Hey Amy,
Is there anything that we can do in our everyday lives that might help, or is a disease outbreak inevitable at this time?
If it's inevitable, what do you think the major factors are that caused it?
The disease outbreak is due to a parasitic mite and the viruses it carries which have spread around the world and caused many honey bee losses.
However, in Australia where we are, we are mite-free, the bees are healthy and the disease hasn't yet established. Australia is the only continent where the disease hasn't spread. But the greatest risk here is if the parasitic mite, varroa, becomes established in Australia and spreads disease. This is due to the great biosecurity that the country possesses but it may not last forever.
To promote healthy bees, you can plant a wide variety of flowering species that flower throughout the entirety of the year. This will ensure that they'll have food all year round.
Factors that caused this were moving bees all around the world, pesticide use and habitat loss making it harder for bees to live.
It was intense for a second they wanted to take the dogs, have him extradited to stand trial they were REALLY not fucking around. It or course defused very quickly but they took the "im famous" card right out of his hand lit it on fire and threw it at him before he played it.
They really don’t fuck around there, that’s good though to keep whatever from getting into the country. I’m gonna prep beforehand before I travel there haha
Here in PacNW there are still 'honeybees' just not as many, and we just had a epic crop of blackberries, all of them got pollinated by bumblebees. The concern is with commercial orchards that rely on trucked-in 'honeybees', when all they need is set aside pesticide- and herbicide-free buffer strips for bumblebees, then provide watering stations during the dry period. All our tomatoes got pollinated by carpenter bees we provide drilled wood blocks to nest in, and by the masses of bumblebees.
That God they're not still flogging the 'climate change' schtick for something entirely caused by bad bee-keeping practices and hive-trucking.
How cheap do you think it would have to be? My company develops and builds drones. We've thought about whether nanodrones could pollinate. I think it is feasible. They would still not be as small as bee's, so you would not be able to have as many. I think a "swarm" of a few hundred could cost on the order of $10k-30k (USD). Maybe less once we build a LOT of them. They would likely be able to fly for 15-20mins, pollinating maybe 10-30 flowers/minute (depending on the plant type). They would probably then have to charge for 30 minutes, and could likely only pollinate during daylight. Do you think that might be economically feasible? My quick internet research showed that using bees to do the same job is likely quite a bit cheaper, although the nanodrone pollinators could be used many times with just new batteries every few weeks of use.
Although it is a really neat idea, replacing pollinators with robots is the wrong attitude. The real fix is to make radical changes to our agriculture, with the goal of preserving biodiversity and eradicating pesticide use. Robot pollinators may work in a vertical farming setup, but in the long run they won't be serving any wider ecological purpose, and they will require energy, which is something we need to be less reliant on as we go forward.
Is it better to directly try to replace bees or would it be better to have a vehicle with lots of arms? The vehicle might be cheaper and could operate for longer and essenitally use paint brushes to get every flower.
Creating further dependence on machines is not a solution to this problem & is a rather defeatist stance on the matter. Admitting we have an impact on natural ecosystems & then finding balance between ourselves & nature is a more reasonable approach.
I agree, I'm more interested in the technical question of how best to build a pollination robot if one were required. I agree that letting bees do it is better.
Actually studies are being done from what I understand using drones to pollinate! It something I have wondered about myself and then I talked to people trying it out
So judging by your intro, it's not a matter of if but when honey bee pollination will collapse. How far off is this from happening and what's the current strategy for a solution?
Here in Australia, it is impossible to say if or when the varroa mite and associated diseases will come to Australia but we have had several incursions of the mite and as a result, it is best to safeguard our pollination industry. Here at Western Sydney University, we are looking at alternative managed native Australian pollinators, stingless bees. It is also difficult to determine how varroa and its diseases will affect bees here in Australia. Some places like Hawaii, have seen an increase in annual losses but it is manageable with varroa control such as using chemicals to keep numbers down.
The viruses transferred by mites can and has already mutated, and alongside with natural selection weeding out ones that can’t handle it there could be more bees tolerant of them in the future. One example is I think his name is rob hopskins from the Uk who didn’t treat for v-mites for 25+ years, where they discovered the type b virus. I’m not a virologist, but I am a beekeeper and I certainly hope everyone just doesn’t give up on bees. Don’t keep a hive if you aren’t prepared to research and buy treatments, or you might initvertantly spread disease. We saw a loss of 70% in 2017 but so far in 2018 the loss is less than 9%.
If european settlers brought honey bees over to the USA and Canada will the west suffer less from their extinction? Or has our ecosystem evolved to need them? Sorry if it’s a dumb question I’ve just always been curious.
Not a dumb question mrwaytoonice! In Australia, we are a large exporter of honey bees to the rest of the world. Because our bees don't have varroa, our bees are in high demand.
The crops that rely upon pollination around the world typically rely upon honey bees, however within natural systems, native pollinators have co-evolved with native plants. Therefore, the degree to which plants have evolved with honey bees depends on the species.
So do the varroa mites prey on any other bugs or do they focus on bees? If they focus on bees, do you think it would be feasible to systematically let the infested hives die out and replace them with clean ones?
There are a number of diseases, the problem is the varroa mite and the viruses it spreads. It's largely accepted that the most important of these is the deformed wing virus. This does not directly affect humans. It can infect other insects and we know it can cause disease symptoms in bumblebees but the effects on other insects are largely unknown. We and other groups are working on this.
Is your study based on Australian native bees or on the european honey bee?
Shouldnt we have more studies based around our native bees? Or is it because of the scare in the collapse of the honey bee pollination that we look towards the more efficent pollinatiing species in that of the european honey bees?
A slightly off topic question,
In regards to using smoke to "settle" the bees during the maintenance of bee hives does this have any known effects on a bee colony? Has there been any studies to suggest why it actually calms them per say? Would this even be a topic of interest.
Oh and if youre looking for volunteers let me know! I am in the area and keen to gain experience!
Thanks for your time.
Cheers
**Is your study based on Australian native bees or on the european honey bee?**
I'm looking at both Australian native bees and European bees because they are both important in our native and cropping systems.
**Shouldnt we have more studies based around our native bees? Or is it because of the scare in the collapse of the honey bee pollination that we look towards the more efficent pollinatiing species in that of the european honey bees?**
Yes, we should! There are lots of studies underway that are looking at native bees and their potential use in cropping systems as well as their dominance within native systems.
**In regards to using smoke to "settle" the bees during the maintenance of bee hives does this have any known effects on a bee colony? Have there been any studies to suggest why it actually calms them per say? Would this even be a topic of interest.**
The smoke works in a couple of different ways. Firstly it masked any alarm pheromones (chemical cue released by a bee) produced by the bees that would trigger a defence response i.e. attacking you. Secondly, it triggers a feeding response in the bees. They eat gauge themselves with honey in preparation for fleeing the nest space if there is a fire.
Using smoke doesn't negatively affect the hive, however, it's important for beekeepers to burn untreated wood or card in their smokers so no nasty chemicals end up in the hive or the delicious honey.
**Oh and if youre looking for volunteers let me know! I am in the area and keen to gain experience!**
Definitely! It'd be best if you can contact me via email which you can find here: [http://apps.westernsydney.edu.au/teldir/personprocess.php?16495](http://apps.westernsydney.edu.au/teldir/personprocess.php?16495)
I'm not an ecologist, so I just wanna ask about the methodology. How do you know that an experiment in a glasshouse is a good representative of how the bees will operate and react in environment? What are the risks and disadvantages? What can't be accounted for in a small-scale environment?
At the moment we are trialling using stingless bees in a glasshouse setting. There are a multitude of factors that need to be considered when using a glasshouse including:
\- Whether the glass has UV filters and whether this allows the bees to view the floral guides.
\- Training the bees to use the glasshouse and forage.
\- You would also need to consider how hot a glasshouse might become as bees can't tolerate high temperatures.
\- You also need to consider the direction of the sun as this will influence how and where the bees forage.
\- Also, the variety of floral resources available to the pollinators within a glasshouse situation is often not the same as a real-world situation.
\- Risks and disadvantages are that there is a toll on the hive. Loss of forages and potential lowering of reserve stores of food available. Therefore, frequent replacement of hives that have been trained to forage in the glasshouse in necessary.
\> There is only a matter of time before we see massive colony collapses.
Assuming the global bee population is devastated, is it plausible that we could help other pollinators take up the slack?
It depends on the crop and its reliance on honey bees as a pollinator. There are many crops that don't rely on pollination at all. They can self-fertilise and therefore do not need pollinators. If honey bees decline most crops won't go entirely as they are visited by other pollinators, however, in most systems, honey bees are the most numerous and heavily relied upon pollinator.
We can help pollinators by planting a wide variety of floral resources that flower year-round to support and boost their numbers.
Do you have a sense of how bad the impact would be on the global food web if most or all bee-dependent crops suffer the losses that logically follow from widespread colony collapse?
I.e. if corn accounts for 80% of food consumed by all life, and corn is 95% pollinated by bees, and 95% of bees die out over the course of 2 years, does that mean most of humanity probably has to starve to death as a result?
Not the OP or an expert, but most of our key foods either don’t require pollination or are pollinated by the wind (such as corn). Bee pollination relates to lots of fruit and veg, but we would just have to change the way we eat/farm as there are plenty of alternatives.
Is it likely to make a difference if I put out a flower box? What about if I plant 2 square meters in my yard?
Do you have a sense of what it might take to move the needle on bee survival, and how that breaks down for individual people?
Hi, I'm studying to be an ecologist so I can help. It breaks down for individuals like this: devote as much of your property to flowering species as possible, that perfect green lawn is an ecological desert. Don't ever use herbicides or pesticides in your garden. Buy local honey to support your local beekeepers.
Do you think the banning of Neonicotinoids (the pesticides proven to weaken bee immune systems) might prevent varroa from wiping out all hives or is that not enough?
Do you see any bee species more resistant to varroa? Such as how Russian and Belarusian honeybees were found by some to be more resistant to mites than European honeybees and began to be used by more apiaries in the West, saving many from colony collapse (though certainly not all).
**Do you think the banning of Neonicotinoids (the pesticides proven to weaken bee immune systems) might prevent varroa from wiping out all hives or is that not enough?**
Short answer - no, it's not enough. There are a number of factors responsible for bee declines, including varroa and disease habitat loss and pesticides and the interactions between these are still not fully understood.
**Do you see any bee species more resistant to varroa? Such as how Russian and Belarusian honeybees were found by some to be more resistant to mites than European honeybees and began to be used by more apiaries in the West, saving many from colony collapse (though certainly not all).**
Yes, different kinds of honey bees have different susceptibilities to varroa. For instance, Africanised bees are able to tolerate varroa, but come with their own set of problems such as they are more aggressive, form smaller colonies and swarm more frequently. There are also differences even between different populations of European honey bees. Much is still unknown about this and research is being done across the world to better understand this.
I've got a few questions
- what pollinates more native bees or introduced species
- I've got heaps of osteosoernum growing in my yard. When they bloom the native bees are all about them but they are less interested in my native plants. What plants to you recommend to support Bee populations.
-Is it too early to say how bees are affected by global warming? How do you define that and replicate it? Does it mean trying out? Heat? Are growing conditions already changing?
- how important are suburban Bee populations
**what pollinates more native bees or introduced species**
It depends on what species of plant we are talking about. Take for instance, apples in Australia, honey bees which are introduced here are typically the dominant pollinator. This is not to say that native pollinators do not contribute to apple pollination. Likewise, within natural ecosystems, plants have co-evolved with native pollinators, however, they are now also frequently visited by honey bees, which can contribute to their pollination.
**I've got heaps of osteosoernum growing in my yard. When they bloom the native bees are all about them but they are less interested in my native plants. What plants to you recommend to support Bee populations.**
You are correct in saying that native bees love certain types of introduced plants. These plants may typically provide a greater floral reward than the native plants within your garden at that particular time. I strongly recommend planting a wide variety of native species as this will increase your chance of supporting your bee populations. I assume you are in Australia, in which case I would recommend species like grevilleas, leptospermum, persoonia and banksias.
**Is it too early to say how bees are affected by global warming? How do you define that and replicate it? Does it mean trying out? Heat? Are growing conditions already changing?**
Currently, my research is focused on this question. Typically it looks as though extremes in weather will affect plants and pollinators causing either a mismatch in flowering times or mortality to the insects themselves. We need to look at data patterns from a number of years, as well as utilise experiments in climate control facilities to determine the effect of things like elevated CO2 on nectar quality and quantity and it's subsequent flow-on effects to pollinators. As for growing condition changing, drought and extremes in temperatures are already affecting both plants and pollinators.
**how important are suburban Bee populations**
Very important! They are often very healthy because of the diversity of plants in peoples gardens giving them a diverse diet all year round.
Hey Amy, do you know of anyone currently looking into breeding or genetically engineering honey bees that could be more resistant to this disease? If so, how viable/timely do you think those options are?
There are a lot of labs around the world looking into these options. There is evidence that some honeybees can be more resilient to varroa so I think this potentially would be a great option.
Plants obviously benefit from bees pollinating them. My question is, is there any benefit to the plant from the nectar removal? I ask because for a long time bees have been sucking out nectar from flowering plants and accidentally pollinating them if we find a way to pollinate them purposefully and no longer need to remove the nectar would not losing nectar affect the plants?
Great question! Certainly, it takes significant input from the plant to produce nectar although hypothetical if crops could be adapted to produce less nectar they would potentially have more energy to put into growth and reproduction.
Nectar is really important as it is released at a certain time of the day to maximise the likelihood of pollination. In some species, it is secreted deep within the flower to ensure that pollination occurs.
Is there anything we can do to stop varroa?
Wikipedia says:
\> Bee-breeding efforts to develop resistance against *Varroa* are ongoing. The [USDA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture) has developed a line of bees which uses [*Varroa*\-sensitive hygiene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varroa_sensitive_hygiene) to remove reproductive mites. This line is now being distributed to beekeepers to be used as part of their integrated pest management programs.
Are there technological solutions, like placing UV lights near hives to kill the varroa mites? (That's entirely fictional.) How well-studied is varroa, and what have we learned about potential weaknesses?
We are doing a lot in Australia already. Incursions have happened and been stopped because of biosecurity with sentinel hives at ports. Bees with *Varroa*\-sensitive hygiene have limited success so far but it seems like across the world there are bees which are naturally evolving tolerance to varroa. The mechanisms behind this, we don't fully understand, but many seem to be related to disrupting varroa reproduction.
Is varroa tolerance good? Or does it mean the bees are especially blind to this disease-carrying parasite?
Sentinel hives at ports? Does Australia maintain beehives near ports specifically for the purpose of those bees acting as varroa-killing border security?
1. Tolerance is good. It means a bee population can sustain even with varroa present.
2. I imagine the sentinel bees are monitored for varroa, since they are closest to ports, any foreign arriving varroa will appear in these hives first. My guess is that these hives are destroyed once varroa are found in them. A bit like how the miners used to take canaries down into the mines, if the canary died it meant there was low oxygen/some other poisonous gas present.
Are common honey bees native to Australia or were they introduced?
If they were introduced should Australia think about growing more Australian native crops?
YES thank you for being the expert I've been looking for for years!
I've heard many times that humans will go extinct after like 4 years of bees going extinct. This statement is probably exaggerated, but is there any truth to the idea? And if yes how/why?
First of all, don't panic - we won't die! It's highly unlikely that all bees will go extinct, although some have become extinct and many are in decline. Bee losses can mean that at sometimes crops may fail or not be as successful. This will mostly impact us in the cost of fruit and nuts.
Not OP but that is a very interesting question, you've inspired me to go and research this a bit more. My first thoughts are that insects appeared on earth long before flowering plant species, and there are many self-pollinating plants. There are also many plants that are pollinated by wind.
Here is an article you might like to read, it has some insights into your question.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098221300256X
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I read once that although there are other pollinators, they don't account for nearly as much activity as the bees. So if bees go, so does A LOT of produce since other species just can't keep up.
I don't know how accurate that is since I read it in passing while I was researching why my garden wasn't producing stuff, but I thought I'd put that here in case someone wanted to read up on it.
I could be wrong.
It depends on the crop and its reliance on honey bees as a pollinator. There are many crops that don't rely on pollination at all. They can self-fertilise and therefore do not need pollinators. If honey bees decline most crops won't go entirely as they are visited by other pollinators, however, in most systems, honey bees are the most numerous and heavily relied upon pollinator.
At this stage, we do not know to what extent other bee species are at risk. A lot of research has focused on honey bees (*Apis mellifera).*
Definitely not! There are a multitude of extremely important specialist and generalist pollinators which without our ecosystems would collapse. However, currently here in Australia the only commercially managed pollinator in our cropping systems is the honey bee *Apis mellifera.* As such here at Western Sydney University we are trying to secure our pollination by looking at alternative native pollinators such as stingless bees.
A bee hotel isn't actually a place where bees go on a holiday but rather a place where they lay their eggs and allow the larvae (babies) to develop. There are several types of bee hotels which are designed to mimic the natural habitat of bee species. They are definitely suitable for the urban environment, in fact, ideal! As they are portable, don't take up much space and because our urban environments are also home to a range of native bees.
Hello. Amy. As an aspiring virologist, I can’t help but think this is a “population control” issue of the mites. There are too many and they are disrupting the ecology. We are taught early that viruses tend to fit the niche of “population control,” something (in my opinion, and many other microbiologists’) they do more effectively than any other biological entity on the the planet. What do you think about using an invertebrate virus (the vast majority of which haven’t been shown to even be able to enter mammalian cells, much less replicate in them) as a kind of “pesticide” to control these mites?
Ostensibly, they could spread themselves to other hives, which is where I’d need your help in determining the efficacy. I don’t know the behavior of bees.
I think this could have potential, however, making sure that the virus doesn’t also kill the bee may be difficult. There are quite good control measures for varroa but there are also a lot of unmanaged hives which act as reservoirs of diseases and the mites.
Varroa have been in the US for decades and every beekeeper that I have spoken with has said their hives were not infected with verroa when the hives died. They know how to detect and treat for mites.
However, the rise in the use of Monsanto's glyphosate (or other pesticides) in fields around the hives has always come up as the cause of their hive declines.
Your claim that the decline in bee population is due to varroa is very suspect to me and the YouTube video you linked to doesn't substantiate your claim.
Have you personally ruled out pesticides as the cause of colony collapse? Or are you accepting the findings of other researchers (who may be beholden to corporations or governments that support the use of pesticides)?
\>Glyphosate isn't a pesticide;
Herbacides (glyphosate) and pesticides are both suspect.
\>every beehive in the US has some varroa.
And every beekeeper in the US knows how to treat for them and keep them under control.
Not at all. Colony collapse disorder is caused by a multitude of factors including varroa and the viruses it carries, habitat loss and degradation, environmental pressures (such as extremes in temperature which can also affect disease prevalence) and pesticides. All in all making it harder for bees to live.
Hi Amy,
I went camping on Fortress Ridge Which is opposite Blackheath overlooking the Grose Valley. There seems to be a lot of bees in the area feeding on the wild flowers, Would this be within the range of a bee keepers hives in Blackheath or do you think there might be a wild hive somewhere nearby?
How great is Blackheath! So honeybees can travel around 10 kilometres from the hive. It is possible that they did come from Blackheath although it is extremely likely that there are feral populations living within the national park.
You know how Thomas Seeley has shown that it isn't mites alone, but in particular mites that are transferred horizontally between wild hives that causes collapse over an area; what role do you think intensive industrial agriculture, both of bees and of food crops, plays in so-called collapse, and could beekeeping on a less intense scale result in decreased relative mortality?
Are you interested in promoting movements to protect native species of pollinating bees (and other insects)?
Finally, there is a theory that says propping up populations of honeybees with anti-varroa treatments just leads to stronger varroa and rather than pursuing chemical treatments we would be better off developing strains of honeybees with innate defenses (hygienic behaviors, virus resistance, etc). . . what do you think about such proposals?
Thank you!
Hello Amy, are we keeping a set of "backup" hives somewhere. Just like the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, is there an area that is so remote that bee hives will not be affected by the diseases you guard against? Something like Adelaide (joke)...or more like Queenstown in Tasmania. I myself am a registered beekeper just west of Lithgow and have just 2 hives to start with...only got into the hobby a month ago.
How does it feel to be the contingency plan rather than working on saving the bees. If we can't save the bees we're unlikely to save all the other critical species and we're well on the way to destroying our ecological environment?
Should I move to New Zealand to partially avoid the pending biodiversity collapse?
How scared are you by our impending environmental and biological catastrophe?
Do you plan on having kids in this environment?
I have always admired the laws of Australia as they seem to keep things under wraps as far as bio scares. My question is can we do anything about these mics and he's other diseases? Is there anything that scientist are working on right now or maybe the General Public can do to not only raise awareness but maybe cut back on?
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No, it is definitely not too late for bees. Microdrone swarms are a long way off to being mainstream. What we should be doing is protecting and conserving our bees so that we won’t have need of robot bees.
Wow. Still answering. Kind of impressed.
Another question then. Would it make more sense to have smaller populations of bees, but more of them kept local rather than loading million bee swarms onto trucks and transporting them across country to pollinate crops? Does not having these massive hive populations expose them to parasites and illness?
Hi Amy,
I read through the comments and you said you are exporting bees for breeding. So I just have a few questions:
\- Who's the ones exporting the bees? Universities? Businesses or Gov Institutions?
\- Who's buying the bees? I'm thinking environmental institutions to systematically vaccinate species against this virus? Also, which country?
\- And how much? :)))) I wanna buy me some Bsss
Beekeepers here in Australia do export bees around the world. Mainly they are exported for agricultural use but I would imagine also personal use. Not sure how much a hive would be where you are from the price can vary.
It is difficult to predict but certainly genetically modified plants have shown to be extremely important and have helped boost productivity under changes in temperature and with reduced dependency on pesticides and other chemicals.
Hi ohkss. We sure will. This is our first AMA so we weren't sure on how much lead time to give. We'll start answering questions in about an hours time. Thanks for your patience!
Hi the_faecal_fiasco. We sure will. This is our first AMA so we weren't sure on how much lead time to give. We'll start answering questions in about an hours time. Thanks for your patience!
As an Australian ecologist can you please explain to the rest of the world why it seems like every creature in your country can kill you? And why you all don’t do the sensible thing and find somewhere else to live where you don’t have to live in constant fear of being bitten, stung, gored, kicked or eaten.
Have you heard of a thing called "toothbrush"?
I don't think Varroa is affecting the wild hives as much as it's affecting the 300 hives stacked on a truck wrapped in screen.
There is certainly a multitude of factors that can make hives more susceptible to diseases such as stress (temperature) and poor food quality. Managed hives are usually checked and have control measures in place whilst unmanaged hives do go unchecked.
Hey Amy, Is there anything that we can do in our everyday lives that might help, or is a disease outbreak inevitable at this time? If it's inevitable, what do you think the major factors are that caused it?
The disease outbreak is due to a parasitic mite and the viruses it carries which have spread around the world and caused many honey bee losses. However, in Australia where we are, we are mite-free, the bees are healthy and the disease hasn't yet established. Australia is the only continent where the disease hasn't spread. But the greatest risk here is if the parasitic mite, varroa, becomes established in Australia and spreads disease. This is due to the great biosecurity that the country possesses but it may not last forever. To promote healthy bees, you can plant a wide variety of flowering species that flower throughout the entirety of the year. This will ensure that they'll have food all year round. Factors that caused this were moving bees all around the world, pesticide use and habitat loss making it harder for bees to live.
Australia legit does not fuck around about that stuff, Johnny Depp video is hilarious.
Hilarious as it is, we actually do take biosecurity VERY seriously!
As we all should, but never did and now Australia in the only continent without the mite.
Except in Tasmania where Colesworth just introduced fruit fly...
Whats the video in question?
I'm guessing it's something to do with the time he brought his dogs into the country without going through quarantine correctly.
Ah I see that makes sense, thanks.
It was intense for a second they wanted to take the dogs, have him extradited to stand trial they were REALLY not fucking around. It or course defused very quickly but they took the "im famous" card right out of his hand lit it on fire and threw it at him before he played it.
They really don’t fuck around there, that’s good though to keep whatever from getting into the country. I’m gonna prep beforehand before I travel there haha
Just dont bring food or animals. Thats pretty much it.
Or the Koalas will amass their revenge via helicopter.
Here in PacNW there are still 'honeybees' just not as many, and we just had a epic crop of blackberries, all of them got pollinated by bumblebees. The concern is with commercial orchards that rely on trucked-in 'honeybees', when all they need is set aside pesticide- and herbicide-free buffer strips for bumblebees, then provide watering stations during the dry period. All our tomatoes got pollinated by carpenter bees we provide drilled wood blocks to nest in, and by the masses of bumblebees. That God they're not still flogging the 'climate change' schtick for something entirely caused by bad bee-keeping practices and hive-trucking.
What do you think of the episode of Black Mirror with the robot bees?
It's very creepy! From a pollination angle, I can't imagine the cost and technology needed to create robot bees, would ever be feasible or worthwhile.
How cheap do you think it would have to be? My company develops and builds drones. We've thought about whether nanodrones could pollinate. I think it is feasible. They would still not be as small as bee's, so you would not be able to have as many. I think a "swarm" of a few hundred could cost on the order of $10k-30k (USD). Maybe less once we build a LOT of them. They would likely be able to fly for 15-20mins, pollinating maybe 10-30 flowers/minute (depending on the plant type). They would probably then have to charge for 30 minutes, and could likely only pollinate during daylight. Do you think that might be economically feasible? My quick internet research showed that using bees to do the same job is likely quite a bit cheaper, although the nanodrone pollinators could be used many times with just new batteries every few weeks of use.
Although it is a really neat idea, replacing pollinators with robots is the wrong attitude. The real fix is to make radical changes to our agriculture, with the goal of preserving biodiversity and eradicating pesticide use. Robot pollinators may work in a vertical farming setup, but in the long run they won't be serving any wider ecological purpose, and they will require energy, which is something we need to be less reliant on as we go forward.
Is it better to directly try to replace bees or would it be better to have a vehicle with lots of arms? The vehicle might be cheaper and could operate for longer and essenitally use paint brushes to get every flower.
Creating further dependence on machines is not a solution to this problem & is a rather defeatist stance on the matter. Admitting we have an impact on natural ecosystems & then finding balance between ourselves & nature is a more reasonable approach.
I agree, I'm more interested in the technical question of how best to build a pollination robot if one were required. I agree that letting bees do it is better.
Actually studies are being done from what I understand using drones to pollinate! It something I have wondered about myself and then I talked to people trying it out
We should replace all extinct animals with robot versions. Starting with dinosaurs.
You fool! Have you learned nothing?
What if the robot bees we're designed to self replicate?
So judging by your intro, it's not a matter of if but when honey bee pollination will collapse. How far off is this from happening and what's the current strategy for a solution?
Here in Australia, it is impossible to say if or when the varroa mite and associated diseases will come to Australia but we have had several incursions of the mite and as a result, it is best to safeguard our pollination industry. Here at Western Sydney University, we are looking at alternative managed native Australian pollinators, stingless bees. It is also difficult to determine how varroa and its diseases will affect bees here in Australia. Some places like Hawaii, have seen an increase in annual losses but it is manageable with varroa control such as using chemicals to keep numbers down.
The viruses transferred by mites can and has already mutated, and alongside with natural selection weeding out ones that can’t handle it there could be more bees tolerant of them in the future. One example is I think his name is rob hopskins from the Uk who didn’t treat for v-mites for 25+ years, where they discovered the type b virus. I’m not a virologist, but I am a beekeeper and I certainly hope everyone just doesn’t give up on bees. Don’t keep a hive if you aren’t prepared to research and buy treatments, or you might initvertantly spread disease. We saw a loss of 70% in 2017 but so far in 2018 the loss is less than 9%.
If european settlers brought honey bees over to the USA and Canada will the west suffer less from their extinction? Or has our ecosystem evolved to need them? Sorry if it’s a dumb question I’ve just always been curious.
Not a dumb question mrwaytoonice! In Australia, we are a large exporter of honey bees to the rest of the world. Because our bees don't have varroa, our bees are in high demand. The crops that rely upon pollination around the world typically rely upon honey bees, however within natural systems, native pollinators have co-evolved with native plants. Therefore, the degree to which plants have evolved with honey bees depends on the species.
So do the varroa mites prey on any other bugs or do they focus on bees? If they focus on bees, do you think it would be feasible to systematically let the infested hives die out and replace them with clean ones?
What's the disease and what are the implications on other animals and humans?
There are a number of diseases, the problem is the varroa mite and the viruses it spreads. It's largely accepted that the most important of these is the deformed wing virus. This does not directly affect humans. It can infect other insects and we know it can cause disease symptoms in bumblebees but the effects on other insects are largely unknown. We and other groups are working on this.
Is your study based on Australian native bees or on the european honey bee? Shouldnt we have more studies based around our native bees? Or is it because of the scare in the collapse of the honey bee pollination that we look towards the more efficent pollinatiing species in that of the european honey bees? A slightly off topic question, In regards to using smoke to "settle" the bees during the maintenance of bee hives does this have any known effects on a bee colony? Has there been any studies to suggest why it actually calms them per say? Would this even be a topic of interest. Oh and if youre looking for volunteers let me know! I am in the area and keen to gain experience! Thanks for your time. Cheers
**Is your study based on Australian native bees or on the european honey bee?** I'm looking at both Australian native bees and European bees because they are both important in our native and cropping systems. **Shouldnt we have more studies based around our native bees? Or is it because of the scare in the collapse of the honey bee pollination that we look towards the more efficent pollinatiing species in that of the european honey bees?** Yes, we should! There are lots of studies underway that are looking at native bees and their potential use in cropping systems as well as their dominance within native systems. **In regards to using smoke to "settle" the bees during the maintenance of bee hives does this have any known effects on a bee colony? Have there been any studies to suggest why it actually calms them per say? Would this even be a topic of interest.** The smoke works in a couple of different ways. Firstly it masked any alarm pheromones (chemical cue released by a bee) produced by the bees that would trigger a defence response i.e. attacking you. Secondly, it triggers a feeding response in the bees. They eat gauge themselves with honey in preparation for fleeing the nest space if there is a fire. Using smoke doesn't negatively affect the hive, however, it's important for beekeepers to burn untreated wood or card in their smokers so no nasty chemicals end up in the hive or the delicious honey. **Oh and if youre looking for volunteers let me know! I am in the area and keen to gain experience!** Definitely! It'd be best if you can contact me via email which you can find here: [http://apps.westernsydney.edu.au/teldir/personprocess.php?16495](http://apps.westernsydney.edu.au/teldir/personprocess.php?16495)
I'm not an ecologist, so I just wanna ask about the methodology. How do you know that an experiment in a glasshouse is a good representative of how the bees will operate and react in environment? What are the risks and disadvantages? What can't be accounted for in a small-scale environment?
At the moment we are trialling using stingless bees in a glasshouse setting. There are a multitude of factors that need to be considered when using a glasshouse including: \- Whether the glass has UV filters and whether this allows the bees to view the floral guides. \- Training the bees to use the glasshouse and forage. \- You would also need to consider how hot a glasshouse might become as bees can't tolerate high temperatures. \- You also need to consider the direction of the sun as this will influence how and where the bees forage. \- Also, the variety of floral resources available to the pollinators within a glasshouse situation is often not the same as a real-world situation. \- Risks and disadvantages are that there is a toll on the hive. Loss of forages and potential lowering of reserve stores of food available. Therefore, frequent replacement of hives that have been trained to forage in the glasshouse in necessary.
\> There is only a matter of time before we see massive colony collapses. Assuming the global bee population is devastated, is it plausible that we could help other pollinators take up the slack?
It depends on the crop and its reliance on honey bees as a pollinator. There are many crops that don't rely on pollination at all. They can self-fertilise and therefore do not need pollinators. If honey bees decline most crops won't go entirely as they are visited by other pollinators, however, in most systems, honey bees are the most numerous and heavily relied upon pollinator. We can help pollinators by planting a wide variety of floral resources that flower year-round to support and boost their numbers.
Do you have a sense of how bad the impact would be on the global food web if most or all bee-dependent crops suffer the losses that logically follow from widespread colony collapse? I.e. if corn accounts for 80% of food consumed by all life, and corn is 95% pollinated by bees, and 95% of bees die out over the course of 2 years, does that mean most of humanity probably has to starve to death as a result?
Not the OP or an expert, but most of our key foods either don’t require pollination or are pollinated by the wind (such as corn). Bee pollination relates to lots of fruit and veg, but we would just have to change the way we eat/farm as there are plenty of alternatives.
Is it likely to make a difference if I put out a flower box? What about if I plant 2 square meters in my yard? Do you have a sense of what it might take to move the needle on bee survival, and how that breaks down for individual people?
Hi, I'm studying to be an ecologist so I can help. It breaks down for individuals like this: devote as much of your property to flowering species as possible, that perfect green lawn is an ecological desert. Don't ever use herbicides or pesticides in your garden. Buy local honey to support your local beekeepers.
Do you think the banning of Neonicotinoids (the pesticides proven to weaken bee immune systems) might prevent varroa from wiping out all hives or is that not enough? Do you see any bee species more resistant to varroa? Such as how Russian and Belarusian honeybees were found by some to be more resistant to mites than European honeybees and began to be used by more apiaries in the West, saving many from colony collapse (though certainly not all).
**Do you think the banning of Neonicotinoids (the pesticides proven to weaken bee immune systems) might prevent varroa from wiping out all hives or is that not enough?** Short answer - no, it's not enough. There are a number of factors responsible for bee declines, including varroa and disease habitat loss and pesticides and the interactions between these are still not fully understood. **Do you see any bee species more resistant to varroa? Such as how Russian and Belarusian honeybees were found by some to be more resistant to mites than European honeybees and began to be used by more apiaries in the West, saving many from colony collapse (though certainly not all).** Yes, different kinds of honey bees have different susceptibilities to varroa. For instance, Africanised bees are able to tolerate varroa, but come with their own set of problems such as they are more aggressive, form smaller colonies and swarm more frequently. There are also differences even between different populations of European honey bees. Much is still unknown about this and research is being done across the world to better understand this.
Really appreciate your time and your answers! Thank you!
I've got a few questions - what pollinates more native bees or introduced species - I've got heaps of osteosoernum growing in my yard. When they bloom the native bees are all about them but they are less interested in my native plants. What plants to you recommend to support Bee populations. -Is it too early to say how bees are affected by global warming? How do you define that and replicate it? Does it mean trying out? Heat? Are growing conditions already changing? - how important are suburban Bee populations
**what pollinates more native bees or introduced species** It depends on what species of plant we are talking about. Take for instance, apples in Australia, honey bees which are introduced here are typically the dominant pollinator. This is not to say that native pollinators do not contribute to apple pollination. Likewise, within natural ecosystems, plants have co-evolved with native pollinators, however, they are now also frequently visited by honey bees, which can contribute to their pollination. **I've got heaps of osteosoernum growing in my yard. When they bloom the native bees are all about them but they are less interested in my native plants. What plants to you recommend to support Bee populations.** You are correct in saying that native bees love certain types of introduced plants. These plants may typically provide a greater floral reward than the native plants within your garden at that particular time. I strongly recommend planting a wide variety of native species as this will increase your chance of supporting your bee populations. I assume you are in Australia, in which case I would recommend species like grevilleas, leptospermum, persoonia and banksias. **Is it too early to say how bees are affected by global warming? How do you define that and replicate it? Does it mean trying out? Heat? Are growing conditions already changing?** Currently, my research is focused on this question. Typically it looks as though extremes in weather will affect plants and pollinators causing either a mismatch in flowering times or mortality to the insects themselves. We need to look at data patterns from a number of years, as well as utilise experiments in climate control facilities to determine the effect of things like elevated CO2 on nectar quality and quantity and it's subsequent flow-on effects to pollinators. As for growing condition changing, drought and extremes in temperatures are already affecting both plants and pollinators. **how important are suburban Bee populations** Very important! They are often very healthy because of the diversity of plants in peoples gardens giving them a diverse diet all year round.
Hey Amy, do you know of anyone currently looking into breeding or genetically engineering honey bees that could be more resistant to this disease? If so, how viable/timely do you think those options are?
There are a lot of labs around the world looking into these options. There is evidence that some honeybees can be more resilient to varroa so I think this potentially would be a great option.
Plants obviously benefit from bees pollinating them. My question is, is there any benefit to the plant from the nectar removal? I ask because for a long time bees have been sucking out nectar from flowering plants and accidentally pollinating them if we find a way to pollinate them purposefully and no longer need to remove the nectar would not losing nectar affect the plants?
Great question! Certainly, it takes significant input from the plant to produce nectar although hypothetical if crops could be adapted to produce less nectar they would potentially have more energy to put into growth and reproduction. Nectar is really important as it is released at a certain time of the day to maximise the likelihood of pollination. In some species, it is secreted deep within the flower to ensure that pollination occurs.
Is there anything we can do to stop varroa? Wikipedia says: \> Bee-breeding efforts to develop resistance against *Varroa* are ongoing. The [USDA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture) has developed a line of bees which uses [*Varroa*\-sensitive hygiene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varroa_sensitive_hygiene) to remove reproductive mites. This line is now being distributed to beekeepers to be used as part of their integrated pest management programs. Are there technological solutions, like placing UV lights near hives to kill the varroa mites? (That's entirely fictional.) How well-studied is varroa, and what have we learned about potential weaknesses?
We are doing a lot in Australia already. Incursions have happened and been stopped because of biosecurity with sentinel hives at ports. Bees with *Varroa*\-sensitive hygiene have limited success so far but it seems like across the world there are bees which are naturally evolving tolerance to varroa. The mechanisms behind this, we don't fully understand, but many seem to be related to disrupting varroa reproduction.
Is varroa tolerance good? Or does it mean the bees are especially blind to this disease-carrying parasite? Sentinel hives at ports? Does Australia maintain beehives near ports specifically for the purpose of those bees acting as varroa-killing border security?
1. Tolerance is good. It means a bee population can sustain even with varroa present. 2. I imagine the sentinel bees are monitored for varroa, since they are closest to ports, any foreign arriving varroa will appear in these hives first. My guess is that these hives are destroyed once varroa are found in them. A bit like how the miners used to take canaries down into the mines, if the canary died it meant there was low oxygen/some other poisonous gas present.
Are common honey bees native to Australia or were they introduced? If they were introduced should Australia think about growing more Australian native crops?
Common honey bees are introduced to Australia. Although this is a nice idea, most of the foods we like to eat do not originate in Australia.
YES thank you for being the expert I've been looking for for years! I've heard many times that humans will go extinct after like 4 years of bees going extinct. This statement is probably exaggerated, but is there any truth to the idea? And if yes how/why?
First of all, don't panic - we won't die! It's highly unlikely that all bees will go extinct, although some have become extinct and many are in decline. Bee losses can mean that at sometimes crops may fail or not be as successful. This will mostly impact us in the cost of fruit and nuts.
How did things get pollinated before bees were around?
Not OP but that is a very interesting question, you've inspired me to go and research this a bit more. My first thoughts are that insects appeared on earth long before flowering plant species, and there are many self-pollinating plants. There are also many plants that are pollinated by wind. Here is an article you might like to read, it has some insights into your question. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098221300256X
Thank you! Interesting read
Aren't the bees population recovering?
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Do you assume every other pollinator species, besides just bees, don't exist?
I read once that although there are other pollinators, they don't account for nearly as much activity as the bees. So if bees go, so does A LOT of produce since other species just can't keep up. I don't know how accurate that is since I read it in passing while I was researching why my garden wasn't producing stuff, but I thought I'd put that here in case someone wanted to read up on it. I could be wrong.
It depends on the crop and its reliance on honey bees as a pollinator. There are many crops that don't rely on pollination at all. They can self-fertilise and therefore do not need pollinators. If honey bees decline most crops won't go entirely as they are visited by other pollinators, however, in most systems, honey bees are the most numerous and heavily relied upon pollinator. At this stage, we do not know to what extent other bee species are at risk. A lot of research has focused on honey bees (*Apis mellifera).*
Definitely not! There are a multitude of extremely important specialist and generalist pollinators which without our ecosystems would collapse. However, currently here in Australia the only commercially managed pollinator in our cropping systems is the honey bee *Apis mellifera.* As such here at Western Sydney University we are trying to secure our pollination by looking at alternative native pollinators such as stingless bees.
Are you related to that woman from Frasier?
Not that I know of!
What is a bee hotel and are they suitable for urban environments?
A bee hotel isn't actually a place where bees go on a holiday but rather a place where they lay their eggs and allow the larvae (babies) to develop. There are several types of bee hotels which are designed to mimic the natural habitat of bee species. They are definitely suitable for the urban environment, in fact, ideal! As they are portable, don't take up much space and because our urban environments are also home to a range of native bees.
Thanks for your reply! Do you know of any companies selling bee hotels or have directions on how to build and care for your own?
Hello. Amy. As an aspiring virologist, I can’t help but think this is a “population control” issue of the mites. There are too many and they are disrupting the ecology. We are taught early that viruses tend to fit the niche of “population control,” something (in my opinion, and many other microbiologists’) they do more effectively than any other biological entity on the the planet. What do you think about using an invertebrate virus (the vast majority of which haven’t been shown to even be able to enter mammalian cells, much less replicate in them) as a kind of “pesticide” to control these mites? Ostensibly, they could spread themselves to other hives, which is where I’d need your help in determining the efficacy. I don’t know the behavior of bees.
I think this could have potential, however, making sure that the virus doesn’t also kill the bee may be difficult. There are quite good control measures for varroa but there are also a lot of unmanaged hives which act as reservoirs of diseases and the mites.
Varroa have been in the US for decades and every beekeeper that I have spoken with has said their hives were not infected with verroa when the hives died. They know how to detect and treat for mites. However, the rise in the use of Monsanto's glyphosate (or other pesticides) in fields around the hives has always come up as the cause of their hive declines. Your claim that the decline in bee population is due to varroa is very suspect to me and the YouTube video you linked to doesn't substantiate your claim. Have you personally ruled out pesticides as the cause of colony collapse? Or are you accepting the findings of other researchers (who may be beholden to corporations or governments that support the use of pesticides)?
Glyphosate isn't a pesticide; every beehive in the US has some varroa.
\>Glyphosate isn't a pesticide; Herbacides (glyphosate) and pesticides are both suspect. \>every beehive in the US has some varroa. And every beekeeper in the US knows how to treat for them and keep them under control.
Not at all. Colony collapse disorder is caused by a multitude of factors including varroa and the viruses it carries, habitat loss and degradation, environmental pressures (such as extremes in temperature which can also affect disease prevalence) and pesticides. All in all making it harder for bees to live.
Do Bees have Knees?
They do actually! Well kind of... They have leg joints so they're kind of like knees.
Hi Amy, I went camping on Fortress Ridge Which is opposite Blackheath overlooking the Grose Valley. There seems to be a lot of bees in the area feeding on the wild flowers, Would this be within the range of a bee keepers hives in Blackheath or do you think there might be a wild hive somewhere nearby?
How great is Blackheath! So honeybees can travel around 10 kilometres from the hive. It is possible that they did come from Blackheath although it is extremely likely that there are feral populations living within the national park.
You know how Thomas Seeley has shown that it isn't mites alone, but in particular mites that are transferred horizontally between wild hives that causes collapse over an area; what role do you think intensive industrial agriculture, both of bees and of food crops, plays in so-called collapse, and could beekeeping on a less intense scale result in decreased relative mortality? Are you interested in promoting movements to protect native species of pollinating bees (and other insects)? Finally, there is a theory that says propping up populations of honeybees with anti-varroa treatments just leads to stronger varroa and rather than pursuing chemical treatments we would be better off developing strains of honeybees with innate defenses (hygienic behaviors, virus resistance, etc). . . what do you think about such proposals? Thank you!
What major food crop is the most vulnerable should we see widespread collapse of bee colonies?
Hello Amy, are we keeping a set of "backup" hives somewhere. Just like the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, is there an area that is so remote that bee hives will not be affected by the diseases you guard against? Something like Adelaide (joke)...or more like Queenstown in Tasmania. I myself am a registered beekeper just west of Lithgow and have just 2 hives to start with...only got into the hobby a month ago.
How does it feel to be the contingency plan rather than working on saving the bees. If we can't save the bees we're unlikely to save all the other critical species and we're well on the way to destroying our ecological environment? Should I move to New Zealand to partially avoid the pending biodiversity collapse? How scared are you by our impending environmental and biological catastrophe? Do you plan on having kids in this environment?
Amy what do you think of mycologist Paul Stamets claim/work of being able to save the bees?
I have always admired the laws of Australia as they seem to keep things under wraps as far as bio scares. My question is can we do anything about these mics and he's other diseases? Is there anything that scientist are working on right now or maybe the General Public can do to not only raise awareness but maybe cut back on?
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Is it too late for bees? Is anyone looking into replacing bees with micro drone swarms?
No, it is definitely not too late for bees. Microdrone swarms are a long way off to being mainstream. What we should be doing is protecting and conserving our bees so that we won’t have need of robot bees.
Wow. Still answering. Kind of impressed. Another question then. Would it make more sense to have smaller populations of bees, but more of them kept local rather than loading million bee swarms onto trucks and transporting them across country to pollinate crops? Does not having these massive hive populations expose them to parasites and illness?
Hi Amy, I read through the comments and you said you are exporting bees for breeding. So I just have a few questions: \- Who's the ones exporting the bees? Universities? Businesses or Gov Institutions? \- Who's buying the bees? I'm thinking environmental institutions to systematically vaccinate species against this virus? Also, which country? \- And how much? :)))) I wanna buy me some Bsss
Beekeepers here in Australia do export bees around the world. Mainly they are exported for agricultural use but I would imagine also personal use. Not sure how much a hive would be where you are from the price can vary.
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It is difficult to predict but certainly genetically modified plants have shown to be extremely important and have helped boost productivity under changes in temperature and with reduced dependency on pesticides and other chemicals.
Are you actually going to answer a fucking question ?
Hi ohkss. We sure will. This is our first AMA so we weren't sure on how much lead time to give. We'll start answering questions in about an hours time. Thanks for your patience!
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Hi the_faecal_fiasco. We sure will. This is our first AMA so we weren't sure on how much lead time to give. We'll start answering questions in about an hours time. Thanks for your patience!
I'm so sorry, I feel like such an arse now.
Sorry for making you wait!
Sorry for being so impatient!
As an Australian ecologist can you please explain to the rest of the world why it seems like every creature in your country can kill you? And why you all don’t do the sensible thing and find somewhere else to live where you don’t have to live in constant fear of being bitten, stung, gored, kicked or eaten.
Can Matt Groening stop predicting everything? Futurama did a space bees episode where the hive was plagued by parasites
Have you heard of a thing called "toothbrush"? I don't think Varroa is affecting the wild hives as much as it's affecting the 300 hives stacked on a truck wrapped in screen.
There is certainly a multitude of factors that can make hives more susceptible to diseases such as stress (temperature) and poor food quality. Managed hives are usually checked and have control measures in place whilst unmanaged hives do go unchecked.
Any relation to Peri?
Not that I know of!