Groundbreaking Study Maps the Decline of Wild Bee Communities in the United States

By Christina Lavers

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

By now most of us are aware that the humble bee is not only responsible for creating one of the most natural, health giving, and divinely sweet substances — honey — but also for managing one of the most vital steps in the production of our food crops — pollination. Unfortunately what has contributed to this newfound awareness about bees and the crucial role they play in our food chain, and by extension, their relevance to our survival as a species, is their rapid and initially mysterious decline.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, bees (wild and farmed) play a key role in the production of about 1/3 of all the food we eat, and add 15 billion dollars to the annual value of the country’s food crops. Because the animals we consume are generally fed fodder that comes from crops dependent on honey-bee fertilization, and since even plant based fibres like cotton rely on bees for pollination, the implications are massive.

A recent study led by Insu Koh at the University of Vermont in the US, was the first national study to map the decline of wild bee communities in the US. The findings were published December 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research team estimate that wild bee communities declined by 23% between 2008 and 2013 in the US. The study also demonstrated that 39% of US croplands that rely on bees for pollination face an ominous mismatch between rising demand for pollination and a falling population of wild bees.

“Until this study, we didn’t have a national mapped picture about the status of wild bees and their impacts on pollination,” says Koh the lead researcher in this study. This is a vital piece of the puzzle considering that each year more than $3 billion of the US agricultural economy relies on the services of wild pollinators.

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Previous articles by Christina Lavers:

• New Study Shows Regular Contact with Nature Reduces Crime, Increases Social Cohesion
• Research Shows Just 7 Minutes of Meditation Can Reduce Racial Prejudice
• Fool’s Gold: Breaking Through the Fear of Seeming Foolish
• The Art Of Failing Well
• Taking Care of Our Inner Tribes – Microflora, Awakening and You
• Taking Responsibility For Our Energy
• Discernment – Navigating The Spiritual Minefield
• How To See Through The Smoke And Mirrors
• TV: Cutting the Cord
• Heart Aligned Eating: Beyond Dietary Absolutes

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