
flowers and food sources to promote survival. In inner cities there isnt much
acreage on the ground due to the massively developed land and lack of
available lots. Where there isnt a backyard or a garden, this is where rooftop
gardening benefits more than just the building it is reducing energy costs for.
Green roofs provide habitat to many species of insects, birds and plants.
Species are becoming extinct at rates that far precede any in the history of
our planet. Through these extreme impacts we are having our our planet, we
should be providing causeways of protection to help preserve what we have
left by making it a higher priority.
Green roofs have been repairing the damage our inner city has done to
native plant and animal species from the region by extirpating them from the
urban environment because there is no habitat available. Other than just
reducing runoff and making the building more efficient with energy usage,
green roofs also provide habitat for different species of birds and insects
Green architecture has also been tracked out of all of the species of insects
living on the roof top gardens 11 percent of them are rare or endangered
(Peck, 2010). Allowing green roofs in larger cities makes room for many

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different species to use as habitat due to the low amount of space elsewhere
in cities with little to no room for gardening.
Beekeeping is becoming more common on city rooftops, if they can
sustain the weight of hundreds of pounds of honey, due to the economic
output of the honey in addition to the large yield of the plants in the
immediate area. Bees will travel up to five miles if desperate, but three miles
for efficiency to gather nectar and spreading pollen. The most effective way
of creating a healthy garden or ecosystem even for flowering trees or
perennials is to have bees in close proximity. An easy way to create these
hives for cavity nesting bees is to put a five gallon bucket fitted with a lid
with small holes in the top to allow access for bees near rooftop gardens.
This can be constructed on a light post or telephone wire pole to refrain from
placing too much load on your roof. By creating more pollinator habitat we
are allowing for more production naturally of plants as well as bringing
household gardening and self-sufficiency back to the urban areas in the
country.
A large way that can be easily aided is to restore the natural
vegetation on the sides of highways. These buffers of 10 to 20 feet on the
side of highways were filled with grasses and flowers which provide food for
pollinators. Due to bees needing these open areas to forage for flower
nectar, these strips of habitat are essential to honey bees because the next
foraging area could be miles out of their five mile range. These areas are
essential location for edge species to navigate on such as Apis mellifera. In

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order to makes this important to others, we need to make mowing of the

sides of the highways known as being detrimental to other species who
thrive on those habitats and give those companies a ultimatum. This is along
the same concept of removing the flowers and plants at fence rows on the
border of farmland which is essential to bee hive success. Near these farm
lands are dangerous if they are only feeding on pesticide ridden plants which
creates even more problems for the species. Allowing for the reintroduction
of these open grasslands created habitat not only for pollinators but other
species that thrive in the edge of forests.
When there was the environmental movement, we were heavily
focused on eradicating DDT, protecting the forests we have clear-cut, and
reintroducing habitat in those areas we have destroyed. Now that we are in
the technological age there is very little thought towards conserving those
habitats we have left after developing and removing patches for our own
success. In order to succeed as a species we need to think how we have
lived for the past 10,000 years and the ways we have utilized our
environment to achieve the society we have today. With hundreds of years of
habitat degradation from highways, residential areas, and industrial
applications we have slowly moved away from this connectivity with nature
and eased into faster, bigger and stronger without consideration to the
forests we are burning or the ecosystems being destroyed along the way.
Nature is integral to our survival and every species has its role and
responsibility to maintain the balance. Pollinators have recently in 2014 been

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listed as a high priority after they have already been seriously declining
which makes it difficult to come back from such a loss, but you only realize
what you need the most when it is too late and gone.

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<http://pss.uvm.edu/PAT/Bee_Health_Colony_Decline.pdf>.