Honey bees are vanishing!

It seems that films such as Bee Movie and Doctor Who episodes aren't so wide off the mark after all... the honey bees really ARE disappearing. I spotted several articles today on the web about the decline in Britain's honey bee population and the impact it could have on the UK's economy. Who knew the little black and yellow bugs could be so important. I sure as hell didn't realise the UK government were spending up to £1.3m on 'bee healthcare'. Visions of bee hospitals with rows of tiny white linen covered beds sprang to mind, complete with little nurse bees in white caps and red crosses on their aprons... (yes there's that good old over active imagination again!).

There's been many theories on what's killing off our honey gifted friends, from GM crops and mobile phone signals, to mites and viruses. One thing's for sure, the public at large have no idea just what the implications could be if the little blighters really did disappear all together. So, I decided to do a little digging to find out, and the results were shocking!! Bees pollinate flowers and plants. A third of the WORLD'S food supply is directly related to the honey bee and another 30% of what humans consume is indirectly related to them as well. According to Albert Einstein, if bees disappeared completely, within four years all life on Earth would be wiped out all together. To quote, "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

Ok, a little dramatic I agree, but it's something to think about! Everyone knows that the planet is a complex and intricate eco system based on a natural balance, and who knows what knock on effects the extinction of one species could have on another right? Wild flowers across the country are vanishing along with the bees that pollinate them, which in turn will surely have an adverse effect on other wildlife, whether it be plant or animal. Then there's the (less pressing in my opinion) issue of the economical effects... bees contribution to agriculture in the UK is around £1billion!

The problem is not just a UK one either. Bees across the world are in decline, with whole colonies disappearing at an alarming rate. It seems like those with a (financial) vested interest in our stripy friends are already worrying too. Haagen Daz state that bees and honey are responsible for 40% of their flavours and are donating $250,000 to both Pennsylvania State University and the University of California to fund research.

So, what's being done about it? To be honest, not much... or at least not enough, considering the possible cataclysmic effects a wide spread bee disappearing act could have on the planet... Britain's bee keepers lobbied parliament to fund urgent research into why they are dying off so fast but more needs to be done faster. You can read more about the issue here. In the mean time, next time something starts buzzing round your salad when you're picnicking outside, don't swat it! Save it!! You could be killing the planet!