SAVE OUR LITTLE HELPERS! POSTCARD

Artist's Description It just breaks my heart to see the state of bee colony collapse in the recent days! When will we learn …everything is connected. Without bees to pollinate: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” ― Albert Einstein Colony collapse disorder From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia Honey bees at a hive entrance: One is about to land and the other is fanning. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is the phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen. While such disappearances have occurred throughout the history of apiculture, and were known by various names (disappearing disease, spring dwindle, May disease, autumn collapse, and fall dwindle disease), the syndrome was renamed colony collapse disorder in late 2006 in conjunction with a drastic rise in the number of disappearances of western honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in North America. European beekeepers observed similar phenomena in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, Switzerland and Germany, albeit to a lesser degree, and the Northern Ireland Assembly received reports of a decline greater than 50%. Colony collapse disorder causes significant economic losses because many agricultural crops (although no staple foods) worldwide are pollinated by western honey bees. According to the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the worth of global crops with honey bee’s pollination was estimated to be close to $200 billion in 2005. Shortages of bees in the US have increased the cost to farmers renting them for pollination services by up to 20%. In the six years leading up to 2013, more than 10 million beehives were lost, often to CCD,9 nearly twice the normal rate of loss. Nation’s Beekeepers Lost 44 Percent of Bees in 2015-16 May 10, 2016 • Blog https://beeinformed.org/2016/05/10/nations-beek... Summer losses rival winter losses for the second year running Beekeepers across the United States lost 44 percent of their honey bee colonies during the year spanning April 2015 to April 2016, according to the latest preliminary results of an annual nationwide survey. Rates of both winter loss and summer loss—and consequently, total annual losses—worsened compared with last year. This marks the second consecutive survey year that summer loss rates rivaled winter loss rates. Several possible causes for CCD have been proposed, but no single proposal has gained widespread acceptance among the scientific community. Suggested causes include: infections with Varroa and Acarapis mites; malnutrition; various pathogens; genetic factors; immunodeficiencies; loss of habitat; changing beekeeping practices; or a combination of factors. A large amount of speculation has surrounded a family of pesticides called neonicotinoids as having caused CCD. Neonicotinoids banned by European Union Early in 2013, the European Food Safety Authority issued a declaration that three specific neonicotinoid pesticides pose an acute risk to honey bees, and the European Commission (EC) proposed a two-year ban on them. David Goulson, who led one of the key 2012 studies at the University of Stirling, said the decision “begs the question of what was going on when these chemicals were first approved.” The chemical manufacturer Bayer said it was “ready to work with” the EC and member states. In April 2013, the European Union voted for a two-year restriction on neonicotinoid insecticides. The ban will restrict the use of imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam for use on crops that are attractive to bees. Eight nations voted against the motion, including the British government, which argued that the science was incomplete.The ban can be seen as an application of the “precautionary principle”, established at the 1992 Rio Conference on the Environment and Development, which advocates that “lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.” Initiatives to ban neonicotinoids in the United States Pollination In March 2013, professional beekeepers and environmentalists jointly filed a lawsuit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for continuing to allow the use of neonicotinoids in the United States. The suit specifically asks for suspension of clothianidin and thiamethoxam. The lawsuit follows a dramatic die off of bees in the United States, with some beekeepers losing 50% of their hives. The EPA responded to the suit by issuing a report blaming the Varroa mite for the decline in bees and claiming the role of neonicotinoids in bee extinction has been overstated. Also in 2013, the Save America’s Pollinators Act of 2013 (H.R. 2692) was introduced in Congress. The proposed act asks that neonicotinoids be suspended until a full review of their impacts has occurred. The bill was reintroduced on 4 March 2015 as the Saving America’s Pollinators Act (H.R. 1284), where it is currently being debated by the House Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research. Pathogens and immunodeficiency theories Further information: Pathogen, immunodeficiency and diseases of the honey bee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_d... Digital Art Photoshop CS5