South African bee keepers remain on guard for the colony collapsing disorder. Picture. Yuri Kadobnov/ AFP
Cape Town - South African bee keepers and specialists are on high alert as reports of the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is said to be destroying bee colonies all over the world.
This comes after scientists have noticed that for more than a decade, bee keepers in the US have been losing between 40% to 50% of their honey bee colonies every year due to CCD. And while the two honey bee subspecies in South Africa are in relatively good health compared to honeybees elsewhere in the world, bee keepers and bee specialists say that there is no time to be complacent, as the honey bees in the country are facing their own challenges and the warning signs are already here.
Spokesperson for the Western Cape Bee Industry Association (WCBA), Chris Nicklin said that while South Africa has not been experiencing CCD, South Africa’s honey bees are having to contend with some serious problems of their own.
“It is reckoned that in South Africa, honey bees are responsible for pollinating as many as 50 food crops. And while South Africa has not been experiencing CCD, we are facing a critical shortage of suitable forage, especially with the widespread felling of Eucalyptus trees throughout the country, which has largely sustained our honey bee colonies in the hot (and in the Western Cape, dry) summer months.
“In time to come, we will simply not have enough forage to sustain the number of ‘managed’ beehives required to do agricultural pollination. Moreover, with increasing land being absorbed by the urban sprawl and large areas of farmland being turned into ‘mono-cultural deserts’, suitable habitat for honey bees (and other pollinators) is being lost at an alarming rate. We are also having to deal with bee diseases that are relatively new to South Africa, such as American Foulbrood. It first made its appearance in the Western Cape in 2009 and is highly contagious,” said Nicklin.
PhD Medical Bioscience (spermatology) student Janice Murray said that with honey bees being the most consistent cross-pollinators of crops, the declining honey bee populations may have adverse ecological effects, threatening the entire agricultural field.
“The loss of honey bee populations is a threat to all living organisms, this include the entire ecosystem and agricultural discipline, especially owed to their very important role in the human food chain. Although honey bees are not the only pollinators of crops, they are the most consistent cross-pollinators of the crops that we as humans, and animals depend on. Given their important role in the food cycle, they are referred to as a keystone species, which we as humans (and animals) cannot afford to lose,” said Murray.
She added that with the rapid increase of the human population, the demand for food is also increasing, thus simultaneously resulting in a higher demand for pollination services.
“While South African honey bees are not as affected yet, what should be noted is that the continuous, long-term loss of honey bee populations may pose a threat to the availability of pollination services and, therefore, future food security on a global scale. Regardless if we are not as badly affected in South Africa yet, it is still important to safeguard our subspecies.
“Going forward, it is our duty as humans to preserve the ecosystem in general. My plea to the public would be to not kill the bees, rather leave them undisturbed. If you do not threaten them, they will not hurt you. I would advise the public to preserve our greenery, in other words plant more flowers in your garden and avoid the unnecessary removal of plants and flowers. Planting flowers will ensure the availability of sufficient nutrients for the bees to survive, reproduce and provide pollination services, meaning more food for us as humans.
“Secondly, limit the amount of pesticide exposure, as these residues, even if used indirectly in the surrounding areas where bees are present. Environmental pesticide exposure is one of the contributing factors to collapsing colonies, if we could limit this, it would already provide a safer environment for bees to work in,” said Murray.