B is for Bees

There are over 2,000 species of native bees in Australia, but these do not include commercial honey bees which were introduced in the early nineteenth-century.

None of the honey-producing bees in Australia are native. Those native bees who do produce smalls amounts of honey only produce enough for their own survival and the removal of the honey from the hives of these native species results in weakening or killing the nest. Introduced species of honey-producing bees are territorial and often out-compete native bees and insect for resources, however it seems there has not been enough research to fully understand the impact of introduced species of bees on the native bee, insect, or plant populations.

Managed hives of honeybees contribute to the responsibility for pollinating the growing fruit and vegetable requirements of an Australian diet, in addition to native populations of hover flies and other insects. Many vegans will avoid honey as the bees are exploited to allow commercial honey production, however bees are also exploited in the production of most plant-based foods, including avocados and almonds.

Migratory bee keepers travel with their bees across the country to assist in pollinating fruit and vegetable crops, but there are a number of negatives in considering the migratory bee process. Moving around so regularly causes significant stress on the hive, and constantly handling the bees can induce mishandling which can result in deaths. Having the hives in close proximity also allows for spreading disease and mites which can result in colony collapse.

Much of the requirement for migratory bees is that many crops are grown of a single variety (monoculture) and this process involves the destruction of wildflowers and native plants, and the use of pesticides. Bees are no longer naturally able to receive the variety of nutrients they need by pollinating single crops and so their numbers diminish.

Flies, butterflies, moths, and beetles are also integral to the production of fruit and vegetables as they join in on the responsibility of pollinating crops, however they too are under significant threat as result of monoculture farming and pesticide use. Unfortunately, there are no studies documenting insect decline in Australia and there are almost no insect species being monitored.

The establishment of insect corridors, implementing managed nature reserves for wildflowers and native plants, reducing reliance on pesticides, and reclaiming land cleared for animal agriculture to instigate or rewild will help contribute towards rebuilding insect populations and reestablishing successful bee and pollinator colonies.

Much of the media will focus on small areas of production, such as almond or avocado farming, however the use of bees in fruit and vegetable pollination is essential to the survival of our entire food system and migratory bees are used across the range. If foods which exploit bees by using the migratory process were to be avoided, there would be very little remaining to eat.

While honey may be a good source of some essential nutrients, these are nutrients which can be found in many other foods so it is not necessary to exploit bees for honey production. It is, though, currently necessary to eat foods which are required to maintain our health, even, it seems, if they are produced as a result of the exploitation of bees.

What can be done?

Under the current food production system, it is necessary to use migratory bees to pollinate plant crops. However, this can be changed by maintaining polyculture crops and this can be done, on a smaller scale, in backyard vegetable gardens. There are a number of great ways to encourage insects into your garden and keeping them there by building sanctuaries.