A honey bee’s life and performance as a stressed employee

The life of the honey bees is quite stressed and hardly relaxing. Bees make many trips, traveling long distances to gather vital resources of pollen and nectar from flowers daily. However, they must deal with predators, challenging weather conditions, and brain confusion, with the very real danger of even getting lost.

   The European Union has recently banned neonicotinoid pesticides that directly affect bees’ brains, as the EU believes that bees are critically important for the environment and the economy.

   It is estimated that pollinators, including honey bees and wild bees, contribute at least 22 billion euros each year to the European agriculture industry. The apiculture sector is an important part of the EU agriculture. There are around 630,000 beekeepers and 16 million of hives in the EU, producing 234,000 tons of honey per year.

   Indeed, they ensure pollination for over 80% of crops and wild plants. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that of the 100 crop species that provide 90% of food worldwide, 71 are pollinated by bees. The news about the serious bee losses has been concerning various professionals and the wider public. Therefore, the European Commission has taken important measures to diagnose and prevent bee mortality.

   “One out of every three mouthfuls of food that you consume relies on the pollination activity of bees and other insects” said Mark Brown, professor in evolutionary ecology and conservation at Royal Holloway, University of London in the UK. “It’s essential for Europe that we have a sustainable bee population.”.

   Veterinarians and beekeepers should follow certain rules when applying veterinary medicines to bee colonies, according to the EU. There are also special requirements for trade and import of live bees. So, as most of crops grown in the European Union depend on insect pollination, and while the global annual monetary value of pollination has been estimated at hundreds of billions of euros, we need to treat bees in a more sustainable way for a better worldwide food supply management.