There is some dispute as to a quote ascribed to Albert Einstein, in which he said that if bees were to disappear, humans would soon follow within four years. Apparently, he never actually said that. Still, nevertheless, it does feel like there is some truth to that. Not sure if it would be four years, or perhaps a little more or a little less. It feels like our own imminent demise would surely not be long to follow, nonetheless.
Somehow, though, we rarely seem to raise any major alarm bells on a societal level when we see headlines or hear the news that the population of bees appears to be in decline. We know that our activities seem to be contributing to this, perhaps most notably with all of the artificial chemicals that we put on our lawns. You know the ones that are supposed to kill weeds or pests in order to make our lawn look lush and full of life?
Yeah.
Those poisonous fertilizers, as well as insecticides that also may be harmful to bees, often proudly advertise how they kill weeds or other undesirable elements to a lawn, appear to be a significant part of the reason why bees are in trouble, with their population dwindling. It appears that these fertilizers are a very significant part of the reason why this is happening. And it's hardly a secret anymore.
Does that stop people? Give our society a pause for thought about the unintended consequences of our collective actions? Perhaps give us impetus to address this?
No indication of it thus far.
But there are other threats to the bee. Apparently, scientists have discovered some parasitic mites known as Varroa mites. They can travel from bee to bee, and this often spreads a deadly disease among bees.
Here is a snippet from the Guardian article by Phoebe Weston published just a few days ago, on the 8th of July:
These wider combined factors are also devastating for wild pollinators and native bee species – and honeybees, which are closely monitored by their keepers, may be acting as a canary in the coalmine for pressures affecting insects more generally. Almost all bee colonies have these viruses, but they only do significant harm when the colony is stressed Prof Dave Goulson
Paul Hetherington, of the charity Buglife, says honeybees are in effect “a farmed animal as opposed to wild bees, but they will be suffering from the same stresses as their wild cousins, in particular loss of good habitat, climate stress, chemical stress, light.
Adee says: “We had mites for 20 years, and we never had over 3% losses.” He believes there is a “combination of things” that makes the bees more stressed and the mites more deadly.
He cites the use of neonicotinoid insecticides in the US, which harm bees’ nervous system, paralysing and ultimately killing them. Some researchers have warned of neonicotinoids causing another “silent spring”, referring to Rachel Carson’s 1962 book on the effects of the insecticide DDT on bird populations.
There is hope that scientists can discover something in hives which seem to have apparent immunity, and that this unfortunate trend of bees being killed off can be reversed.
Let's hope that these headlines are reversed, and that we can see the population of bees begin to bounce back and, hopefully, stabilize.
‘Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US honeybees by Phoebe Weston Tue 8 Jul 2025:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/08/record-us-bee-colony-dieoffs-climate-stress-pesticides-silent-spring-aoe
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