POLLINATORS
The importance of pollinators in our everyday life is immeasurable; bees specifically play a crucial role in the pollination of plants, and an estimated 1/3 of the food we eat daily relies heavily on pollination from bees and other pollinators like bats and butterflies. Unfortunately, the bee population is slowly declining due to factors like climate change and disease. My project focuses on solitary Mason bees, who are gradually losing viable habitats and whose populations are dropping due to disease and pesticides. My goal is to provide a habitat and nesting site for these bees to help prevent the decline of the population in my community. These bees are essential to our way of life and it's our job to ensure that they survive.
On this page, I have provided information about pollinators and why we should be working to protect them. I believe that spreading information about their importance is the first and most crucial step in helping their populations recover.
You can access this complete PDF here
WHAT IS HARMING BEE POPULATIONS?
The bee population has been on the decline since the 1980s, and since 2006, massive numbers of honeybees in the U.S. and Europe have been leaving their colonies and failing to return. This phenomenon is now called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), and occurs when bees begin to abandon their colonies. This usually happens during winter, but in the past few years, cases of CCD have been occurring year-round. Between 2008 and 2015, 23% to 43% of honeybee colonies suffered from CCD, which resulted in sharp drops in the bee population. Alongside the bees, many other pollinators like monarch butterflies have seen a recent decline in their populations as well. Although CCD is a growing problem, there are many other factors that negatively impact bee populations, including parasites, viruses, contact with pesticides, and stress. The use of pesticides on agricultural land can negatively affect bees and butterflies instead of their target insect, and the transportation of honeybees around the U.S. for commercial agriculture use can lead to weakened immune systems, leaving them susceptible to diseases. Many scientists agree that CCD occurs because of a combination of all these factors, and if we do not combat each individual problem, the decrease in the pollinator population could continue.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
In order to combat this decline, we must put forth a significant effort to eliminate and lessen the impact of the aforementioned factors that threaten pollinators. The use of heavy chemical pesticides on agricultural land and private property to get rid of unwanted insects also jeopardizes the safety of bees and butterflies who are an essential part of agricultural processes. To help these pollinators, we can start to lean away from chemical pesticides and work towards using natural methods instead. To combat the habitat loss problem, we can build bee hotels and hives to serve as a nest for the bees and plant flowers and other plants that we know will be beneficial for the pollinators. Bees should not be used as a tool, and halting the transport of bees for commercial use could greatly help their populations.
On this website, the section "Bee Hotels" provides some blueprints and project ideas for you to help pollinators in your community!
You can access the complete PDF here