How African honey bees can help mitigate a world crisis
November 11, 2015
From: CNN
[CNN] Editor’s Note: Vincent Dietemann is Extraordinary lecturer in Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria. CNN is showcasing the work of The Conversation, a collaboration between journalists and academics to provide news analysis and commentary. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) Managed honeybee population stocks are declining in many countries, worrying scientists, the public and politicians. This decline affects us all, as it poses a risk to food security.
Honeybees can be moved where needed and are not picky about the flower they visit to collect pollen and nectar which they feed on. Thanks to these qualities, they are the major crop pollinators relied on by humans. The honeybee equals and sometimes surpasses all other wild pollinators for this task.
In the last decade, many studies focused on honeybee health to identify the causes of unusually high colony losses. Most of this work has been performed in Europe and North America where bees are exploited in large scale commercial operations. Scientists observe interactions of many factors affecting honeybee health.
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