By Julie Boudreau
Last winter, I was reading a scientific article that really saddened me. Being an “collateral bee rescuer”, as I like to say (because I sow and plant tons of flowers), my interest in pollinators is great.
This article revealed that two researchers from the University of Maryland have found that bees live shorter lives than in the 70s. In fact, their life expectancy would be cut in half!
Life in the Lab
At first, our two companions were interested in feeding captive bees. The fact that these have an average life expectancy of 17.7 days struck them as an accidental…and unfortunate discovery. Raised under the same conditions in the 1970s, honey bees (Apis mellifera) lived for about 34.3 days.
Why do Bees Die Sooner?
Of course, the short life expectancy of those insects or the high mortality rates in hives are often associated with several factors, including diseases and parasites (such as varroa mites), pesticides or lack of food. However, this study seems to indicate that part of the problem lies within the bees themselves.
As with all breeding, they are subject to selection and genetic improvement. For example, we can therefore assume that by selecting bees that are more resistant to diseases, we have at the same time favored bees with lower life expectancy. Which would make sense because it reduces the chances of spreading disease.
Shorter-lived bees have less time to collect pollen and nectar. Thus, the reserves are insufficient to survive the winter, which leads to high mortality rates in the hives. This is another of the hypotheses put forward by the results of this study. There is also a very clear relationship between the shortened life of bees and the decline in the average quantity of honey produced per colony, per year.
Now is the time to turn this thing around! Let’s give back to the bees those lost two weeks of life that they need to ensure the proper functioning of the hive. And why not add some genetic variability to it? Because it is well known monoculture (or “mono-breeding”) has never brought anything good. Long live diversity! And let’s save the bees!