- Economic value dependent on pollination service totals 34.0 billion USD in 2012, while 20% of US counties produce 80% of total economic value attributable to insect pollinators
- Over the entire year of 2021, beekeepers in the United States lost an estimated 45.5% of their managed honey bee colonies. This is the second-highest annual loss on record.
Current Problem
As major pollinators, honey bees play a vital role in ensuring a healthy food supply in our contemporary world. With the growing use of dangerous pesticides in global agriculture, beekeepers across the world have cited concerns as bee populations dwindle, threatening severe food insecurity as a result. Many have witnessed the rise of a wide variety of pesticides including neonicotinoids, a new insecticide with disastrous impacts on bee populations, and have exposed the threats that these chemicals have on a sustainable future.
Neonicotinoids, or “new-nicotine-like” insecticides, have gained popularity among farmers in recent years as systemic pesticides. While most pesticides lay on the surface of the plants onto which they’re sprayed, neonicotinoids are absorbed by the plant, killing any potential pest who attempts to damage the crop, without the need for repeated spraying. Like nicotine, they wreak havoc on the central nervous system of insects, leading to paralysis and death. While they may be effective in preventing harmful insects from destroying crops, they pose a serious threat to beneficial pollinators, like bees. Neonicotinoids have been linked to disastrous health effects in bee populations such as increased levels of gut pathogens, navigation failure, and reduced reproduction. The widespread use of these chemicals has caused a decline in bee populations worldwide, with many countries taking action to our protect honey bees from harm.
Emerging Solutions
Los Angeles
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a ban, in 2019, on the spraying of Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer, citing public health and environmental concerns. While the main ingredient, glyphosate, has been linked to carcinogenic effects in humans, its inert ingredients pose a significant hazard to bees, causing a 94% mortality rate among bumblebees who were exposed, according to a study by the British Ecological Society. The moratorium on the use of Roundup pesticides represents a huge victory for pollinators across LA county, protecting us from the dangerous chemicals associated with this pesticide.
California
California recently took a big step in bee protection when a Superior Court ruled this past December that sulfoxaflor, a new neonicotinoid, can no longer be sprayed as it violates the state’s environmental laws. The highly absorbent nature of sulfoxaflor has led to reduced reproduction in bumblebees and increased breathing stress and mortality in honey bees. This step could not have come at a better time, as the approaching almond season represents a vital moment for pollinators who will no longer be exposed to the dangers of sulfoxaflor and the exacerbated impacts it can have when mixed with other pesticides.
National
In Oregon, Save America’s Pollinator’s Act (H.R. 4079) was introduced with 67 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. The bill, if passed, would establish a pollinator protection board and would suspend the use of all neonicotinoids in the United States. While the bill is still yet to be voted on by either the House or the Senate, it represents a huge step towards banning the use of these dangerous chemicals. This would give the bees a voice in Washington as the interests of pollinators and their significant contribution to our agriculture would be recognized.
Global
In 2018, the EU officially banned the use of neonicotinoids across all member nations, acknowledging their adverse effects on honey bees and pollinators across the continent. With the exception of closed greenhouses, these harsh insecticides are no longer permitted to be sprayed in Europe, protecting the viability of our bee populations for the foreseeable future. The law was passed in response to a report from the EU’s scientific risk assessors who found the insecticides to be out of step with their environmental laws. This legislation represents an important blueprint for other nations around the world to use to protect honey bees and vulnerable pollinators for generations to come.
