Air Pollution: A Key Reason Behind Sick & Short Honey Bee Lives

Honey bees are declining across the globe at a rapid rate, all because of pesticides, illnesses, and the absence of assorted food sources. Air pollution is the new name these days that can be added to the list of stressors that affect honey bees greatly.

Being a key pollinator responsible for pollinating nearly three-quarters of the world’s crop plants, honey bees are facing a pandemic of their own. As things are not going so well for the honey bees, numerous researches have been done to look into the causes behind such problems. The critical decrease in honey bees glutting on blossoms in more contaminated living spaces exhibits the immediate connection between pollution and an impact on the environment.

The smoke from vehicles, power plants, and other sources is the key reason behind the increasing air contamination.  Breathing air bound with hefty metals, nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter has been connected to a range of chronic ailments, including lung issues, coronary illness, stroke and cancer. As air pollution is affecting human beings in numerous ways, it bodes well that different creatures experience the ill effects of it as well.

To gain a deep understanding of the effects of polluted air on honey bees, several studies have been carried out on giant honey bee health. Honey bees have been collected from several sites & brought into the lab. They were kept under observation for one day to know more about the survival differences.

80% of the honey bees from the highly polluted locales had passed on while on the other hand, only 20% of honey bees from the low-dirtied and provincial destinations died. Honey bees have finely tuned skeletons through which they inhale, control water loss, and identify pheromones.  The bees that were collected from highly polluted areas have a larger area covered by small particles bound with poisonous metals as compared to honey bees from other locales.

Researchers have also found that honey bees from the exceptionally dirtied site were bound to have unpredictable heart-beats. Higher air pollution poses below impacts on the honey bees –

(1) It alters the expression of genes involved in stress.

(2) It weakens the immune system.

(3) It intrudes on the trail prompts that pull in and control honey bees towards blossoms.

(4) It results in meddling of honey bee capability to recollect fragrances.

Some Effective Ways To Control Honey Bee Population Decline

The food we eat would be limited if honey bees were impaired in their pollinating duties. To save these little pollinators from harmful air pollution we all must take the necessary steps while providing new food sources and habitat for bees. Replacing vehicles with clean alternatives like electric cars & buses would go far in reducing air pollution. Making more metropolitan green spaces with heaps of trees and different plants would help filter the air and save these little buzzing creatures from the ill effects of polluted air.

As honey bees are facing numerous threats to their health & endurance, coming up with a single solution will not be helpful. Geohoney takes various initiatives to help & save the little honey bees from air pollution that have made bees lethargic in their everyday activities and could be curbing their lives.